Been a While

Yes I have been absconding, and yes I promise to be regular now.
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Alt-Rock fans would know of them as the phenomenon that swept all of 2012 with "Sweater Weather", but for me the discovery came in when a friend of mine recorded the chorus of the song, acapella and sent it to me on Whatsapp, hours of searching and listening later, I too was swept away by their haunting vocals, and gorgeous riffs. Not just the song, but even the music video for Sweater Weather was an insanely beautiful piece of art, unfortunately for some reason they decided to change the video. But, the original is still the one to hit back to.

Next up is the Welsh band Stereophonics' Maybe Tomorrow, I haven't wanted a metronome as bad as I did after seeing this video.

And while the whole concept of the lonely artist, misunderstood, isn't new, there is something about Kelly Jones blank face, and the detachment that draws on. If you enjoyed this, I highly recommend their 2009 Album, Keep Calm & Carry On.

PS: That poster, is a perfect example of British propaganda, though little known, it was used to boost public morale in the aftermath of widely predicted mass air attacks in Britain (Circa: 1939)

Moving forth, The little known solo music project, The Album Leaf comes up next with their single, Writings on the Wall. I discovered this gem in the third Season of Grey's Anatomy and was instantly hooked.

There is something about the lyrics that keeps me coming back to this one, and the heavy Piano score,

Over the clouds and through the sky,

to find a place that we can hide

and close our eyes this time

it's all inside.

 While I was living in Delhi, I happened to meet a wonderful woman who went on to become one of my closest friends, during one of our music-exchange sessions, she handed me over one of the most beautiful and haunting songs that I have ever heard, worse still, one that had lyrics that left me wondering if the lyricist was peeping into my life and writing.

Yes, we all have these moments, that is the true craft of writing lyrics, such that everyone can relate to them. It reminds me of the lines from the movie, Number 23 (Jim Carrey?) where Agatha proclaims that every time she reads something she feels like the author has poured into the book a part of her that only she knew existed.

The song in question here is Jackson Waters' Center of Attention, and though the band took an indefinite break in 2009, you can enjoy their stunning track here:

You want your independence,

but you won't let me let you go

You wanna test the waters

and leave it on the empty shores

Talking of Jim Carrey, one of his non stereotypical roles, and one of the most powerful movies to have hit me is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and if you haven't seen it yet, please move that boulder that you are living under and see it, now.

For all of the last year, I have woken up staring at a wall that has had this poster on it:

What was funny to me, when I saw the movie was how I had thought of this story long before. Of how a guy and girl fall in love, and then leave each other and have themselves hypnotized to forget the other, only to bump into each other again and fall in love, again. I found the thought reassuring in a way, knowing that no matter how many variables you change, somethings come back to where they should. From this movie comes the last song for this post.

I remember, once a few close friends and I were driving back from a hearty dinner, and on the way back, as the cold night closed in around us, I played this track on the car stereo. Everyone fell dead silent, thinking of someone, or something, for, everybody's gotta learn sometime.

This one is dedicated to you guys, I miss you all.