Don't know why I never put this up. A must watch movie "Breakfast on Pluto"
I truly think that Cillian Murphy is only gonna go up. A seriously good actor!
Friday, July 14, 2006
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Passion Followers
Two friends in NYC are following their passions... more power to them
Chee Malabar http://www.myspace.com/obliquebrown
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/obliquebrown
Shreddie http://www.borawake.com/
Chee Malabar http://www.myspace.com/obliquebrown
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/obliquebrown
Shreddie http://www.borawake.com/
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Questions
I was posed some questions this weekend.
"Why are the planes flying so high?" -
Possible responses -
1. Because they couldn't find any tall buildings which they could whiz past and scare the inhabitants of.
2. I've lost the telephone no. of the pilot or could ask him to fly a bit low, maybe you're keen to hold on to the wing tip and do your trapeze act?
3. Do aircrafts in your part of the world fly low? Maybe they should have a technology upgrade because since I've known aircrafts they've atleast flown at 20000 feet above sea level
4. Probably because the passengers are too tired to keep waving out at the people on the ground by now.
"That hot air balloon (at a distance of 20 Kms from where we were), do you think it's privately owned or rented?"
Possible responses
1. Uhmm let me check ( squint my eye to try and see further into the distance) - it's privately owned as it has the sign of a Skull and 2 crossed bones below it.
2. Uhmm let me check (look at my watch) - it's 8 p.m., I am sure it's rented, you can only fly privately owned jets after this hour, not hot air balloons
3. Oh that one, actually that hot air balloon is stray, it has no owner and it likes it's nocturnal sojourns.
A snap shot of a host of questions thrown at me, and you thought my weekends were stress free? In any case, the actual responses that I managed were, "Uhmm, I don't know".
By the way these questions were not posed to me by a 4 yr old child but by "Full grown men" who lead a normal life and have normal jobs...
I would like to know your options for a good response to either of these questions. Leave me a note.. seriously. I love wittiness and I'd like to know that some people who read my blogs have some hidden wit. Come on all ye...
"Why are the planes flying so high?" -
Possible responses -
1. Because they couldn't find any tall buildings which they could whiz past and scare the inhabitants of.
2. I've lost the telephone no. of the pilot or could ask him to fly a bit low, maybe you're keen to hold on to the wing tip and do your trapeze act?
3. Do aircrafts in your part of the world fly low? Maybe they should have a technology upgrade because since I've known aircrafts they've atleast flown at 20000 feet above sea level
4. Probably because the passengers are too tired to keep waving out at the people on the ground by now.
"That hot air balloon (at a distance of 20 Kms from where we were), do you think it's privately owned or rented?"
Possible responses
1. Uhmm let me check ( squint my eye to try and see further into the distance) - it's privately owned as it has the sign of a Skull and 2 crossed bones below it.
2. Uhmm let me check (look at my watch) - it's 8 p.m., I am sure it's rented, you can only fly privately owned jets after this hour, not hot air balloons
3. Oh that one, actually that hot air balloon is stray, it has no owner and it likes it's nocturnal sojourns.
A snap shot of a host of questions thrown at me, and you thought my weekends were stress free? In any case, the actual responses that I managed were, "Uhmm, I don't know".
By the way these questions were not posed to me by a 4 yr old child but by "Full grown men" who lead a normal life and have normal jobs...
I would like to know your options for a good response to either of these questions. Leave me a note.. seriously. I love wittiness and I'd like to know that some people who read my blogs have some hidden wit. Come on all ye...
Sign off recommendation - C.R.A.Z.Y. - watch it with subtitles, if u don't understand French, actually it's Canadian French it does sound very different so the subtitles do help.
Song that gets me heady - I can see it now - Oasis. Highly instrumental, but I like the crescendo type tempo.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
White out + Thom Yorke's dance video
Yo, I uploaded the Thom Yorke videos as promised have a look. I love the dance. I am actually practicing those steps at home. Ask my neighbours from across the street who see me dance cause my curtain rod broke and I am too short and lazy to fix it, and ask my neighbour from downstairs who hears the loud music and my feet banging on the floor.
I visited an eye doctor recently because I get this white out (opposite of a black out) in my left eye, when I am at work and I don't want it to get worse, the doc checked everything and said I was fine and i had perfect vision. So I enquired, "What do I do? because I still keep getting these white outs in my left eye!", Doc says,"It's yr left eye, right? I said ya right, so he says left or right? So I said left.. Ok, he says, try and tilt yr head a bit to the left and work more with yr right eye"
I am still to get over the shock of the treatment he has prescribed, all my friends have had a laugh, but I am still trying to come to terms with it.
I want a good name for this post. Suggestions?
I visited an eye doctor recently because I get this white out (opposite of a black out) in my left eye, when I am at work and I don't want it to get worse, the doc checked everything and said I was fine and i had perfect vision. So I enquired, "What do I do? because I still keep getting these white outs in my left eye!", Doc says,"It's yr left eye, right? I said ya right, so he says left or right? So I said left.. Ok, he says, try and tilt yr head a bit to the left and work more with yr right eye"
I am still to get over the shock of the treatment he has prescribed, all my friends have had a laugh, but I am still trying to come to terms with it.
I want a good name for this post. Suggestions?
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Steady consumption
Just got off the phone with a friend and a genuine drinking partner after hearing a recounting of the previous nights escapades which I missed due to my illness mentioned in the previous blog.
There are places in the world, in a city that you inhabit where you go only to get drunk. I want to use a lot more words for drunk to try and communicate the concept -Sozzled, Shitfaced, smashed,fucked,influenced beyond degrees of conventional standards, bolloxed this list can go on and I want you all to give me the best word you'd like to use for drunk - any language will do!
Anyway, there are 3 places in the world that I adore,worship and hold close to my heart and would visit time and time again. A place where people connect because there is mutual respect as soon as you enter, with peoples thinking - "here comes a person who drinks for the joy, the love for the fluid, the integrity of the whole exercise"
A lot of people will connect with the legendary, the one and only Gokul's - Wikitravel says "Gokul behind the Taj is frequented by anyone who wants a inexpensive drink served quickly". But to us legions of fans, it is a place where you enter and you get a smile and a nod from the waiter (who had helped you throw up 2 months ago when the next morning you woke up and swore to give up drinking)and without a word your 2 dollar pitcher of beer with your favorite snacks is at your table - If you have had a legendary experience at this place that does not involve me, you are allowed to write about it.
Diamond beer bar - Those soft(no lights), the coldest chilliest beers on the busiest street of that city I thought I had gone to study in. Legend has it, they do serve the coldest beers you can ever find. To the trinity who spent many a weekends brooding over life,women known and unknown and future. I raise a large on to you!
Cabralliego - Don't let the website con you! It's an association of Spaniards, it is a club of sorts, I've never realized or bothered to find out what they do, but they run a resto/bar which serve 2 euro Rum(Bacardi), Vodka(Smirnoff), Whisky(JB) and 1 Euro Beers. Please see some pics. This is the kind of place you enter at 10 p.m. and find 10 families playing board games and ranting loudly. You sit down with a close group of friends and offer to buy a round and you come back with 7 Rums and 2 beers and you've not even spent 20 Euros! You sit and finish and before you finish another friend has volunteered for a round. At midnight you are well and truly buzzing and you try to reach for your cellphone to send a text message to 1 of yr ex girl friend or a current project and when you're done you look up, the 10 ranting families have suddenly disappeared and been replaced with 60 young beautiful spanish women, the restaurant/bar has turned into a night club with an MP3 DJ. Tables folded to make way for a dance floor, the bright flourescent lights turned off to let you go crazy, you do forget what text message you sent to whom in a matter of seconds. It's totally impossible to explain this phenomenon. The chosen few who have been there know about it. The rest of you who know me and have visited me and have not been taken there, I apologise. The rest who have been invited, time and time again to experience this and have not shown up - Shame on you.
Opps.. blog is getting too long.
If there is a bar in your town - where you go as religiously to kill yr slow moving brain cells as you would to your place of worship, leave me a note.
There are places in the world, in a city that you inhabit where you go only to get drunk. I want to use a lot more words for drunk to try and communicate the concept -Sozzled, Shitfaced, smashed,fucked,influenced beyond degrees of conventional standards, bolloxed this list can go on and I want you all to give me the best word you'd like to use for drunk - any language will do!
Anyway, there are 3 places in the world that I adore,worship and hold close to my heart and would visit time and time again. A place where people connect because there is mutual respect as soon as you enter, with peoples thinking - "here comes a person who drinks for the joy, the love for the fluid, the integrity of the whole exercise"
A lot of people will connect with the legendary, the one and only Gokul's - Wikitravel says "Gokul behind the Taj is frequented by anyone who wants a inexpensive drink served quickly". But to us legions of fans, it is a place where you enter and you get a smile and a nod from the waiter (who had helped you throw up 2 months ago when the next morning you woke up and swore to give up drinking)and without a word your 2 dollar pitcher of beer with your favorite snacks is at your table - If you have had a legendary experience at this place that does not involve me, you are allowed to write about it.
