Certainly Almost Never

Fogs, all across. Rivers to cross, never shallow, nor ever still. A thousand fuddled memories creep through a totally disoriented mind of mine. Sunken reality, blissful happiness. Ironically staring back at a mirror. A foolish smile stretches the face. Faces tangible, yet so uncannily unreal. Under a humongous sea of blasphemous lies and a vile, acerbic past, lies a benevolent, noble soul. The reaper of the misfortunes of the grim and dead, perhaps has a few misfortunes of its own.

Scintillating, mesmerizing, bedazzling, shimmering like a night sky on a clear cloudless night. Searching, groping, through emptiness, through cluelessness, through total and guaranteed oblivion. Floating in air, rising through the clouds. Arms around her waist. Such magnificent, majestic dreams - vast empty nights.

Encoded, embedded - eroded, erudite with the mysteries of folk-lore.

love-life-peace-love

A few moments gone without any thoughts. If thoughtlessness is emptiness, does one ever know?

Listless, dumb. Animal instincts and freedom. Craving and longing. Laughing and crying. Singing and dancing. Walking and prancing.

-We take life a bit too seriously-

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The Undefinitive list of films you must watch

So I am told - 'people try to find time for the movie they want to watch, not forcefully try to find a movie to watch'.Kinda sad, because I always thought movies were magic. Every movie, good, bad, downright derogatory had the right to be watched. Every movie had to be seen for its merit to be believed (or disbelieved, whatever the case may be). Every aspect of the process sunk in and tasted on your palate and finally allowed to slide down your senses.
I find everything about movies and film-making and acting so without-a-doubt delicious, that I think, perhaps, I don't watch the same movie the same way as people I know. Maybe that is the reason that movies I consider brilliant, mind-blowing, fantastic, scrumptious and even orgasmic are generally slandered by everyone else.
Anyway, I am by self-proclamation (and by general consensus as well) a 'movie-buff'. You should see my face light up when someone else agrees with my thoughts on a movie - no really, you instantly become my bff.
So here it is, a list that is by no means complete and by no stretch of imagination exhaustive, though one thing's certain, each of these movies has a certain something that makes it a treat for the senses.

Pulp Fiction
Directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken among others, this film definitely deserves all the attention it receives. Random, slick scenes, funny, satirical conversations, brilliant multi-story direction - drop all other movies and watch this one first!

Fight Club
Based on the novel, this movie directed by David Fincher stars Brad Pitt and Edward Norton and is one helluva ride with hidden meanings and secret frames inserted throughout the movie (hint: 4 flashes of Brad Pitt before his first appearance that you have to pause at the right moments to see). Watch it, watch it, watch it.

A Clockwork Orange
Again, based on the novel by the same name and directed by Stanley Kubrick, the movie is a dark, funny, satirical, maniacal, violent, brilliant piece of work set in future England. See it, just don't squirm in your seats during the controversial scenes (which is pretty much most of the movie). Also for anyone interested in film-making, I must suggest this film for the handling of its direction and camerawork.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
A fast-paced, funny, quick-witted heist movie directed by Guy Ritchie. Watch it, but make sure you concentrate to understand the Brit accents or you'll miss most of the punchlines. :)

Snatch
Directed by Guy Ritchie, everything said for the previous movie holds true. More so for Brad Pitt... check out his 'pikey' Irish accent. One of Pitt's finest performances.

Scent of a Woman
Watch it for Al Pacino playing a blind, retired officer and his now-famous 'Who-ha'... Chris o' Donnell is good too, but hell - 'Who-ha'!

Edward Scissorhands
Enter the dark, yet morbidly funny mind of director Tim Burton. Of course it helps that the movie stars Johnny Depp.

Everyone Says I Love You
If you are ready to enter the world of Woody Allen, this movie is the best starting point. Clearly the best of his movies, according to me. Don't believe me, watch this musical/ comedy and decide. And yes, it stars Julia Roberts, Drew Barrymore, Tim Roth, Goldie Hawn, Edward Norton, Woody Allen and many more (have I got your attention yet?)

