Tiffany Alvord

In this age of social media explosion, I am simply amazed by the amount of content being created and made available through music and video discovery tools.

Today's find: Tiffany Alvord, great voice... and  she does look a little like Emma Watson - no? :)

Slow songs on a Sunday afternoon

Original video 

Not a fan of the Twilight series, but this is a nice song and I like the blue in the video

Downton Abbey Theme

Watching Season 2 of Downton Abbey. Such an exceptional show with strong characters, a beautifully woven storyline, great acting and this amazing theme music.

Interesting music videos

Hey Rosetta! - New Sum
I like this video, it reminds me of Take On Me by A-Ha

The Shins - September
Simple video, yet there's something intriguing about the way it goes with the song

With Lions - Leaving Me
Abstract, but at many points in the video I *think* I see more than was meant to be seen. #StrangeButTrue

LOTR - the continuation

My previous post *had* to have a follow on. Watched the trilogy and I'm in awe. When the Fellowship Of The Ring ended, I was like... where, what, how and I immediately started watching The Two Towers.
What the movies lack in detail (that I previously mentioned) they more than make up for it in awesomeness. One word to describe the movies #Epic.
Now to continue with the audiobook, back to the details... and to wait for The Hobbit (will hopefully not miss it this time around).

LOTR

Confession #1: I have not watched the LOTR movies. I do have a valid reason for this, which brings me to...
Confession #2: I have not read the LOTR books.
Point to be noted: I didn't want to watch the movies until I had read the books.

All that changed this week. I got this great unabridged version of the LOTR audio book. So, everyday on the way to work and back, this is what I've been listening to. To be frank, I don't mind traffic jams or delays any more, if anything I'm happy I have more time.
Since it's audio, I actually went through the foreword and the author's notes, which I usually skip when I'm reading a book. The other good thing about the audiobook, is the different voices/tones used when delivering lines of different characters. This makes the experience more interesting.
A wise person once told me that I should not wait until I finished the book - to watch the movie, for I would be disappointed. Taking his word, I'm watching the movie now.
An hour into the movie and I've reached the part of the story where I had stopped in the book.
The movie sure has sped through and missed out on so many details. But the upside is the visuals, the background score and of course the likes of Elijah Wood, Liv Tyler and the rest... So much for the LOTR weekend.

Beautiful LOTR Medley by @LindseyStirling

Classical music and then some

Good music is music that moves us. Be it any genre, a music piece that stirs a certain emotion (or more than one) is something that we listen to over and over again.

A friend recommended the book An Equal music by Vikram Seth. It is a story about a love affair between two successful musicians who meet after a decade of separation.
The writing style is in first person, so it took me a lot of effort to get into the mode of reading the story as spoken directly from the author's point of view.
What I do like about the book is the description of the music pieces and references to the classical compositions. The first piece described in the book is Beethoven's C Minor Trio. So along with reading about the music, listening to it and actually understanding what the author describes adds to the effect.

I love the way the lady plays the piano so beautifully and effortlessly.



These are the other classical/based pieces that I've been playing in a loop recently:

Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi's Divenire. Listening to this piece as well as watching the musicians play it is a treat.



David Lanz's Christofori's Dream. There is something very subtle at the same time very intense about this tune.



And it is time to note that the CDs with the works of Beethoven and Mozart received as a gift eons ago are being put to good use :)

Victor Wooten

Bass, played on a lower key, generally provides a harmonic/rhythmic support.
When Victor Wooten is playing, bass gets a whole new meaning. It does not support, it IS the music.

Today's Victor Wooten trip includes:
The Lesson
Joe's Journey
Sacred Silence
Yin Yang
The Vision
What you won't do for love
On and On

More music streaming here: http://www.victorwooten.com/music.html

A post for: Music of the Heart and Bach

Yesterday I watched the movie Music of the Heart. This falls in the categories music and inspiration. The movie is a sure #win for several reasons - the main ones being Meryl Streep, the music, the true storyline. Meryl Streep is a versatile actress. Be it her role in Devil wears Prada, Julie and Julia or this one, so very different - yet so well adapted.

The movie is about Roberta Guaspari. When her husband leaves her, Roberta's mom and friend push her into pursuing her passion - teaching music. Roberta teaches in a school at Harlem and life is a struggle. When the music program at school is cut due to budget constraints she fights back and wins.
Roberta later went on to found Opus 118 - Harlem centre for Strings.

At the very end of the movie, a charity show to be hosted by Roberta is almost scrapped due to non-availability of venue. That is when her friend arranges for musical greats like Itzhak Perlman and Isaac Stern help conduct the concert at Carnegie Hall. The finale gave me goosebumps when these musicians along with the children play Bach's double concerto. Such beautiful music.

Since last evening, I have been listening to classical music specially Bach's. These are in my current playlist:
Double concerto
Prelude - Cello Suite No. 1
Toccata and Fugue in D minor
Brandenburg concerto No. 3 (Allegro)
Cantata No. 29 Sinfonia

First Impression

The last day of my life - Jim Moret

(Long time overdue post)

I was reading this book during my trip earlier this year and remember tweeting one quote from the book that caught on with friends:
"Who are the few people you can really count as your friend? Have you made sure they know how you feel about them?"

