Hello readers, bleeders and feeders! What is new with you!
Alright, let's get right to it. It's been a while since I posted something light-hearted on this site, and to those who are tired of the deep shit; well, I'm sorry, but get ready for some more disappointment (laughs). This next topic isn't going to be all that light at heart. So, sorry deep-shit-tired-readers.
Well, the simple question to you is 'Where are we going?'. And to answer that question, I don't know where the fuck to begin, what the fuck I'm supposed to say, and finally, how the fuck you or I am supposed to know (laughs). That pretty much sums up what I'm going to say in this passage.
I guess I'll start by going back in time to get some perspective. Several decades ago, life was simple. Or should I say, life was simpler than what it is now. Back then, the biggest form of communication worldwide was...the radio! There were no phones, cell phones, smartphones, computers, tablets, laptops, and...am I missing something important...Oh yes! the Internet! There was no god damn internet back then! Holy fuck right! I mean, imagine sending a modern day kid back to the 1940s. That kid is going to suicide. Anyway, the point is that evolution had not bloomed yet and everything was much simpler (but not entirely simple. Like the world wars. What the fuck. Why exactly did humans want and have to kill other humans). So this eventually leads us to conclude that since technology and some basic cultural evolution were still in their nascent stages, all the resources were relatively plentiful. By resources, I mean, things like silicon, iron, oil, aluminium, wood (no pun intended - laughs), clay, sand, cement, fuel, etc. Ahh, there was no throat-damaging-pollution back then. How awesome.
A few years down the line of the 1960s and 70s, technology started evolving with the advent of big ass mammoth sized computers and some kind of shitty fat ass cable wired telephony connections. Well, not just technology. In some way, cultures and lifestyles started changing too. Shitty black and white televisions that aired shitty channels and shitty programs started becoming popular and somewhat commonplace (of course, back then, those channels weren't perceived as shitty at all. On the contrary, they must've been perceived as freaking awesome - laughs). More and more people started coming together and even though several countries had their differences, several other countries started tying up and working together in order to grow to establish a better future. One thing is certain here. Resources were still abundant, but they were slowly being used up.
Now as we move into the 1980s, things started happening at a faster pace. People began to wonder if a way existed in order to communicate more or less worldwide, besides the telephone and telegram stuff. Something like the Internet. Ah, those motherfucking amazing visionaries who gave it everything they had, to bring us such a wonderful (or fucked up?) future. Transportation vehicles like buses, cars, two-wheelers, trains and the likes started becoming popular. Ah, the dawn of sweet sweet air pollution, noise pollution, water and all kinds of shitty pollutions. A big step for mankind, the beginning of the end for planet Earth (Man, I'm getting slightly tired of typing all of this down. I wish that all my thoughts got magically transferred on to the blog page, so I wouldn't have to type at all. Sadly, that technology hasn't been invented yet...or maybe I'm just a lazy schmuck). Oh how could I forget! The population! The motherfucking population started blowing up! For some reason people started humping each other like crazy and started making millions of babies in some kind of a desperate charade. My point being that planet Earth's resources had started depleting at a much faster pace now. Fast enough to cause some concern.
Just to clear something up. You must be wondering why I've been rambling about planet Earth's resources for a while now. (I wouldn't be surprised if you're going 'Shove those god damn resources up your god damn arse - laughs). Bear with me. Be a little patient. I'm getting there (Again, no pun intended - laughs). As we move into the 1990s and perhaps the early 2000s, things started to BOOM! Yes, it was that big a boom. An explosion in your face, if you will. Cultural changes, landline phones, computers and operating systems, cell phones, transportation, aeroplanes, televisions, weapons, strip clubs...Wait what! No, I'm just kidding (laughs), oil companies, and finally... the Internet! Changes, changes everywhere. And yet, the humping went on and on. The population went north and kept going north because of humans' strange addiction to humping and procreating. Now, there was some serious concern about the Earth's resources being depleted in a big way. (Oh fuck! Not the resources again! Right? - laughs).
Alright, let us fast forward to today. What is the world like today? Well, I can tell you the answer in simply three words. Really fucked up (laughs). There have been some huge cultural changes. Everything is becoming more and more globalized. And the world seems to be getting smaller by the day. No no, not just in our heads, but also physically. Yes, we are sucking the Earth's resources like there's no tomorrow. And soon enough, there will in fact be no tomorrow. Ahh, the sweet sweet apocalypse. So, some things that are very popular right now are smartphones, tablets (No no, not drugs. Touchscreen slates. Get your minds out of the 27th dimension, stoners - laughs), computers, laptops, gadgets like gaming consoles, music players, high resolution high definition televisions, blah blah blah. And almost everything computerizable (that's not a word I know. It should be) is becoming or has become computerized! You name it. Shopping, watching movies, playing games, listening to music, pornography (couldn't resist typing that here, sorry), dating, marriages (yes, even finding a bride/bridegroom), ordering food, doing business, chatting, gambling, blogging (Oh wait - laughs) and I could go on and on unto eternity! All thanks to the Internet and the incredible speed at which computerization is happening. This has become so insane that, believe it or not, our emotions have become intertwined with the internet and computers! It is only a matter of time before computers are intelligent enough to make us their bitches. And sooner or later, they will not need us anymore and they will annihilate us all. Anyway, my apologies for digressing. You see, now I'm going to explain the whole Earth's resources being eaten up thing. Today, the population of the Earth has crossed over 7.2 billion humans. And that does not even include the animals, birds, fishes, insects, plants and other organisms that inhabit the Earth. We are using up the Earth's resources so fast that now we have a reason to be majorly concerned. Soon enough, there will be so few resources left that everything will become unreasonably expensive and life will become bloody fucking hell (the opening of Pandora's box, if you will). Everyone will start keeping a tab on what they purchase, what they eat, how much they eat, how much petrol, fuel and oil they consume, how many kids they make, how much land they own, and so on. Am I exaggerating? You may think so. And I wish I was. But sadly, I believe I'm not. Some day, this is bound to happen. Sustaining life on Earth is going to become...I can't think of a word that is good enough to describe it's fucked-up-ness (that's not a word I know, and it should be). So let me ask you this once again. Where are we going? We're going nowhere. And we're all going to die. Peace.
Thank you all, once again, for reading this joyous and inspirational passage. I'm sure that you are so overwhelmed that you're puking rainbows and bleeding drops of honey (hello again, stoners - laughs).No, I was kidding. This has been a depressing passage and it has probably crushed your ambition and will to live. Sorry about that. My bad. And your bad too. Because I warned you that this is going to be a deep-shit kind of passage (laughs).
Anyway, thank you for reading! I hope you learned something new! I'm going to call it a night now (and it is night. What a coincidence - laughs). Take care of yourself. Take care of each other. Good night.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Saturday, July 20, 2013
I see more when...
