Monday, 10 August 2009

Still here

If you want me.

So yeah, still writing that really long 10,000 word mammoth of a blog. Here a bunch of little things to chew on while you wait for the next.

New artists that I like since whenever:

Lisa Hannigan - Woah, Zak got me into someone (not literally, sadly). She's a very nice folk singer, and much better than Damien Rice (she used to do backing vocals for him etc). Though her album is pretty patchy (LOL, COS THE ART IS LIKE A SEWING THEME WITH PATCHES AND STUFF LOOL!!!! LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL) and inconsistent, it's still got a few songs that are really, really amazing stuff. I think a review I read was probably pretty accurate with "a lot of heart, but not much brains" though obviously still has brains (otherwise she'd be dead).

Ween - I've had 2 of their albums for like, a year, and I never listened to them. Liam then gave me Quebec, and now I love them (at least a little bit). Transdermal Celebration, Chocolate Town, and Among his Tribe, and especially the absolutely incredible "The fucked Jam" are all excellent.

Bright Eyes - Only have one of their albums (I'm Wide Awake It's Morning) but it's a pretty great album. Obvious heavy Elliott Smith influence, but songs like "Road to Joy" or really great and original.

Blogs you should read (this will also be in my upcoming blog, if only because I need to fill it up):

www.tds4a.blogspot.com - Yeah, he neglects it even more than I neglect my blog, but it's still probably my favourite blog ever (or was, I guess?). It inspired me to make my own blog, but unfortunately it also inspired me to try and write really long blogs that take months and months (he could probably do these in a day). I guess his blog might SUCK if you don't know him. In fact, just don't bother reading it.

http://zak-hello.blogspot.com/ - This is the blog of Zak. This blog is good because, so far (though only two entries have been written), I'm in every post. This gives it an automatic edge over other, shittier blogs.

www.projectorheads.com - "Now wait a gosh darn minute" I hear you all say. "This isn't a blogspot blog! In fact, I'd be hard pressed to even call it a blog!". Well, to that I say fuck you, but I also say that it is a blog, with *SECTIONS*. It also used to be a humble little blog on www.projectorheads.blogspot.com. Who knows, maybe my blog will move to a proper website and have *SECTIONS* one day. Who knows? Me, because that will never happen. The most publicity this blog will get is as my msn personal message, or the occasional facebook status.

Friday, 26 June 2009

Michael Jackson

Before I start: I'm still working on the 100 facts blog. Almost 8,000 words now.

I don't really know what to write, so I'll start by linking to this:

Listen to this


I think this song sums him up best. It's his best musically, and definitely vocally (god damn, how many key changes are there in this song that go higher and higher?). But it's also his lyrical peak. I actually feel a complete insight into his frame of mind when he wrote this.

I really don't know what to say. I'm pretty distraught, if I'm honest. I feel worse today then I did when it was going on. It's sunk in, it's confirmed etc. One of the most charitable people to ever live has died so suddenly. No time to prepare. I hope, in time, his genius will outlive all of the bullshit rumours and allegations he's had to live with through out his life.

Fuck, man.

Friday, 13 March 2009

Oh

I don't know. I'll check to see if there's time before dinner.

Michael is telling me to write a blog, because it's been 2 months. The foolish fool, though it may first appear that way to the naked eye, I have created many blogs with excellent content on giftblog. But yes, I know what he means in that I haven't written anything big and self involving in a long time etc, but I will not do that right now either. Keep in mind, though, that I have been in the process of making a very long blog, which includes 100 facts. I'll have to, from now on, write in it more often, 'cos a blog like that was designed to be a way to deposit thoughts and still come out with something lengthy without it being a chore.

But yeah, today's blog is more of a pointless blog just to say "No, I'm not dead, stop celebrating. I said stop. Oh, right, are you celebrating that I'm back? Well, fuck you then." or something along those lines. I don't have anything pre-planned, except something I noticed when watching Master Chef at 4am last night.