Help!
A silly but insanely hilarious comedy starring none other than the Beatles themselves, yes all four of them (Paul, John, George and Ringo). Don't expect technical brilliance, just flow with a legendary time of the world :)

A Hard Day's Night
Read the previous description again!

Full Metal Jacket
In my honest opinion, the best war movie ever made. Director Stanley Kubrick, sheer brilliance.

School of Rock
Don't understand rock music? Think this movie is not for you? Think again. Jack Black is awesomely funny and takes you through a complete tour of what rock music really is all about!

High Fidelity
John Cusack and Jack Black star in this romantic comedy - one of my favorite romantic movies. The dialogues are a treat to listen to - crisp and funny.

Serendipity
Another John Cusack romantic movie, this time with Kate Beckinsale. Watch it with that special someone, my personal guarantee - you'll get lucky that night.

50 First Dates
I am not really a Adam Sandler fan, but for some reason I like the concept of this movie (Drew Barrymore helps too). Like the idea of what you would do for love.

Taxi Driver
Directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Robert De Niro, this movie is a classic. Direction, acting, camera-work, everything about this movie reeks of genius.

The Godfather trilogy
Don't let anyone tell you part 2 is not up to the mark or part 3 is so-so. Three words - Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro... watch all three movies (part 1 and some of part 2 is based on Mario Puzo's book). One of the rare cases where I thought the movie was better than the book. Watch, period.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy
I am not even going to describe this. Directed by Peter Jackson, based on the books by J. R. R. Tolkein, the books are cult, the movies are cult, the concept is cult. One suggestion, watch all three at once (in their extended editions of course)!

The Matrix trilogy
Again, Reloaded and Revolutions don't live up to the expectations, bah humbug. Shove your expectations. Watch all three and appreciate Keanu Reeves in the only role he was meant to / can play. It's cult, it's classic, you need to watch all three to get your concepts straight... and make sure you watch them again to revise what you learned.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Based on the book by Ken Kesey, this movie stars Jack Nicholson and features a mental asylum with assorted characters. The funny part is, I still don't know if Nicholson's character was mentally unstable! :)

To Kill a Mocking Bird
Staring Gregory Peck, this adaptation of Harper Lee's book of the same name always leaves me scared of the ol' days and at the same time makes me want to live in those times.

Rain Man
Dustin Hoffman at his best and Tom Cruise supporting him well. Except perhaps for Daniel Day Lewis, no one in my opinion has played an autistic person better.

Finding Neverland
Johnny Depp as the playwright J. M. Barrie and Kate Winslet make this biographical film a must watch. It's touching, sad and uplifting. It makes you cry and then wipe your tears and clap all at the same time.

Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy
Johnny Depp as a pirate, Kiera Knightley looking hot and Orlando Bloom... well Bloom should have stayed in LOTR. This movie made me want to get on a ship and sail the seas... and without the modern GPSs and satellite navigation... just Captain Jack Sparrow's compass.

The Englishman Who Went Up the Hill but Came Down a Mountain
Based on a true story of a Welsh village, this simple movie is so endearing and funny, that I ended up remembering the names of almost all the characters in the film. Hugh Grant does a perfect job of being the Englishman who went up the hill but came down a mountain.

Notting Hill
Hugh Grant again, with Julia Roberts. Famous hollywood female star, looserish, Brit bookstore owner. They fall in love with each other. Nope, cannot go wrong with that. Some wine, dim lights, your date and the line 'I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her'. Jackpot night mate.

I am Sam
I think Sean Penn (one of the actors I admire) overdid his character a wee-bit, but then, hey, the movie makes you cry, makes you laugh, makes you cheer for Sam. So job well done in the end I guess.

Gangs of New York
Directed by Martin Scorsese, this is a historical film, starring Daniel Day Lewis, Cameron Diaz and Leonardo DiCaprio. It deals with natives and immigrants and territory in the good ol' days. With Scorsese at the helm and a starcast like that, how could it possibly be not good?

