Breakup Reason #1: Our record collections disagree violently
I love Nick Hornby. One of my favourite Top 10 books ever is High Fidelity. He makes so much sense! I particularly love the discussion among the guys (Rob, Barry and Dick) who agreed that "
what really matters is what you like, not what you are like." One of them (Barry) even devised questionaires that covered all the music/film/TV/book bases to distribute among prospective partners.
I understand why Barry did what he did. I mean, why take all the trouble of getting to know someone and then you realise that neither of you have anything in common? You could be going on and on about Interpol or something and s/he would think you are talking about world politics. Or worse, what if the person doesn't even care for music, films and books?! The horror!
droooool....
It's getting hot outside again despite a nice downpour in the morning. I'm beginning to think there is a very direct relationship between the weather and the mood I'm in. I like cold weather more than this stupid hot and humid one we get here like 350 days out of 365.
I've been downloading like crazy from Ares which is not a bad P2P program. Right now, I'm sourcing for Album Leaf's In a Safe Place. I hate it when I am just 2 songs away from a complete album. I know. I know. I should be buying the album instead but the exhorbitant prices at HMV are really pissing me off. They seriously mark up the price because it's an import. Depending on the label they are on, there is cheap cds to be bought if they are on the relatively bigger labels (Sony, Warner, EMI etc.) but I'm not really interested in those. I would infinitely prefer buying the original cds (nothing beats holding the cd and admiring the album art in your own hands) if I don't feel as if I'm getting seriously ripped off!!
I'm getting very impatient with my computer. It works fine for normal day-to-day things but playing The Sims II has really pushed it to the utmost limit. It breaks into a sweat and threatens to give out on me. I can't even play music when I'm playing the game which is a real downer. God!! The game hasn't even started loading!! That's it! I'm throwing this dinosaur away and getting me a G5!!
Rrriigggghhhttt. Who the hell am I kidding!?
Deckchairs and Cigarettes (from The Thrills)
This is the life! I'm sitting on my newly-acquired director's chair and lounging around with a cigarette, waiting for the new Interpol album to finish downloading, with a killer track blasting from the speakers (iTunes is on shuffle, but "Mr Brightside" by The Killers is playing now. The Thrills track "Deckchairs and Cigarettes" was playing before this, hence the title for the post).
My new blog template looks great, all thanks to Mike, and it's a nice feeling to know I can always count on him for help with it. There's supposedly a lizard (it ran in from the other room, according to my mom) running loose in my room but as long as I see where my feet land, I don't really care. I'm more or less cool with lizards--so long they dont come near me and stay where I can see them.
It's Saturday afternoon and it's dreary and cloudy outside. It looks like it's going to rain soon. I realise that given all the shit I've been going through for the past month or so, I'm still very lucky to have my own space to which I can retreat and surround myself with things I know that will make me feel better (right now, The SimsII).
I love my new chair!
The Nicest Person I've (never) Met Award
Thanks to
Mike, the template problems I have over the past week have been solved! Not only was he patient with my demands, he truly enjoyed helping me out as well. According to him, it's a testament to the power of the internet that 2 people at different ends of the earth can collaborate on this (actually I didnt do anything; I merely screwed up the template and Mike had to clear it up for me). Thanks MIKE! :)
Help!
I know I said I will try and fix the template but I got caught up playing the new Sims 2. Oh my god, it's so fun, you would not believe it! Almost everything is customisable!
Can someone help me with my new template please?
Thanks!
Northern Exposure II
Northern Exposure is coming up with Season II end November! I've got the first one and although it was really expensive, who cares! It's Northern Exposure! Season II has only 7 episodes and it's going to cost as much as the first.
So. Who's feeling generous? It will just be in time for my Christmas!
*Update: tried changing template and lost comments somewhere along the way. am. way.too.sleepy.to.care. Will fix tomorrow. Email me instead.
The Songscapes Series: Part II
To be read together with the following:
Explosions in the Sky,
First Breath After Coma. Click
here for a download link:
When the first chords trickle in, she opened her eyes and wondered where she is. From where she's lying in the bed, the rain looks like another layer of glass through which the outlines of the buildings outside seem distorted, almost fluid against a reddening sky. But the music... it's becoming such a part of the rain that she almost forgets about its existence. Unlike the rain, it is subtle and unobtrusive.
It seemed to her that the rain and the piece of music belonged together. She could not imagine it without the backdrop of raindrops and she would never listen to another rainstorm without hearing the opening chords. She gets up from the strange but warm bed and decides to find out where it's coming from. The door leads outwards to a long and dark corridor. The floor boards creak under her weight while she gropes along the walls not knowing where she is. She has never been here before yet it feels right to be here.
