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!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
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!!
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!!
Sunday, November 20, 2011
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...
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...
Saturday, November 19, 2011
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!!??
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!!??
Thursday, October 27, 2011
On the nature of being ill and memories
Or to be honest - a bit poorly...
I've had a low-level cold this week - took one day off work to try and shake it, and since then have just been generally bunged up and sneezing a lot. Weirdly it feels more like hayfever than a cold, but it is October and the leaves are dropping off the trees and nothing is flowering so I think it is just a cold limping its way out of me.
But this got me thinking about when I am ill. Which (touch wood) I very rarely am. I can't remember the last time I had a full on grotty head cold, let alone the flu (thereby now opening myself up to a winter of lurgies no doubt) and I don't really know what to attribute that to. I'm not uber healthy, nor do I live a clean and pure lifestyle which would build up my resistance to all the bugs floating around. But somehow I tend to manage to avoid the worst of them - the most I do is quaff echinacea and fortified vitamin c when I feel something coming on. Maybe thats it!
But the one thing I do always have is lemon & honey with disprin. I can't bring myself to buy Lemsip - and don't really see the point. And there is something comforting and homely about my lemon & honey drinks. Memories of hearing Mum walk up the passage way when I was ill at home as a child, and knowing she was bringing me my drink. Always before bedtime to help us sleep. Although I think I put a tad more honey in than she did as sometimes they were a bit tart! And even feeling just a little bit poorly, I go straight back there, and still want to be looked after. I'll never forget my 21st family celebration - feeling full of cold, and I just wanted to be at home. I was going home anyhow (I think I bused back with Eryn) and it was a journey from hell - cold, hot, sweating and shivering. But we got back to Taupo, I crawled into bed and Mum bought 'the drink' in. I was so happy to be home - even though I felt like I was dying!
I've had a low-level cold this week - took one day off work to try and shake it, and since then have just been generally bunged up and sneezing a lot. Weirdly it feels more like hayfever than a cold, but it is October and the leaves are dropping off the trees and nothing is flowering so I think it is just a cold limping its way out of me.
But this got me thinking about when I am ill. Which (touch wood) I very rarely am. I can't remember the last time I had a full on grotty head cold, let alone the flu (thereby now opening myself up to a winter of lurgies no doubt) and I don't really know what to attribute that to. I'm not uber healthy, nor do I live a clean and pure lifestyle which would build up my resistance to all the bugs floating around. But somehow I tend to manage to avoid the worst of them - the most I do is quaff echinacea and fortified vitamin c when I feel something coming on. Maybe thats it!
But the one thing I do always have is lemon & honey with disprin. I can't bring myself to buy Lemsip - and don't really see the point. And there is something comforting and homely about my lemon & honey drinks. Memories of hearing Mum walk up the passage way when I was ill at home as a child, and knowing she was bringing me my drink. Always before bedtime to help us sleep. Although I think I put a tad more honey in than she did as sometimes they were a bit tart! And even feeling just a little bit poorly, I go straight back there, and still want to be looked after. I'll never forget my 21st family celebration - feeling full of cold, and I just wanted to be at home. I was going home anyhow (I think I bused back with Eryn) and it was a journey from hell - cold, hot, sweating and shivering. But we got back to Taupo, I crawled into bed and Mum bought 'the drink' in. I was so happy to be home - even though I felt like I was dying!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
From 0 to 100 in...
Ok - not quite. But I've done my 'numbers' albums - so I'm very much reaching the end of my odyssey through my ipod... But I still do have quite a few new ones to listen to, so I'm not quite done yet.
