I Used To Have Frogs...

I don't usually do this but...

2012-07-30T08:48:00.000+01:00

MY GOD WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MODERN MUSIC.

This morning (it's 8am now, and I;ve been up since 6), I slowly but surely pulled my head from out of the underground music gutter and decided to make a foray into the internet machine to find out just what modern music is today. Most of the music I listen to tends to be..

a)Quite varied
and
b)Often un-listenable if you haven't had music shoved down your gullet since you were 3 years old.

So, this got me thinking. What is the music of our age? When I am 60 years old, what will my reply be when my inquisitive offspring turn and ask me 'what type of music was around in your day', because at the moment my answer will consist of 'a lot of ambient house music and dark techno' which, and I'm very sure about this, is not a true representation of mainstream music.

So with this thought half in my head, I began my customary daily internet trawl for new music. On my way I found some gems which I will put at the end, because trust me, after the shocking and rather disgusting musical vomit I found, you will need something to sweeten the pill.

Now, as I'm sure you all know, modern pop music, is utter pig semen. From Justin Beiber's ground-breaking lyrics of 'Boyfriend' (I think he has a whole bridge of 'oh oh ohs') to One Direction's almost mental asylum worthy retard pop, modern pop music is in a bad way. And with teenage anti-christs such as Justin beebz and that disgusting human-dildo-for-the-older-woman Harry Styles as our musical figureheads, it's little wonder that this country is on the precipice of social unrest. Slightly going on a tangent here, I will openly say that anyone who considers One Direction 'a good pop band' or 'the new beatles' are indeed mentally unwell, to the point that a prerequisite of being a UK citizen, or indeed a world citizen, should be the fact that one can undoubtedly see that One Direction are actually a social-science experiment by a prestigious university, investigating just how stupid people can be, as no one can really take those little fucktards seriously.
So back to my morning and my undigestable discovery...

We all remember Carly Rae Jepsen's drone-like hypnotic song 'call me maybe' yes?
And we also all remember that horrendous band Owl City who wrote songs about being wanky teenagers, despite not being wanky teenagers, and actually being like 30 and having crows feet yes?

WELL, THEY HAVE JOINED FORCES. NO, I'M NOT LYING. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS HAS GONE TOO FAR NOW.

The song is called Good Time. I'm going to put it out there and say it's fascist. Because only fascism would make this okay. The chorus 'whoa-oh oh, oh oh oh, it's always a good time' is probably relating to the good time had by all whilst bastardising the ears of young impressionable children. I think there should be a rule against this. Listening to it, I can honestly feel my IQ slipping considerably. I probably couldn't even tell you Pythagoras' theorem right now. And the video, the video shows Carly and friends having a 'good time'. A good time poisoning the nation that is. Surely, this is illegal. In some realm, in some Human Rights Act somewhere, this must be illegal. It's paralysed me. Post-listen, I'm trapped in a vortex of Hate and Confusion as I now have aspects of the psycho-pop stuck in my brain. I'm sorry if it's happened to you too, it's not my fault it's Carly's. BLAME CARLY.

Okay, let me look in my first aid kit of music and see if I can help you....
Firstly, massage this in sparingly to the affected area.....
Oh hello. ITS MUTHAFUCKING DOOOOOM.
Or JJ Doom, to be precise. We all know the back story, Jneiro Jarel and Doom have joined forces to make beautiful music, la la la, album coming soon, la la la, been waiting in the wings for a while la la la. This is Guv'Nor.

The album is out in about a month or so and is said to be featuring Thom Yorke and the bird from Portishead. chilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll. And Guv'Nor is a nice antidote to the bullcrap I shared earlier....

Next, I prescribe this three times a day (preferabley with meals)

I really adore Lianne La Havas. Her new album is beautiful and I'm proud to say she's british and a bit black like me. She's like Corrine Bailey Rae, but second album Corrine (You know, when she stopped being flowery and grew her hair out). So Lianne La Havas is wonderous anyway (I suggest you go buy or at least stream her album) but what's even more awesome about LLH is that every decent DJ worth his weight in bass-face has been remixing her. Her songs remix wonderfully, and this remix by Shlohmo, who never fails to be make me emotional, actually made me cry when I first listened to it. Maybe it's because I already knew the song, but regardless, his mind-bending bass accompanied by LLH's vocals is stunning and breathtaking. Via XLR8R.

And to complete the course of treatment, elevate the injury and apply this with a cold compress...
Mes amis, ici Andrea.

The xx - Angels (Andrea remix)

So last week or so The XX released their hotly awaited new single. Now then, it's no secret that their self titled first album was mothercrunching good. Even got the Mercury Music Award seal of BBC middle class approval. Dinner parties across the country were discussing how good The XX were (because Laurene Laverne and Jools Holland had said so) and teenagers nationwide were exploring the The XX (turning up the bass really loud on Fantasy, of course). And then, we heard their second album was baking in the oven and here was Angels, a lick of the cake mixing bowl. The first thirty seconds were so promising. It all seemed so good. Still I stuck with it, waiting for The XX to do what they do best and take me on a journey. And then, the song ended. The biggest wet fart of a comeback single since Madonna did that horrendously embarrassing track with MIA and Minaj. So then I stumbled across this remix. It's by Andrea, it's not ground breaking by any stretch of the imagination, but it's interesting and it's better than the original by about a jazillion times.

Okay, I think you should be okay now. I'm sorry I had to show you that anti-music earlier, but this a message that must be told throughout the world.

follow me on twitter for total LOLZ. @elizabethmward

you can't spell friend without end. or fri.

2012-07-25T00:38:00.000+01:00

When I was younger, I had a real issue with how to spell 'friend'. For some reason, for me, it seemed like the impossible task. I remember writing a poem (I used to write a lot of poems at 7, I wish I was lying) and the title of the poem had 'friend' in it. Marring that memory is the fact that my poem, which was stuck up on the wall of my home had 'FREIND' emblazoned across the front.

Freind. Now it reminds me of Freud, which opens up a whole new level of discussion that I am neither intellectually equipped enough, nor bothered about, to digress into.

So how did I manage to combat this terrible plight of my childhood? How did I manage to finally cross the precipice into correct spelling? The I before E rule I hear you say? no sir. Not at all. I remember it clearly when I finally learnt how to spell friend. My friend Mark (who will definitely not remember this, let alone read this) simply said to me 'Liz, if you FRI your FRIENDS they'll come to an END'. To this day I don't know who told Mark this little bead of grammatical greatness, or whether it came from his closely cropped head. However, it nye-on revolutionised my life. To this day, I think of FRI and END every time I write friend. Its beautiful. It's simple. It's archaic and ridiculous. It works.

So why am I bestowing this little jewel of knowledge onto you? It's quite a laborious link really, about friends. How friendships change. How friends die, or, come to and END.

And part of it is sad, don't get me wrong, but when you've been living in a friendship, that eventually becomes so unequal, and biased, and unhappy, when you finally admit it's over, a cloud lifts.

It's like a relationship, but much worse. I'd take ending a relationship over ending a friendship a thousand times. Ending a relationship is clearer. Someone cheated. You fell out of love. You moved away. It's done, it's clear, it's over. But with a friendship, it's much more entwined, much less clear. In a sense the emotions run deeper, or at least as deep.

I've ended a few friendships. Lost more than one best friend, slowly but surely grown apart. And now we exist on a horrible level of asking how each other's families are, or if the dog is still alive. Only recently have I spotted those tell-tale symptoms of a dying friendship. Those signs of when it's over. What you thought you had, hasn't stuck around, and now you're two lost entities, existing in the same, now uncomfortable field or friendship.

Then comes that day when you finally admit it. We're not as close as we used to be. We're ghosts.

Like I said, different to a relationship (and I've seen the end of a few of those too!) it's worse. So much worse.

but inevitable.

And back to Mark's little memory tip for spelling friend? well you don't have to FRI your FRIENDS for it to come to an END. You can just let them drift away, painlessly, but oh so painful at the same time.

Change, for the better?

2012-07-18T09:26:00.003+01:00

Change. It's inevitable isn't it. From the gradual change of that favourite white t-shirt to a dirty dirty grey (yes, colours DO mix at 40) to the sudden changed forced by a new hair 'do, change is all around us.

And sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad.

As humans, and young ones at that, change is on offer to us constantly, with perfect opportunities being thrown in our faces at every turn. Moving to uni? Well then, there's a perfect change opportunity, as I doubt a kid from Hull is massively well known in Bangor. Change away sir, be my guest. Starting a new job? Well I doubt the office staff at P&G Milton Keynes know your backstory, so continue madam.

But is that always a good thing? In the last two years, coincidentally whilst I've been at university, I've changed quite a bit. Gone are the days of smoking, heavy partying and cheap romancing - replaced with a passion for home-made jam and putting falafel in EVERYTHING. All in all, I suppose I'm a bit boring. Maybe it's being so far away from home.
Maybe it's living with and around people that motivate me to be a better person.
Maybe it's just because I like falafel.

I mean don't get me wrong, when the moment asks for it, I can channel my inner Lindsay Lohan. I had a bit of a wobbler recently, a 'fifth-life-crisis' in which I suddenly yearned for the years gone-by. Those years of stumbling into college still drunk from the night before. Even those times in Year Nine (yeah I started early) in which I would begrudgingly take part in 9am cross country runs with a stonking Lambrini hangover.