Diamond beer bar - Those soft(no lights), the coldest chilliest beers on the busiest street of that city I thought I had gone to study in. Legend has it, they do serve the coldest beers you can ever find. To the trinity who spent many a weekends brooding over life,women known and unknown and future. I raise a large on to you!
Cabralliego - Don't let the website con you! It's an association of Spaniards, it is a club of sorts, I've never realized or bothered to find out what they do, but they run a resto/bar which serve 2 euro Rum(Bacardi), Vodka(Smirnoff), Whisky(JB) and 1 Euro Beers. Please see some pics. This is the kind of place you enter at 10 p.m. and find 10 families playing board games and ranting loudly. You sit down with a close group of friends and offer to buy a round and you come back with 7 Rums and 2 beers and you've not even spent 20 Euros! You sit and finish and before you finish another friend has volunteered for a round. At midnight you are well and truly buzzing and you try to reach for your cellphone to send a text message to 1 of yr ex girl friend or a current project and when you're done you look up, the 10 ranting families have suddenly disappeared and been replaced with 60 young beautiful spanish women, the restaurant/bar has turned into a night club with an MP3 DJ. Tables folded to make way for a dance floor, the bright flourescent lights turned off to let you go crazy, you do forget what text message you sent to whom in a matter of seconds. It's totally impossible to explain this phenomenon. The chosen few who have been there know about it. The rest of you who know me and have visited me and have not been taken there, I apologise. The rest who have been invited, time and time again to experience this and have not shown up - Shame on you.
Opps.. blog is getting too long.
If there is a bar in your town - where you go as religiously to kill yr slow moving brain cells as you would to your place of worship, leave me a note.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Health food to get you high
Why hasn't someone thought of alcohol laced herbal teas?
Why hasn't someone thought of hybriding tomatos, cucumbers and other veggies with marijuana plants?
Why can't space cakes be space lettuce?
Why am I saying all this? I've been sick recently, sorry wrong word - I have been ill recently, sick I have been since I entered my teens ;-). Anyway, coming back to the point. I have had a sore throat that turned into a head cold and now it is a full blown stuffed nose, headache and chest congestion. I know this is too much detail, but it is important and see, I am the one who wises to keep his blogs short so that they get read.
I usually don't take medicines for small illnesses and treat them through home remedies so the 1st couple of days I kept making myself lemon and honey teas, then ended the day with 2 glasses of rum and warm water and lime in it. As the days passed and the weekend arrived I felt the need to get more inventive, more intensive in my treatment. You have to realize my sense of smell and therefore my sense of taste had been reduced to nil. So the treatment I resorted to was, lemon and honey tea with ginger and 2 parts rum. I alternated this with 2 parts whisky the second time. Not only did this make me feel much better(warm) but it fuddled and fuzzed me up so nice that the blocked nose and headache together could not keep me away from my sleep.
Try this recipe next time you're ill as it helps to get high when you're ill. It takes the pain of the illness away easier and you also feel you're doing the healthy thing. All ideas above come with a disclaimer that they were thought up by a brain which was 2 parts full of that mucky shit that is still being blown out of my nose.
Ciao
Why hasn't someone thought of hybriding tomatos, cucumbers and other veggies with marijuana plants?
Why can't space cakes be space lettuce?
Why am I saying all this? I've been sick recently, sorry wrong word - I have been ill recently, sick I have been since I entered my teens ;-). Anyway, coming back to the point. I have had a sore throat that turned into a head cold and now it is a full blown stuffed nose, headache and chest congestion. I know this is too much detail, but it is important and see, I am the one who wises to keep his blogs short so that they get read.
I usually don't take medicines for small illnesses and treat them through home remedies so the 1st couple of days I kept making myself lemon and honey teas, then ended the day with 2 glasses of rum and warm water and lime in it. As the days passed and the weekend arrived I felt the need to get more inventive, more intensive in my treatment. You have to realize my sense of smell and therefore my sense of taste had been reduced to nil. So the treatment I resorted to was, lemon and honey tea with ginger and 2 parts rum. I alternated this with 2 parts whisky the second time. Not only did this make me feel much better(warm) but it fuddled and fuzzed me up so nice that the blocked nose and headache together could not keep me away from my sleep.
Try this recipe next time you're ill as it helps to get high when you're ill. It takes the pain of the illness away easier and you also feel you're doing the healthy thing. All ideas above come with a disclaimer that they were thought up by a brain which was 2 parts full of that mucky shit that is still being blown out of my nose.
Ciao
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Things to watch
When I started blogging, I used to end my blogs with some sort of a recommendation of movies to watch, artists to listen to etc. Some people told me I should keep at it.. so I thought this idle sat morning i'll put up some stuff that I have liked and think readers of this blog may like too. By the way I put up this cool "hit counter" on my blog to see how many people visit my blog and now I just go to my blog everyday and hit refresh a half dozen times and feel all cool when I surf back to my blog the next time - wow!! 120 people have visited my blog already!!
Anyhow.. I am sure i've mentioned Mitch Hedberg in one of my earlier blogs - may his soul rest in peace. One of the best comedians I've heard and seen on TV, tragic that he is dead, but his was the kind of dry, non racially laced, cleanhearted humor I love. I also like his monotonous way of talking. Pls see his quotes. His performances from Comedy Central can be found here 1 - 2 - 3. For his full repertoire surf to www.milkandcookies.com and search Mitch Hedberg.
The squid and the whale - A good movie that I enjoyed. I see that it has been listed as a top 10 movie recommendation from 2005 on a few movie publication sites.
Unfortunately, there haven't been many things that have grabbed me like - Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind and Garden State etc did way back a couple years ago. But I keep my hopes alive that someday soon there is going to be a movie or a movie soundtrack that is going to really grab me. By the way the soundtrack for Wicker Park is great.
I am sorry if I have already blogged on all this before, but this is my blog innit? I'll blog about it again if I like, and now that I got my own hit counter... heheheh
Still trying to keep the blogs short and trying to get more tech savvy with all the hyperlinks and blah blah blah.
Today I wanna be dancing like Thom Yorke - Watch Video and Video2. I was actually trying to make my own video from the show, but my personal laptop burnt down.
Anyhow.. I am sure i've mentioned Mitch Hedberg in one of my earlier blogs - may his soul rest in peace. One of the best comedians I've heard and seen on TV, tragic that he is dead, but his was the kind of dry, non racially laced, cleanhearted humor I love. I also like his monotonous way of talking. Pls see his quotes. His performances from Comedy Central can be found here 1 - 2 - 3. For his full repertoire surf to www.milkandcookies.com and search Mitch Hedberg.
The squid and the whale - A good movie that I enjoyed. I see that it has been listed as a top 10 movie recommendation from 2005 on a few movie publication sites.
Unfortunately, there haven't been many things that have grabbed me like - Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind and Garden State etc did way back a couple years ago. But I keep my hopes alive that someday soon there is going to be a movie or a movie soundtrack that is going to really grab me. By the way the soundtrack for Wicker Park is great.
I am sorry if I have already blogged on all this before, but this is my blog innit? I'll blog about it again if I like, and now that I got my own hit counter... heheheh
Still trying to keep the blogs short and trying to get more tech savvy with all the hyperlinks and blah blah blah.
Today I wanna be dancing like Thom Yorke - Watch Video and Video2. I was actually trying to make my own video from the show, but my personal laptop burnt down.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Everything in it's right place...
I saw Radiohead perform live...I was probably 15 when I actually went crazy about Radiohead, my dad then was really worried as I had scribbled the lyrics of "Creep" on our dining table, he sat me down next morning and asked me at breakfast if I had any issues in my life even though he felt I was very poetic. He was glad to know that it was just me trying to avoid the late night studying stress by listening to some music I liked and probably he was a bit crest fallen to learn that his son was not that poetically inclined...
In any case 13 years from that time... I saw Radiohead perform live..I have attempted a few times to write about the concert experience but I realize that my lack of ability to write down all the emotions I felt will never let me do justice to what I experienced. So I will not write anything.. I will though put a few links of well written reviews of their concert tour, those inclined can read, those not inclined should read and learn, those who don't know much about Radiohead, get a life!! Seriously.. these guys are probably the best bunch of rock musicians walking the planet and I believe they've still not gone commercial.......
What appeals to me about them? They write a lot of tragic songs, sad songs, morbid songs and when I listen to them, I get a giddy high, I chuckle inside my body and mind, I smile, I scream, it excites a weird sort of rage in me... their next album is going to rock your socks off... what else appeals to me about them? Not many people connect to them.. they are not for the masses and in my sick, perverted way I feel part of a group of people who can connect on a different plain... true blue Pink Floyd fans may connect to this sensation...
Recent review of their philly concert from a truly trusted music critic site.. will add more as I find..
Philly Concert
Peace out, working on keeping my blogs short...