Mhairi asked if I haven't been listening/buying to anything new since I've been doing this. I have been buying the odd new album and listening to new stuff - just as well as this has taken me a couple of years! But it is probably fair to say I have slowed in that regard. But then again, I've discovered some of the great music I already own :-). So the albums are:
004: Hope - The Green Room (Loop)
12 Songs - Neil Diamond
12 Tales from Winter City - The Young Republic
16 Lovers Lane - The Go-Betweens
18 - Moby
19 - Adele
The '59 Sound - The Gaslight Anthem
'64-'95 - Lemon Jelly
69 Love Songs - Vols 1, 2 and 3 - The Magnetic Fields
$87 and a Guilty Conscience that gets Worse the Longer I go - Richmond Fontaine
1972 (Bonus dvd) - Josh Rouse
The ones I really enjoyed in this (short) list were The Gaslight Anthem and Young Republic. Neil Diamond is obviously always brilliant, Moby gets very boring, Lemon Jelly just sounds like background filler music to me, and Richmond Fontaine was also very good.
Mhairi asked if I haven't been listening/buying to anything new since I've been doing this. I have been buying the odd new album and listening to new stuff - just as well as this has taken me a couple of years! But it is probably fair to say I have slowed in that regard. But then again, I've discovered some of the great music I already own :-). So the albums are:
004: Hope - The Green Room (Loop)
12 Songs - Neil Diamond
12 Tales from Winter City - The Young Republic
16 Lovers Lane - The Go-Betweens
18 - Moby
19 - Adele
The '59 Sound - The Gaslight Anthem
'64-'95 - Lemon Jelly
69 Love Songs - Vols 1, 2 and 3 - The Magnetic Fields
$87 and a Guilty Conscience that gets Worse the Longer I go - Richmond Fontaine
1972 (Bonus dvd) - Josh Rouse
The ones I really enjoyed in this (short) list were The Gaslight Anthem and Young Republic. Neil Diamond is obviously always brilliant, Moby gets very boring, Lemon Jelly just sounds like background filler music to me, and Richmond Fontaine was also very good.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Tracey comes to town...
I'm not even going to try and do a catch up in terms of Tracey's visit - she's been gone almost two weeks now :-( . But some of the fun bits below - and loads of photos are now on Flickr. More than my facebook album!
- Day out at the seaside in Brighton
- Beautiful Stresa/Lake Maggiore
- The heat in Bologna and Milan
- The weather during Tracey's last week
- Leeds Castle
- Buckingham Palace - no Queen but we did see 'The Dress'!!
- London Zoo - always a good day out :-)
- The Lost Gardens of Heligan - stunning
- Eden Project - great to go back to
- Having someone to drink G&Ts with!
W, X, Y and Z...
Visiting sister means I've not updated this recently... so lots of music I've got through in the last couple of months! Still not done tho - am now doing the "numbers" and then I've got lots of new music to listen to. This mission ain't done yet...
W
Wait for Me - The Pigeon Detectives
Wake Up! - The Boo Radleys
Want One - Rufus Wainwright
Want Two - Rufus Wainwright
War Elephant - Deer Tick
Warnings/Promises - Idlewild
Washington Square Serenade - Steve Earle
Water is Life, Aman Iman - Tinariwen
Watershed - Grant McLennan
Watina - Andy Palacio & The Garifuna Collective
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank - Modest Mouse
A Weekend in the City - Bloc Party
What Are You Going to do With Your Life? - Echo & The Bunnymen
What the Crow Brings - The Low Anthem
(What's the Story) Morning Glory? - Oasis
Whatever People Say I Am Thats What I Am - Arctic Monkeys
When Its Over We All Have to Clear Up - Snow Patrol
Whiplash - James
Whiskey Tango Ghosts - Tanya Donnelly
White Ladder - David Grey
Who You Are - Cary Brothers
Wilco (The Album) - Wilco
Wildwood - Chatham County Line
Wingspan (Hits & History 1 & 2) - Wings
Winnemuca - Richmond Fontaine
The Wire ' "And all the pieces matter" - Various Artists
Woman King - Iron & Wine
Wooden Shjips - Wooden Shjips
Words & Music: Greatest Hits Disc 1&2 - John Mellencamp
Workbook - Bob Mould
So the Ws....? Pigeon Detectives were good - bit Arctic Monkey-ish, Deer Tick was great - sort of alt country. Great voice! Modest Mouse have a couple of songs that I've added to my faves, but overall didn't grab me a lot. Cary Brothers I liked - sort of Snow Patrol/Mumford & Sons style. Quite into that at the moment. Richmond Fontaine also great - really like his stuff. Two albums of Wings is a bit too much though!