Hey virtual people! How's it going? It's 3am here in the city of Bangalore, and let me tell you, the weather is cold as fuck! After a pretty long hiatus I'm back to write on my blog page.
So here I am, sitting at my laptop, on my bed; it's 3am and I can't get any sleep. Thoughts about the world fill my head as sleep eludes me, and frankly, I'm not even sure about how this post is going to turn out. I'm just writing as spontaneously as I possibly can.
So anyway, I was just thinking about things in general - like society, humans, animals, different countries, technology, and the list goes on and on. Let's pick one topic to simplify. Society, for instance. In my eyes, there are 2 different kinds of society - One, society as it is, and two, society as it should be. Of course, this might bring up the common issue of 'Who are you and what authority do you have, to tell me what society should be, you fucknut?'. It's quite simple. Everything I state here is just my opinion. It's not absolute or the gospel truth. We all have different opinions, and each opinion should be respected. I guess that's what makes society 'not boring'.
Now, having been born and brought up in India, I saw a lot of things as I grew up. A typical society of the average dude paints a picture that goes something like this - You're born, and then your parents teach you how to do certain basic tasks, and you learn how to speak and communicate with the environment around you. You look at your environment wondering what's what and slowly figure everything out as time passes you by. And before you know it, you find yourself being 'educated' in a school, and if everything works out, you go to college for some more 'education', and then you end up scouting for more 'education', and it goes on and on. Now hang on. Does it feel like I missed something important? Well I certainly feel that way. What about moral values and the big picture in our lives? Let's find out.
In the kind of society we live in right now, we see people ranging from the philanthropic type to the serial-killer type. How did that happen! The philanthropist and the serial-killer are both made of flesh-blood-and-bones, there's really no difference structurally. Say what you will, but I believe that the fact is this has happened because of the effects of society. This is what I call the 'big picture fuck up'. Generally, the big picture for a philanthropist is to help living beings on a mass basis. I'm not entirely sure if a serial-killer possesses a big picture in mind (don't get me wrong, they could have possibly the clearest of big pictures), but he or she simply wipes out people, on a mass basis.
Now, let's move on to a less extreme scenario. Let us look at the average corporate man's social life. The average corporate man/woman, whether he/she realizes it or not, has to dress a certain way, speak in a certain way, carry himself in a certain way, and basically live life in certain 'accepted' ways. When you look at society, with your eyes open, this is what you see. Or at least, this is what I see. The funny thing is, when I look at society, I see more when my eyes are closed.
I, for one, believe the key to a comfortable and stable society is the communication of moral values and understanding the big picture. I suddenly realize as I'm writing this article, all of you reading this must be going 'What the fuck is this big picture you talk about!' (laughs). The big picture is sort of vague in every sense. It is the perfect blend of a personal goal and a common goal. And now you're going 'Seriously, what the fuck dude!' (laughs again). If you have never thought of stuff like this, then you're probably too young or you simply haven't reached that stage yet.
God, I have been drifting left and right and I'm all over the place with this article. If you're thinking, 'This guy is so messed up', you could be right. But give me a break, it's 4am and I'm delirious (laughs).
So coming back to the society that the average person lives in, he/she needs to present himself/herself in certain 'accepted' ways, and if he/she doesn't do so, he/she faces the risk of being cast aside- or in social terms, losing friends. If ever you find yourself being overwhelmed by the demands of society or the pressure that society puts on you, I strongly encourage you to look at society 'with your eyes closed'. That works for me. I see the society as it should be and I find the strength to strive and do things for the betterment of the current society. I get reminded of the hazy big picture that I have in mind and remember that what I see outside may not be real. What you and I bring to the table in terms of value, that's what is real man. Close your eyes and think, and I give you my word, you will see a lot more than you would normally see with your eyes open.
I think I'm gonna call it a night now. So folks, think big picture!
And to clarify for those of you wondering if I've consumed some kind of substance while I was writing this article, I have not (laughs).
Stay active, and keep it real folks.
So here I am, sitting at my laptop, on my bed; it's 3am and I can't get any sleep. Thoughts about the world fill my head as sleep eludes me, and frankly, I'm not even sure about how this post is going to turn out. I'm just writing as spontaneously as I possibly can.
So anyway, I was just thinking about things in general - like society, humans, animals, different countries, technology, and the list goes on and on. Let's pick one topic to simplify. Society, for instance. In my eyes, there are 2 different kinds of society - One, society as it is, and two, society as it should be. Of course, this might bring up the common issue of 'Who are you and what authority do you have, to tell me what society should be, you fucknut?'. It's quite simple. Everything I state here is just my opinion. It's not absolute or the gospel truth. We all have different opinions, and each opinion should be respected. I guess that's what makes society 'not boring'.
Now, having been born and brought up in India, I saw a lot of things as I grew up. A typical society of the average dude paints a picture that goes something like this - You're born, and then your parents teach you how to do certain basic tasks, and you learn how to speak and communicate with the environment around you. You look at your environment wondering what's what and slowly figure everything out as time passes you by. And before you know it, you find yourself being 'educated' in a school, and if everything works out, you go to college for some more 'education', and then you end up scouting for more 'education', and it goes on and on. Now hang on. Does it feel like I missed something important? Well I certainly feel that way. What about moral values and the big picture in our lives? Let's find out.
In the kind of society we live in right now, we see people ranging from the philanthropic type to the serial-killer type. How did that happen! The philanthropist and the serial-killer are both made of flesh-blood-and-bones, there's really no difference structurally. Say what you will, but I believe that the fact is this has happened because of the effects of society. This is what I call the 'big picture fuck up'. Generally, the big picture for a philanthropist is to help living beings on a mass basis. I'm not entirely sure if a serial-killer possesses a big picture in mind (don't get me wrong, they could have possibly the clearest of big pictures), but he or she simply wipes out people, on a mass basis.
Now, let's move on to a less extreme scenario. Let us look at the average corporate man's social life. The average corporate man/woman, whether he/she realizes it or not, has to dress a certain way, speak in a certain way, carry himself in a certain way, and basically live life in certain 'accepted' ways. When you look at society, with your eyes open, this is what you see. Or at least, this is what I see. The funny thing is, when I look at society, I see more when my eyes are closed.
I, for one, believe the key to a comfortable and stable society is the communication of moral values and understanding the big picture. I suddenly realize as I'm writing this article, all of you reading this must be going 'What the fuck is this big picture you talk about!' (laughs). The big picture is sort of vague in every sense. It is the perfect blend of a personal goal and a common goal. And now you're going 'Seriously, what the fuck dude!' (laughs again). If you have never thought of stuff like this, then you're probably too young or you simply haven't reached that stage yet.
God, I have been drifting left and right and I'm all over the place with this article. If you're thinking, 'This guy is so messed up', you could be right. But give me a break, it's 4am and I'm delirious (laughs).
