In happenings, there’s a launch party for Anil Balasuriya’s new album, ‘The Last Few Pieces of April’. It’s this Saturday 8ish at Onyx (in the Taj). Album plus entry is Rs 500, which is actually less than the usual penis tax at the door. I wasn’t around when Independant Square was, but local original music is rare enough that I’ll definitely check it out. I think Sri Lankans look a bit silly as death metal rockers or gangster rappers, but the rock music doesn’t make me cringe. Anyways, I don’t know Anil Balasuriya or Independent Square, but I’ve included a list of the local music I’ve been listening to in order to, um, fill space.
Chinthy
I was buying some One Tree Hill in Majestic City when I heard this playing. I was talking to the clerk and he said a lot of people liked the Chinthy album and I too bought a copy. I think the beats and composition are excellent, really clean and brilliant. Like all Sri Lankan rap, however, I cringe when they rap in English. It’s like they’ve taken all the offensive and crude parts of American rap and none of the creativity or wit. Plus Chinthy sounds like Mase with a cold, I actually don’t like his voice much and I don’t listen to the album much anymore.
Bathiya and Santhush
Akki Suranimala bought the newer album and was apparently playing it non stop. I like the one before better, with the phallic album cover with B&S sitting on two giant balls. They’re both good, the singing is very catchy. Again, the rapping annoys the shit out of me and makes me embarrassed to play those songs for anyone else. Hearing ‘slap the taste out your mouth’ from a skinny 5-foot Sri Lankan is just silly. But I digress, I really like B&S and it’s great that they’ve had the success they had.
Brass Monkey Band
BMB had one of the worst promoted shows I’ve seen last week at H2O, with their new Swinly replacement. Few photos here. Their last two shows have been a bit disappointing, though for lack of organization much more than talent. I’ve actually never been crazy about the music, but the shows were always fun. Meh.
Shihan
I’ve never heard this Sirasa Superstar sing, but I see him everywhere – Mobitel ads, back of buses, etc. He’s Sri Lanka’s first bonafide sex symbol and that’s cool.
And that is all the SL music I listen to, besides Nanda Malini and whatever they play on the bus. As mentioned, there’s an Anil Balasuriya concert on Saturday so I’ll be there to see what the new has to offer, like.
Apologies for being pedantic, but Onyx @ Taj Samudra mate… not Trans Asia
true, I get them confused. Fixed
Sri Lankan rappers should be killed. We should hold a Sri Lankan Rappers’ Converntion and gas them to death. Chinthy in particular has to die slowly and painfully. I like Tamil rappers because though I don’t understand what they are saying (which could be utter BS for all I know) , they are at least making an attempt to give it their own identity. Recently I saw a Sri Lankan rapper on tv, yakking on about how the hip-hop culure is now integrating itself into the Sri Lankan culture. I just wish they would elaborate so that I can have a heartier laugh at it.
And Shihan is plain annoying. I was walking around MC the other day and from the corner of my eye I see Shihan staring at me. I took a few steps back and I see a lifesize cut out of him at Prasanna Batiks. And you may run, you may hide but you can never escape his annoying Mobitel jingle. I do find it pretty impressive that a guy my age has become a ‘star’ but I wish he uses his talent better.
eh..think saying all SL rappers should be gassed is a fairly stupid thing to say….I think Randhirs pretty good and the boys been at it for a looong time and put in a lot, lot of hours. And B&S and him are bloody popular islandwide and supposed to have awesome shows. That said Chintys album is pretty crap but Iraj has a few shining moments as does Krishan’s Asian Avenue…what kind of music is Anil Balasuriya?
I don’t mind them as long as they don’t speak English (that is, as long as I don’t understand them). Anil Balasuriya is rockish, like Independent Square I’d assume
Not the faintest idea who independent square is either!:)…thought u were talking about the place…in my defense its the end of a long day
Actually indi is right co25.. i mean i dont intend to put anyone down. But they’re seemingly crap.. but as for the rock side of sri lanka.. they’re pretty decent. The only problem is that they have a selected crowd.. but as for the guys who fuse pop rnb rap n our local languages together? Well they’re just starting off.. who knows with time they will be refined and good artists will emerge. Only problem is the cost of doing all this is so high there is no point to it for the young guys. I mean making a video is insane.. and better yet to air it.. to my knowledge.. you have to pay the tv companies. Someone should confirm with that..
