Travel back in time?

The Roadrunner: If you could go back in time to Germany, before Hitler came to power, knowing what you know now, would you kill him?

Dr. Coyote: I'm a doctor. I'm expected to save lives and ease suffering. I love people. Therefore, I would have no choice but to kill the son of a bitch!

Norton at his best!

Edward Norton has always impressed in every single role that he has done till date. Another actor who loves to give more than a 100% in any role he plays. I wanna quote one of his dialogues from a 2002 Spike Lee film - 25th Hour. This is an incredible scene where Norton is just looking into the mirror and reciting non-stop!

", fuck you, too. Fuck me, fuck you, fuck this whole city and everyone in it. Fuck the panhandlers, grubbing for money, and smiling at me behind my back. Fuck the squeegee men dirtying up the clean windshield of my car. Get a fucking job! Fuck the Sikhs and the Pakistanis bombing down the avenues in decrepit cabs, curry steaming out their pores, stinking up my day. Terrorists in fucking training. SLOW THE FUCK DOWN! Fuck the Chelsea boys with their waxed chests and pumped up biceps. Going down on each other in my parks and on my piers, jingling their dicks on my Channel 35. Fuck the Korean grocers with their pyramids of overpriced fruit and their tulips and roses wrapped in plastic. Ten years in the country, still no speaky English? Fuck the Russians in Brighton Beach. Mobster thugs sitting in cafés, sipping tea in little glasses, sugar cubes between their teeth. Wheelin' and dealin' and schemin'. Go back where you fucking came from! Fuck the black-hatted Chassidim, strolling up and down 47th street in their dirty gabardine with their dandruff. Selling South African apartheid diamonds! Fuck the Wall Street brokers. Self-styled masters of the universe. Michael Douglas, Gordon Gekko wannabe mother fuckers, figuring out new ways to rob hard working people blind. Send those Enron assholes to jail for FUCKING LIFE! You think Bush and Cheney didn't know about that shit? Give me a fucking break! Tyco! Worldcom! Fuck the Puerto Ricans. 20 to a car, swelling up the welfare rolls, worst fuckin' parade in the city. And don't even get me started on the Dom-in-i-cans, 'cause they make the Puerto Ricans look good. Fuck the Bensonhurst Italians with their pomaded hair, their nylon warm-up suits, their St. Anthony medallions, swinging their, Jason Giambi, Louisville slugger, baseball bats, trying to audition for the Sopranos. Fuck the Upper East Side wives with their Hermes scarves and their fifty-dollar Balducci artichokes. Overfed faces getting pulled and lifted and stretched, all taut and shiny. You're not fooling anybody, sweetheart! Fuck the uptown brothers. They never pass the ball, they don't want to play defense, they take five steps on every lay-up to the hoop. And then they want to turn around and blame everything on the white man. Slavery ended one hundred and thirty seven years ago. Move the fuck on! Fuck the corrupt cops with their anus violating plungers and their 41 shots, standing behind a blue wall of silence. You betray our trust! Fuck the priests who put their hands down some innocent child's pants. Fuck the church that protects them, delivering us into evil. And while you're at it, fuck JC! He got off easy! A day on the cross, a weekend in hell, and all the hallelujahs of the legioned angels for eternity! Try seven years in fuckin' Otisville, J! Fuck Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, and backward-ass, cave-dwelling, fundamentalist assholes everywhere. On the names of innocent thousands murdered, I pray you spend the rest of eternity with your seventy-two whores roasting in a jet-fuel fire in hell. You towel headed camel jockeys can kiss my royal Irish ass! Fuck Jacob Elinsky, whining malcontent. Fuck Francis Xavier Slaughtery my best friend, judging me while he stares at my girlfriend's ass. Fuck Naturelle Riviera, I gave her my trust and she stabbed me in the back, sold me up the river, fucking bitch. Fuck my father with his endless grief, standing behind that bar sipping on club sodas, selling whisky to firemen, cheering the Bronx bombers. Fuck this whole city and everyone in it. From the row-houses of Astoria to the penthouses on Park Avenue, from the projects in the Bronx to the lofts in Soho. From the tenements in Alphabet City to the brownstones in Park slope to the split-levels in Staten Island. Let an earthquake crumble it, let the fires rage, let it burn to fucking ash and then let the waters rise and submerge this whole rat-infested place."

