Born Ready!

I do not have much to talk about or say anything. What I do have is a very particular set of songs which make me a very productive employee at my workplace. (Cutting the Taken crap)

I was never a big fan of electronic music and then this amazing man introduced me to Pretty Lights, then I explored more artists from his label. This isn't new, you know. But I am in love with Gramatik. Listen to him and be a rockstar at work. Or otherwise also. You can always be a rockstar! Go change the world and dance at the after-party!

Born Ready | Gramatik

***

I am usually happy person. I like to spread laughter. Then again, who doesn't? =)
Happy rest of December. And yes. I work now. =D
Its kind of cool. My workplace has a big ass library. Go figure! 

Passionflower and Alter-Ego =)

You know how we are always so comfortable, sitting in our little cocoon? We love it in our little bubble. Well, I am not different. I haven't been quite the extrovert in sharing my poetry, as I have been in other areas of life. So, the other day, after spending hours sitting in front of the laptop and trying to decide if I should hit the Send button, I thought to giving it a shot.

So here's my first step to trying to come out of my bubble, sharing my poetry, and being a little more open. Click HERE to read it. I love this initiative and have read some amazing stuff here. So if you're a budding writer or just a shy one (like me), go ahead and submit your work here. If not, then just read mine and others' =D

In other updates, I am desperately waiting for this year to end. And after you're done reading Writers Asylum, go watch this.  Do NOT ignore. Please go and watch :)

***

Mother is back and I have to admit, it was sort of fun having the whole house to myself for three days. And I get these scary realizations every now and then that I am 22 and I am not doing much with life. At least not as much as I had wanted to. Well... I think we're making slow but steady progress. Anyway, even if you don't read that poem, watch that video. OkayBye.

-x-

If The Plane Goes Down, Damn...

I have deactivated Facebook. (Yay!) Firstly, it was getting obscenely boring to read the same type of updates by everyone and see the same kind of pictures uploaded. Second, it had turned more like a reminder that almost everybody is living a better life than you are...with girls going to Europe to study further, boys working in music festivals, and kids..well... kids were being the same.. posing for their DSLR cameras and Instagram-ing their duck faces with captions such as "Me and mah bestie at le Sunburnz". Yes! Sadly, I know such kids. *facepalm*

I have had a Twitter account for the last two years, but only recently did I become more frequent there. And now, I like it better. Its short and crisp and you can always indulge in conversations with yourself. My twitter handle is @shroooti_singh. Not that I post any interesting updates, but whatever.

So the primal dilemma right now is: Do I follow my heart into choosing a career which would stimulate me intellectually and creatively

Or

Do I continue with the rat-race, ignore the inspiration I get every time I watch Wake Up Sid! and hope to become the corporate slave my beloved khandaan expects me to be?

I shall update this space with the choice I made. But I am sure everybody has been through this fix. If you have, please bless me with your words. I am in a dire need to get this clutter off of my head.

In other important news, I FINALLY got a new laptop. [Heeee :D]. Its so pretty and sleek. And the best part is the battery. Yes. Its a very big factor, considering that I have used an Acer which worked for just 11 minutes without being plugged-in. So you get my happiness, right?!
I am not particularly excited for the impending festival season. Its like a burden to be chirpy and happy when its actually just overrated. Small families living in big cities in their big mansions, watching the Diwali Mega Blast on TV channels on their big LED screens. That's festive season, summarized.

In short, life is like the Jason Mraz song, Plane. "...I'll remember where the love was found."

***

I am trying for a couple of internships... anything to keep the volatile mind of mine from falling prey to the wonderful existential words of Kafka, Camus and Nietzsche. I am dealing with the twenty-something crisis of life. 
Much love to Jason Mraz, and to you, dear Reader. 

-x-

One song and one page at a time.

Celebrating Book Lover's Day today. Reading Rob Sheffield's Love is a Mix-Tape for the fifth time. This is one of my favourites. If you haven't read it already, I suggest you do! 

I haven't made a mix-tape or a playlist for anybody else but me. Nobody has made a mix for me either. I hope someday this does change. Till then, I am going to enjoy this book. 