In any case 13 years from that time... I saw Radiohead perform live..I have attempted a few times to write about the concert experience but I realize that my lack of ability to write down all the emotions I felt will never let me do justice to what I experienced. So I will not write anything.. I will though put a few links of well written reviews of their concert tour, those inclined can read, those not inclined should read and learn, those who don't know much about Radiohead, get a life!! Seriously.. these guys are probably the best bunch of rock musicians walking the planet and I believe they've still not gone commercial.......
What appeals to me about them? They write a lot of tragic songs, sad songs, morbid songs and when I listen to them, I get a giddy high, I chuckle inside my body and mind, I smile, I scream, it excites a weird sort of rage in me... their next album is going to rock your socks off... what else appeals to me about them? Not many people connect to them.. they are not for the masses and in my sick, perverted way I feel part of a group of people who can connect on a different plain... true blue Pink Floyd fans may connect to this sensation...
Recent review of their philly concert from a truly trusted music critic site.. will add more as I find..
Philly Concert
Peace out, working on keeping my blogs short...
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Foulmouthed randomness
I was on a flight recently and the guy next to me had serious foul breath and I think he was letting out odor from some other orifice as well... today I had 5 beers, 6 cigarettes, a falafel with double garlic and boarded a flight
I visited a city which I lived in for close to a year after almost 3 years.. it felt brilliant, it felt great!!! when I sat on the plane to come back, my MP3 player played "Subterrenean homesick alien"
That is a song by radiohead, if you don't like their music... try it, give it another and another shot.. they are brilliant... I saw them live too, haven't blogged about it, but will and will set the record straight that it was the best concert I have been to.
I like my MP3 player a lot
I attended a meeting today, the meeting room said, Smokers welcome - I did not smoke throughout the 7 hr meeting because I am not a smoker. There was a box of cigarettes kept in the middle of the meeting table and as a going away token we all got a carton of our preferred brand... please somebody tell me of a similar experience.
I want to name this blog entry "Foul mouthed randomness" - but will do so if I get atleast 50% of my readers to comment in the affirmative and say "Yes" it sounds like a good name.. so that means I need 3 of you to validate.. come on guys!!!
Update on 04/06/06 - I got my 3 comments on the title and as promised I have changed the title. I also want to thank the 97 other people who wrote in directly to my email to tell me it was a good title. Also, would like to clear some misconception. The guy with the foul breath was with me on a different flight, a week before I did the falafel loaded flight! - End of Update
I've realized people don't read long blogs, i'll blog more soon.
I visited a city which I lived in for close to a year after almost 3 years.. it felt brilliant, it felt great!!! when I sat on the plane to come back, my MP3 player played "Subterrenean homesick alien"
That is a song by radiohead, if you don't like their music... try it, give it another and another shot.. they are brilliant... I saw them live too, haven't blogged about it, but will and will set the record straight that it was the best concert I have been to.
I like my MP3 player a lot
I attended a meeting today, the meeting room said, Smokers welcome - I did not smoke throughout the 7 hr meeting because I am not a smoker. There was a box of cigarettes kept in the middle of the meeting table and as a going away token we all got a carton of our preferred brand... please somebody tell me of a similar experience.
I want to name this blog entry "Foul mouthed randomness" - but will do so if I get atleast 50% of my readers to comment in the affirmative and say "Yes" it sounds like a good name.. so that means I need 3 of you to validate.. come on guys!!!
Update on 04/06/06 - I got my 3 comments on the title and as promised I have changed the title. I also want to thank the 97 other people who wrote in directly to my email to tell me it was a good title. Also, would like to clear some misconception. The guy with the foul breath was with me on a different flight, a week before I did the falafel loaded flight! - End of Update
I've realized people don't read long blogs, i'll blog more soon.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
It gives me great pleasure....
No!! Don't worry, I am not going to announce a big happening in my life.. but I am going to announce that probably i'll keep updating this post regularly as I wish to list things that bring me pleasure... AND!! don't worry I will keep it clean...
So.. to start things off, you will need to read the title, and that's how it will go everytime..basically read the title and then come down to read below
-> That I am a reasonably good cook
-> and I can cook up a highly satiating meal whenever required
-> that i can enjoy Pink Floyd on a sat night alone at home or even on a sunday morning with breakfast
-> that I would any day take a beer over a vodka
-> that I spend a better part of my income on live concerts than on the latest fashion
-> to know that i've not forgotten where I am coming from
-> to know that I can frustrate women as much as they frustrate me
TBC (To be continued.. but then this TBC line will drop down) - keep with it chaps..
So.. to start things off, you will need to read the title, and that's how it will go everytime..basically read the title and then come down to read below
-> That I am a reasonably good cook
-> and I can cook up a highly satiating meal whenever required
-> that i can enjoy Pink Floyd on a sat night alone at home or even on a sunday morning with breakfast
-> that I would any day take a beer over a vodka
-> that I spend a better part of my income on live concerts than on the latest fashion
-> to know that i've not forgotten where I am coming from
-> to know that I can frustrate women as much as they frustrate me
TBC (To be continued.. but then this TBC line will drop down) - keep with it chaps..
Sunday, April 23, 2006
morbid..maybe..scary..a bit..thought about it..never..
A good friend passed away last year. Another friend told me a story of how some of the new age spamming programs fucked with another friends head. Picture this - someone close to you died, a friend, colleague, family, months after they are gone you are at work and your mailbox goes ping you've got an email from them. Actually it's not them but it's just one of those weird spam programs which asks you to join their friend's network or contact list or whatever the hell it maybe. What would it do to you? would it make a chill go down your spine?would you be able to smile about it later?
I have my friend who passed away last year on my messenger list and he usually shows up in the first few names which are offline. Today I contemplated deleting his name... and when I hovered my mouse over his name - guess what it says, "Right click to see ways you can interact with this person".
I have my friend who passed away last year on my messenger list and he usually shows up in the first few names which are offline. Today I contemplated deleting his name... and when I hovered my mouse over his name - guess what it says, "Right click to see ways you can interact with this person".
Friday, March 31, 2006
2 & 2 & 2
It's been 2 years and 2 days.. i've survived it...i think i've enjoyed it... I still weigh the same and I still don't use an umbrella... and here's 2 fingers to whatever's in charge of the weather in this part of world....
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
The music's playing loud
I finally broke down, burnt that hole in the pocket and got myself an MP3 player. (NO!! this is not an advertising site, the good folks at xyz inc. would have to pay me good money before I peddle their brand on my blog)
I realized that music is an integral part of my life, I wake up to music, I have music playing in the background at all times. The only times I don't listen to music is when I really really need to concentrate - which is about... uhmm never??!!??
The problem now is that I have these earplugs sticking to my sides and I keep getting tangled in wires running out of my jacket or trouser pockets. I am so not an accessories person, I am the kind of guy who would drop his sunglasses off his nose or choke on a scarf. Now imagine the mess I am in when I am trying to look all cool with this new marvel of science in my pocket and grooving to some cool tunes and I get a phone call or see a pretty girl or just a friend, so I try to wave out or reach out into my pocket to answer the phone, probably holding my sports kit or my work bag in one hand, winter clothes already hampering my movement. Seriously!!! not a pretty sight I tell you, not at all. Aren't accessories supposed to help you feel and look better, not that I use my latest acquisition as an accesory, it is a tool to help me satiate my voracious hunger for music, but yet don't they try to sell the cool aspect of this machine too? Why, why why can't I pass it off with the coolness they advertise it with???
But then, wasn't I the guy who used to harp about the fact "Uncool is Cool!!!"
Here's to the uncoolness as long as the music stays loud...
3 Uncool songs that I have rediscovered since the new acquisition from a band that has typified "Uncool is Cool" for me ever since the day I first heard "Creep"
Radiohead - Subterranean Homesick Alien
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/radiohead/subterraneanhomesickalien.html
Radiohead - Planet Telex
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/radiohead/planettelex.html
Radiohead - How can you be sure? http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/radiohead/howcanyoubesure.html
Can somebody pls teach me how to hyperlink - websites to normal text on a blog?? This bloody thing is just not f**king user friendly
I realized that music is an integral part of my life, I wake up to music, I have music playing in the background at all times. The only times I don't listen to music is when I really really need to concentrate - which is about... uhmm never??!!??
The problem now is that I have these earplugs sticking to my sides and I keep getting tangled in wires running out of my jacket or trouser pockets. I am so not an accessories person, I am the kind of guy who would drop his sunglasses off his nose or choke on a scarf. Now imagine the mess I am in when I am trying to look all cool with this new marvel of science in my pocket and grooving to some cool tunes and I get a phone call or see a pretty girl or just a friend, so I try to wave out or reach out into my pocket to answer the phone, probably holding my sports kit or my work bag in one hand, winter clothes already hampering my movement. Seriously!!! not a pretty sight I tell you, not at all. Aren't accessories supposed to help you feel and look better, not that I use my latest acquisition as an accesory, it is a tool to help me satiate my voracious hunger for music, but yet don't they try to sell the cool aspect of this machine too? Why, why why can't I pass it off with the coolness they advertise it with???
