Old Friends

I recently caught a documentary on Simon and Garfunkel called ‘Songs of America’, showing them during the making of their fifth and final album, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Waters’ and on tour. The documentary shows footage of various events in America before and around that time, set to their music. It also shines a light on the two of them as individuals, speaking on various subjects like the Vietnam War, on why they write songs and with a humorous conversation on Beethoven.
I don’t think I’ve ever come across musicians as intellectual and witty as them. Especially now, a critical time in the music business when gravity keeps prevailing over Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber’s hair is making scientists scratch their heads.
Their music, essentially folk-sy, spans through other genres like soft rock, gospel, and r&b (back when it actually was r&b). Their melodies get your foot tapping and can create an atmosphere. Their lyrics are proof of how brilliant and reflective they are. ’The Dangling Conversation’ and ‘For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her’ are really one of the best examples. Through the music they paint pictures. Pictures of people and their temperaments, pictures of landscapes and their colours and pictures of emotions, beliefs and their complexities.
Just to see their music incorporated into a film I even saw The Graduate. Of course, I loved the music but was disappointed with the film. ‘Mrs Robinson’, another huge favourite was originally ‘Mrs Roosevelt’. It was changed when the song was featured in the film, along with ‘Scarborough Fair/Canticle’, ‘April Come She Will’ and ‘The Sounds of Silence’.
The instrumental ‘Bookends’ is beautiful. ‘59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin Groovy)’ and ‘The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine’ are catchy and cool. The latter casually pokes fun at consumer behaviour and the effects of advertising. ‘A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara’d Into Submission) seems to be almost like a predecessor to Billy Joel’s ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’, since it’s full of references from the 20th Century –Ayn Rand, Dylan Thomas, Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol, James Joyce, Norman Mailer, The Rolling Stones, Art Garfunkel… Even his style of singing here is very reminiscent of Bob Dylan.
No one makes songs like that anymore, do they?

An Education

‘Education’ is a word that’s vacantly and freely thrown around by just about everyone who has an opinion. It’s a phenomenon, which a large part of the population misses out on, whereas the remaining part that has been granted this so-called luxury, is toiling, complaining, cursing and attacking the concept.
Of course, getting education is the right thing to do. It’s honourable. It’s required. It’s needed. It’s essential. It’s beneficial. I’m not saying it’s not important. I’m just questioning how important is it in the long run, especially when you’ve got subjects that are either too vast and overburdening, or too inadequate and insignificant.
Today’s education system doesn’t exactly um… what’s the right word? EDUCATE. It’s turns us into capital goods that can be put to work straight away. It makes us memorize till the inception of the first thought of suicide. It attaches monumental importance to written tests and exams, which are birth places of anxiety and hatred. It never inspires us. It merely diminishes are self-confidence and strength. It seems to be run by ignorant idiots who only seem to have a semblance of a soul.
The teachers seem to have become authoritarians for the sole reason of paying their rent. I haven’t found a single teacher who truly loves his or her subject and dares to break the monotony of studying. I guess someone like that only exists in fiction, in the form of Professor John Keating.
The state of education is crap. It’s dwelling in two extremes right now. So when I say it’s too much I mean people are bogged down by assignment after assignment, awake till two in the morning trying to memorize the Iliad in its entirety.
And when I say it’s too less, I refer to a system where the teachers drone on about the most insignificant information from dry, dull, drab and grammatically incorrect textbooks despite not believing in a single word of what they’re teaching and the students who don’t give a damn because they’re too busy eating branded clothes, make-up and hair gel, drinking alcohol and believing in the profound philosophy of ‘Like’.
I don’t think there really exists a system which just the right equilibrium between the two. Hell, I’m opposed to systems, cliques and clans, in general.
After two years of college, I found myself reminiscing and believe me, there’s not much worth reminiscing about. The few things I learnt in college go a little something like this,
1. As long as you’re dumb and loud you’ll be considered ‘cool’. Or ‘uncool’ , if you’re being judged by an intelligent person with basic reasoning skills whose natural hair colour and personal principles remain intact.
2. The things you learn in college are not as important as the things you don’t learn in college. The important life lessons take place outside of college. Not anywhere inside it.
Honestly, we all have our own definitions of a word like ‘education’. But Pink Floyd really says it the best.
And a little word to the HSC Board: You shall pay for depriving me of about 100 pages of one of Haruki Murakami’s beautiful books. You shall pay dearly.
And no, I don’t want to learn about our godforsaken government. I want to learn the art of day seizing!!