So coming back to the society that the average person lives in, he/she needs to present himself/herself in certain 'accepted' ways, and if he/she doesn't do so, he/she faces the risk of being cast aside- or in social terms, losing friends. If ever you find yourself being overwhelmed by the demands of society or the pressure that society puts on you, I strongly encourage you to look at society 'with your eyes closed'. That works for me. I see the society as it should be and I find the strength to strive and do things for the betterment of the current society. I get reminded of the hazy big picture that I have in mind and remember that what I see outside may not be real. What you and I bring to the table in terms of value, that's what is real man. Close your eyes and think, and I give you my word, you will see a lot more than you would normally see with your eyes open.
I think I'm gonna call it a night now. So folks, think big picture!
And to clarify for those of you wondering if I've consumed some kind of substance while I was writing this article, I have not (laughs).
Stay active, and keep it real folks.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Harassment and Torture
Disclaimer: The intention of this blog post is only to express my views and opinions, and not to hurt, insult or affect anybody else in any way. I live in a democratic country, I know my rights, I know that I'm allowed to express myself freely and honestly.
Hey fellow readers, how have you been? Life at my end has been more or less the usual - a little fucked up and a little bit of fun and a little bit of nothingness. So, basically, a typical 23 year old's life.
Anyway, I'm here to talk about something that has become a huge part of discussions that happen in the world today. But before I get into the details of this topic, I'd like to share some of my views in general with y'all.
We, humans, are different from the other species on this wonderfully weird planet. No, we are not superior by birth. For instance, we can't fly, we can't dwell under water, we can't hear/emit ultra high frequency sounds, etc etc. But what makes us different, is the fact that we have a well developed brain. Now, whether you believe that owning a well developed brain is a gift or a curse, is up to you, my friend. We possess the power to do amazing things, things beyond our wildest of imaginations. We travel through space and explore the universe and come across new experiences and become wiser everyday. It's pretty amazing, what a powerful brain can do. Alas, everything comes at a price. And it's not any different here either.
Humans also possess the power to destroy, annihilate and mutilate. You, I and everyone else. If we chose to, we can annihilate several lives in a blink of an eye.
For some reason, the concept of standing united as one does not exist in the world that we live in today. Humans are selfish. A bit too much. So much that we will never unite for a common cause; unless some day, an external alien force threatens to kill us all.
Now, having said that, let me get down to the topic we have at hand. When humans do not understand the concept of uniting for a common cause, they are bound to exercise their power in some other way. Yup, you guessed it. On each other... We inflict a lot of damage upon each other and the weaker species on the planet. Now, if there's one principle that I live by, it's - 'Do not hurt the weaker species. Protect them, help them and nurture their lives.' It's a very simple principle, but also a very powerful one. One that very few people on the planet understand and follow.
Let us take a more deeper look at this principle. When you strangle a chicken to kill it, you can hear it screeching and shrieking, begging for mercy. It's not a pleasant sound, and we know too damn well that it's in a lot of pain and it's not enjoying it. When you throw a stone at a puppy and you hit it, you can hear the squeals let out by the little doggy. You know that it's in a lot of pain and you know that you probably lost your chance at making a new friend. When a goat is sent to the slaughterhouse, little does it know that it's his last day, the last time to bond with family and friends, the last time to enjoy the smell and taste of fresh grass, the last time to express his love to other goats around him.
Let us extrapolate this, shall we. (Extrapolate...I'm not sure if that's the right word. Sounds about right). When humans don't understand the concept of preserving the perfect ecosystem by protecting the weaker species, they take advantage and focus their power on humans themselves. Pretty weird huh? Humans attacking other humans! So here comes the sad face of harassment and torture. When humans decide to attack each other, there's no way we can be happy for one another. For as long as we're alive, we may never understand the concept of 'the greater good'. At the moment we live in a world where each individual says 'I want the world to prosper and I want to contribute to humanity' while they're thinking 'It's all about me. I don't give a flying fuck whether everyone else lives or dies.'.
It's ironic that man has such a powerful brain and can't seem to understand three simple words 'Protect the weak'. I don't have to paint any more pictures for you, as I'm sure, you've already begun to imagine how far this can go. So, coming to where we are today. Certain men attack women and harass them and perform unspeakable acts upon them. Why? Because, they seem to have a hard time understanding and preaching the concept of 'Do not hurt the weaker species, protect them.' Well, certain men attack weaker men as well. Or a certain gang of men attack a single man/woman, leaving the victim behind helpless. In my eyes, none of it makes sense.I still can't seem to get over the statement I made earlier- Humans attacking other humans?... It's funny how we fear the existence of aliens, when we can barely manage to live with each other! I bet, far far away, if aliens do actually exist, they're looking at us on a big screen saying 'Humans huh' and laughing their asses off (If, in fact, they do possess asses.).
Well, I guess there's no point in bitching and cribbing about the past, because what's done is done, and cannot be changed. I guess I should shift my focus to the current living situation. We live in an extremely complex world today. And extremely is an absolute understatement. (or under-word, or under-adjective). We live in a dangerous world today, and I know that I don't have to elaborate because you know that very well too. Certain temporary remedies that I can think of is \ provide pepper spray and mild stun-guns to all women \ women, carry them all the time, they're way more important than your keys or your cell phone \ provide small mini weapons to men and women (knives, blades, gas) \ have emergency buttons installed on your wallet/purse to call for immediate help \ make self-defense classes absolutely mandatory for everyone\ and last, and most importantly: spread the word 'Protect the weaker species, do not hurt them', and make sure that all the people you know do practice it.
Once again, I'd like to remind you that my intentions are pure and the last thing I want to do is affect anyone in any harmful way. I love you all. I have expressed my views and I'd like to thank you for reading this article. I hope you came across something new while reading through my post, and I trust that you will do your part in shaping up a better world.
Take care of yourselves, take care of each other.
Thank you and Good night.
Hey fellow readers, how have you been? Life at my end has been more or less the usual - a little fucked up and a little bit of fun and a little bit of nothingness. So, basically, a typical 23 year old's life.
Anyway, I'm here to talk about something that has become a huge part of discussions that happen in the world today. But before I get into the details of this topic, I'd like to share some of my views in general with y'all.
We, humans, are different from the other species on this wonderfully weird planet. No, we are not superior by birth. For instance, we can't fly, we can't dwell under water, we can't hear/emit ultra high frequency sounds, etc etc. But what makes us different, is the fact that we have a well developed brain. Now, whether you believe that owning a well developed brain is a gift or a curse, is up to you, my friend. We possess the power to do amazing things, things beyond our wildest of imaginations. We travel through space and explore the universe and come across new experiences and become wiser everyday. It's pretty amazing, what a powerful brain can do. Alas, everything comes at a price. And it's not any different here either.