X&Y - Coldplay
XX - The XX
I quite like this Coldplay album. XX got loads of press when they hit the scene, and its a good album. Didn't really really love it though.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco
Yellow Moon - The Neville Brothers
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips
You Are Not Alone - Mavis Staples
You Can Have it So Much Better - Franz Ferdinand
You Gotta Go There To Come Back - Stereophonics
Yours Truly, Angry Mob - Kaiser Chiefs
Youth and Young Manhood - Kings of Leon
Enjoyed the Kaiser Chiefs again - some good songs on that album. Kings of Leon were a bit 'meh' on this album. Not one of my faves of theirs. Wilco - always good, and the Neville Brothers were a bit of history! The Flaming Lips was great - I saw them sing songs from this album at the Big Day Out back in 2004 so I have a real softspot for it!
"Z" - My Morning Jacket
Zeus - British Sea Power
MMJ - always good! The British Sea Power ep was ok. Good at the start but gets a bit too full on for me towards the end.
W
Wait for Me - The Pigeon Detectives
Wake Up! - The Boo Radleys
Want One - Rufus Wainwright
Want Two - Rufus Wainwright
War Elephant - Deer Tick
Warnings/Promises - Idlewild
Washington Square Serenade - Steve Earle
Water is Life, Aman Iman - Tinariwen
Watershed - Grant McLennan
Watina - Andy Palacio & The Garifuna Collective
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank - Modest Mouse
A Weekend in the City - Bloc Party
What Are You Going to do With Your Life? - Echo & The Bunnymen
What the Crow Brings - The Low Anthem
(What's the Story) Morning Glory? - Oasis
Whatever People Say I Am Thats What I Am - Arctic Monkeys
When Its Over We All Have to Clear Up - Snow Patrol
Whiplash - James
Whiskey Tango Ghosts - Tanya Donnelly
White Ladder - David Grey
Who You Are - Cary Brothers
Wilco (The Album) - Wilco
Wildwood - Chatham County Line
Wingspan (Hits & History 1 & 2) - Wings
Winnemuca - Richmond Fontaine
The Wire ' "And all the pieces matter" - Various Artists
Woman King - Iron & Wine
Wooden Shjips - Wooden Shjips
Words & Music: Greatest Hits Disc 1&2 - John Mellencamp
Workbook - Bob Mould
So the Ws....? Pigeon Detectives were good - bit Arctic Monkey-ish, Deer Tick was great - sort of alt country. Great voice! Modest Mouse have a couple of songs that I've added to my faves, but overall didn't grab me a lot. Cary Brothers I liked - sort of Snow Patrol/Mumford & Sons style. Quite into that at the moment. Richmond Fontaine also great - really like his stuff. Two albums of Wings is a bit too much though!
X&Y - Coldplay
XX - The XX
I quite like this Coldplay album. XX got loads of press when they hit the scene, and its a good album. Didn't really really love it though.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco
Yellow Moon - The Neville Brothers
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips
You Are Not Alone - Mavis Staples
You Can Have it So Much Better - Franz Ferdinand
You Gotta Go There To Come Back - Stereophonics
Yours Truly, Angry Mob - Kaiser Chiefs
Youth and Young Manhood - Kings of Leon
Enjoyed the Kaiser Chiefs again - some good songs on that album. Kings of Leon were a bit 'meh' on this album. Not one of my faves of theirs. Wilco - always good, and the Neville Brothers were a bit of history! The Flaming Lips was great - I saw them sing songs from this album at the Big Day Out back in 2004 so I have a real softspot for it!
