Radikal Zee - Live 'n Uncut

Chester Bennington - Close as you can get!

2010-02-20T19:56:00.003+05:30

Thank you for "Not Criticising" - The Puss Side of Pusswedilla

2009-06-23T19:19:00.003+05:30

Reviews. They are supposed to be a critical analysis of something you have experienced, in your own opinion. And everyone has a right to it. No matter whether it’s short or long, comes from an idiot or a braniac, a review is a review. A mere personal opinion.

Recently, I went to watch “Thank you for Voting part 2 (Mr Puswedilla)” a so called comedy at Lionel Wendt produced by Stage, Light and Magic. Of course after the event I was not at all impressed with the crappy jokes it included although the acting was awesome as hell. I made my opinion in facebook event page stating that the acting was superb although some jokes were lame but all in all it was ok. And PRESTO. Stage, Light and MAGIC ! The next day, my comment was gone and I am blocked from the event. Not only my comment was removed but all the other negative comments have been removed. Hello, is this how some producer treats an individual who took time and money to see his production and has something to say about it? Are you gay?

Well, well, mister Kamardeen, you got it wrong. You only want to hear praises eh? So called review articles written by people who will find your drama to be perfect, all the radio stations who never have anything NEGATIVE to say about your drama. Well, if your drama was that perfect, wonder why it is not world class. Even the best dramas in the world have negatives and they are openly criticised. But this drama crew is never open to critics, well yeah, only POSITIVE critics. Comments which I have made for the most recent performance by SLM “Hamlet at Elsies” was never removed. Yeah, you guessed it right, it was all positive. We know the jinx which happens behind the scene when Sri Lankan newspapers write reviews! They write only positives, especially when the said newspaper/radio station is sponsoring it. Isn’t it lame?

Coming back to the drama, it was plain stupid (again, in my opinion, and mister BIGSHOT Feroze, you don’t have a say in that). Just because you twist a word to sound funny (Impeachment to Impeachung) which may make the audience laugh due to an actor’s brilliance doesn’t mean it is a clever, witty joke. And the drama was full of crap like that, I do not even remember them. No wonder some people find it very funny because I saw some people laugh at the normal, untwisted disclaimer notice text as well. Most of the things in drama did not make sense at all. Having a French ambassador or a “baila” minister which never contributed to the story line (if there was any) at all and loads more crap just inserted into the drama just to make it sound lamely funny and not to forget to commercialize it! I do not have any issues with the commercializing part though.

BUT, I definitely do have issues with the lame facebook event administrator who doesn’t want to accept criticism or opinions from the general public, and finds it offensive to make such comments so that he blocks that person from the event as well. (until he realizes he has done a wrong thing). Anyway, DUDE, try deleting this comment ! And I wish you luck doing that.

I have watched almost every drama to hit the Wendt (Sinhala and English), made comments on event walls but never for a bunch of “self-proclaimed perfectionists” like STAGE, LIGHT AND MAGIC!

You guys are the kind of people who think everything you do is right and make the world a candidate for war. Even Prabhakaran thought everything he did was right! DAMN these clones!

Sri Lanka Rocks - The Hikkaduwa Beach Fest

2008-08-08T13:05:00.002+05:30

The paradise rocked. The best possible way.

It was the first ever music festival in Sri Lanka. I dare say we kicked whoop ass.

Hikkaduwa Beach Fest hopefully will be the first of the many initiatives the SL tourist board will take in order to re-brand Sri Lankan tourism industry. The festival's concept was a pretty well put out although not perfect. Having been to quite a few international festivals myself, I have no hesitancy in saying that this can indeed land in the top-half of my rankings.

The festival expanded for five days but my experience started on day 2. The drumming !! THE ONE THING that we can market immensely to the tourists. And it was thumping drumming all right! The vertrans of SL drum industry were kickin' serious nuts. It was a mere treat to hear, you could hear your heart beat with the drums. Don't believe me? Check here here and browse the channel for more. The amazing vocal chord performance by the three greatest drumming giants in SL is unexplainable, Watch it here. The so called guest artist from India was a mere fluke. Boo to him and his ass. The crowd was a bit laid back though, and almost all the tourists were suprised when they saw the "fire-ball players" stormed in to the field. Now this is what I call marketing the Sri Lankan stuff ! Hats off for the thought.