Humans also possess the power to destroy, annihilate and mutilate. You, I and everyone else. If we chose to, we can annihilate several lives in a blink of an eye.
For some reason, the concept of standing united as one does not exist in the world that we live in today. Humans are selfish. A bit too much. So much that we will never unite for a common cause; unless some day, an external alien force threatens to kill us all.
Now, having said that, let me get down to the topic we have at hand. When humans do not understand the concept of uniting for a common cause, they are bound to exercise their power in some other way. Yup, you guessed it. On each other... We inflict a lot of damage upon each other and the weaker species on the planet. Now, if there's one principle that I live by, it's - 'Do not hurt the weaker species. Protect them, help them and nurture their lives.' It's a very simple principle, but also a very powerful one. One that very few people on the planet understand and follow.
Let us take a more deeper look at this principle. When you strangle a chicken to kill it, you can hear it screeching and shrieking, begging for mercy. It's not a pleasant sound, and we know too damn well that it's in a lot of pain and it's not enjoying it. When you throw a stone at a puppy and you hit it, you can hear the squeals let out by the little doggy. You know that it's in a lot of pain and you know that you probably lost your chance at making a new friend. When a goat is sent to the slaughterhouse, little does it know that it's his last day, the last time to bond with family and friends, the last time to enjoy the smell and taste of fresh grass, the last time to express his love to other goats around him.
Let us extrapolate this, shall we. (Extrapolate...I'm not sure if that's the right word. Sounds about right). When humans don't understand the concept of preserving the perfect ecosystem by protecting the weaker species, they take advantage and focus their power on humans themselves. Pretty weird huh? Humans attacking other humans! So here comes the sad face of harassment and torture. When humans decide to attack each other, there's no way we can be happy for one another. For as long as we're alive, we may never understand the concept of 'the greater good'. At the moment we live in a world where each individual says 'I want the world to prosper and I want to contribute to humanity' while they're thinking 'It's all about me. I don't give a flying fuck whether everyone else lives or dies.'.
It's ironic that man has such a powerful brain and can't seem to understand three simple words 'Protect the weak'. I don't have to paint any more pictures for you, as I'm sure, you've already begun to imagine how far this can go. So, coming to where we are today. Certain men attack women and harass them and perform unspeakable acts upon them. Why? Because, they seem to have a hard time understanding and preaching the concept of 'Do not hurt the weaker species, protect them.' Well, certain men attack weaker men as well. Or a certain gang of men attack a single man/woman, leaving the victim behind helpless. In my eyes, none of it makes sense.I still can't seem to get over the statement I made earlier- Humans attacking other humans?... It's funny how we fear the existence of aliens, when we can barely manage to live with each other! I bet, far far away, if aliens do actually exist, they're looking at us on a big screen saying 'Humans huh' and laughing their asses off (If, in fact, they do possess asses.).
Well, I guess there's no point in bitching and cribbing about the past, because what's done is done, and cannot be changed. I guess I should shift my focus to the current living situation. We live in an extremely complex world today. And extremely is an absolute understatement. (or under-word, or under-adjective). We live in a dangerous world today, and I know that I don't have to elaborate because you know that very well too. Certain temporary remedies that I can think of is \ provide pepper spray and mild stun-guns to all women \ women, carry them all the time, they're way more important than your keys or your cell phone \ provide small mini weapons to men and women (knives, blades, gas) \ have emergency buttons installed on your wallet/purse to call for immediate help \ make self-defense classes absolutely mandatory for everyone\ and last, and most importantly: spread the word 'Protect the weaker species, do not hurt them', and make sure that all the people you know do practice it.
Once again, I'd like to remind you that my intentions are pure and the last thing I want to do is affect anyone in any harmful way. I love you all. I have expressed my views and I'd like to thank you for reading this article. I hope you came across something new while reading through my post, and I trust that you will do your part in shaping up a better world.
Take care of yourselves, take care of each other.
Thank you and Good night.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
What makes the world go around? What drives us? Money?
Funny world we live in. A world where a man would lie for money, a world where a man would cheat for money, a world where a man would slay for money. It's almost as if... money is all that matters. I think it's safe to say that we live in a world where we would embrace money and business more than things that live and breathe. When I, personally, look at the big picture, that makes no sense to me! Just ask yourself this... What drives us? And based on a hunch, I'd say, most people would say, earning lots of money. And who can blame them?! We live in a world where money is essential... like air, food and water!
There have been instances I've come across that completely baffle me. I read that most celebrity divorce settlements cost hundreds of millions of dollars. That's One followed by Eight Zeros (100,000,000$+). That's fucking crazy. So, this is the picture. We have a couple arguing over a settlement that costs over a hundred million dollars, and we have third world countries where a father would sell his own child for a few pennies. Over a hundred million dollars...That's enough money to make thousands of people live happily forever and ever, why split the cash between just a couple of them? Do people realize that that kind of money can make a huge difference in the lives of several several people who don't deserve to die so young?
And what's the deal with people getting paid unfathomable amounts of money for posing nude on television?! Spare me, but, hasn't everybody seen a penis or a set of breasts before? I must say this again, funny world we live in.
Anyway, I digress.
Now, here's the kicker. It does seem like I have a bone to pick with the people who want lots of money... But that's not true. It pains me to say this, but...everyone needs money. They should want money. There's no other way to go on living, sadly! But, people, draw a line somewhere. You should want money, enough to make you TRULY happy (and not superficially happy) and satisfy your basic needs. But you must not crave for money. A craving for money would, in some skewed sense, imply that you would do anything for money. And that's where, I believe, most people tend to cross the line.
Now, let's look at this from another angle. Imagine that you were the creator of a planet inhabited with creatures. Say, you're always watching from above, and looking over. How would you feel when you looked at your planet, and saw that the creatures were living in chaos and destruction and fighting over little pieces of paper?
Now...does that ring a bell?
As much as I'd love to continue writing more on my thoughts over this subject, I have to tell you that I realized that this topic would be much much more interesting if a group of people were involved in the discussion, rather than just me rambling on and on for eternity (also, it's time to go to bed).
So, take care of yourselves, take care of each other. Good night!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
When Metal and I met - Part IV
Hello everyone!
We're back with the 4th episode of the series "When Metal and I met"!
