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Stories

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IMAGE: justin timberlake By getty images

LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU Emerging from the shadow of his boy band past, Justin Timberlake establishes himself as an all-round entertainer, who casts his web 360 degrees By aditie fernandez

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Long before anyone had ever heard of Justin Timberlake, a kid called Justin Randall sang country and western in a white cowboy hat three times the size of his actual head. Justin Randall was Timberlake’s earliest small-screen incarnation. In the early 1990s, he was runner up on the US talent show Star Search. Ten-year-old Justin was immediately recognisable in his dorky cowboy costume; even back then he knew how to swivel his hips and flirt with an audience. When the judges announced his defeat to a little blonde girl in the white dress, young Justin just kept on smiling, and made a point of shaking hands with both the winning contestant and the talent

show’s host. Timberlake is the master of reinvention; he has an uncanny ability to radically transform, but stay, essentially the same. Since his TV debut as a singing cowboy, Timberlake has undergone a series of radical makeovers. For the New Mickey Mouse Club, he lost the cowboy hat and played the sassy pre-teen, beside his future girlfriend Britney Spears. In the mid 1990s, he bleached his curly locks and sang bedroom ballads about thwarted love with ‘NSYNC. When the boy band broke up in 2002, he made the successful transition from teenage heartthrob to adult heartthrob. Timberlake got himself a buzz cut, began sporting a five o’clock shadow and rarely appeared in public in

JUSTIN TRANSFOrMlAKE

From Mickey mouse to bling bling

2002

1990-1993

AGE 21

POP ICON

AGE 9 - 12

Launches his solo career with “JUSTIFIED”

TV Shows

Star Search and The Mickey Mouse Club

1995-2002 AGE 14 - 21

BOY BAND

Lead Singer of NSYNC along with former Mickey Mouse Club mate JC Chasez

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anything other than a suit and tie. Nowadays, Timberlake writes his own lyrics, which are a radical departure from the syrupy lines he used to sing with such conviction in the days of ’NSYNC. Here’s a verse from “SexyBack,” “Dirty babe, you see the shackles. Baby I’m your slave, I’ll let you whip me if I misbehave. It’s just that no one makes me feel this way.” With each makeover, Timberlake has remained poised, relaxed and in control. “Even when he had a ridiculous haircut he was always cool,” says Heena Kriplani, a music fan. “Whatever he does is an extension of his personality…He has known who he is and his potential from an early age, he’s not transforming, he’s just maturing,” adds Kriplani.

IMAGE: JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE By GETTY IMAGES

THE MASTER OF TRANSFORMATION

IMAGE: JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE & Cameron diaz By GETTY IMAGES

THE loverboy Three things you’ll never see Justin Timberlake do: Bounce up and down on Oprah Winfrey’s sofa declaring undying love for a woman. Tattoo his girlfriend’s name on his arm then call a press conference. Behave badly at a strip club and get turfed out by a bouncer. Anyone who has ever picked up a tabloid magazine knows that Timberlake has a weakness for A-list celebrities. But he’s always shunned celebrity culture, and kept his private life private. On the rare occasions that he does speak up about his love interests, Timberlake is measuredly decent. His first high-profile love affair was with Britney Spears. The pair met as kids, working together on the New Mickey Mouse Club. In her early twenties, when Britney still appeared in control of her life, she wrote a book with her Mum about the virtues of chastity. She swore her relationship with Timberlake was chaste. But Timberlake, in an uncharacteristic confession, soon put the record straight, revealing; “She lost her virginity a while ago – I should know”. The couple split in 2002 amid rumours that Britney was having it off with her choreographer. But Timberlake has always spoken about Spears in the most gentlemanly of terms. When the media laid into her for selling her baby

photos, Timberlake jumped to her defense, telling journalists she was a sweet person who deserved to be left alone. After the break up with Britney, Timberlake briefly dated Charmed actress Alyssa Milano. Then in 2003, he began a threeyear relationship with Cameron Diaz, nine years his senior. Both were highly protective of their private lives, and went so far as to sue publications that alleged cheating. After reports of a brief fling with Scarlett Johansson, Timberlake finally hooked with Jessica Biel. So how are things progressing? Star couple aside, the only person able to answer that question is Timberlake’s Mum.

2005 AGE 24

The actor

EDISON FORCE showcases Justin as an actor

2004 AGE 23

NIP n’ Tuck

Janet sets off Justin’s obsession with older women

2008 AGE 27

The ENTREPRENAUR

A Businessman and a Weekend Golfer, Timberlake has come full circle

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42 blender | oct 2009

RESURRECTING THE

poised on the verge of releasing the deluxe edition of her platinum selling album, the fame, lady gaga is on a mission to put the pep back on pop TEXT BY SAM LAL DESIGNed BY SIDDHARTH GHOSH

oct 2009 | blender

LADY gaga: â&#x20AC;&#x153;does this armour plating makes me look fat?â&#x20AC;?

44 blender | oct 2009

fists and quoting heavily from Milton’s Paradise Lost. But then, just as it appeared that bleak had found a landscape to go along with it’s dictionary definition, the New York club scene exploded in a riot of coruscating colours and chart positions became much more than wild fantasies. Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta released her debut album, The Fame and “Poker Face,” a single off it, topped the charts in twenty countries. The days of the pop star had resurfaced with a vengeance and the music business had found its new formula.

ou can’t download an icon. You have to touch them. This new record from me is all about recreating the pop star.” As the hype around the advent of the new millennium began to lose its deliberately coated and rather heavily layered sheen, the world of music knew it had to come to grips with an inexplicable dilemma. Its magic mantra had failed and there really were no readymade solutions that could be adopted immediately so the show, as it is supposed to, could go on. The early 2000s were the first time in decades that the music industry was forced to preside over a vast canvas of nothingness, completely befuddled by the fact that all the boy bands who were raking in the millions just a couple of years ago, were dying. Most of them, in fact, were already extinct. Boyzone, Westlife, the Backstreet Boys and Nsync were as far removed from their platinum-selling, arena-straddling days as they probably were from reality during their stint at the top and Britney Spears had just embarked on the phase which would find her marrying her backup dancer and an unfortunate tryst with an electric headshaver. If you were a record executive in those days you would be excused for slowly beating your head with your

