Our newest addition to the 'Five Column' is musician and animator Anirudh Bharadwaj aka Ani aka Weird Inside. On top of releasing beautiful and inventive music as well as touching animations (one of which is included above), he also shot the viral music video for "Cool" by Zack Villere. You can check out Ani's EPs and singles courtesy of the links below. Here's what he had to say as an intro into his personalized list of five:
I’m from New Jersey, but currently live in LA, so I thought i’d make my five things about things that I miss about the East Coast. It inspires a lot of the the music that I’m currently working on, and means a lot to me, not just because I grew up with it.
One Movie: Kimi no Na wa (2016)
This movie feels a lot like winter even though none of it really takes place in the wintertime. It’s about two teenagers who swap bodies involuntarily, but live nowhere near each other, and find ways to communicate with each other to figure out what is going on. Highly recommend Kleenex and your favorite kind of soup as compliments to this masterpiece.
Honorable Mentions: Manchester by the Sea, The Revenant, every Harry Potter movie ever.
One Album: Immunity by Jon Hopkins
Being warm in the wintertime while it’s freezing cold outside is one of my favorite feelings, and this album is the perfect thing to listen to on a snowy day. The songs are long and flow really smoothly, which makes it really easy to get lost in them. The environments that Hopkins is able to create are thick, warm and intense with emotion. Throw this on, grab a blanket and something to read, and sit near the window if it’s raining or snowing. Favorite tracks: "Abandon Window", "We Disappear", "Immunity".
Honorable Mentions: Lustmore by Lapalux, Early Riser by Taylor McFerrin
One Tree: Pine
These trees look great and smell great. I stan these conifers. LA’s tree game is weak compared to where I’m from. Don’t get me wrong, I think the mountains in LA are tight for sure, but they’re not the Appalachians. There is nothing better than going on a bike ride on a long, forested road and looking off into the distance and seeing blueish greenish mountains covered in evergreens in the distance. Also, they can survive cold weather and snow, so by default the evergreen is the hardest type of plant alive. Look at this picture and tell me pine trees don’t go hard.
Honorable Mentions: Aspen (these turn yellow in the autumn. How sick is that?), Oak (these go red), Hemlock (evergreen gang though).
One Activity: Biking
If you’re from the East Coast and don’t know how to ride a bike, I will personally come and help you learn how, because you are seriously missing out. The magical contraption that is the bike is a phenomenon of engineering that everyone should experience. There’s a 77 mile path along the D&R canal which I’ve spent many hours on, and it is one of the most beautiful things to ride along. The Chimney Rock trails, Washington Valley park - do any of these with a bike and I guarantee a good time.
Honorable Mentions: Hiking, eating/drinking soup, drawing.
One Store: IKEA
A very polarizing furniture store - some people hate it, some people love it. The thing is though, it's really so much more than just a furniture store. It’s a vat of inspiration, it’s a restaurant, a sanctuary. Every time I go here, my ambition to one day own a house and decorate it with beautifully designed furniture is rekindled. It’s really not about what you buy here, it’s more about what you feel on the journey through the store. I get excited about IKEA the same way some people get excited about Raf, Gucci, LV or Prada. Also, if they were open to it, I would really love to do a collaboration with IKEA on some furniture or art or something one day. That would be awesome.
Honorable Mentions: Patagonia, Wegmans, and Apple. Nothing comes close to IKEA in the furniture realm, but Crate and Barrel is ok I guess.
