tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28480434374617562332024-03-13T15:43:31.289+02:00Contrived NotionsPrabhathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12982126978554248558noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2848043437461756233.post-57826362020807739972008-02-18T09:33:00.004+02:002008-02-18T09:44:30.929+02:00The Music Machine<span style="font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;" ><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;" align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-US">The music machine<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">A music machine? What on earth would that be? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><i style=""><span style="" lang="EN-US">Is it some thing like guitar, piano etc? <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">No, they are musical instruments.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><i style=""><span style="" lang="EN-US">CD Players, Mp3 players?<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">No, they are electronic contraptions converting bits to audible sounds which we know as music. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">Sometimes, there are these little machines whose simplicity and utmost completeness enthralls you. We see so many advanced versions of these machines around us, without actually knowing what is happening inside them. The technological advancement of those inherent simple designs often introduces obscurity in their understanding. What if, for once, we encounter one such smallest complete design? How would we feel?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">However, before telling about one such encounter I had, I would digress onto something relevant for a while. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">When I was a kid, I used to hear that charles babbage was the father of the computer. He designed the first computing machine known as difference engine. I had also heard about these small prehistoric computing machines known as abacus. At that time, I never could have thought that these abacus were the precursors of computers, but we were made to learn this as a fact, which we would obediently commit to our memory. Only later, when I grew older, became wiser (supposedly), I heard about this amazing new form of mathematics known as Boolean algebra, where 1+1 was not equal to 2 and where one could express anything by means of zeros and ones. It was an amazing feeling, I was able to draw the connections between the abacus, the difference engine and the computing beasts that we have today. I knew the basic principles, which are the basic blocks for the advanced machines. It is a very satisfying feeling of knowing something in and out.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">Enough of this coffeehousing for distraction, Now coming back to the point!!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">Usually, my Saturdays are very quite, soothing and relaxed. I spend most of my time browsing through books in the local book store, or buying food supplies for the next week, or sitting in one of those 17<sup>th</sup> century courtyards and reading. Little did I know that this Saturday would be one of the most interesting of all other weekends.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">I came across some new books, in the section aptly named “Hot off the press”. Its quiet nice to have these bookstores where one can go and read, without actually a compulsion to buy them. For people like me, who are barely able to mange to buy one book a week, it is a boon. After reading a very interesting section from a fictional account of the people of South Africa, I decided to go to the music section. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">There it was, I saw it. It was a very small machine, size of two match boxes put over each other. A picture of Mozart adorned the top of the machine, and a small lever like structure was protruding out from the side. I took the machine in my hands, It wasn’t very heavy, although it felt a bit dense for the volume it occupied. I fiddled around with the lever. The picture of Mozart on top meant that some kind of sound was supposed to come out of it. The question was, how? Surely the lever had to do something with it. The shape of the lever clearly indicated it had to be rotated. But which direction, should it be clockwise? anticlockwise? , what if I might break it? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">Apprehensively, I rotated this lever protruding out of that cardboard box, and I heard the sound, it was Mozart’s. The sound was so pure, so natural and so subtly wonderful. It was the similar feeling I had when I heard my first classical concert in switzerland. The sound of the metallic pegs hitting the tense metallic strings, amplified by the hollowness of timber of an age old grand piano. The vibrations would travel swiftly to your ears straight from the mechanical interaction. There would be music and your soul. Nothing else. No frequency spectrum corrections from the mixing board, no stupid aberrations because of the limited fidelity of the microphones. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">This sound was similar to so many other sounds, the sound of someone playing a musical instrument right in front of you, the sound of snow melting and hitting the ground at 7 in the morning, the sound of a stream rushing through to meet its river. It was fabulous. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">So, intrigued by its simplicity and its mesmerizing sound, I brought it home. I took off the cardboard box and saw this amazing machine. I was so impressed by the completeness and inherent simplicity in the design. It was a mechanical contraption producing such a beautiful music. I had seen some of the integrated circuit based toys with recorded music on a chip. The music signals, mainly data (zeros and ones) converted to voltage signals which are converted to audible vibrations by another electromechanical assembly known as speakers. