Bombay Bicycle Club and Barfi

Today I have music for you by a band that I have not talked about in ages. Bombay Bicycle Club has been pretty quiet with their music for about a year now, taking a break for a while. Their past five years were definitely busy with touring and dropping amazing albums, so it is definitely warranted. Now this song is possibly my favorite song by Bombay Bicycle Club. First of all, this is an infectiously catchy and happy and sweet song that I cannot get enough of. I mean listening to it puts a smile on your face and just makes you feel happy and content. Now another thing about this song that I found to be absolutely amazing, was the fact that there is a beautiful integration of cultural music. This song is a vibrant and colorful integration of Bollywood and indie rock. Now I can assure you that this is not a common combination, and quite frankly is something I had never heard of prior to hearing this song nor after. But that is what makes this so wonderfully creative and original. Bombay Bicycle Club took something that was full of energy and vivacity, and coupled it with the calm but strong and warming effect of their indie music. And while this song is very different from their normal sound, there is a hypnotic beauty to it. This is one of the greatest ways I have ever heard a band progress. This is very out of the comfort zone and is honestly way off the deep end of conventional progression styles. I mean we went from soft acoustic and folk sounds to employing music and themes from another culture completely. But that seamless integration has to be commended! With this song we definitely hear instruments like the guitar and drums, the guitar playing the main melody line anyway! But the background harmonies and supporting lines are provided with an Indian flair, and that is what makes this such a masterpiece. Flawlessly combining the musical elements is something that is not only very difficult, but not done often.This song has been turned into a bright and fun song, not one that demands a lot of energy, but is one that can put a pep in your step. Maybe it even has you dancing and jamming out a little bit! What I also really appreciate is the fact that the decision to use Indian musicality in this song, came from travelling done by the lead singer. Experiencing the culture and really taking a part in the life there inspired this song, so for those of you concerned about the idea of appropriation, I would gladly argue that this is a celebration of culture. This song is such a wonderful representation of two worlds coming together in an enjoyable and lovely way. Now this song is a beat heavy song, focusing more on the rhythm of the song rather than the flow of the melody. This is a different approach for Bombay Bicycle Club considering they have been a very melody driven band. There is a little bit of a sense of repetition with this song, but not annoyingly so. All in all, this song is so well done and the soft vocals are such a spectacular accompaniment to the lighthearted feel of the song. Today's instrumental song comes from one of my favorite Bollywood movies of all time. This movie is rather recent and is more of an independent film in the realm of Bollywood. But my oh my was this movie fantastic. The storyline was actually good, the songs are so sweet and adorable, and the acting is probably the best I have ever seen from Bollywood. I mean I was spell bound and almost a little mind blown. This is a song from that soundtrack, and is one of the cutest and sweetest songs I have heard. And what is so lovely is that this is not a romantic song so to speak, but is innocently adorable. The music itself is so sunny and happy and bright, full of life. I hope you enjoy the music and please feel free to comment!