More Web Goodies

Since my PC is on the blink, I've had to resort, of late, to using any damn system I can get my hands on. However, most of these don't have an IM or any music to listen to. For those of you who use MSN/ICQ/AIM/Yahoo! Messengers, there's hope yet: go to www.meebo.com and sign in on your service(s) of choice, and chat easily. I love how my contact list is intact, complete with user groups too!
As for music, last.fm offers the perfect solution. Just register (a very brief process), and download thier radio player. Then, you can search for music by tags or similar artists. The quality is pretty good, and works even on 64-kbps connections, skip-free. Give it a spin!

Quick Firefox Tip

As you might know (c'mon, you're one of 5 people who read my blog), I work for Deviantart Inc., and there's a lot of PR work involved. This means that I have to frequently visit user pages, which have URLs like username.deviantart.com. Its a pain to type this over and over again, especially since I'm used to hitting Ctrl+Enter for http://www.sitename.com (type sitename, hit Ctrl+Enter, and Firefox/IE will add the rest for you). Here's a trick you can use for deviantart pages, blogger blogs, and anything else with a similar URL type:

• Click Bookmarks > Manage Bookmarks > New Bookmark.
• In the 'location' field, type 'http://%s.deviantart.com' or 'http://%s.blogger.com', without the quotes.
• Add a keyword thats short and easy to type/remember. For deviantart pages, I use 'da'. So, to go to my page, i simply type 'da abe-x' (without quotes) and hit Enter. Similarly, for blogspot pages, I use 'bs'.

PC Nightmare!

Litestep is an excellent shell replacement for Windows, with a lot of nifty features and much room for customization. A shell (for those of you...) is something like a large program that runs many sub-programs within itself. Windows runs its own shell, explorer.exe, and Explorer runs all the sub-programs, like your browser, media player, etc.
Now, I work for Deviantart.com as their Gallery Director for Skins & Themes, meaning I handle artist relations among those who create skins on this massive digital art community. This means checking out tons of skins, themes, dishing out advice, help, doughnuts, and what-have-you. Now, we accept submissions of Litestep themes, and one of them looked so good, I just had to try it. I also claim to be pretty adept with PCs, seeing as how I've been using them since I was this high. So I headed to the website, downloaded the installer, got my theme, and got down to work. Now, once you've got Litestep installed, you'll notice a different taskbar, your windows will look different, the way you access programs will change, and so on. The beauty of this is that you can configure it to work the way you want. It requires a lot of coding, but I just wanted to see what my PC would look like with that neat theme. I allowed Litestep to replace Explorer as my default shell.
Once I applied the theme, however, the computer froze.
So I rebooted it.
Then it said I needed to download some additional software in order to get Litestep working properly. But I couldn't do that, since my cable internet had to be logged into before I could be online. And this login box would show up only after I got past this download box, which only had the options 'Download' and 'Cancel'. So I hit 'Cancel'.
Once I cancelled, I realized that if I didn't download that stuff, I wouldn't see any icons, taskbars, or anything that would allow me to use this computer. I would simply have to stare at a Litestep wallpaper. And cry.
On my friend Sudhanva's advice, I tried starting up in Safe Mode, and Last Known Good Configuration, only to find that I would still have to deal with that download issue. I resembled a mime actor depicting loss, tragedy, betrayal and dumbfoundedness all at once. A low-rank mime actor at that.
Finally, I decided to boot up normally one last time, and planned to just hit keys wildly till something worked out in my favour. I cancelled the download process that wouldn't happen, and hit Ctrl+Alt+Del, just like I had done so many times before. Then, I had a brainwave: Task Manager > File > Run > explorer.exe.
This action opened up a folder view of 'My Documents'. I hastily redirected it to 'Desktop', which had a shortcut labelled 'Explorer as Shell'. I double-clicked, and regained my freedom, sanity, and my wonderful PC.
Moral of story: Don't try this at home. Not for n00bs! I wish Litestep had some kind of rescue button somewhere. Would have saved me a lot of pain. Ah, well...