Picture Courtesy: deviantArt

I was reading a poem by my idol, Wallace Stevens, in which he said, ‘The self is a cloister of remembered sounds.’ My first response was, Yesss! How did he know that? It’s like he’s reading my mind. But my second response was, I need some new sounds to remember. I’ve been stuck in my little isolation chamber for so long I’m spinning through the same sounds I’ve been hearing in my head all my life. If I go on this way, I’ll get old too fast, without remembering any more sounds than I already know now. The only one who remembers any of my sounds is me. How do you turn down the volume on your personal-drama earphones and learn how to listen to other people? How do you jump off one moving train, marked Yourself, and jump onto a train moving in the opposite direction, marked Everybody Else? I loved a Modern Lovers song called, ‘Don’t Let Our Youth Go to Waste,’ and I didn’t want to waste mine

***

Now Playing: Center of Attention | Jackson Waters

Midnight Rants.

My friend asked me a couple of days ago, "What is your idea of a perfect monsoon evening?"

A cup of strong tea, a balcony overlooking a garden with lush green creepers, a bedroom with deep red walls, and beautiful jazz playing on the stereo. 

Its another thing that it hasn't been the best of monsoons this time. But I have learned that imagination is indeed very important and a strong determining factor of how your life might turn out to be. So yes, someday, I do wish to have my perfect monsoon evening.

***

NP: I've Got To See You Again | Norah Jones

I love my music and I love sharing it. So please go ahead. Click on the name and enjoy the jazz. 
Miss Jones, what divinity!! 

Yves Klein; Leap Into The Void

This is one of my all-time favorite photographs. 

-x-

Alive =)

Read that. Click here.

And enjoy.

***

Blame It on the Fallen Sky!

Just for the record, I never stopped loving you Thom Yorke. 

Radiohead, You shall remain my best friend for all out-of-season rainy days wherever I may be...and for other days, of course.

***

-x-

This Day.

Let us sit under the midnight sky
Talk. Sip tea. Feel the touch
As our nails brush against each other,
And the fog plays with the wind.
Sit. And laugh.
Just like that day
When the road was pink, the drapes were yellow!
Sit but don't kiss me a happy new year;
For the longer we wait, the older we grow together...
The wiser we get in the game of free fall!
Sit and sing me Happy,
The way it has always been,
The way it always will be.
Frozen in the moment,
Under the midnight sky!

***

I'm happy in a love like this! 

***

Happy New Year! What a year it has been. Slow. Rather slow. So many bad habits taken up. So less good habits maintained. And yet I end this year with one constant emotion. 

Lots of love. 

xoxo

 

Oh Floyd!

I really want to know how it must have felt listening to the guitar intro of Wish You Were Here back in the 60's on an old radio. That trip would be of another level altogether. That old radio. That original, rustic sound. My mind boggles at the very thought of it. Whiling away time in your room with a good book in your hand on an October evening and listening to that guitar intro fading into Gilmour's voice!! Sigh!

***

This part of the year is so refreshing. You can smell the sweetness of winter approaching. Its just the right kind of weather. Its sunny and bright every morning. Its pleasant and chilly in the evening. Reminds me of the evenings Ruskin Bond always wrote about. I feel happy.


***

I think Marx, Freud, and Steve Jobs are the most genius men to have lived on this earth. I happened to watch Coldplay's performance of Fix You on Steve Jobs's after-funeral memorial at Apple Inc, CA. I was nearly in tears.
I am so  proud of my brother for being part of such an amazing enterprise...they actually change your life. They really do. Sometimes, by gadgets. Sometimes, by their ideas...that basic want of bringing people together.

***

Dentists are the worst of people. They say something and they do something else. They give you a lot of excruciating pain while calmly telling you that it will not pain "much". My dentist stabbed the roots of my tooth with metal sticks without informing me that there was an option of numbing the roots. Have you ever gotten stubbed by a cigarette? Its a pain worse than breaking a bone. My pain was worse than the cigarette burn.

***

Papon replied to one of my tweets. That absolutely made my day. Weekender next Saturday-Sunday. SO EXCITED. So many of my favorite people coming to perform Live!! Its amazing how music rules our life. Its just amazing. The Dewarists in a week. Indian Ocean in a week. Shafqat Amanat Ali in a week. So much love.

***

This one week is going to be etched in my memory for a long-long time. So much love in the air.
And that's about it. I still have two term papers to finish.

***

My favorite lines from Floyd's number:

We're just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl,
Year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
And how we found
The same old fears.
Wish you were here.

***

Lots of love.
x

Track #8 (Just Floyd)

Thursday. The 19th of July.

Say no more. Just listen.


***

And I am not afraid of dying, any time will do.

***

We say goodbye. Let's rest the case here. Night.

***

No more love. Ciao.  

