Tuesday, July 9

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...

Tuesday, April 24

Music, again.

Remember when I actually used to post quality things? Me neither...


OK, so I promised you an update-y post, and this is sort of it - but not really. This is just another whiny music post that I used to make thousands of 'back in the day'.
As you may've grasped (if you follow my Tumblr/Twitter), my music taste changes very rapidly, and eclectically. I get bored incredibly easily, and I need to switch things up from time to time. This can get quite annoying, as I'll spend £££ on CDs/iTunes buying stuff by a certain band/genre - only to discover a few months down the line I barely listen to them.

As 2011 rolled into 2012, I was in the middle of a prog daze. I was obsessed with Pink Floyd, Yes, ELP, Genesis, King Crimson, etc, and everything else was irrelevant. But then I started to get fed up with it. I simply didn't have the time for half-hour long organ solos anymore.
 So I went back to my beloved Pulp (who are my all time favourite band if you didn't already know. And I'm 110% sure when I say 'all time favourite'.) I hadn't listened to them since September/October, and it felt good to be back with Jarvis and co. It was familiar, sexy, light-hearted, and more importantly - didn't take all day to listen to. And I lapped it up, every minute of it.

But then something changed (unintentional Pulp reference, I'm sorry). I clicked on a Jesus and Mary Chain video. I'd attempted to listen to them before, but for some reason unbeknownst to me, I didn't like it or something. I can't remember why. But this time, something clicked. I LOVED it. Where had this band been all my life? Why had no-one told me about them before? I liked what I heard, so I explored deeper into their discography.

The rest is just a blur.

All I know is that I'm now in love with The Jesus and Mary Chain (and Jim Reid. I MEAN WHAT.)

I've lost track of what I was talking about now...


Yes, that's right, I remember.
If you'd asked me in November/December that in a few months I'd be listening to JAMC, and the other bands I'll mention later, I'd probably have laughed in your face and told you to get on your bike. Or not, I don't know.
That's what I like about my music taste, how varied it can be. I go through phases, I never like one thing for an extended period of time.
When I was listening to all this prog stuff, I did actually feel out of place amongst other fans. I wear mostly black, have short-ish fairly "wild" hair, and I never lusted after men with long hair (as a good 70% of the female prog fangirls on tumblr do...). I value these bands more musically than anything else, and listening to them has had a great impact on the music that I make, and how I view certain things.
It did make me feel like shit a lot though, as I gave up piano lessons after two yeas and no grades, and I'm not a fantastic musician at the best of times, and 'idolising' these musicians was making me want to cut my hands off.
But how I see it (however corny it may be), is that that was one chapter in my life, and now I'm onto another (I'm sorry this is so cheesy I'll be getting the pickle out in a minute), and an accumulation of all of these "chapters" (shoot me, please) will shape the person I'll become in the future. (fuck.)

Deep stuff, man.

But, yeah, that aside, here is a list of the bands that I'm listening to at the moment:

-The Jesus and Mary Chain
-Sonic Youth
-Echo & The Bunnymen
-Aztec Camera
-The Pastels
-The Cramps

And probably more that I can't remember.

This post got a little too deep at the end for my liking, so I'll leave it here and run out the door not to embarrass myself further. I never was any good at conclusions.


Tumblr : televisionsick.tumblr.com  

Sunday, November 20

Oh dear...

Apologies, The Virgin Suicides, Pink Floyd and Brains

I said I was going to come back to posting regularly. Nothing much came of that now, did it? I think the last time I posted was mid-August. Oh well. Live and let live.
I do miss writing this, not that anyone bothers to read my musings on various aspects of 21st century pop culture anyway, but nonetheless, it's nice to have a place to "vent spleen" as they say.
I want to come back to writing, but what with education and my ever declining health it's almost impossible to find an hour in the day to have a cup of tea, let alone sit at my computer and keep a blog.
I have been tumblin'  and awful lot though, so I suppose that's rather a bad excuse (!)

I like Tumblr. I've had it for almost a year now, and I really do enjoy it. It's nice to find people that like the same things that I do, and although I'm far too shy to talk to anyone, the people there do seem genuinely nice!
However, it has made me into an obsessive fangirl, the kind I used to dislike but secretly always was. My current obsessions at the moment are Pink Floyd and "The Virgin Suicides".

I finally managed to watch "The Virgin Suicides".
I don't really know what to say about it. I'm probably the last person on the planet to watch it, and it has made quite an impact on me.
I'm not going to go out and kill myself anytime soon, though, so don't worry.
I really can't explain it.
I don't know whether it's the song "Highschool Lover" by Air that is used as the main theme, or if it's just the general atmosphere of the whole film.
But the song, yes. I've made it my mission to learn it on the piano. It's so beautiful, and so mesmorising, yet almost nostalgic. The way it just melts together makes it so familiar and comforting, like a grandmother or something, yet it's also very melancholic and sinister. It makes you question things, yet gives you a "float-y" feeling, a false sense of security.

