Tuesday, April 18, 2017

O for obsessed

Since the last post was a big ol' rant, I need to have a rave to balance things out a bit. And the only thing that I have been raving about for more than a month is Coke Studio Pakistan. After I was done listening to Khakhi banda some 3487583475 times, I went back to old seasons and rediscovered some amazing gems from the Rohail Hyatt era.

So here they are, my top all-time Coke Studio Pakistan songs. Well, I started off meaning to pick just five but then I just couldn't do it. So I said okay, I'll do seven, but that wasn't looking possible either. Then I told myself that ten would be the absolute last option, but then I just had to include this one, and that one, and oh, that other cute little one, and oh gosh how could I even think of excluding that other one? So... one thing led to another and here we have 13 (Yay! My favourite number though!) of my top favourite Coke Studio songs!


Miyan ki malhaar
Gosh, this song is rain and rain is this song! Listen to it and you'll know what I mean. We've been having some beautiful unseasonal rain in Singapore lately, and this song goes so well with it! I listen to it at least 4-5 times a day.


Neer bharan
This song is a killer. I'm in love with Zara Madani's voice. 'Nuff said.


Tum naraaz ho
Sajjad Ali's voice is so velvety, you'll be totally lost in this song. Oh, the feels.


Khakhi banda
Nope, still not sick of it. Still listening. Still loving.


Mahi gal
Okay, this song took a while, but now I love it to bits! And the lyrics are magical -- 'Teri deed gareeban da hajj ve'... Fariha Pervez's guest appearance takes the song to a whole new level.


Anokha laadla
At first, I found this song very weird. I still can't tell what it is about. Religion? Love? A spoilt brat? It's probably one of the very very few songs that I really love without caring too much about the lyrics.


Ve baneya
I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of Fizza Javed's parts but Mulazim Hussain's parts are mind-blowing. It took a few listens before the song grew on me though. I just love the honesty and smile the man carries in his voice.


Nimma nimma
In general, I don't like lullaby-type or meri-maaa type of songs, so I quickly dismissed this in the beginning. But later, I found myself humming the tune and craving to listen to it again. And now I'm hooked.


Moray naina
Zara Madani. Stop it, lady. You're killing me.


Uddi ja
Okay, this guy is super-talented. He wrote, composed and sang this song. And it's done brilliantly. Even Xena really likes this song and keeps singing it.


Ala baali
Setting aside the very strong Sukhwinder Singh vibes you get from Jabar Abbas, this song is a winner. Nirmal Roy's unique voice and the playfulness of the song make a great combination. Kinda makes me want to belly-dance to it. Weird, huh?


Shamaan pai gaiyaan
I've seen Rachel Viccaji as the back-up singer in pretty much every single Coke Studio song. So when I saw her come up to the front, I was madly rooting for her. And boy, did she deliver. In fact, she almost overshadows Kashif Ali in this song, who's already very very very good.


Tu kuja man kuja
I added this song only two days ago, and I'm still getting into it, but I do know it's here to stay. The two very different voices come together so well. And the instrumentalists do a mind-blowing job.

I wish I could have included some more, but I really shouldn't. There is this one hilarious parody song by Ali Zafar though, with lyrics that go, 'Baby, you're the one, but allowed toh hai na chaar!' Only Ali Zafar can do justice to a song like that. But because the song is very un-Coke Studio, I excluded it from my top 13. But do check it out. It will have you in splits.

And wait, wait, wait, there's this other little song...

*sigh*

Okay, you know what? I have a playlist of the 30+ songs that I have been listening to on loop day and night, so if you'd like to listen to all of it as a single playlist, here it it! You can click on this to see all the songs, or simply press play below.



Play it really really loudly, okay? And do let me know if you like/hate any of them!



14 comments:

Vidya Hemraj said...

Hi Sayesha,

I love the Ali Zafar song 'Ae Dil kisi ke pyar mein'. I love how they took an old song and re-did it unlike the current crop of remixes in Bollywood which are badly done.
Have you heard this song? I am not sure if you are forgiving with usage of English lyrics in a Hindi song but I feel Ali Zafar's voice has a unique mischievous-melancholic quality to it which makes the rendition of this song so lovely.

~Vidya

P.S: I love your blogathon blog posts. I have to start or end my day with them :-)

Sayesha said...

Vidya,
Hehehehe! 'Ae dil' is in my full list of 30! :D I also love it for the fact that Sara Haider finally got to do lead! :D
PS: Ali Zafar rocks!
PPS: Thanks for coming back to the bar! :)

Arun said...

Thank you!

All I can offer in return is this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noXaDC8z_Ts

Charan Deep Singh said...

Good one... I love jugni the most.

Anonymous said...

I dont know if I have heard any of these, but seems like the intersection of our favourites is a null set :)

humblog said...

How about "Paar Chana de..."

Charan Deep Singh said...

Wrote about my Brother's childhood antics.... And my take on parenting...

http://charandeepsblog.blogspot.in/2017/04/o-oh-brother.html

Pritam said...

Thanks Sayesha! I am in love with the entire playlist!

Unknown said...

Coke Studio makes life bearable. Sorry, Coke Studio Pakistan. I meant that one. I heard Meesha Shafi when she performed here in Singapore recently. I was transported to a different realm of experience. Love the 30 list.

mythsy.wordpress.com

mad hatter said...

I second Lalita's comment :) Coke Studio Pakistan makes my life bearable too (and it also shook me out of my commenting stupor - much enjoying reading your posts).

My list is pretty different from yours, though. Among so many others (including Paar Channa De, as Ae Dil as mentioned above), I LOVE stuff that has Javed Bashir singing. Did you catch Phool Banro?

I loved the Rohail Hayat episodes, but I think Jaffer Zaidi is doing a kickass job too. Huge crush on Jaffer :) Also - not that it's the focus - but I love the quality of the videos since the transition happened. I watch Coke Studio Pakistan, not only listen :)

mad hatter said...

Uff, I confuse Phool Banro and Ambwa Taley (which had Javed Bashir) because Humaira Channa is the common factor. And because I adore both songs.

Arun said...

Obsession-worthy :)

Sayesha said...

Arun,
Thank you. :)

Charan,
Thanks. :)

chengiz,
Lol seriously? Even my full list of 30+songs??

humblog,
Heard it a gazillion times, but somehow it never really grew on me. :)

Charan,
Good going!

Pritam,
Yay, thanks! :D

Lalita,
Thank you! :)

mad hatter,
Ae dil is in my full playlist, just not in the top 13 :) I heard Phool banro and Ambwa taley a few times, but they haven't grown on me yet. Thanks for the reco though. :) Totally agree with you on the video quality, as even I like watching the videos -- the artists' expressions (and antics sometimes) are quite cool. :)

Arun,
Thanks. :) Which is your favourite?

Charan Deep Singh said...

And here is another kind of playlist I curated... Songs of Life... Songs that bring back memories

Songs of Life