a lil' bit of everythin'

Monday, January 23, 2006

Okay. So I am a huge astrology freak. Well… there’s that. You get to know another facet of my quirky personality. Now don’t misconstrue the word freak. I don’t really believe in this how-suns-and-planets-rule-your-life thing but then you would find it damn interesting and a decent and exciting way to pass your time when you’re utterly or completely bored, when you just don’t feel like switching on your stereo, and you’ve already played the guitar for like hours and have no inclination to touch that instrument for another few days, and the television as usual is showing gibberish and you’ve already surfed the internet for an hour or so and everything is so uneventful that even the world wide web fails to sustain your interest. Oh yeah, and you don’t really feel like reading a heavy book because your cortical cells are too exhausted and as for the light teen romance ones, you just possess one of them ( since you consider it beyond your intellectual level to own even one but still have one for these bloody moments) well… as for teen novels, you’ve read that particular story so many times that you practically know the scenes by heart, and the same is the case with the light comedy dvds, which you’ve practically seen a million times. These are the times when I take out my zodiac collection and browse through them.

Now as for my zodiac sign. It is pretty obvious. Which sign is as quirky as I am all the time? Aquarius.

Yes that’s what my zodiac is. The water bearer. Hang on a sec. Water bearer definitely does not imply the people who serve you water in restaurants. ; ).

Though I’m not exactly fanatical about what these signs have to say I do believe that they have an iota of truth in them. In fact almost everyone I know has some traits that identify them to their zodiac. Of course you cant expect yourself to be absolutely what your zodiac foretells you to be. Its because your character traits are guided by all the various planets, the sun and the moon. Infact each of the nine planets, the sun and the moon guide various aspects of your life and personality and hence you are the person you are. Isn’t it interesting? It will be even more fun when you get a hang on to the concept of the other stuff.

Sayonara

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

hey...

here are a couple of my favourite songs by the scorpions...

send me an angel

The wise man said just walk this way
To the dawn of the light
The wind will blow into your face
As the years pass you by
Hear this voice from deep inside
It's the call of your heart
Close your eyes and your will find
The passage out of the dark

chorus:

Here I am
Will you send me an angel
Here I am
In the land of the morning star

The wise man said just find your place
In the eye of the stormSeek the roses along the way
Just beware of the thorns

chorus

The wise man said just raise your hand
And reach out for the spell
Find the door to the promised land
Just believe in yourself
Hear this voice from deep inside
It's the call of your heart
Close your eyes and your will find
The passage out of the dark


wind of change
I follow the Moskva Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
An August summer night
Soldiers passing by
Listening to the wind of change
The world closing in
Did you ever think
That we could be so close,like brothers
The future's in the air I can feel it everywhere
Blowing with the wind of change
Chorus:
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change
Walking down the street
Distant memories
Are buried in the past forever
I follow the Moskva Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change
The wind of change blows straight
Into the face of time
Like a stormwind that will ring
The freedom bell for peace of mind
Let your balalaika sing
What my guitar wants to say
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change

MUSIC. Just a simple harmless little word. But I still have not come across a single comprehensive meaning for it. Speaking of meanings we are naturally inclined to envisage the dictionary so let me do the extra work and tell you what exactly the word means.


mu·sic [myzik]
n
1. sounds that produce effect: sounds, usually produced by instruments or voices, that are arranged or played in order to create a pleasing or stimulating effect
2. art of arranging sounds: the art of arranging or making sounds, usually those of musical instruments or voices, in groups and patterns that create a pleasing or stimulating effect
3. type of music: music of a particular type, for example, of a particular place or time, for a particular instrument, of a particular style, or appealing to a particular group
rock-and-roll music

4. written music: written notation on paper indicating the pitch, duration, rhythm, and tone of notes to be played
5. pleasing sound: any sound or group of sounds that is pleasing or stimulating
the music of the wind in the trees

6. group: a group of musicians (archaic)


[13th century. Via French musique from, ultimately, Greek mousikē “art of the Muse, music,” from mousikos “of a Muse,” from mousa “muse” (see muse2).]
Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Unfortunately for the lexicographers they haven’t been able to grasp the essence of the word. While for me Scorpions soft rock is the best of the lot, for some others EMINEM might be the only musician on the planet. Some might be sitting in their couches beleaguered by the sound of Mtv for they are the classical junkies. Seriously dude, how relative can a word get. Why don’t you try asking five different people of what they think music is and see the kind of diverse answers you get.

