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1.
'99 Red Balloons'
Nena
Nena, or Gabriela Kerner is a German artist who was part of the
band called The Stripes before she went solo. The song '99 Luft
Balloons' is off her 1984 album by the same name. Originally in
German, the English version, '99 Red Balloons' was recorded and
released after an American DJ discovered the song and started playing
it.
The song addresses a supposed nuclear attack, the perception of
something ominous brought on by something as innocent as '99 Red
Balloons' being let go in the air. "99 red balloons/Floating
in the summer sky/ Panic bells its red alert/ there's something
here from somewhere else." Some are also of the opinion that
the '99 Red Balloons' represent German dreams lost after World War
II.
A funky electronic tune, and Nena's strong vocals make for a pleasant
listening, and while the lyrics seem naïve they might hit a
chord with everyone right now, as they speak of how unrest in one's
country can cause the loss of dreams and disillusionment for a long
time.
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2.
'Baba O'Riley'
The Who
'Baba O'Riley' is an instantly recognizable song by the British rock
band The Who, written by Pete Townshend, the band's lead guitarist.
As with most The Who songs, it is sung primarily by Roger Daltrey.
'Baba O'Riley' became the first track on Who's Next, the band's 1971
album and began soaring the charts. Drummer Keith Moon had the idea
of inserting a violin solo at the coda of the song, during which the
style of the song shifts from crashing rock to a folk-style beat.
It has often been mistakenly called 'Teenage Wasteland' by many casual
fans - That was in fact the title for a different but similar song
by Townshend, which is slower and features more lyrics, featured on
'The Lifehouse Chronicles', a six disc set of demos planned for the
'Lifehouse project'.
Pete Townshend states that the song is not about getting wasted, but
about waste in general. He was inspired to write the song when the
people around him complained about all of the world's problems but
did nothing about it. 'Baba O Riley' definitely is a classic and must
be heard and/or downloaded.
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3.
'Taboo'
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Peter Gabriel
OST Natural Born Killers
This August marked the 10 death anniversary of Nusrat Fateh
Ali Khan. Taken ill with kidneys and liver failure on August
11, 1997 in London while on the way to Los Angeles from Lahore
to receive a kidney transplant, he died of a sudden cardiac
arrest on August 16th, 1997, aged 48, at Cromwell Hospital.
He was due to perform a live concert later that month. Along
with his burial in Faisalabad, many future collaborations
with talented producers and songwriters were also laid to
rest.
'Taboo', a song by Peter Gabriel featuring Nusrat Fateh Ali
Khan, was one of the tracks on the soundtrack of Natural Born
Killers, a satirical 1994 film produced by Trent Reznor of
Nine Inch Nails, directed by Oliver Stone and starring Juliette
Lewis and Woody Harrelson.
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No
other song from the soundtrack of Natural Born Killers was able
to capture the essence of the film the way 'Taboo' did, transcending
all boundaries and putting Pakistan on the map for all those
who had just discovered the marvels of qawwali.
A uniquely-directed film, Natural Born Killers intended to highlight
the sensationalized way crimes are depicted in the media and
the way some killers have been glamorized by the media. The
film had excessively graphic and violent content, but Nusrat
Fateh Ali's vocals added unimaginable layers to it, saving it
from being tossed aside as mere nonsensical overkill.
Moving, poignant and one of the many masterpieces of a man still
holding, even after his death, the world record for the largest
recorded output by a qawwali artist (a total of 125 albums),
'Taboo' is a must download this 10 year since the demise of
the legend that was Nusrat Fateh Ali. |
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