Now where were we? Oh that's right, we had stopped at just around the time when my 2nd year pre-university college was coming to an end. I've got to narrate a few incidents here. Around that time, my duty was to study 24/7 so that I'd able to get excellent scores no CET,AIEEE and IIT entrance exams. Well, all kidding aside, I did work pretty hard and man, it was worth it. So there was really no time for fun when you're a serious candidate competing to get into an IIT or an NIT. And the class that I was in, man, it was filled with people with enormous IQs. No kidding, they were dedicated and more so, very very intelligent. It was intimidating. So, we were sort of stuck in a mad race for glory and excellence. And consequently, the amount of work we had to put in was inhuman and abnormally large. So, somehow we had to bear with putting aside all the fun stuff and get on with studying like crazy mfs. So I did that, and things were going just fine (apart from the fact that I was drained of all fun). And in this short window of time, I lost a digicam and a cell phone and a lot of money. Not all at once (Boy, that would've sealed my fate). But one after the other. Man, that was absolutely fucking insane. I was so ridiculously devastated, and all I could feel is regret and anger. My dad didn't like it at all (you really can't blame him). My mom played more of a supportive role and you know, consoled me and stuff (man, she's the best; what would I do without her).But still, there was a pretty hot ball of rage manifested inside of my chest that I had to let go of. And sadly, I would lash out and throw all my anger at people. My friend Anirudh took a few verbal blows from me. My friend Abhiram got the worst of it. We fought so bad, we did not speak for another 8 months or so. Fuck, that was brutal. So anyway, with all of this shit in my head, I had to go on; I had to study well and stuff. I managed to do that, and by god's grace, I got a fairly decent score on my CET, not so much on AIEEE and IIT. And it was really sad for me that I didn't make it to the IITs. It felt like a big part of my life and desires had come to an abrupt and dismal end. So, it was misery after misery that kept piling up on my head, and it was getting to be a really fuckin' big burden (at this point, I feel that most of you with a similar experience would be able to connect with my story well).
So now what? I lost property, I lost glory, I lost my friends, I lost hope and worst of all, my self-esteem had hit rock bottom (it's an awful feeling, believe me; and to get rid of it, ain't that easy). The holidays had begun, and I was not very happy. We had a long holiday, something like 3 months. So I had no idea what I was going to do then. I had to sort of sit down and relax for a few days and get back to a small bit of reality.
Eventually, I figured, it's time to do something new. I loved music ever since I was a little boy, and I still did. So I thought, maybe I could do something more with music, other than just listening to it. So I went and bought an acoustic guitar. (Now that I mention it, I can't believe how ridiculously clichéd that sentence has become). I mean, back then there was a time when chicks thought that guitarists were cool. So it was sort of like a shortcut to getting laid or getting a girlfriend or something like that (but if you're thinking on the same lines, the shortest route would probably be money). Anyway, as you can tell, I was incredibly stupid and I had a skewed way of thinking and all that. But believe me, there comes a time in every frickin' guy's life when he thinks exactly on those very lines (if you don't believe me, you're in for a rude shock). So anyway, let's get back to the point.
I picked up the guitar, and I had no idea what to do with it, other than holding it and feeling awesome most of the time. But that came to an end very quickly. I decided to get on with actually learning how to play something on the guitar. So I watched a few basic video lessons on the net; stuff like up picking, down picking, alternate picking, e minor chord, etc. But then I came across a word called "shredding", and let me tell you, it blew my mind away. So when it comes to music, what does "shredding" mean? In simple words, playing an instrument incredibly fast. Not good enough? Alright, here's an illustration.
We're back with the 4th episode of the series "When Metal and I met"!
Now where were we? Oh that's right, we had stopped at just around the time when my 2nd year pre-university college was coming to an end. I've got to narrate a few incidents here. Around that time, my duty was to study 24/7 so that I'd able to get excellent scores no CET,AIEEE and IIT entrance exams. Well, all kidding aside, I did work pretty hard and man, it was worth it. So there was really no time for fun when you're a serious candidate competing to get into an IIT or an NIT. And the class that I was in, man, it was filled with people with enormous IQs. No kidding, they were dedicated and more so, very very intelligent. It was intimidating. So, we were sort of stuck in a mad race for glory and excellence. And consequently, the amount of work we had to put in was inhuman and abnormally large. So, somehow we had to bear with putting aside all the fun stuff and get on with studying like crazy mfs. So I did that, and things were going just fine (apart from the fact that I was drained of all fun). And in this short window of time, I lost a digicam and a cell phone and a lot of money. Not all at once (Boy, that would've sealed my fate). But one after the other. Man, that was absolutely fucking insane. I was so ridiculously devastated, and all I could feel is regret and anger. My dad didn't like it at all (you really can't blame him). My mom played more of a supportive role and you know, consoled me and stuff (man, she's the best; what would I do without her).But still, there was a pretty hot ball of rage manifested inside of my chest that I had to let go of. And sadly, I would lash out and throw all my anger at people. My friend Anirudh took a few verbal blows from me. My friend Abhiram got the worst of it. We fought so bad, we did not speak for another 8 months or so. Fuck, that was brutal. So anyway, with all of this shit in my head, I had to go on; I had to study well and stuff. I managed to do that, and by god's grace, I got a fairly decent score on my CET, not so much on AIEEE and IIT. And it was really sad for me that I didn't make it to the IITs. It felt like a big part of my life and desires had come to an abrupt and dismal end. So, it was misery after misery that kept piling up on my head, and it was getting to be a really fuckin' big burden (at this point, I feel that most of you with a similar experience would be able to connect with my story well).
So now what? I lost property, I lost glory, I lost my friends, I lost hope and worst of all, my self-esteem had hit rock bottom (it's an awful feeling, believe me; and to get rid of it, ain't that easy). The holidays had begun, and I was not very happy. We had a long holiday, something like 3 months. So I had no idea what I was going to do then. I had to sort of sit down and relax for a few days and get back to a small bit of reality.
Eventually, I figured, it's time to do something new. I loved music ever since I was a little boy, and I still did. So I thought, maybe I could do something more with music, other than just listening to it. So I went and bought an acoustic guitar. (Now that I mention it, I can't believe how ridiculously clichéd that sentence has become). I mean, back then there was a time when chicks thought that guitarists were cool. So it was sort of like a shortcut to getting laid or getting a girlfriend or something like that (but if you're thinking on the same lines, the shortest route would probably be money). Anyway, as you can tell, I was incredibly stupid and I had a skewed way of thinking and all that. But believe me, there comes a time in every frickin' guy's life when he thinks exactly on those very lines (if you don't believe me, you're in for a rude shock). So anyway, let's get back to the point.
I picked up the guitar, and I had no idea what to do with it, other than holding it and feeling awesome most of the time. But that came to an end very quickly. I decided to get on with actually learning how to play something on the guitar. So I watched a few basic video lessons on the net; stuff like up picking, down picking, alternate picking, e minor chord, etc. But then I came across a word called "shredding", and let me tell you, it blew my mind away. So when it comes to music, what does "shredding" mean? In simple words, playing an instrument incredibly fast. Not good enough? Alright, here's an illustration.
A Neoclassical shred by Rob Marcello
That should give you a heads up. So where was I? Yes, like I said, I saw someone shred on a guitar, and I was like OH MY GOD! I was a loss for words, and I said to myself, "There's no way I'm gonna be able to do that!". So I had my goals set pretty straight, learn how to strum a few chords and stop. So it took me a few months to learn how to pick well and play a few basic chords like E minor, C major and A minor.
