nikhil.io

Wife sent me this after a longass day. Sit on the couch, stare at a tree, get lost for a bit.

As Bane said, “What a lovely lovely voice.” Here’s the live version.

Goosebumps.

Catchy. Great to dance to. Thalaiva. I could not understand a shred of the supposed ‘Telugu’ lyrics there. Here’s the Tamil original. They could’ve saved money by not translating it.

Heard this on NPR. Lovely, reminded me of Washed Out. Buy the album here.

It’s catchy, I am Indian, we’re talking mangoes, I am obligated. First appearance of hype man.

In two years, my little niece will sing this in a loop for two hours.

Country! I thought of an oversized Dodge truck.

An anthem ✊ No more “one last flick”. Get the fuck off your couch and do something.

Heard this at the 85 Bar in the East Village. Took me back to when I was 15 and in Hong Kong and learning about its history. Basically this stuff in song. Lovely.

Heard on NPR in the Hy Vee parking lot in Des Moines, Iowa at ~8:30PM. We noted that the NPR DJ was killing it that night.

Via the wife. Gotta love a good hypnotic beat 🍭

I love this so much. Heard it at a cafe near 110th I think. It just transports me to lovely places, a three-minute mini-adventure. Reminds me so much of Andrew Bird’s Action Adventure which also has the same effect. Looks like it’s part of a soundtrack. Will give the album a listen soon.

Heard at RH Rooftop Restaurant in North Hills, Raleigh, NC.

Can’t believe I haven’t heard this one before. Heard this at La Cheile after that Knicks game.

Heard at Khao Thai Restaurant, 2200 Amsterdam Av.

Also check out Valse by the same artist. Fantastic to listen to as you move through a mass of people.

On loop today.

Yet to see the movie but I love this! Heard in NC at my little cousin’s engagement party.

As far as earworms go, this one’s right up there. Here’s the song it samples.

I typically don’t pay attention to the lyrics but these appear to have been written by an edgy 19-year old. I could watch its music video forever:

Loved zoning out to this, watched it twice. We peaked in the 90s (early 2000s weren’t bad either).

One of those perfect things to wake up and sip hot tea to on a winter weekend.

Heard this at some bar in San Francisco. Reminded me of the Fremen from Dune (esp that cover art).

Heard this off a young person’s boombox on the subway.

I was walking around some place in Manhattan at sunset and took a small break to just stare at things and people and The Algorithm played this and it was a perfect few minutes.

And here’s dancer Angela Trimbur’s really, really emphatic interpretation. Love it. Reminds me of Rosamund Pike in this Massive Attack video (“Voodoo in My Blood”).

Listened at Le Cheile in Washington Heights.

It’s just you inside a giant, empty, grain silo at night somewhere in Northwest Iowa. Three giant, white hot lights far up on the ceiling.

This one will arrest your attention. Reminded me of the opening scene of Macbeth (2015, soundtrack by Jed Kurzel). It’s many orders more intense.

He’s a genius, of course, and has written a lot of amazing music, but this might be my favorite work.

Heard this on my favorite movie this year, Black Bag. The movie’s composer makes a cameo as the DJ who plays this song in the opening scene.

Here’s the version I heard on Instagram. Fantastic stuff.

My favorite track by a mile. A most lovely pace to it. Somehow reminds me of vintage Bollywood background scores (especially the ones backing villains or chase scenes).

About as addicting as a song can get. It’s cover of this song by Mono No Aware. Amazing.

Absolutely breathtaking. Qasimov’s apparently a big deal in Azerbaijan. His daughter sang with Nusrat!

BLN sent me this and I’ve listened to it on loop for the past few days (overcast weather is the perfect complement). Simply sublime.

An orchestral version of a favorite Nusrat song? Lovely. And that tabla solo is for the Gods.

The video is just magnificent and never fails to make me tear up for no reason.

My wife told me her voice is “as clear as a bell” and how can you disagree?