In the last few years, I've seen people close to me change. Some for the good, some for the bad. Seeing my once teetotal meek and mild ex-boyfriend suddenly become a BNOC at his Uni was, I suppose, a good change. Seeing a self destructive best friend turn his life around to be on the straight and narrow - also a good change. And the bad changes? Well in my opinion, the worst change is when someone doesn't really change at all. A lack of change, a plateau in life, is probably the worst thing to go under. I see people I went to school with living the same lives we did five years ago. Same friends, same motivations, same fake tan.

I'm not saying go change you're entire ethos on life. On the contrary, that would be a completely futile change. You can't become Gandhi overnight. I suppose the change I'm taking about is more of an adaptation. An addition to your character. An ironing out of all those little discrepancies and creases. Imperfections. So embrace change. Don't be scared. Evolve as Darwin wanted us to.

As for that favourite white t-shirt? Just stick to 30, even if it's dirty.

CUE SAM COOKE AND SOME TISSUES:

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER FOR MORE POIGNANT AND POINTLESS WORDS @elizabethmward

I AM ALIVE AGAIN! REBORN FROM THE DUSTY CORNER OF THE INTERNET MACHINE!

2012-05-16T00:18:00.000+01:00

My dearest reader,
May I first begin by apologising. Profusely. My quest of bringing you the best summations of life, sprinkled with the utmost of musical creamy crop, has been rather deserted or late. I, my friend, have been in a dark hole.

A dark, dark revision shaped hole.

Pretty much been feeling like this little dude

Because, you see, sadly, this is not all I do (as much as I think it should be). I am indeed a student, and no, not a student of something sensible, like English Lit, I am a student of Science, Zoology to be precise, and so have been submerged under a veritable manor-house-sized-shed-load of revision.

But now, I am putting aside my work on the benefits of grazing and the downfalls of mammary glands, to share with you my inner most thoughts and of course my musical picks of the last few weeks (or months even!)

Exam time. That ultimate test of how good YOU really are.

Should you be here? Do you deserve this coveted university place? Who even are you? Why are you even doing this course?

That's what I hear every time I sit in front of my revision. Or an exam paper. Or even a textbook. I think we all do to some extent. Apart form those lucky lucky few, it's safe to say most university students often find themselves in a moment of hot, white, panic where these sneaking questions some how worm their way in and feelings of nausea and regret overcome every fibre of your being.

But it's only a fleeting moment.

And you remember how you felt back then. A-Level results day. Moving into halls day. Getting your first 1st on an essay. Those flashes of brilliance in between the snakebites, the morning afters, the Greggs sausage rolls, the tears, the laughter and the ever-so-boring lectures on the differences of grass species, that re-affrim who you are. And just why you're here.

It doesn't get easier. GCSEs, A-Levels, Degrees, Masters, they're all difficult by definition. They have to be. But the biggest enemy during exam time, isn't your lecturer. It's not Joe Bloggs who seems to know everything about Ancient Rome. It's not even your so-called-lucky-but-not-so-lucky-anymore pen.
It's you. It's your own insecurities. It's your own doubt. It's just, you.

But you know what? That same enemy that keeps trying to make you fail? Can also go a long way in letting you succeed.

and there it is; 'letting you succeed'

So in the words of a famous fellar who's from where I'm from, Let It Be.
And trust, in YOU.

Now then, after that little pep talk, LET'S HAVE SOME MUSIC ON THIS BITCH BRO.
And I am pretty much foaming, I have so many amazing things to share...

FIRST UP. Jessie Ware. She's my new favourite humanoid.

She's pretty, she wear cool clothes (okay I know feather and sequins and dunzo now, but trust me) and she makes simply some of the most beautiful chilled out soundscaping tunes I have heard this side of aqualung. This is 110%. It's fairly recent. And its amazing. Whatever bass you have, turn it up, and chill out.

Next up, Taking a step away from electrochill, and a step towards folk, comes Daughter. I'm pretty sure I've written about this girl before. I honestly don't know much about her, alls I know is that she has well short hair, cool ep cover sleeves and has written one of the single most beautiful pop-folk songs to ever grace my ears. This particular song is called Youth, stream it while I chat some breeze about it...

The lyrics. I could write out every single lyrics of this song and tell a personal story of how it relates to my life. Every line is perfect, telling the classic woes of love, heart break, loss and that raw feeling of sheer nothingness. Lines like 'if you're in love, then you're the lucky one' followed swiftly by 'setting fire to our insides for fun, to distract ourselves from ever missing them, but i'm forever missing him' cue heart-stopping drum beats that leave you in an emotional whirlwind of not knowing whether to cry or smile or both. Anyone's who loved and lost, this song will hopefully resonate with you as it did with me (that or I need to go talk to someone)....

Right, it's a bit of girl-fest in here. Here's Tallest Man on Earth. And here's a picture of him because he's FIT and I WANT HIM AND NO ONE ELSE.

I've been a fan of TMOE for a while, but I've only just recently discovered this little gem. It's called The Dreamer. It's not long. It's not big. It's not particularly clever. It's not even new. But it is perfection. So enjoy...

Finally, for those of you that haven't skidaddled away....I've saved the best 'til last. It's a band I've championed before, a band that aurally invade me in the best kind of way. A band that warm my soul, heart and brain at the same time. Ladies and Gentlemen, if you don't already know, I bring you...ACTIVE CHILD.
Now stream this song Playing House, so you can enjoy my ramblings whilst listening..

It's hard to even put into words my feelings towards Active Child. The one-man-synth band (aka Pat Grossi), has been around for a while but burst onto our scenes as Active Child in around 2010. Since then, Active Child has become to all-reigning-super-king of harp/synth/organ greatness. Fans of dub will surely appreciate the dark vibe to his music, fans of folk will empathise will the plucked strings, fleeting down many a chromatic scale. And to the rest of you? Listen. Educate yourself with Active Child. Dreamscape music for a Dreamscape generation. It didn't even matter what song I put up here, each one is more epic than the next (In fact, my decision changed four times, seriously, go buy the album) Anyway, you know what? In these stressful exam times, we could all do with a bit of epic dreaming....

'Happiness consists in realising it is all a great, strange dream..'

Jack Kerouac.

HIT ME UP ON TWITTER YO @elizabethmward

If it wasn't for young fellars with guitars...

2012-02-23T10:22:00.000+00:00

Then I think the world would be a much darker place.

So it's been a while...sadly, I actually have a life these days, so can no longer spend my time on the internet machine. But quit bitchin' I'm here now! And what do I have for you today? A (not so) little lad called Liam McGenity, a 20 year old singer songwriter from Widnes in *cough* Cheshire. And all his music offerings...

Liam has fleeted in and out of a few bands and has now grown into a heart-on-sleeve troubadour (to find out his full background visit his very snazzy website http://liammcgenity.com/ ). Having made a ballsy move from sunny Lancaster to even sunnier Montana, Liam's music has blown up lately, and all y'all need to be part of this explosion. His new Ep The Peaks, really shows how this young lad has grown into a very mature artist, each song plucking just the right heartstrings.

Liam, concentrating....

The ep starts with the stand out track 'If it wasn't for you' (which I cannily stole for this blog post) The song itself, starts comfortable, long guitar and strums and comforting lyrics that give you one of those ever-so-enjoyable audio hugs. But the chorus is where this song truly finds it's brilliance, with a swift chord change here and there and anthemic lyrics, one soon finds themselves singing along openly (despite the social situation you may be in at the time...)

'if it wasn't for you' look how majestic Liam looks on this image eh.

The ep goes on to tick most musical boxes you could want from a singer songwriter début ep. 'Dancing on the Sand' definitely has a 'northern' feel to it, with shades of early Beatles and echoes of The Coral, Liam's liverpool background shines through in the best way possible.

Liam's voice is honest, his lyrics are true and his melodies make you take a little sabbatical out of your busy life-filled-life. So hope on to amazon, or itunes, and jump on the Liam McGenity train. You won't regret it...
LIAM MCGENITY FACEBOOK
GO BUY THE PEAKS!

So that's it from me, until I simply NEED to share some more musical genius. I should go do some work now. oh Ps check out my NEW blog http://thingsthatareboss.blogspot.com/ pretty much does what it says on the tin really.

Do you like my new layout too? bangin'
love xxxxx

'I don't care much about music, what I like is sounds'

2012-01-13T11:27:00.002+00:00

As said by Dizzy Gillespie (pictured above) However, I disagree with Dizzy. I like music and sounds and everything inbetween (and he has super weird cheeks). So let's see what NEW musical offerings I have today, from my emporium of beats and riffs.....

First at the musical dining table of delectable delights, is the young troubadour known as Jake Hart.
Hailing from south London, this young man makes music, that slides ever so well inbetween bands such a Bomaby Bicycle Club and The Maccabees. The song 'What We Are Now' takes one on a journey, down the avenues of intricate guitar riffs, to wide roads of teenage-sentiment lyrics, set in front of a back drop of heart racing drums, all making for 4 minutes and 8 seconds of sonic joy, that will resonate for a while.
'Still Young' is another track by the young fellow. This, a much more jumpy affair, tips it's hat to the music more relevant a few years back (think Blondelle, early Foals that vibe) However, that need not be a bad thing. Maybe not as grown up as other offerings by the artist, the song still remains firmly wedged in my brain, long after the sounds have left my ear canal.
The song 'AKWD' is way more experimental. with minimal repeated lyrics and basslines to rival any James Blake or SBTRKT. The song effortlessly turns into an almost drum and bass affair, perfectly taking the song to where it needs to be. More current than a raisin (wheyy geddit?!), AKWD is the bravest (and dare I say it, best) offering from the young man.