After that, I thought I should learn how to play a few popular songs or rather, popular and simple songs. Started off with a couple of Nirvana songs, and Californication by Red hot chili peppers. Let me tell you, it was no piece of cake. My fingers was perpetually and constantly in pain, and the skin of my fingers got peeled off every time I played. It took me months at a stretch to be able to play just those songs.
So now, as I was thinking about all this, it suddenly hit me that you must be wondering; Had I become a metalhead yet? Well, strange enough, no I had not. I was still only into bands like Nirvana, Godsmack, Reveille, Trapt, etc. And I was only eager to learn how to be able to play songs like the ones I used to listen to. Metal had still not made it's presence. And the bands that I mentioned really just played rhythms, so I only took me a few more months to figure out how their songs were played. It was really fun to realize that I had slowly begun to learn something new and I was getting the hang of it. But certainly not enough to make me happy, considering the fact that my personal life was so disoriented and I was a careless klutz.
Fellow readers, I'm going to take a rain-check now. I think it's safe to say that I have just about started sharing some of my experiences with y'all. Do not be mistaken, this is just the beginning, and I don't intend to stop. I will be back with part 5 very soon.
Till then,
Stay tuned and stay metal!
It's bye bye for now.
Quote1: James Hetfield, Metallica: “If I hadn't had music in my life, it's quite possible I'd be dead and I'd much rather be alive.”
Quote2: James Hetfiled, Metallica: "Call it anarchy or whatever you want to; there's times when you wanna be able to do whatever the fuck you want and, y'know, life's always short, so why shouldn't you?"
Saturday, May 14, 2011
When Metal and I met - Part III
Hello everyone!
We're back with more stories on my series of blog posts "When Metal and I met".
Previously I gave y'all a brief intro as to how the musical part of my life ran its course. But that was only until about first year pre-university college time.
I think after 10th grade, it was no more just LP. My cousin Vivek, who had just moved to HeadBangalore from Bombay to do his engineering in B.M.S introduced me to bands like Nirvana, Guns and Roses and a few other bands who were big during the 80's. At first, I liked songs like "Smells like teen spirit" and "Come as you are" by Nirvana. But a while later, I watched videos of their songs like "Lithium" and "You know you're right", and I immediately concluded that Kurt Cobain (R.I.P) was an uncontrollable crazy freak! Strange enough; I was right. Why did I think Kurt was crazy? Because he wore bras to play live at concerts, because he took his guitars and smashed them to bits, because he rammed his instruments into his own band-mates, because he stage-dived a lot, because he always look stoned and high, etc. I conveyed this to Vivek, and he said that he knew it, and that's exactly what he liked. Now, that was new to me. For a few days, my mind was going 'How can people like stuff like this?'. And consequently I kept watching more and more videos of Kurt Cobain. And slowly I realized that it was Kurt's "freedom of expression" and "unique style" that made him SO UNBELIEVABLY FAMOUS! And not just that, he was the pioneer of 'Grunge'. Now, what is Grunge? Grunge, in my opinion, is a blend of rock-metal and pop music. Sometimes the music sounds completely out of scale and tune. But I guess that's the beauty of it. Gives a feeling of 'No restrictions'. And before I knew it, I was absolutely addicted to Nirvana; more so, Kurt Cobain. And what followed the Nirvana addiction was the further investigation into Kurt's life history. Mayn, he's had a twisted life, I assure you that. That's when I figured that it would not behoove me to lead a life exactly like Kurt did. If I did that, I would've probably ended up the same way he did - Dead at 27. So I decided that I'm only going look at the positive aspects of Kurt, and neglect the otherwise negative aspects. And I still think that it's the right way to go about it.
Apart from Nirvana, I was very much into the hard rock band Godsmack. It was the game Prince of Persia : Warrior Within that introduced me to Godsmack. (by the way, I was a total game addict too, a story for another time). The theme songs of this game were a couple of heavy Godsmack songs called "Straight out of line" and "I stand alone". A gang of my friends, which included Arun, Thejus and Anirudh, who were into playing POP:WW were discussing that Godsmack must be a good band after having listened to these songs on the game. And like they say 'curiosity kills the cat'...well, here, it was more like 'curiosity got me to listen to more of Godsmack'. As simple as that. And as it turns out, I loved them! They have a style that certainly projects masculinity! They rode on Harley D choppers, they sang with a rough attitude and a rough voice, and their lyrics depict a lot of antagonism.Their rhythms were particularly heavy with a lot of bass and distortion guitars, and the drumming was pretty good too; And the solos weren't all that bad either. All in all, it was a style that impressed me. That was that, and I've listened to all their albums.
One can't help but notice that as time passed by, my musical influences, tastes and style have kept changing.
Why? Was I fickle? Maybe.(Probably not)
Over the latter half of the first year at college and the entire second year, there wasn't much music going on in my life. That was probably because we had LOADS of studying to do during those times. So music had to take a backseat for me. I would still listen to Godsmack, Nirvana, LP, Reveille, Trapt and a few other
bands, but I never really expanded my musical horizon.
Let's not forget that I still loved Kurt Cobain to death (Ironically he was dead even before I knew he was alive), though he wasn't a generic metalhead. It was only during recent times, that I realized that I'm heavily inspired by Pioneers. I'm inspired by people who start new things, no matter what the consequences are, no matter whether the idea's a success or not, no matter what people think or say. People who have the balls to start something entirely new, are pretty fuckin' kickass. At least, that's what I believe. Kurt Cobain certainly was one of them.
I'd like to end Part III of "When Metal and I met" here only because at this point, where I've stopped, my life took a steep curve. It was when Metal slowly crawled into the blood that pours through my veins. I want to be able to give you a complete description of the story. I'll be back with Part IV and Part IV is going to kick your fucking ass! I promise you that.
I guess there is a lot to take from this posting. First of all, its not that metal is the only genre I listen to(although metal is life, realistically speaking). And secondly, be open minded, do not criticize, learn how to learn. Be inspired. Be free. Be different, it marks your identity. And finally, be yourself. And these teachings...nobody better than Metal to have taught me that.
Thank you for spending your time on reading this post. Stay metal metalheads! (And the rest, take care)
Quote: Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) : "Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are."
We're back with more stories on my series of blog posts "When Metal and I met".
Previously I gave y'all a brief intro as to how the musical part of my life ran its course. But that was only until about first year pre-university college time.
