Last night I went to the Knitting Factory in Hollywood to check out M.I.A. (who we have profiled here before). Admittedly, I was not familiar with the lovely Maya Arulpragasam’s music BUT I am a fan of live music as well as beautiful women. I was a little bummed before the concert because all my friends had bailed on me and I would be going all alone. I resolved to turn tragedy to triumph by getting Maya to take pity on me and allowing me to be a groupie after the show. On my way to the venue I got a call from my friend Sanjay who was one of those forced to bail on the evening. I told him it was okay and then informed him of my new plan to win her sympathy. Then he told me something that would plant a seed of doubt into my subconscious and eventually ruin my night. Sanjay told me that if I got to meet Maya I should ask her why her website has a link to an organization (TRO) associated with the LTTE terrorist organization. Was Maya a Tamil Tiger sympathizer? “Boy, don’t you know that would completely ruin my game?” What? Could I be like, “Hey Maya…um…I think you are so very pretty and talented and I’d like to get to know you better…umm…do you support terrorism?”

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While we’re freeing Jins from diyas, definitely check out the desh-hop artists who own3d the mike in the hip-hop documentary Brown Like Dat.

First, MC Kabir. The son of Nobel winner Amartya Sen, Kabir is half Italian and lives in Boston. He’s got good flow, an apropos namesake and a solid track in ‘Recognize.’ Kabir tells a great story on screen about freestyling in a dark club and pushing off an overzealous fan who was trying to grab the mike. ‘When I looked closer, I realized it was Wyclef.’ And they jammed. It’s hard to tell the story while looking humble; his lips twitched, but he had it sorted. Listen here.

Also give a listen to the Himalayan Project. Chee Malabar, who showed up to the screening, sported a gaunt frenchie and a serious ‘fro, looking for all the world like a brown Dogg.

The group’s name pays homage to their ancestral roots in India and China — the Himalayan mountain range straddles the borders of both countries. [Official site]

Listen here.

I don’t drink coffee, I drink tea, my dear… Sting is giving a concert at Delhi’s Nehru Stadium on Feb. 6th. Be still my beating heart.

On the occasion of his concert, a special Limited tour Edition of his latest album Sacred Love , which contains his rare singles, is being put together. The single, Sacred Love also has an Indian touch since it features Anoushka Shankar on the sitar.

With Sting’s long-standing interest in yoga (he owns a studio in New York) and professed mastery of tantric sex, it’s surprising he doesn’t play India more often. Maybe his Englishness gets in the way.

“… I mentioned to Bob [Geldof] I could make love for eight hours. What I didn’t say was that this included four hours of begging and then dinner and a movie.”

Please don’t label this the highlight of his career:

Sting’s career hit a real high note in ’94, when he, together with Bryan Adams and Rod Stewart, performed All For Love for the film, The Three Musketeers… [ToI]

What a repugnant thought. Sting, like Bono, is that rarest of birds, a thinking rocker with fractal lyrics that unfold. I spent many delicious hours on a bus through the USSR listening to ‘Russians’ and ‘Fortress Around Your Heart.’ U2’s ‘Vertigo’ has bite, but they’ve both been putting out geriatric stuff lately which makes the young’uns look askance when you admit to being a fan. Plus there’s the whole megagroup thing, hipster ammo; screw it, I sometimes drink Starbucks.

M.I.A. is playing NYC on Feb. 5, along with partner in crime Diplo (via SAS). Tickets are just $12. She’s also rockin’ L.A. on Feb. 3. I think I’m having an Arulpragasam.

From the last time she performed in NYC:

… her super-limited debut UK single featured fuzzy, electro-tinged dancehall beats, vaguely political raps, and one of the most unexpectedly catchy hooks in recent memory. Completely modern urban music that didn’t sound the slightest bit forced or space cadet about itself (sorry Dizzee); I was captivated on the first listen…

Check out the ‘Sunshowers’ video and the remix MP3s. Here’s a previous post on M.I.A./Maya.

It sounds like a joke right? So, Bruce Springsteen, a Rabbi and a Sufi walk into a bar? Well, I did take some liberties, he’s not a Rabbi, he’s a Sikh (oh, that makes it simpler) named Rabbi Shergill who recorded a song commonly referred to on the web as the “Bulla ki Janna” number (I have no clue, I just found him b/c Mira Nair compared him to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.)

Shergill is a crossover fusion artist who combines Western and Eastern music, but the articles I’ve read aren’t precise. Sometimes they say he draws upon Heavy Metal, and othertimes Rock. Sometimes they say he employs Punjabi Folk, other times Sufi Music (which is punjabi, and not classical, but hardly folk either). Here’s his backstory:

Shergill fell in love with music after he went to a Bruce Springsteen concert while at school. Now he has a fan following that includes the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and V.S. Naipaul. [cite]

I like his look and attitude:

But why an album in Punjabi? “Did you know Punjabi is the ninth most spoken language in the world?” is his swift retort before he adds, “It is my pride.” [cite]

He clearly has the ambition to match:

He asserts that he aims big – big stadiums, a large audience and loads of fame. “My father’s anonymity, despite his talent, made him scream aloud. I want to be heard. I use my ego to further my cause.” [cite]

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