Day 3 and 4 belonged to international DJs from five countries. Man we showed how Sri Lanka parties! We have every right to be called "the Brown Boogies". People were jumpin', pumpin' dancing like wicked souls, sexy dresses, whippersnapping moves - it was one heck of a night. We easily had more than 5000+ according to my estimates for the raves. Even the DJs were pretty amazed and enjoying the reaction of our little countrymen. Rest assured, they would have never regretted performing for us.

Not that the festival was without any hitches. A proper map should have been put out, souviniers were not sold (although t-shirts were printed just for organizers which was dumb shit), tickets were under-priced (2000 bucks for 5 nights, that's just 20 dollers - peanuts for the tourists), no interesting activities during the day time, a ridiculous fireworks display etc. But hey, hang on. This is our first time, and we know we can't be perfect ! But overall this thing simply made me proud to be a Sri Lankan (not that I was not proud to be a Lion before). If you missed it, damn you! Make a date next year. FOR SURE !

Because, Sri Lanka IS a land like no other, even with a bloody war going on. Without that, god knows where we would be ! Rock On !!

Whippersnapped by Linkin Park, Once Again

2008-06-11T10:48:00.003+05:30

Damn Damn Damn !
The text says it all !!

Congratulations on being selected to attend the LP Sit & Sign (aka Meet & Greet) at the following show: June 14, 2008
Hultsfred Festival
Hultsfred, Sweden
Meet & Greet Time: 7:15pm

You will receive ONE Sit & Sign (Meet & Greet) pass only.If you cannot attend this Meet & Greet, please e-mail us back ASAP to let us know, so that another LPU member may attend in your place instead. The LP Sit & Sign may occur during another band’s performance, so please be aware that attending the Sit & Sign may mean that you will miss seeing another band’s set. If you are not willing to miss the other performances and would like to forfeit your LP Sit & Sign pass, please let us know ASAP.

Here are the details of the Sit & Sign (Meet & Greet):
1. Pick up your Sit & Sign (Meet & Greet) pass at the venue’s Will Call / Box Office on the day of the show. Also, look for the Sit & Sign location info, which will be posted at the Will Call / Box Office window.To claim your pass, you will need to provide the following 3 items:- Valid photo ID (driver's license, school ID, work ID, library card, passport, etc). Anything that is official with a picture will be accepted. If you are under the age of 13, your guardian’s photo ID will work.- Your ticket to the show. WE ARE NOT GIVING OUT ANY TICKETS so make sure you have your own!- Print out of this confirmation email.

2. Meet at the S&S (M&G) location (info will be posted on the Will Call / Box Office window) by 7:00pm latest. LP Security will come and get you.Please be at the venue at least ONE HOUR before this time. Be sure to calculate time to find the meeting spot. If you miss the pickup for the meet and greet, there is no way to get in late. Please be aware that you may have to wait for a certain period before the Sit & Sign begins. If you leave the S&S waiting line at any time (for instance, to watch another band’s performance), please be aware that you may not be allowed to return, especially if the S&S has already started. WARNING: ONLY THOSE ON THE LIST WILL BE GIVEN A PASS. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE!

3. Each person will be allowed to have ONE, and only one, item signed by the band. Remember that you should plan to carry this item with you throughout the show, as most venues do not allow re-entries. Please do not bring large or bulky items.
4. Camera policies are subject to the venue. Please check with the venue before bringing your camera. Please also note that we are not responsible for any last minute specific security issues that may arise and change the camera policy.

5. If you can, wear your LP Underground shirts! This will help the band and other LPU members to recognize you!

6. Remember that by attending the event, you are automatically consenting to being filmed, photographed, recorded and taped in and around the premises of the event. Your presence constitutes a voluntary agreement and release, granting LPU and Linkin Park and its assigns the right to include your image, photograph, likeness and/or voice in such recording for use throughout the world in any and all media and by any method, now or hereafter known, in perpetuity. If you are not in voluntary agreement, you should not attend the event. If you are under 18 years of age, your guardian must be in voluntary agreement with the foregoing in order for you to attend the event.Have a great time!- Linkin Park Underground Headquarters

Download 2007

2008-03-17T14:30:00.003+05:30

How the hell could I have missed this for all this time ??

Click Here

In My Bedroom - The MoFilm

2008-03-15T20:59:00.007+05:30

Finally, after so much speculation we have entered the MoFilms competition. (http://www.mofilms.lk/) The video was shot within 2 odd hours using all internal talent a.k.a. family talent. No external parties were involved in the making of this video. From the make-up to the editing, all done within us ! Mind you, this was shot right smack in the middle of the night. Using a mobile phone of course - since it's supposed to be a mofilm :P

There are occasions in the video where it could have been done better if the take was done again but we had a time constraint as well. The Lip-synching mistakes are pretty bad but nevertheless just check the bloody thing out ! Rest assured, we have our fingers crossed for D-day.