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">But, this one was very different. There was no integrated circuit, no bits and bytes, no electrical requirements. On the top of that, the machine had recorded piece of music, around 20 seconds long. The music could be played again and again by a simple rotation of the lever. It was different from the rattle toys for kids, as the rattle toys emit a very repetitive random piece of sound. But, here was this machine which had an intelligent piece of music recorded on it. I am not sure if the word “recorded” would be the right one to describe those protruding dots, but I guess it would suffice. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">Now, the design of the machine: The lever protruding out of the cardboard box controls a metallic drum with small bulging dots on the top of it. There is no seemingly fixed pattern of those dots. They seem to be haphazardly placed, no visible pattern. The small gear assembly between lever and the metallic drum is such that every complete clockwise rotation of the lever would rotate the drum by a few degrees. Thus, it would need a number of rotations of the lever, to completely rotate the drum by a complete cycle. The second part of the machine is a small metallic strip which is clamped opposite to the drum. The metallic strip facing the drum side, is divided into 18 small finer strips. The length of strips decreases as we go from left to right. The width of the strips is same as the diameter of those bulging dots. The strips nearly touch the drum, there is a very little space between the bulging dots of the drum and the end of those strips. Thus, whenever the drum moves, the protruding dots would subtly hit the strips, lifting them by a very small amount and the letting it go. This results in vibrations of one or more of those strips and thus resulting in the sound corresponding to that note. However, since each note and the sound produced by it is only a small part of a bigger melody. The melody can be heard by repetitive rotating of the drum, thus a series of notes can be heard. And that’s the music stored in the form of those protruding dots. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">I have shown a basic schematic of the machine below. As one can see the metallic drum with musical notes written in the form of protruding dots. This is where the melody (music information) is stored. The metal strips of varying lengths are also shown. The longest strips correspond to the notes of low frequencies, while the frequency becomes higher and higher as the strips become shorter and shorter. The lever is used to rotate the cylinder, thus the protruding dots come in contact with the metal strips and produce music.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;" align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_n4E2nHttNbs/R7k1Rh_Ez2I/AAAAAAAACV4/T2RA6rwvvoo/s1600-h/machine.PNG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_n4E2nHttNbs/R7k1Rh_Ez2I/AAAAAAAACV4/T2RA6rwvvoo/s320/machine.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168220622681329506" border="0" /></a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">For the sake of comparison with the actual machine, I am including the picture of the actual machine itself. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;" align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_n4E2nHttNbs/R7k1fB_Ez3I/AAAAAAAACWA/6WAXAFgAwgY/s1600-h/the+machine_small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_n4E2nHttNbs/R7k1fB_Ez3I/AAAAAAAACWA/6WAXAFgAwgY/s320/the+machine_small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168220854609563506" border="0" /></a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">One can see that this machine can be used to play any musical piece. I am still not able to identify the reason for precisely 18 metallic strips. One simple explanation for this could be the following: The human ear can not identify between the notes with small difference in the frequency, one can do with a small set of frequencies. Each of this frequency is called as a note. There are 5 basic signature notes, E A D G B. To make music richer one often includes intermediate notes like Eb etc. Thus music can be expressed in terms of these finite set of notes. Probably for this machine, this is the optimal number of notes. One can do a more deep research into the significance of the number 19.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">The significance of this machine is in its autonomous and simple design. This was one of the early inventions of Thomas Alva Edison, which finally culminated in the design of the phonograph. The technology of recording and producing music has changed in leaps and bounds over the years. From this kind of metallic drum with bulging dots, to the engravings on a circular disk of metal, to replacement of the engravings by magnetic signatures on a LP record, to finally the finer optical engravings on CD’s with music being represented in a sequence of zeros and ones. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">However, According to me this still would the most purest and elegant way of listening a piece of music. The reasons are plenty. If we look at the present technologies used to record and reproduce music. The quality is degraded at various steps. The mapping of a continuous waveform to discrete samples while digitizing music incurs what is known as quantization noise. The fidelity of music speakers also contributes to the degradation. There are lots of other factors like compression formats, encoding techniques etc. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">When I was in college, I and my friends used to compare the quality of various headphones. Which one has got the best bass response? Which one’s can reproduce all the notes present in a Beethoven sonata? Which one is capable of reproducing even the feeblest sounds present in the music? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">Now just imagine, there are no headphones, no encoding and no digital storage. Only the music in is purest form and your ears. Won’t it touch your soul!!