think of this as a different view on music and life and a list of thing that i think you should see

Music is probably the most important thing to me in my life. I tell all my friends that I would rather go blind than deaf. Music makes me feel alive and like different smells remind us of different things, different sounds bring back so much nostalgia of the kind of music, emotions, and people that were part of my life at a certain time period. It truly is amazing to hear one song and be transported to another world that just doesn’t exist anymore. I get goosebumps and chills when I listen to certain songs and it is this thrill that makes me enjoy music and crave it every hour of every day. People ask me about my music taste and my special music discovery habits that I try to maintain with a drill sergeant mentality. I make a playlist every week with all the new music I find, which I play on a radio show that I host and then populate them into other playlists of my favorites. Music deserves to be shared and I ultimately at the end of the day want to find people who enjoy the music I listen to and can share with me the songs that make them emotional. There is a sense of fulfillment when you can bond over a song that you have both listened to. You could have lived completely separate lives, but still be the same because of the universality of music. I understand that many people love popular music because it’s fun to sing them with other people and they are catchy. But there’s a lot that hidden about the music industry that I really hate.

Let’s start with electronic music, one of the most popular genres of music in today’s society. Many DJs do not produce their own music, because they are too busy touring the world and handling public relations. This is known as ghost producing, where they ultimately curate songs from underground artists and buy the songs, giving no credit to the artist who originally made it. For example Avicii’s “Wake Me Up” was written by a friend of the DJ/Producer Elephante. This is very disheartening to me, because it’s a facade and this artist is only getting even more money while the original one gets nothing compared to what he/she should. An example of an artist I support with no question is Sander van Dijk, otherwise known as his stage name, San Holo, a producer from the Netherlands who was sued by Disney for his name’s similarity to Star Wars character, Han Solo. He created his own record label called bitbird that features artists who are doing something different in the music space. His take on music is completely different from the music industry. In an interview he explains that “bitbird started as a promotional platform for my friends. I had lots of friends that make great music and I wanted to support them, so we just made a SoundCloud page called bitbird and we uploaded their tracks to SoundCloud and there they got their exposure.” I love supporting small artists who are creating something new, something amazing and original. It is what gives me life and hope for the world. Ultimately the industry is broken and unfair, like in most areas. Sander preaches that, “There can be a really cool artist that makes an amazing track, but if it doesn’t have any story, it won’t be on the radio. If it was up to me, it would be on the radio. The industry created rules that it’s hard to break. I’m all about breaking the rules in music, but it’s hard to break the rules in the industry. It’s an adventure though.” I hope artists like San Holo can really change things around, but with the music industry’s focus on money, it will take a lot of effort and time.

The one selfish thing I have about this whole process is when artists become mainstream. There’s a special connection you have with an artist when they are small and you are one of the few fans that talk to the other fans, preaching how good a song is. You want the artist’s success in the sense of going on tour to your city or playing at a festival you are going to. But when they get too big a very interesting thing happens, almost always. They start making music that appeals to their larger fan base and they start to lose a lot of their originality. Ok, this doesn’t happen always, but when it does it is just very sad, especially for me. Artists can change their sound and not everyone like it, but I know when an artist changes his sound for the wrong reason. Someone who has done this really well is none other than Porter Robinson. Let me tell you his story, because it inspires me a great deal.

Anyway that’s enough perspective for one sitting. Here is a list of all the things that give me nostalgia, basically all the things I cherish in my life. Now most of it is going to be weird, because I’m weird. I don’t like what’s popular most of the time. Sure I love when other people help me find stuff I may like, but just because a song is popular doesn’t mean I will like it and just because a song is not popular doesn’t mean I will like it either. I like stuff that I like. I love things that evoke emotion and leaves my skin tingling with goosebumps. This kind of content is what I look for in anything and it is the best feeling ever. I hope you enjoy and learn to like things that you like, and not let pop culture dictate what your interests are ~

yours,
~ the most unique person you’ll ever meet ~
varun

MUSIC

Albums

  • Porter Robinson - Worlds
  • Madeon - Adventure
  • AWOLNATION - Megalithic Symphony
  • Twenty One Pilots - Vessel
  • Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History
  • Vampire Weekend - (Every Album)

Songs

  • Porter Robinson & Madeon - Shelter
  • Lorde - Perfect Places (Whethan Remix)
  • Studio Ghibli Tributes Mix
  • Ryoga - lovely

Movies

  • Your Name (Kimi No Na Wa)
  • Inception
  • Interstellar
  • Gone Girl
  • Shutter Island
  • Shawshank Redemption
  • Good Will Hunting
  • Secret (Jay Chou)
  • A Bug’s Life

Shows

  • Breaking Bad
  • Game of Thrones
  • Avatar the Last Airbender
  • Legend of Korra
  • Your Lie in April
  • Kill la Kill
  • Anohana
  • Fullmetal Alchemist

Art

  • Porter Robinson - Worlds Remixed Album Art