Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Confessions

For ahem... health reasons, I had a very dry New Year this year. Just as well, given the risks associated with celebrating. While listening to my booze collection (which I will come to shortly), I was thinking why I like to worship Lord Bacchus so much? (Yes...I am a sissy and that final shred of muddled middle class morality prevents me from referring directly and instead I resort to the use of "clever" literary allusions. Peace.)

It was one of those thoughts that just tend to visit you, a passing thought that intrudes and finally takes up all your thought process. You see the fact is, I enjoy the "boozing up" process tremendously. For me it goes in three stages:

Stage 1: The happy feeling where you are not actually drunk, but the inhibition is lowered. Quite interesting when you think that inhibition is such an abstract quality. How does a physical stimulus like alcohol affect this abstract quality? I know I know, you are going to give the drivel on everything being a nerve impulse but seriously... doesn't it seem awesome and cool beyond logic?

Stage 2: Then you get to the stage where you can see consciousness slipping away from you. You feel light in the head. Then comes an almost bird-like feeling. Wish I could fly!

Stage 3: The third and final stage, the holy stage, the pinnacle is my quest. At this stage, the enjoyment is definitely psychological. You see I have a confession to make. I have a love-hate relationship with Mr. Rationality. You see, I don't particularly like Mr. Rationality. I don't like him, what with his orders, his insistence on method, system and protocol. I don't like being self conscious and following rules set by someone else, but I do it because Mr. Rationality tells me to. Frankly, Mr.Rationality is a prick I would love to live without. But the other undeniable truth is that I am afraid, nay mortally, morbidly scared of living without Mr.Rationality. For all my bluster, I wouldn't know what to do without his tyranny. Therefore, every time I go to stage 3, (which is just before Stage 4 aka vomitting), I get this fleeting momentary victory over Mr. Rationality. It is like, "I have dodged you, ya prick. I am at the very Cliff of Logic. Now I shall peer into the depths of the Sea of Irrationality. I have the Anchor of Alcohol to save me, so what's the worst that can happen..."

What I have laid out in the previous paragraph is another of life's dualities that irritates me to no end. Often the most enjoyable thought processes are those that are unstructured and uncontrolled. Yet, these very same are often the most unproductive.

Unfortunately. getting to Stage 3 is not easy for me. Some thing about capacity. Blah! It is commonly and quite mistakenly believed that having a high alcohol threshold is good or its manly or something. Blah again! As it is rightly said in some Holy Book, "Blesseth is he who hath to just drink one or two beers to getteth high. The rest useth their MasterCard".

Anyway, here is a list of my favourite booze songs, in no particular order. I love 'em all equally. :P You can see these songs on YouTube. (Was this information helpful? - MSOffice style)

Doors

1. Whiskey Song
This one song does stuff to my head always. The way it has been sung gives the impression that Jim Morrison was singing it while he was at the Cliff of Logic. With him you can never say actually. Just show me the way...

2. Roadhouse Blues
3. Riders on the Storm
4. Break On Through
5. Light My Fire

Eagles

1. Hotel California
Need I say anything?

2. Witchy Woman
3. Bitter Creek
4. Doolin' Dalton
5. Take the Devil

RHCP

1. Californication
Has to be in there somewhere I guess.

2. Can't Stop
3. Dani California
4. The Otherside

Other bands

1. Rock You Like a Hurricane by Scorpions

2. Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd
(I actually know nothing about this band. Just googled this song after hearing it at some place. But strongly recommended.)

3. Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple

4. Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf

5. Chopsuey by System of a Down

6. In the End by Linkin Park

7. This is How You Remind Me by NickelBack

8. Lemon Tree by Fool's Garden

9. We Will Rock You by Queens
Hmm... that is two "rock you" songs. Not good.

10. Du Hast by Rammstein

11. Engel by Rammstein
Engel is way higher than Du Hast for me.

12. Sex Bomb by Tom Jones
Tom Jones has a very different voice. Worth a dekko, if you haven't seen it before.

Disclaimers are long due I guess. This is just my list. As you would have figured out by now, I don't have a great knowledge of music. Just a collection of stuff I have heard from many places that seemed to strike a chord. I am sure Pink Floyd is conspicuous with its absence. I really like the videos but don't know, I have never required Pink Floyd in my playlist. Though there was this one time when I heard "Live at Pompeii" at a bar and it was totally mind blowing, what with the high wattage stereo and stuff.

Also have not talked about my tam booze songs. When I thought about them, a lot of those songs are proper melodies. Nowhere close to the metal of the songs above. I think I will skip that because most readers will not be able to identify with a lot of the songs as booze songs.
(For example, "Azhagiya Theeyey" from Minnale and "Kadhal Sadugudu" from Alaipayuthey figure very high. I am sure you don't want to know more :))

Do comment with your favourites :)

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

i don't know if you were there at IITM back then. i think you were a facha then. it was in the fourth estate i think - or was it in TPV (a mag started by shamanth)? this chap called foodoo had written an article about what it is like to be stoned. was an awesomething. and of course the dean gotpissed

and not even half the MBA is done and you already started putting frameworks to boozing! good going

themiddler said...

Yeah yeah, I remember the article in Fourth Estate. As a facha when I read it, I got scandalized :D "All these boys in IIT" level feeling :D :D

This sounds like some framework level thing no. Aaargh! I wanted to avoid that!

Dharik said...

an observation : Mr Rationality is a guy ..
what a discounting of the opposite sex you have made :D

themiddler said...

@Rik

Obity it is. It is not some gender stereotype really. The word Rationality doesn't sound feminine :) That's all!

Ducky said...

Sweet Home Alabama has a Forrest Gump connect somewhere, soundtrack I think. Otherwise no rational reason for me to have that song either.

Ganesh said...

@ ducky
Ya it does...features prominently in the movie
@ middle
assuming that most of the people who have answered in this thread are people in good 'spirits' its only sad that people like me who arent in good spirits, generally tend to do more research in psychedelic music.. am yet to meet i guy who trips on both music and madhu...
My recommends( drumroll):

1) Maggot brain(By the parliament/funkadelic...george clinton at his peak) totally trippy

2)House at the pooneil corner (Jefferson Airplane)

3)White rabbit(again JA)

4)L'America(The doors)

5) Hyacinth house(The doors)

6)Tomorrow never knows(The Beatles)

7) She 's so heavy(The Beatles)

8)Do it again(Steely dan)

9)Magic carpet ride(Steppenwolf..its trippier than born to be wild)

10)Fireball(Deep purple)

11) Incense and peppermints(Strawberry alarm clock...unheard of band i know)

12)dazed and confused(Led zeppelin)

13)whole lotta love(led zeppelin)

14)Europa(Santana)

This is just a short list...will put more fundaes if you want :)