I think after 10th grade, it was no more just LP. My cousin Vivek, who had just moved to HeadBangalore from Bombay to do his engineering in B.M.S introduced me to bands like Nirvana, Guns and Roses and a few other bands who were big during the 80's. At first, I liked songs like "Smells like teen spirit" and "Come as you are" by Nirvana. But a while later, I watched videos of their songs like "Lithium" and "You know you're right", and I immediately concluded that Kurt Cobain (R.I.P) was an uncontrollable crazy freak! Strange enough; I was right. Why did I think Kurt was crazy? Because he wore bras to play live at concerts, because he took his guitars and smashed them to bits, because he rammed his instruments into his own band-mates, because he stage-dived a lot, because he always look stoned and high, etc. I conveyed this to Vivek, and he said that he knew it, and that's exactly what he liked. Now, that was new to me. For a few days, my mind was going 'How can people like stuff like this?'. And consequently I kept watching more and more videos of Kurt Cobain. And slowly I realized that it was Kurt's "freedom of expression" and "unique style" that made him SO UNBELIEVABLY FAMOUS! And not just that, he was the pioneer of 'Grunge'. Now, what is Grunge? Grunge, in my opinion, is a blend of rock-metal and pop music. Sometimes the music sounds completely out of scale and tune. But I guess that's the beauty of it. Gives a feeling of 'No restrictions'. And before I knew it, I was absolutely addicted to Nirvana; more so, Kurt Cobain. And what followed the Nirvana addiction was the further investigation into Kurt's life history. Mayn, he's had a twisted life, I assure you that. That's when I figured that it would not behoove me to lead a life exactly like Kurt did. If I did that, I would've probably ended up the same way he did - Dead at 27. So I decided that I'm only going look at the positive aspects of Kurt, and neglect the otherwise negative aspects. And I still think that it's the right way to go about it.
Apart from Nirvana, I was very much into the hard rock band Godsmack. It was the game Prince of Persia : Warrior Within that introduced me to Godsmack. (by the way, I was a total game addict too, a story for another time). The theme songs of this game were a couple of heavy Godsmack songs called "Straight out of line" and "I stand alone". A gang of my friends, which included Arun, Thejus and Anirudh, who were into playing POP:WW were discussing that Godsmack must be a good band after having listened to these songs on the game. And like they say 'curiosity kills the cat'...well, here, it was more like 'curiosity got me to listen to more of Godsmack'. As simple as that. And as it turns out, I loved them! They have a style that certainly projects masculinity! They rode on Harley D choppers, they sang with a rough attitude and a rough voice, and their lyrics depict a lot of antagonism.Their rhythms were particularly heavy with a lot of bass and distortion guitars, and the drumming was pretty good too; And the solos weren't all that bad either. All in all, it was a style that impressed me. That was that, and I've listened to all their albums.
One can't help but notice that as time passed by, my musical influences, tastes and style have kept changing.
Why? Was I fickle? Maybe.(Probably not)
Over the latter half of the first year at college and the entire second year, there wasn't much music going on in my life. That was probably because we had LOADS of studying to do during those times. So music had to take a backseat for me. I would still listen to Godsmack, Nirvana, LP, Reveille, Trapt and a few other
bands, but I never really expanded my musical horizon.
Let's not forget that I still loved Kurt Cobain to death (Ironically he was dead even before I knew he was alive), though he wasn't a generic metalhead. It was only during recent times, that I realized that I'm heavily inspired by Pioneers. I'm inspired by people who start new things, no matter what the consequences are, no matter whether the idea's a success or not, no matter what people think or say. People who have the balls to start something entirely new, are pretty fuckin' kickass. At least, that's what I believe. Kurt Cobain certainly was one of them.
I'd like to end Part III of "When Metal and I met" here only because at this point, where I've stopped, my life took a steep curve. It was when Metal slowly crawled into the blood that pours through my veins. I want to be able to give you a complete description of the story. I'll be back with Part IV and Part IV is going to kick your fucking ass! I promise you that.
I guess there is a lot to take from this posting. First of all, its not that metal is the only genre I listen to(although metal is life, realistically speaking). And secondly, be open minded, do not criticize, learn how to learn. Be inspired. Be free. Be different, it marks your identity. And finally, be yourself. And these teachings...nobody better than Metal to have taught me that.
Thank you for spending your time on reading this post. Stay metal metalheads! (And the rest, take care)
Quote: Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) : "Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are."
Kurt Cobain (R.I.P)
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
When Metal and I met - Part II
Hello everyone,
Hope you all have read Part I on "When Metal and I met".
Now lets get started on on the second chapter of "When Metal and I met"!
Alright, its time to rewind a long way back. We are going to travel on the twisted road of the history of my musical life now.
I lived the first 8-9 years of my life in the city of Bombay, and after that I moved to Bangalore (HeadBangalore) and I have been here ever since. Back then, when I was a little kid aging about 5 or 6 years, I got the opportunity to actually pay attention and listen to music on cable TV. I think it was a music video of some Hindi pop band or a Bollywood filmi hit. And after that, it became a habit for all of us to watch music videos on Channel V or MTV or any other channel for that matter. And yes, it was routine for me as well to watch music videos of Hindi pop bands or Bollwood hits everyday. And for about roughly 4 more years, that was all the music I knew.
Then I moved to Bangalore when I was in the 4th grade, and I came here with my sister and parents to live here with my grandparents. And this place was vastly different from Bombay! A major major factor was the language. Nevertheless, the people here loved the local national Hindi music too. So music-wise, the change wasn't significant. A year later, my dad moved to Florida for a couple of years roughly. And when he visited us every half yearly, he would bring goodies like cookies,chocolates,gadgets,clothes,sunglasses, and so on. So one time, he bought me a CD player along with an album on a CD by Backstreet Boys (a very popular pop band back then, and even now). So this was the first time I was exposed to "Western music". Strange enough, I loved it! And I think, for nearly a year I listened to nothing but the Backstreet Boys. After a while, my dad exposed me to some of his own collection of music. Some of which included bands like Boyzone, Westlife, Beatles, Pink Floyd, BeeGees (hated them all along), Dire Straits, Eagles, Santana, Britney Spears, etc. So basically, it was more or less the pop era for me back then. These were basically songs which were dominated by vocals and had a basic instrumental and percussion rhythm style to go along. But I had no idea what rhythm,vocals or percussion even meant back then! So till about 8th grade or so, my music was pop dominated.
Now, having reached the 8th grade, my personal life was a little fucked up, but academics wise I was doing well. And it was in the 8th grade, that I was somehow introduced to rap music. I loved rap too! It was new to me, and I liked the idea of people rhyming with words and speaking/singing in a mono tone over a basic rhythm. (Now, don't worry if you didn't really understand any of that, its not important). Rappers like Eminem and Jay Z were huge back then. And I really dug their music. The sorrowful and angry lyrics had fitted perfectly into my life (But the monotonous singing somehow did not depict the full effect of the lyrics).