Music and Movies

School of Rock:
Jack Black is brilliant. When it comes to a life altering subject like rock music, he can be absolutely hilarious and downright serious and sober at the same time. But it’s not just him who deserves the credit. The music for the film is expertly chosen and unquestionably delectable with bands like The Clash, Deep Purple, The Velvet Underground, Black Sabbath, The Ramones, Led Zeppelin, The Black Keys, The Doors, Stevie Nicks and whole load of others. In a big way, the movie schools us on the different genres woven within rock and really educates us on what good music is. And when you’ve got Jack Black as your teacher-slash-frontman of the band, class is really in session.
You’ve Got Mail :
This is a romantic comedy which is never overly mushy. Everything about it, the dialogue, setting, costumes and music, is subtle yet never borders on boring. The soundtrack features songs from the 60’s, 70’s and 90’s by The Cranberries, Harry Nilsson, Bobby Darin, Randy Newman, Louis Armstrong, Roy Orbison, Carole King and others. Since the story is set in New York, sometime in the beginning of fall, these classics are perfect for a modern and 21st century setting. That’s what gives the film its additional old-world charm and simplicity. If contemporary songs were featured, they wouldn’t be all that bad but the film wouldn’t be the same as it is today. Here music doesn’t necessarily play a large role, but its presence is fervently felt. I loved Bobby Darin’s ‘Splish Splash’, The Cranberries’ ‘Dreams’, ‘Rockin Robin’ By Bobby Day and Harry Nilsson’s ‘The Puppy Song’.
Almost Famous :
Another great film with great music. This one documents the story of a teenage journalist who covers a band named Stillwater. I haven’t been able to watch the entire film at one long stretch since it airs at the most unearthly hours during the day. The film, like School of Rock, is laced with classic rock and littered with tasteful songs which include Led Zeppelin, Yes, The Allman Brothers Band, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, The Who, Steely Dan, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, etc. Again, it’s brilliant. A film about a fictitious band has got to have great music. I love the fact that they’ve included Led Zeppelin’s slightly mellower and softer tunes rather than their heavier material. Also ‘The Wind’ by Cat Stevens, ‘Simple Man’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd and ‘Baba O Riley’ by The Who, 'America' by Simon and Garfunkel and 'Bron-Yr-Aur' by Led Zeppelin are some of my favourites.
(500) Days Of Summer :
Another nice romantic comedy which upturns all the stereotypes about falling in love. The story is nothing new. Boy believes in love and girl doesn’t. But it’s handled beautifully with its non-linear narrative, great dialogues and the subtle sway of its indie soundtrack. Regina Spektor, Black Lips, The Smiths, Simon and Garfunkel, Doves, Hall and Oats, Wolfmother and She and Him are some of the contributors to the soundtrack. The music here doesn’t play a large role, but it helps in setting the tone for the film. Wolfmother’s’ Vagabond’ is a real anthem for freedom while She and Him’s ‘Please, Please Please, Let Me Get What I Want’ is a pretty good version of the original by The Smiths. I'm not really a fan of Feist or Regina Spektor or Carla Bruni, but their songs do work for the film.
The Social Network :
The score, composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, has been sweeping all the awards for its post-industrial, experimental and dark sounds. I’ve never been much of a fan of electronica and industrial partly because there doesn’t seem to be much emotion in that sound. But the score for this film has me hooked. It’s got just the right amount of tempo without coming off as too strong and just the right amount of emotion. I guess what gives it that much-needed feeling is the delicate ebb and flow of the piano on the tracks ‘Hand Covers Bruise’ and ‘Soft Trees Break The Fall’.
Dan In Real Life :
Another light-hearted romantic comedy. With an indie-pop score by the Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche. The music is mostly acoustic, soft, mellow and congruent with the film’s tone and simplicity. The music also includes an acoustic cover of ‘Let My Love Open The Door’ by Sondre Lerche. I fell in love with ‘To Be Surprised’ as soon as I heard it and the short instrumentals composed for the film are also sweet and melodic.

