A prelude to the universal conscience

There is a widespread argument about the collective human being and  over the numerous years since the dawn of humankind, there have yet been wide ranging theories as to the understanding of the human conscience, development and functions. i often find myself pondering over the sheer incapacity and inability of the human conscience to fathom the inherent characteristics of the man.

that without words is what is without a heart and a being.

so when i take an opportunity to plunge into the somber domain of the socio- political realm of the human wants and needs, which in turns corresponds to the various functions inter alia the  evolutionary mechanism of the society.i know i will draw flack from the most rational of all people.

as a matter of fact, and not choice, the existential way would be one way to look at the collective conscience, bubbling randomly with a life force which by any yardstick or parameter can be held unaccounted for, another way to look at it would be through a looking glass metaphorically representing the apollonians within every individual, best resembling the orderly world that we have come to live with.

but does this delicate balance of the apollonian and the dionysian leave no scope for an intermediary??

man and economy are intertwined like the soul and the body (without the want or need for a rational explanation for either). if only there could be a the most lucid way to infer a relationship between the soul the man and the want to be the overman, the world would be a less delusional place to live in.

Review: Chinese Democracy

Ever since I read the news of Chinese democracy being released, the internet is abuzz with speculations, opinions and reviews so as to what would become of Axl Rose’s behemoth. And needless to say I went through a lot of reviews and articles about the same, oh well..out of sheer curiosity. At this point I’d like to confess that I’ve long evolved from my GnR listening, headbanging, lambada dancing days to make way for other artistes and genres of music and art alike

Like me there are probably a billion people out there who have related with guns and roses at some given point of time or another,  With Axl’s antagonism, anger, sense of urgency, heartache, complaints, maybe even with his famous ego or his maniacal quest for perfection and of course not to mention, slash’s impeccable solos.

So when I heard the announcement for the release date of Chinese democracy, I did take a certain amount of interest, read more reviews and articles and eagerly anticipated the launch of the album.

I am actually quite full of pity for some of these reviewers because of some really really lame articles that they have written, In my opinion anyone who reviews an artiste and an album, should do so with an open mind, else, he/she should either stick to writing news articles (which is quite different from writing a review) or maybe to writing stories (at this point I think I’m not making much sense)

So here’s the thing,

Chinese democracy is a good album, a very well developed and elaborate musical masterpiece though lyrically it sucks.

What I liked about the album:

The music is by far the best in recent times from any contemporary artist, beautiful melodies complimented with equally beautiful guitar riffs and solos

Axl rose’s vocal range continues to hold me in awe

The sheer variety of songs is overwhelming, if you listen to it a few times you will certainly realize that the music in the album explores virtually every style of contemporary popular music along wth offering the traditional Guns n Roses sound which in turn  perhaps still happens to be  one of the best sounds that I have heard thus far in a long long time

What I did not like about the album:

The lyrics: As against the music which is not only in great variety but also reflective of various moods of the album, the lyrics fail miserably at that

Most of the lyrics are nothing but axl rose complaining how everybody around him is at fault and how he just doesn’t seem to care.

Had it not been for the incredibly awful lyrics that some of the songs seem to have, Chinese democracy in all likelihood would have deserved to be called one of the greatest albums of our times. but sadly that isn’t or wouldn’t be the case, at least for now.

And for those who are still clung on to the past by comparing Chinese Democracy with appetite for destruction, well you guys seriously need to move on and stop being so opinionated about things.

Another point that I’d  like to make is When bands and musicians like Radiohead and David Bowie choose to diversify, they are hailed as visionaries, However when Axl Rose does something different people simply call it trash and what seems strange to me is that some of bowie’s songs in his most experimental and diverse works lacked melody, while axl makes up for this deficiency with great ease and overwhelming poise.

There are some songs that will instantly grab your attention, while there are some that will grow onto you, and yet there will be some that you will come to love and some you will simply abhor. now isn’t that ideally what is required of a masterpiece???

P.S. if you are unsure about the sound of this album, I suggest you use some good earphones and not the crappy ipod earphones

sympathīa

“I have only sympathy not opinions to give when someone dies” – a close friend

I wish everyone thought that way, including me…

A verbis ad verbera

Given the constant state of chaos we live in, my logic seems to have taken a backseat as I find myself staring at the countless people around me engaging themselves in the most trifle albeit idiosyncratic pursuits.

While the world is busy worrying about the greater evils of global warming and religious extremism I find myself becoming a victim to the worries of some people that I have come in close contact with over the past few years. When you have your electricity and mobile bills to take care of, the terrorists can sure as hell eat shit and fart as much as they like.

How can you be so obtuse about things? How can you be so detached? They ask me a lot many times

Am I detached? I think not

I’ve just given up on quite a few things, if not all. Oh and by the way, world peace seems to be one of them.

I read a few years back in the papers about the 9/11 attacks and I saw some of them yanks weep and cry in a manner that could have got them a golden globe if not an Oscar. Hey not to be an asshole but you know what… towers fell, people died and still towers fall and people die. Who is crying now? I don’t see any dramatic performances on TV now, not when you have thousands dying in Africa…Thousands?? Oh I’m sorry millions.

And whatever happened to the people in Iraq and Afghanistan and hey Chile and Argentina, they had their fair shares of deaths too. And all that the world has to do is mourn the deaths of a handful of fat Armani clad yanks who got roasted in those two glass buildings.

No I am not anti American, nor do I sympathize with any of those militant outfits, but I am just as much inconsiderate of the 9/11 attacks as most of the people around me are to such tragedies occurring elsewhere.