The Aviator
Martin Scorsese strikes again with Leonardo DiCaprio. This biopic is based on the life of Howard Hughes, a pioneer of the aviation industry. DiCaprio as the compulsive disorder suffering Hughes is at his finest.

Kill Bill I/II
Uma Thurman wants revenge. Quentin Tarantino directs this satirical, violent, funny spoof. Both the parts are near awesome and totally unique in their own way. Technically, the two parts are so differently treated, it's a visual treat.
Vertigo
Alfred Hitchcock's greatest film ever. Acrophobic detective, desirable wife... Hitchcock is the greatest story-teller of suspense and horror.
In Bruges
Hitmen and dark comedy. Beautiful locales. I love this obscure piece of work starring Colin Farrell.

The Men Who Stare at Goats
Satire... my favorite form of comedy. Most people did not understand this movie. Make sure you watch it carefully, listen to the dialogues and find out hidden, deeper meaning to everything said and done - it's really funny and contemporary then. Otherwise, it's just about the government using people with psychic powers in the army. Oh yes, it stars George Clooney and Ewan McGregor.

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?
This George Clooney movie set during the Great Depression is a satire again (yay) and is supposedly based in Homer's Odyssey. I haven't read Odyssey completely to pass that judgment, though I can say for sure it's a kick-ass satire.

Pretty Woman
Rich guy meets and later falls for a hooker. Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. This movie had to be in this list. It's a romantic comedy, isn't it?

Oceans Eleven/ Twelve/ Thirteen
Slick, fresh, quick, funny conversations, great chemistry between actors. Some reasons why these 3 movies should be watched. The star cast is too huge to be listed here. Please do a quick Google search!

Matchstick Men
Con-men con everyone... and I mean everyone... Nicholas Cage as a con-man suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder is brilliant and Sam Rockwell supports him well.

Lord of War
Nicholas Cage again, as an arms dealer this time. One of his finest if you ask me and a really slick movie with lots of captivating scenes. Also stars Ethan Hawke

Catch Me If You Can
A game of cat and mouse between Tom Hanks and Leonardo Dicaprio. Steven Spielberg, though not really subtle in his direction, does manage a captivating movie.

Back to the Future trilogy
Steven Spielberg and Michael J. Fox create magic in these three movies going back and forth into the past and the future. Worth watching for the concept which still seems fresh and animation that still seems more realistic than some other movies.

Boondock Saints
William Dafoe stars in this movie about ordinary men becoming the saviors of mankind.

Dead Poets Society
Robin Williams plays a professor of literature who urges the young male students to live life the way they want to and go against the conformed norms. It also stars a young Ethan Hawke.

Finding Forrester
Directed by Gus Van Sant, this movie stars Sean Connery and deals with an African-American student's relationship with a reclusive author.

Last Days
Another one by Gus Van Sant movie depicting the last 4 days of Kurt Cobain (not officially acknowledged). This one is not for the faint of heart. Watch it only if you are interested in the nitty-gritties of film-making. Minimal dialogues, long winding scenes, mumbled sentences. Check out the soundtrack though, Michael Pitt, who plays a Cobainesque rockstar belts out a couple of nice dark, morbid compositions.
The Doors
This one is actually pretty much Jim Morrison, more than the Doors. Directed by Oliver Stone, Val Kilmer plays Morrison better than Morrison himself! Meg Ryan also stars as Pamela Courson.

Taking Woodstock
This movie is directed by Ang Lee and is a fun biopic about Elliot Tiber, in whose motel the famous Woodstock '69 organizers stayed. The brilliance of the movie is that in spite of being a Woodstock movie, it depicts no rockstars, or concerts and all the concert songs are just heard far-off in the background.

Star Wars IV/V/VI/I/II/III (in that order)
Watch, watch, watch, watch, watch, watch... in the order mentioned together, in one day if possible. Great movie watch, we must. Well you'll get the pun once you watch the movies.

Fracture
Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling star in this murder mystery cum crime thriller. A game of playing hopscotch with the law and some good acting by Sir Hopkins.