But then, wasn't I the guy who used to harp about the fact "Uncool is Cool!!!"
Here's to the uncoolness as long as the music stays loud...
3 Uncool songs that I have rediscovered since the new acquisition from a band that has typified "Uncool is Cool" for me ever since the day I first heard "Creep"
Radiohead - Subterranean Homesick Alien
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/radiohead/subterraneanhomesickalien.html
Radiohead - Planet Telex
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/radiohead/planettelex.html
Radiohead - How can you be sure? http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/radiohead/howcanyoubesure.html
Can somebody pls teach me how to hyperlink - websites to normal text on a blog?? This bloody thing is just not f**king user friendly
Monday, January 16, 2006
Moving Movies
Movies that I've watched in '06 . Lord of War, The Constant Gardener and Good Night & Good Luck. Strongly believe David Strathairn from GNGL may and should win an Oscar for his performance. If he does anyone who reads this before the awards are announced in March, should pay me 5 $ for my prediction skills.....
Friday, January 06, 2006
Cricket Speak...
A few good hilarious remarks made towards the fag end of '05 and early '06
The first of course goes to an Indian - the Media manager or whatever they call him.. Capt. whatever.
"Greg Chappel had an injury to his finger while giving fielding practice to the team, the finger needed some fresh air" - Comment on Greg Chappel's "(in)famous" finger wagging at the Kolkata crowd
Second, to our sub continental brethren - "Sanath had a fall in his shower while trying to reach for his Shampoo and has dislocated his shoulder" - Ok, anything.. I mean really anything could have worked.. but what Shampoo does the bald Jayasuriya use?
Third, and one of my personal favorites, where Kiran More waxed eloquent on Dada's exemplary bowling skills and attributed that as a reason for his inclusion in the squad. Does anyone remember how many overs he bowled???
The first of course goes to an Indian - the Media manager or whatever they call him.. Capt. whatever.
"Greg Chappel had an injury to his finger while giving fielding practice to the team, the finger needed some fresh air" - Comment on Greg Chappel's "(in)famous" finger wagging at the Kolkata crowd
Second, to our sub continental brethren - "Sanath had a fall in his shower while trying to reach for his Shampoo and has dislocated his shoulder" - Ok, anything.. I mean really anything could have worked.. but what Shampoo does the bald Jayasuriya use?
Third, and one of my personal favorites, where Kiran More waxed eloquent on Dada's exemplary bowling skills and attributed that as a reason for his inclusion in the squad. Does anyone remember how many overs he bowled???
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Travelling home...
I travelled home… and that too when I went to the U.S. – funny eh?... It was a totally amazing time. From brush with celebrities on the streets who didn’t allow pictures, to some talented friends (potential stars) and millionaires with cash flow problems who I crashed with.
Starting it all off with gorgeous sunny days in rainy Seattle, flying over the city twice - once with my Bro and then with his flying instructor, which was 20 minutes of mind blowing aerobatics… I was warned not to throw up and funnily enough when we went into the 1st maneuver, I felt the most comfortable I have in a while - time to get the good ol’ brain checked maybe.
Saw Senor Santana at a Nike Store (yes he does wear Nikes) and the store staff asked me not to take a picture of him, he too declined, but signed autographs for us, before he got molested by some Latina on the street.
Great meals and super chill out times in Seattle, followed by the grandness, the noise and the compelling vibe of New York!! Have to confess, it was something different. From the Brownstones of Brooklyn to the madness of Manhattan. The place is something else.
10 things that I will remember from the trip:
1. Beggar holding sign “Parents killed by Ninjas, need money to learn Karate”
2. Shaking hands with Senor Carlos Santana
3. Seeing Heather Graham in NYC (I am pretty sure it was her) – if you’re a guy and don’t know who she is – get a life.
4. Bro doing some scary maneuvers in the air and 2 perfect landings + letting me control the aircraft for 30 minutes!!
5. Great meals in Seattle
6. BOBs and the industrial proportions of alcohol consumed on Fri night
7. Beer – err I mean water.. uhmm no it was actually beer. Finally I saw Stella again.. phewwww..
8. Chee Malabar’s discussions on the social set up in the U.S.
9. Being asked - “Logistics?? Is that something like Statistics??” – When I said I work in the logistics business.
10. Actually felt that I went home, even though I traveled further westward!
Starting it all off with gorgeous sunny days in rainy Seattle, flying over the city twice - once with my Bro and then with his flying instructor, which was 20 minutes of mind blowing aerobatics… I was warned not to throw up and funnily enough when we went into the 1st maneuver, I felt the most comfortable I have in a while - time to get the good ol’ brain checked maybe.
Saw Senor Santana at a Nike Store (yes he does wear Nikes) and the store staff asked me not to take a picture of him, he too declined, but signed autographs for us, before he got molested by some Latina on the street.
Great meals and super chill out times in Seattle, followed by the grandness, the noise and the compelling vibe of New York!! Have to confess, it was something different. From the Brownstones of Brooklyn to the madness of Manhattan. The place is something else.
10 things that I will remember from the trip:
1. Beggar holding sign “Parents killed by Ninjas, need money to learn Karate”
2. Shaking hands with Senor Carlos Santana
3. Seeing Heather Graham in NYC (I am pretty sure it was her) – if you’re a guy and don’t know who she is – get a life.
4. Bro doing some scary maneuvers in the air and 2 perfect landings + letting me control the aircraft for 30 minutes!!
5. Great meals in Seattle
6. BOBs and the industrial proportions of alcohol consumed on Fri night
7. Beer – err I mean water.. uhmm no it was actually beer. Finally I saw Stella again.. phewwww..
8. Chee Malabar’s discussions on the social set up in the U.S.
9. Being asked - “Logistics?? Is that something like Statistics??” – When I said I work in the logistics business.
10. Actually felt that I went home, even though I traveled further westward!
La-la
0345 a.m. after a regular night out in town on a Friday, 3 of us grabbed by hunger pangs were stumbling along in our beer buzz, but after what seemed like 5kms of painful walking we saw light at the end of the tunnel when we saw “La-La” written on top of a half open “Showarma” store, some of you may know it as Doners, Kebabs, Pitas etc. etc.. for us though, that night, it was just pure and simple satisfying food… it was quite alarming that in Amsterdam, where you can find something to eat, drink, ehhmm "smoke" and "sleep with" - at any given time of the day, this hunt for food had really left us exhausted.
We quickly walked in, to be alarmed by the owner that he was shut – but if we wanted he could cook up something plain and simple like a showarma. We, the hungry dogs that we were, agreed!! Not that we wanted to eat anything else...
So the cooking started and we tried to make ourselves as comfortable on the horribly uncomfortably stacked up chairs around his little cooking counter/serving area – while a little kitten kept running around our legs.. all this while the man cooking started engaging us in some animated conversation – once he found out that we were from the motherland!!! He started off by singing Bollywood movie songs from the 60s and tried to recall names of movies from an era when our parents were yet not married.
One of us took the opportunity to also elaborate the meaning of the name of his “snack bar” – ‘La- La’ in Indian. Of course at hearing the word “Snack Bar”, the owner went livid – he said, “How dare you call this place a Snack Bar?? It is – ‘Grill Room La-La’ and duly pointed out the name in the local yellow pages.
A bit terrified by his outburst, but bolstered by the alcohol in our system, we all explained to him the meaning of the term “La-La” – “Usually a man with a big belly, who lends out money and cheats people”. He apparently did not take any offence to it at all and smiled back and said do you know why I call my “Grill Room” La-La?? We shrugged our shoulders and he turned out and sang “La la la la la la la la – Can’t get you out of my head” – as beaten up by our alcohol intake as we were, we still didn’t get the humour in that one, so he retorted ‘Oh La – La – La'.. and we were still going WTF???
The kitten by this time had run up on all our shoulders and of one our friends who claimed he is allergic to cats had the kitten clawing up his expensive shirt and he grimaced and said “Dude, take her off me” – I obliged by catching her collar and flinging her to the ground – OK disclaimer, I am all for animals and their ethical treatment, but cats shouldn’t be in “Grill Rooms” and they should not be climbing up customers shirts and anyway cats always fall on their feet, so no harm done.
But this ticked the owner off again and he tried to control his anger and explained to us that we need to show love to the cat and she would understand, saying this, he caught her with both hands and kissed her and also flung her to the ground - Only one thought going on in our head~ "Is he going to wash his hands or carry on cooking?" - the thought continues while the meat gets grilled, the fries get fried … after a minute or so he turns around and claps his hand 3 times in a way to suggest that his hands have been cleaned, our bewilderment with what we are witnessing keeps growing.
