Na-hanyate Review

So I am back to where I work, thus I am back to my System; therefore I am back to my good old blog. Last two articles entirely belonged to Rupam’s work, and October seems to be the month of a short term affair with the man; I guess so! I went to music world (Kolkata) and Rupam again made his place on the list of shopping that I did there. Yes I bought Rupam’s solo project “Na-Hanyate”, comprised of 8 songs; some I heard before, and rest are fresh debutants!

Kishori: I have a story of my own related to this song. There is this deep water encapsulated fort called Janjhira in Maharastra, where I visited one day. You need to take a boat to get in the fort, and it’s a journey of about 20-25 minutes to reach the entry point from the lands, I mean from where the boats leave. Historical constructions, especially forts have this amazing attribute to mesmerize you, give you Goosebumps, that you kind of loose yourself in time. So when we returned via that boat, everyone was in some sort of a trance mode. A song does fit in, but there was no one willing to crack. I was there alone crooning slowly the karaoke of Kishori (which I obviously heard in ROTR) and suddenly some one heard that. There’s no Bengali on the boat, and I was kind of hesitating when they pushed me to sing the song. After a certain amount of “No-No”, I had to start and so I did.
There’s something very very uncanny and fishy about this song. Though No one on that boat could understand what words I was singing due to language barrier, but the song did hit them. Every one clapped at the end. Ok, that’s formality or cajoling or whatever it is. But what about some one giving a pen and paper to write down the song in English letters along with its meaning!

Kishori was simple in its inaugural ROTR version and it became even “more” simpler in “N-H”. I will not be too taken aback if it’s an after effect of the criticism that fossils faced after experimenting with “Maa” in F3. I have only one allegation against Kishori in “N-H”. I feel Rupam kind of overdid the simplicity of Kishori. Otherwise it’s a timeless track and all time Rupam classic.

Laal Golap: Rupam always keeps the Fresh “head turners” at No 2 and “N-H” is an exception. “Laal Golap” is not at 2! Gosh, what a Track!! Just blew me off. The intro part sounds like “The Reason” by “Hoobustank” and it does threaten you with alarms off a rip off, but it’s a completely different composition from there on. I liked the little work that Rupam does at “DoroJay” part and it is kind of a darling track for me from this album because of its simplicity like “Hashnuhana”. It has its own pace and space, and the song goes with in itself, not trying to break free or show too much like the pretentious moves of “Phire Cholo”. I love songs where music compromises the lyric, Not Utter bullshits like “Phiriye Dao” by Miles where the lyric goes one way (Girl Friend Cheated) and music follows the other(Lindsay Lohan and Angelina Jolie have called me and asked for a joint threesome date) . “Laal Golap” is the best track of “N-H”, if you are thinking in live performance perspective, otherwise its “Bhyapsha Blues”.

Na-Hanyate:
Four years ago, in a TV show during Puja I heard this song from Rupam for the first time. It’s an average track though it will sound best when you hear it on the first go.
Rupam is selling this album in the name of “World Music”. The real story is something else; actually he had no time to do justice to these tracks which where written so many years ago. This song demands bass lines, an absolute necessity to cranck up those breaks appearing at continous intervals, but where are those?? There’s a void, and he precisely tried to feel up by taming down his voice and making it mechanically generated. Cunning Calculated techniques can only make it the love of few weeks for the average listeners, but it can never be “Na-Hanyate”.

RockBaaj: Sounds like those good old Avril Lavigne songs of “Holdete” school days; the perfect combo of Punk Pop sound and Funky lyrics. The school goers will like it. But alas! Bass lines are coming from Keys. Actually I am listening to this trend in Bangla band scenario from this album called “Tuchho” by “cactus”; that if you don’t have it find an alternative and flaunt it!

One more thing, Rupam has this typical non-Bengali-non Hindi and definitely non-English accent which gets exposed time and again. Listen to “khuje peyeche ekhane” part, specially “peyeche”, it does not sound like a Bengali pronunciation. Trust me!



Kokhono E pothey: There are few songs in this world which are beyond time, beyond billboard rating and beyond everything; because they are eternal. “Come as you are” by Nirvana is one of those songs. This Nirvana classic defines the fine lines between your ownself and your friend and will continue to do so for ages. Rupam has crashed, damaged and brutally murdered that image of friendship by manipulating this song as a song of lost love. How could he do that to Kurt? This is not expected from him.

Bedwetter: Not interested! "Jolsha Ghore Khudito Kukur" !!

Bhyapsha Blues: Superb Track! Now one tip: Have 5-6 pegs of whisky in you body, soul will feel “Bhyapsha Blues” better! I am speechless about this track. Every word, every line, Rupam’s amazing modulations of voice through out this “Mountain” song, the whole composition; B-B is Just an “Out of this world” collage of music and lyric and off course the life that has gone beyond.

Why??

Ans:
1. “Krimi”
2. “Ulongo bass Guitar Badok”
3. “Daari Katbe ki Katbena ei dondhe je Mohapurush”
4. “Biye Bari”

Baaki ta bujhe nao !!