"Z" - My Morning Jacket
Zeus - British Sea Power
MMJ - always good! The British Sea Power ep was ok. Good at the start but gets a bit too full on for me towards the end.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Verily through the 'V's...
Another letter that didn't take long to get through... but quite a few 'Very Best Of' in there!
Valhalla Dancefloor - British Sea Power
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Vehicles & Animals - Athlete
Very Best of Elvis Costello - Elvis Costello
The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac (Disc 1 & 2) - Fleetwood Mac
The Very Best of Kris Kristofferson - Kris Kristofferson
The Very Best of The Eagles - The Eagles
Very Best of The Jam - The Jam
Very Best of The Smiths - The Smiths
Very Best of Woody Guthrie - Woody Guthrie
Vexations - Get Well Soon
Viva la Vida or Death and all His Friends - Coldplay
Voice of the Seven Woods - Voice of the Seven Woods
Athlete were ok - bit 'Snow Patrol' lite and ended up sounding a bit derivative. I enjoyed Vexations - quite melodic but lots of different styles in there so you never knew what was going to come next. Mixed it up a bit which was interesting. Viva la Vida has to be Coldplay's worst album - just a bit dull really. British Sea Power are always good :-).
Short but sweet letter, but lots of old faves in the 'Very Best Of's so I quite enjoyed it.
Valhalla Dancefloor - British Sea Power
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Vehicles & Animals - Athlete
Very Best of Elvis Costello - Elvis Costello
The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac (Disc 1 & 2) - Fleetwood Mac
The Very Best of Kris Kristofferson - Kris Kristofferson
The Very Best of The Eagles - The Eagles
Very Best of The Jam - The Jam
Very Best of The Smiths - The Smiths
Very Best of Woody Guthrie - Woody Guthrie
Vexations - Get Well Soon
Viva la Vida or Death and all His Friends - Coldplay
Voice of the Seven Woods - Voice of the Seven Woods
Athlete were ok - bit 'Snow Patrol' lite and ended up sounding a bit derivative. I enjoyed Vexations - quite melodic but lots of different styles in there so you never knew what was going to come next. Mixed it up a bit which was interesting. Viva la Vida has to be Coldplay's worst album - just a bit dull really. British Sea Power are always good :-).
Short but sweet letter, but lots of old faves in the 'Very Best Of's so I quite enjoyed it.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
A trip to East Yorkshire...
Not the nicest bit of the county to go to... but it is where my friend Dawn lives so off I went. Got the train to Hull although she actually lives in Beverley. Not much of note to say about Hull as we didn't spend any time there - although it was where the poet Philip Larkin lived, and there was a very nice statue of him at the train station - I particularly liked the inscription :-).
Saturday we went over to Helmsley and visited Rievaulx Abbey which was really quite spectacular. Also interesting to visit having finished Wolf Hall recently. One of the many Abbey's that Henry VIII had stripped to get their wealth. Gives you a bit of a different perspective on history!
It was a lovely weekend - and as always it was great to get out of London and see the countryside! Photos below, and more on Flickr :-).
Saturday we went over to Helmsley and visited Rievaulx Abbey which was really quite spectacular. Also interesting to visit having finished Wolf Hall recently. One of the many Abbey's that Henry VIII had stripped to get their wealth. Gives you a bit of a different perspective on history!
It was a lovely weekend - and as always it was great to get out of London and see the countryside! Photos below, and more on Flickr :-).
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
London prepares...
I went out and checked out the London-Surrey Cycle Classic today - fortuitiously the route went through Kingston!
