oh! OH! That's right people. I smacked you down with an awesome pun of a title for this post and now you don't know what to do with yourself!
Ok, well maybe you do, but you should have a look at this anyway.
A few months ago I signed up to be a part of the beta for vizualise.me - a nifty resume beautifier. Kind of on par with zerply, I think that what visualize.me provides is something quite nice for those of us that think that black on white just isn't going to cut it in today's brutal job market.
If I know how to do one thing well it's make a bad decision. My stupidity ranges from drinking wine then gin in the heat of a scorching June day (hello hangover)... all the way to thinking that I can be the exception to the rule (We're just not). That's right, today is a bit of an FML day.
In honour of my general stupidity and the consequences of it, here are 5 songs I find are particularly good at making a grey day just a little gloomier.
1) Feist - Let It Die
2) Death Cab for Cutie - The Ice is Getting Thinner.
3) Elliott Smith - Miss Misery
4) Adele - Turning Tables*
5) Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven**
*There might be some form of uplifting message in Adele's album 21, but I'm afraid I'm past the point of trying to find it, it just saddens me.
**The most tragic of circumstances for ever writing a song. Beautiful tribute, but depressing as hell.
Ps. This is all for your listening pleasure on Spotify here. Feel free to add to it.
The other week I posted about Watch Listen Tell: an ingenious idea from director David Tree. My friend Stephan recently had me film him and some friends playing some tunes on the beaches of Jersey.
As promised, here's the result:
Stephan Metcalfe (ft. Henry Matson and Tom Le Coq) - She Just Might
"People and fans should get a hint about the personality of an artist" ~ Dave Tree
When I look for music I like, I often find myself reaching for the video of the acoustic performance, the live performance, the remix.
Many times this has led me to one particular channel on Youtube called watchlistentell, where I can often find well-filmed videos of favourite and newly discovered artists alike.
In an interview for itsnicethat.com, WLT director Dave Tree explains that in simple terms 'it's a unique music channel, featuring new artists playing live music'.
While many of the artists that have played for WLT are well-known, some - as was Florence + the Machine at the time of their WLT film - are unsigned. WLT's increased visibility over the last few years has meant that it is a great platform for unsigned talent.
Here are a few of my favourite videos:
Young the Giant - I Got
Bombay Bicycle Club - Dust on the Ground
Lucy Rose - Night Bus
Over the bank holiday weekend, I took a leaf out of WLT's lengthy book and filmed my friend Stephan Metcalfe in a similar vein. We drove around Jersey (Stephan's home) and stopped at a few beach locations to film him and a couple friends playing their music. I definitely feel like we managed to encapsulate the spirit of WLT and also Stephan's own vision for the videos - showing off how beautiful his home is and having a good time with his friends.
While he is yet to edit a final cut of each of the three videos, but I will definitely keep everyone posted.
*Insert intro from Simon & Garfunkel's 'Mrs. Robinson'*
I had every intention of writing about this the week it actually happened, but as luck would have it, certain family members took their sweet time in sending me the photos from the day.
All in all it was an interesting day for both myself and one of the administrators at the ceremony who collapsed right as I was about to walk onto the stage.
Now, my mother and aunt were sitting approximately 10 feet above all the action and couldn't see this moment unfolding. Needless to say they thought it was me who had collapsed and my mother's instincts kicked in and she ran down the stairs, meanwhile Mrs. Admin had been dragged (literally) over to a chair and the graduation proceedings continued. In her haste and high heels on the stairs, my mother actually missed me actually graduate entirely. Well done Mum!
I can honestly say that it still hasn't sunk in that I have my degree - despite the fact that there's quite a fancy looking piece of paper sitting in my room somewhere. While I realise that there are so many positives about finishing my BA, but at the moment I'm really only thinking that I can no longer go into JRUL with an air of false importance one gets when they are a student.
For everyone that made any sort of impact - positive and even negative - thank you, your words, actions, and non-actions have helped me get this far without too many screw-ups.
The Mercury Prize is an award which many people, including myself have a few reservations about. On the one had some truly amazing albums have been recognized in a way that they perhaps otherwise wouldn't be. Yet on the other, past winners and nominees have emerged from the race and disappeared into relative obscurity. As for last year's winners The xx - we have still yet to see what has come of them since the award ceremony last September. While I usually keep my opinions to myself, this year I've decided to share a little snippet of a few of my favorites from this year's nominees:
There is a good reason I follow the masses when it comes to James Blake's cover of 'Limit to Your Love'. While yes it is a cover of Feist's amazing recording, it is something special in its own right. With a stripped-down piano intro as opposed to tambourines, Blake evokes just as much emotion as Feist's distinct vocal does. In all, Blake has made it his own and this track certainly pushed him into the limelight this year.
19/52
James Blake - Limit to Your Love
Nominee #2 that I am backing in this year's competition is Everything Everything's album Man Alive. Everything Everything have been a band whose music floated about the Fuse Fm offices quite a lot when I was bigging up the music dept. Released in 2009, 'MY KZ, UR BF' climbed our playlists that year and we all wet ourselves in anticipation for the album. Ok, maybe not, but I was pretty excited when it was released.
20/52
Everything Everything - Qwerty Finger
Even if James Blake and Everything Everything are not your thing, there are 10 other albums that comprise the nominees, including the likes of Metronomy, Adele, and PJ Harvey.
What do you think about the Mercury Prize? Who are you supporting in this year's competition?
Well over a year ago I went with a few friends to see Wild Palms at the Ruby Lounge in Manchester. This gig had come out of the fact that a good friend of mine's sister was involved with the guitarist - a good enough reason as any. Also, three members of the band had slept in my now-ex boyfriend and I's bed a few months prior while we'd been away and well, we felt somewhat entitled to see them for free.
While I enjoyed the gig, I don't think at the time, I realised how much a year later I would enjoy their debut album Until Spring. Touted as a 'Band to Watch in 2011' by the Sunday Times, they have enjoyed a good amount of success,although they are very mush so deserving of more.
'Delight in Temptation' is their first major release from Until Spring. Before it was even tipped as a single it was pretty clear that this was a standout track on the album. Catchy guitar riffs mesh well with a good layered beat, making this one of my must have tracks on any Summer '11 playlist.
