'ere Cometh MMVI AD.

The New Year always brings some sort of excitement in every one . There's the sanguine cheer that fills the air.However eventful the past year might have been, one always waits for the New Year, forever believing that supernatural/almighty might shower more blessings on the mortals..(or I call it children of the lesser Gods)

But the so called excitement to jump into the new Calendar year is not particularly because of great expectations. but more because of the fact that you have actually gotten rid of a year full of forgettable and unplesant events... AnnusHorriblis!

People actually indulge in excessive partying on the NewYear's eve....the only logical explanation?..Its basically to forget the past year!!!! because, why else would anyone want to start the first day of theNew year with a hangover???

From all of Mumbai's biggest hotels to the road side lunch homes have arranged for elaborate new year eve festivities where in you pay,drink, jump around and later crash on your beds(or wherever!),. The following morning tells the same old story!!

So...Friends, OPEN your eyes.!!!. When will you ever learn??
There is no such thing as " NewYear"..
Its just old wine in new bottle(pun intended)

Happy New Year!

Ps: I liked the song 'Open your eyes" by Alter Bridge
For people who dont have party tickets watch LOTR with me on HBO on New YearEve..Its definitely a better bargain!

DIY-X-Mas Tree

Like everybody else, I was totally caught up by the festivities surrounding the yuletide. While all my friends were enjoying their leftover CLs with their families out in Peaks of Mahabaleshwar or Lonavla, here I was !! getting nowhere even remotely close to a weekend plan..

So I dragged my only immediate albeit old, company I had in my sight...My dad.. to the local market to get him into buying a miniature(a.k.a fake) X-mas tree, on which I could spend time decorating and somehow kill time (surely I was being influenced by the Santa-Excesses on TV these days). I carried 100 bucks with me because I was operating on a shoe-string budget..Moreover my shoes were broken too, so I had to save for a new one!

It was then I was pleasantly awakened by something...This cute looking, self standing, moderately decorated, 12 inch X-mas tree which I fell for, was on sale only for 10 bucks..I confirmed and reconfirmed the price with the hawker...He gave me the same poker face reply"Dus rupaiye,ten rupees" . I bought it with utter disbelief ..and also bought some decorative thinggies to hang on the tree, a miniature salontro.. all for 5 bucks.

I used to ponder...afterall, What value does 10 Rs note carry today??

Now I know, It can definitely make a poor man's Christmas!!!!

Chill Out !!!! Boy, I mean it !!!

Its not that its Saturdy today and Im chilling my Weekend off. Its chilling cold out here and Im freezing my @$$ off. Mumbai is not a place where winter is felt in the day. An occasional 15 degrees by the night might give you some hint of it.

But for the past 3 days its been so cold out here (11 degrees)...feels like Delhi and we Mumbaikars are'nt used to it. My toes recoil on the icy floor. The water off the tap gives papercuts. We dont have "Garam Kapde" in our closets and nor heaters in the living room. Our Offices dont regulate AC to suit outside temperature so you find almost everyone sniffling and sneezing. The pollution and the smog do their bit to accentuate the situation.

The MET office says some" western disturbance" exists and we dont understand that kinda english. Whatever, the resilient Mumbaikar can take the Sweltering Summer Heat, Lashing Monsoon Deluges and so the called Winter with relative ease. When will it snow? Im sure we'll handle that too!!

Merry X-Mas!!

Johnny Johnny.. Yes papa.!..Eating Sugar...Yes Papa!!!

Just yesterday I watched Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and what can I say, When its Tim Burton looking for a weird looking factory owner...there he is, Johnny Depp. What is the matter with these two?

Tim Burton is bent on putting an end to Depp's career by hanging funny looking faces ( Edward ScissorHands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow) on good old Johnny who never gets the hint. On the contrary he wants to work more with Tim. Now Johnny has done a voice over for Tim's Coprse Bride. Johnny is much more capable than that..He can play such intriguing roles as in Donnie Brasco, Nick of Time, and my fav "Whats eating Gilbert Grape?"

And as far as C&CF is concerned, the chocolate was the best part. Johnny seemed to have borrowed Whitney Houston's teeth and looks really feminine like some guy finding his Neverland with a bunch of kids.

Sorry Johnny...Good Luck Next Time!!!

Sean Bean for James Bond!!!

How about that?

