Stingin' Belle

(I took the above photo from Biffy's website, so clicking it won't help you much. However there is a youtube link below to the video).


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DafkHhzbXB4&feature=g-u-u

For those of you who are unaware I am a MASSIVE Biffy fan. Tattoo and everything. For me nothing can beat a trio of topless, sweaty Scottish rockers... And moving on from my fantasies to their music; I really really like this song! I love the heavy guitar/drum beats at the beginning and dotted throughout the song, I like the lyrics (especially "you say love, I say killing time") and there's even bagpipes! I also like the choppiness of it, but particularly the heavy guitar bits. I'm all over a good bit of heavy guitars. And did I mention bagpipes?? It's classic Biffy, reminds me of Glitter and Trauma and some of their other earlier stuff, but I don't think it'll be alienating for fans of their later work. It's worth a listen, particularly if you're a rock junkie like me. You won't regret it!

Song of the Week

Song of the Week: "I still Believe" by Frank Turner.


"Now who'd have thought, that after all, something as simple as rock 'n' roll would save them all"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ-D4jmkUiQ

As the warm-up to the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7M3aiSVtdo

Ah Frank Turner. I've only known you for a year, but what a time we've had... I first paid attention to Frank at Reading festival last year, where although I only vaguely knew a couple of songs I found myself jumping around and at times tearing up (thanks for that "Substitute") along with the rest of them. He's absolutely fantastic live, and he's one of those acts that you can enjoy regardless of how well you know his music. I was literally bouncing on my sofa when I saw him come on at the Olympics Ceremony, and I hope  that he does well from it. It's the kind of anti-folk that everyone should have on their ipod, and it is my firm belief that there is a Frank Turner song out there for everyone that neatly encapsulates their life. Mine is Substitute, for a friend of mine it's "Once we were Anarchists". Go forth my friends and find your Frank Turner song NOW!

I now declare my Lord of the Rings marathon COMPLETE!

2012 London Olympics

OMG FRANK TURNER FRANK TURNER FRANK TURNER! Can't believed he just performed!

If I've said this once over the past month I've said it a thousand times, if there's one thing that Britain does better than the the rest of the world then it's music. That's not to say that other countries haven't bred some fantastic musicians, it's just that there's something epic about music in Britain.

Cannot wait for Muse to perform! Feel so proud to be British right now!

Amy MacDonald

TICKETS PURCHASED!


I think I definitely win the award for best sister of the year; just purchased tickets for my sister's 18th birthday to go see Amy MacDonald. It'll be great to go see her again, seeing as she only played for 50 odd minutes on the Pepsi Max Stage at Hyde Park and in order to get to Bruce on time we missed hearing her play "4th of July". 


I shall begin my day happy!

Love Someone Else

Just received an email from Lower Than Atlantis announcing that they have released the video for their new single "Love Someone Else".


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLNM9i-MmdE

Won't lie, I found the video more memorable than the song, but perhaps I just need to listen to it more. Either way I'm still a Lower Than Atlantis fan! Got to support the home town boys (well, nearly home town).

20 Best Tracks of NME's Lifetime

http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=147&p=12519&title=20_best_tracks_of_nme_s_lifetime_as_vote&more=1&c=1

Follow that link to find a list of some of the best songs of the past 60 years as voted for by the public. It includes the likes of the Kinks, The Arctic Monkeys, The Clash, The Beatles, Pulp, The Cure and Nirvana (naturally). I'm rather impressed with it, but what about you guys? Any songs that you would have voted for that haven't made the cut?

Song of the Week

Song of the Week: "Sunny Afternoon" by the Kinks.


"Now I'm sitting here, sipping at my ice cold beer, lazing on a sunny afternoon."


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMp78tH2u7I

Apologies for the late post, I was preoccupied with the sudden appearance of a blue, cloudless sky that some unforeseen force had graced Britain with... This is one of the my favourite Kinks songs for two reasons: 1) It's in The Boat That Rocked (top film, wicked soundtrack), and 2) it embodies that lazy, summer feeling that I can currently feel thrumming through my bones. The sun has finally arrived; light the barbecues, crack open a cider, and get on the lazing side of things. Weather like this is made for relaxation!

The Dark Knight Rises - 5 stars.

OH GOD THIS FILM! Definitely jizzed several times over the 2 hours and 40 minutes of sheer genius that is this film. Christopher Nolan, I bow down to you. But on a serious note, this film is fantastic and definitely worth seeing, especially if you thought the first two were good. I genuinely don't think there's a single thing about this film that I didn't like. The ending was shocking, it was action packed and full of brilliant acting. This is what Spider-man was missing; effectively it wasn't Batman. After seeing this you end up thinking "wow, Spider-man stopped a mutant lizard-man. And what?". Additionally I loved Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. I wish I looked that good in a catsuit. Lastly I enjoy how the film is linked back to the first one; there are several moments when you gasp and say "No way!". For fans of the trilogy it's much appreciated. 


GO SEE IT. That's an order.

I'm no teenage icon.

Just got sent an email about The Vaccines new single "Teenage Icon" which will be available in the UK on the 2nd of September; won't lie, not entirely sure if I like it or not. I think it'll be a grower, the chorus in particular is rather catchy, I can already tell that I'll find myself singing it later this evening. 

