when it's blue, i write
Updating a little something documented in 2017
The spaces between the thoughts, right where the mind stands still,
I think of the gem
It’s a quiet place, just like our yesterday
How zestful!
The rays of hope, how bright
Heaven with that tender light
Remember the mornings with whiskey and the wind?
In the arms laid entwined
Young birds, anticipated the bittersweet life which awaited
Time to visit places that were unrelated
A ladder not a truss
Hope to cheers for what we see for us
the way we are, convoluted than ever,
each day unfolding unsolicited mystery of the torture
oh, another day you fight,
like a warrior in sight
and a loser another time,
the mystique mornings serving the possibilities,
the highs and lows of your reckoning
each opening a trigger in your nerve
as some sugar in your wine,
who likes it you ask?
but you learn to idolise,
untangling the cluster of grapes one at a time,
you learn to embrace the sweetness in your wine
Hi there!
How have you been?
Before we start with the topic, I want to share how I came up with this in the first place. Music is a part of me and the only time I am not listening to songs is while attending lectures. So one fine evening, I was listening to “Marguerita” by Elvis Presley just when the next song on my playlist started to play. The song was “Something Just Like This’ by Coldplay and it got me thinking how the world has shifted from “Rock and Pop” to “EDMs” just like it shifted from Mr Obama to Mr Trump.
On researching more on the topic, I found that the EDM business has been growing immensely and is worth $7.4 billion currently (as of 2018), which is 60% more than its value 4 years back. You can check the same here.
In this article, I’m going to share my insights on the topic and how brands can make use of EDMs to grow their business.
EDMs vs Traditional Music
EDM is easier and cheaper to produce compared to traditional music because unlike traditional music, it doesn’t require any musical instruments for production. Hence even international artists can be hired at low rates for an event.
“Rock is for loyalist; EDM is for everyone”
I recently came across this statement, “Rock is for loyalist; EDM is for everyone” and started to analyse its seriousness. I realised that ‘Rock and Pop’ music, back when it was popular, was all about apprehension and expressing individuality, which the youth in the past stood for. I am not saying that Rock and Pop is not loved by people today, of course, there is still a tribe of old school souls (including myself), who love Pink Floyd and The Beatles more than the trendy EDMs.
But if we see the bigger picture, the new generation today (especially millennial) likes ‘chilling out’, dancing in a group to thumping beats and that’s why they are moving to this trippy and happy feel of electronica. I recently came across an article telling how EDMs can sell almost anything. It explains the 2016 video collaboration of Volvo XC90 with the EDM megastar Avicii, which engaged 35m+ views. Volvo’s chief executive Håkan Samuelsson announced that sales of the XC90 had “exceeded its expectations”. And it’s safe to assume that, for at least some parts, engagement with the EDM star Avicii resulted in this kind of customer response.
No to Yes?
Earlier in the 90s, it was next to impossible for a dance music event to get any sort of sponsorship. But now the brands find market potential and spend millions on trying to get into activities involving EDMs. Some of the big brand names involved are 7up, Emporio Armani and Bud Light.
Undoubtedly, DJs are the music world’s new demigods. The ticket deals once delighted in by musicians like Pink Floyd and Metallica, have — in the ongoing past — turned into a space for DJs like Tiesto and David Guetta: the rulers of electronica!
Wondering if you can make most out of your business by involving EDMs? I believe we have a lot to learn!
Thanks for reading!
There can be bits and pieces of what the writer might have felt personally in the past. But for most parts, it’s the character analysis that the writer has been doing since the past couple of weeks, considering that she has been watching quite a lot of movies for a change. So, spare her the horror of self-expression here.
Six Degrees of Separation is a theory that was first introduced in 1929 by a Hungarian writer named Frigyes Karinthy, in his short story called ‘Chains’. This is now a worldwide accepted theory which states that any person living on the planet earth can meet any other person with a maximum of six or fewer mutual connections.
Now how cool does that sound? How cool is this idea that you and Michelle Obama or you and Oprah Winfrey need just 6 levels of connections in order for you to get in touch with them? But, but I’m not going there at all. Today, my concern is different, my concern is you.
you, the one that brings fire all around her
you, who can make her world just fine after an earthquake
you, who had the capacity to make her breathe
you, who made her and broke her in ways that she never imagined
you, just the idea of whom is enough to get her through so many things in life
you, the star-crossed love of her life
maybe it was an illusion
but she felt connected to you, strongly
a million things going on inside that head
about things that were gone
and she knew it was killing you
she wanted to know
but she was afraid it would kill her as well
the place you hold in her life
the same place was held by someone else in your life
And she can’t use her six degrees of connection to reach you because you act like you’re living under a rock with no idea about all this. You make this theory fail when the subjects are you both, because you have created a million levels of separation between each other.
time and again, she kept her ego behind you,
but it became less about her ego
and more about losing herself
she assumed she’d continue to love you
but a tragedy followed
she fell in love, fell in love with her
and it can never be you again
she might still smile at your name
but no, not falling for those sleepless nights again
and here, the quests for her sweet existence begin now
if my words could materialize
i would write,
i would write love
and you would gently fall for me,
i would say sleep
and you would dream, dream of me,
should i write lips next?
would a smile start to play on your lips then?
what about music? if i write music,
would you listen to Sinatra from my sleepless nights?
if i write unlove, would you fall out of love?
would that kill me, kill me one more time?
but then i would craftily remove “un” from unlove,
and see if the magic begins,
alas, i would command the words to perish
and let you be, my treasure!
It has been a difficult time for the world lately and we need each other for support right now, with social distancing of course. The world needs love and care. While most of us might be at our homes, secured with our jobs and stocked up with food, let’s not forget about the unprivileged who don’t have the luxury to work from home or to stock food in abundance. Let’s not forget our responsibility here.
Speaking of myself, unfortunately I couldn’t be at home with family around this time. But here I am, trying to make the most of this lone time, learning to love myself. Mostly trying hard to write. But on a day when I can’t write, I click. Here are some of the self-portraits I clicked today while listening to Steve Vai and Pearl Jam on loop. Let’s embrace self love during this time of pandemic.
if i’ll ever be a poet
you’ll be the poem i’ll engrave,
you are the art i’ll eternally draw
if i ever become an artist,
i try to take snapshots of the innate objects
but my pictures crave you
and the depth of your soul,
darling you, you alone are the inspiration
behind my good deeds and my bad deeds,
the idea of you, even if you’re somewhere far away
is enough to get me through so many things in life,
most stories shaped us all with an expectation of endings
mostly happy endings,
but you, with your untouched charm
enlightened me with the notion that
unfinished stories can be fulfilling too
an era of lacking valor
i uncovered mine own folks
unconditional affection
nay terms or expiration,
glancing through the soul
how customary now
silences embraced
them, my finest earned treasures
the mountains, my confidante
i sit amidst trees and ponder,
the wind, the river, the farms
tired chatters with the inanimate pieces,
a swift interruption, a stranger in brown hat
holding a cigar, grey wisdom visible,
mid-forties, I presumed,
“what brings you here”, I asked courteously
“i often visit to celebrate life”, she whispered
walking towards her spot as she sat near a tree
“what’s the occasion if I may ask?”
“a celebration of human detachment”, she replied
i tried to contemplate and retained my silence
“what makes you afraid?”, she asked
“of never being able to find a lover”, I answered
“time will teach, you’re as good without one”, the wisdom replied
silence again,
together amidst trees, as we stare at the flowing river,
parted ways, awaiting validation
a toast to life
Mrinal Semia 