Because people who've watched Golden Eye would totally agree. 006's performance was one of Sean's best and oustanding one. He's got all that JB needs...charm,wit,"pithy comebacks"..and a damn good brit accent that a JB fan would die for..and lately he's been looking for a change from his typecast role of the rogue/Russian/bad guy roles and he's succeeding. LOTR/Troy/North Country were a revelation. Dont look at his age because if Pierce Brosnan could do it in his late 40s, so could SB.. atleast a couple.

Whoever this Daniel Craig guy is..I dunno nothing about him but only heard that he is blonde and I can't imagine how he could fit the role of Bond, James Bond!

Lately Sean is shooting for "The Sharpe's Challenge" in Rajasthan..I hope bollywood bigshots will not lose this opportunity to rope him into a Hindi movie !...May be a cameo or an item number perhaps!!!

Ana's Song

If you have listened to Silverchair's "Ana Song" or watched its video, you'll be amazed by its likeness to a typical Nirvana song ( "Rape me"). Not to mention the semblances of Kurt Cobain in the lead singer's hairdo/posture . Not suprising, if you knew Nirvana is one among thier major influences.

Nirvana's untimely demise left a big void left in the World of grunge...but no one knew whether there would be a new torch bearer to lead the angst-ridden discerning youth. Lane Staley's suicide orphaned AIC...STP was hit by substance abuse problems..PJ's music geting different..Of course there were a lot of comers and goners..but none with a lasting footprint. This does not hold true with other genres like plain rock, rap or metal as you have a lot of bands to switch to.

That is why ardent Nirvana fan like me can never fill the void by listening to any other kind of music. The loud and metallic Soundgarden has turned softer in the reincarnated "Audioslave" with only Chris Cornell remaining. He does'nt even play the guitar. I've listened to "Like a stone"and " Be yourself". Pretty hummable, but no where close to grunge.Guess they had to change with the times...but thats what fans like me can't bear.

Among others, I ve also noticed Billy Corgan's (of Smashing Pumpkins) solo efforts ..

Is grunge dead?
Nevermind

Lord of the Ring

Ive got to let this out:
Over the last one month, I ve watched LOTR- FOTR for about 20 times, and mind it !, this tally does not include TTT & ROTK. Now why you may ask?
A cousin of mine (a she-elf, mech engineer and car enthusiast) blogs regularly about this trilogy and I thought hey! whats so great about this movie anyways. Hence I actually watched it for the first time 4 yrs after its official release and got sucked right in. Not only that, elvish is like our mother tongue now ,and we talk just like gollum/gandalf/boromir/aragorn assuming these characters as situation suits. I keep raving about it to all the non-enthusiasts trying to extract some form of interest/inclination(but in vain)!

But for those who havent watched this movie yet..(not to worry, there are several like muh) ...WATCH it..better late than never!

If any of you lucky got to watch the extended editions( not officially released in here) then please rave to me about it..specially MEN of GONDOR!

"
Frodo ......What have I done?
Im sorry"
..Boromir


PS: BTW, I'm the biggest fan of Boromir

"Seasons in the sun"

I thought that song had shot the Irish Boyband Westlife to fame ( and subsequent break-up) but was really amazed and purely thrilled to hear Kurt's version of the same song. The version circulating in the net is being claimed to be the one he performed live in Rio. He can convert a song of virtually any genre with grunge undertones with natural ease. I wish he could have done more such covers, although his albums Incesticide, Unplugged and Outcesticide(posthumus) had several of them.

The Outcesticide album was not released in India..Thats because the distributors of rock music have vague and limited knowledge of varied musical taste of Indian youth.There is too much of misconception about basic categorisation of Rock & Pop, leave alone metal, punk.. Ever since Indi Pop came to mainstream, it was curtains to Rock as we know it. Now music from across the border is more easily available than your favourite groups.Nirvana/PJ/AIC/Mudhoney/STP/Filter have such cult following amoung the Gen X/Y crowds..You have to see it to believe it.

The other day I approached a smart looking salesperson in one of the top music shops in Mumbai and asked whether theyve got Foo Fighter's latest album and he drew a complete blank. He asked me to spell the name of the band ( I lost my cool by then) and was smiling wryly while noting it( I lost my hope).

"what else could i write"...
Kurt Cobain

Whatever happened to Grunge?

Looks like the G world from the world of Music is near extinction. The only word to describe the current genre of music that plays on the local Indian music channels ( call them International, if you dare) is JUNK.
Nirvana, AIC, Soundgarden...have all become "classics" just like their frontmen. Some groups have disbanded for greener pastures and some for lack of material.
As an ardent grunge lover my only question is can Grunge ever die?? SOS

" Come as you are, as you were, as I want you to be"
KurtCobain
RIP