Track #7 - Fake Plastic Trees

Wednesday. The 18th of July.

Didn't update for two days I guess. Busy busy busy! I am yet to write a 5000 word debate. [ eyes rolling ]. Anyhow, I am going back to campus on 20th. So that leaves me with just two more updates. So I thought I'd post one of my favorite alt rock bands. Radiohead. Now when you're listening to Thom Yorke sing the most unusual lyrics in that fashion, you don't think just how beautiful this band is or just how tight it is! You think of other issues! You think of yourself. You introspect. You try to understand those words and how each and every beat doesn't calm you but makes you question so many things within you! It makes you face your vulnerability in a sense that you accept it and you carry on with it.

This one track is immensely close to my heart. It sounds great on speakers but listen to it on headphones. You will zone out, like I do, every freaking time! [ Where did the monsoon disappear? ]

Genre: Alternative Rock
Title: Fake Plastic Trees
Artist: Radiohead

***

She lives with a broken man,

A cracked polystyrene man

Who just crumbles and burns...

He used to do surgery for the girls in the eighties

But gravity always wins.

***

You see the words? I don't even have an adjective for this track. Also, I am looking for good tattoo parlors/artists in Delhi, other than Devilz'. Do let me know if you have any info. 

 

***

 

Lots of love. And lots of beer as Monsoon cheated on Delhi!

Track #6 - Ebb

Saturday. The 14th of July.

Busy day. Weird bank day too. What's up with the state banks these days? :|
Today's track is from India!!! ^.^
Lounge Piranha (cool name, right?) is a real talent pack. Check out their My Space page and you'll know. This was the first track my cousin made me listen to and I fell in love with it. After enough number of serious instrumental tracks, this one is a "feel-good" song.

Genre: Alternative/post-rock
Title: Ebb
Artist: Lounge Piranha

***

My favorite line: I asked for rain and she gave me winter. 

***

Just a week for college. eeeeeeeeeee.

***

Lots of love.  

Track # 5 - And Leave

Friday. The 13th of July.

Firstly, happy birthday to my very own Buttercup. My friend, Shivani turns 20.

Honestly, I don't understand this Friday the 13th business. I mean, come on! I was born on friday the 13th! Am I weird? [ok, don't answer that].
Anyhow... I talked about this artist who's very close to my heart. She is Sóley.A beautiful singer. She reminds me of Regina Spektor but I like her more. Her music is peace. Period. Headphones suggested, again. I miss my brother. I got a very pretty gift from my cousin yesterday. Very pretty. Sinusitis returns with a bang. :|
Allergy season is here!!

Genre: Indie
Title: And Leave
Artist: Sóley

***

Dream my way and I will dance for you...

Dream my way and I will sing for you!! 

***

You know I have the most amazing people around me. And that includes each one of you who appreciate and encourage me here. I love you all.

***

Lots of love. 

 

Track #4 - I'm Jim Morrison...

Thursday. The 12th of July.

Just came to my room. Was on the terrace with my doggie. He likes to spend time with me while the sun sets, everyday! The basic idea of making this playlist was to get a respite from the usual music I listen to; because you like it or not, you do get tired of the words, the beats, etc. I mean... just how much can you listen to the old playlists?! Right. Those who liked Sufjan Stevens yesterday will love this. (Or so I hope). Now this band is one of my personal favorite post-rock bands after, of course, Slint. Instrumental music so bear with it, please :)


I suggest you use headphones/ earphones for this track. Mogwai; the band is talented, amazingly gifted and they come up with crazy names for their tracks, like this one. 

Genre: Post-rock, instrumental
Title: I'm Jim Morrison I'm Dead
Artist: Mogwai

***

I feel lost. Absolutely lost. 

***

All of us have so many layers within us. This track always reminds of the layered truth behind Jim Morisson's death. Who knows if he died in that pub or his own pool of comfort!! Sigh.

***

Lots of love.   

Track #3 - Romulus

Wednesday. The 11th of July.

You know I have a very strange mood today. Sometimes you go through days when all you want to do is lie in your bed and listen to some music like this. Now, I know I had promised Floyd and Radiohead and Elliott Smith, but Sufjan Stevens cannot be ignored. Now this is different music. Its simple. But not Coldplay simple. There is something about Stevens which is absolutely soft. You know its like poetry.

I have been listening to Stevens all day today. Have not done anything productive. Have traveled across spaces in thought. And here I am now. Its an acoustic track so not many people usually like it. Here it goes anyway.

