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Sarthak Dev's avatar

Hahah so good. Music and memories is just such an odd connection. There are songs I can't listen to without thinking of some event, or others without tearing up because of when I first heard them. Wild.

Also, now would be a good time to mention that I was briefly - can't believe I am saying this - the keyboardist for a college punk band called The Adjustments. Mercifully, the band didn't last beyond the second year, so there is no evidence of my crimes.

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Rohan Banerjee's avatar

Oh man, for sure. Some songs still remind me of my bus rides to college.

I will get in touch with you offline about the punk experiment. I refuse to believe no records exist.

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Binu Sivan's avatar

Green Day was the only Punk Rock group that I listened to. And a few of their songs at that. But this post had me reminiscing about my own teen year playlists :). Bon Jovi, Springsteen, Eagles, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston and all the 90s Bollywood hits - tu cheez badi hai mast mast anyone 🤣

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Rohan Banerjee's avatar

I did not anticipate your list going from Springsteen to Mohra! But that's the beauty of personal musical preferences. :)

Thanks for reading, Binu!

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Binu Sivan's avatar

Hahahaha it was a mish-mash. I deliberately did not mention the Tamil songs on that playlist 😂. It would have been even weirder then.

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Simran's avatar

Your writing is aging like fine wine. Wowowoww.

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Rohan Banerjee's avatar

Hehe, thank you! <3

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Maanav's avatar

Such an excellent essay. Very funny and a full nostalgia trip. Your writing is clearly getting better by the issue. Was Green Day as good as you hoped it would be? Also, as an aside, I'm not sure we can ALL agree that EDM is an abomination.

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Rohan Banerjee's avatar

They were incredible. Best concert I've attended by far.

Let us agree to not let EDM jeopardise our friendship.

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Sagarnil Banerjee's avatar

Planet M > Music World !

Great read!

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Rohan Banerjee's avatar

Thank you, cousin :D

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Lindsay F.'s avatar

Oh man! I had forgotten about the kiosks where you could listen to music in the store! You and I are the same age, and I also experienced a deep 2000s music binge courtesy of Spotify recently. Specifically the phase it served up to me was electronic/dance music. Stuff you would have heard on DDR. A lot of it is pretty awful honestly, but they were such bops for me back in the day that I just found myself listening to more and more.

I hope you got to live out your teenage dreams at the Green Day concert!

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Rohan Banerjee's avatar

Thanks for reading, Lindsay! The concert was superb, and yes, it was a teenage dream come true. :)

Nostalgia music hits different, particularly when you're listening to it after many years. Glad the piece resonated with you.

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Arshad Nadamal's avatar

Brilliant writing, Rohan! Loved it!

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Rohan Banerjee's avatar

Thanks so much, Arshad!

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Amit Charles's avatar

This is some brilliant writing. And a good primer for those heading to watch Green Day tomorrow at LP

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Rohan Banerjee's avatar

Thanks a lot, Amit! Glad you liked it.

I assume you're attending the concert - hope you have a great time. :)

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Amit Charles's avatar

No, I'm not :) a few friends are attending. In case you're going, have a splendid time.

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Rakhi Kurup's avatar

Where’s the photo? Please add one.

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Rohan Banerjee's avatar

Haha, looking for one. :)

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Pracheta Bhattacharya's avatar

I'll see your Boulevard and raise you a Children of Bodom version of Oops I did it again.

Also I wonder if you were one of those who made mix tapes.

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Rohan Banerjee's avatar

I think I may have heard that over. And yes, did make a couple of mix tapes.

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Pritam Sukumar's avatar

What a post. Lovely writing with so much of the usual perfectly placed humour. Got me immediately thinking of my own music rabbit holes!

Congratulations on your podcast appearance!!

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Rohan Banerjee's avatar

Thanks a lot, Pritam! Glad this nudged you to your own musical past. :)

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Eesha Tirodkar's avatar

I’m going to cry when they sing Good Riddance

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Rohan Banerjee's avatar

I am likely going to cry throughout the time they're on stage. I'm hydrating accordingly.

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Abhishek Shetty's avatar

The kiosks with record players and headphones brought back a bunch of memories.

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Sourabh Bhutani's avatar

It happens to almost everyone. You hear a song and it brings back memories from a long lost era, sometimes even specific places or people. Mostly these memories can be pleasant, but not always.

Brilliantly written Rohan, as always. Evokes a lot of nostalgia, particularly college, when we bought cassettes and used nefarious means to record them with our favourite music.

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