Its really complicated, to classify the various types of music junkies and dissect them. Infact everyone at some point of time develops a kind of distinct taste. I know someone who just listens to rap. Supposedly he does not comprehend any other type of music. It’s just rap all the way… and the rest of the genres don’t even figure in his vocabulary. Then of course there are other genres like new age, world music, classical, gospel, gothic, grunge, pop … to name a few. If you want a complete list then just open your windows media player and click to the advanced tag editor. You’ll get an idea of what I’m talking about. Btw, iTunes wont give you a list as big as wmp.

There are several other genres like gospel, gothic, new age etc. but they are hardly significant when compared to some of the other more popular ones. Basically speaking the major chunk of the music hearing population is classified into four major groups. You have the rock population; the pop generation, the rap hip hop and reggae culture; and last but not the least the Others which includes all other genres that form the minority.

Now these groups can again be subdivided into various subgroups. Rock for example can be classified on the basis of chronology, lyrics, type of instruments uses, beats per minutes etc. chronologically you have the fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties, and contemporary. Then you have the hard, soft, metal, acid. There are angst ridden, angry to the point of abuse, songs and at the same time there are soft songs and power ballads that can melt your heart. Eighties rock is by far the most popular of the sub-genres. While most of the not so fond of rock people appreciate the classic eighties, most get overtly critical when it comes to the harder sub-categories, equating it to pure noise. However to its lovers it is a complex form of music and requires tremendous calibre to appreciate and enjoy. ( personal add on : ska music sometimes rocks and sometimes really gets on my nerves. But that’s beside the point).

Now moving on to the pop population. As the name suggests the name pop has been derived from the word popular owing to its huge fan base. Now don’t get all mixed up here. Let’s go back to the dictionary and see how they define pop before getting all biased and prejudiced.

pop mu·sic

n
commercial music: modern commercial music, usually tuneful, uptempo and repetitive, that is aimed at the general public and the youth market in particular. Also called pop

Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

So, when something’s crafted to suit your taste, it will appeal to you and you will listen to it or be attracted to it. That is normal human nature. As for my take on the issue, the main reason for the popularity of pop is the radio population ( to many pop words), the people who are not really into music and prefer stuff that are easy to hear and lyrics that are easy to comprehend. So it being a pop music lover won’t exactly place you on a pedestal, but then why should you care?

As for the third major group, I am not in a position to comment since EMINEM’s the only one of the lot that I can listen to for hours at a stretch without getting irritated. A recent craze is the introduction of a little bit of rap into songs of other genres. We hear LL coolJ rapping away in the interludes of JLO’s song. Sounds different and its definitely a good attempt to unite two completely different genres.

As for the other smaller groups, they are a refreshing change and not really a part of the cutthroat rivalry of the other three. While a rock fan dare not admit that he has just heard a Justin Timberlake song ( not by accident) it doesn’t hurt to announce his recent tryst with a sitar maestro’s new album. After all no one wants to be at the receiving end of “ sneers from the peers.”

Well, since you’re about to read my opinions on nearly everything, it would be prudent to know a little bit about me.
So, to begin with, I am a 17 year old girl from Kolkata, India. I have three best friends… books, music and chocolates. I just love The Scorpions and everything to do with them. I also play the guitar and love writing songs… and though I am an avid rock fan my self composed songs are mostly of the soft Sheryl Crow types.

You must be wandering why you are browsing through this page when you have better stuff to do in life. It is my guarantee* that the subsequent entries are going to be full of interesting stuff. So if you’re still there, hang on for a little while longer. And yes, if you like what I wrote and want to know more about the person behind them all, you’re welcome to mail me at aishani.roy@gmail.com.

Now without any further delay lets move on to the subject matter.

*. Btw, interest is a purely relative concept, so if my stuff don’t interest you then… well move on to another blog that complements your interests.