Harkive 2017

Here we are again, another Harkive and another excuse to use this blog and pretend that I still update it regularly. If my memory serves me right this is the fourth Harkive I've done (2013 being the first), and whilst I can't promise that anything exciting will happen today or that I'll listen to anything unusual and worth writing about, hopefully there will still be enough tracks to make a decent blogpost and perhaps even a playlist if I feel so inclined.

It's currently just gone midnight, 00:09 to be precise, and I've just gotten back from seeing Dune (dir. David Lynch, 1984) in the cinema. Whilst it isn't commonly regarded as his finest work, this is probably the fifth time I've seen it this year alone, and that must be worthy of some sort of award. Annoyingly, this year's Harkive has come at a point where I'm stuck in a bit of a rut with the music I listen to; I haven't discovered anything new for ages and seem to end up listening to the same ten songs over and over again for hours at a time. Two of these songs are Echo Beach - Martha and The Muffins and I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) - Daryl Hall & John Oates, and they are also the two songs I have listened to so far today. Just a warning - this post may end up looking like the track listing of an 80s hits compilation album by the end of the day.

It's now nearly 12:30 and I'm just about to head into town to run some errands and mope around Selfridges for a while. I intended to go out earlier but spent the two hours after I woke up at 8 listening to Kraftwerk and Jean-Michel Jarre. As I was getting ready I put on Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's self titled debut album - because if it isn't from the 80s and it doesn't have a synthesiser in it - I'm not interested.

On the bus I listened to The Associates - a band I discovered in a Popular Modernism lecture at uni this past spring, and was frankly horrified that I hadn't ever listened to them before. Sulk has become my go-to album for when I don't know what to listen to, and today is one of those days. I didn't listen to anything whilst I was out and was instead treated to whatever background pop the shops and cafés had playing. Sometimes I'll get lucky and somewhere will be playing a song I love, but I wasn't so fortunate today.

It's almost 20:00 and I should probably put the oven on and cook something for dinner. Instead, I'm halfway through the Kraftwerk 3-D Catalogue that I've listened to almost every single day since I saw them at the Royal Albert Hall last month. It really is a brilliant album.

23:43 and Harkive 2017 is almost over. I watched several episodes of Seinfeld whilst I had dinner, and now I'm currently listening to some Suede to work out how to create a dumb Twin Peaks meme video I just thought up. It worked, and you can watch it on my Twitter here.

And that's a wrap on Harkive 2017! I'm editing this post the day after and I can't remember if I listened to anything else after I spent the best part of ten minutes editing the Suede song He's Dead to a clip from S3 E11 of Twin Peaks. As always, I never know how to finish these apart from with some drivel about how I absolutely 100% will start writing on here again and never do, so, see you in a year.

Harkive 2016

It's that time of year again! Harkive has once again snuck up on us and given me a reason to resurrect my blog for the day. It's currently 00:36, and I've spent the past half an hour uploading photos to Flickr and listening to various Kate Bush songs. About ten minutes ago I changed to The B-52's and as I write this I'm currently bopping along to Roam, the third single from their 1989 album Cosmic Thing.

01:00 and I've ended up listening to Billy Idol. I think I need to go to bed.

Stayed up until 05:00 (it's 10:58 now) watching the last season of US Queer as Folk so naturally I've awoken with the frankly awful theme music stuck in my head. I have no idea what it is but let me tell you - it's bad. I did have plans to go back to London today but faced with 32 degree heat I've elected to stay at home and try not to expire from heat exhaustion. Expect lots of Christmas songs about winter and being cold later.

14:40 and I'm trying to decide what to have for lunch that involves minimal prep and cooking because I do not have time for that in this weather. It only feels right to include one of my current fave albums in today's listening, so I've stuck on Courtney Barnett's Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit. It feels apt for my life at the moment since all I do since breaking up from uni for the summer several months back is sit around and think. I did so much sitting around not really doing anything that I forgot to get a ticket for her show at Somerset House last week - I'm still gutted.

For the first time in years my room is the coolest room in the house so I've escaped back upstairs after a bowl of noodles. It's now 16:00, and I'm still listening to Courtney Barnett. I've decided that her music is the perfect soundtrack for a sunny heatwave day. The bad thing about the summer is that I feel so inspired to create things (be they art or music) but I just can't be bothered to do anything. I like to have something to do whilst I listen to music but I can't think of anything to do today except have a nap.

With nothing better to do I ended up watching 13 Going on 30, 12 years after I watched the first 10 minutes of it before the on demand on our NTL box died (those were the days...). The soundtrack is fab and has made me really want to stick on a Talking Heads record and steal the t-shirt one of the characters was wearing. I've just put Veruca Salt on after hearing Lillix's What I Like About You in the film - a total blast from the past and possibly one of the best songs of 2003? Maybe that's going a bit too far but it's certainly a banger.

