Archive for music

Adoration, part two.

{ May 29, 2008 @ 10:43 am } · { beepbeep, music, tv }
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Hello blog, it’s been too long.  My days have been filled with teaching Beepbeep new words, going to playgroup and playing more World of Warcraft than is sensible.  I’ve also signed up for an Open University course, just a twelve week toe-in-the-water introductory thing starting in October.  I’ll need to dig out my non-parenty brain and try to work out how to learn again…

This song is on repeat all day -

On a totally unrelated note, Alex Wotherspoon’s lips are enchanting.

Adoration (the first in an occasional series).

{ March 11, 2008 @ 7:03 pm } · { music, ye olde worlde / times past }
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((A post in which the girl lists a few songs and explains her love for them. In absolutely no particular order – all are completely equal.))
I’m not completely sure when I heard this song for the first time. Somewhere back in my childhood I know, but I can’t pinpoint the moment. Like another of the songs in this list it seems to have followed me through the years, being one of the few songs that whenever I hear it I have to listen to it all the way through – no skipping halfway for me. Talking Heads are one of those very 80’s, artistic, (dare I say it) cool bands that many poseurs profess a love of – I’m not one of them. I’m not a huge fan, I don’t study their back catalogue or hunt out rarities on Ebay, however the songs of theirs that I’ve heard, I love (cf. “Road to Nowhere” – as the youtube comment says, “truer words have never been spoken before, about life”). My Dad always instilled a great love of words, lyrics, the intention behind a song, so maybe that is the thing that attracts me to this song? I’m not going to over-analyse it – the song is damn good, no further explanation needed.

From the sublime to the ridiculous, right?! Shut up. Regardless of your stance on soft rock/college rock/AOR tripe/whatever pigeonhole you label the Goo Goo Dolls in (and believe me, there are many little bird holes that they could fit in), this song is also sublime. It swings along like butter melting in sunshine with the kind of chorus that everyone knows word for word after just a couple of listens. Isn’t that the sign of a good, no, great song? Rather than linking the promo video, I chose the version from their 2004 free concert in Buffalo – a show as infamous for the torrential downpour that almost cancelled the whole thing due to safety issues (electric instruments + water = badness) as it is for just being damn good.

Oh Mr Zimmerman, how I love you. Now I’ll admit, this probably isn’t my out-and-out favourite Dylan song (I don’t think I could pick just one), however this one has a whole heap of amazing memories for me. As a child, all long car journeys were soundtracked by either the greatest hits of The Drifters or “Bringing It All Back Home” by Bob, and my sister and I (my brother was a mere twinkle in my parents’ eyes at this point) would scream “I AIN’T GONNA WORK ON MAGGIE’S FARM NO MOOOOOORE!” in the backseat like deranged little banshees, filling the lyrics we didn’t know with our own versions of the song. It always brings a smile. I chose the Newport Festival performance because it’s a prime example of Bob wtfpwning the world, particularly the old folk community whose Arran knit sweaters had got a little too tight and cut off the blood to their heads… or something.

A perfect little slice of dreampop, this one. Hope Sandoval has the kind of voice I could only ever dream of, and this song is exquisite. Nothing more to say.

My other “stalking” song (see number 1 above)! Honestly, I must hear this at least once a week – over shopping centre piped music, in lifts, hearing someone on my street practicing it on their saxophone, all over the place. With most songs this kind of frequency would make me sick and tired of the song in the same way that hearing “Chasing Pavements” every time I turn the radio on has made me hate Adele with such a passion it almost shocks me. “Baker Street” is different, because “Baker Street” is good.

The Past Recedes.

{ February 21, 2008 @ 3:47 pm } · { bliss, driving, music, tv }
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Thanks to an unexpected windfall, I now no longer need to worry about not being able to afford driving lessons. This is a good thing, because after last night’s shameful effort at a turn in the road (aka a three point turn for all you seasoned drivers out there), I need all the lessons I can get. Seriously, I read up about the difference manouvers, I master the reverse park in one attempt (even remembering my observations and turning the wheel one revolution etc) but the second the turn in the road is mentioned, I freeze. In my head, I know what I need to do, I know all the steps I need to take to get from one side to the other, but there’s some part of my brain that isn’t clicking into gear (haha, see what I did there?) and I end up either overshooting the kerb or almost zooming away onto the pavement. Needless to say, I’ve pushed doing my test back – the original plan had been to do it in April, but to be honest I don’t think there’s much chance of me being ready then. Bah.

I haven’t blogged in a while – I’ve been trying to save up posts so I could write one good one, but now I’m here I’ve pretty much forgotten anything important that I had wanted to write. What is the point? My memory is like a sieve since having Beepbeep; my pockets are filled with notes and reminders, the kitchen table strewn with little leaflets, scribbles and scraps yet still even the simplest of things (such as my neighbour’s name) escapes me. I can usually get away with the traditional “oh, that’s so-and-so’s Mum/Dad”, but still there are occassions when I’m stood infront of someone with a vacant expression, mouth agape and a flock of question marks hovering above my head. Add to that the creak in my knee, the cocktail (well, two) of tablets I take each day and the fact that I cannot stay up past eleven o’clock without dozing off on the sofa and I think I should just give up now. It would be more humane to take me outside and shoot me now, put me out of my misery.