Sometime during the 9th grade, I wanted more than just rap. Rap got a bit too monotonous, and you can probably understand that. I wanted more out of music. More feeling, more expression, more attitude, stuff like that. I managed to listen to rock bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Limp Bizkit for a while, and then out of nowhere, over the Internet, somehow I was introduced to the band LINKIN PARK. This was no ordinary band. This was the band I listened to for nearly 3 and a half years straight. Unbelievable, considering the fact that I hardly listen to them anymore. I thought, for sure, that LP was the band I would stick to, until death! Now, what makes LP different? Well, they mix rap and singing over a rock-like rhythm including instruments like the guitar, keyboard, violas, cellos, and a scratch-disc. And they have these vocals which vary from soft to harsh in a fairly melodic way. Interesting, isn't it?! Well, I thought so. And these guys came out with 3 fantastic albums which grew popular in no time! Let me tell you, they're the perfect band to listen to in your early teens.
Although I cannot forget that it was around the 9th grade that I was introduced to metal. And let me tell you, I DID NOT LIKE IT! I was introduced to bands like Reveille, Metallica, and Godsmack. I liked listening to Reveille (an extremely unpopular band that deserved more credit, honestly). Reveille was a rap-metal band (sort of like Limp Bizkit), but with much heavier and darker rhythms, and aggressive lyrics. Lyrics by Reveille like "Curiosity has taken its toll; Empathetic- into the darkness i fall alone" seemed catchy to me. And the first music video of Metallica that I watched was probably "I disappear" (lovely song and video by the way), but no, I did not like it at all. The deep voice, the heavy guitar rhythms, the heavy drumming, the headbanging was all too much for me. So, meanwhile I stuck to listening to LP and a few other rock bands like Nickelback, U2, Papa Roach, etc for a very long time.
So this was when the metal era for me had just about started. But sadly, I have ran out of time and it's time to call it a day. On my next post I am going to elaborate on how metal slowly made it's way into my life and narrate a few real-life incidents that brought several changes in me. Lots more to come; People, music, stories, art, emotional moments, addictions, and more Metal! So stay tuned y'all.
Stay metal metalheads! (And the rest, take care)
Quote: Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest- "Each country has its own character, but heavy metal fans all over the world have a lot in common. It's fantastic."
Hope you all have read Part I on "When Metal and I met".
Now lets get started on on the second chapter of "When Metal and I met"!
Alright, its time to rewind a long way back. We are going to travel on the twisted road of the history of my musical life now.
I lived the first 8-9 years of my life in the city of Bombay, and after that I moved to Bangalore (HeadBangalore) and I have been here ever since. Back then, when I was a little kid aging about 5 or 6 years, I got the opportunity to actually pay attention and listen to music on cable TV. I think it was a music video of some Hindi pop band or a Bollywood filmi hit. And after that, it became a habit for all of us to watch music videos on Channel V or MTV or any other channel for that matter. And yes, it was routine for me as well to watch music videos of Hindi pop bands or Bollwood hits everyday. And for about roughly 4 more years, that was all the music I knew.
Then I moved to Bangalore when I was in the 4th grade, and I came here with my sister and parents to live here with my grandparents. And this place was vastly different from Bombay! A major major factor was the language. Nevertheless, the people here loved the local national Hindi music too. So music-wise, the change wasn't significant. A year later, my dad moved to Florida for a couple of years roughly. And when he visited us every half yearly, he would bring goodies like cookies,chocolates,gadgets,clothes,sunglasses, and so on. So one time, he bought me a CD player along with an album on a CD by Backstreet Boys (a very popular pop band back then, and even now). So this was the first time I was exposed to "Western music". Strange enough, I loved it! And I think, for nearly a year I listened to nothing but the Backstreet Boys. After a while, my dad exposed me to some of his own collection of music. Some of which included bands like Boyzone, Westlife, Beatles, Pink Floyd, BeeGees (hated them all along), Dire Straits, Eagles, Santana, Britney Spears, etc. So basically, it was more or less the pop era for me back then. These were basically songs which were dominated by vocals and had a basic instrumental and percussion rhythm style to go along. But I had no idea what rhythm,vocals or percussion even meant back then! So till about 8th grade or so, my music was pop dominated.
Now, having reached the 8th grade, my personal life was a little fucked up, but academics wise I was doing well. And it was in the 8th grade, that I was somehow introduced to rap music. I loved rap too! It was new to me, and I liked the idea of people rhyming with words and speaking/singing in a mono tone over a basic rhythm. (Now, don't worry if you didn't really understand any of that, its not important). Rappers like Eminem and Jay Z were huge back then. And I really dug their music. The sorrowful and angry lyrics had fitted perfectly into my life (But the monotonous singing somehow did not depict the full effect of the lyrics).
Sometime during the 9th grade, I wanted more than just rap. Rap got a bit too monotonous, and you can probably understand that. I wanted more out of music. More feeling, more expression, more attitude, stuff like that. I managed to listen to rock bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Limp Bizkit for a while, and then out of nowhere, over the Internet, somehow I was introduced to the band LINKIN PARK. This was no ordinary band. This was the band I listened to for nearly 3 and a half years straight. Unbelievable, considering the fact that I hardly listen to them anymore. I thought, for sure, that LP was the band I would stick to, until death! Now, what makes LP different? Well, they mix rap and singing over a rock-like rhythm including instruments like the guitar, keyboard, violas, cellos, and a scratch-disc. And they have these vocals which vary from soft to harsh in a fairly melodic way. Interesting, isn't it?! Well, I thought so. And these guys came out with 3 fantastic albums which grew popular in no time! Let me tell you, they're the perfect band to listen to in your early teens.
Although I cannot forget that it was around the 9th grade that I was introduced to metal. And let me tell you, I DID NOT LIKE IT! I was introduced to bands like Reveille, Metallica, and Godsmack. I liked listening to Reveille (an extremely unpopular band that deserved more credit, honestly). Reveille was a rap-metal band (sort of like Limp Bizkit), but with much heavier and darker rhythms, and aggressive lyrics. Lyrics by Reveille like "Curiosity has taken its toll; Empathetic- into the darkness i fall alone" seemed catchy to me. And the first music video of Metallica that I watched was probably "I disappear" (lovely song and video by the way), but no, I did not like it at all. The deep voice, the heavy guitar rhythms, the heavy drumming, the headbanging was all too much for me. So, meanwhile I stuck to listening to LP and a few other rock bands like Nickelback, U2, Papa Roach, etc for a very long time.
So this was when the metal era for me had just about started. But sadly, I have ran out of time and it's time to call it a day. On my next post I am going to elaborate on how metal slowly made it's way into my life and narrate a few real-life incidents that brought several changes in me. Lots more to come; People, music, stories, art, emotional moments, addictions, and more Metal! So stay tuned y'all.
Stay metal metalheads! (And the rest, take care)
Quote: Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest- "Each country has its own character, but heavy metal fans all over the world have a lot in common. It's fantastic."
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