Changes // New Beginnings

Such a corny title....I'm sorry....

Ok! Once again it's been ages since I wrote anything on this and despite my wanting to, you probably won't hear anything from me for another year. One of the last posts I made detailed a trip to Berlin to visit art schools that I took in July 2014 - a time when I was committed to going to art school and becoming a fully "qualified" artist. A lot has changed since then! I changed my mind from wanting to study in Germany to wanting to study in France, and then from going to university immediately after finishing my A Levels to taking a gap year (which also involved me changing my mind numerous times regarding what I wanted to do). Then I had a moment of madness in September and applied to Goldsmiths through clearing to study History of Art - and by some fluke, got in. Of course, now I face a whole new bunch of problems and I don't have any idea of what I'd actually like to do once I have my degree, but I've put those on the back burner for the time being.

Anyway, now I'm back living in London (and only a stone's throw from where I grew up, can you believe it) I might actually have some interesting things to write about on here. Stay tuned for them! At the moment I seem to spend most of my spare time in galleries eating chocolate cake and the other day I had the fantastic idea of starting a comparison/review series on them (although really it's just an excuse to eat more cake) which will be appearing shortly. Other than that, I don't really know what will be appearing and with my numerous attempts to change this blog around all failing, I think it's time to just go with the flow and write about whatever I feel like. Maybe there'll be more serious political posts, or maybe it'll still be all about the latest records from Scandinavia. (Exciting things are happening in that department currently: I might finally be going to Denmark and Sweden in 2016!). With a large amount of cool shops at my disposal and the wonderful thing that is the student loan, I'm sure there'll be posts about interesting knick-knacks that I pick up - which is something I don't think I've ever written about but I've always wanted to. And of course, lots of posts about exhibitions and galleries (and not just the cafes...)

I also still want to change the name of this blog, however I'm yet to find anything that sounds nice and professional and cultural. Suggestions are welcome, send them in on a postcard etc. etc.

Summer vibez

At last! The summer holidays are here. The time when once again I can stay up until 6AM watching The X-Files and listening to dreamy music (and not doing the summer work I've been given). However, as I am at last nearing the grand old age of 18 this is to be my last summer holiday that actually involves school, for next year I shall be heading off to university or quitting education altogether and becoming a penniless artist on the streets of some European city (I haven't quite decided which yet). Last Friday I visited the Universität der Künste in Berlin and it's safe to say I've fallen in love with it. It was their annual 'Rundgang', a three day event where you can wander around the university and look at the student's art, see the studios, and get information on applying. As time restraints meant we could only go to the main building in Charlottenburg, I didn't get to visit the Visual Communications faculty and only ended up seeing the Fine Art faculty. I'm incredibly glad though - all the art was amazing and 100% the stuff I'd like to end up making in the future. As I sat in the courtyard drinking a very refreshing bottle of lemonade and trying to translate the information sheets I'd been given, I suddenly realised that I don't really want to do fiddly complicated things with computers, I want to paint and be expressive and do drawings and sculptures! Thus, I shall be applying to study Fine Art instead of Visual Communication. (The language requirements are also a lot lower.....which is a relief.....). Sadly I was only in Berlin for two days, and didn't really have time to wander around leisurely and explore, and when you're there with people that have never been before all they really want to do is go to the iconic (and very busy and touristy) sights such as the Brandenburg Gate and the East Side Gallery. Nonetheless, I did enjoy going back to these and seeing them in nice sunny weather rather than the -14 degrees C temperatures of the last time I visited. It also made me realise that I need to brush up on my cycling if I'm going to live in a city where at least 80% of the population cycle, and that I'll probably need to cycle everywhere to burn off all the delicious (and very cheap) food from Back-Factory.

I don't really have anything else planned for the summer, apart from a few exhibitions, lots of TV-watching and once again trying and failing to learn the guitar. Speaking of musicy things, I've noticed over the past few years that my taste changes according to the seasons. (I've tried to write my reasoning for this about 20 times and I can't put it into words it just doesn't work.) In the summer I tend to like things such as:

• 60s bands such as The Mamas & The Papas 
• Dreamy shoegazey things
• 1990s American alt-rock indie stuff with guitars
• Surf rock

I think that's sort of made it a bit clearer....maybe....it's still only a very, very brief list. I think it should be noted that my favourite band at the moment is Pavement. For the past two years or so I've listened to them (fyi: only during the summer) but it's only really been their singles and most popular songs. There's some bands that for me never really 'click' until a certain time. It happened with Pink Floyd, then Manic Street Preachers, and now this. (Maybe my brain gradually becomes more receptive to things over time and it needs little bits here and there to really like something. I don't know.) The other week I decided to look past the singles and venture down into the world of album tracks, and boy, am I glad I did. It's dangerous for me to write about things that I'm really really into; I'm so blinded by love that I can't seem to write anything coherently that isn't extraordinarily biased, so I'm going to stop here and say that my current fave album of theirs is Terror Twilight and it's pretty much all I've listened to for two weeks and that you should definitely check it out. I might chuck a few songs in at the end of this post, just like I used to do back in the old days......

In other news, Treefight For Sunlight's second album 'Pizza' is finally being released in the UK! If anyone's been here long enough to remember when their first album came out, you'll know how excited I am for this. However, if it's anything like last time we'll get given a different album name and artwork.....(still not bitter about that). They're another band I like to listen to at this time of year. If 'Come Closer' isn't on all your summer playlists you're seriously missing out. I'll hopefully have a review type thing up next week. I'm trying to get back into those..... Speaking of which, I'm toying between changing up this blog and starting a fresh with a new one. A more grown up one. After all, this has been going since 2009, and although the style and quality of posts has changed (for better or for worse, you decide) and is slightly more professional, I'd still like to start over again and have something that I wouldn't mind showing off and not living in fear that someone will find my old posts from back in the day. I could always delete them though......but can I bring myself to do that? 

I'm rambling again, aren't I. 

 

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  

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.

UPDATE: My Top Films

An updated version of my favourite films, this time in order and with a few new additions.

1. A Clockwork Orange (1972)

2. Pulp Fiction (1994)

3. Quadrophenia (1979)

4. Withnail & I (1986)

5. Du er ikke alene (1978)

6. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

7. The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

8. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

9. Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (1981)

10. The Shining (1980)

11. Eraserhead (1976)

12. Fantastic Voyage (1966)

13. The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) 

14. The Actors (2003)

15. Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind (2004)

16. The Hunger (1983)

17. Soylent Green (1973)

18. North By Northwest (1959)

19. Tommy (1975) 

20. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

21. Alfie (1966)

22. This is England (2006)

23. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

24. The Departed (2006)

25. Titanic (1998)

26. The Beach (2000)

27. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

28. Sleepy Hollow (1999) 

29. Is There Anybody There? (2008)

30. Rushmore (1999)

31. The Linguini Incident (1991)

32. Lost in Translation ( 2004)

33. Just A Gigolo (1978)

34. The Damned United (2009)

35. Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)

36. Scenes of A Sexual Nature (?)

37. The Truman Show (1998)

38. Yes Man (2008) 

39. Groundhog Day (1993)

40. Sliding Doors (1998)

41. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

42. Ghostbusters (198?)

43. Ghostbusters 2 (198?)

44. Forrest Gump (1994)

45. Run Fat Boy, Run (2007)

46. Breakfast at Tiffanys (196?)

47. My Fair Lady (19??)

48. The Importance of Being Ernest (1952)

49. Fools Rush In (1997)

50. Zoolander (2001)

This is just the ones I can put in order, there are loads more films that are un-orderable.