Chillout is the new Electronica

I've discovered a lot of great new music over the past couple of months, that can loosely be generalized as 'Chillout'. I'm talking about downtempo world music, jazz-influenced pop, indie-rock-tinged electronica, latino-glazed-hip-hop and such. Its mostly very freestyle stuff, and I'm sure a lot of it falls under other genres too, and many movements. Still, you get the idea. Here are some artists I highly recommend (albums in parentheses):

• Nitin Sawhney (Philtre, Human, Prophesy)
  
• Zero 7 (Simple Things, The Garden)
  
• K-OS
• Air
• Bill Laswell
• Royksopp
• Cornershop
• Massive Attack
• Fiona Apple (Extraordinary Machine)
• Talvin Singh (Ha)
  

I was introduced to many of these bands by a friend from college, who is half-Nepali, half-Indian, somewhat US-bred, and well-versed in underground/dance/trance/house/groove/hip-hop and other such genres of music. Its amazing how much great music is out there, that is solely for the purpose of serving as the background score for your engaging in doing nothing. Don't get me wrong, these artists know exactly what they're doing; some of those I've mentioned above are very into fusing regional sounds with drum & bass, blips and bleeps, traditional beats and myriad strains of violin, organ, and samples. Hit up your Torrent client for some of this stuff, and I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised. Look up isohunt.com for 'Pure Chillout', a 40-track album that should give you a good idea of what I'm so excited about.

movies.metal.mornings

movies



Pink Panther - Steve Martin / Directed by Shawn Levy (avoidable)
Good Night, and Good Luck - David Straithairn / Directed by George Clooney (fabulous)
Se7en - Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey / Directed by David Fincher (must-see)
Memoirs of a Geisha - Ziyi Zhang, Michelle Yeoh / Directed by Rob Marshall (good)

music
I've been listening to a lot of alternative metal, which is actually very straight-forward 4/4 nu-metal with a tinge of noir. Still, its good music. Also some other stuff, here's a list:

• Dark New Day - Twelve Year Silence (good alt metal)
  
• 10 Years - The Autumn Effect (very boring)
• Lacuna Coil - Karmacode (almost as boring)
  
• Joe Satriani - Super Collosal (similarly boring)
  
• Eric Johnson - Bloom (smooooooth)
  
• Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (simply brilliant)
  
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl (excellent indie-style Brit rock)
  
• Mattias Eklundh - The Road Less Travelled (solo guitar wizardry)
  
• 36 Crazyfists - A Snow-Capped Romance (inventive hardcore)
• Dave Navarro - Trust No One (alternative rock, not bad)
• Helmet - Meantime (good, angry hard rock)
• N.E.R.D. - Fly or Die (Hip-hop done right)

As you can see, a lot of therefore are therfore justified when they say, 'I liked their old stuff better.'

mornings
I need more sleep. Waking up is over-rated. I'd rather just close my eyes, and pretend to be surfing Savage Chickens, a neat comic strip made on post-it notes. Here's one of my favourites from there. Good night, and good luck.

Worship her, she's French!

::Film:

Alias Betty (Betty Fisher et autres histoires)

Directed by Claude Miller, Starring Sandrine Kiberlaine, Nicole Garcia

This is a fine French film, a wonderful story told in as bleak a manner as possible. It tells of the novelist Betty Fisher, who loses her son while her mother is in town to visit. Now what kind of mother would this woman be if she didn't replace the lost child with another one straight off the street? Betty's mum thinks so too, and in less than a day, Betty finds herself caring for another child. The kidnapping makes the local news, which causes a lot of trouible for the actual mother's boyfriend. Several other stories also surface, and each one is tied together with another, culminating in a grand, mind-boggling finish, one that satisfies, and also leaves one quite tongue-in-cheek indeed. Edouard Baer plays the bungling Alex Basato, a con-man living off his mistress. His character undergoes trials and tribulations of all sorts, and is sure to have you in splits.
A very well-made film, with excellent camera work and a lot of great acting. The French sure know how to tell a story!

Paper Street

I just had my midterms last week, so I decided to de-stress by catching a few flicks:

• Ira Mediyama (August Sun) - Written and Directed by Prasanna Vithanage

The first Sinhalese movie I've ever seen, this film captures 3 stories that show the impact of war on the daily life of ordinary people in Sri Lanka. It did that quite well, but it failed to tie the 3 stories together, something the director kept stressing on. Other than that, this film was well shot, but the pace could have been quicker and more consistent. I guess you have to be Sri Lankan to truly appreciate it.

• Fargo / Directed by Joel Coen, Starring William H Macy

Absolutely wonderful! A really well-made noir film, about a man who hires criminals to kidnap his wife, so that his father-in-law can fork over a million dollars in ransom money, which he would take his own cut from. Unfortunately, things go wrong. Horribly wrong.
Macy and Steve Buscemi put in very strong performances that make this film very special indeed. The dark humour wasn't lost on me, and I had a blast watching this. 5 stars!