What We Are Now by jake hart Still Young by jake hart AKWD by jake hart

Jake Hart, blinded by the lights...

JAKE HART FACEBOOK

JAKE HART TWITTER

Next musical beast to be released from my enclosure is Goldroom. Goldrrom, also known as Josh Legg, comes from LA and makes real sweet remixes of some real sweet tunes. Now then, as we have all been spoon fed by the BBC lately and told to suddenly like THENEXTBIGTHING I'm sure many of you will already be familiar with Niki & The Dove (more avid readers, may even remember me blogging about her last week and a few months before that) So Goldroom, being as bang on trend as he is, has done a firecrackin' remix of 'Mother Protect' The song itself is very bass laden anyway, Niki is not one to shy away from a disco vibe either, however Goldroom's remix is just perfect, without going completely over the top and forging a saccharine, unecessary affair.

Niki & The Dove - Mother Protect (Goldroom Remix) by Goldroom

GOLDROOM ON TWITTER

AND FINALLY to enter my arena of aural delights, are the big, BIG SIXES. A trio from Bucks consisting of a Charlie, Charles and a Will, they make slick, quick and dare I say it, Indie tunes, that remain to stay fresh, despite the sheer volume of indie bands around these days. The first tune I heard by these fellows was 'The Devil Makes Work For Idle Tongues' which has been on repeat in my house for roughly 6 months. The song starts with the line 'I'm devoted to being hopeless..' (one of the best starts to a song in a long time) and then moves on to a rapid verse. Here it is here look..

Right nice that isn't it.

Most recent offering from the guys is Salvation, Salvation. Like with all the Big Sixes, the sound is a perfect marriage of intelligent lyrics, clever phrasing and all round memorable music.
It's rare to find such a good young band, and I predict, with all my psychic prowess that these guys will grow and grow this year and be the biggest sixes (or trio) around. Ya' heard it here first kids.

Salvation, Salvation by Big Sixes

The guys will be performing in the next few weeks, so I hereby decree that you all keep keen eyes upon their facebook and twitter (links given below)
BIG SIXES ON FACEBOOK
BIG SIXES ON TWITTER

So that rounds up my little foray into the back roads of what's new and fresh for this week. If you're a DJ/band/singer/whatever and would like me to write about you, hit me up on twitter or some shit yeah bro?
xxxxxxxxxxx

TWITTER ON YOUR FACIAL CAVITIES - @elizabethmward

What Is Your Hurry.

2012-01-10T19:57:00.001+00:00

What is our hurry. Why are we always, so scared, of time running out. Sometimes, I feel that like is a bit like the last trial in the hit TV game show, Total Wipeout (presented by the first successful human-hamster experiment, Richard Hammond)

Hammond doing his thing...

If you aren't familiar with the show, in the final round, contestants compete against the clock, to complete a series of water based, danger filled tasks (such as jumping onto moving platforms etc, really high brow stuff) And at the end, the three remaining contestants find out which one has become victor and risen to Total Wipeout fame.

The point I'm trying to make here, is that life, sometimes, can have this feel. Sometimes, it feels so... crucial. Like, if we don't do this thing right here right now, nothing in the world will never be the same again. When really, when you look back, it's merely a very inconsequential moment.

This is like the time when I made my mother near enough risk her life for a party. To cut a long story short, I had returned from university, to find out that a friend was having his 18th that evening. However two drawbacks were thrust upon me:

a)The party was in the next town.

b)It was snowing to Alaskan proportions.

But when I returned home, I begged, pestered and cried, until my mother braved the ice age conditions to take me to Widnes (google it). And you know what? The party, was okay, but not life changing. I saw my friends for the first time in ages, but I saw them again the next day. I didn't even get that drunk...looking back, it was a trivial event, that inconvenienced my mum, and myself.

A child being a top brat like we all are at times...

There is no better domain of youth life that suffers from the Unnecessary Urgency than love. I, at 19, can honestly say, I sometimes feel 'past it'. Which I'm sure anyone who is over the age of 19, would simply abhor. However, especially for girls, there is such a desperate need to Find A Guy And Be Really Happy Before We Leave Teens. Well guess what. There isn't. And for me, who's relationship role model is Summer Finn - I am in no rush, and neither should you be.

Summer being a top heart breaker. Tom being a top love-lorn-lad.

Today I watched New York, I Love You. And this clip, out of all the clips (apart from when they play Radiohead's No Surprises) is my most favoured part...I hope you're sitting comfortably...

That's what we all want isn't it. That's the pinnacle of love. It's the Ferrari of love. It's what everyone from The Queen to the lady who lives next-door-but-three dreams about. And in my opinion, this can't be rushed. So what's your hurry? Have a cup of tea, and sit down.

ps. I promise I will write about music again soon, have some complete babes of tunes to share with the world

enjoy this? join me on twitter (be warned, I post A LOT) - @elizabethmward

My Dalliance To The Dark Side.

2012-01-08T12:54:00.002+00:00

Today, my friends, we are taking a side-step away from the usual tales of textbooks philosophy and tweed-jacket-indie-sentiments, as I recount to you the evening I spent in Liverpool's premier celeb hang-outs. And trust me, it's quite the interesting story....

So firstly, here's some background information. My friends Tom, Charlotte and Carmela are nothing less than fabulous. I, being your stereotypical messy-haired-chipped-nailed student, do nothing more than admire them. I consider them all close friends. Tom I've know since I was 7 (longer than a sentence for manslaughter #justsaying) and the other two I've know for over 5 years each at least. I never fail to be amazed at how the three of them manage to look to effortlessly perfect, EVERY SINGLE TIME we go out. And I must say, whenever I come back home, to my Liverpool ends, I look forward to seeing these guys, an awful lot. So, cutting to the chase; Carmela is socialite pro, Tom is your run of the mill Liverpool It-Boy (with a quiff) and Charlotte is Windle's answer to Beyonce (but white), and last night, we spent an evening, on the Liverpool scene, where many an eye (mainly mine) was opened.

Our evening began at San Carlo. The UK's best italian restaurant. The restaurant itself, is beautiful. On a corner behind the Dock Road, the front is flagged with two ginormous fake-fire-burners and a rather large bouncer. As you walk in, there are two bars and everything is white, marble, stainless steel or glass. The most bizarre thing about San Carlo is simply how many tables there are! I mean, considering it's the top restaurant in Liverpool, they don't half pack them in! But I'm not complaining, the place is amazing. It has a constant Buzz about it, and to be in San Carlo on a Saturday Night means that you're going to see at least one famous face (or at least one owner of a very exclusive club, naming no names....) The food was beautiful and not too expensive! I've eaten in restaurants that are far more expensive than San Carlo, for far less superior food. The one thing that strikes me about Liverpool is how accesible the celebrity lifestyle is. It isn't hard to melt yourself into the Scene. Whereas in London for instance, to merely get entry into Boujis, one must have recommendations form two members, as well as the bank balance to support a night out at The Prince's local (trust me, I've researched it and spent many an afternoon working out how to gain acess with my dear friend Cora) However, Liverpool; if you have the basic connections - you're in! So, our meal at San Carlo came to end and on we progressed...

The bar at San Carlo. I wasn't lying....

So what does a young socialite do in Liverpool after a beautiful meal (hold the carbs) at Liverpool's best restaurant? Go to Liverpool's number one pre-drink bar of course! So off we trotted to Palm Sugar, located just on the edge of Liverpool One. Now, Palm Sugar has a very...unique..vibe to it. Aside from the odd birthday party 'ooh mai gorrrdddd such a good niiiyt at parrrrrrm shug-eh for are babes' theeeeeeerrrty-it' most people who frequent Palm Sugar at 11.30pm on a Saturday, are yet to be bladdered. It's the place one starts off, everyone's a little bit too sober, and at £4 for a single vodka lemonade, no-ones going to be drunk any time soon. So everyone, is watching, everyone. Watching what you're wearing, drinking, company you're keeping. Not in an uncomfortable way, just a...scouse, way. On the whole, scousers are friendly. Fairly open, fairly kind, and if you treat them right, they won't throw a drink in your face. (or bite your ear off http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/08/24/a-man-had-his-nose-ears-and-lips-bitten-off-in-a-brutal-attack-outside-liverpool-nightclub-funky-box-100252-29291680/ but who even goes to funkybox these days..) So as I said, Palm Sugar has a unique feel to it. The funniest moment for me was when the DJ/saxophone/bongo trio began to play an Amy Winehouse song - the amount I had to bite my tongue to stop me saying my classic phrase RIP AMY. WHAT WOULD AMY DO then make everyone down their drink was quite astounding (I don't think liverpool football players would appreciate me asking them to do that, do you?) maybe a sign that I'm finally growing up? So after a couple of swift drinks in Palm Sugar, we continued with our venture (but first collected our thoughts in Tom's beautiful yellow mini)

Beautiful Palm Sugar

So after a few bbm messages from various well known people in the Liverpool area (I won't be naming names) we made our way to New Zealand House, more commonly known as Newz Bar. The ONLY place to be seen on the scene on a Saturday night....

