Friday, August 26, 2011

RecommendedReads | Of Google + Machines


Thought I'd start today's RR with a song I quintessentially associate with all the days starting Friday 5pm to noon on Sunday. Don't ask. Just listen. Also, since Florence + The Machine are all set to come out with a new album on November 7 (see video of their first single below) so it's quite timely to be revisiting an old favourite.


Headline: How Google Dominates Us
Publication: The New York Review of Books
Afsha says: Yes, I'm obsessed with the effects of "Google" on the human mind as you might have gathered from the blog's first ever RR two weeks ago. I'm not against change. Nor am I complaining about the Google people who just want to make my life easier. I just don't believe in blindly accepting this change without understanding where the world will stand after it progresses into being a chip in my brain, feeding me information on the go. Hmm... feeling the waves of inspiration that led to my vegan phase...
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Headline: Florence and the Machine – What the Water Gave Me
Publication: Guardian.co.uk
Reshma Says: Warning... This song is moorish! Of all the new music out there, Florence and the Machine are my favorite. She reminds me of Patti Smith and I am sick to death of dance music that is ruling the charts this past year. Lungs, their debut album, reeks of literary references and this single from their sophomore album is no different. What the water gave me, talks about both the eccentric brilliant artist Frieda Khalo as well as the suicidal Virginia Woolf. The Woolf reference is easy to spot - Lay me down/ Let the only sound/Be the overflow/ Pockets full of stones. She walked into the river filling her pocket with large stones that took her to the bottom. A beautiful cinematic moment for Nicole Kidman in the movie, The Hours. Literature has influenced so much popular music. Remember Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush? Florence Welch is Kate Bush re-incarnated I think. Sting loved throwing literary references into his music, he was, after all, an English teacher. My other favorite literature in music moments are all the Tolkien references which can be seen in Led Zeppelin's music -Battle of Evermore and The stairway to heaven. (They say its not there but I can see it, I can! )
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Headline: 10 ways not to be a travel writer
Publication: Lonely Planet
Afsha says: If I had a penny for every time a newbie drooled on about how they aspired to be a travel writer because of such-and-such a lifestyle... Well, you get the drift. Equipped with jealously (can you blame me?) and a a keen awareness of the chances of "living a dream", there's not much I can contribute except cynicism. "Travel writing is not easy to break into..."; "You have to make the initial investments yourself before you're established enough to be sent travelling..."; "Me too. But I've descended from LaLa Land, you see?" Not anymore. Want to write and travel or travel and write? Here are some tips on how you shouldn't be going about with it.
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