Which was the fact that late at night, basically every program has a person on the bottom right of the screen doing sign language, as a way for deaf people to easily understand what's going on. That's all fine and dandy, I can obviously see why this is done, but the question I don't have the answer to is: why so late at night? Am I to assume that deaf/hearing impaired people are vampiric creatures, only tuning into their tv sets at night when everyone is asleep? Is it just because everyone would be pissed off if it happened during the day, so they decided to just make it so deaf people can enjoy tv at a time when they're in bed?

Perhaps I may never know the answer. Well, I could always ask Dom.

Thursday, 15 January 2009

My Holiday

iHola friend! The last year, I was with my mother and my sister of vaccaciones. We went to Spain in airplane. I spent two weeks there. I lodged in a hotel with my mother and my older sister. The hotel was very well. It was much sun and warm in Spain. A day, we went from excursion to Madrid and we were in car because it is not very far from the hotel. Madrid was very well because there were many activities. Later Madrid, we went to the beach. I spent many hours in the beach. To the sigiuente day, I swam in the swimming pool with my older sister and my mother. Later, we played the volleyball and we have much funny. Later two weeks, we were my house in airplane. It was many sad. My vacations of Spain were excellent. I will never forget my vaccaciones Spain. I have many memories happy, my older sister also has many memories happy. The year next, I go from vaccaciones to Portugal with my father and my older brother. I am going to lodge in the hotel for three weeks. I go to Lisbon with my father and my older brother. Also, we visited my grandparents and my uncles and cousins. He was funny to visit my family because I do not visit for many years. I am many excited.

Saturday, 10 January 2009

Album Review: From a Basement on the Hill

I'm a huge Elliott Smith fan. This is a moderately recent thing, I was sent my first album of his back in July, and I wasn't hooked instantly, but after a while and acquiring two more of his albums (the mediocre Figure 8 and the sublime Either/Or) it really began to sink in how great this guy is. Never before had I discovered a musician that just openly lays his emotions out on the table for all to see, again and again, without reguarding who's listening. Reading up on him and how he never reads reviews of his music because it might change the way he writes just made me admire him that much more. He's an artist that cares for his work and makes it his own, which makes me respect even his most mediocre work because it wasn't made for anyone but himself. He was just sharing it with us.

So then, after reading up about Elliott Smith in depth since the months I first got XO, about his life, his death, and yearning for more than the 3 albums of his I already had, I acquired "From a Basement on the Hill". I'd heard some tracks before I got it, such as "Twlight", and from what I'd heard, I expected it to be great, better than Figure 8 and perhaps on par with XO, but not being able to quite match the masterpiece that is Either/Or. Boy was I fuckin' wrong.

There's so many contradicting words I could use to describe this album. It's the same old Smith we all know and love, yet it's a step in a completely new and more experimental direction. Bittersweet, yet completely tragic. Tough, textured, in your face, but yet more fragile and broken than any of his previous efforts. Unfinished, yet his most complete and down right brilliant album by a large margin.

About half way through listening to the incredible opener (though that's not saying much because every single opener of his are amazing, except the opener to his self titled album) "Coast to Coast", approximately at the line "I belong in the zoo", I was already thinking "Ok, maybe this could be better than Either/Or afterall". It was immediately refreshing, hearing the sound of Smith putting his larger budget and creative opportunities he's had since XO to perfect use, being more creative and experimental than past efforts. The beginning is brilliant; you hear an eery orchestra that sounds like it's either far away or in another room, and after 15 seconds or so, you hear a sound, like a slight muted strum on an electric guitar. You know something's there, something's coming, then BOOM, the song starts, and ends with poetry being said in both channels over a piano. It's a brilliant way to start an album and did things Smith had never really tried.

The album then shifts into a more "traditional" Smith song, (i.e, him solo with an acoustic guitar) "Let's get Lost". In the song, he longs to get away from where is now, to "burn every bridge" that he crosses. It's sad, yet sweet, and it's got that essence of hope and of there being a light at the end of the tunnel.