Oh well each to their own but our guys seem to think that rapping is just rattling off a jumble of words with a fuck here and a bitch there.
Hmmm.. if life were that simple :P Co25 whats asian avenue? Maile me few of their songs..
I liked Anil’s solo a few years back.. last year? cant remember. name was ‘songs of what i know’ or something. was hugely popular on TNL
i didnt really get the meaning of the lyrcis.. but liked the song and the music. Try the rock company compilations, they are pretty good. think Anil’s song is on the second compilation if im not mistaken.
Some sri lankan rappers are good, although im not a huge fan or randhir’s. But the bugger started acceptable rap in this country. Respect.
The iraj’s crowd is good, Centrigradez too are maturing. Chinty’s english rap though, is pretty much crap, like couple of songs in the album, the sinhala parts.
SL Rock is good, not just decent. and ya.. like Evil says cost of production is a problem especially when compared to the income they can hope to get, but i think things will get better. They just need their own relality show :) TNL onstage has lot of potential to be turned into a reality show.. wonder why they dont do that.
i dont ever doubt the talent of these Sri lankans, death metal or rap. wont Stigmata fall into death metal category .. at least some of their songs? and they are damn good..
Shihan thing is phenomenal, Sirasa TV really needs a pat on the back for what they’ve done, of course they must have made, and continue to make shit loads of money, and that’s how it works best, mutual benefit. They have really created a bunch of superstars. i mean If otherwise sane Sri Lankan girls asks you sign on their bra.. now that’s the very definition of superstardom :)
The bitter truth is that Anil can’t sing. Well at least not consistantly at the level of a professional. However the man has done a lot to the Sri Lankan music industry. Independent Square is/was (I’m not sure if they’ve split or not) his band and they played a big role, i mean a HUGE role in creating a market for original english music in Sri Lanka. At a time when all the bands comprising of a lot of talented musicians were playing cover after cover, they dared to make original music. Bands like Krebs Cycle and Stigmata were soon to follow suite which paved the way to the current state of the industry. He also plays a major role along with TNL radio in terms of sponsoring a lot of events that cater to original music.
About the rappers, I too wouldn’t agree with a blanket statement of “they are all crap”, although its sad that most of them are. However there are a few like Randhir, Krishan and a few others who work with Iraj who do a very decent job of it. It sucks though that Randhir is sticking with B&S (ugh).
Anil is boring as hell now and this is coming from someone who actually loved Independence Square for their pioneering steps. Mark my words, at the concert the set list will consist of atleast one Counting Crows song and the most popular rock song on the charts now (Shit like Hoobastank or whatnot). He will then proceed to ruin these already shitty songs and people will still be happily listening as if its the greatest thing ever. The last time I heard Anil was at Hollow Point Halo’s acoustic set at H20 about six months back. My God the nightmares I have of that performance.
Anil, if you are reading this, no offence meant, buddy.
PS: Please don’t sing any System of a Down material. You can’t :) Stikc to your Blink 182 material and leave SOAD alone.
As for local music industry, I follow only Stigmata, Hollow Point Halo and Paranoid Earthling. These three bands are the only rock bands currently worth their salt. They have the best musicians and the best understanding of what orignality means. The others are trying too hard or jumping on the bandwagon hoping to get famous.
I will stay gloriously ignorant of the local hip hop industry, thank you very much.
Shihan is an annoying bastard.
Anil is definitely rockish. I’ve heard two of his songs on TNL and I don’t mind his music. Sounds a little like Bon Jovi before they went from hard rock to pussy rock. Independence Square and Paranoid Earthling both make ok music. Just that they need to know their limitations. One the other hand if you’re hammered enough, they sound good.
“Sokari†from Chinthy sounds good but that’s the only song I like in the album. Image marketing of Chinthy is excellent from a country that continuously fails to understand the importance of image in showbiz.