He pulls the grilling pan out and urges us to taste the meat, singing praises of his cooking, letting us know that he has been in business for 23 years and he wouldn’t have lasted if it wasn’t for the quality, he also slips in a footnote – “I am more expensive than your regular grill room, showarma guys” - and this too after he had warned us right up front that it would be a simple meal, this was anything but simple, it was the most elaborate, "pussy petting", song singing, showarma making experience that I had ever seen - It almost reminded me of a cheap Bollywood flick
The meat is nicely stacked up alongside the fries and our salivating mouths are not helping us… so we timidly ask the guy “How much?” and he goes, “30 Euros” – 30 Euros, lets put things into perspective, a similar meal in a normal showarma place would have cost 8 Euros – 30 euros is a pair of jeans in Zara, 30 Euros is 4 pizzas in a decent Italian pizzeria, 30 Euros is a return ticket from Brussels to Amsterdam, 30 euros is almost what I paid that night for all the alcohol to get me so hammered that I went to La-La Grill Room..30 Euros, if you haven’t got it as yet is a hell of a lot of money especially when you don’t even get the Pita bread with it, we asked him for the bread and he said 1 euro per bread and we said, “Thank you very much, but NO thanks” and trundle along with our food in our hand, shocked out of our wits at how easily we were conned out of our money… 30 Euros, we were murmuring and then we thought back to the happenings at the “Grill Room La – La” and our explanation of the term La- La and we realized why he has aptly called his place “La-La”
We quickly walked in, to be alarmed by the owner that he was shut – but if we wanted he could cook up something plain and simple like a showarma. We, the hungry dogs that we were, agreed!! Not that we wanted to eat anything else...
So the cooking started and we tried to make ourselves as comfortable on the horribly uncomfortably stacked up chairs around his little cooking counter/serving area – while a little kitten kept running around our legs.. all this while the man cooking started engaging us in some animated conversation – once he found out that we were from the motherland!!! He started off by singing Bollywood movie songs from the 60s and tried to recall names of movies from an era when our parents were yet not married.
One of us took the opportunity to also elaborate the meaning of the name of his “snack bar” – ‘La- La’ in Indian. Of course at hearing the word “Snack Bar”, the owner went livid – he said, “How dare you call this place a Snack Bar?? It is – ‘Grill Room La-La’ and duly pointed out the name in the local yellow pages.
A bit terrified by his outburst, but bolstered by the alcohol in our system, we all explained to him the meaning of the term “La-La” – “Usually a man with a big belly, who lends out money and cheats people”. He apparently did not take any offence to it at all and smiled back and said do you know why I call my “Grill Room” La-La?? We shrugged our shoulders and he turned out and sang “La la la la la la la la – Can’t get you out of my head” – as beaten up by our alcohol intake as we were, we still didn’t get the humour in that one, so he retorted ‘Oh La – La – La'.. and we were still going WTF???
The kitten by this time had run up on all our shoulders and of one our friends who claimed he is allergic to cats had the kitten clawing up his expensive shirt and he grimaced and said “Dude, take her off me” – I obliged by catching her collar and flinging her to the ground – OK disclaimer, I am all for animals and their ethical treatment, but cats shouldn’t be in “Grill Rooms” and they should not be climbing up customers shirts and anyway cats always fall on their feet, so no harm done.
But this ticked the owner off again and he tried to control his anger and explained to us that we need to show love to the cat and she would understand, saying this, he caught her with both hands and kissed her and also flung her to the ground - Only one thought going on in our head~ "Is he going to wash his hands or carry on cooking?" - the thought continues while the meat gets grilled, the fries get fried … after a minute or so he turns around and claps his hand 3 times in a way to suggest that his hands have been cleaned, our bewilderment with what we are witnessing keeps growing.
He pulls the grilling pan out and urges us to taste the meat, singing praises of his cooking, letting us know that he has been in business for 23 years and he wouldn’t have lasted if it wasn’t for the quality, he also slips in a footnote – “I am more expensive than your regular grill room, showarma guys” - and this too after he had warned us right up front that it would be a simple meal, this was anything but simple, it was the most elaborate, "pussy petting", song singing, showarma making experience that I had ever seen - It almost reminded me of a cheap Bollywood flick
The meat is nicely stacked up alongside the fries and our salivating mouths are not helping us… so we timidly ask the guy “How much?” and he goes, “30 Euros” – 30 Euros, lets put things into perspective, a similar meal in a normal showarma place would have cost 8 Euros – 30 euros is a pair of jeans in Zara, 30 Euros is 4 pizzas in a decent Italian pizzeria, 30 Euros is a return ticket from Brussels to Amsterdam, 30 euros is almost what I paid that night for all the alcohol to get me so hammered that I went to La-La Grill Room..30 Euros, if you haven’t got it as yet is a hell of a lot of money especially when you don’t even get the Pita bread with it, we asked him for the bread and he said 1 euro per bread and we said, “Thank you very much, but NO thanks” and trundle along with our food in our hand, shocked out of our wits at how easily we were conned out of our money… 30 Euros, we were murmuring and then we thought back to the happenings at the “Grill Room La – La” and our explanation of the term La- La and we realized why he has aptly called his place “La-La”
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Musical journey this summer
Bands/Acts I saw this summer
Lemon Jelly
Alanis Morissette
Oasis
Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen
U2 - London and Amsterdam
Thievery Corporation
Kraftwerk
Chemical Brothers
Snoop Dogg
Athlete - London and Werchter
Garbage
Green Day - These boys blew my mind ... whoa!!
Elvis Costello
Feeder - Those who haven't heard them - start with their single "Feeling a Moment"
Keane
Foo Fighters
R.E.M
Sarah Bettens - of K's choice.. what a girl and a half.. sigh.. if only she wasn't gay.. hahah
Roisin Murphy - That's another lady you have to check out.. Kate Moss meets Tori Amos - but much better.. she was a revelation
Katie Tunstall - Another one to check out.
B.B. King
Of course I missed out on Live 8 - but seeing Pink Floyd perform live together was so heartwarming that it still gives me the goosebumps..
That's it check out time, till the fall touring starts again.. I do have to curb this concert spending of mine though...
Lemon Jelly
Alanis Morissette
Oasis
Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen
U2 - London and Amsterdam
Thievery Corporation
Kraftwerk
Chemical Brothers
Snoop Dogg
Athlete - London and Werchter
Garbage
Green Day - These boys blew my mind ... whoa!!
Elvis Costello
Feeder - Those who haven't heard them - start with their single "Feeling a Moment"
Keane
Foo Fighters
R.E.M
Sarah Bettens - of K's choice.. what a girl and a half.. sigh.. if only she wasn't gay.. hahah
Roisin Murphy - That's another lady you have to check out.. Kate Moss meets Tori Amos - but much better.. she was a revelation
Katie Tunstall - Another one to check out.
B.B. King
Of course I missed out on Live 8 - but seeing Pink Floyd perform live together was so heartwarming that it still gives me the goosebumps..
That's it check out time, till the fall touring starts again.. I do have to curb this concert spending of mine though...
Friday, June 24, 2005
How long...
... to sing this song
I’ll be honest, I was only 10 yrs old and I didn’t know shit about international music, my only view to the western world of music was the Grammy awards night. When I first heard of U2 it was when they swept the Grammy awards with JT and I was like, “Damn man!! No one I know won a grammy this year”, I will have to get my hands on this new album to know this band if they are gonna win everything. I’ll be lying if I said I was in love with U2’s music from the word go. No!! It was a gradual growth in appreciation of their lyrics and The Edge’s guitaring. The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum were heard over and over again on audio cassettes, rewound, and all songs learnt by heart including the singing of the guitar solos till the cassette tape started getting jammed in the player. This is when I actually fell in love with U2 – Achtung Baby had just been released in India. Did the band actually plan to warn me? “Achtung, Achtung son, you’re just gonna become a U2 bitch for life” - There was no looking back for me after that.
18 years since I first heard of U2, I had the opportunity to see them live, in the flesh, in person, up close and personal. The opportunity of a lifetime, if I may say so. I really cannot explain how big a dream this has been, no seriously, this is unbelievable. I had a friend at the concert who too asked me, this is really happening right, U2 – live in front of us. U2 – live beside us? True, true it all happened. 
Many hours since early January this year have been spent to scout for tickets, many, many hours. Some people are given tickets to a U2 concert and some people work their way to get them, - only the real hardcore fans realize the sweet success of getting tickets to sold out shows for the world’s biggest and best band, there is this sweet joy, that only can be felt when you get confirmed tickets in your hand, the smugness that only you can enjoy. Ya, I am getting all boastful, but that’s what real U2 fans are supposed to be like – with a huge huge chip on their shoulder!!
Disclaimer time again - This is going to be a long post, it’s been 18 years in the waiting hold and which is why the blog is titled so..