On to more music, with my current band obsession being Pink Floyd.
Pink Floyd were always the band my dad liked. They made albums about walls. So what? I never paid much interest to them, never really my taste.
Then, something clicked.
I picked up my dad's cassette of "The Dark Side of The Moon", listened to it the whole way through, and enjoyed it!
I listened to "Wish You Were Here". Then "The Wall".
And then I listened to "The Piper at The Gates of Dawn".
Wow.
I can't really remember what happened after that, apart from an obsession that began "spiraling out of control" (as some may say...). I became fascinated by them.
The beginning of my obsession coincided with the re-issues of all the studio albums and the whole "Why Pink Floyd?" campaign.
BBC Four had a night of documentaries on them, including "Live at Pompeii".
I stayed up and watched every last bit.
6 Music had a night of programmes about them. 7:30PM to 4:00AM.
I stayed awake for all eight and a half hours, intently listening to every last word.
I watched "The Wall", both versions of "Live at Pompeii", and Barbet Schroeder's 1969 film "More", to which Pink Floyd provided the soundtrack.
Their music is just incredible. (I'll probably make a separate post on this soon, otherwise this one will go on for ever. It's already 2:30AM here.)
I really can't go into deep and elaborate reasons why I love them so much via. typing. I'd have to talk to you in person and show you pictures and play you records.

I am the kind of person who becomes obsessed over things easily. I don't understand how I am and others are not, but I guess that's just the way my brain functions.
I've been reading a lot about brains recently. They fascinate me. How these lumps of grey matter control everything we do. Our emotions, our actions, what we decide to put in our sandwiches that day. Everything!
Mental health is of great interest to me too, and how what we decide to put into our bodies can alter our brains forever.
I definitely want to research more into brains. Expect brain related matter (no pun intended) appearing soon.

So, I guess that's about it. I don't really think I have anything else to say tonight/this morning. I think I'll just sit here and listen to "Highschool Lover" on repeat until I can't stand it anymore and then by that time it might be an acceptable time to go for a walk.

I never was any good at conclusions.

Thursday, May 5

Day 11 – A song from your favourite band (+bonus story thing!)

Just in case you hadn't already noticed, Kraftwerk are my favourite band. I first knew who they were back in 2000, when I first heard "Expo 2000". Even today, that song sends shivers down my spine. It's not my favourite, but it's a brilliant, brilliant song.
My love for Kraftwerk only really fully developed about a few months ago when I found out I'd be going to Germany. I decided to listen to some German music, and I put on "The Model" because it was the only Kraftwerk song I knew well. After listening to it several times, I decided to look at the recommended videos in the sidebar and settled on listening to "Die Mensch Maschine". I instantly knew I'd found a band that I'd love for life. I spent the entire night on YouTube, listening to songs and watching videos. Then, the next day, I downloaded (almost) their entire discography. I was suddenly overwhelmed with this beautiful electronic music. It was like nothing I'd heard before. To be honest, I actually cried when I listened to a few of their songs, just because of the sheer beauty and magnificence they held. These beautifully orchestrated synthesisers made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. I couldn't believe that I only knew one song by them. How had these four brilliant men from Düsseldorf passed me by? Why hadn't I bought all their albums years ago? Why wasn't I born several decades earlier, and in Germany?
I started to save up to buy their records. I was planning to start with "Autobahn", and move along in chronological order until I owned every single album - in English and in German. But alas, I still don't own any records. I'm hoping I might get one for my birthday, along with "The Best of Kraftwerk Songbook" and Wolfgang Flur's book, ""Kraftwerk": I Was A Robot" - two books I simply have to own (!)
I'm starting to agree with people now, and admit that I'm slightly obsessed...
If I were to explain everything I love about Kraftwerk, then we'd be here all night, so I'm just going to put up all of the songs that have videos to go with them.
But before I do that, I think I'll have to thank those four brilliant men from Düsseldorf, because they have just been a massive influence on me, and if I'd never gotten in to Kraftwerk, then I wouldn't have discovered other brilliant German bands like NEU!, CAN, Popol Vuh, Tangerine Dream and all the other Krautrock bands that I have grown to love. So Dankeschön, Ralf, Florian, Karl and Wolfgang.
(The original line-up of Kraftwerk, for those who are unaware.)

If there is mecca, then it is The Kling Klang Studio - Mintropstrasse 16, 40215 Düsseldorf, Germany.
(Yes, I know the address. The actual studio isn't there anymore. They moved a few years ago, but this is the site where it was during their "heyday", as some might say.
















 These were the only ones I could find with embed codes.

Ich liebe Kraftwerk

Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep

...And now we come to the post where I can share beautiful music with you. Nothing is more beautiful than a bit of Krautrock - especially when it's done by Kraftwerk.
OK, so not exactly Kraftwerk - but the band that they were: Organisation.
I'm actually itching to get my hands on a copy of "Tone Float", but being super rare, it's also super expensive. A mint-condition copy sold earlier this year for £400 odd.

The song that I've chosen is actually the band's name spelled backwards. I just find it a lovely instrumental piece of music, and it's probably my favourite track from the album.


Organisation - Noitasinagro


It just makes me feel wonderfully drowsy and dreamy.

And that organ part... 

Monday, May 2

Day 09 – A song that you can dance to

Let's face it, who can't dance to this! I'm a Mod at heart...


The Lambrettas - Poison Ivy 


Have another one, because I couldn't decide what song to choose!


Cross Section - Hi Heeled Sneakers


And with clips from "Quadrophenia"! I really am spoiling you tonight.

We are the mods, we are the mods, we are, we are, we are the mods!

Day 08 – A song that you know all the words to

Should I be ashamed of this?


Wham! - Wham! Rap


Well listen Mr. Average - You're a jerk!