Quote of the day

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” 

― Albert Einstein

YOUNG THE GIANT: GUNS OUT

Well first of all this band has an amazing lead vocalist, Sameer Gadhia who leaves the listener in a wonderful trance, never wanting to let go. They broke out of the music scene with their beautiful song 'My Apartment' in 2011.  Judging from their first big single, one could tell that this band was nonetheless leading to bigger and better things as their sound was one that produced a light almost ethereal feel; which is strikingly different for an all male lead band. Then again, many can argue and say that a lot of Indie bands do have lead singers with sultry voices but it is evident that in their particular song 'Guns Out' that Sameer's voice is unique as they come. This band's sound is a cross between cherubs playing and hobos in Brooklyn. Even I would laugh at this analogy but to me I really can't seem to find any other way to describe them. This particular sing posted is definitely one of my favourites from them and is left up to the listener's interpretation. Whatever it may be, one can definitely sense an air of freedom, independence and a fight for individualism in this song. I can guess this from the line,' And all these people with small dreams are looking up at big screens, well am I wrong or right?'
It seems that the message here is one indicating a sort of slavery relating to conformism and accepting who we should be through the media. 'Small minds' refer to the extent to which we are trapped and eventually become submissive to the sold dream that we are no better than  what the media/ society proposes us to be. The beginning of the song is revolutionary and takes a head on approach to bringing about this change.
Actually listening to this song and looking at a lot of other Indie bands on the whole, have left me wondering if I really am a conformist. I say fight to be all that you can be and know yourself to be. You should never change or want to change for anybody else. God made us all to be unique and contribute to this Earth in a way that only we can inexplicably could. Even if you don't believe in God, there must be something greater than ourselves out there and by just being ourselves we can contribute significantly to society in ways we could never think possible.
You may then think, 'All of this from one song?'

But that my friend is the power of music. It's art on a spreadsheet, art in the wind, travelling through sound, illuminating our lives and leaving much for our interpretations. Artistes have a lot to say through their music and next time you listen to a song :

dig deeper

Charlie XD

GROUPLOVE: UPCOMING INDIE BAND

This band is an absolutely wonderful band whose eccentric voice lead and diversified sounds appeals to the soul in constant need of true Indie Gratification...

The first time that I heard this band to be honest was when they had practically gone mainstream. Not one to be this unaware of rising Indie performers, yet alone wonderful ones like these, I was surprised that I was not quick on the beat. Their song "Tongue Tied' is truly amazing and was of course a big hit, not only among hipsters and hipster wannabes but it was actually the #1 position on Billboard Alternative Songs Chart. 

Yet my favourite song was 'Get giddy'. The introductory lyrics,' oh, let's be friends and we'll hold hands as trains go passin' by' just caught my attention and carried me to that place that only hair raising songs can. The distinguishable voice and the wonderful purist vibe just really opened up my perspective to this band. Their lyrics are appealing to the masses; the heartbroken, the heart breakers, the loners, the outcasts and every classification we propose ourselves to be.

The video posted is called 'Colours'  and can have a variety of meanings. However to me, I see an individual on a soul searching journey and ultimately, seeing the world in this burst of colours. This band is making it huge followed by many others such as Foster the People, Phoenix, Young the Giant,  Two Door cinema Club, and my personal all time favourite, Cage the Elephant. 

"The two hardest things to say in life are hello for the first time and goodbye for the last."-Moira Rogers

Tell a sister dear


by : Charlotte-Ellen Bebee


Sad, you are
Lonely and gazing into the far
Distance,
As I watch I wish
That you'd tell me what's wrong,
Why you seem to long
For that desperate means of escape.
O Sullen one
O Sad one
O Obscure one
Please not be shy
Please not be timid
Be daring, be fierce, be bold.
Be that person deep inside your soul
Baring arms, bringing gifts
Aiming golden spears at the treachery 
That is your World.


O Dear one
Tell a sister dear
For it is a saddened affair
If I am left to wonder what silences you so, 
Yet leaves your eyes astute to the world, 
Waiting to be lifted up,
Or maybe,
 Biding your time to lift the world up. 
A mighty plan is in store for you, 
Blueprints primed from birth.
That hint of special like no one else,
That burden of compassion,
Of turmoil and love
Aches your soul, 
Poor thing.
What is it?
Tell a sister, Dear.

spotlight: Florence and and the Machine

Such an incredible ethereal voice and contrasting darkened lyrics:
Here's a playlist of this incredible artiste >.<

http://www.myspace.com/florenceandthemachine


Charlie XD

Poetry Corner

Take your needle, my child, and work at your pattern; it will come out a rose by and by."

 Life is like that; one stitch at a time taken patiently. ( Oliver Wendell Holmes)

An ode to poet Oliver Wendell Holmes:

The Rose And The Fern

LADY, life's sweetest lesson wouldst thou learn,

Come thou with me to Love's enchanted bower

High overhead the trellised roses burn;

Beneath thy feet behold the feathery fern,--

A leaf without a flower.

What though the rose leaves fall? They still are sweet,

And have been lovely in their beauteous prime,

While the bare frond seems ever to repeat,

'For us no bud, no blossom, wakes to greet

The joyous flowering time!'

Heed thou the lesson. Life has leaves to tread

And flowers to cherish; summer round thee glows;

Wait not till autumn's fading robes are shed,

But while its petals still are burning red

Gather life's full-blown rose! 