Good Will Hunting
The story of an intelligent, confused kid directed by Gus Van Sant. This is the movie that made Matt Daemon and Ben Affleck overnight millionaires and superstars. Apparently Matt and Ben wrote the script of this movie over a period of time when they were struggling actors. The moment they finished the script, studios lined up to buy it. However, they had one condition, they would act in it too. Later they did win an Academy for the best original screenplay. Of course it also Robin Williams.


Some other movies worth watching:

Frost/ Nixon
The Great Train Robbery
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
Interview with the Vampire
Into the Wild
A Kiss Before Dying
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Officer and a Gentleman
Phone Booth
The Pianist
The Prestige
Chaplin
Seven
About a Boy

And here's a list of Bollywood Essentials:

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge
The movie that made Shah Rukh Khan a superstar and defined the way Indian cinema should look in the post 90's era.

Andaaz Apna Apna
For some reason audiences refused to accept this movie when it was released. It's now a cult movie and is definitely in my top 5 comic movies of all time.

My Name is Khan
No matter what people say, this movie is one of the finest films to emerge out of commercial Bollywood. Technically, it is flawless. Brilliant direction and acting, and not because I am an SRK fan (look closely, I have less than a percent of SRK movies in this whole list).

Apu trilogy
Salaam Bombay
Hey Ram
Daasvidaniya
Swades
Chak De!
Darr
Sarfarosh
Hera Pheri
Sholay
Anand
Dil Se
Zanjeer
Firaaq

And that's that. I have missed out like a thousand and one other good movies, but watch these movies, you must, and immerse yourself in an art form that I consider one of the best legacies we shall leave behind for future generations - the magic of films.

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A Biased History of Music

Alright... I've been meaning to do this for a long time... just for my satisfaction. Note down as much a history of music as I can. The description that follows is in no way complete and no way unprejudiced or untainted by my personal preferences (for example, sue me, but you won't find any mention of Ms. Spears, The Boys Backstreet, Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi and what not after this point). If your favorite artist does not appear below, it is more likely that I don't like him/her/it than the fact that I haven't heard that music (which in rare cases maybe the case).

The Beginnings
Let's take a quick look at what existed before rock, pop and blah. The Europeans had their so called Classical music, as did the Asians (although, at that time, it was probably called simply music). There was Chopin, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Schoenberg, Bach, Ludwig Van Beethoven and all. The music of this era was typically characterized by an orchestra. The orchestra included a number of stringed instruments (violins, cellos, harps etc.) as well as some pianos, and sometimes tubas. This music was majorly inspired from Christian liturgical music, before which, I have little or no knowledge of.
The main reason for playing with such a huge ensemble of players was the lack of amplification (what with the absence of microphones and amplifiers). This point is good to note and may hold sudden importance later during this quick anthology.

'Black' Music
As classical music and light instrumentals and vocals based on these compositions meandered through people's lives, one particular group of people brought a definite change in the way people perceived music - the African Americans. According to me, the African Americans have given the world more in terms of music than any other race has.
Factory workers and local African American labor class, wanted something different to hear. They couldn't relate to classical music and rightly so. They brought in a new genre of music, known at the time as 'Black' Music, currently known as Jazz. African sound was brought to America with the inclusion of percussion instruments (drum kits - they invented it, literally), guitars, saxophones, trumpets etc.
Jazz has it's root in an older African-American sound called the Blues.
Pioneers of Jazz include Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Buddy Bolden, and many more. Jazz then branched into a variety of forms like Bebop, Cool Jazz, Free Jazz and Swing.
Interestingly, Country music has its roots in Jazz.

Rock n' Roll
It is difficult to pin-point who first produced a Rock n' Roll song. One thing however, is sure, Rock n' Roll evolved from a combination of Classical, Jazz styles, Country, Folk and R&B. The main aim was to bring music to the masses and cater to the sensibilities of the 'white' folk. In other words, making 'black' music 'white'.
A lot of people can be credited for promoting this genre of music - Big Joe Turner, Jackie Brenston, Chuck Berry and of course a certain Mr. Elvis Presley (although his music was more Rockabilly, a derivative of Rock n' Roll). Away from North America, a small hurricane, swept Europe and the rest of the world for that matter. A hurricane called The Beatles.

