Long Time, No Blog

Because clearly I am a master of inconsistency.

Also, did I mention, I now have a REAL job?!
Or at least as real as employment will ever (hopefully) be for me.
Which has in some way contributed to my absence.

I am now working for Communion full time. And Autonomy, and Beatroute too. In a lovely office in Camden. With this view.

Communion's first release was this little lovely:



And we've had some rather nice things said about it in places like here and here.


So obviously I think you should invest in it.

And I'd recommend you then do the same with this one:



And that is about all I have to say for myself/am capable of saying after the weekend's adventures.

See you again in three months.

x

Yes, I am ashamed.

11th November 2009.

The last time I made my presence here known.

I apologise, I'm sure everyone has missed my useless ramblings.

Needless to say, the previous three months have been spent sorting my life out, to some extent at least, only to knock it back into shambles on regular occasions, particularly recently.

Further to previous posts, I still frequent The Cavendish Arms on a regular basis for employment. However, I do not class this as 'work' as such, for I have far too much fun here. You should come visit us, our venue is fabulous. We might even pay you... And obviously, the most important thing, we're all LOVELY. See:



When I'm not playing with the South London crew, Communion are putting me to use. Communion began life as a monthly night three years ago at Notting Hill Arts Club, fittingly, on the first Sunday of every month. This monthly residency still happens, so come play there too. Next week's gonna be a blinder.
As well as the nights, it's all a go-go for their first release on the label side of things. This is going to be a double 12" compilation showcasing the finest in this year's folk, released on March 1st. So you should all also go here and pre-order the album. It sounds wonderful, and it's going to look and feel as lovely. That may be my fondness for vinyl coming out there...

So that is a brief round-up on what is going on in my world at the moment. I hope you have enjoyed it.

I'm now going to run off and find some bits I wrote a rather long time ago that I've forgotten to post... Including the all important Patrick Wolf at The Palladium 'review' ('review' = Fiona's account of getting a little too emotional at a pop concert).

x

God Damn Damaris

I love Patrick Wolf.
I'm sure most people are aware of this fact by now.

I got a lovely little email t'other day spreading word that of the release of 'Damaris', the third single from Th Bachelor.

Continuing the album’s theme of lost love, ‘Damaris’ relays the tale of an 1800’s love that was never to be, which Patrick discovered whilst tracing his family’s ancestry. You get the impression that this is more than simply the telling of a story though, and can’t help but consider the similarities Wolf has drawn between himself and Lewis – the Romeo of the saga – whose perspective he takes in the track, especially given the overall subject matter of The Bachelor.

A dramatic tale of romance, voiced in a way only he is capable of, Patrick Wolf’s ‘Damaris’ is set to be released on December 14th.

The video came to light a matter of hours later. Which I was rather excited about seeing.

But, after watching the video a few times since it was let loose, I’m left feeling a little bit underwhelmed…

Now, as I’m sure you’re aware, I normally can’t fault the Wolf, but The Bachelor’s previous two videos have made much more of an impact than this, which – with Wolf as the Lewis/Romeo character, and Gwendoline Christie (what a fabulous name) as Damaris – to me this is just all a bit too art-school-project-esque...

Maybe a few more viewings’ll do it for me... Maybe not... Who knows...

See for yourselves…

Destroy/Rankin

Using my magic 'skillz', I managed to acquire an invitation to the Destroy/Rankin private launch night thanks to the lovely folks over at Youth Music.

Open from November 10th at the Phillips De Pury Gallery, London, Destroy/Rankin showcases musicians’ ‘destroyed’ versions of iconic Rankin portraits of themselves in celebration of Youth Music’s 10th birthday.

Youth Music is an organisation which focuses their efforts on young people, and provides them with the means to express themselves and realise their talents through music. Check out their website – www.youthmusic.org.uk.

The Destroy/Rankin exhibition is an attempt at showing the similar worlds in which music and art exist, and that they are essentially one of the same. Noteworthy artists featured are Debbie Harry, Little Boots (who is also performing at the event on Thursday 12th), Carl Barat, Florence Welch, Patrick Wolf, Mel C (!) and Jarvis Cocker, whose UV penned schoolboy penis drawings are well deserved of a few giggles.