Now, my dear reader (if you have lasted this long) Newz Bar is a club in Liverpool which is now blasted on screens across the country as Liverpool's version of Les Deux off of The Hills, as Newz Bar is featured heavily in the e4 realidrama - Desperate Scousewives. The bar itself is actually really beautiful, big long bar, places to sit, and of course, lots of beautiful people. It's hard to describe what this world is like for me. I mean, I am happiest in my natural terrain, either a dirty dubstep gig, where everyone is touching everyone, or watching a little band sing their hearts out, or even at a festival, and the unwritten rules that lie in the mud and glitter there. But this world, this semi-celebrity-image-conscious world is rather alien to me.
But not in a bad way, oh no, it's morbidly fascinating. Like watching a well groomed, well dressed car crash. I have never seen any race of people who dress and present themselves better than Liverpool girls. True Liverpool girls. And the show Desperate Scousewives has immortalised the Scouse Brow and such, forever. Many of the cast was in Newz Bar, some of whom were extremely lovely and very scouse and some of whom are better left at the tail-end of the Z-list. Its a very strange shade of life. Everyone watches to see what everyone else is doing, drinking, saying. Celebs float past every two minutes, the next more beautiful and impressive than the last. Guys coming out the toilets, all suspiciously with slightly runnier noses than before. It's a social zoo (but aren't all clubs?) Newz bar not only holds the Scousewives, but also some very top flight footballers, notably a very hapless Peter Crouch and his beautiful wife, the pregnant Abbey Clancy (who were later spotted having a little bit of drama regarding some of the hostess girls in Newz and one too many pictures). And to be part of that world, if only for a couple of hours in a very squashed VIP is rather exciting. And refreshing. (there's only so many times I can hear 'This Charming Man' in Bumper and still get excited)

The exclusive, Newz Bar...

So what are my final thoughts on this tale of the Liverpool Scene? Well my friends, I think it's fantastic. I love it. I admire it. I'm mildly jealous of it. I honestly wish I could fit into that scene so much easier than I do, however, my grudgey roots will not allow. Well, not all the time, but a little Vacation to the classier side of Liverpool will do me just fine......

enjoy? follow me on twitterrrrrrrrrr - @elizabethmward

2012, what we saying.

2012-01-02T01:30:00.000+00:00

So, a new year. I don't really know why people make such a fuss of a new year, because its probably one of the most inevitable things that ever happen in a year. No matter what (aside an odd apocalypse) there will always be, a new year. In fact, the clocks going back or forward, if you think about it, is more exciting than new year. I mean, you lose or gain an ENTIRE HOUR when the clocks go back! How exciting is that?! Whereas new year, the date just progresses. Which happens, my dear friends, every day.

However, do not take this as a cynical commentary, no no no, I love new year! But then again, I love any chance to be with your nearest and dearest and celebrate. I suppose what I'm trying to get at here is that okay, logically, a certain event may not warrant high emotions and excessive drinking, but - and here's the killer - it doesn't have to! If you want to have a party with a buffet and mulled wine every third Wednesday of the month to celebrate Third-Wednesday-Day because you get to see all your friends and 'catch up' then you can do it. Because having a Celebration has no pre-requisites. It has no criteria. It has no entry requirements. Do it 'til the cows come home (Or stumble home at 4am with a donner kebab)

Just party like this insane old man.

So with this phenomena of new year we get the inevitable NEW YEAR NEW YOU mantra. Well, how much do we really change over 24 hours, not much, that's how much. And no, waking up another day older doesn't mean suddenly you won't want a cigarette or you'll find love. That takes time. However I do quite like the idea of a New Years Resolution. Mine this year is to just be myself. Which may sound odd, but it's harder than you'd think. And what else? Music. More music. Too much of 2011 was wasted on getting wasted. This year I want to appreciate life a tad more. Life and music. So let's start as we mean to go on shall we! Are ya' sittin' comfortably kids????

I recently found, due to the informative souls at KEXP this band, Active Child....

I say band, it's just this dude. Here he is sat on a wall. Active Child aka Pat Grossi, makes beautiful electrical music all with a harp vibe. Now returning readers may or may not know that I, am a massive Joanna Newsom fan with all her harp-y goodness. So this guy goes right into my Who I've Got On Repeat Right Now. Here's his tune, You Are All I See

Dreamy right. Another band I'm totally completely in love with at the moment is Real Estate. New Jersey guys who make dream indie pop. Here's their (best) track from their new record, Days, it's called Its Real

Cute guys, cute song, cute sentiments. So get involved and listen to them..

And i suppose I can;t write this post without a slight retrospect to 2011..So here are some of my favourite picks from last year...FIRSTLY:

Whirring by The Joy Formidable. I think it was Dave Grohl who said that this was one of the best songs he had heard, and I couldn't agree more. The welsh maelstrom of pop-indie-rock that is The Joy Formidable came out with the album 'The Big Roar' last year and it is perfection. Whirring in particular has the heart-racing drums and the heart stopping chord changes. As well as lyrics that encourage you to pledge your allegiance to the Joy Formidable flag. Listening to it now, I literally become breathless, if I let myself run away with it, I would probably cry. PERFECTION. And the level of jealousy and admiration I have for Ritzy Bryan is unpalatable.

Next from the back catalogue is my old mate Laura Marling, with 'My Friends'

It wouldn't be a 'frogs post if Laura wasn't involved really would it...She released her third studio album last year, to mixed reviews. Her live performances over the summer were somewhat lack-lustre and that ever-so-present superiority complex in interviews was, er, ever so present. However, I can't deny the music. This is my favourite track from the album 'A Creature I Don't Know' beautiful voice, beautiful lyrics, beautiful music. Also award for Most Obvious Lyrics That Alludes To Ketamine Usage goes to Marling for the lyric 'Would you watch my body weaken, my mind drift away' Try and disagree. You know you can't.

Next is the one man Gallic electro-king, M83 with Midnight City.

Yes it's the song from Made In Chelsea, no that isn't why I've chosen it. Now, not to be horrendously supercilious, but I was a fan of this song before I realised it was being bastardised as the theme tune for the Chelsea based semi-reality show. (I actually don't mind MIC but I really don't like it when songs like this become known as the thingymabob theme tune) However this song is brilliant. I recently wrote about this album Hurry Up We're Dreaming for a friend's magazine and this track, Midnight City was definitely the stand-out track. And also my ring tone. (and if I'm honest, I kind of like thinking that I'm made in Chelsea when my phone goes...)

So they're my faves of last year. And to next year? I hereby declare THE WEEKEND and NIKI AND THE DOVE will be huge or slightly overweight next (this) year. Here's their tracks, respectively.

The weekend - Life of the Party from the EP Thursday

Niki & The Dove - The Fox

And for the record, no I'm not copying Radio One, if you care to look at some of my previous blog posts, you will see have I predicted these two brilliant artists before....

I'm going to blog more this year too.
But for now,
I'm off. xxxxxx

yo' tweet me up fam @elizabethmward

wash your mouth out with soap and water..

2011-12-08T11:39:00.001+00:00

Swearing. We all do it.
It may only be a 'shit' here and there or it may extend to an angry 'fuck you' but I can safely say, the majority of this world swears.
How many times have you sworn today? I do it without even realising. It's fucking crazy. (see what I did).
But swearing in music? Yes sometimes, its fine, it even adds to the song - what would Mumford's Little Lion Man be without the anthemic I REALLY FUCKED IT UP THIS TIME. But is it always really necessary?
Watch this video, 212 by Azaelia Banks, good song but....

What a potty mouth! In just over the first minute you hear a variety of unsavory phrases (my favourite being 'I guess that cunts getting eaten') Now Azealia Banks, is cool. She doesn't give a shit. But when this song came out, the hype around it wasn't the completely unexpected drop, or the marriage of Banks's soulful voice and lyrical rapping skills, the hype was 'Oh my god, have you heard this pretty black girl say cunt and nigger a million times?!' which I think is sad. I know Minaj does the same 'I'm a bad bitch, I'm a cunt, and I'll kick that hoe, punt' yet now she's hit uber fame, it seems her swearies have dropped off somewhat.

Is it worse because their women? I mean, listen to any male rapper and they fully represent every shade of swearwords. How about Tyler, The Creator.

Now HE is dirty. Me personally, I adore the boy. He's 20, and his Odd Future movement are like nothing seen in rap since the nineties when Def Jam and Damon Dash dominated rap (Think Jay-Z, Ja-Rule, DMX, Redman, and a whole lot more - watch the film Backstage). The tag-line of Odd Future is OFWGKTA. Which stands for? Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All. Nice right? And Tyler's 2011 album (probably one of the best of the year) Goblin, has themes of murder and rape, and it isn't shy about it. With song titles like 'Bitch Suck Dick' and lyrics like 'punches to the stomach where the bastard kid supposed to be, fuck a mask I want the hoe to know its me' - and trust me they aren't the worst. Is it too far? I must say, some of the tracks are hard to listen to in public places, but at the end of the day, the music is so good. And its nice to see someone in the rap that's more than just a rapper. Check out the video for Yonkers:

Powerful right. Probably the best video of this year. Even the lyrics of this song are pretty perfect, and from a (at the time) 19 year old. Special.