“My music is pretty much a reflection of my transition from New York Uptown to New York Downtown and everything I’ve discovered along the way. It’s everything – it’s hip-hop, it’s R &B, it’s got dance and electro, I rap sometimes and I sing – it’s really all about my journey.” Deconstructing the Lady Gaga myth does not amount to a thesis in music and its impact on popular culture. Essentially, it is a blend of everything that has been successful in the past distilled through a contemporary sensibility and garnished with the artistic vision of a woman whose first brush with

music came at age 4. That’s not to say she realized it was music but the future Lady Gaga was sitting in front of the piano for as long as she remembers. “My mother, made me play the piano since I was about four,” she says. “It was more like a discipline thing where she’d say, ‘You don’t have to practice, but you’re going to sit there for an hour everyday.’ For the first couple of years I’d sit at the piano and be a grouch. I’d hit the keys and I’d be a very bad kid. Later on, I’d get bored and I’d start to like experiment playing the keys and I got really great at playing the classical piano.” Of course, it was more than just piano lessons because Gaga grew up in a house where music formed a large part of the family agenda. “My father used to play Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, The Beatles, Billy Joel, and Elton John records all the time on the record player in the living room,” reminisces the woman who, in many ways, has been responsible for creating a sub-genre that is thriving today. Perhaps the only kind of music to do so in the last couple of years. The starting point of being a musician arrived, quite like Lady Gaga herself, out of nowhere, and at a boutique, of all things. She still doesn’t remember how it was but one day when she was twelve, Gaga found herself at a boutique in New York where she, for reasons best known to her, started singing a Backstreet Boys song. “I think it was, “I Want It That Way”.” Right! Be that as it may, one of the workers at the boutique thought she had a really nice voice and asked her to get in touch with his uncle. The relative being none other than Don Lawrence, the man who has put everyone worth any mention,

LADY GAGA ON THE SETS OF STAR TREK REALLY!

oct 2009 | blender

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From Mahatma mania and martyr worship, Brit-bashing and Pak-pummelling, to fighting the rogues and the rot within the nation, Bollywood has been fascinated by all shades of freedom. We’re sure that the way films on such themes are doled out National Awards has got nothing to do with it. Here's our list of Bollywood films for the patriotically challenged – including some farcical, some feeble and some financially viable attempts at instilling national pride. Hey, don’t get mad if we’ve left out your favourites.

1. RANG DE BASANTI

(2006)

5. BORDER (1997)

9. PUKAR

Rakeysh Mehra personally conducted a survey among metro kids and found that many didn’t recognise or remember the names of prominent revolutionaries. Hence, RDB. Wish we’d forget the Delhi-6 debacle, though.

No Saving Private Ryan or The Thin Red Line, this. But dependable 15th Aug/26th Jan fare. Shot in Bikaner on actual locations of the 1971 Battle of Longewala. Cool to catch real Hawker Hunters.

Two National Awards including the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration finds it here. But we like it more for the Dixit-Deva moves in “Kay Sera Sera”, and glimpses of the Alaskan landscape.

2. SIKANDAR- E -AZAM

(2000)

(1965)

6. 1942: A LOVE STORY (1994)

10. PURAB AUR PASCHIM

Unlike Oliver Stone’s Alexander with a thing for pretty boys, this one (Dara Singh) is served straight and shown falling for Helen. Film’s highlight: His verbal duel with King Porus (Prithviraj Kapoor).

With its theme of love in the time of revolution, the movie is the first ever to be given a U/A rating despite a kissing scene. R. D. Burman’s last stand as a music director, this has some unforgettable melodies.

(1948)

7. SAATH HINDUSTANI

Kumar was clear: The West stands for greed, lust and depravity, while India epitomises love, honour and purity. So sexy Saira gives up her minis. Years later, Akshay gives the same spiel to Katrina in Namastey London.

(1969)

11. MOTHER INDIA

Dilip Kumar’s father Ghulam Sarvar Khan was no lover of films. But his friend persuaded him to see Shaheed. Apparently, he sat through it spellbound and wept loudly when he saw his son being ‘martyred’.

The film that gave us Amitabh Bachchan. He plays a poet-turnedPOW, one of seven Indians who attempt to liberate Goa from the Portuguese. The mighty A won the National Award for Best Newcomer.

This one sits pretty as it never really has to fight for a place on a Bollywood’s Best list. A great melodramatic movie with magnificent performances by Nargis and Sunil Dutt, it got India its first ever Oscar nomination.

3. SHAHEED

4. CHAK DE! INDIA

(1970)

(1957)

(2007)

8. REFUGEE (2000)

12. AGNIPANKH

From the BBC to The New York Times, the Indian Power Puff girls scored many goals with critics. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences even got a script copy for the Margaret Herrick Library.

He got Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor to debut in this film, selected the best of music and beautifully captured the Rann of Kutch on camera. But when it came to the script, director J. P. Dutta lost the plot.

Starring relatively new faces, the film starts off with IAF fighter pilots wooing their respective love interests. But when Kargil happens, all that love in the air gives way to intense dogfighting in the skies.