Monday night wasn’t all just about the pretty pictures though, and as well as spotting Joss Stone, we were treated to some rather nice performances too. First up was Mica Townsend, Youth Music Ambassador who has been helped over the last few years by the charity, and when you hear her voice, you understand why they’ve spent the time doing so. Second up, Josh Weller. I’m quickly becoming something of a fan of this big-haired boy and his sweet sing-alongs, not to mention his mic stands covered in pink balloons. Micachu and The Shapes were next, complete with baby-milk tin and other such hand-crafted percussion... Not really my cup of tea to be honest, maybe I'm missing something, or maybe they aren't actually that good... Finally, Patrick Wolf treated us to a few ‘too much red wine on the flight back from Brazil’ influenced songs, which included a tribute to the Spice Girls in the form of a brief chorus from ‘Viva Forever’, new single ‘Damaris’, and the ever wonderful 'Magic Position'. I had to behave myself and resist singing along to everything, as I seemed to be the only person, stood dead in the centre of stage, that knew who he was... This was easier said than done after a few too many glasses of free champers too...

The event is open to the public from today, with the benefit auction taking place this weekend, as well as some prints being part of a ‘silent auction’ over on eBay. If anyone fancies buying me the Carl Barat one so I can perv over it from the comfort of my own home, feel free...

What A Shambles

The last few posts are just to prove a point really, that I have actually been writing and am (vaguely, at least) aware of what's going on.

And now I'm pretty much up to date.

So back to last night's business.

The early hours of Wednesday on a slightly tipsy bus journey home, the done thing is to check to Twitter, clearly. And once again I thank the powers that be for inventing this magical thing known as ‘social networking’.

On this occasion, I am delightfully informed that Babyshambles have been announced as, weekly club night, Smash & Grab’s* secret headliner for this week. Drunken excitement overwhelms me. And then I forget. Until the next morning when the executive decision is made to go to the gig.

Now, anyone that knows me, will know of my love for The Libertines, but, with the chances of a long-term reunion pretty slim, I have to make do.

So, to Camden I go, after spending the day feeling as excited as I used to ‘back-in-the-day’ when going to gigs would involve a three hour journey, and a two hour wait, freezing my bum off in the queue just to secure pride of place in the front row. Clearly most people weren’t quite as eager, as the place was pretty empty when I arrived.

Whilst waiting for evening’s highlight, we were ‘entertained’ by a DJ, who very much loved that people were watching her and her ridiculous ‘I’m pretending my arms are wings’, ‘interpretative dance’ MALARKY. It’s not cool, you look like a moron, go back to drama school love. And then later by two bands, whose names I can not remember, nor can I seem to find online anywhere...

So I’ll just have to get to the matter at hand then won’t I?

On rocks Pete. Denim jacket clad. Signature hat (adorned with a screwdriver this evening). Neck adorned with a tattoo reading ‘Astile’*. Looking rather chirpy. After a little bit of instrument faffing, they kick of with a new song about “a junkie from Portugal”. And the madness begins. And I know the night’s off to a good start.

The rest of the set was mostly made up of a nice selection of newbies, including a track called ‘The BNP Blues’ – played whilst things were getting even more hectic, and after a failed plea for everyone to calm down and stop pushing – and a sprinkling of older sing-alongs, including ‘Beg, Steal or Borrow’ and ‘Delivery’. Thrown in amongst everything, was also a rendition of ‘Billie Jean’, which managed to morph into The Pet Shop Boys’ ‘West End Girls’...Post the centre-barrier disappearing, and myself ending up bang in the middle of the front-row, Pete and co decide to step things up even more, and belt out ‘Killamangiro’. Somehow, near the end of this, I end up on-stage. Just in time for ‘Time For Heroes’. And so I stand on the front of the stage, singing my little heart out, overly content that this is happening*.