So what's the conclusion, Tyler can get away with swearing because he's a guy and Azealia can't because she's a girl?

Not at all.

When the hype are Odd Future came, it wasn't 'who are these homophobic, xenophobic, sexist murders and rapist?' it was 'how can these kids, who have videos of themselves skating around LA and smoking weed, make such simple yet good music?'

whereas Azealia. Well 212 just isn't Yonkers. And I doubt Tyler or any of the Odd Future have actually raped anyone.

They can be quite funny

Paris, Je T'aime...

2011-12-01T00:49:00.001+00:00

I don't think there's a truer statement. That city. Full of life. Full of love. Full of, just beautiful people. Everywhere.

The trip in itself was quite incredible, filled with fine food, fine wine and some of the most beautiful panoramas Europe has to offer, but of course, you knew that. The film that shares the title of the blog post describes Paris in the most accurate way to date. Showing it's multiculturalism (word of warning - if you're mixed race and highly Anglicised, do NOT visit Chateau D'eau), it's vibrancy, and it's ever-so-laid back atmosphere that says 'We're young, we're beautiful, and we're living life'. Anyhow, I'm digressing...

So I'm sure I could bore you with the ins and outs of my weekend (notably an odd Asian man called Sam who knew what England was, but had no clue where Liverpool was and took quite the liking to myself and Cora) however, what fun would that be. Let's get to the main event, and that beautiful nugget of music venue goodness - La Maroquinérie.

La Maroquinérie

It's been a venue since 1997 and is situated in Paris' majorly overlooked 22nd arrondissement. Situated at the top of the everest-esque hill 'Rue De Ménilmontant' La Maroquinérie sits comfortably down a winding side street. Unlike British venues, there is a sincere lack of 'hipster' with the crowd queuing to get in representing a veritable smorgasbord of Paris' music loving scene. And who's on the bill tonight? Only Bombay Bicycle Club and the ever-so-lovely Lucy Rose.

So already, merely a footstep into the venue and I know this place is something special.

Walking into the venue leads to a very understated 'salle de concert' (gig room) through some double doors and probably the world's nicest and most civil venue bar and smoking area. La Maroquinérie is also a restaurant, and not just a restaurant, like so much of Paris, it's a bloody good restaurant (I mean, would YOU expect beautiful food at the Electric Ballroom?) So after a couple of demi de Pelforths (seemingly the Parisien's biere of choice) I manage to grab a chat with Jean Lo, the stage manager at La Maroquinérie...

Bonsoir Jean-Lo, thanks for your time on this busy evening! So how long has La Maroquinérie been a venue?

Roughly about 11 years. Its always been this size and has managed to keep it's reputation as a really good venue for all these years

That's awesome. I see you host many gigs here, who has the envious task of booking the bands?

Usually my manager. We host roughly 25 gigs here a month, most of which tend to sell out our 500 capacity venue. Concerts like tonight tend to sell out really quickly. We usually book the bands two months in advance. We have a real range of acts who play here, from hip-hop to completely unsigned indie bands.

Yeah I've seen your very delicious line-up of people playing here this month! Who has been your favourite act recently here?

Wiz Kalifa came here not too long ago and that was really great. I love the mix of hip-hop and indie rock that this venue represents. But so many bands, each artist brings their own energy.

Wiz Kalifa?! That's cool, he has great energy. So who would be your dream band?

[without hesitation] MASSIVE ATTACK [approval from both Cora and I]

That definitely does not need disputing. A venue like this + Massive Attack = Religious Experience. So I am already extremely jealous of your job Jean-Lo, how might someone get into this profession?

Well, it's a young profession. The oldest person here is early thirties. But you have to work hard to get where you want to be. We put on gigs six or seven nights a week and it's hard. You have no social life, but luckily your social life becomes La Maroquinérie. After the gigs, the bar is always covered in empty glasses and everyone has a good time. I think it's the best job in the world!

Thanks Jean-Lo, lovely speaking to you, you're a star!

And I don't lie. La Maroquinérie is the most special and intimate venue I've been to. Don't believe me? Well I managed to grab a smoking area quote from the lovely Jack Steadman off of Bombay and the divine Lucy Rose..

Lucy: 'The fact that there's no barriers is really nice, you get a real feel for the audience'

Jack: 'Definitely more attractive bar staff. And that classic french intimacy'

And I must agree. From my view anyway, the bar staff were quite dreamy...

And as for the gig? Well Lucy Rose kicked off proceedings, playing a beautiful set that had the audience breathless and definitely the male population in love. I heard one frenchman say 'She's my wife. I promise' (although I think he was lying) Middle of the Bed was definitely a set highlight for me, one of those moments where everything just fits into place, I would personally like to thank Lucy Rose for sorting my teenage once-was-lovelorn head out...

Lucy Rose - Middle of The Bed. Amazing.

As for Bombay Bicycle Club? I would merely say there is nothing better seeing a band that you previously saw in a sweaty back room in Liverpool, come to their full beauty and strength in a beautiful Parisian venue. If I had a euro for every time the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, I'd be renting a room in Hotel de Crillion for three nights. Set highlights being the opener 'Shuffle' and 'Lights out Words Gone' for which Lucy joined the band for. It's off the new album (A Different Kind of Fix) and marries so well with the big hits from (I Had The Blues...) The entire band seem to really match well together and with dashings of Miss Rose to lighten the mix, I doubt there's more a music lover could ask for.

So in conclusion? Paris, you did it again. Lucy Rose? you captured our hearts. and Bombay Bicycle Club? You're something really bloody special.

Thanks for reading boys and girls. Check back soon for some more words and things and music and stuff.

xxxx

@elizabethmward

http://www.lamaroquinerie.fr/

http://www.lucyrosemusic.co.uk/

http://www.bombaybicycleclubmusic.com/

Five year plan, Pete-Doh and Parisian ponders.

2011-11-21T01:15:00.001+00:00

It hit me today. What I'm going to do for the next five or so years.
That's scary that isn't it.

I say it hit me today, today was merely the final 'here we go, this is the aim, let's get to work'

The big plan? More study. Until Dazed &Confused/The Independant/Any other magazine ring me up asking me to live in Camden and write about music for them, I'm going to stick to the books. Science books. And then world domination. I come from a line of somewhat politically involved forefathers and it seems apt to follow them in a sense. So hopefully in ten years time, you'll see me, being interviewed, expressing my opinion as to why its simply atrocious that the Western Black Rhino has been extinct (except that became extinct just recently, but you catch my drift)

So it's late night, I'm sat in the living room, making the most of my remaining free spotify and letting my mind wonder. So what's been happening lately? I now have a real life job that doesn't concern selling my soul, or giving talks about otters, so I suppose that's a turn up for the books. I remember I always felt so inept when my various friends would say 'aah I can't go out, I have work' and now, I have joined the working masses. Now I can refuse nights out in favour of pub stories. The best one I've heard so far (as I'm now a barmaid, a pint pulling, singing along to the smiths, thats-three-pound-seventy-darling, barmaid) best one, was from a young guy, about 24. He started to tell me of his university life, he'd been to Bournemouth Uni, Southampton Uni, and was now a regular builder in Reading ways. The best part of his story was when he revealed to me that not only have he spent time in Her Majesty's House (and no, not the Palace), he'd spent his time there with our very own favourite loveable rogue - Peter Doherty.

This is why I fancied him

Now, back in my younger days, when I was Indie and not a music lover, I thought Pete was the one. I loved the Libertines, adored Babyshambles and coveted the relationship Pete had with Kate Moss and his Kittens. And so here I was, at work, listening to tales about my childhood hero, from a young bloke in scuffed up trainers and bags under his eyes. He told me how Pete is nice bloke, would write stories for the other 'D-blockers' (no doubt the fraternity spirit in prison is strong as iron) and would often serenade his fellow convicts with various libs and shambles tunes. Small old world isn't it! Now then, are you being served?

The best

In other news:

a)My best friend in the whole wide world Elizabeth (who is referenced to more than once in this blog) is coming to stay for two nights, I have many exciting plans and parties in the pipeline for her arrival and....

b)I'm going to Paris this weekend! That heaven of dreams, and life and love and romance and wine and cigarettes and beauty will be mine for approximately four days, ending in a Bombay Bicycle Club gig on the monday. I actually do feel bad at missing a lecture or three, but it will be so worth it. Myself and Cora (Uber cool flatmate, lover of quirky things) have been looking forward to this little sojurn since summer. Paris is a city, which like London, makes you feel like you're part of something. I'm lucky to have been introduced to the delights of Paris at a young age (7) as my mother isn't one for the high rise Spanish dream. When you're in that beautiful place, I always want to stop people on the street and say 'look. we're in Paris. We're really living life. At this moment in time, we're probably the luckiest people on the planet' But of course, being sane/British prevents me from doing so...

Paris. Accordion. Big Door. La Rêve.

So this week shall consist of intrepid anticipation, fitting in work shifts to make plus de l'argent, buying plenty of paris suitable vetéments and listening to THE TEENAGERS. (you thought I meant the hipnfresh Parisian indie band didn't you? CURVEBALL)

Bon nuit x

Elmhurst. And liking whatever music I want.

2011-11-11T00:24:00.001+00:00

I type it into google and what do I find? Elmhurst Energy. Elmhurst School of Dance (Birmingham), Elmhurst Illinois and a veritable smorgasbord of Elmhurst Enterprises...