There were loads of people out watching, and it was a great atmosphere. As soon as the police came through people started cheering and clapping them. I'm pretty sure that was a direct result of the riots and looting of last week, and it was lovely to be able to show them some appreciation as they've been getting beaten up a bit from the press and the politicians recently. I don't think that people would normally be quite so keen to 'clap the cops'. And they loved it! At various points as they had to stop to wait for the cyclists, they were chatting away to the crowd, they were waving, acknowledging the claps and cheers, tooting their horns, putting their sirens on etc. Brilliant!
As for the cyclists, a bit like when I went to see the Tour de France come through London they were past in a flash! As you can see from the only two photos I managed to get of the cyclists!!
Good fun though - am really pleased I went and did it.
There were loads of people out watching, and it was a great atmosphere. As soon as the police came through people started cheering and clapping them. I'm pretty sure that was a direct result of the riots and looting of last week, and it was lovely to be able to show them some appreciation as they've been getting beaten up a bit from the press and the politicians recently. I don't think that people would normally be quite so keen to 'clap the cops'. And they loved it! At various points as they had to stop to wait for the cyclists, they were chatting away to the crowd, they were waving, acknowledging the claps and cheers, tooting their horns, putting their sirens on etc. Brilliant!
As for the cyclists, a bit like when I went to see the Tour de France come through London they were past in a flash! As you can see from the only two photos I managed to get of the cyclists!!
Good fun though - am really pleased I went and did it.
The front runners
The front runners
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
These were the first two through - the rest of the pack were a good bit behind them.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Two very interesting blog posts...
These are both good - the first one was linked to in the Guardian (it is worth reading through the comments below as well), and the second one I got to through the comments on the first post.
The press and the radio are full of people talking about how and why this happened/is happening - debates on whether they are protesting (general consensus is that they aren't - the BBC won't refer to the looting as protesting), rioting, or looting. I'm firmly in the looting category it has to be said...
Walworth Road
Power of One
And another recording as well of 'yoof' from Manchester talking about their looting - let me know if it doesn't play and I'll describe it in a separate post. The Guardian also had this bit from Kevin Sampson about his role in the Toxteth riots - hard to argue with the logic in it. It is essentially a Wii game come to life for a lot of them, with the bonus of free stuff thrown in...
The press and the radio are full of people talking about how and why this happened/is happening - debates on whether they are protesting (general consensus is that they aren't - the BBC won't refer to the looting as protesting), rioting, or looting. I'm firmly in the looting category it has to be said...
Walworth Road
Power of One
And another recording as well of 'yoof' from Manchester talking about their looting - let me know if it doesn't play and I'll describe it in a separate post. The Guardian also had this bit from Kevin Sampson about his role in the Toxteth riots - hard to argue with the logic in it. It is essentially a Wii game come to life for a lot of them, with the bonus of free stuff thrown in...
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Well 'U' didn't take long...
And here I am - back again with another letter completed! Easy when there aren't many albums!!
Ugly Beautiful - Babybird
The Ugly People vs The Beautiful People - The Czars
The Ultimate Bill Withers Collection - Bill Withers
Unchained - Johnny Cash
Under Cold Blue Stars - Josh Rouse
Under the Blacklight - Rilo Kiley
The Unforgettable Fire - U2
Up - REM
Urban Hymns - The Verve
Us - Mull Historical Society
Not much not to like in this short list. Babybird was fun to listen to again after a very long time. Can't go past a bit of Johnny Cash either! Mull Historical Society and The Verve - both wee strolls down memory lane. All good fun.
Ugly Beautiful - Babybird
The Ugly People vs The Beautiful People - The Czars
The Ultimate Bill Withers Collection - Bill Withers
Unchained - Johnny Cash
Under Cold Blue Stars - Josh Rouse
Under the Blacklight - Rilo Kiley
The Unforgettable Fire - U2
Up - REM
Urban Hymns - The Verve
Us - Mull Historical Society
Not much not to like in this short list. Babybird was fun to listen to again after a very long time. Can't go past a bit of Johnny Cash either! Mull Historical Society and The Verve - both wee strolls down memory lane. All good fun.