Last day of my life is one of those books that as you read through - you nod, you smile, you are saddened, but at the end of every chapter you are inspired to think and act differently.
Jim Moret, the author is a TV correspondent who has hosted/anchored shows on CNN, Fox, MSNBC. Most popular of his work is his coverage of the OJ Simpson trial.

Jim starts the book by saying all his life he has been telling other peoples' stories and he reached a point in life where he stopped to think about his own life.
"I issued myself an unusual challenge: to imagine that I had been told in no uncertain terms, that I had only 24 hours left to live. What would I do? Who would I want to see? where would I choose to spend my last hew hours? Would I make apologies or offer forgiveness? Would I use it as a time to seek out one last great adventure?"

Jim breaks up the book into chapters with titles like Friendship, Gratitude, Love, Sacrifice, Commitment...
Below are some interesting quotes from the book, each followed by a story from Jim's personal experiences:
~True friendship is like sound health, the value of it is seldom known until it is lost - Charles Caleb Colton
~Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you're not really losing it. You're just passing it on to someone else - Mitch Albom
~Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do apologize, you apologize for truth - Benjamin Disraeli
~How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong - because some day you will have been all these - George Washington Carver
~If at first you don't succeed, before you try again, stop to figure out what you did wrong - Leo Rosten
~After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music - Aldous Huxley
~Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face - Victor Hugo
~The most wasted of all days is one without laughter - E.E.Cummings

Agnee

Accidentally landed on the official website of Agnee, while searching for Agni (an older Indian band that a friend had mentioned about)
Each song is a world apart in theme, tune and the final presentation. It's been long since I heard so many good songs from a single band (may be I'm not listening to the right kind of music?). Anyway, felt the need, so jotting down what I feel about the songs currently playing in a loop.

Sadho Re: The initial strumming of the guitar is interesting, but the vocals make all the difference. The video may be disturbing to some, but the theme of the song isn't a very pleasant one either. Overall, very powerful music.

Splitsvilla theme: "Edgiest TV show in India"? or so the website calls it. Forget the show, focus on the music. Simple guitar strumming in the background and some humming in the foreground, throw in a few violins and the result is a brilliant melody which leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling. Definitely deserves an #ilike tag

Shaam Tanha: At first, the starting of the song seemed a bit artificial. Don't ask me how music can seem artificial, it just does, at times. But listening to it completely, a couple of times made me change my mind. This is a very light, simple song. Perfect for an evening (or does the name already suggest that).

Raanjhan Yaar Di / Keh Lene Do: The guitar, the voice, the tune - oh what a combination
Plus point for RYD: The chords
Plus point for KLD: The voice modulation

Karvan: The minor chords/notes that the tune touches from time to time, give it it's intensity

Music inspired by movies

Today's theme is music. Well, the day began with music (that's a whole different story and it's best to not talk about it).
Anyway, watched the trailer of Black Swan. Seems to be an intense movie, but the music is equally compelling. Then went on to listen to a whole lot of good music from Vitaliy Zavadskyy's MySpace page.

2012
Inception
District 9
Avatar

Also including here some music from OSTs by Clint Mansell, which were playing in a continuous loop some time back. Music has such power!

The Fountain
Requiem for a dream
Smoking Aces

A Thousand Suns - Linkin Park

This is not your usual Linkin Park album. The band seems to have gone on a tangent here. A whole new sound and a world of meaning in the lyrics. Most of the songs talk about the past and learning thereof. The album's also got some voice tracks that are readings from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Will get to that later, let the music begin!

Day 1 : Favorite tracks (so far)
Waiting for the end
Burning in the Skies
Robot Boy
Iridescent

MySpace Page
Youtube Channel

What is your happy place?

This may be what people generally do, but the thought occurred to me only recently. I needed to find my happy place - A place in my mind, in my thoughts, that nurtured happy memories. Visiting such a place would make me smile and take away the low of the current time. A memory that would instantly take away pain and transport me to a world so far away, making me forget present woes. When something happens that brings your spirits down, but there are so many people around, that you cannot react, this thought should be a means to distract.

I thought hard for a couple of minutes but couldn't find the place, but I did think of a happy song (a recent favorite) that kind of worked. Need to make a list of my happy places, who knows when it may be needed next.

Favourite routines from SYTYCD

Nigel once hosted a special episode featuring his favourite routines from the previous seasons. This is my list of favourites. Many of these are of the contemporary style. I think, since this dance style is not bound by rules/definition/discipline it makes it so much more expressive.