• Fight Club / Written by Chuck Palahniuk, Directed by David Fincher, Starring Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter

Only the best film I've ever seen. I've seen it a few times before, but this time it really hit me: this is a masterpiece, one that should be preserved, shown at high schools all over the world, translated into as many languages as the Bible, and should be thrown in with your paycheck from work (just so you don't miss it). The book by Chuck Palahniuk is fantastic as well; I can't say which one is more impactful.
This movie has a lot to offer to those who are looking for entertainment, flim-making ideas and inspiration, or even a purpose in life. The story is extremely well told, with scenes and dialogue that will stick to you like badly-made toffee. The tagline says it all: Mischief. Mayhem. Soap. Come get some!

Living In The Past

Jethro Tull was nothing short of perfect on the 3rd of February, as Ian Anderson and Co. belted out classics from the past 3 decades that made the group a force to reckon with. The premier progressive-folk-rock outfit played hits including 'Living In The Past', 'Aqualung', 'Thick As A Brick' and also renditions of pieces by Bach and Mozart in their own magical style. Anderson was in top form, displaying his mastery on the flute and on vocals. A true auditory treat for the 3000-strong (or so I believe) crowd present.
Thermal and a Quarter opened the show, with a short and sweet set, beginning with Queen's 'Radio Ga-ga', and moving on their originals, including 'How Can I Get Your Groove', 'Bend The World', 'Paper Puli' and more. A great set, but I've seen TAAQ do better. All in all, a great experience.
Bangalorean Deviants met up today at the second B'lore devMEET, at the Garuda Mall Cafe Coffee Day, for a cuppa and conversation, and later on, lunch at Casa Picola. Pictures can be seen here. We had a good time, and I hope we'll meet up again soon. Feb 26th, whatsay? Deviantart.com

Whew!

Well, the Forum Three Playfest 2006 is finally over. It was a great learning experience for me, scoring the music for 2 plays, plus playing a bit part in one of them. There are so many things an actor needs to keep in mind; not quite the cakewalk I imagined it to be. Anyhow, I'm sure I'm richer from the whole month-long exercise, and maybe I'll sign on to their upcoming projects as well. Three cheers! By the way, there are a few pictures here.
Music: I've been listening to Charlie Parker's Jam Sessions, as well as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Mars Volta, Galactic, Sonic Youth and Primus. All good, all very good.
DevMEET coming up this Sunday, the 5th, at Garuda Mall's Cafe Coffee Day. Be there, or be elsewhere! Aditya Pandya aka iamlame is expected (visiting our fair city to attend Unmaad 2006, the IIM-B fest). There's also the TAAQ + Jethro Tull concert on the 3rd. Good times ahead!

News

Its been a while since I blogged, hasn't it? I've been really busy with two plays that Forum Three will be performing this month (see the Forum Three Bulletin Board for more information). I've been playing around with my digital camera and Photoshop CS some, too. Results will be up soon. For some plain-vanilla photos of the Ghoshals from this year, click the Flickr button to the right (or just go here, same difference).
I've been listening to a lot of great music, including Thelonious Monk, Derek Trucks Band, John Mayer Trio, Gov't Mule, some Indian bands (Zero, Acquired Funk Syndrome, Pin Drop VIolence, Moksha, Motherjane), and the like. I'm hoping to get hold of the recently-recorded Caesar's Palace EP. They're a great new band that specializes in jazz-funk-rock.
I don't know if I've mentioned this, but these days, I work. I write for the Sri Lankan magazine IT Times (see the December issue in PDF format here), and I'm the Gallery Director (Skins & Themes) over at Deviantart.com. Hectic, I tell you. Haven't watched any good movies in a while, but that will change as soon as this play-fest is over. Lots of stuff to do, come back next week for more. Cheers!

Maria

Well, Clara has been replaced, by a new Sony DSC S-60. Her name's Maria, and she's got similar features, save for a more petite LCD screen, and her buttons are a bit more dusky. Other than that, I love her very much. I'm going to make sure no one loses her, by taking several drastic precautionary steps, including making the current user wear a suit of velcro so as to be able to attach Maria to his/her body and not be able to misplace her.
What have I been up to? Oh, not much. Sleeping, eating, taking in a few movies (that I don't think are worth mentioning, except for Green Street Hooligans - easily the worst I've ever seen). I'll gather up my thoughts soon and write something more coherent. Till then, y'all be nice to each other.