18th June, 32 degrees at 11 AM – London City, Twickenham Stadium, the house of English Rugby. I am standing there waiting for my tickets to realize a dream. 32 degrees, it’s pounding down, no tickets yet, they say they’re getting printed come back in an hour, I come back later, no tickets yet, I am pushing the panic button, bloody hell, where are my tickets, they’re asking me to relax, they’re gonna be here anytime, I can’t relax mate, I have been waiting for this day for way too long, I’m walking up and down in front of the box office, I am trying to threaten the guy on the other side, “What if I don’t get in on time and can’t get right up, what are you gonna do?” – he just says sorry and I feel more frustrated. I am listening to the various sound checks, “Love and Peace or Else”, “Who’s gonna ride your wild horses” – It’s gonna be a great show, if only I can get those tickets in my hands!! Finally 3.20 PM, they call out “Mr. Bhatt, your tickets, we apologize for the delay, may we ask you to walk all the way to the right and line up at gate F” – I was like gate F – I am on the way to get fucked with a capital “F”
I walk up to Gate F and rats, there is like a swarm of people ahead of me in a long serpentine line that had 25 folds in it. I am still thinking “F****D”!!!, We’re slowly being edged into an enclosure, a security guard walks up to us, has a look at our tickets and straps something onto our hands, it says “Inner circle – Concert 1” – Fucking hell, I know what that means, I am in the “Bomb Shelter”!!! the heat, the dust, the waiting, the frustrations of the day, the anger, the anxiety went poof in the air. I knew I was in, in where I expect to be, after 18 years of waiting.
Beers consumed, sausages devoured, we trundle into 2 levels of security checks right into the “bomb shelter”. Pushing and nudging a bit to get right smack in the center of the opening in the stage where the two ramps come down. Twin screens stand atop two enormous speaker towers and between them aluminium sleepers create a video wall that's at least 50 feet high. Athlete opened the show with Doves, I saw Athlete and think they were brilliant, good music, good lyrics and overall good performance, must be quite a kick for them to play to 700000 people.
9 hours had passed since I first reached the venue and the famous beats of the song that U2 marches into, go up loud in the air. That’s it the sons of rock and roll, walk up on stage, all wearing black. Quiet entrance, no smoke, no flash lights, and just 4 average heighted men in black clothes. They break into “Vertigo” and the crowd is reeling, or atleast I am reeling, my mind is spinning as if I really was at a place called vertigo…
They go through some real classics, ‘Electric Co.’, ‘I Will Follow’. Then Bono begins his showmanship, “Sexy London” he says while slowly getting the audience warmed up to ‘Elevation’. 70,000 people echoing oooh hoo hoo , ooh hoo hoo. Bono mouths out, “High, higher than the sun”, goes through the few lines, no other music, just the crowd singing along. The crowd expectantly and loudly goes “ELEVATION” towards the end of the first stanza, and Bono smiles, no music yet, he goes “Flirting, a little bit of flirting is alright in London Town right? Married man, flirting in London town”. The crowd goes wild, one more time still without the music, and finally, all hell breaks loose again! The crowd in a frenzy. E-LE-VA-TION!!!
Adam Clayton is standing 3 mts away from me, smiling down at the crowd, now he is smiling at someone at his eye level, damn that’s “The Edge” 
on the other side, 6 mts away from me, tearing away at his guitar and smiling back at Clayton. This is not happening.... could this be for real, I can’t zoom out enough on my camera to get a full body shot of these two guys, too close man too close… Bono is breaking into “New years day”, following it up with “Beautiful day” – damn you can say that again, that was one beautiful day and he closes with “Here comes the sun”. Next up, “I still haven’t found what I am looking for” – Bono runs down the ramp. The edge’s immaculate guitaring and the sun still shining bright. The crowd singing the song as Bono points his microphone out to the crowd. The song slowly segue’s into a sharp and very familiar guitar riff, “All I want is you” – Bono announces “We’re being broadcast live on BBC” – the audience is singing, bono is leading a choir of 70,000 crazy fans. I had to shut my mouth and listen and enjoy that feeling of the crowd singing along. I realize it’s been 9 songs and they’ve only sung 1 song from HTDAAB.
The lights start shining on what so far looked like a shining piece of aluminium screen, the band starts off City of Blinding Lights, moving into Miracle Drug – Bono reaches out to a silver balloon from the audience, stretches out far and picks it up, dedicates the song to the “doctors and the nurses of the world – especially the nurses”, the crowd is loving his sense of humor. He let’s go of the balloon. Next up is “Sometimes you can’t make it on your own”, he dedicates it, “This one’s for my dad, Bob, I miss him a lot”. Beautiful animation on the screen of a man walking and the other side of the screen projecting Bono walking across the stage. Brilliant stuff. Yes Bono has eyeballs and you can see them when he takes his patented sunglasses off for this special number.
There is a drumset set up 2 mts away from me. When it’s pointed out, I actually gave out a hoot and pumped my fist in the air (maybe like a U2 bitch sort of shreik) I knew what was gonna happen. “Love and Peace or Else” right there next to me with Bono and Larry Mullen Jr. and then Bono doing a drum solo. We had chosen the right side of the ramp to stay closer to. One of my favorite songs from the new album and the boys were really bringing it down. This was up close and personal. Bono got his “C(Islamic Crescent )oeX(Star of David)isT(The Cross)” white band and wore it and started banging those drums towards the end of the song and finally threw the drumsticks, I didn’t want to fight to catch it, but I did try. The song moved so beautifully into “Sunday Bloody Sunday” – Bono got into his sermonic mode, talking about religions to coexist, pulling the headband down over his eyes reaching out to the mic like a blind man, pretending to have been chained, he continued the rendition of SBS, the sun’s gone down you can see the brilliant light effects depicting a war, bombs dropping, jets flying off – ‘Bullet the Blue Sky’ with snippets of ‘Hands that built America’, ‘Johnny comes marching home’ and ‘Please’. 85 mins into the concert and the band starts “Running to a Standstill” dedicated to men and women of Britain who have been fighting in difficult places in the world – brilliantly done and then a very abrupt start to “Pride (In the name of love), dedication to Martin Luther King, you can see the crowd going wild and if that was not enough, they break into “Where the streets have no name” with the African flags going down on the screen behind them. The real fireworks are coming on. The song that apparantely has kept U2 together, the song that has got them where they are, the song the band swears by – the song they say that’s made U2 what they are today . “One” with 35,0000 cellphones lighting up the whole stadium and Bono’s plea to join the “One” campaign. What a show these guys are putting up..
The band walks away from the stage at the end of the song, the crowd is going crazy… a short break and they are back and they are bigger than ever, the Popmart meets, ZooTV, meets Elevation extravaganza is on!! The slot machine on the big screen with leaders faces dropping off till you get a jackpot with the animation of the Zooropa album cover. Bono’s shadow figure cavorting on the big screens, and then suddenly he is on stage staring into a small camera and running through one of my favorite songs of all time “Zoostation” – this is what U2 is all about, the glamour, and the class, and the raw energy and this is what the man Bono is all about as well, the real showman, the guy who likes to show he’s a rock and roll renegade, he does not need to conform, he needs to rebel – the swagger in his walk, the sneer to the crowd, I am falling short of words, but this was it!!! this is what I wanted to see… Bono in his element. Brilliant effects with huge Z and the band members on the screen, no way to describe what they did with “Zoostation” and “The Fly”, they were really tearing it down here, ‘The Fly’ started with words and sentences flashing on the screen, if you’ve seen any Zoostation concert or Popmart, you’ll know what I am talking about, words become, sentences, become lies, fill in the blank spaces – disb lief, s ll your shirt, s ld your soul…. words and sentences throwing themselves on the screen. This was true U2, this was the bigger than life, spectacle one would expect of a band of U2’s size. The lights, the band, the atmosphere, the people, everything was seriously electric… Brilliantest shit I’ve ever seen… and that’s when they break into “Mysterious ways” – holy f**king shit… Bono is doing the belly dancer moves, he leans forward into the crowd, gestures to a girl, I am sure there were over a 100 hands going up and he says no , not you, that one, no no not you too, that one, you, ya you.. you’re the one, gestures security ‘bring her up’ – girl is on stage, Bono says, “take some pictures for us?” gives her one of those funky small video cameras, the girl is holding the camera and pointing it at the crowd, pointing it at bono, pointing it at the edge, the camera is upside down, Bono and the girl don’t know about the camera, TheEdge is gesturing at them to look up at the screen, to see what they’re doing, they don’t get the hint, once he has his hands free at the end of the song he helps the girl hold it right. The Edge is grinning and laughing away. The show is coming to an end, A slow acoustic rendition of “Yahweh” and they do a second edition of Vertigo and close the show with it, with a quick wave good bye and “The End” emblazoned on the screen, the show had come to an end. I have to say the end was disappointing – If you have 50 odd other songs to pick from, why play the same song twice in the same show, but I am not one to complain, the experience in itself was too overpowering and difficult to take in, in the 140 mins that U2 were on stage.