No Air

Calling you

Sweet Dreams

The Chairman's Waltz

This woman's work

Bleeding love

Hometown glory

Hip Hip Chin Chin

If it kills me

2 Steps Away

Watcha say

Movies, Books

Frost/Nixon:
Though the movie starts off like a documentary, expect nothing but sheer brilliance from director Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Da Vinci Code et la).
The movie revolves around the interview of President Richard Nixon by a British TV show host David Frost. After the Watergate scandal that lead to the president's resignation, Frost wants to interview the president and get him to admit the truth to the public. He finds it difficult to get American producers to back him. How he prepares for the interview, how every question of his is shot down by the president with a very politically correct answer and how one telephone conversation turns things around... is the flow of the movie.
A good movie to watch for the brilliant acting and great dialogue delivery.

Milk:
After watching I Am Sam, I'd close my eyes and choose a Sean Penn movie over any other. In Milk, Sean portrays the role of a gay rights activist. All through the movie, Milk talks into his dictaphone giving a recorded account of how things are progressing on the personal front, the political front, the problems faced by the minority group, issues that he faces being the fore runner for the cause. Not just another weekend movie. Its an inspiration.

After two serious topics, moving on to comedy...
Sidin Vadukut's DORK is absolutely hilarious. From start to finish, the book puts you on ROTFL mode. This is Sidin's blog and @sidin is his twitter handle
Am now reading No Onions Nor Garlic. Though this is also of the humour genre, it has way too many expletives for my taste. But this is just me :)

Make every action count

Date: May 6th, 2010
Place: Nightingales Trust (Sandhya Kirana)
Agenda: Visit the day care centre for underprivileged senior citizens. Participate in their daily activities and help in working out a marketing strategy for their hand-made products.

Sandhya Kirana has about 60 senior citizens, of which 50+ are ladies. They stay at a walking distance from the trust. After breakfast every morning (that is taken care of with the money received from donations) they spend the morning at the tasks assigned to them. This would mean making plates/cups/pens/candles/jewellery/doormats. They break for lunch, which is provided by Iskcon's Akshaya Patra programme and then they resume their work until four, when they get back home. Every Saturday, they are paid a small token amount, based on their output.

Having someone to talk to and to share one's thoughts, is the need of the day

Even in despair, we seek each other's company and create happiness

The lady on the right said "We come into this earth alone and when we go from here also we are alone. Only in between in a temporary phase, we have someone for company.... what do you say, am I correct?" "Absolutely!" is all I could say.

From the attitude, it is very clear that they haven't given up

This lady weaving a mat, is 70 years old and the eldest here. She's from Nellore. She speaks Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and a little bit of English. "My daughter-in-law works, I have a grand daughter who goes to school, I don't have a son you know... " she says as she smiles sadly. It was very touching.


This is the machine with which plates and cups are made from the bark of the arecanut tree. This gentleman is trying to fix the wires as the hot-plate isn't working. "We have 2-3 hour power-cuts daily. It becomes such a problem" he remarks.

Spread the word and make a difference
~ There is a lack of basic amenities at the trust. They need financial help
~ For the products made, there is a need for a steady market. Awareness is key here
~ The trust also provides medical facilities including dementia treatment. They need support

Of classics, literature and other things

I enjoy reading fiction. Its been ages since I read a novel but there used to be a time when I devoured books one after the other. In this quest, I have often picked up a classic, only to put it down too quickly, for its language was too heavy on my brain.

Shakespeare's works - I have only read the abridged version (Tried reading his sonnets and original works, only to give up in despair). It would be great if some one could read out the original text, the way it was meant to be read and explained what the underlying intent of each statement was therein. Wonder if we have any reading sessions of such works...
And yes, when I think Shakespeare, I'm also thinking Danny DeVito in Renaissance Man... one of my favourite movies :)

In the movie 'Definitely Maybe' there is a character who owns multiple copies of Jane Eyre (by Charlotte Bronte). She explains that every time she reads the book, it gives her a different meaning. Instead of picking up the book, I downloaded the audio book and have been listening to in parts over the last couple of weeks. Charlotte's style of describing the smallest of details, words/comparisons she uses to express emotion is very impressive. The words play with your mind and torment it, making you want more and seek to now what happens next... thoroughly enjoying it.

Flashback again: When we were kids, thatha had bought us audio story books. I remember my favourite story was that of the Alhambra (red fortress in Spain). The entire story was read out, along with background music and sounds to go with the words. Made such an impact on the story-telling. Not sure if they make these any more.... Need to find that tape and make a digital copy of it for keepsake....

Ending the post with this piece from Jane Eyre.
Context: Jane finds out that her master (who she has fallen for) is getting married to someone she does not think fit. She plans to leave her place of work. Before she leaves, she expresses her feelings thus:

Blurry

There have been many situations (almost every time) when I've put other people's interest ahead of my own, because I thought that was the right thing to do. Like everything else in life, there is a limit to this also.
Recently, someone 'higher up' told me, "its time to think about yourself now, you've done enough for others". That - coming from such a person made me think twice, thrice.. no - I'm still thinking.
So how does one say No - enough is enough, I'm done with my share of waiting. Its my turn now!
So many people around, cannot be wrong, maybe it is time.

Long time since I heard this song, used to be a favourite at one point of time.
Blurry by Puddle of Mudd