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| Siddhartha Khosla of Goldspot at Hard Rock Cafe in Bangalore, India, in early 2012. (Photo credit: Sohanmaheshwar) |
Death Cab for Cutie meets Kishore Kumar meets the Beatles meets The Smiths meets … 1960s Bollywood nostalgia meets contemporary indie pop-rock.
Yes, there’s an American band that’s all that and more. You may not have heard of Goldspot, but chances are, you’ve heard one, maybe more, of their songs.
They’ve released two albums (are they still called albums?) with another one releasing later this summer. Their music is featured in everything from films, starring the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Vince Vaughn, Aasif Mandvi (of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart fame), and Kate Hudson; commercials for Apple’s iPad, eBay, and Chrysler; and popular television shows such as How I Met Your Mother and The O.C. The group has played in music festivals on both sides of the Atlantic and the Pacific as well as opened for bands such as Arcade Fire, Franz Ferdinand, Bon Jovi, and, of course, Death Cab for Cutie. They’ve won numerous awards, been featured on NPR, and were named “the best band to come out of America in years” by the UK’s Sunday Times.
Borrowing its name after India’s equivalent of a fizzy orange soda pop, Goldspot is fronted by its Indian-American creator and songwriter Siddhartha (Sid) Khosla, who was born and raised in New Jersey and grew up on a steady dose of Hindi film songs from the 1950s and 1960s.
Goldspot's music reminds me of all the diverse types of music I heard and loved growing up, including the sort my parents played when I was a kid, as well as a dash or two of my favorite kind of alternative music. Not indie folk, but that sort of serious indie pop that bundles influences from all my favorites sounds---echoes of the oldies from the British invasion as well as contemporary modern beats.
Following is a sampling of a few of my favorites. Apologies for not embedding the videos for these songs directly into this post, but clicking on the links will get you to the right link.
Here’s one of their catchy songs from the trailer of the U.S. film, How Do You Know?
Following is a sampling of a few of my favorites. Apologies for not embedding the videos for these songs directly into this post, but clicking on the links will get you to the right link.
Here’s one of their catchy songs from the trailer of the U.S. film, How Do You Know?
And a Hindi version of the same song from the satirical film, The President is Coming, a parody based on a real visit George W. Bush made to India in 2006. (I haven't seen the movie yet, but doesn't it sound like a hoot?) The movie features Konkana Sen Sharma, a talented and well-known actress who stars in Indian “art films” (that's what non-Bollywood movies are generally known as in India).
http://www.youtube.com/embed/e-ZFkuPIHTs
I can’t not include this one, a cover of one of my favorite songs, Float On (originally by Modest Mouse).
I can’t not include this one, a cover of one of my favorite songs, Float On (originally by Modest Mouse).
I’ll leave you with this one, a song whose proceeds go entirely to the American Cross for Hurricane Sandy disaster relief. It's also featured on the TV show, The O.C.
Hope you like what you hear! Drop us a line and let us know.
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