 Aakash, man!
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Jul. 21st, 2005 @ 12:07 am 
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I'm going to miss my housemate Aakash. He'll be leaving to go to London by the first week of August. He'll be back in Philly for a couple of weeks, but he'll be back in Toronto, after that. This means that'll I'll have two friends to visit in different places (Carlos in Cali, being the other).
I think Aakash is really great, because he is one of a few people who really has an interest in entertainment and talent that we have such great conversations. Our insightful conversations are often about American politics and popular entertainment. He wants to eventually go into media consulting, and worked for EMI Canada. He knows so much. He spent some time doing concert promotion for Lenny Kravitz, which I found to be really cool.
Of the people in the house, we can talk about the industry of Hollywood and the power of the press machine in turning stories. I remember how we both were in love with Teri Hatcher and he foresaw the great press story, and marketable star she would become after her Golden Globe acceptance speech. It is these conversations that I'll miss, because no one really knows much or cares.
For example, tonight we listened to the entire CD of "X & Y", and discussed track by track which songs could were simply good or rip-offs from "A Rush of Blood to the Head", and how to tell which songs would become singles. We both agreed that "Fix You" is the best track on the CD, but Aakash argues that the structure weakens effective promotion and could make the song difficult to sell to radio. Audiences may appear to like it, but programmerd may not, and the sell could prove to risky. We also finished the CD by listening to "Clocks" and noting some differences in Chris Martin's vocal abilities and harmonizing. I have few friends who I could talk to about these things. I find we have similar tastes in movies and films, but not always music. (For some reason, he does not completely understand the fascination with Janet.) But he, like Europeans, are surprised by my knowledge of overseas pop stars(i.e. Robbie Williams, the Minogues, Jamiroquai, Oasis, Anastacia, Daft Punk, Zero 7, etc.) I schooled him on some Dixie Chicks, Nikka Costa, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Nina Simone, Bill Withers, Chaka Kahn, George Clinton and Ella Fitzgerald, and we bonded over mutual enjoyment of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, Sade, Sheryl Crow,the Supremes, and Frank Sinatra. I still don't care for the Beatles, and he does not dig Mariah Carey.
I just know that I would love to meet people who were industry types just to talk, give input, and understand about entertainment (since I'm such an entertainment whore). Aakash was that. I think I was that consumer voice that he knew that people had to tap. Since I still buy CDs every now and then, he wanted to know why, what made me buy them, and what would encourage me to buy more. I would tell him, I buy certain CD's for collector's items or habitually (I buy every Janet cd ever since I fell in love at 8 to Rhythm Nation).
We will keep in contact, but I'll miss the continual procrastination and the late night Charlie Rose viewings. I'll miss the media discussions; I don't know if I can ever find anyone who will be just as in sync with pop culture as I. Most science people think media is overrated.Current Mood:  nostalgic Current Music: "Millenium" - Robbie Williams |
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