Oliver Wendell Holmes

What are your views on this poem? Ponder deeply my sweets ;)

Charlie XD

Getting exactly what you asked for

Hi there
Yet another enthralling blog from your friendly neighbourhood blogger. Today's topic is based on my first hand experience of the all too common cliche,'What you give, you receive'....or something along those lines. (Forgive me if I'm wrong). Whatever is the cliche, my point is that if you give off positive energy, in return, that same positive energy will radiate back to you and in every aspect of your life. Now..some of you when reading this part. may very well be rolling your eyes thinking,' Oh here goes..cliches..yaddy yadda yadda..blah blah..blah..karma' LOL.

I know that it's something I would have done prior to my personal discovery. As of late, I've been exuding very positive thoughts thanks to the encouragement of my mother and have found that..well..quite frankly..the universe has been awfully good to me. You see, I'm a firm believer in science and thanks to Stephen Hawkings and C.S. Lewis, I've been able to see that science and God are in fact one. Yes..you heard right. Science and God are one. This here is a definite controversial topic and I could go on and on in this blog about it. However, this would have to wait on a future post. So back to it: I do believe that Science and God are in fact, one. This positive energy that one exudes has to go somewhere right? Energy is emitted from all of us , albeit positive or negative..and like matter, it has to go somewhere. Nothing, and I do mean absolutely nothing, no matter if it's intangible or not, just 'poofs' and disappears into a state of 'nothingness' as I would say. (Unless of course if it went into a black hole which according to Stephen Hawkings, destroys even matter itself). Since there are no black holes even remotely close to Earth (thank goodness), all the radiating energy from all of us have to go somewhere into the Universe which hopefully, sends the positive energy back to us.

I can't talk about this topic without aptly mentioning karma and its origins dating back to the Hindu religion which talked about the consequences of actions or deeds. According to the Hindus, Karma which appropriately means 'actions' or 'deeds', means that for every action, there is a consequence. Hence, if one does good, good things shall happen to them , and vice versa.

After all this scientific talk and a little bit of theology, we can get back to the crux of the matter..
Once you do good and think positively. all of that will definitely come back to you. The Universe and thyself are all one....the Universe can sense your energy and eventually will reciprocate exactly what it is that you are radiating. Always remember that positive thinking can help you in the long run. If you were to stop and observe people in your life. you'd see that those who are happy and look refreshed and young, are those who always have that positive outlook on life. Isn't life itself supposed to be filled with happiness and that spiritual conquest of self actualization? Even if you're skeptical about all this 'mumbo jumbo' that I'm talking about, at least bear this in mind. Even if you're not squeezing out the positive energy because you were advised to do so in this blog, at least think about the fact that we have one life to life (thanks to Drake and his YOLO motto, I'm constantly reminded of this) and that we should make this one life matter.

One can only make this one life matter by being a good person and reaching out to others..making a positive difference in this world and not just merely drifting by everyday. Make every day count and radiate that positive energy. Trust me, your life would feel more fulfilled and there would be meaning to it.

Hope you enjoyed this blog and got the take home message which is ' What you reap, you sow. Do good and good things will come to you. Do bad, and bad things will happen to you'. It's not so much about fate but much rather about our actions done on free will and the repercussions of those said actions.

Enjoy your day and stay in touch for my next blog.

Charlie XD

Charlie's got news: It's a Wonderful Life

Charlie's got news: It's a Wonderful Life: 3rd June, 2012 My very first blog and already a lot on my mind: Today's blog is highly relevant to my life right now and should be pertin...

It's a Wonderful Life

3rd June, 2012
My very first blog and already a lot on my mind:

Today's blog is highly relevant to my life right now and should be pertinent to yours- Believing in yourself.
Through all the hardships in life, we have to learn that life itself moves on. It may seem obvious, but as time moves on, either we live in the moment happily and content or we can endure the passing hours miserable and quite sad. This year has been quite a challenging one for me..going off to college and learning to live on my own...making decisions ranging from ones that include silly ones like choosing blue eyeliner or black to ones that make living through World War 11seem easy. Things I've learnt to accept are that everyone else goes through all these hardships and that I'm not in fact unique. Everyone has problems and people deal with them...so I asked myself. 'Why then, can't I?' Growing up sheltered and always getting things done easily has a rebound nasty effect..In fact, it's made me think (quite naively) that the world is a happy go-lucky-place and anything can be done once you know the right people. The problem with that: I don't know the right people and I definitely don't have the right connections. What I do have however, is a zesty drive to prove myself desperately to this world that I'm more than what I am..that I'm part of a bigger something..as we all are...for in the words of C.S. Lewis, a mere mortal has never been met. So for whatever reason you're feeling less than, insecure or afraid of venturing out of your zone and into the great abyss of the World, just be able to realize that we all have a part to play in this world and that no one could ever tell you what your potential is. Your limit is limitless once it's fueled by that constant almost aching desire for success.

I will admit the never ending journey to self actualization is tediously difficult and ironically soul draining sometimes..
The bumps and bruises along the road help us to get back up stronger and better than before or they can just leave you defeated. The end result is entirely up to you. So whenever you are faced with crossing that great Mountain, you have two choices: 1) Get over it 2) Stay at the bottom forever looking onto the summit with the Hope of what could be..It's either you MAKE IT HAPPEN  or wait forever for something to happen. Rewind to the first paragraph of this blog, time waits on no one. Hence, at the end of the day, either you have what you want or you don't. Simple.

As you can see this was an amateur blog..but what can one expect from an amateur blogger. I hope however, that at least one person was influenced by this to get up and start something great in their life. Remember that it's never too late to be what you could have once been :)

Charlie XD