Video Copyright (2008): Red Devil, eUro, Wild Rose, Lady Tupac and RadZ
Soundtrack Copyright (2007): B5
Location: The Crimson Lounge, K-Lawn Headquaters
Digital Upload by RadZ

OMG ! I Fuckin' Did It !!

2007-06-26T19:34:00.000+05:30

How the hell can it be explained, when a lifelong dream comes true. I can tell you, that you feel like ripping yourself apart. When Linkin Park stepped in to stage and when I heard glimpses of "One Step Closer" all I did was jump like mad and bloody SCREAM the hell out from the BLOODY second row of Donnington Park ! How cool can it be ! Not to forget, moments before I had the fucking chance to meet and greet with the whole LP band. Although it was brief, it was just outta this world. They played for around 90 mins and it was such an awesome display.

The festival was the whole intention of me going to the UK. Over 96 bands were in action. But all I remember is Linkin Park !! Of course, Within Temptation was so impressive, Korn was superlatious, Lamb of God were screaming and Papa Roach was such a crowd-puller. These memories will never fade away.

Other than the Download Festival, I had the chance to attend an intimate concert of Chris Daughtry on which I was on the front row. Damn, I was so shocked to see his humbleness despite his powerful singing. He made sure that I have one more reason to celebrate this bloody tour. Muse - Live! in Wembly was also a new experience although the crowd of over 100 000 was a bit too much for the space. Nadal...Oh yeah..went to check out Nadal in action at the tennis courts and it was just an experience that is so coooooooool !

All in all, this bloody tour is too awesome to explain. I just do not have words.

All I can say is - I FUCKIN DID IT !!! OH YEAH !!!!

Finally Linkin Park !!!!!

2007-05-31T16:54:00.000+05:30

Whoa! How can I explain the adrenaline pumping going inside me ! Damn, just another 7 days more to catch a thumping 100+ bands live in UK at the Download Festival. This is crazy, ridiculous, awesome shit as it can ever be !!! Ever since this trip was planned, I've been getting comments explaining me what kind of a NUT I am to travel all the way to UK to catch LP. Well, now I tell ya, I am a LOOSE NUT !

One common mistake everyone is making is I am just going to see LP live! Wrong !!!! It's gonna be a list of over 100 bands. Includes Iron Maiden, Slayer, Papa Roach, Korn, Marilyn Manson, Velvet Revolver, Wolfmother and more as specified here.

The next thing I am looking towards is the Village concept at the Downloads!! It's packed with so many features which is gonna keep anyone freakingly addicted to the camp over the three days. It includes the Redbull X-fighters, a movie marathon, karaoke camp, Nokia rock up and play & A WHOLE LOT MORE. Bingo!

Just checking the map of the venue out makes me scream, It has everything you ask for. From make-up rooms to Internet cafes to supermarkets - all inside a race track !! Now isn't that awesome or what?

Time for the ultimate headbanging whippershaker, counting down like mad. Dreams are to come true only if U DARE urself ! Undoubtedly it's gonna be one heck of a June!!!

The Aussie Supremecy and Tiger Basterdness Continues

2007-04-29T17:10:00.000+05:30

What a disappointing way to go about a relaxing weekend. Me sitting back and listening to mellow music, dullness overpowering the mind whenever the mind reverts back to the images of "Golden Kangaroos" holding the world cup aloft or the striking and shocking moments when I was able to catch the tiger air raid explosions right from my eyes when the bastards decided to go loose again. I won't talk about the raids anyway. Yet the eye witnessing of explosions in the sky was one heck of an experience. I'll keep it within me. Because acts by shitheads are better buried rather than being shared and spread along.

The MATCH ! The one opportunity we had to prove the world ONCE AGAIN, what are we capable of even though we have so many shitheads starving for power. Alas, it proved out to be a day without luck for the Lions. Come on how cruel nature can be. From the toss to the end (some parts excluded) luck was not with us. Toss was won by Ponting, overcast conditions. So bowling looked promising. Damn ! When we returned from the commercial break, it was bright and shiny + High humidity levels = NO SWING FOR OUR MASTERCLASS PACE TRIO ! Then our bowlers started to hit the panic button ! Wides, no balls, bowling down the leg side. And of course, luck again favoring the Aussies, almost 90% of the time they mishit it went for SIX or FOUR !! How cruel can life be ? A person who watched the game althroughout will agree with me. Although, saying we had no luck is a lame excuse. But I'm not trying to give an excuse. Just the facts.