It's 21:43 and the day is drawing to a close. I couldn't do a day documenting the music I listen to without including at least one Sleater-Kinney album, and have decided to go for One Beat since I've had Combat Rock stuck in my head for the past hour. After The Woods it's probably my most listened to album of theirs. I recently bought the 33 1/3 Dig Me Out book but am yet to read it as I keep re-reading Carrie Brownstein's memoir Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl (which I highly recommend).

As expected, I fell asleep sometime around 23:00 after listening to more Sleater-Kinney and watching a bunch of YouTube videos. This is a bit disappointing as I was hoping to get a few more hours of listening in before midnight but I do actually have things to do today (Wednesday) so maybe it's for the best.

Harkive 2014 etc

Jeez, has it been a year already? It seems like only yesterday I was compiling the list of albums I was listening to as we once again celebrate Harkive - a day in which people document all the funky tunes (or otherwise) that they're listening to. Unfortunately due to being out all day I haven't been able to immerse myself in said tunes like I did last year, so here is a brief list of things I have listened to today:

1. Pixies // Doolittle 
2. The Cure // Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
3. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks // Wig Out at Jagbags
4. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks // Mirror Traffic
5. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks // Real Emotional Trash
6. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks // Dark Wave
7. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks // Pig Lib

Now I know what you're thinking and yes I did just come home and stick SM & The Jicks on and leave it at that (they're so good though can you blame me?).To be honest, I haven't really had much diversity in the music I've been listening to recently - I've been on my "summer playlist" which is probably about 99% Pavement. I've also really been into German and French artists such as Nena, Indochine, Nina Hagen, and Housse de Racket, among other things. I recently discovered an album of "Ostrock" on Spotify and it's been on non-stop ever since. I've been playing Grace Jones and The Mamas & the Papas quite a lot too, and in terms of new music I've really been digging Arcade Fire and Teleman. Once again, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks' new-ish album Wig Out at Jagbags is also really ace too, and although it came out in January this is the first time I've listened to it (I highly recommend you do the same - if you haven't already) They're playing a few UK dates this summer, and I'm hoping to catch them in Brighton in August. 

In terms of non-music things, I spent a week in Japan back in April and should have a post up about that shortly (if I remember). In the meantime, I've stuck a load of pictures up on my flickr if you're interested. I'm also considering making some changes to this blog. I hopefully should be moving to Berlin next year to pursue my art school dreams and maybe I'll try to integrate some of that stuff onto here. I might try to document my "journey" to moving abroad and start to do some exhibition reviews and perhaps showcasing some of my own art on here. I currently have an art tumblr, but I feel on here I could perhaps write a bit more and write about the artists that interest me. I don't know. It's just a thought. I do want to start writing properly again though, and when you study two foreign languages you can almost forget how to write in English....

Maybe I could write things in French or German, but I doubt anyone'd be interested in that. 

Harkive 2013

A few days ago I was alerted to a rather interesting project called Harkive. For those unaware of what this is, it's a project that aims to create a unique snapshot of the listening habits of music fans all over the globe (you can find out more at their website here). Since I had nothing planned for the day - 9th July, I thought why not give it a shot, and made a mental note not to listen to any embarrassing early noughties pop hits...