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">I was discussing this with a friend of mine that probably, if we were to leave some kind of a machine for the future generations, a machine that could last for millions of years, so if incase there is another ice age, we can pass on our music to them. This could be that machine. <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">If we draw parallels with mathematics one can simply view this machine containing the eigen vectors (the metallic strips) corresponding to different frequencies. The dots on the machines are corresponding magnitude values for those frequencies.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">One can draw as many possible parallels. Isn’t it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">In the end, some open questions?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; text-indent: -20.25pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">1.<span style=""> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">Can this kind of machine be used to store human voice? What would we need to change in the design of this machine? More metallic strips (more frequency components)? More detailed markings on the drum? A mechanism to control the speed of rotation (to control the tempo)?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; text-indent: -20.25pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">2.<span style=""> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">Improvement in design for amplifying the sound? Including a hollow chamber to amplify the vibrations?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; text-indent: -20.25pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">3.<span style=""> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">Can this machine be used as a simple educational model for kids?<span style=""> </span>I bet that even in our age, if we analyze the details of it, we can understand and learn a great deal about physics. Isn’t it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; text-indent: -20.25pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">4.<span style=""> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">A mathematical model for this machine? Could be an interesting work?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 38.25pt; text-indent: -20.25pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: arial;font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;">5.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"> Can different materials be used instead of metallic strips? What could be their physical limitations? (Length factors etc).</span></p>Prabhathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12982126978554248558noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2848043437461756233.post-54035608918313452952007-07-16T16:13:00.000+02:002007-07-16T16:14:22.797+02:00she<span style="font-size:100%;"><i>Lazy sunday afternoon<br />some melancholy tune<br />our bodies entangled<br />the souls entwined<br /><br />T’was so warm outside<br />but more warmth in her arms<br />i could just hide myself<br />by her side<br /><br />i love you, i said<br />she smiled, kissed<br />its your imagination<br />was all she did mention<br /><br />a whiff of chaffed thoughts<br />as fragile as the autumn leaves<br />sitting on the grass<br />gazing at all who pass<br /><br />my love’s one such leaf<br />waiting by the side of the cliff<br />to catch a glimpse of you<br />to touch you .... once... </i></span>Prabhathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12982126978554248558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2848043437461756233.post-85718381421721402412007-07-10T02:47:00.000+02:002007-07-10T02:49:52.563+02:00Spit, Shit & Quit<span style="font-size:85%;">I slipped in the bathroom and sprained my ankle and hit my head against the tub.<br /><br />My girlfriend broke up with me in the morning.<br /><br />The internship where I could have worked in summer got canceled.<br /><br />I got ripped in the exams as the results indicate that I have to do another year.<br /><br />I burnt my hand with oil while making lunch.<br /><br />The coffee tastes shit.<br /><br />The food is uneatable.<br /><br />I feel fucked.<br /><br />I can’t write music, songs.<br /><br />No love, what a day! , Should I quit?<br /><br /><br /><br />I tie my shoes, wear something, untie my hair and turn off the phone. I put on my headphones and come out in the sun.<br /><br />Click, song 1. <b>Lamb of God, laid to rest</b><br /><br />Explosive drumming, pinch harmonics, slaps and pops on the bass, and it feels as if the lyrics are talking to you. It makes sense, YES it does. It says:<br /><br /><i><br />“If There Was A Single Day I Could Live,<br />A Single Breath I Could Take,<br />I'd Trade All The Others Away.<br /><br />Smother Another Failure<br />Lay This To Rest<br /><br />Console Yourself,<br />You're Better Alone,<br />Destroy Yourself,<br />See Who Gives A Fuck.<br /><br />Absorb Yourself,<br />You're Better Alone,<br />Destroy Yourself.<br />”<br /></i><br /><br />The eyes lit up with a shine that never existed before. It’s like a stare, killing intriguing pointing stare, not at anyone else but you. You can’t see anything else but the road, and your feet. You can’t listen to anything else but music. The fine hairs at the back of the neck stand up. The spine suddenly feels a chill down there. There is a smile on the face.<br /><br />A smile or a smirk? or a grin for that matter.<br /><br />Suddenly it feels like living in another world altogether, where you can just say ‘fuck you’ and move ahead. The actions have no aftereffects. You don’t have to repent for anything you say or do.<br /><br />Welcome to the world of heavy metal and rock music. It doesn’t judge you. It doesn’t criticize you. It always is there for you. It always makes sense.<br /><br />Welcome to the world with no false pretensions. Where everything is so true and hard on your face, that it seems like you have found a new best friend. Something that talks to you and allow you to talk back. Allows you to discuss. It doesn’t have any prejudices nor does it shun your views. It makes you feel that your ideas, identity have some respect. They matter, they fucking matter.