Rock
The Beatles took over the world with a storm. The quartet of Paul, John, George and Ringo are still considered to be a cult in some circles. However, other Rock n' Roll faces emerged as Rock n' Roll began to take the shape of Rock. The Hollies, The Animals, The Rolling Stones, all burst out of Britain to sweep a world off its feet with electric guitars, amplifiers, crunches and mild distortions, mildly loud drums and bass lines.
Rock originated as a sign of rebellion. A form of going against the society, and basically everything that was 'supposed to be done this way'.
Moppy, unruly, long hair, slowly crept into this rebel movement.
Rock began to take shape in the form of Garage Rock (dealing with young teenage life) and more importantly - Blues-Rock. Inspired by the Blues stylings of artists such as Lead Belly, Blues-Rock introduced the world to Eric Clapton, Janis Joplin, earlier Led Zeppelin (The New Yardbirds), Jefferson Airplane, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Jimi Hendrix.
Slowly people realized that a guitar with distortion turned up and loud drums make a sensible listening. From now on guitars get more distorted and drums, louder.

Rock - Now What?
Rock subdivided itself into more genres than one can count and definitely more than I can remember or list here. However, here are some of the main ones:

Folk Rock
Influenced by Folk music (duh) and utilizing mainly acoustic instruments, Folk Rock was successfully pioneered by none other than the great Bob Dylan. Dylan whose commercial hits include 'Blowin in the Wind', 'Tambourine Man', etc. later switched to use of electric instruments and compositions, a move seen by many hardcore fans as a stab in the back. Another notable band is The Byrds. All these bands and almost a history of music till this point is presumably allured to in John Denver's song 'American Pie'.

Psychedelic Rock
Now was the time for LSD induced music! Jimi Hendrix, The Byrds, Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, The Who and of course Mr. Jim Morrison and The Doors, marched into Psychedelic territory. This genre was characterized by music that aided drug-induced euphoria and lyrics that lurked around under influence. The music and atmosphere would inevitably be surreal, with most (if not everyone) high and happy. The atmosphere would of course be laid-back. This nicely corresponded to the Hippy movement and along with the other then-current forms of Rock pretty much formed the basis of Woodstock '69 - 3 days of peace, love and music.

Hard... Harder... Metal
Things started getting harder and harder. Young men, especially the working class, wanted to hear something that they could relate to. Families were being broken and the Hippy movement hadn't turned out to be all that successful.
Music started getting heavy. Bands like Aerosmith with Joe Perry and Steven Tyler, provided the rough, heavily distorted, slightly sloppy tunes with high-pitched, screeching vocals.
Also at this time, in come a medley of Glam Rock bands. Glam Rock, though often considered more of a fashion statement than music, filled in the gap in between.
Adorned with dangerously appealing feminine lingerie and trans-sexual dressing, with sprayed hair pulled high up, bands like Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, Poison, Van Halen, and Skid Row brought the heavy metal sound, albeit with a bad wardrobe.
At the time Sunset Blvd., Hollywood was the place to be, with every glammed-up band showing up there for a chance to hit pay-dirt. Band members were randomly exchanged, music randomly made and out of this chaos, rose a no-nonsense and promising band called Guns n' Roses. Slash's stuttering guitars and Axl Rose's high pitched, nasal voice had people head-banging everywhere.
More important than Guns, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, Deep Purple, Motorhead, Kiss etc. quickly moved the metal music scene to the hungry listeners or metal-heads as they are called.
However, according to me, the quintessential metal band of the era was none other than Black Sabbath, fronted by vocalist Ozzy Osbourne.