BnS. Respect. Not for their music but for the culture they built. They were the first “pop stars†in my generation. Growing up I didn’t have any local music my father didn’t listen to. Something is not right when you and your parents listen to the same music. Gives the parents a chance to say “this is the crap that they listen to nowadays†and not “you know, my son has very good taste in music, he listens to Milton Mallawarachchiâ€.
As for Shihan, nuff said.
To label all Sri Lankan rappers and rockers as being shite is plain ignorant. Randhir, Nishan and Subodha did very good work during Brown Boogie Nation days with a distinctly Sri Lankan identity. Assimilating from a muscial style and adapting it is not something that should be despised. Knock the rappers who are bad for being unoriginal and technically flawed. Don’t knock them for being Sri Lankan. When did American black people start owning the copyright to a genre of music. For god’s sake be a bit broader minded.
The only reason Anil’s song was popular on TNL is because he is the program manager there and does their playlists. He fronted Indi Sq but Dinesh, Shehan and Ajit were the backbone of that band. Kudos to Anil for chasing his dream. He still can’t sing but he has improved tremendously.
Shihan Mihiranga is Sri Lanka’s Taylor Hicks. And the masses from Moneragala and Anuradhapura are the effing rednecks that vote for him. Once again – it’s popular culture and pop is a quantitative anaylsis and not a qualitative one. Taylor Hicks sucks. I don’t think even Kumar Sangakkara gets a ‘sign my bra’ from anyone.
BS (not to be confused with bullshit) are a phenomenon. Both these boys have sound musical education and their fusion of styles seems to work. I wouldn’t buy their album but how can we argue with the hundreds of thousands that do.
Shihan Mihiranga was not the Sri Lanka’s first bonafide sex symbol. First we had Gamini Fonseka and then there was Vijaya Kumaratunge.
What happened was Vijaya’s death created such a vacuum, none was able to fill it for more than 25 years!! There were so many starts but they died out so soon.
I agree Shihan was the first one who could fill the gap created by Vijaya…
ahh someone else admits to watching One Tree Hill.. yay !!
That would pretty much apply to all American rapping as well, with a few rare exceptions
Anil’s concert was great… Onyx was packed with way more people than the unfortunate ones actually reading your comment…come come he must be doing something right… If I may add ‘Theena’ it’s quite pathetic that your musical preferences ’heavy metal’ limit you form appreciating other genres of music, by all means I’m not implying that you should be a fan of all forms and variations of music, but you can at least respect other genres, just cos you’re incapable of appreciating other forms of music doesn’t make it ‘SUCK’. Anyway I don’t blame you, us Sri Lankans just love vilifying our own kind.
Oh and your line “Anil if your reading this…no offence man’ really cracked me up… You’ve only like told a singer he can’t sing on a public forum and accused him of ‘ruining already shitty songs’… I’m sure he’d take no offence. After all you’re quite constructive with your criticism.
Ps: Shihan might not appeal to your musical taste, he certainly doesn’t get me ticking, but that doesn’t give me a right to call him a bastard…
Cheers
“Anil’s concert was great”
Cool. I am happy for you. .
“Onyx was packed with way more people than the unfortunate ones actually reading your comment…”
Again, good to hear. I didn’t make that statement hoping that a big crowd would read it and admire the frankness of my opinion.
“come come he must be doing something right”
Your rationale would prove that Venga Boys, Britney Spears, Aqua, are also doing “something right”. Great argument, man.
“If I may add ‘Theena’ it’s quite pathetic that your musical preferences ’heavy metal’ limit you form appreciating other genres of music”
Why is “Theena” in inverted commas? Do you believe that I am taking a pseudonym like ‘green trip’ by any chance? Nay. Theena is my real name. Click on the link and you willbe taken to my blog, which is also, again, under my real name. :)
My musical preferences are limited to heavy metal? Bahahahaha…you have no idea what I listen to so don’t even try that. Go to http://www.last.fm/user/poet_lost/ and you may get an inkling of an idea.