(2004)

aug 2009 | blender

Is Metallica a stronger band after making St. Anger and the documentary Some Kind Of Monster? kirk They were very cathartic and intense experiences. St. Anger and Some Kind Of Monster forced us to re-evaluate everything, forced us to work on our relationships with each other, our musical relationships and personal relationships: to re-evaluate why we’re even doing this. I think it was really important for us to get that perspective. Lars I think it is, even though I look at those things as very isolated experiences and experiments. We had to go through them and I’m glad we did. James I turned 45 on August 3, and so far the 40s have been the best decade yet, I’d say. Maybe it’s a little bit wisdom sinking through this thick head. But I’m starting to

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figure out the dynamic of the band, acknowledging what we have and why it works. Realising that we need each other. During the creation of Death Magnetic, Metallica have taken time out of the studio to play three summer tours. Why?

people show up! Metal all over the world is alive and well and probably doing better than it has for a long time. The band will be back on tour in 2009. Are you excited about bringing some of the new Death Magnetic songs into the live set?

kirk The reason why we did all those summer tours was to get out of the studio is because you can really get stuck in studio mode. It’s really easy to lose touch with what that live energy is all about. You lose touch with that feeling of playing music in front of an audience. We thought it was essential for us to continue to go out and play shows so as to keep grounded in that live performance format. It was good to readjust our whole perspective.

Lars Absolutely! We started playing Cyanide and The Day That Never Comes in Europe. We’re gonna rehearse all ten songs from the album. We wanna be able to play all ten of them at any given time. These songs feel a lot more effortless. Some of the St. Anger stuff was pretty difficult to play!

Lars Being fortunate enough to travel around the world and play to an average of 50,000 people a night, I hear myself say, ‘If you ever hear me complain, slap me!’ It’s an unbelievable thing. I’m just amazed that

James When I’m writing in the studio, I can’t help but think, ‘This chorus will sound great with 10, 20, 30,000 people – depends on who shows up! It’ll sound great with ten people in a club!’ I get that sense… I’ve kinda been doing this for a while! I can feel what parts people are gonna catch on to. It is pretty universal.

Kirk I can’t wait to get back on tour and start playing these new songs. We thought we should try to play at least four or five new songs every night. I feel that every single song on this album will make an incredible live song. On tour, Metallica always arrange special meet-and-greet sessions with fans before every show. Why is this so important to you? James The meet-and-greets are such a great vibe, they’re such a great inspiration for both sides, I think. I feel I’m getting more out of it than the fans are, a lot of times. When there’s not too many, when you’ve got a manageable amount of people, you can actually spend some time with them and make it real. We love the meet-and-greets! They inspire us. I love to hear the feedback, good and bad. Lars They’re usually the first highlight of the day. It doesn’t matter what kind of day you’re having or what the f**k is going on, when you’re out there for half an hour meeting people who’ve travelled from all over the world and who are sharing their stories and sharing their love for all things Metallica, it’s just the greatest.

000 53

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james hetfield

lars ulrich

Trauma ron quintano ron mcgovney dave mustaine

johnny z

megadeth cliff burton kirk hammett

DEATH

paul curcio

ECHOBRAIN floatsam jetsam

jason Newsted

bob rock

suicidal tendencies

ROB trujillo

rick rubin

The metallica DISCOGRAPHY

1983

1984

1986

1988

1991

1996

1997

2003

2008

Kill â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Em All

Ride the Lightning

Master of Puppets

...And Justice for All

Metallica

Load

RELoad

St. Anger

Death Magnetic

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If the ‘green fairy does not knock you senseless, lying in a ditch of hallucinations and rambles, you have the capacity of an ox. Absinthe is an anies flavoured drink generally extracted from the flower and leaves of wormwood, with alchohol content varying between 45-75%, which originated in Switzerland. Marilyn Manson famously served only absinthe at his wedding to Dita Von Teese. He also endorses an absinthe brand known as ‘Mansinthe’, launched in 2007. Most critics, however, have rated the Mansinthe just above piss. Let’s hope it gets people high enough to not care about the taste.

Benjamin Franklin said, “Beer is proof that God loves us, and wants us to be happy”. If you don’t know what it is, well, flip this page, and stop reading this article. Beer can be made from a variety of cereals, including, barley, corn and rice, and is probably the oldest type of alcohol known to man, and is possibly the most consumed liquid after water, tea and coffee. There are just too many rock ‘n’ roll stories concerning this drink, like when Kris Kristofferson landed up (literally) in Johnny Cash’s house with some demo tapes, in a helicopter he was training to fly in, smoking a cigarette, drinking a beer and completely sozzled. Or when Slash was too drunk to go to the loo, and just peed in a bottle of beer, only to have Duff McKagen come and take a swig of it.

The queen of alcohol. The most celebrated and celebratory drink in the world, it is a carbonated sparkling wine, which originates from the Champagne region in France. Now after many legal battles, international companies producing and bottling sparkling wine outside of the Champagne region, also call it champagne. No wonder even Li’l Wayne owns a champagne brand. In 2004, Lionel Richie threw a party at a night club in London, and tanked up on Cristal (a champagne brand), and ended up buying 1100 pounds worth of it, but left Lenny Kravitz to pay the bill!

Named after a beach in Santiago, Cuba, where it is said to have originated, this drink is commonly made with rum, lime juice and sugar. Of course, double the rum, and you get the Papa Doble, named after, Ernest Hemingway, who ordered it so often. Variations include the Frozen Daiquiri, and the Strawberry Daiquiri, both having their origins in the US. Liv Tyler very famously loves her Strawberry Daiquiri, and supposedly was drunk on it through the shooting of the “Crazy” video (dad Steven’s band, Aerosmith’s hit song).

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Remember, once your parents embarrassed you to death on Christmas Eve, drunk to hell on Eggnog? It’s your turn to try it. All you have to do is to mix milk, eggs, sugar, spices like nutmeg, cinnamon and coriander. It can be served warm, and without alchohol, but if you want a really special Christmas, make sure it’s either white rum, brandy, whiskey or cognac, or all of them! Rapper Ja Rule, who decorates his Christmas trees with weed generally, decided that Christmas of 2006 would be a family affair, and hence sat and got drunk on eggnog, while his wife and kids decorated the tree. Let’s hope Ja Rule wasn’t decorating a ‘special’ tree for his kids.

