Brimful of Asha

"Brimful of Asha" is a song by British alternative rock band Cornershop from their third album, ''When I Was Born for the 7th Time'' (1997). The recording originally reached number 60 on the UK Singles Chart in 1997. After a remixed version by Norman Cook became a radio and critical success, the song was re-released and reached number one on the UK chart and number 16 on the US ''Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks chart. The lyric is a tribute to Asha Bhosle.

Background

This song is based on the history of film culture in India. Since their beginnings, Indian films have relied heavily on song-and-dance numbers. The singing is almost always performed by background singers while the actors and actresses lip sync. Asha Bhosle is a playback singer who has sung over 12,000 songs and is referred to as "Sadi rani" ( Punjabi for "our queen") at one point in the lyrics. In the slower, original album recording, playback singers Lata Mangeshkar (her elder sister) and Mohammed Rafi (one of the top male playback singers of the mid-century) are mentioned. The lyrics in the bridge contain a number of references to non-Indian music, including Georges Brassens' song "Les Amoureux des bancs publics", Jacques Dutronc, Marc Bolan, Argo Records and Trojan Records.

Critical reception

British magazine ''Music Week'' rated the song five out of five, adding that "the Asian-rock outfit deliver their most compulsive slice of pop to date, mixing a Velvet Underground-style groove with a truly ticklesome lyric, strings and a top tune." A reviewer from ''NME'' commented, "... Sadly not a song about the joys of chain-smoking, but in fact a celebration of the Asian music and films of our Tjinder's youth. The cognoscenti of the youth revolution will no doubt have heard this already on either its previous release or the album, but this may be the record to take the 'Shop into the crazy Global Hypermarket of the Top Ten. Not because it's a marvellously infectious good-time dance pop number, but because it repeats the line, "Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow"."

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Phil Harder and produced by Harder/Fuller Films. It was filmed in a house in Lewisham, London.

Norman Cook remix

DJ Norman Cook (a.k.a. Fatboy Slim) was asked to remix "Brimful of Asha" by speeding it up and modulating the song to a higher key (halfway between B-flat and B, rather than in A). The remix saw major success as a number one single in February 1998.

In 2003, ''Q Magazine'' ranked the Fatboy Slim remix at number 840 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever". In October 2011, ''NME'' placed it at number 105 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". In August 2010, ''Pitchfork'' placed the remix at number 113 in their list of "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s". ''NME'' ranked the remix at number 2 in their list of "The 50 Best Remixes Ever", saying it "does what the truly great remixes do – render you unable to enjoy the original". The remix was included in ''Pitchfork''s 2010 list of "25 Great Remixes" of the 1990s. The remix is featured prominently on the French children's TV channel Gulli, playing before each episode.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

Brimful Of Asha Meaning Explained

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1997 songs
1997 singles
1998 singles
Cornershop songs
Music videos directed by Phil Harder
Number-one singles in Scotland
UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles
UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Big beat songs