Spike Lee has beautifully shown the reactions of a man who is regretting what he has done but just cannot face the truth that he, in fact, has done something very wrong. And Norton has portrayed this man in a very charismatic way! A must-watch movie!

The best live band ever?

The moment I heard Mr.Big was reuniting back with Paul Gilbert after almost 12 years, it was like the first swallow of champagne after crossing a desert. Truly, the rock scene was not the same like how it was during the 80's and 90's with bands like Mr. Big, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen & Extreme around. Glad to see these bands make a comeback after all these years of Heavy metal and nu-metal craziness. There will always be at least 9 out 10 people who would love good old rock n roll over the heavier stuff.

And to hear that Mr. Big is gonna perform at Bangalore as part of their reunion tour, it did take me to the top of the world! I couldn't wait for the day I would get to see two guitar geniuses - Billy & Paul!!

My band's front man - Andy (who resides in Bangalore) booked our tickets and we set out on our journey to watch one of the best rock n roll bands that existed!

I had another chore in Bangalore - to fix my poor guitar (Ernie Ball Music Man OLP - John Petrucci Signature) - which thankfully got done in no time. We reach palace grounds and was really surprised to see a handful of people turned up. Jesus! How much has metal got onto us!!!

It was good in a way since we were really sure of getting in front of Paul and Billy without any hassle. We did not see the surprise coming our way... The tickets that we had bought cost 2500 bucks and guess where they put us - on a balcony at least 400 meters away from the stage!!!!

Three denominations of tickets - 500, 1300, 2500!! and if one was thinking, I'll pay 2500 and will get in front of the band - stop dreaming!! DNA networks has gone nuts!!!

My band's other guitarist Jeet aka the best sales man aka Debbie was in his prime form! The way he spoke to the organizers and got them to break the wall and create an entrance to get into the 1300 section where you can be right in front of the stage, I sure don't regret calling him the best sales man!

I also think DNA organizers were on acid or shrooms, when they were planning this event!

We were so sure that this show cannot be a let down, just for the fact that all 4 band members are sheer geniuses in their respective departments. Aerosmith was a big let down because of bad sound mixing!! But Mr. Big just wouldn't let that happen!!



What a show it turned out to be!! Personally, one of the best rock n roll acts I've seen live or on TV or on DVD!! It is not just the music.. it was all about charisma and stage presence! Right from Eric showing Spock's sign after almost every song... to the incredible solos by Paul, Billy and Pat... to the way they performed Smoke on the water with the bassist singing, the drummer playing bass, the vocalist playing the guitar and the guitarist getting onto the drums!!



Again, when I say the best rock n roll act, a lot of rock n roll lovers might oppose! I've not yet seen AC/DC or Extreme or Van Halen or Led Zeppelin live! Out of the shows that I've been to (Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith), I thought Mr. Big's performance was in a different league altogether!!

My winamp is loaded with Mr. Big's discography with the entire track list on repeat! :)

Three words - What a BAND!!!

Honor thy Father

We're taught unconditional love
That blood is thicker than water
That a parent's world would revolve
Always around their son or their daughter

You pretended I was your own
And even believed that you loved me
But were always threatened by some
Invisible blood line that only you could see

You took advantage of an outreached hand
And twisted it to meet your every need
''Gimme time to re-charge my batteries,
I'll see her when she's older and I'll bounce her on my knee''

Well listen to me you ungrateful fool
Here comes a dose of reality
You'll go to your grave a sad and lonely man
The door is now closed on your pathetic little plan

On and on and on and on it goes
It's so easy to run away with nothing in tow

How can you ever sleep a wink at night
Pretending that everything is alright
And have the nerve to blame this mess on me

Never in my life have I seen someone
So ignorant to the damage he has done
You're the rotted root in the family tree

I tried your 4 bill therapy
I tried to make amends
But nothing could lure you out of your selfish shell again
Expecting everyone to bow and kiss your feet
Don't you see respect is not a one way street
Blaming everyone for all that you've done wrong
I'll get my peace of mind when you hear this song