Of course, hats off to Aussies and Gilchrist ! He was the difference in the game. At one stage our target was 147 runs in 98 balls or something. Ring a bell? Yeah, it almost matched exactly with the innings of Gilchrist. When you are playing with a bunch of perfectionists, you gotto take your half chances. And the difficult catch Dilhara dropped proved damn costly. What's done is done ! They scored the runs. FINE !

When we came in to the middle for the batting stint, we were thinkin "Braken Boy, no swing for you today. Get your head up for a smashing display". And yes, what a promising start, a cracking drive off the first ball by Upul. Alas !!! The ball started to swing. Damn YES ! The commentators were also freaked out to a nature that they thought may be it's something to do with the difference between the ball's design. Nevertheless, we did manage to go on par with Aussies. Heck ! Clarke got Sanath ! Clarke ! Clarke ! It was bloody Clarke ! A bloody part-time bowler. Then rain added to the misery. Mahela got a hard decision. Aussies tightened their screws, as they always do. Blunder by the umpires to remind the theme of the tournament for 2007 edition - CONTROVERSY ruling over CRICKET.

Aussies - You were wonderful ! No matter how much we hate you, we accept that you have been a super power for at least more than 7 years now. Hats off to you ! But I do not wish you luck for your future. May you fall down from heaven to the rock bottom to a pit where you will never be able to get up. The world will keep watching you. Until that day, I will salute you for your supremacy. Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie :(

Annexure: The LUCK factor: Don't believe me ?
Then read this

Some extracts from the article: "Luck was on Australia's side, as any number of edged or mis-directed drives just eluded diving fielders.", "It became quickly apparent that one of the finest exponents of swing could not find a shade of movement, and a high-scoring match looked on the cards.", "After a 10-minute turnaround, Nathan Bracken bowled the first ball of the Sri Lankan innings. Strangely, the new ball he was provided with did swing long enough to attract Upul Tharanga's outside edge."

Linkin Park IS Back !

2007-04-03T16:50:00.000+05:30

Yes, they are back ! Finally, the new single "What I've Done" is OUT ! and it rocks the hell out of your mind. That shit is just bloody awesome ! Come to think that I am just 65 days away from seeing them LIVE in action just blows me apart.

Check out the single, right here !

Download Audio
Watch Video

Viva La Sri Lanka !

2007-03-10T20:37:00.000+05:30

The 8th edition of the Cricket World Cup is finally here. Damn, we do indeed have a chance of gunning for glory this time. We have the most balanced side in terms of experience and youth although our bowling attack is bit of a worry according to my opinion. We should have taken more slow bowlers/spinners in our squad. Dilhara, is too wayward to have faith on a crucial stage on a match. Kulasekara is not attacking enough. Upul Chandana should have been a good option. Anyway, the squad is already chosen, we have to just do with it.

This is our best chance since winning the world cup last time. But we have two things that should be done if we are to devise a good attack.

1. We should not have the mindframe of just bowling with fast bowlers in the first 20 overs/during powerplays. Our spinners esp. Murali should have the confidence to rock the white ball during the power plays. I have a sneaky feeling that Maharoof will be taken to the cleaners by sides like India, Australia and New Zealand.

2. We should set attacking fields. In the India series, we saw worrying signs where Mahela set very defensive fielders (four fielders inside the circle) when indians were 100/4 or sumthing. This should not happen. Come On !! At least 5 fielders is a MUST when under pressure

My prediction for semis will be Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa and Australia.
India ?? Hell NOOO ! They gonna choke big time ! If they cannot win a world cup with the side they have now, they can never win a world cup again. And NO, they will never ever gonna win it this time. I am damn sure ! Ireland will be making a good impact in the worldcup.