The Goans call it ‘The Nectar of the Gods’. This is the Champagne of India, if only our Government saw it that way, and marketed it better. As of now, it is in the process of acquiring a ‘geographical indicator’, which would give it the right to be called feni only if it is made in the Goan region. Feni is made by distilling cashew or coconut juice into arrack, which is further treated into making Feni. Allegedly, when the Goan Government was looking for a brand ambassador for the drink, Remo Fernandes was booted out, because he didn’t know ‘enough’ about the drink.

Gin, the all time summer afternoon favourite (ok, maybe after a couple of chilled beers). It is a spirit flavoured with juniper berries, and is most commonly found in the London Dry Gin variety, which is usually flavoured by ‘botanicals’, like orange or lemon peels. Probably one of the greatest drinking quotes comes from a very famous gin-drinker, Frank Sinatra: “I feel sorry for people who don’t drink. When they wake up in the morning, that’s as good as they are going to feel all day”. Of course, who can forget the Doggfather, Snoop, and his famous Gin ‘n’ Juice?

A cocktail of brandy or whiskey, with ginger ale, and a long spiral of a lemon peel served in an old fashioned highball glass. This cocktail emerged out of the US in the 50s. Horse’s Neck was also the name of the collection of short stories by Pete Townshend, the near deaf, guitar smashing lead guitarist of The Who, collectively the most destructive group, maybe after the Hell’s Angels ever to descend on our planet.

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46 blender | aug 2009

Mult y Lingual MAGIC WHATEVER THE LINGO, ASIN ALWAYS COMES UP TRUMPS

return full force though with Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi which became a huge hit and fetched Asin the Telugu Filmfare Award in the Best Actress category. Several other releases followed but it was in 2005 that Ghajini, a Tamil movie directed by A.R. Murugadoss, really gave Asin’s career a tremendous boost. The cash counters at multiplexes didn’t stop ringing for a long time after the movie was released and Asin Thottumkal announced her arrival in the movie industry in real earnest. Soon after, Aamir Khan committed himself to a Hindi remake of Ghajini with Asin as his co-star. The movie broke all existing records upon its release and stands as the highest grossing Bollywood film of all time.

he daughter of a businessman father and a medical surgeon mother, Asin Thottumkal was born into a Syrian Christian family in Kochi, Kerala. Her name, the subject of pretty intense speculation is actually a fusion of two languages. The ‘A’ here is used in its Sanskrit connotation, which usually acts as a prefix denoting absence of a particular quality. The ‘Sin’ is the plain old ‘sin’ as we understand it in English. Used in conjunction with each other, they mean that Asin is a lady ‘without sin’. Quite. The resolutely sin-free Asin made her debut in the Malayalam movie, Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka [2001], which tanked at the box office and allowed the young actress to take a break from the arc lights and complete her schooling. She did

Hi Asin. It’s great to meet you after Ghajini. A lot has changed. You’re a star in Bollywood now. How are you handling the surge of fame? Gosh it feels great. I feel I’m starting anew all over again. Ever since and even after I was signed on for Ghajini, there has been a constant inflow of work and interviews all the time. I am truly enjoying being a part of the film industry here. Though I miss the Tamil film industry, I am here to make a mark and just follow the stars. So has life changed post Bollywood? Life is pretty much the same. There is some real good work coming my way. For now, I’m really excited about London Dreams. As for endorsements, I have been doing ads since the age of 14. So far, I have done around 50 ads including BPL Mobile, Parachute, Mirinda and Colgate. Most of the commercials you are seeing now were signed much before Ghajini happened. Are you thankful for your roots in

2001

NARENDRAN MAKAN MALAYALAM

2003

AMMA NANNA O TAMILA AMMAYI TELUGU

2003

SHIVAMANI 9848022338 TELUGU

2004

LAKSHMI NARASIMHA TELUGU

2004

GARSHANA TELUGU

2004

M. KUMARAN SON OF MAHALAKSHMI TAMIL

2005

CHAKRAM TELUGU

aug 2009 | blender

lot of our favourite hotties have crossed the big 3-O recently â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but few do it with as much fanfare and style than Columbian superstar Shakira. We caught up with one of the hottest female solo artists of the millenium, at her studio in the Bahamas to get the beef on her latest musical overture, She Wolf. Apart from describing the album as a departure from her usual style, delving into the world of electronica and rock a bit more, she told us about her work with her humanitarian foundation, Pies Descalzos. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tough

44 blender | sep 2009

to imagine that this hip-swaying seductress was just four when she wrote her first poem, “Le Rosa De Cristal.” Winning tons of competitions, some judged by the likes of Ricky Martin, a successful Spanish solo career and the frothy sensuality of Laundry Service and Oral Fixation later, she’s come full circle on the new record. Does that mean she’s dumping her saucy belly dancing ways for a older, mature feel? Hell no – Shakira’s just gotten a lot more vicious. What have you been so busy with in the studio? We hear the new album features Indian influences too. Is She Wolf going to be the most electrifying musi-

cal experience we’re ever going to get? It’s very electronic – it’s very up-tempo. I would say this is a club record. There are only a couple of mid tempo tunes in here. It’s all about synthesizers and electronica concepts all mixed with world sounds. I’ve always been fascinated by the range of sounds the world produces – India, the Middle East and my own country have a very rich musical heritage to draw from. So, I sort of combined all those elements with the synthesizers, which virtually dominated this project. This is probably the most electronic album that I’ve made since the beginning of my career. Really? So what was your approach to

Electronica – you haven’t done a lot of that in your career. Well, I wanted to dive deeply into that world. I wasn’t convinced about what kind of album I was coming out with. There’s nothing scarier than standing in front of a white canvas before the start of a project – that point where there’s no start or end. You always think you’ve done it all and there are no new routes or tricks left to explore. Art and music, however, are limitless. So I just dove into this project and started playing around with the synthesizers and stuff. That’s how I came to the conclusion that I wanted an album that sounded very solid on the bottom end – I wanted more bass and I made sure the entire album had that kind of a feel as a common denominator. Everything else is along the lines of the fusion sounds I try