In An Off-Hand Way

I’m a self confessed punctuality junkie. Whenever I get ready to go somewhere I have this over powering and inexplicable sense of urgency to get there exactly on time. Nothing gives me a better sense of adventure. Some go parasailing or skydiving. Hell, I look at a clock instead.
But in my 17 years of enlightened existence I’ve found that arriving on time or sometimes well before anyone has even showed up, can be downright awkward.
Arriving on time is really my forte. In fact, I should do it for a living. Unfortunately, arriving late isn’t. No matter how hard I try I just can’t manage to turn up late at any event. All my energy and intellectual potential gets invested in accomplishing a seemingly simple task such as reaching a little later than the time of arrival, yet somehow not getting abysmally delayed. It just doesn’t work out. I always always end up on time. It’s like some kind of divine intervention, which is obviously unasked for, obstructs me from fruitfully squandering my time.
Some call it admirable. I call it crazy.

Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying

Trying to study copious amounts of information for the exams in January is a lot like trying to deep-fry a Thanksgiving turkey or, better yet, dragging a piece of furniture around wherever you go.
To put it simply: I’m tired. Exhausted. Clearly there’s a significantly lesser amount to study as compared to the gargantuan amounts that had been prescribed for the 10th std. Yet the content of the lessons for these exams are enough to make you question your sanity and wonder whether your life is taking a turn for the worse. I think the only reason I’m giving these exams and going to college is just for the sake of ‘getting educated’.
It’s quite a strange way to end the year. Inhaling textbooks and then flinging them across the room.
Happy holidays and all!

Can't Get There From Here

The funny thing about sleep is that it doesn’t always come when you want it to. Sometimes, I feel tired enough to doze off yet once I tuck myself in, I feel wide awake. While at other times, my mind tends to work overtime at precisely the moment I want it to rest. It’s usually an hour after I’ve tucked myself in, that I manage to get some of that much coveted REM.
They say that the simultaneous counting of sheep has been known to help. You know, when you count one sheep after another as they jump over a small fence. That’s never really worked for me, though. Instead of actually counting the sheep individually, I actually start to question and inquire the effectiveness of the method. Why sheep? Why not horses or badgers or otters? There’s an entire animal kingdom waiting out there, and yet the proprietor of this method picked sheep as the chosen form of visual imagery. Was he or she a farmer? Was he or she an animal rights activist? Or did he or she simply find sheep amusing? I guess we’ll never know.
Another procedure involves me playing a song in my head that can effectively drown out all my thoughts, musings and aforementioned questions. That tends to work quite well for me. But there will be one of those rare instances where the lyrics and melody are compelling enough to keep me awake and my foot moving along with the beat.
Writing this blog post seems to count as another method too. My eyes are beginning to close.

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This is something that’s been on my mind for a while now.
Van Gogh, the profoundly gifted painter was plagued with mental illness and frustration throughout his life. Yet he was so brilliant and articulate when it came to his art.
Or Sylvia Plath. Her poems always have those morose undertones which indicates how she must’ve been feeling at the time.
Even one of my favourite bands wrote their best and their most emotionally charged songs on their second album, where the songwriter lamented his feelings of isolation, pain, longing, disillusionment, anger and overall negativity. Even though at first the album was a commercial failure, it went on to receive cult status. And currently the same band, who now seem to be happy, radiating positive vibes and quite free from turmoil, are writing songs which are sewn and fitted for the mishap that we call the 21st Century. They seem mainstream and robotic, rather than their early material where they were more honest and original.
I’m just questioning the fact that is it possible to create a piece of work that has an overwhelming out pour of negative emotions, just so that it can go on to become great? Or is it possible to be peaceful, shiny and happy to create something that you hope can be just as great, yet it comes off as mediocre, mainstream and boring? Do people always need negativity to influence every creative muscle and organ in their bodies? Does negativity always define success? It just doesn’t seem quite clear to me.