My day began at about 1AM. I had intended on waiting until the morning, but since I was still wide awake with nothing to do (and no hope of sleeping thanks to this dreadful weather), I decided to stick a record on. Deciding what to play was a no-brainer. Pulp's His 'N' Hers (deluxe edition of course, we all love a b-side or two). This is one of those albums that you can get lost in. All the tracks flow so wonderfully that they seem to merge into one - especially when it's fairly late and you're delirious with the heat. Or maybe I've just played it so many times that I know the track listing off by heart and can tell you the order the songs come in before the needle's even down.... (I must confess, I haven't listened to Pulp much since I saw Suede back in March, something seemed to happen on that night that left me pretty much unable to listen to anything else but them for over three months, but I'm sure there'll be more on that later.) The latter half of the record, that incorporates The Sisters EP  and a selection of wonderful b-sides, demos, and BBC sessions is probably my favourite. His 'n' Hers (from the Sisters EP) and Street Lites (b-side to DYRTFT?) are most likely my two favourite Pulp songs, and will forever bring back memories of the train journey up to Sheffield to see them back in December 2012. Sadly neither were played, but it was probably a good thing for the sake of my health...I probably would've died and that's not an exaggeration. By the time the record finished it was almost 3, so I decided to leave and attempt to get some sleep.
After a hard morning of drinking absurd amounts of coffee and online shopping, I returned to my computer to find I'd been asked my opinion on Supergrass. Of course, this meant listening to Caught By The Fuzz and Diamond Hoo Ha Man multiple times. That being said, the piano on St. Petersburg is still one of the most incredible things I've had the pleasure to listen to and has been on my ever growing list of songs to learn for the best part of four years. But then again, I say that about the majority of songs with fantastic piano parts... Natural progression led me to Supertramp at 2:15PM. I realised after several plays of Take The Long Way Home (ooh feel the harmonica) that this wasn't where I wanted to be and decided to return to the world of daytime TV for my lunch. If the Gladstone Brookes advert music was available on iTunes, I swear to God it would be #1 in my top 25 most played songs.
At around 4PM everyone arrived home and I retreated upstairs to escape the obnoxious children's TV themes that make every weekday afternoon so special. Much to my delight, my neighbours had decided to stick Cotton Eye Joe on very loudly; so loudly in fact that it was like it was being performed live in their garden. I fought back with Suede's Dog Man Star. Again, deluxe edition for the fabulous extended Stay Together, the phenomenal Killing of A Flash Boy and Whipsnade, and the original unedited version of The Wild Ones (to this day I have no idea why they cut out the magnificent guitar at the end). However, about half way through Black or Blue I felt the need to play the guitar and spent the rest of the afternoon stumbling through The Lively Ones' Surf Rider and watching surf rock covers on YouTube. A fair amount of ooh-ing and ahh-ing over jazzmasters happened too - I would happily sell all my possessions just to be able to hold one for an hour or so. Especially if it was in seafoam green...or the new aztek gold....(the list of guitars I want is almost as long as the list of songs I want to be able to play on them.) I eventually returned to Suede - the lure of The Asphalt World and the previously mentioned original unedited version of The Wild Ones was too strong, and the glory of the guitar parts made me go weak at the knees. I've listened to them both over 100 times by now and I still don't know how it's possible for a song to be that great. (I would also sell all my possessions for a guitar lesson from Bernard Butler....could you imagine).
At 9PM I was still stuck in the Suede hole, and it didn't look like there was any hope of escaping any time soon. This time it was Coming Up. If I had to pick a favourite Suede album, this'd probably be it. It's hard to describe a band/person you've become infatuated with without sounding extremely soppy and a bit daft, so I'll cut to the chase and say that Suede are fantastic and the best live band you'll ever see. Ever. I don't think a day has passed where I haven't listened to them since I went to see them at Alexandra Palace back in March, and I've not shut up about them either... Every track on Coming Up is magnificent in it's own special way, even the likes of She and Starcrazy, both of which seem to get a lot of stick from the fans. The best tracks on the album are almost definitely Picnic By The Motorway and The Chemistry Between Us. What I wouldn't give to hear them live....perhaps in Birmingham on October 31st?....*hint hint*
(I could end up writing a whole essay dedicated to my love for Suede and this album, but since this is supposed to be about all the music I've listened to today and I think I've already gained a reputation in certain corners of the internet for being "obsessed" (pffftt), I'll move on.)
I finally found my way out of the Suede hole and collapsed into the arms of Donna Summer at around 10:30. If there's one thing I love more than britpop, it's disco "and other funky things". I can frequently be found weeping over Funkadelic's Maggot Brain and wishing I was able to replicate the awe-inspiring bass lines of Chic songs. I'm also partial to a bit of ABBA, especially the long version of Eagle (ooh the synths). After Donna had finished doing her thing, I switched to Boney M. I'm determined to open a discotheque one day just so I can dance around and sing Sunny without getting funny looks from people (and dress up in shiny clothes and spandex (oops)). Next year I'll be studying the history of Russia, and I can guarantee all my lessons will be spent humming Rasputin and trying to quietly tap my feet under the table. Boney M naturally became Chic and suddenly it was like Studio 54 in my bedroom. Anyone who watched their performance at Glastonbury this year, either live or televised, is aware of how great they are and how much of a legend Nile Rodgers is. The amount of foot-tapping and chair-dancing that happened that night left me sore the next morning, and the amount of jealousy I felt for the lucky bastards who got to go up on stage with them at the end has never been felt before. As the day drew to a close, Chic were still playing and I didn't want to interrupt the funk. So, I decided at 11:30 that that was it and decided call it a day. Everybody Dance seemed like the perfect thing to finish on, especially as I'd always imagined it being used in the closing credits of a film...

So that's it! Doing this was much harder than I had anticipated; I never usually put much thought into what I listen to or why, but today it seemed I was making a conscious effort to listen to certain things and think about why I'd chosen them. One thing's for certain though, I probably listened to more spotify adverts than I did actual songs...