I’m eventually ‘re-directed’ to the side of the stage when ‘Fuck Forever’ kicks off the last of the night’s entertainment, and just as, amidst the mayhem, Pete falls over on-stage… He gets up, the music stops, the crowd go bloody mental.

And I can safely say it was one of the best gigs I’ve been to for a rather a long time. Not from a musical ability perspective or anything, but from, dare I say it, an ‘experience’ perspective. I have seen them before, but never anywhere quite as

sweaty as Proud, or quite so associated*, which made it all the more enjoyable for me.

Have some pictures, courtesy of me and my expert photo-taking skillZ with a 'Z':





Useless Libertines related pop facts:

*Smash & Grab – Weekly club night organised by Queens of Noize. One of whom, Tabitha, was present an DJing last night. She can also be seen in the ‘Up The Bracket’ video.

*’Astile’ – The name of Pete and Lisa Moorish’s son. His name is an amalgamation of the letters from theirs.

*As mentioned, I am a ridiculous, geeky Libertines fan. And I partly blame them for nurturing my fascination and love for London. So ultimately, it is their fault I now live here.

*Proud – When the Gallery doesn’t have a Kings Of Leon photography exhibition on, as it does now, the walls are adorned with many of Roger Sargent’s iconic images of The Libertines.

In This Light

Editors first arrived back in 2005 (when Chris, the guitarist tried to sneak me into their first ever Irish gig because I was underage. What a SWEETHEART) with their Mercury nominated debut ‘The Back Room’, a fact that is making me feel a little bit old. The album was well loved by many, and the band soon built a name for themselves and their intoxicating music and captivating live shows, namely due to front man Tom Smith’s Ian Curtis-esque stage presence where it was obvious that he lost himself in the music. 2007 saw their second release ‘And End Has a Start’. I was a rather big fan of ‘The Back Room’, but was slightly disappointed with their second offering, which came across as something of an extension of the debut.

Now, here we are in late 2009, and the boys are back with ‘In This Light and On This Evening’. And I am once again rather impressed. Third time round and the Birmingham four piece have taken a more mysterious, alt-80s direction on us. And it works magically. Tom’s trademark voice is in place, cementing a sinister view on the world, soundtracked by distorted guitars and the welcome addition of more than a few synths. Opening with the title track, the lyrics ‘I swear to God, in this light and on this evening, London’s become the most beautiful thing I’ve seen’ lyrics are enigmatically relayed and later burst into a mass of noise. A few songs in and recent single ‘Papillon’ rushes in with a heap of synth goodness, and later erupts into recent facebook-status-favourite amongst more than a few friends of mine – ‘it kicks like a sleep twitch’ securing its place as a fan favourite. Personal highlight ‘Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool’ holds a later position on the album, and begins quite reminiscent of The Big Pink’s ‘Dominos’. This does however pass when Tom’s vocal once again makes an appearance proclaiming ‘I don’t wanna be ignored… When I’m a gun in a fist fight’. ‘Like Treasure’ precedes this, and the only thing I can focus on whenever I hear this are the lyrics ‘you’ll become digestives’ and the thought of someone turning into a biscuit… (Obviously, these are not the actual lyrics, it is in fact ‘digestED’… But times are tough these days, you have to find entertainment where you can).

The album overall is fast becoming a favourite, potentially even overtaking ‘The Back Room’ in my books. And all that’s left to say is that I’m rather annoyed at the fact I missed them on their last visit to London…

I could waste loads of time reviewing the new Alphabeat single ‘The Spell’ section by section, verse to chorus, chorus to bridge and right back the final chorus. But I’m not going to do that.

Basically, it’s a bit rubbish and wouldn’t go a miss on ‘Greatest Hits of the 90s’ compilation you’d pick up in a service station for £3.
A bit *too* 90s. A bit *too* cheesy. A bit *too* clean and sparkly. Dare I say it, a bit *too* pop? Now I have nothing against pop, but this just doesn’t hit the spot…



The band got dropped from their record label late last year, only to be picked up by Polydor in March of this year. But let’s face it, they’re not going to be remembered for much more than ‘Fascination’ are they? You remember, that somewhat annoying song that you can not help but sing along to which is currently being used in the Diet Coke ad.

On a complete tangent, if you still hate that song, I must urge you to, anytime you use a word ending in ‘-ation’, try and squeeze it into that song. Some personal favourites:

- You see a drunk boy/girl pathetically trying to come onto someone – “Desperation! Woah oh, woah-oh-oh-oh!”

- You spot a rather sweaty person with ever-so attractive pit marks – “Perspiration! Woah oh, woah-oh-oh-oh!”
- … You get the idea.

Long story short, Alphabeat will only be remembered, if at all, for ‘Fascination’.

War Child Schmwar Child

OK, I know it’s for a good cause and all that, but, personally, I have more than a few issues with the upcoming War Child release.

Under the alias ‘Young Soul Rebels’, a group of recent chart stormers, including N-Dubz, Pixie Lott, Tinchy Stryder and VV Brown, come together to perform a ‘re-written’ version of The Killers ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’, now entitled ‘I Got Soul’. Now, it’s not really been re-written as such, it’s pretty much just the recognisable bridge of the song, with a few verses put in between.

Verses which in the video are oh-so-modernly recited via mobile phone screens...

A video which is painstakingly Band Aid, all it’s missing is a few tears in the eyes of the performing pop stars.

Saying all of that, and judging by plenty of comments I’ve read, I’m clearly not ‘down with the hip kids’ and just don’t seem to get it, plus, it is for charidee, so go buy it on October 19th, and I hope it does well, blah blah blah.

As if the above wasn't tempting you enough, have a look at the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWJdV5SqT68

Listen to The Big Pink

It’s taken me some time to actually get around to listening to The Big Pink’s debut ‘A Brief History of Love’, the hype killed them for me before they’d even properly begun. And then I heard ‘Dominos’ on the radio. And wanted to listen to the album even less.

However, this is one of those occasions where I must admit that I was wrong with my ill informed judgement.

Faffing about with Spotify, I decided it was worth a listen. And I am now very glad I came to this decision.

Raucous, electric rock with a healthy dose of moody, shoegaze indie thrown in ‘A Brief History of Love’ makes me want to don a leather jacket and go see them live, only to exit, ears ringing and reeking of whiskey and coke.

‘Frisk’ is a sinister late-album point, channelling a few 90s grunge spirits, as well as being slightly reminiscent of a fewer of BRMC’s distorted, noisier tracks.

Even ‘Dominos’ has grown on me after a few more listens in the context of the album as a whole.

The album ends with a track called ‘Countbackwards from Ten’, which initially sounds as though it’s going to burst into a cover of Pixies’ ‘Where Is My Mind?’ only to take on a form of its own and set the perfect close to a well-deserved-of-the-hype debut.

Moral of the story? Listen to The Big Pink.

Just a wee bit late...

This has been a while coming, but a few weeks ago word got round that Adam Green was playing a cheeky little show in The Flowerpot. I got excited, and then realised I potentially had other plans, dependent on an email I was yet to receive... However, I did receive the email, so Adam Green went out the window...

So off I wander to Camden. Koko specifically. To see...
...


“WHO?! Tell us who is so much better than Adam Green that you sacrificed his only UK solo show for!” I hear you ask.

...

...

Well I will disclose this information. I went to indulge my 15 year old emo-self and see Funeral For A Friend.


And my goodness it was worth it.

The band are currently on tour promoting their new album ‘Your History Is Mine’ – a collection of their singles from 2002 – 2009.

I was expecting the gig to be full of little people and feel very old, until it was rightfully pointed out to me that everyone was about the same age as me, and we were all little people when the songs were originally released.

So, feeling old no longer, I spent the rest of the evening belting out the likes of Rookie of the Year, Into Oblivion, She Drove Me To Daytime Television and Juneau. And what a lovely time I had. As did everyone else I watched - from the comfort of and comparatively calm top floor of the venue - getting messy in various circle pits below me. Some friends of mine turned their noses up at my decision to attend the gig, as opposed to Adam Green, however, I care not for their opinions.

Then it was time to move onwards. Aftershow here I come.

And there I stayed until the early hours, dancing to ridiculous rock classics and talking to Charlie from Busted Fightstar. And giving him advice on man bags. Oh yes, I kid you not.

I think the correct decision was made.

Have a photo, cheekily pinched from Gigwise)

Forgive me...

... For the lack of attention I have been paying this home.
I have been attempting to sort my life out and find a job to pay the bills. I have achieved this, however, three days in and I hate it already. Yes, hate may be a strong word, but honestly, some people need to find some other things to do with their life and stop taking these sort of jobs so bloody seriously. Needless to say, I am continuing my search.

On to more serious matters. I am continuing my "how could I forget how god this song is?" theme thanks to a brief OC binge yesterday I have been reminded of this lovely music which, to me at least, is very reminiscent of Ireland, what with the band being Irish, and me being a resident there when these were released, and has resulted in me longing to visit once again... One thing which does scare me however is that the album from which these are lifted is from 2003. I was 15... Dear Lord...

Age aside, this is Bell X1. Many a time have myself and my companions taken the piss out of them and their 'delightful' fans, however, there is no denying that this is a rather good song, my first experience of which was thanks to a free CD from a newspaper I believe:



This *may* have the ability to make me cry:



(See those scary Apple people? They used to come out on stage with them...)

This one just came on too, and has to be mentioned:



The entire album 'Music in Mouth' is beautiful in my opinion... Do yourselves a favour and get Spotify going. And if it doesn't tickle your fancy at this moment in time, save it for when you're feeling sorry for yourself.

x

World's Smallest Festival

It’s a Sunday afternoon in late September... I’m on a bus, travelling to depths of South East London to attempt to find a house, with a garden, where the ‘World’s Smallest Festival’ is to be held, the brainchild of two guys, who describe themselves as “2 nim wits trying to blag a million pounds by any means possible”.

So, over an hour on what seems to be a never-ending bus journey, I finally arrive, jump off the bus, head up a street, when I come across a front garden occupied by two portaloos, one could only assume that this is the right place.
And one was indeed correct in her thinking.
Past the front door (gaffa-taped to prevent unwanted intruders, of course), through the side entrance to the garden, I find myself in a rather overgrown garden, where you’d be forgiven for thinking that The Secret Garden was set. Past one gazebo, complete with decks and a set of old cinema chairs, following a rather overgrown garden path I come across a very necessary food stall, through some more trees and stray branches I discover the main stage, tucked away in the very bottom corner, opposite an even more essential beer tent. Time for a Strongbow.

Tickets to the festival could only be won, by entering a draw, by text, at the measly cost of £1.50. From those, 50 people were randomly pulled from the hat to attend with a plus one of their choice.

The Pipettes were due to headline the festival, but due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’ (translation – ‘we can’t be bothered’) they pulled out a few days before the event. How and ever, the day was fabulous, and the polka dot princesses should be gutted they missed the festivities. The day began with a lovely lady and her ukulele, singing some sweet folk, and then moving onto playing with some delay pedals and softly telling the tale of The Owl and The Pussycat.

The day continued as I flitted from stage-to-stage (the ‘comedy tent’ being gazebo number 1, as passed when entering), where a few friends of Donal (Mr Blag-a-Million) had been roped in to perform their various sketches/songs. The next highlight was without a doubt the Dulwich Ukulele Club (there were no shortages of ukuleles throughout the day as I’m sure you’ve guessed), who almost crashed the stage, literally, what with the fact that there were about seven of them on stage, manically dancing. They were also affectionately renamed the ‘Dulwich Ukulele Menagerie’ by the increasingly drunk, and increasingly funny, compere of the afternoon.

Later on, the beautiful Langley Sisters treated the crowd to a performance of their perfectly harmonised blend of folk and showtunes which wouldn’t have gone a miss in a 40s jazz club, there was a magician who swallowed some goldfish, and then the crowd descended upon the comedy stage/tent/gazebo where the legendary Mr Arthur Smith (of Grumpy Old Men fame in case you were wondering) treated us to some stand-up and a few readings from his autobiography ‘My Name is Daphne Fairfax’. Another trek was then in order as the masses moved towards the main stage and everyone enjoyed a dance to Jarmean, a brass based group of lovelies telling tales of London, which led the night into its finale, where Mr Howard Marks (if by some ridiculous chance you don’t know who this is, get Wikipediaing NOW to save yourself anymore embarrassment) took to the stage, telling stories of his drug-fuelled exploits over the years, which is clearly, the way every festival needs to end.

After a final word from Mr Blag-a-Million himself, this time draped in the coat made of a thousand teddy bears to keep out the cold, it was time to go home. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon eh?

If you’d care to check out the Blag-a-Million project, and maybe donate some of your not-so-hard-earned student loan check this website.

Here are some pictures:






Dulwich Ukulele Club Menagerie



Jarmean

x

Baby Get Shaky

No doubt if you’ve hit the town recently, you’ll have heard ‘Baby Get Shaky’ by The Ian Carey Project. Ian Carey is a DJ hailing from Maryland, USA, and has hit the spot with his latest offering of the perfect combination of catchy, chart-topping, dance-floor-hitting, pop loveliness. Check out the video below, and I guarantee you you’ll be singing it for the rest of the day, potentially even the next week.



One thing I do have to mention, and this has been playing on my, and a few others’ minds for the last while, every time the “woah oh there you go-oh” bit hits, I just can’t help but break into the chorus of the ever-so 80s classic ‘Maneater’ by Hall & Oates…

If you didn’t notice, listen to the track/watch the video below, and I dare you to even attempt to listen to ‘Baby Get Shaky’ again without thinking of it…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_-TuqfD4AM

(No need to thank me!)
(If I was a little more clever I'd have made some hilarious mash-up version of both videos, alas, I am not)

x

RIP Sugababes

So, last Friday, rumour was Amelle was leaving Sugababes, which in all honesty didn’t phase me, she was my least favourite what with her weird ‘I stand like the letter ‘S’’ (surely I’m not the only one who’s noticed this?) and after her input in ‘Get Sexy’ (I’m not even going to go into my thoughts on that song, here is neither the time, nor the place, and I just don’t have enough room to ‘express my opinions’. Ahem).

And let’s face it, Sugababes members leaving is hardly a new thing is it?

Next thing, Jade Ewan, the girl that’s managed to drag the UK out of the ever-embarrassing ‘UK – nil points’ at Eurovision is replacing Amelle. Fine. Perfect. She’ll make a better Sugababe anyway.

Then, off the PR offices go for the weekend.

Monday evening. I go to a meeting in the evening, it went on longer than I anticipated. I log on to feed my Twitter addiction once I get out, only to find the KEISHA’s left, Jade Ewan’s replacing her and along with Heidi and Amelle, she’ll be performing under the Sugababes name.

WHAT???!!!

This is not what I was expecting, and I am STILL, more than a little upset at the news.

Since 1998 they’ve graced our TV screens, our radio stations, and just generally always been there somewhere, albeit in a few different line ups, but still with at least one original member.
Now that’s no longer.
Now we’ll have no more Overload. No More Freak Like Me. No more Round Round. No more About You Now. No more Push the Button.

We’re going to have more Get Sexy. Woopie-bloody-doo.

Pop will never recover.

In tribute, take a look at some Sugababes classics, just in case you’d forgotten just how good they were:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thdiKotbp3Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGSajAGg9h4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2fyLK5JsEk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tl8Mz_Ap0U


Rest in peace. You will be sorely missed.

*Excuse me!* Filthy girl based rap amazingness coming through

As happened before, I have a list of things I have all good intentions of writing about here, however, this has all been scrapped for this evening.

Thanks to a tip off from The (soon-to-be-defunkd) London Paper, I am currently listening to, and being wowed by this lovely lady.



This album is, quite simply, awesome.

'Make Up' is a current forerunner for favourite status, as well as the 80s based 'Big Heavy' and DIRTY 'Might Like You Better'.

The Santigold friendship is completely understandable.
The Peaches comparisons are also understandable.
It's also wonderful to see a bit of Lykke Li on there, calming things down slightly at the end.

A god damn filthy, electro laced, sleaze-tastic, NOISY album.
What's NOT to like?

Girl power indeed.

x

Hello Life

I am now an official London resident.

Woop woop! etc etc.

I am now also an employee of the lovely Cavendish Arms.

I spend Saturday nights perched on a bar stool, manning the door and generally being a bit of a social whore and yapping to bands.

Here are some pictures:





It's very nice, and very cosy, and everyone is lovely, and there is a lovely selection of board games for your enjoyment.
Do come pay me a visit one Saturday.

I am also 'lending my services' (or something) to the lovely folk at TuneTribe, who will soon be launching an artist consultancy group, which I'm sure I'll be plugging at some point in the near future also.

Stay tuned kids.

x

Tick-tick-ticked off the list

Contrary to popular belief, or at least what this blog'll have you believe, I am alive and relatively well. Well, my @fifitxbl Twitter account has been REACTIVATED! Woop!

I have been neglecting updating duties as of late as I have returned to University-home (which technically isn't my home any more) and am as such bumming at Lady KT's shiny new house in Bucks. Whilst here I attempting MISSION: SORT LIFE OUT. Ie - Find a London based abode/as many music related ventures to involve myself in. And progress is beginning. Albeit slowly. Fingers crossed by next week I will be an official resident of London...

Some bits on my list-of-bits-of-things-to-mention from a good couple of months ago:

First off, a couple of selections pinched from my ever musically reliable house-mate and one-time uni DJ partner in crime.


It may not have an official video, however, it's still fun.




And, we have discovered, can be made even more fun when you replace the words with your shopping list. Hours of entertainment in Asda, TRUST me.

Now for some more raucousness:



Clearly, I am a wee bit late with this one, which I partially blame on my 'situation' of late, but N.A.S.A. deserve as much attention as possible.

I *SHALL* return...!

x

The traumas of my life...

I am still located in Cornwall, my time has been spent rather bored, and trying to avoid the masses of tourists who are all descending upon the small towns in and around my house... And evidently not updating this blog...

But, last week, my world was turned upside down...

I'm sure most people are aware of the Twitter downtime last week, yes we were all victims, don't try and pretend you didn't notice. However, during this time, my Twitter account was hacked. Yes, HACKED!
I've never been the victim of hacking before, and it isn't particularly something I want to experience again...
So my account got suspended, and I lost all my followers, and people I was following... Needless to say this has distressed me somewhat over the last few days.
However, I have now given up waiting for a response from the customer service peeps, and started afresh, so I am now @FiSwanson.

I have a massive list of things to comment on in here, but you'll have to hold tight...

x

Because it's been a few days since I've mentioned them...

In slight Dead Weather related news, the-man-who-never-stops-working Mr Jack White, alongside his more regular partner in crime Meg are releasing a documentary.
'Under Great White Northern Lights' is due to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September...

After which who knows what he'll pull out of the bag next...

x

U.S.E.

Back in the day, I was a hUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUge Muse fan, I even turned my hand to becoming a regular contributor their forum for a while.
First time I popped my Muse live cherry was in The Olympia Theatre Dublin, a beautiful venue, both inside and out in 2004...

It was a wondrous experience for a girl of 16, which most certainly determined their status as 'a band to see before you die', at least in my books anyway.
I have since seen them on a number of occasions, most recently last year whilst once again in Dublin, this time it was an all round bigger affair, involving enormous satellites stage side and plenty more lasers.

But that was then, and this - 'United States of Eurasia' - is now


Now Mr Bellamy and Co have never been shy when it comes to eccentricity, and this doesn't let down on that front...
However, personally, it could take a bit of growing... And some consistent reminders that it's Muse, not Queen in more than a few places...

(She says as she longs for Origin of Symmetry days...)

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