<br /><br />I have been listening to this music actively since last 8 years and it has never let me down. It has been consistently stereotyped, dismissed and condemned. This music confronts what we often ignore, celebrates the things which we rather deny. It indulges in what we fear most. I have been defending this music since i was young. I do like other art forms, all other kinds of music, which makes me feel beautiful. Music which allows me to appreciate and love the beauty around me. Which adds to my vocabulary of emotions. Something which adds warmth to my feelings. Something which allows me to feel happy.<br /><br />But, what about the other part of me. The other part of me which is evil. The other part of me which is so sick that just thinking about it can evoke suicidal tendencies. How do I live with this? How do I explain this which is in me, for that matter, (in all of us)?<br /><br />What about vanity, jealousy.<br /><br />What about unfair competition. What about the hatred generated from the media reports on war. What about the feeling when I saw a death happening in front of my eyes. What about when I see someone I love, fornicating with someone else.<br /><br />What about that.<br /><br />This music allows me to give a language to define these things. It tries to help me to find a solution. Sometimes, it tells me that the solution is not required at all. Let it harm you, you will learn.<br /><br />Whenever I feel blue and I am choked, and I can’t write, and I can’t make music. I dig a small den, put on this music and forget about everything else. As headphones keep on blaring, I am immune to reality. I am immune to life. It’s the best anesthetic for all kinds of pain.<br /><br />In the arms of it, I find love, warmth and comfort. I feel like cuddling and sleeping and never getting up.<br /><br />Never Ever.<br /><br />But one has to wake up. To worry about the girlfriend who broke up. To take care of the ankle which might be blue by now. To fix the exams, to fix the internship. To put some sugar in coffee. To put some silent butter on the olive bread.<br /><br />One has to wake up to start up the actions again that might have shit repercussions, but who cares, as it would be another chance to dig a den, and look back at yourself.<br /><br />It’s pretty hard, when someone tries to show the mirror back to you.<br /><br />Isn’t it.<br /><br /><br />Sincerely<br /><br />Prabhat<br /><br /></span>Prabhathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12982126978554248558noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2848043437461756233.post-8647966724038450432007-07-03T07:14:00.000+02:002007-07-03T07:21:07.355+02:00now you think i understand<br />she said, your truth, your lies<br />all my senses are spies<br />of your disgraced thoughts<br /><br />pull me up close to you<br />she said, your warmth holds me<br />ramblings are untrue and sad<br />oh, you were right, my bad<br /><br />last light as they say it is<br />find me a sun of my own<br />the heat of it makes me moan<br />strangelove seeds are being sownPrabhathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12982126978554248558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2848043437461756233.post-45917912292196589892007-06-27T00:55:00.001+02:002007-06-27T01:03:21.535+02:00some song..It had been long time since i've written a song..<br />so wrote this love song.. (not so good, but still... its good to start with something again)<br /><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span>Key of E ... and 1 4m b3 b7<br /><br />E Am in verse 1 2 and 3<br />G C in chorus<br /><br />Verse 1<br /><br />So cold is the spring air,<br />So clear is sky<br />Why don’t you come with me<br />And lets go fly…………………<br /><br />Verse 2 ----------- to be written later<br /><br />Chorus………..<br /><br />I just want to be with you<br />In this cold cold night<br />Please come, come back to me<br />I’ll hold you tight<br /><br />Verse 1 again…<br /><br />So cold is the spring air,<br />So clear is sky<br />Why don’t you come with me<br />And lets go fly…………………Prabhathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12982126978554248558noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2848043437461756233.post-34897618096078489482007-06-27T00:55:00.000+02:002007-06-27T00:57:18.477+02:00some song..It had been long time since i've written a song..<br />so wrote this love song.. (not so good, but still... its good to start with something again)<br /><br /> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><u>Verse 1. <o:p></o:p></u></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">E<span style=""> </span>Am<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">So cold is the spring air, <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">E<span style=""> </span>Am<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">So clear is sky<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">E<span style=""> </span>Am<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Why don’t you come with me<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">E<span style=""> </span>Am.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">And lets go fly…………………<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><u>Verse 2<span style=""> </span>----------- to be written later<o:p></o:p></u></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><u>Chorus……….. <o:p></o:p></u></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">G<span style=""> </span>C<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">I just want to be with you<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">G<span style=""> </span>C<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">In this cold cold night<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">G<span style=""> </span>C<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Please come, come back to me<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">G<span style=""> </span>C<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">I’ll hold you tight<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><u>Verse 1 again… <o:p></o:p></u></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">E<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Am<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">So cold is the spring air, <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">E<span style=""> </span>Am<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">So clear is sky<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">E<span style=""> </span>Am<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Why don’t you come with me<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">E<span style=""> </span>Am.