I read this piece about how Bollywood is slowly diffusing into the mainstream here in the US, and there I came across the following ad that apparently went viral:
So, naturally, I went after the original, which has Mohammed Rafi providing the vocals. There is some high octane dancing--even without Shammi Kapoor, the actor whom I always imagine manically gyrating away whenever I hear such Hindi film music :)
Well, this is infinitely better than the auto-tuned "hits"--reading the New Yorker essay was one awfully depressing experience, to know that this is how the radio Top Forty hits are manufactured :( In the Culture Desk blog, following up on the essay, John Seabrook adds:
Almost all the music you hear on Top Forty radio these days is made on machines. You may hear a real guitar once in a while, but an actual drum sound is pretty rare. The singing is still done by humans, but the voices are never ever off pitch, thanks to Auto-Tuning. Is there a problem here?Ahem, frankly I don't know if there is a problem here. But, awfully depressing to think that a Rafi might not be necessary for the magic anymore. Well, at least we have the gems, like the following one, from the past:
