Mr Simple (I can call him that now, right?) and I have been a little bit obsessed with a show on BBC called New Blood over the last month. Funny, heart-stoppingly thrilling and quick paced.
Oh, and it had an AWESOME theme tune and introduced me to Rag 'N' Bone Man.
If you can, turn the bass up till your table is thumping and sing loud enough to startle your neighbours.
I do.
It helps me feel better when I miss the (occasionally begrudging) bromance between the two main characters Rash and Stefan *sniff*
Bastille are a band that have stuck on my radar because they remind me of the main monument in my Parisian 'home town' Place de la Bastille. They burst onto the scene what, a year ago? With Pompeii and now I think (hope!) that they'll never leave.
Thanks to a work colleague, who acts like this is my theme song and plays this every time I walk into the room, I have this incredible acoustic version of Flaws stuck in my head.
It's so much smoother and haunting that the electro-pop original, the cleanness of the delivery helping the imagery to really get stuck in your head and oh, it also helped me to get a job.
I wouldn't call myself a dancer, but I love moving. Those who know me personally are accustomed to seeing me sway, bop or jiggle to music in my head on the street. So when I hear a tune that makes me want to move and shake even more unabashedly than usual, I just have to share it.
Temi Dollface's 'Pata Pata' (means 'total' or 'absolute') has a beautifully bright video, with 1950s fashion intersecting with more traditional African styles. And the music? Eurgh, I love it! - a deliciously thick and modern bass, that somehow still manages to remind me of the Afrobeat records my dad played when I was a little girl. Her voice and lyrics are an awesome mix of spunky wit, effortless sophistication and honey.
Basically, this song is a whole heap of fun and I'm obsessed.
Oh, and go here for her silk-smooth re-doing of Teenage Dirtbag.
Thanks to Chai for sharing first!
Did a Wash and Go on Sunday** Put it in two puffs on Monday I was in a bun by Tuesday And on Wednesday and Thursday and Friday Co-washed on Saturday.
* Even as I kid, I thought the lyrics and concept to the original song were highly suspect and just ick in general. Hairstyle optional. ** I can't really advise wearing a Wash and Go on the train if you are prone to falling asleep everywhere. You wake up with misshapen hair and a clear indication of which side you prefer sleeping on.
Sometimes, when you're aware of something, you can forget that other people don't know.
I like music. I also happen to be quite fond of free stuff. So I quite like free music. I get some here by clicking on the link on the left that says 'Free Songs'.
First things first, the music you find here isn't usually well known mainstream music, such as Katy Perry, Rihanna etc etc. There is a reason they are so rich and it's because they don't give their money away for free.
However, I've found tracks by Estelle, Labrinth, Pelican and Maverick Sabre there which I do enjoy. And then randomly, I got some credit to buy actual non free music by buying something through nectar to collect my points.
Plus, if you're up for trying something new, you can click to preview the songs (or try and find them on youtube for the full length version....good luck with that).
Some tracks seem to have been there since the idea of Amazon was conceived, whilst others stay there only for a while, so it's always worth checking back every now and then. I totally dropped the ball when it came to Maverick Sabre's 'No-One' and had to deal with hearing it on the radio for the next two months and yet not have it on my mp3 player. I was full of ire.
Basically, if you like something there, I would get it now. Doesn't cost you anything...
I'll admit, I dropped off the Glee bandwagon a little bit.
My recaps stopped in the face of the four to five hours it took to do one and with the burgeoning load of my dissertation and various essays forced me out of it. Plus, there was that Rocky Horror Show episode (sooo inappropriate for so many different reasons) and then the Coach Beiste episode (like, what the heck? Coach Beiste is so awesome and getting a pity kiss off Will Schuester seems more of a punishment than a resolution) and I dropped out of the loop.
I'm debating whether to get back into it this winter or not. I mean, it's difficult to completely cut something you adore out of your life.
In the meanwhile, I found this and think it's genius. If you're a bit of a Gleek like me, then you'll recognise the brilliant quips that are so integral to the show, like Sue's quip about Will (Mr Goo?)'s hair.
And if you're not a Gleek, then you can take a gander at the dance moves of the 'I love my hair' muppet showing some moves whilst considering her career.
I try not to post too many music videos up, because I dislike it immensely when other people do it - it feels like they wasted a post and also my time. My guilt in my hypocrisy is exemplified by the fact that this is my only post this week until I sort my life out this weekend.
But I seriously cannot get this guy out of my head. If I must blame anyone, I blame the Wonder Thing - his genuine excitement over this artist was more than infectious and now I'm blatantly obsessed. I'm beginning to suspect whether this is a conspiracy of some sort. I catch myself singing his songs at the most inopportune moments [for example, telling the driver "I can't, no I won't hush; I'll say the words that make you blush - I'm going to sing this nooow" whilst lugging a bookcase onto the semi empty bus can probably be described as one such inopportune moment. Or, if you wish to be more concise, just plain awkward].
His skill as a beat boxer and musician, using his guitar, his voice and a loop pedal is undeniable; his voice is simply beautiful; his lyrics occasionally disturbingly profound, while the music still continues to be..well, not depressing. His English tour dates are all sold out until January
I wish his music would stop having its holiday in my head for just a second so I can focus on other things, but it's difficult.
The radio stations have been playing A-team for what feels like months, and I still join in despite the fact I don't like the music video [and that was a big enough reason to put me off Artic Monkeys' "Scummy Man"]. I love the intensity of the lyrics, rhythm and chromatic video of You Need Me (a couple of words means it's not really suitable for little ears) which is so much stronger compared to the rest of his lighter, sweeter stuff. Listening to the lyrics of Small Bump makes me feel tingly and melancholy all over, like I want to lie down and weep in a field of flowers. There's a strange sort of satisfied passion that seems to emanate when this guy plays his - what is it? Half-size? - guitar.
Because I finally got to see Willow Smith's new video for her 'Whip My Hair' single (link updated 27/10/2010, as Youtube has now blocked it in the U.K. Boo hiss!). And it's stunning. I adore her confidence in the video, and the bright colourful aspect of it.
Using her hair as a paintbrush? Inspired.
I bet even Mr Incredible is whipping his head to this, with his rubber necking self.
But then again, I also like the Sesame Street 'I Love My Hair' video. It's cutesy and lovely and makes me feel all gooey inside. It's telling you to love yourself just as you are. Beautiful.
Everybody I know is really happy that the members of the band 'McFly' have gotten all buffed up and ripped and now they can perv appreciate them in a purely aesthetic manner T_T
But now they've gotten all rocky and R 'n' B and 'hot' (*gag*) and stuff, their videos have changed! Have you seen Party Girl? I'm a notorious prude and I definitely can't watch that with my parents in the room! Duuudes! Come ON. Pity me a little!
I'm not saying that their new song doesn't make me tap my feet when I'm washing up the dishes.
I just saying whenever the song comes onto the TV, I change the channels, because so-called sexiness combined with vampires makes me highly uncomfortable.
So, this is in memory to the silly McFly of my teenage years.
Sometimes their eyebrows didn't match their hair.
They had an overt fondness for fake moustaches and never seemed to get the girl.
Your little sister thought they were pretty cute, which should've made them as desirable as Justin Bieber to a 28 year old lesbian.
I wasn't really supposed to like them, but I did anyway.
I do. It was a year ago, I was at a college do – I was supposed to be dressed up as a Moulin Rouge courtesan, but I suck at dressing up on a budget.
I looked like Mary Poppins.
Boredom was starting to set in quickly (with a dash of ennui) as I lazily watched my friends sip on their drinks.
The lead singer of the tribute band grabbed the microphone and yelled into it “Any Michael Jackson fans here?!”
I perked up. Maybe they would do a cover. Hopefully, it would be a good one.
“Well, he’s dead!”
I shook my head in disgust and disbelief. Why would he say something so drastic?
So terrible?
So untrue?
But eventually, as I packed to go home the next day, as I wandered around campus and visited my daily sites, it was reinforced that yes, this fact that had been so harshly delivered, was true.
Michael Jackson was dead.
But how could this be? My aunt had just bought tickets to see his show in London that everyone had been talking about – I’d seen him on the TV over and over, telling the world that ‘This is it!’
The irony weighed heavy on my heart.
To me, it had seemed inconceivable. He had been a shooting star, a legend… immortal.
Like many, I had adored and been brought up on his music.
I remember my teacher using ‘The Earth Song’ as an example for us to remember how ‘th’ sounded when I was 5.
I remember being scared stiff at my first viewing of ‘Thriller’, shrieking and hiding behind my hand when I was 9.
I remember nodding my head along to ‘You Are Not Alone’ when I felt miserable, pretending that he was speaking directly to me, my first emotional connection to any piece of music.
I remember watching the hysteria at one of his concerts, as fans screamed and cried and fainted and thinking to myself “What kind of man makes people feel that way?”
And then later on came the plastic surgery rumours, the child over the balcony, the documentary, , the accusations, and the court case.
The smear that came from having gone through such events didn’t seem like it’d ever come off.
But now the world was being forced to remember his genius when it was no longer available – to look back and realise all that he’d done, all that he’d achieved.
For those that knew, they remembered.
For those that hadn’t, they realised.
He had been a trailblazer, overcoming the horrifying abuse of his father to become an artist in his own right, extending the civil rights influence to the music industry, and raising environmental issues long before they were in vogue.
I think we all know by now that there will never be another one like Micheal Jackson.
And for those that somehow managed to escape this knowledge, I hope you realise how much he literally Rocked Our Worlds.
Forgive me my reminiscing. I know that mine is only one of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Michael Jackson related posts on the blogosphere.
For a more touching and eloquent tribute, read Afrobella’s tribute here.
For a more hysterically hilarious view on what Micheal Jackson is the G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time) I’d advise you to look at Awesomely Luvvie’s page here.