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">And lets go fly…………………<o:p></o:p></i></p>Prabhathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12982126978554248558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2848043437461756233.post-55119606192732250672007-06-22T01:15:00.000+02:002007-06-22T01:34:16.078+02:00pretend<span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;font-family:webdings;"><span style="font-size:100%;">it splits and forms back again<br />the same, the same like before<br />just a little bit of warmth<br />and look, its ain't cinch no sore<br /><br />A backyard old garage<br />small stinky bowels of squirrels<br />a small little old gramophone<br />oh, i want to listen records<br /><br />listen , until it makes sense<br />so, i don't pretend to be you<br />someone else, like some rock star<br />or pretend to be shit<br /><br /></span></div>Prabhathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12982126978554248558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2848043437461756233.post-4809063873120602612007-06-22T00:57:00.000+02:002007-06-22T01:12:45.794+02:00rainIt was raining since last seven days in this small town amidst the lovely mountains. Rain which never seemed to stop. "How can it rain so much" said sid, who was one of those forty people who were stranded as the roads were flooded. "Its all we humans, we cut trees kill animals, it is all coming back to us, god has a way to make everyone pay for his penance" commented the driver of the bus. The weather was gloomy inside, as it was closing on to be thirteen hours since the bus got stuck. Some people were playing cards, some were snoozing while some were praying for the rain to stop.<br /><br />It so happens always that a small community is formed whenever a group of people travel together. It becomes a small society participating in a interesting social experiment. It becomes a small story telling affair, as everyone longs to tell theirs and listen to others. Some people are oblivious to it, while some people are so engrossed in it. It seems like another parallel life for them, where they can be whatever they want to be and whatever they couldn't. How much of it is truth? No one cares and it doesn't matter much.<br /><br /><br /><br />... contd aheadPrabhathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12982126978554248558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2848043437461756233.post-63136432796472768132007-06-04T02:42:00.001+02:002007-06-04T02:48:42.019+02:00Some Exam...Think of someone not working for some exam even when that someone knows that the exam is very important for him.<br /><br />I've been like this since past few days, what could be the limits to slackness... not working at all.. or whenever one's working, the output is a just like a piece of constipated shit ideas.<br /><br />When does one stop growing, when does one think that one can't go on further... people say that forget about the past and start a new beginning but then what do i start with.<br /><br />What makes one feels so underestimated. How to describe the feeling of being bogged down by the sheer idea of not working.<br /><br />why why why..........Prabhathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12982126978554248558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2848043437461756233.post-13666246489669798822007-05-28T11:35:00.000+02:002007-05-29T02:35:26.784+02:00incoherent verses of love and trust ... and music<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> Probably it means the same to you, </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> Probably it doesn’t </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> But who cares…</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> Who the hell cares....</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> I would rather not write</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> than listen</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> nothing else makes more sense</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> nothing else is so true</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> nothing’s more sensible </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> than those incoherent words</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> those sublime verses</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> the state of love and trust</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> I like the quakes of pinkpop</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> I like the moshing wacken </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> the creative new Orleans</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> the great Indian rock</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> tribute to the true music</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> is what I pay everyday,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> is the food I eat</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> is my music I listen</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> its more I in here as you may think</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> but its all abt you</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> don’t do if u ain’t true</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> like u fuckin care</span></span>Prabhathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12982126978554248558noreply@blogger.com0