Genre: Indie
Title: Romulus
Artist: Sufjan Stevens

***

Once when our mother called, She had a voice of last year's cough. We passed around the phone, Sharing a word about Oregon. When my turn came, I was ashamed. 

***

I have a weak knee for simplicity. A day well spent in dreaming and living music. 

Floyd, Radiohead, Elliott Smith, and another very very close to my heart artist coming up. 

***

Lots of love.

Track #2 - Sound Trippin'

Tuesday. The 10th of July. Just look at the weather! I mean just look at it!! AMAZING.

MTV India hardly comes up with something good. But when it does, its pretty awesome. I personally liked Pakistan Coke Studio more. MTV Unplugged was okay too. What really caught my eye and ears was MTV Sound Trippin'. Sneha Khanwalkar is one hell of a talent pack!!

My favorite track remains Episode 1. Punjab. And if you missed that show, you missed something really powerful.

Genre: Punjabi
Title: Tung-Tung
Artist: Sneha Khanwalkar

***

The most interesting part is that the lyrics have been written by Khanwalkar. Listen to the song and watch how it was made here 

***

 You don't really need to understand Punjabi to enjoy the music. If you do, its even better :D

***

Lots of love.  

Track #1 - A Little Piece

Okay. So here is the thing. I will post one song everyday along with some piece of random crap I keep rambling. Starting from today, we share music. This will go on till the 18th or 19th of July, depending on when I go back to college.

The new playlist starts.

Monday. The 9th of June. And I am happy.

Now the following song was told to me by a friend. And I fell in love with it the first time I listened to it. The Jezabels are a group of amazing musicians from Sydney, Australia. This track is #1 on my Monsoon playlist. Also, the tracks on the playlist are in a random order.

Genre: Alternative / Indie.
Title: A Little Piece
Artist: The Jezabels

***

Look at me, through the sea, I'm in love, hold me tight, There you got it. And did you find, that you like, 

A little piece, of cherry pie, Hot from the oven.

 

***

 

You know what I love about music?? It allows you to teleport and at the same time traverse through dimensions. 

 

***

 

Lots of Love.

  

The Happy Kid Writes.

Short update.

Monsoon is finally here in Delhi.
Time to change playlists.
We go to Elliott Smith from Dream Theater; to Floyd from Staind; to Radiohead from Maroon 5.

So I am thinking of starting a chain-update on this blog for the first time. Keeping in mind the insane need for me to keep listening to music all day long, I am thinking of posting one song of the day! And I need feedback. So the few readership that I have, let me know :)

I love sharing my music with everyone.

For starters, here is the song of the day for me

***

 

Miss Misery | Elliott Smith

*I know you'd rather see me gone Than to see me the way that I am But I am in the life anyway*

This man was a sheer genuis. Just listen to this song and you'll know exactly what I am talking about. 

***

More, soon. After I get some feedback about the music thing. 

***

Lots of love.

----

The truth is, I miss you.
Never enough of the west winds
You and I, we were different on the edge
You were the dead sea; I am the sea stone!
When it couldn't be found, what was once left
Sinking in the sand with our feet,
You changed.
I became the back you turned.
Closing into walls soon enough you...
You were more like a miracle!
That endless speck of fairy lights
On a dusty Christmas eve!
You do not belong to me.
I am the stone.
Turn the back again;
Promise to never return the waves,
They corrode me.

***

Written on the plane back to Delhi from Goa. I was listening to Coldplay's Warning Sign. And though this piece has got nothing to do with my life or any event pertaining to my life, I felt the urge to write something beginning from that line. 
Also, Coldplay is amazing. 

Current Mood: A Rush Of Blood To The Head. (And if you do not know what this is, DIE)

Found and Lost.

Find your way to the closet
Look for that one day,
The time when you put the dream
And the night behind the front door.
Take the day out;
Wrap it in a paper bag,
Fill in some breaths.
Forget the cellophane,
Just throw it away in the creek
Just like the night when the joker
Left the stage with a cry!
Hand over the day to someone far
Far away from the house.
Then come back here,
Find your way to the closet,
And look for what you forgot...
The dream and the night
Still wait behind the front door. 

***

Now Playing: True Love Wait | Radiohead
You know there is something about Radiohead music. My favorite line from this song:: I'm not living, I'm just killing time!! 
I have come back with a lot of inspiration. Sea does that to me I figured. Wait up for something more, and new :)

Lots of Love. Because I can't do without it!!