1. Total amount of music files on your computer.
17 Gibabytes. That's a lot, or at least it seems like it to me. I have somewhere in the range of 2000 CDs in my collection. It's an absurd amount, but I forgive myself: many of them are used (somewhat cheaper), bought cheaply from Indian music stores (definitely cheaper), or bought in India (very cheap).
2. The CD you last bought is:
I blogged it two weeks ago: Friction, Mehsopuria, Bally Sagoo. I also bought a deep house compilation called Bargrooves pretty recently, which has been getting a fair amount of play at chez Singh. And I've been planning to buy the Lascivious Biddies' Get Lucky from their website at some point soon.
3. What is the song you last listened to before reading this message?
I had MTV on when I was getting ready this morning. The last song I remember before turning it off was Destiny's Child's, "Soldier," which is frighteningly post-feminist in outlook (lyrics), but also frighteningly catchy ("the devil has all the best tunes").
Still, what happened to "Independent Woman"? Oh well, guess that was a fad. Still, you've got to give it to Beyoncé.
4. Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you:
This is tough; I listen to a lot of music, and I could as easily put 50 songs here as 5. I'll pick a few songs sort of at random, cheating a little by referring to multiple versions of the same song:
1. "Chura Liya," with Asha Bhosle singing, Bally Sagoo's reggae remix. Major Hindi film-song nostalgia. A couple of similar songs could go in this slot, but this one best represents my particular tastes and sensibilities. It doesn't take much to get me to start singing along, in or (more likely) out of tune.
2. John Cale's version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." Shameless post-Christian, negative theological melodrama. Somehow the Cale version gets me more than Cohen's version, or the Rufus Wainwright version that was used in Shrek.
3. Any version of the jazz standard "Tenderly," but especially the old Sarah Vaughn version, and the more recent jazz/deep house version by the San Francisco group Soulstice.
4. Cole Porter's "Well Did You Evah," either the old Frank Sinatra/Bing Crosby version, or the Iggy Pop/Deborah Harry version from Red, Hot + Blue. Always a good way to get a party started, even if it's just a party in one's own mind.
5. The Pixies, "Subbacultcha." I've been listening to the Pixies a bit lately. Even though I missed their reunion tour, some of my friends went to some of their shows, and they've kind of been on my mind.
Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons), and why?
No time for why, so here's three people I can think of who might be into this:
G. Zombie
Anjali Taneja
Julian Myers