The same general theme is still there in the scarily tragic "King's Crossing", though it is more in the style of "Coast to Coast", even feeling like it starts where it left off, with multiple speaking in the 2 different channels. The difference between this and "Let's get Lost" (though not to imply that the two songs are very similar at all) is that in this, there is no light, no spark, at the end of the tunnel. He's looking for it, he's asking for it near the end of the song with "gimme one good reason not to do it". He needs a reason to not lose all hope, and it's not there. This song in particular is probably the lyrical highlight of the whole album, with such great lines as "I took my own insides out. It don't matter 'cos I have no sex life; all I wanna do now is inject my ex wife" and "I don't care if I fuck up, I'm going on a date with a rich white lady. Ain't life great?" that are hilariously tragic in their own right.

One of the best things about this album is, despite it being unfinished, it feels like an album rather than a collection of songs, which every other one of his other albums to date have suffered from, reguardless of how good the individual songs are. Things such as "Ostriches and Chirping", which serves as an intro the stunningly good "Twilight", are things that haven't been present on previous albums that are warmly welcomed, along with other new additions such as having a song over six minutes. I'm also aware that Smith didn't make Ostriches, and probably wouldn't have included it on the album if he was alive, but hell, it definitely 100% works.

Some songs of the album are reminiscent of his lo fi work on his first three albums, though sometimes putting even Either/Or to shame. The song memory lane, a personal highlight, is probably the catchiest of all the songs on the album, with Elliott's excellent acoustic playing and great lyrics. It's a song where I don't have a lot to say about it, but I love it reguardless and it holds my personal, prestigious award of "most fun song to play on acoustic guitar". Songs like "Last Hour" are also beautiful, and amazingly bare and lo fi. It sounds like it came from the days of recording onto a four track on his basement *doesn't make pun*, and is brilliant (though obviously not because of this).

Then there are just the songs that hit you out of nowhere and leave you wondering "Wow, is this Elliott Smith I'm hearing?". "Shooting Star" comes to mind, with an intro that's so completely mind numbingly awesome and yet so unlike Smith it just makes you smile. Truly a dive into the experimental for him.

The album's filled with musical pieces of self expression that can get you pretty hard if you listen at the right time, but none other gets me more than "A Distorted Reality is now a Necessity to be Free". Just look at the title to know exactly what he was feeling. It's brilliant, angry, disappointed, and in need of help. The thing about this song...it's just...it's the best ending to an album ever. After all the voice overlays are singing, "ahhhhh"ing, and they all fade out one by one, leaving you only with a quiet "mmmmhh.." as his voice breaks off, and the piano and guitar quietly play until they fade out. It's perfect. Smith always ends his albums in a way that lack closure, reguardless of if the song is great ("Say Yes" (Either/Or) and "I Didn't Understand" come to mind). But this? Wow. It makes me want to sit in silence for minutes, doing nothing. It makes me wish more than anything that he wasn't dead, all because of that "mmmh". It's the most beautiful thing on record.

To conclude; the album is certainly not perfect. "Don't go Down" is definitely not even nearly up to par to the rest of the album, and songs like "Pretty (Ugly Before)" are definitely good, but by no means particularly memorable or even appropriate for the album (it wasn't even intended for it). The main criticism would have to be how, though I wouldn't know this, the songs might not resonate nearly as much if you are not that familiar with Smith. However, that's about all the criticism I can chalk up, and I'm really thinking of what I can criticise, too. It's not as impressive as Kid A when analysed (not even nearly), but as a personal and most definitely temporary opinion, I prefer it. Yeah, I'd be happy to say it's my favourite album, probably because I've listened to my other contenders dry, but also because it does what no other album does for me; makes me feel really emotional while not reminding myself that I exist. The only thing I can think when listening to this stuff is him, and only him, and I don't relate it to a situation in my life to feel something, which is pretty amazing.

Please, if you're not an Elliott Smith fan, don't get this album. Get Either/Or, XO, Figure 8 etc first. Then, once he's sunk in, once you're a fan and know enough about him, get this album and listen to it in the dark, with headphones, with your eyes shut, lying in bed. It's an experience.