Panic on the streets of London...
Or Manchester or Birmingham or....
It has been a surreal few days in London town - probably right up there for me with the few days immediately after the July 7 bombing. Right now it appears fairly calm across London but its all starting to kick off up in Manchester.
Still loads of people referring to it as 'rioting'. This isn't rioting - this is pure outright looting. The mob mentality takes over and off they go. The worst thing about it is the effect it is having on small local businesses and people who live in these areas. Homes are being burnt out as fires are started in the shops they live above, whole businesses are being destroyed - and they aren't the big multi-nationals either.
This clip is interesting - not sure if non-UK readers will be able to listen to it, but essentially two girls talking about what a laugh all this rioting is, and how they're attacking businesses as 'they are rich' and they are showing the rich they can do what they want. They're drinking looted rose wine at 9am in the morning, hoping it all kicks off again that evening. So awful - so stupid and so so awful. I've heard and seen so many truly heartbreaking stories over the last couple of days and to hear this sort of stupid commentary just makes it worse.
And of course it is also bringing out some interesting attitudes as well - my favourite facebook comment so far has been from someone suggesting that we bring the army back from Iraq and ship all of the looters out there... Hmm - not sure that would work.
Hopefully this will all start to calm down now - the police have taken a battering (both literally and in the press/from the public) but if nothing else London is only reaping the results of the cuts the Met has had to make recently.
Interesting times we live in...
It has been a surreal few days in London town - probably right up there for me with the few days immediately after the July 7 bombing. Right now it appears fairly calm across London but its all starting to kick off up in Manchester.
Still loads of people referring to it as 'rioting'. This isn't rioting - this is pure outright looting. The mob mentality takes over and off they go. The worst thing about it is the effect it is having on small local businesses and people who live in these areas. Homes are being burnt out as fires are started in the shops they live above, whole businesses are being destroyed - and they aren't the big multi-nationals either.
This clip is interesting - not sure if non-UK readers will be able to listen to it, but essentially two girls talking about what a laugh all this rioting is, and how they're attacking businesses as 'they are rich' and they are showing the rich they can do what they want. They're drinking looted rose wine at 9am in the morning, hoping it all kicks off again that evening. So awful - so stupid and so so awful. I've heard and seen so many truly heartbreaking stories over the last couple of days and to hear this sort of stupid commentary just makes it worse.
And of course it is also bringing out some interesting attitudes as well - my favourite facebook comment so far has been from someone suggesting that we bring the army back from Iraq and ship all of the looters out there... Hmm - not sure that would work.
Hopefully this will all start to calm down now - the police have taken a battering (both literally and in the press/from the public) but if nothing else London is only reaping the results of the cuts the Met has had to make recently.
Interesting times we live in...
Saturday, August 06, 2011
And still falling...
This year Megan comes in at 23 in the most popular names list. Was 20th last year, and 15th the year before! There were 2223 girls named Megan in the UK in 2010...
Maya comes in at 57th (up from 66 last year with 1061), while Lucy pips me (again!) coming in at 21st (down from 16th last year with 2544). No Leigh, Louisa or Tracey, but Elizabeth comes in at 49th. Interestingly Erin comes in at 35th for girls with 1621.
Thomas comes in at 6th with 5307 - no change from last year. William is 7th with 5256. Alex is at 52 with 1359 (down from 50 last year) and Sam is at 93 with 692 (down from 88 last year).
Maya comes in at 57th (up from 66 last year with 1061), while Lucy pips me (again!) coming in at 21st (down from 16th last year with 2544). No Leigh, Louisa or Tracey, but Elizabeth comes in at 49th. Interestingly Erin comes in at 35th for girls with 1621.
Thomas comes in at 6th with 5307 - no change from last year. William is 7th with 5256. Alex is at 52 with 1359 (down from 50 last year) and Sam is at 93 with 692 (down from 88 last year).
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