This and Mesaytara are my two new favorite earworms right now.

I have probably listened to this 112,815 times. Don’t care if that’s impossible, feels like it. One of the best alarm songs ever.

After about 03:00

Heard with Catherine at some place on Ingersoll Av in Des Moines. I love it but this kind of thing is really her jam 💗

First listened to this with SB in Iowa City at his place. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This is one of the most magnificent pieces of music I’ve heard in my life and I hope to hear it before I leave.

Heard with my friend Kris at some place in Vegas, maybe in 2019 or so.

Saw this on an Apple ad. I think almost everyone did.

Absolutely majestic. Never fails to get me all fogged up.

I may have listened to this on loop for close to the entire week I discovered it. Found out later that the bro who doesn’t sing and barely dances is the producer of this song, a chap who goes by the name Intense.

This was my first MF DOOM track.

Heard this at the Blazing Saddle.

Heard this at The Picador in Iowa City

LR suggested this. Love the album art.

Phenomenal rendition of Saeen by Junoon.

This is mad and I love it.

This is the saddest piece of music I’ve listened to.

This is the saddest ambient album I’ve listened to, bar none.

A YouTube algorithm suggestion. Imagined a wasp bobbing around.

Ames, Iowa, 2005 – 2007 <3

Heard this on “The Jackal” when I was about 14 or so and I was blown away. An all-time favorite

One of the greatest songs to ride a road bike to 🙌

An Iowa City favorite. We probably played this about 14,715 times.

I’d never heard this prior to 2009 and could not believe that it was recorded 43 years earlier.

Only recently found out that this was inspired by Lee Dorsey’s 1961 [“Ya Ya”](Lee Dorsey - Ya Ya (1961) - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeF-xJ1mOmU&list=RDOeF-xJ1mOmU&start_radio=1)

ZK introduced me to this Serbian Elvis in Iowa City.

This is balm for the soul.

The very first song SN and I listened to at his place in Iowa City when I had just moved there.

Heard at a dance place in Madison Wisconsin, 2006.

Ian Gee was listening to this on the bus in Iowa City in October 2007. I fell in love with it instantly. He then told me about Black Moth Super Rainbow.

Like a warm bath. Recommended to me by a guy named Mark in Iowa City at Quinton’s.

Off the “Drive” soundtrack. Fuckin’ A.

I saw them in Iowa City during the “Mission Creek” festival. I enjoyed tears of joy at their live performance of this song.

When down, this to be played on loop and you must dance to it.

Heard this of the “Twilight” soundtrack.

My God. A new hope, a chance to start fresh (almost). This song is “All is forgiven”. I love it so much.

Fixed printers to this. Waited for the bus to take me from MERF to across the river to this. Wasted a lot of my time but it was made better listening to this.

Mad. Heard this at La Boheme in Ames, Iowa when I was a wee lad.

Had to look up the meanings of a few words. Absolute majesty of a song.

AD told me about this and I love it so much. Danced with CK a lot to this song.

On the soundtrack of the desi version of “Spiderman”

Magnificent.

Not noise.

Oh Ames, Iowa 🥲

“Sepulchral” is the SAT word that keep popping up in my head as I heard this.

How can someone come up with something this beautiful?

This is probably my favorite piece of music, ever. As of 2024, I probably wouldn’t mind if this were the last thing I listened to before I died.

Heard in Ames in around 2002 I think. I remember the weather because this song complimented it perfectly: right before snow, overcast, super cold and maybe rainy.

My heart is very happy at the amount I’ve danced to this song over the years.

“Jack White has lost his mind and I love it.”

Heard this at Akebono in Downtown DSM.

Heard this at a house party in Iowa City around 2010.

I’ve listened to this a quadrillion times.

Absolute magic.

Absurd and addictive.

Heard on a show (Hand of God) I couldn’t finish.

Heard this on a Mission: Impossible soundtrack. Badass. The only other BS song your average person is aware of.