Anywayz, the carebian carnival will be set to light on Monday (early morning, SLT). May the funk be with the Sri Lankan team and let their spirit rise to the max. We are with ya ! Rock ON

2007 The year of LP !!!!

2007-01-13T16:49:00.000+05:30

2006 is messed up & out of the calanders !! And welcome 2007.
THE YEAR I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. For just one sole reason ! LINKIN PARK is going to start touring again ! And damn haven't I been waiting for this bloody tour. It seems ages and finally, FINALLY I am defintely gonna see them LIVE in action. After that. I can die peacefully. Just one pic with Chester & the gang and I am out. That just sums up my bloody desire for LP !!! Yeah I am crazy...so bloody crazy..and proud at that :P

I remember when I first heard a bit of LP, (when most of my pals were in to hiphop n rap - including me) I was just too shocked to belive what I was hearing. True the whole rap/rock scenario didn't start with LP but before them. But still the way in which these guyz did their thing was out of the "extra-ordinary". It was just too awesome. When I started spreading the word on LP the dissapointment of the "hip-hop enthusiast gang" was immediate thinking that I am gone nutz with no boltz. But, the more & more I listened to them, they also got freaked out, recognized the true dat talent LP dudes have and presto the Lankan LP fan base was growing. It was a wonderful feeling to be a part of the Linkin Park fan club from the good old dayz and spreading the word of LP to all the freakheads I know.

And NOW..the time has come for me to let it rip-off..
Now or Never !

PS - Managed to get hands on a cool rock n roll artist called Billy Talent who really has the punkmaster flexes to make you rock n craze it out. Check out en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Talent. You won't regret it.

The Year 2006 in Music

2006-12-24T23:03:00.000+05:30

Rasatamannnnn !! Another year is almost over & out. A year of kickin' happenings with regards to my side of town (which of course you will learn in a later blog post). Just thought of scribbling up something on the muzic stuff for dis year as I was listening to Kiss100 livecast of top songs in 2006.

To sum it up in a sentence..It's a year that will be remembered mostly for floppy & SLOPPY comebacks. Coolio, Ice Cube, Pink, Christina Augilera, Hoobastank, Snoopy - all of 'em albums sucked real hard. It was quite dissapointing in that aspect but most of the rock acts did wonders with their releases which were respectfully boomleashed among the headbangers all over. Without rubbing in watermelon and strawberries here goes my picks for the bloody year of 2006. (in no particular order)

Songs

1. Supermassive Black hole Muse
2. Sexyback Justin Timberlake
3. Lips of an Angel Hinder
4. Love me or Hate me Lady Sovereign
5. Junk Ferry Corsten
6. Smile Lilly Allen
7. We Are The Young McFly
8. Say It Right Nelly Furtado
9. My My My Armand Van Halden
10. Far Away Nickelback
11. Get Stoned Hinder
12. Crowded Jeannie Ortega
13. Tears Don't Fall Bullet For My Valentine
14. Fully Alive Fly Leaf
15. Move 1000 Foot Crutch
16. Girlfriend The Darkness
17. Carnival John Markx
18. Hard Rock Hallelujah Lordi
19. Jealousy Lucy
20. Never Been Garcia

Albums

1. Motion in the Ocean McFly
2. Pirates of the Caribean Soundtrack mastered by Hans Zimmer
3. FuturesexLoveSounds Justin Timberlake
4. Loose Nelly Furtado
5. A Matter of Life & Death Iron Maiden
6. Sacrament Lamb of God
7. Liberation Transmission Lostprophets
8. Oral Fixation Vol. 2 Shakira
9. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not Arctic Monkeys
10. Public Warning Lady Sovereign

Whoops...the clock strikes 12 and the santa is searching for a chimney..
Have a freakalatious X'mas y'all !!

A Land Like No Other

2006-11-19T16:52:00.000+05:30

Well well, it's been nearly one month of idle time in this bloody blog, a period where I was kept busy hell of alot. Finally, I can set myself free as most of the stuff which has kept me busy is getting outta my way. TNL On Stage is finally reaching the climax this Saturday the 25th !!!

Damn, what a hell of a lineup it featured for the last two months. People who whine that Sri Lankan musicians lack originality should get their lazy asses out from the seats and hop on to check out the cool bands & the soloists who will be performing in the finals. If you missed the preliminaries, well that's seven years of badness on u !! I make no attempt to describe how cool some bands who failed to impress the judges. If you missed it, remember there's always the next time. Put a reminder now itself :P Same excuse is not permitted for two years in the running.

