From Evernote: |
Country Music and Mumbai Musings |
I cant say I've been inclined to Country music, but over the last couple of years there is some good stuff going on and its the kind of stuff that I am liking...
Lately, The Zac Brown Band and Lady Antebellum are doing it for me and I am pleasantly pleased with what I end up feeling right now I am struggling to keep my cynical self at bay as I write this and I'm getting so damn tempted to go blame my mellowed sentimentalities over the years...its age...NO!!! but it aint...really...I love the simplicity of the music ...everyday aspirations,purity of thought, no complex emotion--- common man dreams ...it works, and it works well for me.
I dont wanna critique the once in a while feel good feeling...
And honestly,anything that makes me moon about Heartman, is definitely hitting the right buttons...as aptly sung in the drunk call "Need You Now" , the song which won Lady A the Grammy this year.
Both the bands seem to have good harmonies, decent story lines, but if I had to choose between the two - Zac Brown cuts it for me, the Band has far more depth, humor, edginess and experimentation....and importantly guitar work. I like a guy who can work the guitar...
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It's almost maddening when plans change last minute...So, got around reading Aravind Adigas 'Last Man in the Tower' ... evidently part of his Mumbai musings. Last one of this sort came up in the Mint a while ago( probably referenced it in one of my November 2010 notes) ...I did like it, so this too did appeal to me in a way.
But, as with music- I'm stuck in a bit of a dilemma of choosing between sentiments.
I am proponent of realism, that's the way I like my stories told to me, straight up...but then at times it feels a bit much---all this realism overdosing. One wishes something akin to a holiday, to sort of ease off on mild abrasion, or the mundane, melancholy ...some time we need elevators in the form of magic realism fantasy or believable humor that can almost charm us thru...anything but the right here , right now scene.
So, while I can appreciate the craft of the particular story telling, I can't quite get myself to enjoy the art. So while his Man Booker winning White Tiger was really good, another glum, all feely look at Mumbai may be disenchanting for me at the moment.
I do like Arvind Adiga as a writer, but I would like to see him try a different trick on me...I am all for tricks ...newbies excite me. But the usual routing, a slight dampener.
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On a parting thought why do I keep coming across picturesque Rajasthan in so many of the touristy brochures as a staple for everything India????
Heck...there is so much more than palaces and camel rides , and deserts to the country...
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