Pandora

I'm proud to introduce you all to pandora. This place is a treasure trove for music lovers. I have been listening to it for over 2 months now. There was a time when I thought I knew what I liked, and that I have a defined sense of musical taste and that I have had the privilege of being able to hear the best musicians this world had to offer. This site reminded me of the "frog in the well" tale.

Yes, its true. There's a "lot" of music out there. Lots of top quality music. The popular music is just the tip of the iceberg, or probably the layer of dust over a precious stone. I was amazed to look at the collection it has, and I realize I need to write about it, as I have marked pandora as an important friend that has entered my life at a good time.

Here's how you go

• Register for it. Its free, from money-mongers and spam.


• Choose an artist or album or song and create a station with this simple search criteria.


• Pandora will dish out music for you, that closely matches the musical criteria of the artist / song / album that you wanted.


• Listen to the music dished out patiently. Rate it religiously.


• Keep building 3-4 stations of your favourites. Whenever you find a very interesting piece, bookmark it, go back and start researching about it.


• If you fall in love with an album / artist / track, go buy the album, as a token of appreciation to the artist who has created it.

Here are some of the good points of this site I have noted till date.

• Introduces you to a lot of work out there in the wide world.


• Has an uncanny ability to "read your mind" and to present music that's an exact match for your taste.


• You end up knowing a lot more performers than you initially knew, and your music collection grows, you enjoy a wider spectrum of music, and you end up re-defining your faviourites


• Quality of music is high (almost CD quality) - good stereo, and good bass (they seem to run their music into an equivalizer that make the music more pleasing.


• The quality of their collection is really good. None of the song they dish out is "bad".

Some of the things that I do not like about Pandora

• No indian classical collection etc. So, you get to know only about western and world music


• When you choose an artist, the first song that they play often tend to be of some other artist, whose musical qualities match the artist you asked for. This might not go well with a lot of people.


• Your inputs are absolutely necessary if you want to end up with the music you like. (I'm not sure if this is a disadvantage).


• Not meant for very casual music listeners, who just want to listen to songs they like. This is more for people who are interested in exploring new music.


• The collection still needs a lot of content. You can't say that "everything under the sun is available here."

The bottom line - the intelligence built into the system works so well that it can read yout mind. You just need to talk to it truthfully. Over a month's time, Pandora figured out what I lile. and 9 out of 10 times, I end up liking the song it plays.

Have fun.

Dor - My Review

I am not a great fan of the mainstream movies produced from either hollywood or tollywood. I might watch them and go back home happily if I am satisfied with their "entertainment value". Otherwise, my way of looking at a movie is slightly off-beat. I appreciate the visuals, sound and technique a lot more than the characters and the glamour attached to them.

Now that my evaluation criteria is set, this movie scores a 10/10 in all areas except one. Let me talk about the "one" aspect that scores low. This really is a one-and-a-half hour film, and its very unfortunate that it was stretched for more than 2 hours. Not that it ever made me feel that I'm being strangled in a movie theatre, but it actually makes you drop off from the canvas occasionally, and start thinking about the popcorn that's melting in your neighbour's mouth. I don't "like" to take my eyes out of the screen even for a second when I'm watching a movie, and this movie doesn't "glue" my eyes to the screen 100% of the time.

But even in cases where I tend to sit back and relax in a "slow moving" situation, I keep marvelling at the visuals on the 70mm screen. A very scrisp camera-work. And the music is brilliant, and never for a second makes you feel that you're listening to some boring folk number.

Rajasthan looks so beautiful in this movie and I had an intense feeling to book a ticket to Rajasthan tour immediately. The golden sand and the brick red costumes left a mark in my heart, and I will definitely cherish a chance to feel the sand enveloping my bare feet.

The background score is brilliant, and so are the song tracks. Deep in meaning, and strong on melody, these tunes will stay in my heart for a long time to come. I will need to look out for more of his work. The CD seems to contain a purcussion composition from Trilok Gurtu, who's a brilliant percussionist. I guess I'll buy the CD soon.

Stepping back and looking at the movie as a whole, I believe the "key factor" of this movie is the narration. The story is about a woman going on a search for another grieving woman to ask her forgiveness for a sin that's not committed, and it doesn't sound interesting to me as is. But the way it was narrated is astounding. If you ask me, the story, by itself, is bland. But the way the characters relate to human values is amazing. And if it wasn't for Nagesh Kukunoor, this story wouldn't have made it to a silver screen, and even if it were, there wouldn't be any takers.

This movie is indeed a bold step in the right direction for the sensual cinema. The package attracts city multiplex frequenters, and the rest of India would ignore it. But Nagesh now has the backing of his "loyal" fans, and I'm sure we promise to watch every movie he makes, Nagesh is among the very few currently in this industry who has the guts to avoid all "run-off-the-mill" tricks, and still still win success, love and huge fan following.

If you haven't watched this movie, go watch it. Be a proud to be able to be present in a time when Nagesh shows off his magic. And go visit Rajasthan if you can.

The resurrection

Looks like promises are malevolent to the promiser. Here’s why. You tend to keep up to your promise, only till you actually make the promise. Here’s an example that has “not” happened with me, but I’m hoping to go through it some part of my life. You love the girl from the abyss of your heart till you actually commit the rest of the life with her. Right?

The example that happened with me is this blog. I had promised I’ll put in a lot of content about Vizag and it unfortunately never happens. So, here readers! I declare that I’m breaking this promise, in an attempt to resurrect the blog. I give up. I can’t write about the Rishikonda beach now that the experience is buried in sediments worth six months deep. Not totally unlike wine, old experiences rot. But we need to take it as one of life’s paradoxes that people don’t like all things to rot. So, time to throw the rotten experience out of the window. But the experience, when I went through it, was worth a lifetime.

Here I am, blabbering away, and that makes me feel good.

What have I been doing in the past 6 months? Well, I went on a world tour, with the most beautiful damsel the Almighty has ever cared to create. Put in more comprehensible language, I was asleep and I was dreaming wild.