I jest, I jest…

I half-watched the Brit Awards last night after my driving nightmare, and was again utterly unimpressed by the proceedings. Honestly, if Mika duetting with Beth effing Ditto on a two year old track is the best we can muster up to open the supposedly biggest and best music show of the year, we really should give up now. Rihanna and Klaxons… *sigh* Rihanna has a face I’d never tire of punching and Klaxons are really far better in a sweaty club somewhere, so that was a bit blah. I missed Kylie, but after watching half of her “performance” on Youtube I switched off and realised I hadn’t missed much at all. I shouldn’t be surprised that the ceremony has turned into a nasty little industry backslapping event (when was it not such a thing, really?), but I suppose a little more originality wouldn’t go amiss. Ah bugger it, what do I know, I’m just a humble viewer!

In other news, my obsession with John Frusciante’s music gets deeper by the day. I intend on hunting round some record shops at the weekend to try and get some more of his albums, it has been ages (months, if not a year or so) since I bought a CD (as opposed to downloading from itunes).

Short and to the point.

{ January 22, 2008 @ 5:06 pm } · { music, yoga, zomg teh lols }
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Despite being up to my eyes in Metformin side effects (not pleasant), this picture gave me a giggle today -

 

Lolcats never fail to raise a smile here.

I did some more yoga this afternoon, it was good to concentrate on something other than my grumbling stomach. It was a harder class today, the main part working up to a shoulder stand, but there was a lot of hip flexing and back-arching. We still seem to be concentrating on the lower back which is great for me; I seem to get some perverse joy in feeling all my vertibrae “pop”! Beepbeep had an exhausting time at toddler group this morning, it’s so nice to see him coming out of his shell more and more. He has two new teeth (total count – 10) and a couple of noises that sound like new words, so I’m pretty pleased.

I’ve rediscovered an old favourite – a cover, yes, but an obscure and good one.

Death Cab For Cutie – “Wait (The Secret Stars)”

“Emphasising these things you won’t allow.”

{ January 20, 2008 @ 11:47 am } · { diy, music, peace }
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My body is aching in preparation for what is to come.

Outside, leaning against the high wooden fence that surrounds my back garden are four large blocks of timber ready and waiting to have a final coat of protective paint. Later this afternoon when Mr Fox returns from karate, we will spend goodness knows how many hours knocking nails into each “wall” and turning the four pieces (plus additional bits of plywood and felt) into a shed. You can’t get much more “grown up” and suburban than shed building at the weekend; I believe a pipe and slippers are in the mail. To be honest, I don’t care how boring or suburban I may sound – I love my life. I love that we spent yesterday wandering around garden and diy centres with Beepbeep in a huge trolley, choosing lampshades, gardening tools (I have my eye on a huge lopper to sort out the overgrown tree in the garden once and for all) and looking at real wood flooring for the living room and hallway. If you’d asked me five years ago whether I’d be as good as married, a mother and living in a beautiful house in a pretty nice part of the city, I would have laughed in your face. Back then I was working various temp jobs, drinking too much at the weekends, moving from place to place whilst I tried to find somewhere to settle and generally making as much of a mess of myself as possible. I curse myself for wasting so much time (and less importantly, money) on my partypartydrinkdrinkdrink mentality. Any weddings or family parties I went to in that time are lost in the mists and fumes of being too drunk on red wine, stumbling around and being a bit of an idiot. You know what the worst thing is? I wasn’t even having that much fun, certainly no more than if I’d been sober. Idiot.

In November of last year, I stopped drinking. Not for any “oh my, I must stop!” reasoning, but because we started a whole new healthy living plan which involves cutting out dairy products, red meat, alcohol, sugar, excess salt, caffeine and wheat products for a month initially. We’re still following it, and I love it. In all honesty, I’ve never felt better about myself – I’ve dropped twenty pounds, my skin is clear, my hair and eyes shine and I have more energy than I ever felt possible. This isn’t just good news for me, but also for Beepbeep – he now has a mum who plays with him for ages, not just for a few minutes between playing World of Warcraft (urgh) and watching television. We go for walks, visit friends, have started attending playgroup twice a week and he is coming out of his shell, becoming less clingy and more adventurous. The best thing is, I don’t even miss drinking – at New Year I had a couple of glasses of wine with my parents but didn’t enjoy it at all, and the next day I felt miserable (despite only having three small glasses). Sitting in our garage is a wine rack, laden with a bottle of champagne, a bottle of red wine and a huge bottle of Bombay Sapphire; I can’t imagine any of them being touched any time soon.

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In unrelated news, I’m completely in love with John Frusciante’s solo work, particularly one of his collaborations with Josh Klinghoffer, a track called “Omission” (although I also highly recommend downloading “The Past Recedes” too, because it is fantastic).

Here’s a little yousendit.com download for you… John Frusciante – “Omission” from the album “Shadows Collide With People”.

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