Wednesday, February 09, 2005

From ever so long ago

On the weekend, Handsomest and I were (for some obscure reason lost in the mists of vodka) discussing that song by Cornershop (from ever so long ago) - Brimful of Asha. Handsomest was sure that I had mis-remembered the title and (being more sober than I) was attempting to correct my memory with his infallible logic (being a scientist - Hansomest is never wrong - apparently). How could it be the title, he argued, when it doesn't make any sense! Anyway, a text message was sent but no conclusion was reached.

However I just looked it up on Google – voila.

Brimful of Asha on the forty-five.

'Asha' is a pun. It refers to Asha Bhonsle, but the word also means "hope". What does "hope" signify in this context? The movies and songs are in many ways a fantasy of something better than people's own lives. For instance, Indian youth whose overbearing parents would never permit them to marry those they fall in love with may yet indulge themselves in the romances they see onscreen and hear about in these ballads. The "45", for you of the CD player generation, is the 45 revolutions-per-minute record player.

Incidentally, the word 'Asha' is normally pronounced with both 'a's long, as in 'father'. Tjinder, with his British accent, pronounces it like "Asher", touchingly making the song both more and less genuine at the same time. As a result the refrain often gets misheard, sometimes in quite hilarious ways. "Grim poodle basher" is my personal favorite.

http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/8/7/12518/77483

Take that Mr Logic. See - and who said the internet wasn't useful.

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