You can watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFUKrsDDChE&utm_content=nllink-112028e1-YouTube+-+Teenage+Icon+-+text&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-ukcolumbia-thevaccines-20120720-nl287269844&utm_source=ukcolumbia-thevaccines&cid=nl%3A287269844

The band did a session for Zane Lowe on Wednesday which is still available to hear: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/sessions/2012-07-18_thevaccines?cid=nl%3A287269844&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ukcolumbia-thevaccines&utm_campaign=email-ukcolumbia-thevaccines-20120720-nl287269844&utm_content=nllink-112028e4-Maida%20Vale%20session%20-%20image#p00w8cgl

Yes, I Was Drunk

New single from Twin Atlantic my friends! And this one is particularly exciting (for me at least) because it's my favourite track from their album "Free". If I could marry Sam McTrusty's voice then believe me, I would. There's something about Scottish vocals... anyway, it's worth three odd minutes of your time to have a listen. I particularly love the rough edge to his voice when he sings "so I got in the car and put her into first". Enough to make a lonely woman melt... Roll on Reading!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUWoTzsbxOM

Ryan Keen - Orelia

So F.Cott played this on her Radio 1 show today and I've just checked it out; How does he do that with his guitar?! I'm in awe. Literally drooling at his guitar skillzzzzz.The bio on his website (http://www.ryankeen.co.uk) describes his music as containing "emotionally driven lyrics, warm vocals" and has a "rhythmic percussive style of guitar playing". He hails from South Devon and has toured with the likes of Ed Sheeran, Ben Howard and Newton Faulker. He released his EP "Focus" this year and below is a link to one of the tracks from it - Orelia. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqQWCu4oUNI


Enjoy!

Song of the Week

Song of the Week: "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band.


"Show a little faith there's magic in the night, you ain't a beauty but hey you're alright, and that's alright with me."


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMB3M43AEpc

Live and captivating at Hyde Park: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NtmjSnLqxc


Well ladies and gentlemen, I could easily leave this as it's Bruce and "Thunder Road", 'nuff said. This is my personal favourite of the Boss's, and I think after listening to it it's evident why it's popular with the fans. He opened with this at Hyde Park on Saturday, and everyone there knew the words. It was quite simply magical. I also love that lyric, "you ain't a beauty but hey, you're alright, and that's alright with me". It makes me think that so long as the man or woman you're with loves you for you then that's fine, you don't need to be the most beautiful creature in the land! So roll down your windows and go find the promise land, Bruce my friend, I salute you!


P.S. While the live footage may not have the best video quality the sound's good you can still get a decent feel for how magical it was to be there in that moment. Well worth watching!

Song of the Week

Song of the Week: "Wake Me Up" by Ed Sheeran.


"I could do without a tan on my left hand, where my fourth finger meets my knuckle"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFhwqVH5hRk


Quite simply this man is a musical genius, but I'm sure I don't need to tell you that. There's something hypnotic about seeing him live that's very refreshing. My Mum asked me recently how old he is and when I told her that he's only 21 she shook her head and said he's too young to be singing with that level of emotion, he shouldn't be able to do it. I think this song displays that, it's one of my favourite love songs, and I hope you guys enjoy it too :) 

My summer of music.

Ladies and gentleman, I am proud to announce that my summer of music is about to begin! I'm catching a coach at half 11 tonight to Newquay (I'll get in at 7.15am tomorrow, bleurgh), and on Sunday I'll be seeing Blink-182 at the Eden Project! I'm slightly excited about it.

And the fun doesn't stop there my friends, ohhhhhh no, next Saturday I'll be seeing Bruce Springsteen and Amy Macdonald at Hard Rock Calling, and then on 20th August I'll be seeing Franky T (that's Frank Turner) at the Roundhouse. Finally I'll be off to Reading Festival at the end of August, coincidently coinciding with my 20th birthday. Now wasn't that considerate of the organisers.


My summer of music shall now BEGIN! Here's a picture of my excited "it's all too much" face, to give you an idea of how excited I'm currently feeling.

The Amazing Spider-man - 4 stars

I really, really wanted to put this film on my not so coveted five star list, but it just fell a bit short for me. Maybe I'm being too cynical, but I didn't find the love story particularly believable, it was a bit slow, and if I'm being really picky there was some unnecessary piano thriller music when Gwen was trying to sort the antidote out. Oh and I found Spidey a bit arrogant. Sorry Andrew. On the other hand I really enjoy Rhys Ifans, Emma Stone and the story of Spider-man in general. There was just something missing for me. Definitely worth seeing though!

Song of the Week

Song of the Week: "Bones" by Young Guns.


"We're all architects of our own private hell, no-one can hurt us like we hurt ourselves"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk3vjIDuy9w

Rather fond of this song, and I cannot wait to see them at Reading! (Festival Republic Stage, Saturday). It's been going round my head all day now. Currently listening to the album, I'll have to decide whether or not it's worth a recommendation. If nothing else the artwork's fantastic!


The lead singer's voice sounds a lot like someone else's, but I can't for the life of me figure out whose. Any insight would be greatly appreciated :).

Just another day at work.

Nothing quite like being allowed to wear nice clothes to work for a change... Huzzah to waitressing at a prom!

Amy MacDonald

Ah Amy, you beautiful beautiful woman....
This is Amy's third studio album, released on the 11th of June, and I must confess I was pleasantly surprised. I was always very fond of "This Is The Life" (released in 2007), but I wasn't overly enamoured with "A Curious Thing" (released in 2010), so I was dubious about this. However I urge you to give the album a listen; I'll link in my favourites below. I'm now extremely excited to see her at Hyde Park!


Slow It Down (track 3): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGwXzrW5mFc

4th Of July (track 1): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJcacG5xoMA

The Green and the Blue (track 11): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abeg_bYmC2E

But what about you guys? Were you always fans, have I converted you, or are you not so keen?

Embellished Collars.

Welcome ladies and gentleman! This is probably the extent of my sewing skills, however, being the thrifty student that I am I decided that rather than buying an embellished collar I may as well take one of my shirts and give the ol' needle and thread a whirl. Granted, not the best collar  in the world, but I'm content with my results. Tea Junkie: 1, needle and thread: 0!