Monday, January 24, 2011

The view from the aftermath.

He didn't know how long he had been standing there in the doorway. The snow had started to fall about an hour ago, and it had slowly began to increase in intensity. It was strange that he didn't feel cold. The people scurrying by were all wrapped in coats and scarves and thick warm gloves, but he, he didn't feel the cold in the slightest. He idly wondered why that was. What the hell, it wasn't important.

2010.
Yet another year for most. To me, it was a mix of a lot of events. I've blogged a few times over the year and they talk a lot about how it went. However, the view from the outside is nothing short of amusing. It's like recording your moments of craziness and laughing over it later.

Part-1: The Seven-Hour Test
It's easily qualifies as the most painful time-period of my life. Worst part being it didn't really help. I flunked the entrance exam and hit an academic all-time low with no idea as to how to proceed. But then, it was also the time when i made some of the best friends I've had.

Part-2: Into the Uni
With some decent luck, I got accepted by a Uni which was sort of my last straw. Life has been bittersweet here. For most of the time, I've been a mismatch and still find it hard to adjust to the people in Uni. My birthday was an underground day with modest celebrations and low-key emotions...but fun nevertheless.

Part-3: Deeper into the Uni
Although life has been peculiar in this place, I've discovered a great deal about myself here. I got the distinction of being the best director among all the freshers. Also my guitar playing has received some attention and we often get together and jam, covering our favorite songs. Life just got a bit better towards the end of the year.

But that's just one way to look at it. Since I was far less busy compared to the previous year, I could get hold of more and more of the ingenious pieces of art that the world had to offer. Be it movies, music, books or TVseries.

Music

2010 has been a year with lots of music. I've listened to over 20 albums over the year and loads of other music that include movie soundtracks and random tracks off compilations.
My top 5 albums of the year are:

5.Unknown Pleasures -- Joy Division

Starting from the album cover, everything about the album is unique and vaguely disturbing. The cover itself signifies the disturbing nature and symbolically represents the hurdles between birth and death. Ian Curtis' depressive baritone swallows all the happiness one could ever think of. I have not-so-good memories attached to this album, but even then, Unknown Pleasures forms an integral part of me.

4.Ágætis byrjun -- Sigur Ros

This is easily among the greatest experiments with music that I've come across. All the ten songs on the album include self-reference: the introduction contains backmasked parts from the title track, and the last song, "Avalon", consists of a different take of an instrumental passage from "Starálfur" slowed to around one-third its original speed. The album title translates to "A Good Beginning"


3.Teen Dream -- Beach House

I came across this album sometime in the latter part of December and instantly fell in love with it. It made me love acoustic guitar again. Among all the synthetic atmospherics of Post punk and ambient music that I had been listening to for most of the year, Teen Dream stood out and shone! In some ways, it reminds me of Bitte Orca and Actor.


2.The Suburbs -- Arcade Fire

I'm at loss to describe this piece of art. A cohesive album that manages to speak a lot at the same time manages to be innovative and personal. It encompasses all the changes in the world that occurred between 1997(OKC Reference) and now. The degrading urban lifestyle, blooming and breaking friendship, the need to move on in life, the way kids see things, the changing seasons...i'm bowled over. It's the most colourful album i've heard in years and came THIS MUCH close to being the best album of the year xD


1.High Violet -- The National

If anything was better than The Suburbs, it was THIS. The soothing, yet electric voice of Matt that pulls you into the song like a vortex, in combination with beautiful drum line and sparks of guitar coming on and off, is High Violet. From the amazing opening track with it's drum-crescendo to the closing gospel style track, the album flows like a river of nectar. I came across this album sometime after my exams were over and since then, it's grown over me enough to define my emotions at certain situations. =)
It's another thing that my voice range comes close to Matt's, and me being able to cover the band makes me highly motivated. =D =D

--

That apart, I've learnt very few songs on guitar last year. But i did get a chance to try and perfect on some of my favourite solos on my friend's electric guitar.


Suddenly he discerned a warm beam of light getting brighter, surrounding him in it's glow. It seemed to be beckoning him to its source.
He remembered the stories that he had heard of bright warm lights that people have experienced when they have been clinically dead, before being dragged back to life. The poor bastards.
He waited anxiously in case that should also be his fate, but nothing happened. He seemed to be in room bathed in white light. He had no idea of time, if it was minutes, hours or days. He started to get restless.

Movies:

Although I got to watch a number of ingenious movies this year, I could not catch many of the flicks that released this year due to the isolated location of my Uni. Among those I watched this year, my favourites include Fight Club, Kill Bill, The Departed, Taxi Driver, Scarface, The Dollar Trilogy, Dr.Strangelove and In Bruges. Although, the top ones are:

5.Toy Story 3

4.Kick-Ass

3.Shutter Island

2.Inception
Christopher Nolan has truly outdone himself with his latest movie. It's easily the most popular movie and the one most rooted for at every award. But the last days of 2010 pushed it a rung down. However, it's got a never-seen-before concept put forth with an extra-ordinarily crafted screenplay that's absolutely flawless. If it's Dark Knight for action, it's Inception for true-thriller.

1.The Social Network
THE ONE which pushed Inception a step down. With an amazing script and excellent tongue-in-cheek humour, David Flincher has come with another cult hit which is sure to grab attention. My personal favourites from the movie were Mark's academic probation and the Bill Gates lecture. (xD)
Jesse Eisenberg has played a role that defines a true nerd which is, in fact, pretty inspiring. Andy Garfield has an interesting role and Justin Timberlake did an impressive job. I hated his character in the movie, but it was supposed to be that way and it succeeded in serving the purpose.
As we move on from one decade to another, it's time we see innovation in screenplay where words begin to speak louder than actions and emotions are shown in a more subtle way combined with interesting camera work (love Flincher for this and Fight Club!!), and The Social Network has hit the bull's eye when it comes to perfection.

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I've read quite a few novels. Will put up the reviews soon.

Oh yeah, my phone, i.e., Sony Ericsson G502 fell in water a couple of months back. Only then i realized how much I was attached to the instrument. I had developed a mild fever that night, and had turned into an insomniac for the next fortnight until it was repaired.
Now it's functioning well, and is a well-acknowledge part of me. My photography, passion for film making, music and of course, communication. Phone.

Arg, that was tiresome. I typed this blog partly because I was waiting to speak out my favourites, and part because it was too much into 2011 already.
I have the Uni Tech and Cultural Fests ahead of me besides the number of tiny menacing tests peppered all over the term. I've been working on a play to put up at the Cult Fest. Will tell more about it in my next blog. :)

Till then,
Sumanth.