10/10

Friday, 14 November 2008

I'm gonna talk about Obama and Prop 8

Yeah, might aswell. It's pretty excellent that Barack Obama is now the official president elect. That's not what I'm mainly going to talk about, but still, it's pretty great that America chose someone with the better policies and it's also pretty great that they elected a black guy as president, considering that would have been completely unthinkable merely decades ago. He's definitely gonna do a good job, I think.

Though it's definitely fucking strange what also happened along side that; you probably know that I'm talking about the proposition 8 thing. California made it legal for gay people to marry eachother in may, but now they've made it illegal again with the new proposition 8. Not only is it just terrible that they had to give gay people the right and then took it away, causing all weird problems like what to do with gay people who already got married, but it's just fucking ridiculous how such a big step forward could be taken and then a step right back on the same day.

No, I'm not gay at all, and hell I don't even think I have any gay friends (unless they're in the closet or something) but I still think this is fucking ridiculous. You think that things have moved on when someone from once a repressed minority is now the president elect, but instead they just go along and opress another minority. Can't they just get out of this rut already? I heard someone say something interesting, which was "Does the gay community really need a Martin Luther King?" and I fucking hope not. I mean seriously, it's the 21st century, how about we DON'T ban people from things because of someone else's religion for a change? Thanks.

An exhibition

Welcome to the first ever alienblogato exhibition! This week: unfinished blogs. The bolded segments are the title of the unfinished blogs.

The Best Question:

I've decided that the best question is probably "May I rape you?" The reasoning for this is if they say yes, then it's impossible to rape them, but if they say no, you can.

Observations:

Here's an observation for you that makes me happy and yet makes me feel uneasy; ever since putting my blog back into my MSN personal message (it's been about a day since doing that) I've got about 70 new views. Thanks for reading! The uneasy part is that I have no idea who is reading really; I guessed my sister was when she was saying "you know me and you are very similar", and then I knew she was when she was all "I love music and art too!".

Powerless or Powerful?


I find it quite funny that humans can be some of the most powerless people and species on earth, but yet the most powerful, by far. I mean, it's just funny isn't it, if you put a naked and bare human in a room with a lion, the lion would kill him easily if they had to fight. However, I think a lion would find it very hard, nay, impossible to destroy almost all life of Earth, but humans could do that easily. It's weird how it varies; lions are pretty much just lions and they'll never be any less powerful or more powerful without human intervention, really. Humans can adjust and shit.

No Title

I really want to write a blog, but it's been so soon since my last blog that I can't think of anything new to write about. I asked a few people what to write about; Anthony said "." in his oh so hilarious manner (:@ !!), Dan interestingly said "Write about people's lame boyfriends", which was an intriguing idea but that would just be pathetic bitching and I'd look like a complete loser. Zak suggested writing about "music and art", though that is seriously about 90% of what I write on here, so I'm not going to do that.

Since I can't think of a blog topic

I'm going to make this blog 100% Random thoughts, since it's easier to write this way. I might make it something more coherent later.

Random thoughts:

I wonder if the financial crisis is going to start affecting my family soon. I mean, just a few minutes ago I went to get some deliciously smooth and sweet Tropicana™®© orange juice. What did I see? Black eyed angels swam with m- I mean, it had been replaced with plain old ASDA orange juice. Naturally, I thought my world had come crashing down around me, but not just yet; there was one carton of Tropicana left. I lived to tell the tale, at least for another day.

Amnesiac would be so much better if Knives Out was replaced with Cuttooth, and Morning Bell/Amnesiac was replaced with Worry Wort. It's still my favourite album ever either way.

I keep having thoughts about that girl that I used to like, but I haven't even talked to her properly in months. Referencing a previous blog, if you don't try to keep friendships up, they just dissolve into nothing. Sucks.

