| Sunday, 23 November 2025 |
A community-powered Sunday newsletter on mental models, self-reflection, learning, growth, photos, books, and more Subscribe here
Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],
Dear reader, how alive are you feeling this Sunday morning? Me, I’m writing this on a Saturday as usual, with the smell of petrichor in the air. It rained briefly just after noon in Bengaluru. Many years ago, it was then that I first noticed, hey, November Rain!
I was listening to this French artist called Serge Gainsbourg (the album is Histoire de Melody Nelson), about whom I had no idea till an hour ago. I discovered him by scrolling to the very end of Apple Music’s “70’s Essential Albums” list. I think I’ve told you before that I like to “rebel” against algorithms every now and then. Currently, I’m doing my best to listen only to albums instead of playlists and compilations.
Tell me, wouldn’t you want to accidentally discover an artist with a bio as interesting as this?
“Serge Gainsbourg made his recording debut in 1958, but it was in the late ’60s that his brief affair with actress Brigitte Bardot parlayed Gainsbourg’s jazz-inflected music to lushly arranged and erotic sound. Afterward, he became involved with Jane Birkin and they recorded the 1969 duet “Je T’Aime…Moi Non Plus,” a song complete with steamy lyrics and explicit heavy breathing. Although banned in many countries, it reached the top of the charts throughout Europe. Gainsbourg returned in 1971 with Histoire de Melody Nelson, a dark song cycle which signalled his increasing alienation from modern culture: drugs, disease, suicide, and misanthropy became thematic fixtures of his work.” ~ Jason Ankeny (Apple Music)
I’m planning to discover more such artists and their music by cutting through the forest undergrowth that is algorithmic recommendations. Seriously, have you tried to avoid them altogether?
Come to think of it, it’s been a while since we created a community playlist. So, let’s create a playlist composed of albums!
What I mean is that you have to suggest one album that you really love, but also your favourite song from that album. That way, we can create a playlist of songs that is also a starting point to jump off into great albums.
One more point–while we impose absolutely no guidelines (much less restrictions) on languages, genres, or decades, we will look for album suggestions that aren’t too popular or cliched. So, please, no The Life of a Showgirl.
Lend us your music taste here: https://theken.typeform.com/to/LZBRjxM2
Here’s everything we have for you in First Principles this week:
1. Homeostasis
2. On rereading 📚
3. The dramatic landscape 📸
1. Homeostasis
Does a startup feel anything? Does it know if it is alive? Flourishing? Or dying?
Of course it doesn’t.
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Chairman and MD, InvAscent
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Executive Chairperson, Biocon Limited
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Co-founder and CEO, Obvious Ventures