Talking ‘bout My Generation

 

I was listening to Englebert Humperdinck a few days ago, when suddenly in comes Pops. “Hey, I love this one! Play again!”, he goes.

Now as you all know (and if you didn’t now you do) I am a music addict. I end up listening to a song almost at any time of the day.

So then after the song finishes (Leaving on a Jet Plane I think it was) Pops goes “What else have you got?”So I calmly hand him my entire collection of CD’s (correction DVD’s…I have WAY too many songs. To try and burn them on CD’s would be overkill.). And then I get a really unexpected reaction form him. “Link up my lappy and give me Bob Dylan, Bryan Adams, Englebert, Santana and U2. Throw in Pink Floyd, Dire Straits and Deep Purple while you are at it.” Now Pink Floyd has been a childhood fave of his and so has Dire Straits but I NEVER expected Deep Purple to be on his list. Santana and U2 are even more far cries!

Then in comes Mum and she’s like “Ah! Englebert (the album was still playing). Play again!!” So I thought it prudent to hand over the controls to Pops and gracefully retire. After Englebert, we listened to Pink Floyd, Carpenters and of course the Beatles. We also had a shot at Abba and Dire Straits. But what I didn’t expect was Alice Cooper joining the list. Or Ozzy Osbourne for that matter. And here’s what  I think is the punchline, most of the songs that Pops played that day were my personal faves. Beat that!

My Mum has gotten herself addicted to Castle and Lie to Me, which again was unexpected. I never thought it would be her cup of tea as she’s more into M*A*S*H and Yes Minister, both of which incidentally I like a lot! I think I posted ‘bout this recently.

Now, I have heard people say that there’s a major Generation Gap today. Maybe that’s true. Actually it is coz some of the things that I am into, my parents won’t touch with a ten foot barge pole. But then again, after that day of musical delight, I can’t help but wonder…..What exactly does the term “Generation Gap” mean? I mean the oldies were kids once right?

The Bilge Master

The Temple of Thought



Of late, Facebook has been full of it and we have all been sharing whatever we could find about it. It being the latest album from Poets of the Fall entitled (aptly if I might add) “Temple of Thought”. It has finally released here and I got meself a copy (well took it off a friend if you must know)


Poets of the Fall are one of the many bands in my vast library of songs and they are one of the bands I listen to almost daily. Their last offering “Twilight Theater” was their best album in my opinion but that all changed in the sixty odd minutes I spent within their Temple of Thought.


The album is primarily love songs, but that is all that the tracks have in common. Each song is RADICALLY different from it’s predecessor. Take the first track “Running out of Time”- brilliant riffs, a pure rock track; then the title track which starts softly and then escalates into a blend of drums and guitars, leaving you breathless. The track “Skin” is soft too but throughout and fills you with a deep sadness; which is dispelled by the time you get to the last track “The Happy Song”. In between, are “Cradled in Love” and “Morning Tide” and “The Ballad of Jeremiah Peacekeeper”, which are again all different. I think that the band took the four letter word “LOVE” and stripped it bare and the end product is this album; adding to it that secret spice that marks it as a POTF production. Speaking of which, there are a few things worth mentioning here- the drums are back in town as each track has a definitive session of drumming. The music has also undergone an enormous transgression and is hardcore and in your face at times yet mellow and soothing at others…it’s kind of like a symphony, a flawless union of music and lyrics.


The album makes you feel a number of emotions- greed, fear, hopelessness, lust, anger, pride, envy…you name it! It lifts you up to the zenith then slams you straight to nadir, it plays with you and rewards you. In short it has done it all, yet when the last song ends, you are craving for more.


As for me, well I now join the guys who have heard “Temple of Thought” and are now waiting patiently for Saaresto and his boys to cook up another storm…….and to help me wait, I am taking another trip deep into the “Temple of Thought”.

Eyes on Crime

So here I am with another little peek into my escapades just for you. From the title, you may have gotten the impression that I have been doing some illegal activity recently and your assumption would not be far from the truth. What I mean is that of late, the whole family has gotten hooked to crime serials. Although I used to watch em initially, it has now become a regular feature here at home! And people say there’s a generation gap! Dig this, I got mom to watch the pilot episode of Castle with me one fine evening ans pretty soon, Dad joined us. We have not looked back since then. Dad’s even taken the entire Castle with him on tour! Next came Numb3rs. Now I KNEW that Pops would like it but I was surprised when Mum who hates Maths took to it like a fish to water! Thus I find myself on a desperate quest of downloads. Lie to Me is ongoing and soon to follow is White Collar. They weren’t jokin when they said don’t feed the animals! (Thats a snitch off My Family and Other Animals by Durrell by the way).

Speaking of authors, our library is gonna be extended in some time. We have done a careful analysis and come up with some must haves for our collection. The new Archer, a little Harold Robbins and Irving Stone head the list; and trust me there’s more where that came from!

I have also been reading some out of the box literature lately. 1984 by George Orwell to be exact. That there is one scary book. The image of society sent chills down my spine. I also liked the concepts of Doublethink (when it wasn’t freaking me out that is). But in spite of that I found it to be an amazing read. I’m currently reading No Comebacks by Forsyth.

Nothing much up musically. I finally got a chance to listen to Five Finger Death Punch and Alice Cooper. Both of them are good. I’m also sniffing for Simon Webbe and the new Snow Patrol album.

Studies related gossip? Yeah there is something. I met a new maths tutor who seems to be just what I am looking for. She’s going to start with me next week. Hope it works out.

That’s about it guys. See you again soon! Till then Adios!

 

The Bilge Master