But what is Elmhurst to me? Elmhurst is home.

Allow me, dear readers, to take somewhat of a deviation around the alleys of music, and a pirouette over the philosophies of life and take a sneaky foray into the depths of Student Life...

Elmhurst Rd, is a road, off of a main road and probably off of a motorway in deepest darkest Berkshire. And at present it is home to 8 of your finest, tax evading, binge drinking students. We're the cream of your nation and the scum of your pint glass. And we are a fine example of what a student life is...

Honestly? It's hard. It's fun. It's expensive.

After our year in halls, of bed sharing, food sharing, secrets sharing and many a lover shared, my friends and I followed the inevitable route into student housing and live in a gigantic house, that is frequented with bottles, cans, pizza, 3 day old pasta and all the other delights of communal living.

I originally began this post, with the intention of talking you a step by step guide through the alleyways of communal living, however I realised that, no matter what I write, it'll never be easy. People will never perfectly get on well together. People won't do their dishes. But I suppose what I'm hinting at is that we should seize the moment. Love having this bizarre juxtaposition of no money, no food, responsibilities and its being perfectly okay to have a yoghurt and a tortilla wrap as a main meal.

So, back to music and that.

When I was younger (I say younger, I mean 17) I would be SO conscious of my music collection. My ipod would only have the cream of the musical crop (sidenote: what a stupid phrase. cream of the crop. cream doesn't come from a crop. It comes via a process concerning cows and shit) Anyway, I then had an awakening (in a central american rainforest may I add har har) where I realised that is perfectly fine to have Panic!At The Disco tune sitting right next to Passion Pit.

So, with that ever so slightly ambiguous statement out the way, here are my TOP THREE MOOOZICK PICZ OF MY LIFE AT 01.57AM ON 16/11/2011

ONE LOVE FOR THE CITY STREETS

ROOOOOOOARRRRR. It's Enter Shikari with SSSNAKEPIT. And this song wakes me up every day. I love the complete romance between the solid drum and bass verses and completely post-emo-almost-metal-punk chorus. The video makes me want to go out. The song makes me want to thrash about. And its perfectly fine to enjoy this at 7.30am when my body is refusing to awake... My personal favourite bit in the song is when the fellar goes 'Yeah Yeah we're nice guys....UNTIL WE'RE NOOOOOOOT' I like singing along to that I do. It's just nice to see Enter Shikari back again, I think anyone around my age would concur with me in that Sorry You're Not... is one of the defining songs of our youth. So yeah...enjoy!

COS TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT WHEN TWO BECOME ONE

Number two on our chart (my chart, its not a chart is it, it's just my opinion) is actually a cover by Bombay Bicycle Club....

For a start:
a)OH MY GOD I'M GOING TO WATCH BBC IN PARIS IN LITERALLY UNDER TWO WEEKS
b)Lucy Rose off of folk sings on this
c)This song wasn't that good until I heard this.

Now then, I don;t like live lounge. Mianly because I didn't like Jo Wiley and Fearne Cotton gets on my nerves (Watch any episode of The Morgana Show doing fearne cotton, just, google it) So I didn't have high aspirations for this, but when I did hear it, I stopped. I stopped everything. I stopped thinking. Even now when I listen to it, I don't think about love, or loss or life, I just listen. And when a song can make me, someone with the attention span of a small squirrel, stop and listen, then it deserves credit. Also, Jack Steadman, has one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard in my entire life. (after the president of my student's union, whose voice is literally like aural honey). So the song is called Video Games, by Lana Del Rey, listen to it if you wish, otherwise, just keep hitting repeat...

THREE, OH WHY CAN'T YOU SEE!

Third of of three is by Rihanna. It's new. And I don;t want no haterz for posting this:

]

So I know, it's not a cool video. But this literally leaked days ago. Let me explain a few things to y'all...

Music comes in all shapes and sizes. I feel just as cool listening to WU LYF as I do listening to Rihanna or any other massive stars. And Rihanna, I have now developed an obsession that is borderline psycho. And for good reason. Her new album features so many amazing influences, guest producers (and my main boy Jay-Z of course). I don't know if you dear reader share this love for Rihanna, but I think you should give her a shot. I dare you, to listen to Wait Your Turn from a few albums back. If you didn't know it was Rihanna, it could quite easily slip into any dubstep back catalogue (it was infact produced by the little jewish wonders Chase and Status) And I think her new album is harder, better and will earn more credit than ever before. On a personal note, Rihanna in her last two albums has not been shy of the fact she is a Bajan heroine, and me being of Caribbean descent, this makes me very proud. She might not be Bob Marley, but she represents the windies gyaldem.

And so with that, I leave you. It's two thirty and I should go to bed.

Bye. I'll write again soon. Tell your mates about this. That's be real hip and fly and stuff.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*special prize to those who can identify the lyrics dotted within this post.

'Character, not circumstances make the man'

2011-11-07T19:31:00.002+00:00

-Booker T Washington.

A man born into slavery, yet who became a leader to the black people, before Dr King was even a pipe dream for African-Americans.

The title of today's post, comes from Booker T Washington. A formidable man. Born into slavery, his mother black, his father white, and through the grace that is education and culture, he managed to change the oppression in the south way before the sixties. And he said some pretty cool things too.

What is character? We all have it. My mum who has spent most of her life as a primary school teacher belives she can tell a child's character at 7. She's probably not far wrong.

I pride myself on my 'shrewdness' when it comes to people's characters. Without being too smug, I like to think I can have people fairly figured out straight away, keeping myself as quite the enigma at the same time.

However, now and again, you're thrown a curveball in life to make you think 'hang on, get off your high horse' and recently, this happened to me.

There's no grace in detail, however let this be a lesson to you all. If it looks too good to be true, it's probably a lie. And if things look like they are more than just innocent acts, they're probably as guilty as Guy Fawkes.

And when you do realise someone isn't what you thought? You know what to do? You dust yourself off, pick yourself up, buy yourself a new top/shoes/bow-tie and remember that no one else can do you except you.

But remember, as Booker says, don't blame character on circumstances. There are no excuses for poor character. Never will be. And circumstantial factors are the weakest of arguments to go by.

Enough of this woe, here are some of my favourite tunes. They aren't new. They probably aren't very cool. But you know when you suddenly become readdicted to songs? yeah. So enjoy!

Its as old as houses. Its Arctic Monkeys. Its Despair in the Departure Lounge. And its beautiful. Shows off Turner's Lennonesque skills to a fine T, exposing his friendly northern tones to a back drop of simple strums and beautifully written lyrics. 'it seems as we become the winners, you lose a bit of summat, and half wonder if you won it all..' I know recently Arctics have been having a bashing from all sides, but at the root of me (despite what others may profess) I'm a good northern girl, and any good northern girl will be able to relate to the Arctics. Even when they all grew beards and long hair.

Its strange that I don't write more about Regina Spektor. She's probably my favourite artist, and reigns highly amongst my other all-time-faves YeahYeahYeahs and Radiohead. This song is called Düsseldorf and it is Grade A Spektor. A European love affair of a song, with skipping lyrics, flecked with a Paris or an Amsterdam here and there. It evokes images of sitting in Café shops on a boulevard, probably smoking a Vogue, sat opposite a beautiful man with dark eyes and a wry smile. Spektor herself, a through and through New Yorker with a background strongly rooted in Russia and Judaism is a walking culture bomb. On a personal note, Regina Spektor has brought me through many a bad time, I suggest you listen to Sampson, if you're a Spektor virgin. The album Soviet Kitch was an album that changed my musical life, taking me from the transition of pop-indie-bands to true Music. Music with a capital M. and My god, she's got it.

Now then, let's change this up....

Welcome, if you don't already know, to Pulled Apart By Horses with the song Yeah Buddy. their a welsh rock band, and judging by the video, are psychologically insane. But if you listen to this song, and by the second verse aren't sing YYYEEEEEEAAAH BUDDAAYYYYYYYYY then you have no soul. And the video is fucking awesome. If I was in a rock band, and if I was making a video, this is the video I would make. Just a good old thrash around tune. No sense needed, no reason needed, just pur enjoyment and release. And seeing as I spend most of this blog writing about bands such as Wild Nothing or Tame Impala, this is a nice change up! YYYYYYEAH BUDDDAYYYYYY!

and finally:

This tune is The Bullits Ft the amazing Jay Electronica and the equally awesome Lucy Liu doing an extremely haunting voice over. The track is called Close Your Eyes and its a beautiful marriage of reworked 'old skool' hiphop with a dash of chilled electro, and a throbbing bass to add a cheery on top. The video again, is very cool, and the track (unlike others up here) is faaaaairly new. Well in the last six months. In all truth you can find it sitting pretty on Annie Mac Presents 2011 and I love Annie. Although AMP this year is lacking in good tunes.

So that's that for this post. A bit random, A bit of life, a bit of love, a bit of music, what could anyone else want?!

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When I grow up, I want to be an Astronaut (E Ward, 1997)

2011-11-03T01:17:00.000+00:00

I wonder when I'll start getting serious with the whole 'growing up' conundrum. Today I purchased a screwdriver. Two, to be precise. For why? For a casual bit of DIY. I had no reason, but now, if I do want to fix my door, or other screw-requiring-device, I can! So I hereby declare this, as a grown up move.