I am a happy fan, I am a good fan, I demand the best from U2 always and I don’t think this was the best they could do, I have heard and seen better concerts by them, but this was my first U2 – Live experience and I have to confess I was/I am a bit overwhelmed, I still sit and look at the pics and the videos I managed to capture. I am sure if they would have closed with ‘40’ or played ‘UTEOTW’ or ‘Bad’ – this concert would have been out of this world, but ya you can’t expect to get everything in one show, so I am waiting, waiting for the 13th of July, my second date with the boys who play rock and roll…. Amsterdam see you soon!!
I’ll be honest, I was only 10 yrs old and I didn’t know shit about international music, my only view to the western world of music was the Grammy awards night. When I first heard of U2 it was when they swept the Grammy awards with JT and I was like, “Damn man!! No one I know won a grammy this year”, I will have to get my hands on this new album to know this band if they are gonna win everything. I’ll be lying if I said I was in love with U2’s music from the word go. No!! It was a gradual growth in appreciation of their lyrics and The Edge’s guitaring. The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum were heard over and over again on audio cassettes, rewound, and all songs learnt by heart including the singing of the guitar solos till the cassette tape started getting jammed in the player. This is when I actually fell in love with U2 – Achtung Baby had just been released in India. Did the band actually plan to warn me? “Achtung, Achtung son, you’re just gonna become a U2 bitch for life” - There was no looking back for me after that.
18 years since I first heard of U2, I had the opportunity to see them live, in the flesh, in person, up close and personal. The opportunity of a lifetime, if I may say so. I really cannot explain how big a dream this has been, no seriously, this is unbelievable. I had a friend at the concert who too asked me, this is really happening right, U2 – live in front of us. U2 – live beside us? True, true it all happened. 
Many hours since early January this year have been spent to scout for tickets, many, many hours. Some people are given tickets to a U2 concert and some people work their way to get them, - only the real hardcore fans realize the sweet success of getting tickets to sold out shows for the world’s biggest and best band, there is this sweet joy, that only can be felt when you get confirmed tickets in your hand, the smugness that only you can enjoy. Ya, I am getting all boastful, but that’s what real U2 fans are supposed to be like – with a huge huge chip on their shoulder!!
Disclaimer time again - This is going to be a long post, it’s been 18 years in the waiting hold and which is why the blog is titled so..
18th June, 32 degrees at 11 AM – London City, Twickenham Stadium, the house of English Rugby. I am standing there waiting for my tickets to realize a dream. 32 degrees, it’s pounding down, no tickets yet, they say they’re getting printed come back in an hour, I come back later, no tickets yet, I am pushing the panic button, bloody hell, where are my tickets, they’re asking me to relax, they’re gonna be here anytime, I can’t relax mate, I have been waiting for this day for way too long, I’m walking up and down in front of the box office, I am trying to threaten the guy on the other side, “What if I don’t get in on time and can’t get right up, what are you gonna do?” – he just says sorry and I feel more frustrated. I am listening to the various sound checks, “Love and Peace or Else”, “Who’s gonna ride your wild horses” – It’s gonna be a great show, if only I can get those tickets in my hands!! Finally 3.20 PM, they call out “Mr. Bhatt, your tickets, we apologize for the delay, may we ask you to walk all the way to the right and line up at gate F” – I was like gate F – I am on the way to get fucked with a capital “F”
I walk up to Gate F and rats, there is like a swarm of people ahead of me in a long serpentine line that had 25 folds in it. I am still thinking “F****D”!!!, We’re slowly being edged into an enclosure, a security guard walks up to us, has a look at our tickets and straps something onto our hands, it says “Inner circle – Concert 1” – Fucking hell, I know what that means, I am in the “Bomb Shelter”!!! the heat, the dust, the waiting, the frustrations of the day, the anger, the anxiety went poof in the air. I knew I was in, in where I expect to be, after 18 years of waiting.
Beers consumed, sausages devoured, we trundle into 2 levels of security checks right into the “bomb shelter”. Pushing and nudging a bit to get right smack in the center of the opening in the stage where the two ramps come down. Twin screens stand atop two enormous speaker towers and between them aluminium sleepers create a video wall that's at least 50 feet high. Athlete opened the show with Doves, I saw Athlete and think they were brilliant, good music, good lyrics and overall good performance, must be quite a kick for them to play to 700000 people.
9 hours had passed since I first reached the venue and the famous beats of the song that U2 marches into, go up loud in the air. That’s it the sons of rock and roll, walk up on stage, all wearing black. Quiet entrance, no smoke, no flash lights, and just 4 average heighted men in black clothes. They break into “Vertigo” and the crowd is reeling, or atleast I am reeling, my mind is spinning as if I really was at a place called vertigo…
They go through some real classics, ‘Electric Co.’, ‘I Will Follow’. Then Bono begins his showmanship, “Sexy London” he says while slowly getting the audience warmed up to ‘Elevation’. 70,000 people echoing oooh hoo hoo , ooh hoo hoo. Bono mouths out, “High, higher than the sun”, goes through the few lines, no other music, just the crowd singing along. The crowd expectantly and loudly goes “ELEVATION” towards the end of the first stanza, and Bono smiles, no music yet, he goes “Flirting, a little bit of flirting is alright in London Town right? Married man, flirting in London town”. The crowd goes wild, one more time still without the music, and finally, all hell breaks loose again! The crowd in a frenzy. E-LE-VA-TION!!!
Adam Clayton is standing 3 mts away from me, smiling down at the crowd, now he is smiling at someone at his eye level, damn that’s “The Edge” 
on the other side, 6 mts away from me, tearing away at his guitar and smiling back at Clayton. This is not happening.... could this be for real, I can’t zoom out enough on my camera to get a full body shot of these two guys, too close man too close… Bono is breaking into “New years day”, following it up with “Beautiful day” – damn you can say that again, that was one beautiful day and he closes with “Here comes the sun”. Next up, “I still haven’t found what I am looking for” – Bono runs down the ramp. The edge’s immaculate guitaring and the sun still shining bright. The crowd singing the song as Bono points his microphone out to the crowd. The song slowly segue’s into a sharp and very familiar guitar riff, “All I want is you” – Bono announces “We’re being broadcast live on BBC” – the audience is singing, bono is leading a choir of 70,000 crazy fans. I had to shut my mouth and listen and enjoy that feeling of the crowd singing along. I realize it’s been 9 songs and they’ve only sung 1 song from HTDAAB.The lights start shining on what so far looked like a shining piece of aluminium screen, the band starts off City of Blinding Lights, moving into Miracle Drug – Bono reaches out to a silver balloon from the audience, stretches out far and picks it up, dedicates the song to the “doctors and the nurses of the world – especially the nurses”, the crowd is loving his sense of humor. He let’s go of the balloon. Next up is “Sometimes you can’t make it on your own”, he dedicates it, “This one’s for my dad, Bob, I miss him a lot”. Beautiful animation on the screen of a man walking and the other side of the screen projecting Bono walking across the stage. Brilliant stuff. Yes Bono has eyeballs and you can see them when he takes his patented sunglasses off for this special number.
There is a drumset set up 2 mts away from me. When it’s pointed out, I actually gave out a hoot and pumped my fist in the air (maybe like a U2 bitch sort of shreik) I knew what was gonna happen. “Love and Peace or Else” right there next to me with Bono and Larry Mullen Jr. and then Bono doing a drum solo. We had chosen the right side of the ramp to stay closer to. One of my favorite songs from the new album and the boys were really bringing it down. This was up close and personal. Bono got his “C(Islamic Crescent )oeX(Star of David)isT(The Cross)” white band and wore it and started banging those drums towards the end of the song and finally threw the drumsticks, I didn’t want to fight to catch it, but I did try. The song moved so beautifully into “Sunday Bloody Sunday” – Bono got into his sermonic mode, talking about religions to coexist, pulling the headband down over his eyes reaching out to the mic like a blind man, pretending to have been chained, he continued the rendition of SBS, the sun’s gone down you can see the brilliant light effects depicting a war, bombs dropping, jets flying off – ‘Bullet the Blue Sky’ with snippets of ‘Hands that built America’, ‘Johnny comes marching home’ and ‘Please’. 85 mins into the concert and the band starts “Running to a Standstill” dedicated to men and women of Britain who have been fighting in difficult places in the world – brilliantly done and then a very abrupt start to “Pride (In the name of love), dedication to Martin Luther King, you can see the crowd going wild and if that was not enough, they break into “Where the streets have no name” with the African flags going down on the screen behind them. The real fireworks are coming on. The song that apparantely has kept U2 together, the song that has got them where they are, the song the band swears by – the song they say that’s made U2 what they are today . “One” with 35,0000 cellphones lighting up the whole stadium and Bono’s plea to join the “One” campaign. What a show these guys are putting up..