She suddenly notices, from a distance, a small ray of light streaming through from beneath a closed door. That must be it, she thought, that's where the music is coming from. Her strides began to be less apprehensive and she walked towards it with purpose and resolve. The drums are coming in now and the incessant sound of raindrops is beginning to fade away. Turning the knob, she looks in and is immediately bathed in a light so strong she had to shield her eyes with her hands. When she has finally adjusted to it and looked around the room, there is a smile on her face.
The Songscapes Series: Part I
There are some songs that just conjure up a specific mood and atmosphere every time you listen to them. My current re-obsession is
Sigur Ros's () album. I've always liked it alot but it's one of those things that really grow on you. My favourite track right now is Untitled #3 (a.k.a. Samskeyti
attachment). Every time I play it, I feel as if I have been transported to another place, instead of being stuck in a crowded train (or insert mundane everyday circumstance).
I'd close my eyes and imagine myself to be on a ship/boat in the middle of the Antarctic surrounded by towering icebergs and glaciers and floating ice sheets. The water will be sinisterly dark but in perfect contrast to the icebergs. Everything is still and peaceful; there's noone around. The boat will go slowly but purposefully to avoid any accidents. I think it's the danger of it all that makes it so starkingly beautiful. I can feel the chill on my face even though I'm all wrapped up. It's the feeling of being alive. In a quiet way. In my own way.
Drag
It has been a dreary week. I've been assailed by a cough that only acts up when I lay down to sleep, thus wrecking my daily sleep cycle. The antibiotics the doctor gave did shite for me, though I suspect the cough may be actually aggravated by my incessant smoking. But that's another kettle of fish.
Time is a funny thing. It's never there when you need it and it pops up everywhere in large chunks when you don't. I never used to have to think about what to do with my free time, but now, it seems that it's all I have nowadays.
A weird thing happened the other day. My colleagues and I were having lunch. They expressed interest in my iPod and requested to scan through my playlists. I realised, from their quizzical looks and raised eyebrows, that they have no idea what I've been listening to. Yet they were all polite and everything, and didn't say anything. They were probably wondering how long they need to look interested before decorum allows them to stop. I was very amused.
Now, playlists are a very personal thing. It's one of the most accurate introduction to anyone's life. Here are some of mine:
- Fresh Tunes: Stuff that I've just added
- Angry Bastard Music: Self Explanatory. I'm looking to expand this.. mainly NIN
- Get up and GO: For those dreary Monday mornings. Le Tigre's Let's Run (when you are running late), Bright Eyes' A Song to Pass the Time (when you're waiting for the stupid bus), White Stripes' 7 Nation Army (when your boss sees you coming in late).
- In the Greenhouse: Stuff that I haven't really gotten into but making an effort anyway. Postal Service (everytime I hear Ben Gibbard's voice, I just feel like listening to Death Cab instead), Raveonettes, Tindersticks (how low can that guy's voice go?), My Morning Jacket
- One Hit Wonders: Singles I like but not enough to get the whole album (or too embarrassed to). No Doubt's Running, Mazzy Star's Fade into You, Simple Plan's Perfect, Black Box Recorder.
- Lyricless Stuff: Post-rock stuff. GYBE, Mogwai, Explosions etc
- Music by the Window Smoking: Self Explanatory. Of a more "contemplatory" nature but not unduly depressing: Yo La Tengo, Wilco, Teenage Fanclub
- Music to Read By: Background Music basically.
- Top Rated Haunts: Self Explanatory. Right now it's Radiohead's True Love Waits (uh oh.. see below), The Strokes' 12:51 and Death in Vegas' Girls (from the excellent Lost in Translation OST)
- Sad Bastard Music: To be avoided at all costs right now. Deadliest possible combination for the broken-hearted: Coldplay's The Scientist, Radiohead's Let Down and True Love Waits. Will make 50 cent shed a tear.
- Shuttle Service: Commuter Music. "Happier" music like Belle & Sebastian, New Pornographers, The Shins, Spoon.
- Songs to Play Chess to: duh. Gastr Del Sol, Bedhead, Mogwai
Nice to meet you too.
Gmail
They are drowning me with invites! After giving away so many invites, the google people keep piling invites on me. I don't have THAT many friends!
So anyone up for gmail?
Email and let me know.
Monotony
I had previously thought that the hardest part to the breakup would be the constant self-loathe and questioning, as well as the incessant cryings. But it's not. It's harder to pick yourself up once you've gone to pieces. I have no desire to cry anymore, not that i have the energy to but I just don't know what to do after all that. I'm more or less accustomed to the fact that everything is set and done and nothing can be changed. But there's just this void ahead that I feel as though I have to traverse in blind faith.
Sometimes I feel that I've been led into a false sense of security that I'm fine. Not thinking about things doesn't make them go away. And they do come back with a vengeance. I know. I know. Everyone goes through that. Maybe it's worse now because I feel I've lost a friend as well. But the bridge has already been burnt ("burn, motherfucker, burn").
