It's a slightly edited lift from wikipedia:-
"Brimful of Asha is a single by the British alternative rock band Cornershop, which originally reached number 60 in the UK Singles Chart in 1997. A remix by Fatboy Slim became a hit in 1998 on the US and UK charts, reaching #1 in the UK. The lyrics are a tribute to Asha Bhosle, one of the most famous pop singers/film-score vocalists of India.
This song is based upon the history of film culture in India. Since their introduction, Indian films have relied heavily on song-and-dance numbers. Almost always, the singing was performed by background singers while the actors and actresses lip-sync. Asha Bhosle is one of these playback singers who has sung over 12,000 songs. Playback singers Lata Mangeshkar (Bhosle's sister) and Mohammad Rafi (one of the top male playback singers of the mid-century) are also mentioned in the song.
It has also been suggested that the song has several symbolic meanings.
Asha is Sanskrit/Hindi for Hope. It has been suggested that the lyrics mean that everyone has a brimful of Hope, that the song is a message of how the Indian media provide the impoverished with hope for a better life, and that the lyrics "Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow" actually is a skewed translation of the saying "Everybody needs a shoulder to cry on."
This would seem to be supported by the full verse "Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow; mine's on the 45", where Channel 45 is the popular channel for Indian television.
More likely though, this is a reference to records being played back at 45 revolutions per minute, and how he would listen to music (possibly Indian) as his comfort. This is both denoted by the picture of the girl listening to a record player and the last time he says this lyric he changes the words to "mine's on the RPM."
The lyrics of the song's bridge contain a number of references to non-Indian music, including Georges Brassens' song Bancs Publics, Jacques Dutronc, Marc Bolan, Argo Records and Trojan Records. "
Anyway, I bought the single first time round as I thought it was wonderful and every so slightly reminiscent of a tune by Jonathan Richman. I also bought the remix a few months later as I loved the fact you could dance to it. Here's all the tracks that appeared on each of the 3xCD singles:-
mp3 : Cornershop - Brimful Of Asha (short version)
mp3 : Cornershop - Easy Winners (Part 1)
mp3 : Cornershop - Rehoused
mp3 : Cornershop - Brimful of Asha (Sofa Surfer's Solid State Radio Mix)
mp3 : Cornershop - Brimful of Asha (album version)
mp3 : Cornershop - Easy Winners (Part 2)
mp3 : Cornershop - Counteraction
mp3 : Cornershop - Brimful of Asha (Mucho Macho Bolan Boogie Mix)
mp3 : Cornershop - Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook Remix Single Version)
mp3 : Cornershop - u47s
mp3 : Cornershop - Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook Remix extended version)
And here's a live performance to round things off:-
Happy Listening.
9 comments:
Norman Cook's single version is the only one anybody needs. The original sounds that bit too slow by comparison.
Jonathan Richman? I always had it down as a pure rip-off of Sweet Jane by the Velvet Underground.
Best line in a song ever.
Jonathan R isn't averse to the odd Velvets rip-off, hence the similarity. Grand tune though.
GREAT tune. Fun to sing. 'From the morning til the evening til the end of the line.' This song will still sound great 20 years from now.
I'm with Ctel; the Norman Cook version is the one I would play anybody who thinks a remix is a waste of time; anything but, it gives it a sparkle the original version lacks, as well as the speed. Class!
I liked the remix a lot at the time, but it hasn't aged at all well. However, his remix of 'Renegade Master' is a lot better than the original.
This is great article and love your research behind it. I first saw/heard this song on MTV back in 1997 and it was a rock staple for some time - it's good to hear the mix of alternative, English culture and east indian culture.
Woulda been alot cooler if "brim full of asha on the 45" meant cigarette ash on the brim of an old can, say Colt 45.
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