ALBUM UPDATE WHEN SHE TOLD US THE ALBUM HAD WORLD SOUNDS ON IT, LITTLE DID WE KNOW SHE MEANT A TASTE OF INDIA, TOO Gaurav Dayal hollered at us after returning from his recent stint at Platinum Studios in New York, where he jammed a bit with Jerry and Wyclef Jean. The duo had heard him drop a few bomb tracks on Neha Bhasin’s (the ex-Viva girl) new record. After they felt the vibe

onNeha’s album was something they could use, they asked him to fly down to New York to help out producing some bhangra beats and Indian sounds on Shakira’s new recordings. Which songs you ask? Aah... wait for the album to hit the stores.

sep 2009 | blender

CATCH HIM AT

Nikhil Chinappa

Poison, Mumbai 10 Dec Shiros, Goa 19 Dec

One of the faces of MTV, Nikhil Chinappa has come a long way from being an architect in Bangalore to a DJ all over India. He started DJing in 2001, following a decade of his introduction to house and vinyl records. Chinappa’s style of funky house with tribal overtones has won him the adulation of thousands all across the country. Inspired by his love for DJing, Chinappa along with his beau DJ Pearl started Submerge – a community dedicated to DJs and Electronic Dance Music. Today, almost a decade later, Chinappa is known for his beach parties in Goa and his crowd-friendly house tunes.

Aahala, Hyderabad 20 Dec Shiros, Goa 26 Dec Sunburn Festival, Goa 27, 28, 29 Dec Zanzibar, Goa 30 Dec Submerge Night with DJ Pearl in Pune 31 Dec

Umek – Army of Two [Jay Luman Remix]

Guiboratto – Matroyshka

“I can’t think of any one in particular. Whenever I have trouble with sound or the system, the gig is a complete bust.”

Trentemoller – Always Something Better

WORST GIG

Josh Gabriel – Tone Program [Style of Eye Remix]

“Zanzibar in Baga Beach, Goa, where I DJ at free parties annually on 30th December. The vibe is really awesome because the evening starts at around 4 pm on the beach and ends up at around 4-5 am at Tito’s!”

M.A.N.D.Y. Bookashade – O Superman [Audio Fly Remix]

BEST GIG

TOP 5 TUNES 000 blendermagazine | december 2008

“Dubai, around two years ago. People just stood in a big circle around the dance floor. The crowd was really stuck up and hard to please. Even though they were Indian I just couldn’t get anyone on to the dance floor!”

Burial – United

WORST GIG

Sunburn Festival, Goa with Order of the Essence 29 Dec

DZ – Slum Dub

“Order of the Essence gigs at Zenzi and Blue Frog in Mumbai have a vibe, which is unparalleled. Also the gigs I’ve played in Goa and Bangalore, where the crowd is really open to listen to music that you want them to hear – that’s where the magic is!”

604 Madjic Festival, Goa 27, 28 Dec

Emalkay – Mecha

BEST GIG

CATCH HIM AT

Skream – Lightening

Nasha began his DJ career 13 years ago, but has been producing music for the past five years. After winning the DMC contest and striking a record deal with Times Music, Nasha released his famous single Flute Fantasy which was featured on Buddha Bar VII. With hits like “Jawane Janeman” Nasha has come a long way from playing popular Bollywood tunes at clubs. Leaving this lucrative path behind him, he is now concentrating on Dubstep – Nasha’s new sound. From Bass Society to Subswara NYC, Nasha has partnered with the best now focusing on his new project, Order of the Essence, which he started this year with DJ Udyan promoting Dubstep in India.

Subswara – Constructing the Absence [Order of the Essence Remix]

DJ NASHA

TOP 5 TUNES

december 2008 | blendermagazine

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MYTHs busted

greatest lyrics

SEXSCAPADES

BIGGEST ALBUMS oddest SONGS ROCK in india

ROCK TRUTH REVEALED

BADDEST BOOZERS

DRUG-A-THAURUS

do you rock?

PLUS! 16 Packed Pages Of Amazing Trivia including... BOLLY’s BEST

world’s CRAZIEST INSTRUMENTS

to rock or not?

weirdest lyrics

A-z of rock

EVILIEST SONGS

big spenders CRAZIEST METAL

DNA of a ROCKSTAR GREATEST ROCK RIFFS EVER

S T C A F L A I T N E S S E 0 100Everything you needed to know about rock & roll

CONCEPTUALISED BY SAM lAL, SIDDHARTH GHOSH & ANAND CHANDY

In 1965, we sat down one evening and worked out that since the band had started two years earlier, I’d had 278 girls, Brian 130, Mick about 30 and Charlie had none. BILL WYMAN

JANIS JOPLIN Everyone from Jimi to Morrison have been caught under the covers in her artist van.

MADONNA & BRITNEY SPEARS

STEVEN TYLER

AKON

Touching tongues in front of 50,000 people is what we at Blender call P.D.A homie.

The fish-faced vocal legend got all “missionary” in a confessional booth.

Captain Hook revealed his secret bedroom hooks with a fan at a nightclub in Trinidad.

Craziest Places Musicians have made out in They’re rockstars, mate. A Romp in the bedroom just won’t cut it

TOMMY LEE Listen to Tommy, kids. Fishing can be lots of fun. Add to that Pammie and an amateur video camera – pure ace!

EAZY E

PRINCE

BEBE BUELL

Gangstas need good lovin’ after a hard day’s ballin.’ All that loving in the back of the car did get Eazy E, AIDS.

He rode through the “Purple Rain” in a bus full of groupies who used to take turns straddling him.

She’s a world famous groupie. She’s Liv Tyler’s mom. She rocks ‘cos she’s got it on with Stiv Bator in an airplane.

