Song in Head #1

So I need a place to dump songs which are stuck in my head. *Looks at blog, has an "Aha!" moment*
Henceforth, all such songs will find a short post dedicated here, under Song in Head.

The TV's been flooded with song after song from Ishaqzaade. The promos have pizazz, but what really intrigued me was this song:

Dubstep in a Hindi song! AND it sounds good! Who says Bollywood music is insipid?
Whoever says that should meet Amit Trivedi.

Birthdays and other macabre things

So it was my birthday a few days back. I just baked myself a few cookies, felt the tremors, and called it a day. But the friends who called and messaged wouldn’t hear of it: it’s my HAPPY birthday, how can I just sit at home? Throw a party, get your bum out of the house and everything.. they added plentiful smileys to make their point. All this admonishing, contrary to their perfectly good intentions, only made me feel morose & lonely.

Which made me turn to Nick Cave. Who? He’s an Australian singer-songwriter-musician-everything. Why? He writes about murders and death and everything gory, and does NOT turn it into the headbanging genre.

For me, there is no better pick me up than listening to songs about blood, guts & victims’ cries. All in that gravelly voice. There’s no wonder Cave sings so much about violence, that menacingly low baritone begs for it!

His band’s (the appropriately called Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds) most successful single worldwide. The video is ethereal & kitschy in parts, and you can actually hear Kylie’s vocals in it, as compared to the electro-dance stuff she’s usually echoing around.



Artsy obsessive video. Melodious murder ballad.



My favourite. Lots of cussing. I often fast-forward to the part with the cries. 

I confess, I’ve not gotten around to listening to all of his better-known songs. But I’ll do it. And read his latest book too. Which is thankfully called The Death of Bunny Munro.

Vulnerable

"And one more thing, don't bother wasting money on learning music until you have an open heart.."

First thought: Yeah right! No one asked for your freakin' pearls of wisdom, mister!

After two seconds: DON'T text him that, not good to piss off a musician that good. Try a polite comeback..

Thought running (unacknowledged & pointedly ignored) in the background through all of this: How the hell did he know that this is exactly what I needed to hear?

Not that I've always consciously decided to be wary of emotions, looking for a point to everything I do. But I've felt, for quite some time, a kind of bankruptcy in my heart. Embarrassed of anything too emotional. Happiness, I welcome. But anything remotely dark, I hide behind humour.

Of course, this grand realisation came after he forced me to introspect. Yup, having feelings means they might get hurt, but happiness feels all the better after that. And songs without passion sound quite.. hollow.

So here's something I tried. It's quite personal, but I've learnt that people connect in the strangest ways to such things. Just an acoustic demo, until a drummer and 2 guitarists pity me.. ;)

Lyrics:

A thousand words,

and a few more steps

on a journey to find me.

People will smile,

make me forget my lines,

that there's someone beside me.

Why is it so tough

to force my pen 

to say what I do really feel?

All that time I was

learning how to be smart

should I make it all leave me?

Do I know

if there is anywhere to go?

And I won't look back on the road which follows me.

And I am ready for the song which frees me.