Six degree of separation

I was reading one of my favorite blogs when I came across the term “six degree of separation”. This person has put out his message to the world that he wants to shoot a portrait of Coldplay and Pdiddy. The attempt is to actualize the theory of six degree of separation; that every person on this planet is just six steps away from every other person in the planet i.e. If your friend is one step away from you and your friend’s friend is two steps away from you, then the Queen of England is just six steps away from you.
It is wonderful to know that all the people you idolize are just 6 steps away from you. The tough part is to find the right path to take those vital six steps. If I were to use the six degree approach I would choose the following people to meet.

1. David Gilmour: Lead singer and guitarist for the Pink Floyd, I was hoping to take my guitar playing skills to the next level. Perhaps he can teach me a riff or two, or maybe give me tips how to do those freaky bends and phasing.

2. Morgan freeman: He is a late bloomer and I haven’t reached my peak of abilities just yet. It would be great to get pointers from him on what signs to look out for, of my impending greatness. On the side, he could also give me some vocal classes.

3. Ansel Adam: I know he is dead, but I don’t mind taking an extra step or two into the spirit world. All those online tutorials about his zone system for exposure are not enlightening enough. If he could prepare a workshop for me on the Zone system, I would, in return, give him some classes about digital photography.

4. Lalu Prasad Yadav: My management education wouldn’t be complete without a session with the enigma called Lalu. The village bumpkin who turned around the largest rail system in the world is highly underestimated. He might have been greatly popular with the media with his antics, but no one would have given him a rat’s ass of a chance to handle the Indian railways. A few lessons from him would keep in good stead when I start my own enterprise sometime in future.

5. Monica belluci and Laetitia Casta together: I haven’t decided what I will ask them, yet. For the time being, the objective would be to see them in person and drool.

More names to follow......

Music and the man

Does a person’s personal life affect the manner in which his/her music is perceived? The past few days have seen this question pop up in my brain frequently. The king of pop is dead, his legions of loyal fans exhort the media and the masses to show some respect for his genius as an artist. Most people are unable to detach Michael’s apparently sub-human behavior from his musical talents.
Ironically most musicians look at their music as an expression of who they are. The vibrant music of the 70’s and 80’s come to mind. Lennon’s fervor against the war seeped through into his music. He used his music as a weapon against the US government who found him an annoying threat and tried their best to get rid of him, deportation being one of the means.
Jimi Hendrix wasn’t as vocal as Lennon about the war, but some of his songs do come to mind, namely machine gun and his version of the national anthem. The rolling stones’s notoriety and misbehavior lend more color to their music.
My perspective on this topic is subjective. If I like an artist’s personality and message, I might give their music a try; on the other hand if I like a person’s music, I might ignore their character flaws. In the end, music is the winner.