It is sad that most of these bands who try to come up with original stuff fade away simply because Sri Lankan media do not give publicity for bands with originality. Only TNL 101.7 gives airplay to local talent and to some extent Y 92.6. But seriously all other medias, they just give publicity if the artist is backed up by some "influence" of a "firepower" person. Some radio stations ask money to play the tracks. That is so SHIT. (beleive me our band was also a victim of this)

Think about all the famous artists who get airplay on almost all media stations. Bathiya and Santhush, Iraj, Centigradz, Chinthy !!! What do these people have in common ??? Their breakthrough track is not an orignal. They made a name for themselves by remaking an original as their breakthrough hit and then switched to originality. What does this say ? If a "New Age" band starts producing original hits by themselves they will never be considered for an airplay spot, unless of course you got the green notes. In other words, our media hoods are selfish. Real selfish. They know that playing an original track of an unknown artist is not going to give them any advantage. What they look for is same kind of beats, same kind of sounds that are familiar. You make a track which has some rap parts which are never understandable and pubjabi beats. PRESTO...it will be played. What happens to an artist who has the wits to try out something which has never been done ? YOU ARE CUT & CHOPPED. WRONG DECISION. WAIT UNTIL A REPUTED ARTIST INITIATES THE TREND & THEN TRY AGAIN !! OH MY..A LAND LIKE NO OTHER

Ooops..We did it Again....

2006-11-02T20:36:00.000+05:30

For the second consecutive time, RadZ and the gang emerged winners at the Junior Masterminds held among Leos. It was easy going this time with us winning by over 5 correct answers. Yeah we were a bunch of happening, specco nerds !! :P

Props out to ma pals Thirantha, Irshad and Malinka !!!

SHAME ON YOU !

2006-09-17T13:59:00.000+05:30

Date + Time : 17th September, 1:00 am
Place: An army checkpoint

I was returning home from a DJ Stint done under very critical health conditions. The vehicle I travelled was stopped for usual checking procedures. The soldier was asking routine questions. When he asked from where am I returning from I said that it is from a PARTY. And there it was. The soldier went in to sudden hollowness, looked in to the loneliness in the dark sky...
Making me wonder what did I say wrong, and then I realized.......
I felt so numb and will remain so for quite awhile.....

How I made a savior of our country feel miserable for an endless number of nights. Oh how I hate myself for telling him that it was a PARTY. "Shame On You" I heard my mind whisper to me on a night that I found sleep as the hardest thing to find.

DEAR LORD, I HATE U FOR NOT MAKING ME STRONG ENOUGH LIKE THEM.....OR IS IT MYSELF THAT I HAVE TO HATE ?

The August Playlist: Dead Man Tops 'em All

2006-09-01T19:48:00.000+05:30

It's the eighth month of 2006 out of the way ! Another month with plenty of happenings in the musical world. The current trend of more music being produced in the Adult contemporary genre continued even in this month. Rap is slowly fading away with most of the songs not being able to refrain from duplicating an existing beat and more importantly to come up with some sensible lyrics. Come On...Some of the rap albums that come out just contain some gibbersih boasting. Nothing compared to the lights of Run DMC, B.I.G, Tupac and the likes.

So much for rap. Anyway moving on to releases of this month, Coolio's comeback album is out on the net although the album is yet to be released. For a comeback album it sounds pretty moderate. Nothing serious or worth to be proud of really. The single "Gangsta Walk" featuring Snoop Dogg promises to be some chart buster but other than that the album sounds plain. Ice Cube's new album is pretty much effective and listenable than Coolio. The song "Go to Church" is full of explicit but it's good aggressive, hardcore rapping. It has variety (quite strangely) and is quite impressive for a man like Ice Cube who is not 100% in to music.

Justin is back !!! And I tell ya' is back with a Bang. A real "more than ordinary" Bang. It has variety and lovely beats to make ya feel listening to it again. His variations in voice also adds an extra sizzle to the album. It's a must check-out as per my opinion. (Hell, it's my opinion that counts here anyway, afteral it's MY BLOG) Another noteworthy album that I managed to get hold of during this month is "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" by Arctic Monkeys. It's plain hot, good stuff. Pure alternative with atouch of country style & of course 70s rock and roll. It gives an amazingly soothing feeling with the somewhat weird meanings in the songs. Cool stuff for a sunday evening. This should be the second best release that I had my ears on. Afterall it's already hit triple platinum in USA. Damn me for being too late. But who's the first ??

Well, it goes literally to NO ONE !! Beacuse there's no vocalist for this album !!! And a damn good one at that. The Pirates of The Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest sountrack. Real hot & furious stuff. Loved every second of it. If you are in to alternative medleys kinda stuff then grab on it. It's HOT ! It's the HOTTEST !! Hans Zimmer - Three thumbs up ! Other noteworthy album releases include Jessica simpson and Beyonce.