5 In 1978, ABBA was Sweden’s most profitable export. Car maker Volvo was number two. A. Mamma Mia, how can I resist you? B. They’re so pretty it makes me sick

O OUTLAW COUNTRY P IS FOR

Hillbillies just can’t stay out of trouble with the law. But this label is reserved only for those who were bad enough to sing us a song about it. JOHNNY CASH

IS FOR

PROGRESSIVE

Another British attempt to one-up the Yankees is this abstract, conceptual, and fantasy-oriented sound integrated with a tinge of artistic insanity. YES

Q QUEEN’S BOP IS FOR

Are you listening, Your Highness? Your drunk, stoned, and cocky youth are very pissed off with you! Soon they’ll be singing “God shave the Queen.” SEX PISTOLS

it all began with the MADONNA Hot mama and Kabbalah lover

dennis rodman Got in the sack with Madge

carmen electra

blues Ever Wonder how the entire rock kingdom is one big incestuous family? Also, over giving thought to the fact could all that sex link Madonna to Robert Johnson?

vanilla ice

britney spears

Madonna’s white rapper lover

Snogged Madonna in public

suge knight

justin timberlake

Ruined Vanilla Ice

Mousketeer and Britney’s ex-man

notorious b.i.g

cameron diaz

Fought Suge’s West Coast

Justin’s main gal now

lil’ kim

tom cruise

Bumped and ground Biggie

Acted with Diaz in Vanilla Sky

Was Rodman’s squeeze

dave navarro

ray j

tiffany dupont

Recently did porno with Lil’ Kim

Possibly did Clooney and Cruise

brandy

george clooney

Ray’s older sister

Referred to Johnson in O Brother Where Art Thou

Electrified Carmen’s nights

axl rose

vince neil

Jammed with Dave

Vocally assaulted Axl

chaka khan Tommy lee

Sang with Brandy

BFF’s with Vince

herbie hancock heather locklear

pamela anderson

Loved Tommy Lee once

Tommy’s ex-wife and ‘co-star’

richie sambora

rick salomon

Tied the knot with Heather

Rumoured to be seeing Pammie

eric clapton

paris hilton

Played guitars on Mr. Bluesman

Rick’s sex-tape buddy in 2004

Chaka’s fave blues pianist

thelonious monk Herbie teaches at this school

dockery farms

pattie boyd

keith moon

Clapton’s favourite groupie

Trashed the Tokyo Hilton

george harrison

sonnyboy williamson

Boyd’s first Beatle/husband

Almost saved Johnson from dying

Robert Johnson’s first gig was here

bob dylan George’s fellow Wilbury

woody guthrie

alan lomax

muddy waters

robert johnson

A mentor to Dylan

Documented Guthrie and others

Told Lomax about Robert Johnson

The grand daddy of modern music

march 2009 | blender

EAST COAST

WEST COAST

The biggest stars in hip-hop fell victim to the bloodiest feud in music history. Was it crimes of hate or a carefully orchestrated gimmick to push up sales? Blender gives you the 411 on what went down... Report by Misha Mathur Visual Documentation bY Siddharth Ghosh

THE BACKDROP

t was the late 70s when a group of MCs and DJs rolled out onto the steamy streets of Bronx, New York, with one aim – to give the lower sections of society, namely the African-Americans and the Latinos, a reason to break it down on the streets.

Hip-hop was born in NY when Jamaican DJs like DJ Kool Herc came out of nowhere, scratching away on a turntable with his contemporaries like Afrika Bambaata. The movement, which embedded percussion breaks into hit song samples, soon became infused with elements like disco. When just dancing in the streets wasn’t enough, things took a political turn in the 80s with Public Enemy and Run D.M.C. ruling the airwaves. These guys didn’t spare anyone with their wrathful lyrics against the racist attitude of society and the media. This move to poetic rioting was a ticking bomb. It was just a question of time before somebody would just turn it all on its head and breath life into a monster; a monster with no soul and just mindless bloodshed. Fast forward to the year 2008. The whole world has declared that hip-hop is dead. The movement that once burnt a whole in rock ‘n’ roll, is but a fading flame now. Somewhere in the sea of information, there are hushed voices talking about a paradigm that once made hip-hop the giant that it is today. Jay Z and Dr. Dre, who wear the diadem of a time gone by, deny it even existed. Yet, the casualties of this paradigm beg to differ. The voices of the dead, like hushed chants in the background of the larger picture, keep saying, “East Side, West Side” and you’re left wondering what this is really all about? Was it the golden age of hip-hop or was it the reason behind its undoing?

000 blendermagazine | december 2008

Public Enemy

Tim Dog Ice Cube THE MASTERS OF WAR

ut back to 20 years ago. New York’s rappers are failing to deliver. Los Angeles, on the other hand, is seeing album sales like never before. However, apart from MC Hammer no one’s actually doing disco rap. A bunch of guys who go by the acronym of N.W.A. have arrived on the scene with a whole new style they call G Funk. They’re not rapping away about their millions in the bank, or about how hot they are or about political antagonism. Their aim was simple – Anarchy. Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy E, MC Wren and DJ Yella first made the world comfortable with the word “Nigger” and then went all out in trying to tell America that they had arrived. They were instant hits with their explicit lyrics, honest depictions of violence in the hood and cop crimes against minorities in Los Angeles. Compton became the most feared residential area in all of America. With Ice T and The D.O.C joining in on the gangsta bus to glory, the West Coast dominated the hip-hop scene. They were the last piece in the puzzle. The East Coast was now seething with jealosy. Nothing they did seemed to be right because they were still stuck with political rhymes. That was until Tim Dog came out with “Fuck Compton,” the first diss song that began the whole war. N.W.A. was in too much turmoil at the time to respond. Tim Dog’s attack came at a time when Ice Cube had left the band and Eazy’s remaining crew had only time to diss him. Dre, on the other hand, was facing charges for beating the living daylights out of Dee Barnes, a show host, who pandered him about the beef between him and Ice Cube. The Doctor, however, had a protégé in Snoop Dogg, a rising star in the G Funk category. He responded to Tim Dog’s barbs on “Fuck Wit Dre Day.” Dre by then had left Eazy after major financial mismanagement on the latter’s behalf spawning more

intra-band diss tracks. He went on to form Death Row Records with Suge Knight, taking with him Warren G, DJ Yella and Snoop. They had only one philosophy – to live and breathe the gangster life. Always strapping, Suge terrorised rappers like Vanilla Ice out of his contract by allegedly holding him by his feet out of the window of his penthouse. Their violent ways slowly began exposing the many rival gangs within Los Angeles and San Francisco. They became what would be one faction of the Le Cosa Nostra in hip-hop.