I'm hurting too much from my recent loss to write a bunch of concert reviews. Gangamma, Where Is My Pleasure? placed 3rd at InBloom 2005, the annual inter-collegiate fest at Christ College. I'm absolutely stoked!
Bands I saw over the past week: Soulmate, Orange Street, Thermal and a Quarter, Zero, Pin Drop Violence, Junkyard Groove (winners of Strawberry Fields 2005), Panatella, Demonic Resurrection, Inviktus, Morrison Avenue. Good stuff!

Gone...

Our brand new digital camera is lost. Her name is Clara. If you see her (she's a Sony DSC-S90), please return her to her family. Thanks so much.

Clara, I miss you already.

Flick Fanatic

I attended the annual COMMITS Seminar, named Flickers, today. This year's focus was new trends in Indian Cinema, and featured Ashutosh Gowariker, Nagesh Kukunoor, Khalid Mohammed, Mahesh Dattani, and Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar as speakers. The first three filmmakers mentioned spoke at length about how they entered the world of cinema, what kind of films they make and want to make, and of course, their views on what Indian cinema will and should look like in the near future. All three were very impressive, during their individual addresses, question-and-answer sessions, and the joint discussion. They answered several key questions, including Nupur Basu's "Why don't you make films with strong political messages, seeing as how you have the power?" She should have thought things through before asking that one, in my opinion. Why should every filmmaker have a bloody message? Can't one simply tell a good story? Its going to be bloody difficult to make a movie in this country if its got to have a message. To each his own, ma'am. If these directors don't feel like making political films, they damn well won't.
Mahesh Dattani explained the process of his shift from theatre to film, and how strange it felt. He also answered questions about his various works, adaptations and the like. I didn't stick around for Nagathihalli, since he failed to hold my attention beyond a few minutes into his speech.
All in all, it was an interesting seminar, but I felt that a few more topics on the subject of new Indian films could have been touched upon. For instance, whether multi-language films will be seen more frequently, the broadcasting of documentaries made in the country, and so on. Well, maybe next time. I had fun. Lots of folks had quirky accents, asked nonsensical questions, and one mate, after hearing Gowariker's speech, screamed out, "Mr. Ashutosh, before you leave, I just want to tell I LOVE YOU!" Fanatics will be fanatics...

:: Update ::

• Now watching: Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

• Now listening to: Weather Report - The Jaco Years (Jazz), Mastodon - Leviathan (Metal)

Whats new? Hmmm... a lot, really. Firstly, its December, which is a good thing, especially this time of year. Secondly, I've been appointed Gallery Director - Skins & Themes over at Deviantart. I'm really enjoying my new responsibilities. Plus I hope to buy some prints once I get paid (the 10th of every month, I hear)...
Also, I'm now using xp, which runs a lot faster and smoother than win2k. I've also installed Photoshop CS, which is a joy to use. My friend Sudhanva was a godsend, patiently installing, reinstalling, formatting, and doing whatever else was required. So sweet!
In real life, Gangamma, Where Is My Pleasure? competed at Campus Rock Idols, Bangalore. We didn't make it, but it was still fun taking to the stage again. We played Purple Haze, Alive, and Poundcake. We hope to have Matthews around to play bass once Strawberry Fields and InBloom are upon us (16-17 December, I think).
Also, my dad and I picked up a couple of very neat gadgets, namely a PalmOne Zire31, and a Sony S90 Digital Camera. I love 'em both! I'm planning to take up photography classes next month or so, at college. On Tuesday, I'm off to Flickers, a seminar on Indian Cinema. Speakers include Mahesh Dattani, Ashutosh Gowariker and others. I can't wait!
Whats next for Abe? Only time will tell...

Working Man

I've been working a couple of part-time jobs lately, including being a roadie (see related post below), and running a campaign for Lee Jeans Co. Proceeds go towards the POD XT Live, which I hope to pay off within the next 30 years. Its taking a while, but I'm sure I'll manage. Any work you guys got for me?

I get home at five o'clock
And I take myself out a nice, cold beer
Always seem to be wonderin'
Why there's nothin' goin' down here

Well, they call me the working man
I guess that's what I am

Buttons, buttons, more buttons... and then some!

Well, this is primarily for my oh-so-techie family, who keep pestering me to let them know as and when I update my blog ("Beta, if you're going to spend time in front of that screen, we want to know what it is you're up to... and turn down that evil music!"). So there it is, a blogarithm so you can be updated by email when this page has some new graffiti on it (anti-RIAA or otherwise). There you go, folks. And its not evil music, its just your everyday Scandinavian Death-Doom-Goth-Black-Symphonic-Power-Progressive-Speed-Thrash-Sludge-Stoner-Gore-Grind-Hardcore-Nu metal...