In the local scene, one album was released in the form of Anil Balasuriya which didn't do any good for his "Indy Square ex-vocalist" nik. From the moment the "PLAY" button was pressed in the CD player, it sucked, slowly but surely. Almost all songs are alike with the main focus in most songs being trying to bring back memories of something or someone which is gone for good. Very limited music and the songs are very predictable. Bad show for a man who pioneered a good album 4-5 years earlier under the name Independent Square. Hats off for the effort but I am afraid it could have been better. Afterall 9 tracks are sold for 550/- so we at least expect something !! No hard feelings anyone !!

The noteworthy release in the local industry in the form of singles was "Slowdown" by Gajan, Ashanthi & Dinesh. The track has a bit of Jazz touch to it's totally different from the other shit which is being released by all the local bands who think rapping to a Punjab beat is the way to move on. Slowdown is nice and slow, and the tune is kind of Usher style. Grab your hands on it. It's worth a listen. Definitely !!!

Red Hot Top Ten for August, 2006

Put You In Your Place by The Sunshine Underground
Never Be Lonely by The Feeling
Never Been by Gracia
Tears Don't Fall by Bullet for my Valentine
You And Me by United Nations
Dreamer by Andru Donalds
Slowdown by Ashanthi & the Crew
Sexyback by Justin Timberlake
Ring The Alarm by Beyonce
Jack Sparrow off PoC: Dead Man's Chest Soundtrack
Lips of An Angel by Hinder
We Are Your Friends by Justice vs. Simian

PS - Eventhough the title is August 2006 music, it's just that I heard it during that month. The album/song would have been released earlier or is yet to be released.

Cricket + Thrill = Invalid Combination, Try Again

2006-08-20T20:42:00.000+05:30

The SAF games 2006 is on in Colombo at the moment. After the South African cricket team decided to "chicken" out from the triangular series many sports enthusiasts in the country were deeply dissapointed in missing out on some cracking sporting action. Well, think again ! What did you miss ? Did you at all miss anything ? Anyone who watched the Sri Lankan table tennis team battling it out with the Indian team in the Women's Team event would have had a time of their lives. It had everything on display. So many come-backs, the agony, desperation, frustration, enthusiasm..YOU NAME IT, THEY GOT IT. To think of all those days where we wanted to wait until the last over of an ODI match to see catch some adrenaline pumping action. (if you call that a thrill) The TT finals were so awesome, every damn minute of the games was so damn amazing. A treat to your eyes. Afterall it takes only around half an hour to decide on the fate of the game and the atmoshphere at the St. Thomas College sports complex was just second to none. After a desperate attempt at getting the so called "invitations" (as tickets were not sold due to security reasons) ending in a failure, I was forced to sit down and watch the match on a mere 21" box. Damn, i felt so jeallous of all those people who were witenessing the action Live ! The screams galored at the Radikal Headquaters (my home) when the match was in progress, screams that even Chester will be proud of.

Eventhough, Sri Lanka lost the match 3-2 after an immense fightback (which was followed by a howl for death from the vicinity of Radikal HQs), the adrenaline pumping action was just great. It ruined any chances of relaxing before a brand new week begins. Especially, I wanna recognize the performance of Ishara Madhurangi who was 2-0 down at one point but trashed her way back to win her event 3-2. Kalpani Herath was bit off target today, whilst Deepika Rodrigo did her level best to bring Sri Lanka to a whisker within getting their first ever international-scale Gold medal through a table tennis team event. This may not sound like a blog entry, but what the heck, here's a hats off to our "ping-pongers" ! Let the world take the heat ! All the best SRI LANKA for the coming games.

Linkin Park back with some frickin' Stuff....

2006-08-20T20:34:00.000+05:30

Alright partners...it's time to rock n roll once again. Linkin Park is back and is back with a totally out of the world track which is currently code named QWERTY. The album will be out somewhere in the early 2007 after which they will tour. Damn, isn't me counting days for those tour dayz !! The dream of me "rocking, shocking and meeting LP Live" WILL finally come true !