On and on and on and on it goes
And with every passing day true colors show

How can you ever sleep a wink at night
Pretending that everything is alright
And have the balls to blame this mess on me

Never in my life have I seen someone
Oblivious to the damage he has done
You're the rotted root in the family tree

Watch where you walk
Don't you dare cross the crooked step
Watch the way you talk
Don't cross the crooked step

On and on and on and on it goes
Chauvinistic, heartless, selfish, cold

How can you ever sleep a wink at night
Pretending that everything is alright
And have the balls to blame this shit on me

Never in my life have I seen someone
So fucking blind to the damage he has done
You're the rotted root in the family tree

-- Mike Portnoy, Dream Theater

A dedication to all the irresponsible fathers in this world.. I guess Mr. Portnoy took some evil pills before chalking this down! :)

Music as a language

I've heard a lot of people say (even I asked at one point of time) I just don't know how to learn music fast or even if I had learnt, I don't know how to improvise and be creative. Lets compare music to a language. We learnt our mother tongue when we were 2 or 3 years old. How do we understand what our parents say? The situation around you?? The type of words they use?? Their tone?

The same way, while watching a guitarist, we start appreciating the music once we get the feel of what he is creating. Unless you are a guitarist, you would not bother looking at what chords he is playing or where he is playing or simply, what the hell is he trying to do. We just go by our ear.

Even while you try to create music or improvise, try to go by the feel. You say what you feel. And as simple as it is, try and play what you feel. When you are trying to say what you feel, your brain creates the words. So what would you be thinking? were you thinking of nouns? pronouns? verbs? How fast are you substituting words while rephrasing a sentence? Once you have learnt all that theory, you would not think too much while rephrasing a sentence. Do you still refer a grammar book while rephrasing or creating a sentence?

Similarly, look at music as a language. Once you learn all those basics, your way of thinking should be the same way as how you speak a language. And once you are thorough with the basics, you wouldn't wanna think about it anymore. You start playing what you feel. Take a chord and think theoretically.. ok.. am playing this chord and the theory says I can play this after it. And once you start going by the feel of what you are playing, you wouldn't even think about theory.

It is so vital to learn all the basic theory for any musician, no matter what you play. I say what I feel, I play what I feel!

Gracias!

P.S: Wooten's Logic included..

Mystery behind Jim Morrison's death

There are as many rumors about Morrison's death as there are burnt-out hippies wandering the earth. The most widely accepted of these states that Morrison's death came after a heroin overdose. The problem with this theory is that Jim, while a fan of virtually every drug ever discovered, had a pathological hatred for heroin and frequently battled with Courson over her use of the drug. One variation on this theory states that Courson gave him some heroin to snort and told him it was cocaine.

Other theories have Morrison OD'ing on any number of other substances, including cocaine and alcohol, or choking on his own vomit after too much of the same. Further out on the fringe, some claim Morrison was assassinated by the CIA for being a subversive influence, which seems like a bit of stretch.

The best theory about Morrison's death is, of course, that it never happened. Months before the Paris trip, Morrison had talked to friends at some length about his intention to fake his own death, leave his stardom behind and travel to Africa to live among whatever primitive peoples he imagined he could find there. He told people that he would send a message under the pseudonym, Mr. Mojo Risin', an anagram for "Jim Morrison" featured musically in "L.A. Woman." Given the unusual circumstances of his death and the dearth of witnesses, the rumor that Morrison lives on has persisted. The surviving Doors occasionally take a shot at capitalizing on the idea by expounding their thoughts, but no one has reported receiving a telegram from Mr. Mojo Risin'. At least, not yet. On the other hand, even if Morrison didn't die in 1971, he would be 60 today. Given his insane habits, it seems quite likely that the Grim Reaper would have caught up with him by now, either through misadventure, overdose or simply bad living.

A Pack of Cigarettes

Watch them closely - You will notice that one of your personalities is seduced by the illusions of grandeur - the gold packet of king size with a regal insignia, an attractive implication towards grandeur and wealth, the subtle suggestion that cigarettes are indeed your royal and loyal friends, and THAT is a lie.

Meanwhile, your other personality is trying to draw your attention to the flip side of the discussion, written in boring bold black and white, it's a statement that these neat little soldiers of death are, in fact trying to kill you, and THAT is the truth.