THE HIp HOP SAMURAI

It wasn’t until the arrival of an unassuming persona that the West Coast was ready for an all-out war. Enter Tupac Amaru Shakur, the deadliest artist West Coast hip-hop had ever seen. From a family of Black Panther activists, it wasn’t long until Tupac left his disco rap beginnings to funking out like an original gangster. He was the ace up Suge’s sleeve. Although he was signed on to Interscope Records, Death Row’s parent company, he defined Death Row better than all its other artists did. This set the stage for the domination of West Coast hip-hop and the popularisation of the thug life. The East Coast finally found an answer to their disastrous debacle in Sean Combs. A wiry producer, with huge street cred and the uncanny ability to make any song a hit, he established Bad Boy records signing on Craig Mack and “Brooklyn’s Finest,” Christopher “Notorious B.I.G” Wallace. Wallace, a 300-pound, rotund mammoth of a man, was the biggest thing to happen to East Coast, literally and otherwise, since the early beginnings of rap music. Although they started out as healthy competitors and were once friends, Biggie and Shakur ended up being the beginning and the end of the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop rivalry.

Notorious B.I.G.

What intensified the whole feud wasn’t really the beef between the two stars but the background war between Death Row and Bad Boy. “Any artists out there who want to be an artist and stay a star, and don’t wanna have to worry about the executive producer trying to be… all in the videos, all on the records, dancing… come to Death Row,” was a barb that Suge directed at Puff Daddy, who’d be seen in most of his artist’s videos dancing around or doing a hook. Post the Source Awards comments, Suge’s animosity intensified when his close friend was shot dead outside producer Jermaine Dupri’s party in Atlanta.

Tupac Shakur december 2008 | blendermagazine

000

PUSSYCAT DOLLS ALBUM: TBA As the Pussycat Dolls wound their way around the globe as part of the World Domination Tour, rumours abounded that the incessant focus on Nicole Scherzinger had caused great strife within the band and it would be just a matter of time before they would all go their separate ways. Not true is how Robin Antin, the svengali who put together the group, sees it. “Album # 3 on the way,” she declares emphatically. We aren’t complaining!

80 blender | dec 2009

JENNIFER LOPEZ ALBUM: LOVE? At a certain level this is like a new beginning for J.Lo. 2009 was the year when she completed a full decade in showbiz and what a career it has been. While critical wars have ranged all around her with regard to the merits or lack thereof of her singing abilities she has just gone on selling albums by the truckload. By all accounts, 2010 should be another banner year for Jenny from the block.

dec 2009 | blender

DENISE RICHARDS MOVIE: VALENTINE

Through our considerable experience of ogling at pretty women we’ve come to the conclusion that there are essentially two basic subdivisions of the fairer sex. One is the elfin, ethereal, almost virginal beauty that seems almost too perfect. The other is the low-down and outrageously sexy vixen. Denise Richards, we are happy to report, is both. Ain’t that great?

ASIA ARGENTO

ROSE McGOWAN

MOVIE: LAND OF THE DEAD

Anyone who’s dated the Antichrist

Just a little fact about Asia.

She is the daughter of Dario Argento who is the big cheese of Italian guts and gore flicks. Now that in itself is reason enough for us to love her with all the blackness in our hearts but then she dons a fishnet top and takes on a zombie in a fight-to-the-death cage match in this movie. What, we ask you, could be better?

80 blender | oct 2009

MOVIE: PLANET TERROR Superstar, the standard appellation affixed to the long-suffering Marilyn Manson, has got to be supremely desirable. That is probably why half of the planet lusts after the lass. But then check out the opening pole dancing sequence of Planet Terror and we guarantee that if you don’t fall in love in the first three seconds you’re brain dead already.

ELIZA DUKSHU MOVIE: WRONG TURN

Don’t take our word for it, just go out and watch Eliza Dukshu as the improbably named Jessie Burlingame in Wrong Turn. You will come out a convert to the Dukshu cause even if the movie numbs your brains and takes you to a strange, extremely illogical world. Eliza spends most of her time in a white tank top and we keep thinking about it for a long, long time.

KATE BECKINSALE MOVIE: UNDERWORLD

The first glimpse of that hiphugging black rubber suit and we are sold already. But then there’s more to Beckinsale’s character in Underworld than anatomy enhancing outfits. The way she takes on those strange furry creatures of the Lycan family or the ultra-sultry brooding scenes shot at dead of night which make her even more bewitching than she already is. Stop it, we beg you!

ELISHA CUTHBERT MOVIE: CAPTIVITY

Let’s face it now. Elisha

Cuthbert is in no danger of winning an Academy award any time soon. In fact, critics have tended to be both underwhelmed and noticeably vocal about her acting prowess or lack of it actually. But then are we looking to Cuthbert for silver screen histrionics? Trust us, we don’t harbour any such daft notions. Our mind is set on other things.

oct 2009 | blender

PRESENTS

THE BIGGEST LEGENDS OF JAZZ

THE GREATEST JAZZ RIFFS

THE HOTTEST JAZZ VENUES

JAZZ IN BOLLYWOOD

IT’S ALL ABOUT JAZZ THIS TIME AROUND. BLENDER GIVES YOU ALL THE DOPE YOU NEED ON THIS TIMELESS STYLE OF MUSIC WHICH STILL MAKES YOU TAP YOUR FEET WHENEVER IT COMES ON

I’M IN THE MOOD WANNA GROOVE TO SOME GOOD ‘OL JAZZ? USE THESE FOR STARTERS

“SO WHAT”

JAZZ DOWN

THE AGES

MILES DAVIS

“MY FAVOURITE THINGS” JOHN COLTRANE

“TAKE FIVE”

