NITT DIARIES
My Top Music Picks from CCD’s Abominable Playlist — Updated
Some things outlast change
Aah, Café Coffee Day.
If you’re here for the songs, scroll past these word-walls of nostalgia.
Sleepless nights fuelled by caffeine. Hearty banter. Gaming matches. Idle ideation meets. Frantic assignments and project sessions. The abode of club and fest team inductions.
The years went by swiftly, some good, some not as good but I miss the place already. Beings of all sorts used to frequent the place. The famous ones. The infamous ones. And yes, the elusive ones.
Most merely shot glances as the staff, heeding not the call to pick something from the menu. From solitary folk to hordes that owed their allegiance to fests, its wooden benches hosted them all. Some groups formed, some disbanded.
The place forged new bonds, some of kinship, and others deeper (of course I’m talking about clubs and teams).
But it snipped strands too. Some in silence, some with great uproar.
A lot can happen over a cup of coffee.
The batch of 2020 didn’t get the ending they deserved, but maybe that’s a good thing. A part of this place of hard-won sustenance will forever paint our personas. And a part of us still adorns its walls, marks its wooden benches, and remains a hostage to time. Bound to a place that time has yet to alter.
I hope these songs help you turn back to pre-adult times. Pick between drawing memories from pools of cherished moments or those you’ve learned from. The choice is yours to make. Ironic when you think about their playlist.
Live For The Night — Krewella
I can’t thank this place enough for introducing me to this Pakistani duo. They make killer EDM music, you should definitely check them out if that’s your thing. They’ve gone from strength to strength, their latest album is a can full of earworms.
Hey Porsche — Nelly
The speakers at NITT’s Café Coffee Day were so terrible that most of the lyrics were muffled. Hear this pop song on speakers that work and you’ll wonder how these lyrics made their way through censorship. Be warned, it’s got some mean metaphors.
Alive — Krewella
Another EDM banger from Krewella. Again, these sound a whole lot better on audio equipment that’s younger than you. Unfortunately, the song isn’t available on SoundCloud in India. I’ve embedded a remix that doesn’t stray much from the original.
This Is What It Feels Like — Armin van Buuren feat. Trevor Guthrie
This man co-founded Armada Music, the world’s biggest independent dance music label. He’s got some solid dance hits under his belt too. And yet his existence became known to me thanks to a coffee shop in Thuvakudi. Go figure.
The less said about the other songs, the better. The instrumentals drilled into my ears in a way professors just couldn’t. While the playlist grew so monotonous that I could predict the order of songs at a point, I wouldn’t have discovered these gems had it not been for NITT’s Café Coffee Day. Would it kill them to switch things up every few months?
One playlist. Four years. Also, their speakers need help.
So do their students, but that’s a tale of woe for another day.
If you’ve got favorite songs of your own, do share. For old times’ sake.
Edit: I’ve added more songs. Vivek Adithya, thanks for the suggestions!