“by all means I’m not implying that you should be a fan of all forms and variations of music, but you can at least respect other genres”
Of course I do. I just don’t like the local hip hop artists. If you want real hip hop, ask me and I will upload it for you. And no, I am not talking about Eminem or Tupac.
“but you can at least respect other genres, just cos you’re incapable of appreciating other forms of music doesn’t make it ‘SUCK’.”
Its an opinion. O P I N I O N – ever heard of it? When I say something I am just making public my opinion on a subject as subjective as musical taste. It is not to be taken as seriously as you seem to have.
“Anyway I don’t blame you, us Sri Lankans just love vilifying our own kind.”
Vilifying? Heh…I’ve been supporting Independence Square, Stigmata, Krebs Cycle, Whirlwind, Paranoid Earthlind and – I’ll say it – Wildfire for a long ass time. I attend almost every rock saturday and every Hollow Point Halo concert to this day. I don’t believe in religion. Music is the few things I have faith in. Give me good music and I don’t care if you are from Mars or fucking Afghanistan, I’ll rave about the act for days and days…maybe even years if its that good. Just ask my girlfriend and she will testify to this.
“Oh and your line “Anil if your reading this…no offence man’ really cracked me up… You’ve only like told a singer he can’t sing on a public forum and accused him of ‘ruining already shitty songs’”
Again, opinion. People like Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page are constantly disregarded by music fans for being too sloppy whilst Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Yangie Malemstem (sp?) are deriled for being too technical in their guitar playing – if people of that calibre can be crticised, what makes you think Anil Balasuriya shouldn’t? Get this into your head: no artist is above criticism. If you think otherwise, then you need a big dose of reality, my friend.
“Shihan might not appeal to your musical taste, he certainly doesn’t get me ticking, but that doesn’t give me a right to call him a bastard…”
Stop being so polite. I call my best friend an annoying bastard and he calls me one too. In Shihan’s case, I wish that he would just go away.
Cheers
‘Quote’
Get this into your head: no artist is above criticism. If you think otherwise, then you need a big dose of reality, my friend
I agree with you… no artist is above criticism.. but incase you can’t read.. that’s not my argument… It would help if you’re more constructive with your views (I don’t think Anil would give a shit that he gives you nightmares, neither would Shihan that you think him a silly bastard), but maybe if you were a little more specific with what you dislike about them and they happen to stumble on your comment (hypothetically), maybe something productive could have come out of it..
ps: Don’t refer to me as ‘Man’… I don’t have your missing balls…
Cheers
Female (would do)
‘Quote’
Get this into your head: no artist is above criticism. If you think otherwise, then you need a big dose of reality, my friend
I agree with you… no artist is above criticism.. but incase you can’t read.. that’s not my argument… It would help if you’re more constructive with your views (I don’t think Anil would give a shit that he gives you nightmares, neither would Shihan that you think him a silly bastard), but maybe if you were a little more specific with what you dislike about them and they happen to stumble on your comment (hypothetically), maybe something productive could have come out of it..
ps: Don’t refer to me as ‘Man’… I don’t have your missing balls…
Cheers
Female (would do)
Whats this about balls and all ah?? Don’t you people have anything constructive to talk about? When the americans sing their nation anthem they’re talking about the internet! and now ppl are trying to screw that too! If anyone see anyone else being free and expressing themselves. MYOB! It’s freedome to say what you want in the “Exact words you want to use”..
See Theena, maybe “The ballless Green tip” is just having a bad day or is someone who appreciates artists of all variety simply cos she appreciates humans as a whole and respects them. Therfore criticism that seems like a personal vendetta, And so to green tip i say, Babes (say you don’t like being called that but i’m free to do so) argue with everyone wiloooo?? It’s unfair that everyone else don’t get your constructive criticism. They could improve on their writing!
n on z oda hand..
See Gree tip.. Theena could just be someone who is simple minded towards people. OR she could be tone deaf and appreciate only certain types of music? You cant hear a high pitch tone but dogs hate it yes? Think of it this way. Personal interests have something to do with biological and environmental factors. You can’t sit there and criticise what a person has to say. The best thing you can do is sit and listen. and try an understand another point of view.