Joan of arc: A song dedicated to bangla rock and all those hick-ups, criticism and debacles it faced since it happened here. “Juboti o oshoti” bangla rock’s favorite soldier Rupam Islam has done a commendable job to pay tribute to its princess, who is yet to die.
The intro sounds superb, the fingering is just damn good, and who ever did it kudos to him. The song has every quality to be a pick of RJ’s because of its simplicity. The song is very hum-able and good to ears.


The album sounds superb when simple and very untidy when there’s something pushed rather than thought about. But who cares as long its bagging another “Best Pujo album” award from ABP platform.

Answer to the Question

It’s far better to rub your ass (Or preferably some better other) than rubbing a same old topic, on which you have already expressed your views. But recently the attack of words were so relentless and provoking that I could not help my self but to put my fingers on the keyboard again, to write an answer rather than writing an article. I have said in my previous article that Rupam deserved a lot more during his hay days, which does not seem to be going well with some Rupam or more integrally Fossils fans. Hence here comes my answer.

I am neither a fan of Fossils nor of Rupam, I was and am still now and will always be his follower. I have imbibed a lot from him in past one decade though I never met the man. You don’t need to meet and constantly chat with a person to understand what he/she was thinking or what he or she was trying to say. A very good audience can even judge a batsman, just by looking at his eyes, when he will come down the track, if he is really following his moves. Its not psychology, it’s a remote connection beyond science. A good audience and follower can even become a good batsman if he follows one closely, which is not possible being a fan.

Rupam is a master of words, and I can put my bucks down and say that there are very few writers at least in Bengal , who can mix and match vulgarity, pain, emotion and still be classically audible (not being cheap) in their words so beautifully like Rupam. That’s why I said love for Rupam and Fossils is of a different kind, because it hits you or did hit you some where in your subconscious mind and you will never be out of the “Byuha”. In one word Love for fossils is “Na-Hanyate”, i.e. it does not die.

Well I have also mentioned about the honesty of the writer and the composer. Rupam misuses his mastery on words heavily. “Harano Padak” is a brilliant lyric if you look at its concept. However, the way it takes the Mickey out of “Materialism” is not important for me, but how it creates “Jhaal muri” of characters and events across the glob and cultures, keeping Rabindranath Tagore as its pivot surely is. But at the end of the day its basic composition is a shameless copy of “Don’t marry her, fuck me” by beautiful south. Now that hurts me, I don’t know about others. I know, Rupam does get inspired by Beautiful south too often but, there has to be a limit to everything. A track from an album can’t be compared with a “Mone kore Nao”, which is again a copy of “Rotterdam” by the same band, Even the lyrics is some how inspired.

I don’t care whether “Ekla Ghar” is a line to line copy of Chris-de-burgh’s “I’m-not-crying-over-you” lyrically, because its words and there’s something called “poetic license” , but music is surely not the part to plagiarize. The same goes with the intro riff of “barracuda” by a girl band "Heart" and “acid” by fossils.

I was over the moon when I heard F3 would contain “Haspatale”, but when I heard it on disc again after so many years it did hurt. I went back to the covers and found there’s input by deep. I doubt whether taking the intro part of “Arials” by "System Of A Down" came from his “Urbor mostisko”. I always carried so many fond memories of this particular track, but they all got shattered after I heard it recorded. Don’t know when “Bari esho” will get released in an album, but there’s every chance I see, it plagiarizing the intro from “Killing in the name of” by “Rage Against The Machine”.

Now tell me, singing a song like “Dil Kahe” in a cheap Hindi movie, does it go well with Rupam? I don’t want to waste any more words on a song like “Dil Kahe”, because it does not even deserve criticism.

Rupam’s voice is poor now. Yes it’s not up to the mark; and he does too many mistakes now days while recording too. I hear too many “haw” (Bengali alphabet) in his singing. Wherever there’s a tough note, he pushes one “haw” in. EXAMPLE - “Subatash” in “Koto Seetol Subatash” does not sound like a “Subatash”, Rupam cunningly pushes one “Haw” in between instead of breaking it into 3 notes. It’s not just one instance, it happens too often. Every trailing word of each line from “Phire Cholo” deserved a lot more “Harkat”, what Rupam could not pull off. A song which could have been a master piece in Rupam’s Neel rong days was killed badly.

People wave mobiles in live concert of the band, pictures get uploaded on social networking site, with even funnier comments like “Rupam da ke darun lagche” , “deep da chul ta kete nile kyano” and etc. A very calculated strategy of words goes in live concerts whenever there’s lack of strength to be felt. Rupam speaks thousand lines during live concerts and sings a few, people claps; he is happy and so is the new breed. Fossils some how gets lost in the big- jam of funky black shirts and heavy duty accessories. There’s no feelings, no understanding, just mad head banging! Morons feel raunchiness over the title of "Schizophrenic Bra", but they don't understand its actually two parts of our scull, epitomizing our split personality and the tug of war between individualism or "Ekok tontro" and democracy or "Gono-tontro".

When I see now, I think there are very few followers of the man and his group. Its too many fans of fossils now days. It may sound ironical and berserk in the context of basic concept of time and evolution, but these fans are actually giving wings to fly an old dinosaur, which is crooning and churning out some very bad noises, very different from what it used to be doing during its quoted “Fossils” days.