Punk Rock
Punk Rock evolved as a result of some people not relating to the endless solos and complicated compositions of traditional Rock and Metal music.
It is a no-nonsense form of Rock that relies a lot on energy and quick, simple riffs and hardcore power chords, with a decent amount of distortion or crunch. Most songs follow a traditional 4/4 time signature. It was originally, supposedly meant for people who were not that great with instruments, but still wanted to express themselves - to this I beg to differ.
Punk started out as an underground movement, with artists who become commercially successful, shunned by the Punk community.
The pioneers of Punk include The Clash, The Ramones, The Crass, Stiff Little Fingers, Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop, The Zeroes, The Germs, The Screamers, The Skulls, The Offsprings etc.
Recently some bands have gained commercial success, outcasting them from hardcore punk circles - Greenday, Arctic Monkeys being some examples.

Grunge
This sub-genre of Rock is a mix of punk, with some metal-like riffs and distortions. Sometimes referred to as the Seattle-sound, it originated in Seattle, Washington. The forerunner in popularizing and reinventing this genre was a scrawny man called Kurt Cobain and the band Nirvana also including Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic (now doing gospel music). Their song 'Smells Like Teenspirit' talked of teenage angst and (at the risk of sounding hackneyed) became an anthem for a generation. After Kurt's death with a shotgun to his head at age 27, Dave Grohl formed the band Foo Fighters.
Other bands that influenced Grunge music include Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Mudhoney among others.

The Sub-Sub-Genres of Metal - The Devil's Note
Before diving into the sub-genres of Metal, let me explain what Metal is. Metal is an extreme form of music, with extremely heavy distortion on guitars, fast drumming (usually with a double bass), loud, prominent bass lines, guitars sometimes tuned down and odd counts and time signatures.
Another defining factor of Metal is the Tritone. The tritone is a harmony interval spanning three whole tones (eg. C/F#). This gives a sound like in horror movie background scores, or more importantly, the sound of the 'devil'. For this reason, playing these combination of notes in medieval times was banned, for it was supposed to invoke the devil himself (or herself).
As amplifiers and equipment improved, people realized that their guitar sounds could be sustained for long periods of times just like in olden times of Classical music (as in violins and cellos). They could now form similar harmonies using their cranked up distortion. This led to the riffs and sound of Metal.

Black Metal
Using fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking in sometimes hypnotic patterns, and unconventional song structure, Black Metal tries to create a depressing, morbid environment.
Venom, Bathory, HellHammer and Celtic Frost propagated this sub-genre.
Certain Norwegian bands such as Burzum, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, Satyricon, and Emperor propagated satanic beliefs and rituals. Compared to American Metal Bands like Slayer, who mainly use pagan symbols as stage image, these Norwegian bands actually indulged in church burnings, torture and fatal rituals towards paganism.

Death Metal
This genre typically uses heavily distorted guitars, low-pitched, growled, harsh vocals, and morbid lyrics. Morbid Angels is an example of this genre.

Thrash Metal
Bands like Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth.

Groove Metal
Examples of groove metal include Pantera, Machine Head and Sepultura.

Industrial Metal
Nine Inch Nails.

Neo-classical Metal
Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Vinnie Moore.

Nu Metal
Korn, Slipknot and Mudvayne.

Power Metal
Dio.

Progressive Metal
Queensrÿche, Dream Theater.

Speed Metal
Motorhead.

Other Metal Sub-Genres:
Doom Metal
Drone metal
Metalcore
Stoner metal
Sludge metal
Gothic Metal


Of course apart from all these genres there are a multitude of other genres, sub-genres and artists that I don't mention here. Music is beautiful - be it Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5 in A or Gorgoroth's distorted guitars. Love, Peace, Empathy.

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An Ode' to Vodka

Oh beautiful being,
Thine simple fulfilling of everyday lies
Thy alluring dreams and serendipitous awakenings
Ye art mine chosen, nary forlorn

Lief appear thou and wish mine speed
Torn twixt ne'er ending mazes and rocks
I wist thy amorous, dandy deeds
Afore dawn, alack! Come hither through fogs

Aye! I see the fiddling-riddling hands
Transcends the mind athwart
Night is nigh mayhap through sands
Begrudgingly sith twilight halts

Oh! Alas! Arite Vodkae touted bitter
Thou turned out nowise needs
I am forsure fain as peaches in winter
Meseems already follow thine leads


~This poetic work is not about Vodka


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