Life would be much more easier, if you took in all the info rather than spread your opinion.
All i have to say is.\, Jimbo didn’t deserve it. Everyone could have lived happily ever after.
“I agree with you… no artist is above criticism.. but incase you can’t read.. that’s not my argument… It would help if you’re more constructive with your views (I don’t think Anil would give a shit that he gives you nightmares, neither would Shihan that you think him a silly bastard), but maybe if you were a little more specific with what you dislike about them and they happen to stumble on your comment (hypothetically), maybe something productive could have come out of it..”
My apologies. Let me be more specific then: Anil’s song writing is boring, cliched and repatative. His voice is annoying. If I wanted to listen to his album, I could listen to the latest Counting Crows album instead; atleast then there is a singer who can sing. I have better things to do on a Saturday night than listen to the most cliched pop rock in Sri Lanka.
As for Shihan – err, I am sorry I can’t be a silly teenage girl and scream everytime I see this wanker. He can’t sing. At least Ajith and Malith from the same competition could. His music is beyond silly and I hate how he has a guitar strapped to his back just for aesthetic purposes alone (Yes, he can play, but anyone with a guitar can play what he does). Oh and yes, I hate how in the finals of Sirasa Superstar he played pretended to play an electric guitar solo on an acoustic guitar that was unplugged. While he was pretending to play, he should been told that the solo was a improvisation over a scale – not holding one chord throughout the song as he did so.
No, I didn’t watch Sirasa Superstar; Channel One MTV news at nine shoved it down my throat.
Yes, I am a guitar elitist. I won’t make any apologies on that.
“ps: Don’t refer to me as ‘Man’… I don’t have your missing balls…”
Oh personal attacks – an indication of intelligence if there ever was one. I am the one who is using my real name when commenting whilst you go around making personal attacks at me under a pseudonym….and I have missing balls because…?
I am not going to bother with you from this point henceforth let alone referring to you in feminine salutations. You need to learn to take people’s opinions with a pinch of salt. I will not say I like someone’s music because everyone else thinks he is good. If I think he/she/it/they suck, I shall say so. You could say the same about the bands/artists I listen to, adore and idolize – I wouldn’t give a flying fuck.
Cheers
Theena (Male.)
PS: Start looking for your missing brain.
CHEERS !!!
Ammoooo ahaka inna anil kana kevilla! What do do yar? Sinduwak kiwwath kunu hapara ahanda one.
Anils and shehans ancestors are turning in their graves. Over this bickerinor their singing i don’t really know.
Mata poddak pissu. Tharaha wenda epa.
Iraj – Sithanna Ba
IM NOT A HUGE HIP HOP FAN BUT FOR ME THERE ARE TOO MUCH WANNABE GANGSTA RAPPERS IN SRILANKA. RAPPING(IF YOU CAN CALL IT THAT!)ABOUT 9MMS,AK47’S, BOMBS AND EVEN WAR TANKS! I THINK ITS RIDICULOUS! THESE GUYS REALLY NEED SOME PHYSCOLOGICAL HELP! BUT I HAVE SEEN SOME QUALITY RAPPERS RECENTLY WHICH I THINK.,WITH SOME HELP, COULD EASILY CHALLENGE THE ASIAN STANDARDS. THE BEST EXAMPLE IS A RAPPER CALLED” SITHTHA G”(I DONT KNOW WHERE HE GOT THE NAME). I THINK THIS GUY IS THE REAL DEAL ! IVE SEEN HIM PERFOMING LIVE AND FOR ME HE’S ONE OF THE BEST RAPPERS IN THE FIELD. HE DID A FANTASTIC JOB IN THAT SONG “SUDU ASU” AND “THOL SAYAM”. WE SHOULD APPRECIATE TALENT OF THIS CALIBER, COZ SOMEDAY WHO KNOWS.., WE’LL SEE THEM IN MTV.
This is a really nice song of Ashanthi’s (100 times better than those fugly screechy high pitched Hindi songs)
Denayana Hamuwe
Ashanthi