DAVE BRUBECK

“BIRDLAND”

WEATHER REPORT

“STRANGE FRUIT” BILIE HOLIDAY

“SALT PEANUTS” DIZZY GILLESPIE

“GOODBYE PORKPIE HAT” CHARLES MINGUS

“MINNIE THE MOOCHER” CAB CALLOWAY

“PORTRAIT OF TRACY” JACO PASTORIOUS

“STRATUS”

BILLY COBHAM

“THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA” STAN GETZ

“THE PERFECT MAN”

SUN RA AND HIS ARKESTRA

“CHASING THE BIRD” CHARLIE PARKER

“HYMN OF THE 7TH GALAXY” RETURN TO FOREVER

“HELLO DOLLY”

LOUIS ARMSTRONG

“CAUSE WE’VE ENDED AS LOVERS” JEFF BECK

“WILLOW WEEP FOR ME” WES MONTGOMERY

“SCHOOL DAYS” STANLEY CLARKE

“ONE O’ CLOCK JUMP” COUNT BASIE

“MISTER MAGIC”

GROVER WASHINGTON JR.

1808

African Slave Field Hollers and Ritual Music

1895

Earnest Hogan, Vess Ossman and Scott Joplin create Ragtime

1900

“Storyville” (red light district in New Orleans) and the AfroCreole Jams

1915

Jelly Roll Morton publishes the First Jazz Arrangement in Print called the “Jelly Roll Blues”

1917

The Original Dixieland Jazz Band made the first Jazz recordings “Livery Stable Blues”

The Empress s

Brand New Clothes

AS WITH EVERY TREND SETTING CELEB, MADONNA’S STYLE QUOTIENT HAS MADE AS MUCH NEWS AS HER MUSIC.

THE BRIDAL DRESS “LIKE A VIRGIN”

GOTH GOWN “FROZEN”

FLAMENCO OUTFIT “LA ISLA BONITA” BLACK PATENT LEATHER “HUMAN NATURE”

THE CONICAL BRA “TRUE BLUE”

76 blender | jan 2010

”NOTICE HOW MY THRONE IS ALSO SHAPED LIKE AN M?”

MADGE BELIEVES IN KABALLAH

MADGE HAD A 7 YEAR LONG RELATIONSHIP WITH GUY RITCHIE WHICH ENDED IN 2008

SHE LAUNCHED A CLOTHING LINE WITH H&M

AT THE MTV AWARDS, MADONNA KISSED HER PROTÉGÉ BRITNEY SPEARS

MADGE GOT INVOLVED WITH THE MALAWI INITIATIVE AND CONTROVERSIALLY ADOPTED DAVID BANDA

MADONNA PENNED A SERIES OF CHILDREN’S BOOKS TITLED ENGLISH ROSES MADGE OPENED 2008 ON A HIGH NOTE, WITH A COMPLETE TURN AROUND IN HER SIGNATURE POP SOUND ON THE ALBUM HARD CANDY

clothing line with H&M, which got a lukewarm response initially. The only good thing was the Drowned World Tour that became the highest grossing tour of the year. The 007 Die Another Day track too won applause. Her next album American Life sold just 4 million copies, thus making it the lowest selling album of her career. An onstage act at the MTV Awards again, where Madonna kissed her protégé Britney Spears and singer Christina Aguilera created tabloid madness. Once again, Madge’s outrageous methods catapulted her to top draw tabloid status. In 2005, Madge brought out Confessions On A Dance Floor showcasing her super toned form, and her unmatched dancing skills. Opening at Number One across the world, this album became an instant hit and won her another Grammy. Married life with Guy was perhaps marred by the many live concerts that she performed in across the world at this stage. Be it the Tsunami concert or the Live Aid act, Madge’s humanitarian acts increased. This is also the time when she was involved with the Malawi Initiative and controversially adopted David Banda. The pop diva’s new found passions now included writing- as she penned a series of children’s books titled English Roses, and documentary filmmaking. But tales of Madonna’s crazy lifestyle were occupying a lot more tabloid space now. Her obsession with Kaballah blessed water, that took about 10,000 dollars to be shipped around the world, and her restrictions on her family on eating fried food became spicy gossip. It was clear, all was not well between Madge and Guy. The year 2007 closed with the well-received Confessions tour, but got criticised by environmentalists for it’s high carbon footprint. She opened 2008 on a high note, with a complete turn around in her signature pop sound on the album Hard Candy. Critically appreciated, the album featured a superhit track “4 Minutes”- which she created with Justin Timberlake. The album raked in money but also marked an end to a 25-year long recording relationship with Time Warner for the uncrowned queen of pop. She now moved to Live Nation records. Ironically, 2008 is also when she had a high profile split with Guy Ritchie after seven long years. Stories of their constant bickering over lifestyle choices filled tabloids. She was made out to be a weird, demanding wife. To her credit, she hasn’t yet spoken a word against her ex husband. She was given a place in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame the same year too. Hard Candy had a successful Sweet And Sticky tour, but it did run into church trouble once again for using some crown of thorns imagery in Chile. But by this stage, Madonna couldn’t care less. No amount of personal and professional trouble could downsize the greatest female performer/singer any time soon. If you are to look back at Madonna’s story, what supports her legend? Firstly, her smart use of outrage, sex and religion to break norms and set apart some otherwise ordinary music. Secondly, to quote choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant,

“Each time she danced for a video, it was something new, and something hard to do.” Her style sense and her demeaning status for her men- a distant second to her career- works like an inspiration for women across age groups. So Sean Penn and Guy Ritchie’s displeasure notwithstanding, you’ve got to hand it to her. It takes work to make a legend and gumption to live life the way Madonna lives hers. In the superstar’s own words,

“I sometimes think I was born to live up to my name. How could I be anything else but what I am having been named Madonna? I would either have ended up a nun or this.”

BLENDER

jan 2010 | blender

sep 2009 | blender