However now, I am sat in a 'monkey onesie' and for supper I had a big bag of doritos and houmous. This, my friends, is not a grown up move.

At 19 - I feel I am a conundrum age. I have always had older friends (most of my 'close shaves' in the past resulted from my older companions leading me through the twists and turns of teenage life) and I has a strong disdain towards those younger than me - probably one of the worst traits for a student events secretary to have - but anyway, all in all, I like to believe that I'm pretty done regarding the whole 'growing up' thing.

Growing up - maybe a tad too fast?

However, I do get butterflies in my tummy when I see chocolate milk in a carton. (I like to think that is why my friend Will bought me a carton today, however, it was probably some racist slur).And I do turn into a small school child when Manchester United ever win. And I genuinely get upset when there are only orange jelly babies/jelly beans/fruit pastels/any genre of sweet left. So does that make me immature? I don't know.

What age do we grow up? What age will I be included into 'serious family discussions'? 20? 26? ever!?

It's all quite the grey area isn't it.

Well, I think, at 19, I've lived quite the life. Visited 3 continents. Multiple countries. Seen things most people will never see. Been to 12 festivals. And yet still, am I grown up?

Maybe it's good to always stay young...

'Age considers; youth ventures'

Rabindranath Tagore

Indian poet

For the time being anyway. Then I'll consider what I'm doing next.

the sky and all it holds.

2011-10-27T01:50:00.001+01:00

'Moon! Moon! I am prone before you, pity me and drench me in loneliness'

Amy Lowell, American Poet.

We all live under the same sky. We all see the same sun, the same moon, the same 'plow' formation in the stars (I've always wished I could see star formations, but sadly my expertise at astronomy was halted majorly at the 'plow' formation, which for a start doesnt look like a plow anyway so the whole thing is silly) Anyway, back to my point, how amazing is that. I'm sat in my house, in southern England, and when I look up to the sky, I can see the same moon as those in France, Spain, Greece (they should be looking up to the heavens in their current economic state) will see and it'll be the same moon that those in India will see, those in America will see. The same moon that the Queen can see. That my old next door neighbour when I was 5, Louise, who used to keep rats, can see. That you can see. We're all more connected than we care to dwell on, and it's a mind-bending prospect. It's a much smaller world than we think. And as for England, we're merely the 'specialised socks' section in a shoe store. My housemate Matt recently had his friends down for his birthday, and some of his friends study up in Sheffield. Now, not only did they stay in the same halls as my Best-friend-since-I-can-remember Anna, they were neighbours! Mindblowin'. So, as my Mum always says, 'Present yourself well, because the past is just around the corner of the future..'

Anyway, back to musicality...

There's a blog on the internet universe called 'Broken Silence' check it out HERE, and I used to read it quite a bit before I started writing this blog, in fact, it would be pretty safe to say, it inspired me to pick up the proverbial pen. So, I digress, the guy who writes it, isn't the best with words, but he does have pretty darn sharp music taste. Today, I toddled over to his page and this gem of a song was up there, play it as you read below...

So the song is by a guy called Gotye, a Belgian guy (who according to my Dutch friend, is very big in the Lowland countries) and it's called Somebody That I Used To Know and I beg, if any of you have ever been in a relationship, and been as tragic as me, listen to this song. I think every lyric, someone can relate to. The song in itself is beautifully written, starting as a shy number, slowly building to become the heart-wrenching-battle-cry it is. Gotye's voice is structured perfectly for heartbreak, and Kimbra, the girl who sings on the track, marries the song perfectly. For me, on a personal note, I can't do the 'friends' thing. I find it impossible to be really 'good mates' with someone that, at least at one point, I was madly in love with. There will either always be that underlying connection, or that underlying disgust. Yet, I'm game to try. With one of my exes, we split up incredibley amicably, then as soon as one started hearing about the other, and vice versa, the niceties soon turned to bone crushing frustration, anger and disgust. And now, I no longer spend a passing thought on him (not in a mean way, in a healthy way). He really is Someone I Used To Know. And it's cliché, but true. But this song, this song just hits the nail on the head, for that emotion, that feeling, when you see someone you used to spend every breathing minute with, just look straight through you in a club. And it's a cruel game, but its inevitable. So you have to dust yourself down, pick yourself up and think, well done life, 1-0, but we're not even half time yet, so get ready.

Another fine tune I have come across, is, wait for it, THE NEW OFFERING FROM FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE.

This song is called Shake it Out and it's from her new album Ceremonials scheduled to be out on monday! This song is flecked with the heartbeat drums, and big stadium sentiments, and it's rather perfect. With lines like 'It's always darkest before the dawn' - true both philosophically and scientifically! It's hard to go wrong. Her voice sounds more epic than ever, and gives you more than one of those close-your-eyes-and-place-your-hand-on-your-heart moments.

Now then, back when I was in college, Florence was the one. We all loved Florence and her Machine and would spend many a lunch break performing some weird hurricane drunk ritual in our local forest. Anyway, despite all this,I was never mad keen on FATM and would keep all my secret florence loving moments, thoroughly to myself, however, today after much postponing, I deigned to listen to her new stuff. And I, Elizabeth Mary Ward, am not embarrassed to say that I enjoyed it. Deffs won't be shaking this out.

So with that, and the 01.37am on my clock, I bid ye farewell. Check back soon for this usual mélange of music and stuff and of course, The Barrel.

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And in all honesty, we didn't have a hope in hell...

2011-10-24T01:48:00.000+01:00

'Our body is a machine for living. It is organized for that, it is it's nature. Let life go on in it unhindered and let it defend itself'

Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy

Russian writer and all round sayer of sensible things

Mr Tolstoy couldn't be more right. Despite him resembling an old Ruski aristocrat who would quite happily sell his Grandma for 'communism' he was actually a sensitive soul. He wrote epic books of course (Anna Karenina to name one), and his musings on love and life are the best ever written (in my humble opinion). The last few days has led me to live life more than I should (if you're unsure as to what level my life has become in the last few days, I will direct you to this video - I'm not lying), and however unhindered my actions have been, it's making me question rather recent choices. How much can you live life without ruining your life? I mean, there's been more than one morning where I've woken up wondering who the fuck I am (see Trainspotting). It's a weird old thing is life. It led me to thinking, how can you live your own life, without hindering someone else's life. Sentiments regarding life are hard to get your head round, so I suppose in the menatime, we should just..live? And as Tolstoy said, it can defend itself (and the way my immune system has coped of the previous few weeks, I'm starting to believe that)

Renton - now he lived life...

Me old mate Tolstoy also said this:

'Music is the shorthand of emotion'

Which obviously, me being a music type and all, I couldn't agree more with. And of the last few days, this song has been my comfort blanket/diary/story of my life...

Tame Impala - It Is Not Meant To Be

I don't think I've heard a song that matches my life more than this since I broke up with a boyfriend once and listened to 'Blank White Page' by Mumford and Sons on repeat crying into my cider (Well, not quite, although interestingly my housemates and I spent an evening last night screaming the line 'BUT TELL ME NOW WHERE WAS MY FAULT IN LOOOOOVING YOU WITH ALL MY HEART' we wern't even drunk) Anyway, as songs go, this shortands my emotions to a fine T. As Tame Impala so easily do.

I'm pretty sure I've written before about Tame Impala. When their album, Innerspeaker came out in 2010, it completely passed me by. I mean, I knew the band, but I was so into my folk and dubstep (a weird mix, but let's roll with it) I never gave Tame Impala the attention it deserved. Similar to The Black Keys in that merely a few bars of a song can set your mood to Fuck Me I'm Drinking Jack Daniels All Night And Smoking Rothmans Then Having Crazy Sex With A Guy From The Wrong Side Of Town setting, Tame Impala produce songs for the desperate moments and the moments where despair is merely a past thought. They're an Australian band of reprobates that sing openly of shame, drugs, disgust, love and, of course, life. If Tolstoy were alive today, I think he'd have Innerspeaker jammed in his record player.

Tame Impala, just being Australian, chilling on a beach, being awesome, probably not caring about life, because they're Tame Impala.

So, this brings me to the end of this life-filled post, I hope you enjoyed it, whoever you are, wherever you are and however you live your life.

wanna chat about life? Twitter me up - @elizabethmward

THE BARREL - EPISODE THREE

2011-10-23T18:49:00.000+01:00

Today with me at my Barrel of goodness, are The One Twos. The kidderminster five piece are ready to blow your socks off with their rocky/ new wave fuelled songs. I had a little chat with Matt from the band, and here are The One Twos!

So, Welcome to The Barrel Matt from The One Twos, first question; who are The One Twos?

We are like William Shakespeare with strings, drums and a mic and we swear a little!! Matt on lead vocals Ben on lead guitar, Ad on guitar, Danny on bass and Charlie on drums!

Cool! A lot of love to go round then! So, if your music was a cold beverage in a pub, what delightful choice would it be?

A JD - no coke! Actually that would be rank, Sex on the beach it is..

I can see you guys are a funny bunch! So how long have The One Twos been together?

Around six beautiful months!

Right, so fairly new then. So what are your main influences on the music you make?

Normal life situations. Mainly growing up from the age of 13 to 19 - just before you become a man, but you're not quite there yet. We're kind of leaving room for another album or two before we go weird!