The band walks away from the stage at the end of the song, the crowd is going crazy… a short break and they are back and they are bigger than ever, the Popmart meets, ZooTV, meets Elevation extravaganza is on!! The slot machine on the big screen with leaders faces dropping off till you get a jackpot with the animation of the Zooropa album cover. Bono’s shadow figure cavorting on the big screens, and then suddenly he is on stage staring into a small camera and running through one of my favorite songs of all time “Zoostation” – this is what U2 is all about, the glamour, and the class, and the raw energy and this is what the man Bono is all about as well, the real showman, the guy who likes to show he’s a rock and roll renegade, he does not need to conform, he needs to rebel – the swagger in his walk, the sneer to the crowd, I am falling short of words, but this was it!!! this is what I wanted to see… Bono in his element. Brilliant effects with huge Z and the band members on the screen, no way to describe what they did with “Zoostation” and “The Fly”, they were really tearing it down here, ‘The Fly’ started with words and sentences flashing on the screen, if you’ve seen any Zoostation concert or Popmart, you’ll know what I am talking about, words become, sentences, become lies, fill in the blank spaces – disb lief, s ll your shirt, s ld your soul…. words and sentences throwing themselves on the screen. This was true U2, this was the bigger than life, spectacle one would expect of a band of U2’s size. The lights, the band, the atmosphere, the people, everything was seriously electric… Brilliantest shit I’ve ever seen… and that’s when they break into “Mysterious ways” – holy f**king shit… Bono is doing the belly dancer moves, he leans forward into the crowd, gestures to a girl, I am sure there were over a 100 hands going up and he says no , not you, that one, no no not you too, that one, you, ya you.. you’re the one, gestures security ‘bring her up’ – girl is on stage, Bono says, “take some pictures for us?” gives her one of those funky small video cameras, the girl is holding the camera and pointing it at the crowd, pointing it at bono, pointing it at the edge, the camera is upside down, Bono and the girl don’t know about the camera, TheEdge is gesturing at them to look up at the screen, to see what they’re doing, they don’t get the hint, once he has his hands free at the end of the song he helps the girl hold it right. The Edge is grinning and laughing away. The show is coming to an end, A slow acoustic rendition of “Yahweh” and they do a second edition of Vertigo and close the show with it, with a quick wave good bye and “The End” emblazoned on the screen, the show had come to an end. I have to say the end was disappointing – If you have 50 odd other songs to pick from, why play the same song twice in the same show, but I am not one to complain, the experience in itself was too overpowering and difficult to take in, in the 140 mins that U2 were on stage.
I am a happy fan, I am a good fan, I demand the best from U2 always and I don’t think this was the best they could do, I have heard and seen better concerts by them, but this was my first U2 – Live experience and I have to confess I was/I am a bit overwhelmed, I still sit and look at the pics and the videos I managed to capture. I am sure if they would have closed with ‘40’ or played ‘UTEOTW’ or ‘Bad’ – this concert would have been out of this world, but ya you can’t expect to get everything in one show, so I am waiting, waiting for the 13th of July, my second date with the boys who play rock and roll…. Amsterdam see you soon!!
Saturday, June 11, 2005
I wore a suit....
..... because I was going to see “The Boss” in concert – Live, Solo and Acoustic. The atmosphere was awkward, just how it is outside a board room, people pouring over some literature being handed out. Ushers leading people into the right seats.
Awkward silence, annoying chatter around the hall, expectant people waiting for proceedings to kick off. “The Boss” walks in, takes his place, holds the mic and gives out strict instructions in fluent French and Flemish, “This is an acoustic concert with a variety of songs from my repertoire, I would like to point out that the show can be enjoyed best in a silent surrounding and I would urge you to turn your mobile phones off and do not use any cameras”. The crowd of 15000 expectant fans break into an appreciative applause.
The man looked old when he walked on to stage, but the minute he strapped on the six string, it was magic unleashed, the man changed form and he looked like a man possessed and you could see the passion run through every raging vein of his from his forehead to his forearm.
The music was truly moving to say the least, actually the reason why I haven’t been able to post a blog on this concert is because I still haven’t completely been able to fathom all that I felt and experienced over those 2 hours on 30th May. The way he sang and played the piano and the guitar and the harmonica, the way he spoke between his songs, the way he eased the tension from one deep song to the other by just uttering a few words, which you could easily sense were not practiced and repeated just for concerts, even if they were, they were said with an air of non chalance that made you feel comfortable with it.
I knew probably 9-10 songs out of the 24 he played, but it was the ones that I didn’t know too well, that really struck a chord somewhere, the way he spoke of his music, his family, his life, I am sure it moved a lot of people and not just me. Goosebumps must have been felt by all in the audience at some point of time or the other.
The average age of the concert goer at this one must have been over 35, which would have made me one of the younger fans of “The Boss”, but I was suprized at the energy and enthusiasm of some of the die hard fans, who sang along and even gave out loud shrieks of approval even when he played songs, that were not often heard. A sure sign, the arena was full of only die hard fans.
“The Boss”, being the boss, had to have things his way or no way… he played the songs that he had picked and towards the end they allowed the people with seats right in the front to stand up and approach the stage, The boss, walked up and sang and high fived with the audience, in true Springsteen fashion, gave out one last warning to putting the stamp that says “I am the Boss”, he said, “If you don’t stop using those flash cameras of yours, I swear I am going to kill you”, which immediately commanded the respect a man of his stature deserves.
I am still coming to grips with what I had experienced that evening. A great concert, a great moving experience, a great man, with great skills, a great man with great amounts of passion.
Every cent spent on getting the tickets and all the emails sent out to this really sweet ticket agent to manage tickets for a sold out show was worth it.
This is going to be something I can only cherish and not share as easily I would have liked to, because I am no boss, who can say what he feels, express what he thinks and do it with an amazing amount of musical and lyrical power that would leave anyone floored. I am just an ordinary guy, waiting for more enlightenment from the “The Boss”.
By the way, I did actually wear a suit to the concert and that was only cos I had to go straight from work to the concert :-)
On a different note, can someone please tell me how I can upload pics or small movie files on to the blog so that people who may be interested to see my last two concert experiences can see them.
Tomorrow afternoon this time I will be queuing up to enter Twickenham stadium and meet the only real sons of Rock & Roll - Paul, Dave, Larry and Adam – Also known as U2. Watch this space!!!!!!!!
Awkward silence, annoying chatter around the hall, expectant people waiting for proceedings to kick off. “The Boss” walks in, takes his place, holds the mic and gives out strict instructions in fluent French and Flemish, “This is an acoustic concert with a variety of songs from my repertoire, I would like to point out that the show can be enjoyed best in a silent surrounding and I would urge you to turn your mobile phones off and do not use any cameras”. The crowd of 15000 expectant fans break into an appreciative applause.
The man looked old when he walked on to stage, but the minute he strapped on the six string, it was magic unleashed, the man changed form and he looked like a man possessed and you could see the passion run through every raging vein of his from his forehead to his forearm.
The music was truly moving to say the least, actually the reason why I haven’t been able to post a blog on this concert is because I still haven’t completely been able to fathom all that I felt and experienced over those 2 hours on 30th May. The way he sang and played the piano and the guitar and the harmonica, the way he spoke between his songs, the way he eased the tension from one deep song to the other by just uttering a few words, which you could easily sense were not practiced and repeated just for concerts, even if they were, they were said with an air of non chalance that made you feel comfortable with it.
I knew probably 9-10 songs out of the 24 he played, but it was the ones that I didn’t know too well, that really struck a chord somewhere, the way he spoke of his music, his family, his life, I am sure it moved a lot of people and not just me. Goosebumps must have been felt by all in the audience at some point of time or the other.
The average age of the concert goer at this one must have been over 35, which would have made me one of the younger fans of “The Boss”, but I was suprized at the energy and enthusiasm of some of the die hard fans, who sang along and even gave out loud shrieks of approval even when he played songs, that were not often heard. A sure sign, the arena was full of only die hard fans.
“The Boss”, being the boss, had to have things his way or no way… he played the songs that he had picked and towards the end they allowed the people with seats right in the front to stand up and approach the stage, The boss, walked up and sang and high fived with the audience, in true Springsteen fashion, gave out one last warning to putting the stamp that says “I am the Boss”, he said, “If you don’t stop using those flash cameras of yours, I swear I am going to kill you”, which immediately commanded the respect a man of his stature deserves.
I am still coming to grips with what I had experienced that evening. A great concert, a great moving experience, a great man, with great skills, a great man with great amounts of passion.
Every cent spent on getting the tickets and all the emails sent out to this really sweet ticket agent to manage tickets for a sold out show was worth it.
This is going to be something I can only cherish and not share as easily I would have liked to, because I am no boss, who can say what he feels, express what he thinks and do it with an amazing amount of musical and lyrical power that would leave anyone floored. I am just an ordinary guy, waiting for more enlightenment from the “The Boss”.
By the way, I did actually wear a suit to the concert and that was only cos I had to go straight from work to the concert :-)
On a different note, can someone please tell me how I can upload pics or small movie files on to the blog so that people who may be interested to see my last two concert experiences can see them.
Tomorrow afternoon this time I will be queuing up to enter Twickenham stadium and meet the only real sons of Rock & Roll - Paul, Dave, Larry and Adam – Also known as U2. Watch this space!!!!!!!!
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