Church

How I want my Life to be

Ok, so basically, I'm a dreamer. I always have thoughts, always, of imagining having these weird wishes come true. These vary a lot, but are all basically nice things that I'd like to happen to me. They include things like imagining that every girl was attracted to me, imagining that I had perfect ability in something like piano or singing or song writing. I also sometimes wish that I'd written certain songs, but then convince myself that if I did then there wouldn't be an amazing studio version. Sometimes I think of weird things, like for half of all women to find me amazingly attractive, and the other half to find me very ugly, and see how things go, for fun.

But yeah, enough about that. This blog is just going to be a detailed overly examined guess of what I'd like my life to be like, except it's gonna be realistic (so no half of all women finding me amazingly attractive type stuff here, sorry).

Ok, so maybe I should say where I am right now as of writing this blog. I'm in year 12, at the Brit School where my main thing I'm doing is Visual Art and design. It's alright so far, I enjoy painting by far out of everything else; mainly because we haven't touched on animation yet. But yeah, I have constant feelings that I'm in the wrong place, not because I don't love art, but that the art that I want to do won't provide me with the kind of lifestyle that I want unless luck is on my side. I also feel that, unlike something like music, I just plain don't understand art these days. There's so much analysing that we do to uncover the true meaning of the art work, and that's great, but after that...I feel nothing. With songs, once I find the true meaning I appreciate it more most of the time, but with art, I'm just like "..ok". A lot of the time it's just so ambiguous that you have to read a detailed explanation of what exactly it's about. I have a feeling I'm not explaining this well, but basically, as I've said fuckin' millions of times already and am sorry for mentioning it again, music > art.

So, what would I actually want to happen in my life you say? I'd like to leave the Brit school with a distinction in my Art Btec, but ideally that wouldn't effect what I'd want to happen. I'd like to be in a band, a band with amazing musicians that want to make music like me. Ideally, I'd also want them to be great friends of mine, just y'know, because I'd prefer to be in a band with amazing friends rather than LAME PEOPLE. But yeah, after that, I'd like to be discovered by some type of record company that would give me a deal (Ok, you've got a deal!) and then I'd be famous and appreciated, and not seen as some piece of shit band that means nothing and creates crappy pop songs that don't mean anything.

I'd also like to find someone to love, that loves me back. I'd also like to get married to her, but if she didn't like marriage or something like that, I wouldn't give a shit. I'm also one of the only people I know of my age where I can confidently say, I want children. The thought of not having offspring and then just DYING scares me. I'll need someone to keep the bloodline going, but besides that, I just love kids. They're great

One of my favourite times of the day

Is on weekends or holidays, when it's late at night and you can stay up late with no consequence. And then you just sit in front of the tv and watch it, while being on the laptop/internet and talking to people on msn. It's even better when all the ugmoers start to awaken etc. Yeah. Actually, I guess it's not a great time, but I still like it. I like how the tv works all day, kinda. I don't really know how to explain this, I think it's because it reminds me that at night, everyone isn't gone even though it's quiet and dark. It reminds me of this because they could be watching tv with me in other places, or operating the tv channels and things like that.

Another night related thing I like is waking up in the middle of the night and going to another room to find someone still up, and then having a chat. Then again, I guess I don't have to actually wake up for this to be good. I don't know.

I'm tired but I don't want to sleep. UFcdoip hatevr

Oh, and last of all, this is a blog I started writing a few days ago that I didn't finish, 'cos I was bored etc.

"Where were we?

Ah yes, a pointless blog title. I'm not continuing a theme from a particular previous blog, but oh yes, jolly good. Etc. Yeah. Don't really have anything to say, but I have a spare hour or two so I thought I'd at least write something.

For the past 2 days, I've had 2 hours sleep on both days. It really took it's toll on me today, to the point where I was seeing random images of purple and stumbling about. I also noticed that I become so agitated and, for lack of a better word because obviously I was tired, hyper. By hyper, I mean I had to constantly keep myself occupied, occupied by playing around with pencils and doing random beats on the table and just generally anything to keep my eyes open. Bleh.

I should also note that I am enjoying music much more than art at the moment. I'm not upset about it either, music is so totally awesome. Fuck yeah bye"


THE END OF THE EXHIBITION

Wasn't that excellent?