A very rudimentary first recording featuring my Ibanez GAX30 and Line6 POD XT Live can be heard here. Please let me know what you think. Cheers!

Roadie 101

Bangalore witnessed the final day of Kingfisher's OctoberFest this past Sunday. The main attractions were local acts Lounge Piranha and Thermal and a Quarter. I roadied for TAAQ, and learnt a couple of things that day that I thought I should share:

• To appear busy, keep calling out random names and mentioning technical terms. Example: "Tony, that preamp needs a jumper, could you look into it? Tony, hey, Tony!".
• Its not about what you lug around, its how many items you lug around.
• 'To err is human' does not apply on stage.
• A marked set list is your best friend.

TAAQ took to the stage at 8:20 PM, to soar through a brilliant set of approximately 15 well-chosen tracks of their fantastic catalogue of over 100 tracks spanning 3 releases over 8 years. TAAQ plays 100% original farm-fresh 'curry rock' (more akin to jazz rock, IMHO), and features four fabulous musicians who are masters in their own right - Bruce Lee Mani (Guitars, vocals), Rzhude (bass, vocals), Sunil Chandy (keyboards, guitars, bass, vocals), and Rajeev Rajagopal (drums).
The band kicked off in earnest with Pink Floyd's Shine On You Crazy Diamond. Bruce shone on lead guitars, displaying a great deal of proficiency and feel that was worth blogging about (see what I mean?). He said it was their way of getting the crowd on their side, though, after the show, anyone would say that it was hardly a neccessary tactic. Other great tracks included How Can I Get Your Groove, Look At Me, Falling Down, and Drunk (my favourite.. besides, a lot of folks in the audience could easily relate to it). This song had a killer groove, with some neat drumming by powerhouse Rajeev.
They also played a short acoustic set, including a rousing version of Lennon's Imagine, with Chandy on keys and Rzhude on vocals. Next came Closer To Heaven, with Chandy taking up a fretless Bass. Very good stuff. Also of note was their version of Roxanne. I absolutely loved this one, since it was a very interesting take on an already great song. Next, they performed Holy Jose, and dedicated it to a very inebriated young man in the crowd.
Cat Stevens' Wild World saw them return to the rest of the electric set. Paper Puli was pull(i)ed off really well - that riff is stuff of rock legend, I tell ya! They wrapped up their show with a brilliant instrumental Hoedown, which was a treat for all the guitar fans present.
All in all, a really tight, energetic show. It had been ages since I had last seen TAAQ perform, so this was a special treat for me. Their relentless pursuit of excellence has definitely paid off, and made them the top rock act in the city, and a force to be reckoned with, this side of the Pacific. Rock on, y'all!

The Vikings Cometh...

::Concert::

Seagram's 100 Pipers Legends Live Presents The Jonas Hellborg Group, featuring Mattias IA Eklundh and Morgan Agren
12th November / 7:30 PM, ITC Hotel Windsor Sheraton & Towers, Bangalore

When I finally realised that I was going to get to watch this show for sure, I was beside myself with excitement. Mattias Eklundh is probably my favourite guitarist (he also fronts the brilliant Swedish Prog-rock act Freak Kitchen). His proficiency, feel and versatility have always been a major source of inspiration for lil' ol' me. Jonas Hellborg is a renowned bass player and jazz exponent, and has collaborated with V Selvaganesh on various projects.
Eklundh made it very clear that the night would be loud. Very loud. And they delivered. The trio performed a selection of tracks from Hellborg's albums and compositions, including 2 new untitled pieces . I think the exact genre would be heavy metal jazz, and I've never heard anything like it. This was especially fascinating for me, since I've just begun getting into jazz (Pat Metheny, Alex Skolnick Trio, Thelonious Monk, John McLaughlin, et al), and seeing some of the best in the business at work (or was it play?) was just the thing to propel my interest further.
Eklundh exhibits some very fluid playing, but also brings a lot of start-stop stacatto riffing to the table, and a whole lot of whammy histrionics. But what is even more astounding is his sense of melody. Hellborg really brought the house down with his bass mastery. His style is very expressive, and refreshingly no-holds-barred. Agren is a great drummer to watch. Every beat resonated with energy, and his drum solos were truly stuff of legend.
My favourite piece was Who Do You Want To Be?, primarily for its ferocity and marvellous composition. On the whole, this was one of the best jazz concerts I've been to. It was great meeting Eklundh in person as well; a very down-to-earth, peaceful Viking... Once again, props to Sunil Chandy for taking me along (and darling little Kiarna for sacrificing her ticket!). All hail the Swedes!