18 March 2008

Rock Revival

The past few days have seen a revival of my interest in my preferred music genre - Rock. I shall write a few lines about this.

Now, I did only three memorable things during my engineering. Quizzing, listening to music and nothing besides this!. My under grad nostalgia is dominated by these three elements (in that order). My passion for music has always been self discovered. I never had a computer or music system to listen to mp3. All I had was a moribund walkman whose screws were as tight as the ones in my brains! And ah.. to say the least about its accoutrement - the earphones. Their little voice was heard only at the convenience of the most awkward angle from my neck, otherwise they believed in silent, non violent protests.

I remember buying countless audio cassettes without anyone recommending a purchase. Only years later would I realize that a woman in a mall with adequate liquidity is the quintessence of the purchasing at will instinct. A habit which I acquired during these shopping binges still persists in me, I always head straight to the Rock section in any music store. On innumerable afternoons I have bunked college (or vice versa indeed), lying on my filthy bed and yeah you guessed right, the neck positioned at an awkward angle! And the discoveries have shaped my life. One such afternoon, I chanced upon a song which would forever define (or destroy) my identity. Thus was born 666.

Returning to incumbency, the infrastructure behind my Rock Revival happens to be two ubiquitous websites - wikipedia and youtube. I am not sure how many people have explored the synergies here, but using the two in tandem is the key. Watch/hear a new song then read about the band history on wiki. I am enjoying it. Here are some notes to myself

1. I didnt quite like Glam Rock. Had heard a lot about Kiss but oh my holy gosh!
2. Damn.. I sure missed acquiring a taste for death metal. Its too late now.
3. Jim Morrisson died at 26. My!
4. Van Halen's vocalist cat and mouse was interesting to know. But Sammy Hagar is better than David Lee Roth.
5. Nightwish has certainly been the biggest revelation. I like symphony metal.
6. Rage Against The Machine. Oh shit. Censored.
7. Guns N Roses break up was disappointing.
8. Can we please have a clean no-bad-habits-band?

Update (20/03/08):

Jasmine mentions about a signature statement. Thank you girl for ringing the forgotten bell. It went "Hell freezes over when the winds of change blow across the dry county in the cold november rain". This statement has a interesting history. It was first concocted in school by me and a close friend to reflect the music we listened to in those days. 'Hell Freezes Over' - Eagles; 'Winds of Change' - Scorpions; 'Dry County' - Bon Jovi; 'November Rain' - Guns N Roses.

Radha has broached a view on Glam Rock. I am not much aware about this. The pioneers of this genre are Kiss and they are basically metrosexual performers with horrible hairdos, makeups, colored bodies. Bon Jovi and Bruce Springstein are certainly not Glam Rock.

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13 January 2008

Alma Mater

What are these?

1. Quadrangles, courtyards, plazas
2. Preserve and integrate iconic trees
3. Enhance connections to the river
4. Riverfront development
5. Create pedestrian connections
6. Connecting across the railway line
7. Consolidate parking/ make the campus a pedestrian zone

Bullet points from a master plan for my alma mater's much needed renovation.

Often I am faced with my peers who are claimants to a B.E. or B.Tech. degree.(Aside: I consider mine to be something akin to boxing day gifts meted out to the unfortunate!). Its quite interesting to compare. Hell, comparision is human. Now if I classify colleges from UP, Bihar and ilk as outliers, and dig into the top 50 engineering colleges in India, mine beats everyone hands down on infrastructure and facilities i.e. from the bottom. But it appears change in imminent as its global alumni base creates noise. Heres hoping one day all seven points are actually implemented.

PS: I just remembered I had started on the Hostel Chronicles but like all my starts just lost steam on the way :-( . Guess its time to switch to renewable sources of energy!

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