Because I obviously need a musical focus...

I've been a bit lost since finishing my trip through my ipod. I have got so used to knowing what I 'had' to listen to that having complete freedom to pick and choose is a bit overwhelming for me! So I've just gone through my notes and am going to go back and revisit the albums/bands I made specific mention of.

Interesting to see the same names crop up more than once - so I'll be starting with Gaslight Anthem, Deer Tick, Richmond Fontaine, Future Clouds & Radar, and Built to Spill - they all got more than one mention over the A-Z. But loads of others to revisit as well - now I can relax again - I have another focus!

I'm 'All Ears'

I went to a fantastic evening this week - this 'Storythyme' event run by All Ears events. I absolutely loved it!

My friend pulled out at the last minute as she had a cold and I couldn't find anyone else to go at short notice. I was a bit worried about going by myself, but it turned out fine. And it was such a great evening. I'm a big fan of The Moth podcasts and this was very similar to it.

I really enjoyed the first and last speakers - for very different reasons. Harry's story was just interesting (and makes you realise how lucky you are) and Danny's talk was interesting as what he is trying to do is such a good thing - and so challenging. The middle speaker was good too - but much more polished than the first two and so I didn't enjoy him quite as much.

Food was fantastic, and there is just something really cool about listening to real people tell real stories - at the risk of sounding twee (and given I'm blogging it is a bit sillly!) it was so lovely to hear people talking their stories as opposed to just reading or watching about it.

Can't wait for their 2012 line up!!

The Help

I went to see The Help this afternoon - it was a very foggy dank Sunday afternoon so it just seemed to call out for a trip to the cinema. 

I really enjoyed it - although I've read a few reviews which are vaguely critical of it in that it is a white person 'to the rescue' again, and a lot of the political history of the time is mentioned at a very high level in the background, but doesn't form much of the story.

However having just read 'To Kill a Mockingbird' I was fascinated by the depiction of the maids bringing up the children of their employers - this is a key theme throughout TKAM as well. And even with the caveats above, it is still an easily watchable piece of social history - that I sat through and thought 'really?' while knowing that it was probably much worse than what was being depicted on screen...

And so it ends...

So it has taken from June 2009 to November 2011 but I have now finally finished my odyssey through my ipod. I've finished listening to all the late additions and a couple of random misses - either songs from albums, or occasionally the whole album, and I can now confirm that almost everything that is on my ipod has been listened to (just finishing off 'Mr Love & Justice' by Billy Bragg as I type.

You'll notice they're all mainly in the first half of the alphabet - acquired after I'd started obviously and I just never went back to listen to them...

So the last lot were:

Admiral Fell Promises - Sun Kil Moon
The Age of Adz - Sufjan Stevens
American Slang - The Gaslight Anthem
American IV: Ain't No Grave - Johnny Cash
Ancient Melodies of the Future - Built to Spill
Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
Band of Joy - Robert Plant
Beachcomber's Windowsill - Stornoway
Beneath this Burning Shoreline - Cherry Ghost
Black Dirt Sessions - Deer Tick
Brief History of Love - The Big Pink
Buffalo - The Phoenix Foundation
Contra - Vampire Weekend
Courage of Others - Midlake
Dark Night of the Soul - Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse
Dark Was the Night - Various Artists
Destroyer of the Void - Blitzen Trapper
Drown Your Heart Again - The Strange Death of Liberal England
Emotionalism - The Avett Brothers
End Times - Eels
Erland & The Carnival - Erland and the Carnival
Fools Gold - Fools Gold
Forward March - The Strange Death of Liberal England
Four Thieves Gone - The Avett Brothers
The Gleam - The Avett Brothers
Go - Jonsi
Here's Tom With The Weather - Shack
Interpol - Interpol
Into Your Lungs - Hey Rosetta!
Kiss Each Other Clean - Iron & Wine
Live, Vol 3 - The Avett Brothers
The Midnight Organ Fight - Frightened Rabbit
Mr Love & Justice (Disc 1&2) - Billy Bragg
The Whole Love - Wilco
The Winter of Mixed Drinks - Frightened Rabbit

Sun Kil Moon I liked. Sort of a bit 60s folkish - nice and balladic. I do like a good ballad! Gaslight Anthem I really enjoyed - the music almost seemed to 'age' over the album. Really rated it. Stornaway was another hit from this list and I liked Deer Tick as well. The Midlake album was a bit depressing for me - but I was listening to it on a Monday morning! Big Pink I loved too. Especially the song Dominos. The Avett Brothers remain firm faves, and I liked TSDOLE as well. No idea how I missed the Billy Bragg and Johnny Cash albums the first time round!

What will I do now I've finished!!??