Don’t listen to what’s inside your head

Posted on by

Earlier this week I was surveying some recently and soon-to-be-released albums as I decided what to load on to my mp3 player. Like many, I enjoy listening to music when I work out and especially when I run, so something upbeat was in order. I checked out the new Common and Lily Allen albums and they seemed worth loading. Then however, I came upon the must have release-of-the-week and used up the rest of my allowance:

<

p>

Before I go any further I want to be clear that I don’t think that jokes about schizophrenia are appropriate. It is not Sanjaya’s fault that he has to listen to the musical voices inside his head. However, I do blame his manager and the record producers for giving the rest of us a ring-side seat. Manson-like cults could form around the contents of this body of work. The first single (titled “A Quintessential Lullaby”) is a psychedelic journey that blends the line between real and dream:

<

p align=left>

I mean…the lyrics quite literally blew my mind. Tomorrow morning I am going to write down what “happens when I wake up” while I play a Karsh Kale tune in the background.

<

p>

But there is more good news. The CD has been released in conjunction with Sanjaya’s memoir (of the same name):

ABC News had an exclusive excerpt last week:

Since the producers and directors had to set up shots and locales–and because they wanted us to be available the second they were ready–we did a whole bunch of sitting around, chilling, talking, napping, and staring into outer space. We were sleep deprived, undernourished (or badly nourished, depending on your attitude toward catering), and stressed about auditioning for Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson–aka the Big Three–show after show after show.

I think that part of the reason they ran us so ragged was to emotionally strip us. They wanted to see what we could do when we were at our most vulnerable. If our nerves were right at the surface, that could lead to onstage meltdowns, or offstage drama, either of which would lead to better ratings. Also, they wanted to see how we could handle the pressure of having twenty-five hour-long commitments in a twenty-four-hour day. None of us knew if a successful (or even semisuccessful) career in the music industry would be that difficult, but at least we’d be prepared. [Link]

<

p align=left>I have highlighted the excerpt above to draw your attention to the most relevant details. Some (not me, but some) might argue that Idol producers were taking advantage of a latent instability in order to evince and harness the voices and music inside Sanjaya’s head.

<

p align=left>I was interested in reading the reviews of Amazon customers who were just burning to know what was in Sanjaya’s head and promptly purchased and read his memoir. I learned something I didn’t know:

He became a nickname in office spaces for an employee who served no purpose but was kept around for the fun of it. [Link]

And then it occurred to me why Vinod and Anna call me “Sanjaya” here in our North Dakota headquarters. I just thought it was because I had nice hair.

24 thoughts on “Don’t listen to what’s inside your head”

  2. Wow, Sanjaya looks kinda grungy now! Where is the pretty boy from the show?

    ABC posted a decent sized excerpt of the book where he talks about the “You Really Got Me” episode. I found myself enthralled, then embarrassed for being enthralled. I want to read more.

  7. This really has nothing to do with the post at hand – other than, perhaps, “voices in one’s head”, but I thought the Sepia Mutiny folk would be amused to hear that Pardesi Gori has popped up on a bunch of blogs discussing interracial/intercultural relationships, including my own. The ranting is incredibly amusing, if you all enjoy that sort of thing. 😉

  9. That first pic looks like a Body on Tap shampoo commercial from a TeenBeat rag circa 1978.

    Abhi, I recommend working out to some Mary J. Blige – talk about body and great hair! but enough about me already.

  10. “And then it occurred to me why Vinod and Anna call me “Sanjaya” here in our North Dakota headquarters. I just thought it was because I had nice hair.”

    Someone needs to paste Abhi’s face on that record cover.

  15. Harbeer: the “tion”s are fine, education and catchy, even – it’s Sanjaya’s overuse of “-ation” that gets my goose. It’s like when a song uses the word “society” and really wants to enunciate it. Something about it bugs the hell out of me.

  16. I meant “educational”.

    Holler.

    P.S. – It’s just mean to tell me not to push the big red button. You know I can’t resist.

  20. Harbeer who brings good cheer said:

    Body hair? What?

    Herb, you can run your fingers through it any ol’ time(winkity wink).

    Manju, off my nerves!

  21. Met the Papaya and his mother when he was promoting this record at Mohegan Sun in August. He is a baby as yet! Daughter assured the Papaya he had several hits on his hands– I took a picture of them discussing this, of course.

  22. 20 · her suit bess said

    Herb, you can run your fingers through it any ol’ time(winkity wink).

    Ahh, her suit bess who suits Herb best, meet me in the shade beneath the banana trees for an overdue grooming.

    16 · Fuerza Dulce said

    It’s just mean to tell me not to push the big red button. You know I can’t resist.

    Resist. 🙂

  23. Tomorrow morning I am going to write down what “happens when I wake up” while I play a Karsh Kale tune in the background.

    lol. but, dude – karsh kale is SO 2008 😉

    thanks for the post, abhi – much needed break from work.

    i do have a serious question, though : is the first image really the album cover, or something you came up with?

  24. Admin, I smell Pardesi Gori @ # 7

    She’s even got her own site now, complete with a husband and a quarrel with herself. Nice try @ directing traffic, PG.