But for now just check out this....it's freakishly hot, it's magically happenning...
http://www.lprussia.com/music/LPRussia.com-qwerty.mp3

The Greed for Freebies

2006-08-13T12:28:00.000+05:30

After sending out an e-mail regarding another local artist's album release, the replies I'm getting are pretty much the same. I sent information on the release of the ex-Independent Square vocalist aka Anil's new album (Pieces of April) somewhere down the line last week. And presto, all i'm getting in return to the message that I wanted to emphasise (which was GO & BUY THE ALBUM, SUPPORT THE ARTIST) was some mere, ridiculous, and shameful (i repeat shameful) queries on where to download the album for free or whether I can upload it somewhere. Some rotten idiots even gave me the URLs to the upload sites. When I offered them some free sample tracks only they were not satisfied. The greed for freebies was immense.

Isn't it a ridiculous experience to be a musician in Sri Lanka ? Especially, an artist who is in to English language stream ? I mean from the whole population of over 19 million in Sri Lanka i'm pretty sure only around 2% are listening to English music which is perfectly fine by me. That means, effectively artists who are working with original english music are left with only a 2% fan base to work with to market their products. And out of those 2% nearly half won't like the kind of music he/she is producing and that leaves the artist just a handful to work-on to promote his music and recover his/her expenses. BUT...

But even out of the mere percentage who are interested in the music that has been released, most of them seek it for for FREE. Damn, now that is what you call a pighead. The artist spends several hundreds of his hours, effort and money in putting out an album with the intentions of capturing a fan base whish is a bare minimal and when the album is out, instead of going to the store and buying it, brothers and sisters want it for free. Imagine, I uploaded the whole album and spread the link around to the people who wanted it uploaded. They will surely send it around and the songs will be heard and enjoyed by thousands of people around Sri Lanka, but the artist will not feel a thing. Is this the "pat on the back" he deserves for the effort he put in ?
The artist won't recover the money he/she spent and that will definetely discourage him from putting out more releases. Afterall, an album is just 500 bucks.

I am all OK for Sri Lankans downloading albums off the net of international artists. International artists have huge fan bases and just a handful of people from Sri Lanka getting hands on their music through "the backdoor" will not make a big difference. (although I agree that it is too, IS unethical) But we should start from helping our artists. Come on people, we should encourage them. Buy their albums, show them what you feel about the album, most of the albums do have an email address to contact the artist. So drop in a line on how bad/how good the album was. Even one word from a fan will do a world of good for an upcoming artist in a country like Sri Lanka. Appreciate what you hear. And if you don't like it, be constructive and let the artist hear your opinion. Afterall we are Sri Lankans !! Respect y'all...Peace !

The Bloggy Weekend

2006-08-12T19:15:00.000+05:30

So so so....It's the bloody weekend over here...and quite strangely Radikal Zee decides to go blogging after some serious thought. I was a constant "anti-blogger" until the recent past where for some reason I began to think that blogging is infact not that anti-kool. So anyway on with the show then...to the wicked and wild world of Radikal Zee....

Am I jobless writing a blog on a so called weekend ? Hmm..come to think about it. Nah...It was never supposed to happen this way. Up until Thursday, all was fine, weekend was fully booked, two private parties, two singing stints and damn, shit happened. Come to think of lives of vocalists. The cold hit me. And it was going big time on Friday. Eventhough those days I would take no notice, or take no action to counter-attack a "mere" cold, nowadays are different. The cold struck me and my mind went through all sortsa excuses I can give to the "bosses" of the parties that I was to perform at. I've been doing my best, trying my best to drink whatever possible to make my voice sound normal, but the occasional cough is not making things easier. And definetely I can't afford to hop on a stage and scream "In the End, it doesn't even matter" with occasional jerks (in the form of cough) sure to provide a scratching effect for the songs. Damn it will sound weired as hell. So much for my plans.

I had the courage anyway to pick up the phone and tell 'em (obviously trying to sound totally down as ever) that I'm having a total vocal screw up. The responses were not that welcome. Someone wanted to come and do at least the DJ stint. A DJ stint without a voice to host ?? Nah, it was not my style. And to add more, all I wanted to do tonight was to sleep tight to the max, especially after the damn workout on the wee hours of today. So I said NO, and promised to do something extra on another day may be on a so called special rate. (extra and special..? yeah my foot)

I feel very sleepy even now, but as always the music is keeping me roaring to go. (not exactly roaring may be...but somewhat) But one thing is for sure, being a vocalist is not only about singing. U need to drink the right HOT stuff. So much for my desire for extra-chilled coke cans. Everytime, I catch this cold my mom comes to the rescue with all "her kind of medicine" at "my kind of place". So much fuss for a mere cold....When did I ever think ??? Afterall, I am a so called vocalist. Sounds messy...