You guys are a really lyrically rooted band (similar to Arctic Monkeys, Oasis) do you guys draw on your own experiences?

Yeah, I think it's good to write about what you know because chances are, people will have had the same ones. I can't stand listening to songs that are really deep with hidden meanings, I want to know what the song is about! And I write stuff that I'd gladly like to listen to if someone else was singing it.

Thats a very good view to have in my book! Got any tour/gig dates planned for the near future?

We have been really busy with gigs over the last six months - probably too busy! We headlined the O2 academy in Birmingham twice, nearly sold out the second time round I'd like to add! We also supported some pretty big bands on their UK tours; Missing Andy and Jon Windle.. so I think it's time to lock ourselves away for a little bit and work on adding a few more to the line up...

Jon Windle - former frontman of Little Man Tate don't you know...

So, it's that time again at The Barrel where the WILDCARD question is thrown, so, If you had to tour with Justin Beiber or One Direction, who would you choose and why?

One Direction. There's five of them, and five of us so there would be a lot of love on that tour bus and one hell of a man train!

Cheers guys and best of luck with your plans!

So, my intrepid music dicoverers, I hear you ask, 'Where can I listen to the delightful music of The One Twos? well I shall tell you, head right over to their facebook page - www.facebook.com/TheOneTwos where you can find all tour dates, music and just generally what the lads are upto.

Now then, this wouldn't be a true episode of The Barrel without a cheeky review included would it, so here's what I think about The One Twos offerings of musical lovliness...

The Song Council Estate Romance is a banger. Thats the only way to describe it. With an energy similar to that of The Courteeners, and lyrics that take you to the heart of the working class life, this first tune from the band is definitely representative of their style.

LISTEN TO IT HERE

Dirty Knees is the next track by the Kidderminster five-some, and its another indie dancefloor winner. The spiky guitars and the nonstop drums, are enoguh to make everyone get their knees dirty (no pun intended)

LISTEN TO IT HERE

The guys have an EP coming out imminently so keep checking itunes, keep checking the blog, and like the page on Facebook. The One Twos, you need them in your life!

So, that's it from The Barrel today! check back soon for more Barrel episodes and of course, your usual dose of music greats, and philosophical thoughts, goodbyes x

HIT ME UP ON TWITTER BRO - @elizabethmward

Do you like the sound of The Barrel? Want to get your band involved? Send me a cheeky email - lizz_ward@hotmail.co.uk

Origin of the Species (and three cracking tunes)

2011-10-18T01:57:00.002+01:00

So, my life is back on track, Uni work has been submitted and at 01.09 on a tuesday morning, I FINALLY have the time to get back to my one true love of writing/listening/lambasting the best tunes around...

But first a little bit of late night thinkings, you know I like that kind of thing. I was sat in my lecture (okay, this is a lie, I was sat in the library catching up on said lecture notes as I skipped the afore mentioned lecture to galavant or something) Anyway, my lecture was all about evolution, and the enevitable tussle between life being a pre-determined design (ie God), or mere corrections and adaptations over time. I won't bore you with the evolutionary jargon of it all, but basically it led me to thinking that we are adaptations. Every aspect of our lives are due to adaptations. Why don't I eat butter anymore? Because I 'adapted' (no biology police, not in that way) to knowing that butter makes me vomit - as I'm sure the cleaning staff at Reading Walkabout Freshers 2010 will tell you. And why don't I wear green and brown together? Because I adapted to knowing that it makes me look like a tree. I adapted when I moved south, I would never dream of asking my southern housemates if they 'fancied a scran' as they would probably slap me. Every part of our lives are adaptations of the past, whether it be regarding choices of lunch, or lovers, it's all an adaptation. Adaptation. Synonymous to Growth maybe? Does Growth come with adaptation? or does Adaptation come with growth? It's a mightily thought-provoking concept to grip on to, but interesting nontheless. And we're not done. The human body isn't perfect. The legs of an Antelope aren't perfect (they might run fast, but one little tumble and African Bambi is broken-legged-easy-lunch). Adaptations lead to improvements, and that's got to be good right? Anyway, I reckon it's good to adapt. To change. To grow. To learn. All that grown up shit that our mothers warned us about. Our mothers or Darwin, I'm not too sure anymore...

Darwin chillin', looking into the distance. Probably thinking about pigeons. (if you've not read Origin of the Species, don't bother)

Anyway, enough of my evolutionary musings, lets have a listen to whats awe-inspiring in the world of music at this present moment, with my BIG THREE:

At the moment, this little ditty, has not been off my iPod, laptop, youtube account, spotify etc..

Its by a complete lover of a guy called Keaton Henson, who will not give any interviews, do any promo or any of that she-bang, and you know what? He doesn't need to. The song is called You Don't Know How Lucky You Are, and it sums up that moment of sheer bitterness, spiked with regret and washed down with hopelessness when you see that person you loved, happier than ever, with someone else. I don't think I've ever fully felt this, but I've been close, its heart renchingly heavy, as is this song. For me the line 'Does he know not to talk, about your Dad' flicks that little switch that bring on the stinging eyes and dry mouth. SO long live Keaton Henson and his little broken heart.

Little Keaton, looking all folorn because his 'lady' doesn't know how lucky she is...

Anyway, moving on to a more upbeat little ditty, here's Michael Kiwanuka with I'm Getting Ready..

This particular video is from a collective called Watch Listen Tell, and they produce amazing videos, anyway, I digress... It may sound cliché but I love Michael Kiwanuku, for more than his ethnicity (and Kiwanuku is african, we all know caribes and africans don't get on #politics) He has a voice like melted honey, songs like a 60s garden peace party, and fashion sense straight-outta-topman (in a good way) He's massively underrated and I am simply waiting for this guy to explode onto the big 'scene'. This song is friendly, happy, harmless and heart warming, so give it a download...

So finally my third entry into the BIG THREE is a bit of a curveball. If you haven't read my blog before, here's a few pointers:

I ramble. About anything. Literally anything that pops into my head. This is sometimes a good thing, but sometimes, rather laborious to read through

Music is my life. Despite my insane love for Zoology/animals/ecology, music writing, critiquing and listening is the only thing I ever want to do in my life

I'm a bit of a one for a good 'relationship analogy' (I've had a few)

I mutha-crunching LOVE dubstep.

And with that, here is my final choice:

It's Nero. It's Crush on You. It's cheesy. But it's bloody good. And for me it's been the theme tune of the last few weeks in Reading. And I can't remember the last time I told someone I have a crush on them, so maybe I should take Mr Nero's advice.

Anyways, It's nearly 2am, so I'm going to wrap this up now. However, sometime this week I shall have THE THIRD INSTALLMENT OF THE BARREL ft THE ONE-TWOS who are an awesome band, so I'm sure it'll be a good read (even if I say so my self)

right, night kids x

it's been a while..

2011-10-09T21:14:00.002+01:00

..since I could hold my head up high. Bit of Staind to start proceedings! And it has been a while! It's been ages since I skitted across my keyboard to share with you the innards of my brain and soul. So I'm sure you're wondering where I have been! Well, I have recently been running around Reading, dressed as a veritable smorgasbord of characters, herding round roughly 200 student for the sake of good times, aka The University of Reading's Fresher's Week. And my word, am I exhausted. Possibly the opposite of Fresh. Being a Social Secretary has it's good points (free drinks, laps of glory around the club, feelings of mild self-importance) but it also has its downsides, ie. being ignored by younger students (my PET HATE), losing my voice completely, so much that even Annie Mac would call me man-voice and of course being out every night until 3am, only to be up for 9am in order to plan the following night's proceedings. However, this has been probably one of the best fornights of my life, so much so that my actually university work has taken more than a back seat...anyway, I wish I could share some of the mental stories I have from the previous week, but it's simply not apt, would probably get me in trouble and let's face it, this is supposed to be a music blog so let's get some music! This is my current obsession, mainly because it's a nice hangover song, and I think anyone who lives in the RG1 postcode, is pretty rough right now....

The head and the heart, a really sweet, folky, honest band, hailing from seattle. This is called Winter Song and it's nearly winter (kind of) so it makes sense.

So, I'm not going to make this a particularly long, or even vaguely interesting post, just letting you know that I'm still alive and I'm going to be back on the bandwagon of critiquing and rambling very very soon, I have some amazing things planned with a couple of bands, namely the One-Twos, but keep watching this space for a new episode of The Barrel verrrrrrrrrry soon, au revoir my lovers x

Follow your inner moonlight, don't hide the madness...

2011-09-26T01:45:00.001+01:00

A bit of Allen Ginsberg to start proceedings. If you didn't know by now, I have a massive thing for the Beat Generation.

Ginsberg. Being cool, probably thinking of a cool poem. That's cool.

Its late and I'm starting with this, so let's get a little stream on the go shall we..

Tame Impala - Alter Ego

Alter Ego. Latin for 'The Other I' I like that.

Anyway, seeing as I'm currently waiting to get interviews with a couple of bands for The Barrel, my blog is looking fairly bare of late! I now have the horrible feeling that I did when I stopped song writing about three years ago. Just about to get onto a good thing, then life gets int he way. So even though it is 1am, I shall endeavour to let you in on a bit of my life over the last few days/weeks/probably months..

Probably the best thing that has been occuring in my life lately is spending more time with long-term-best-friend-and-boy-about-town Tom. He's one of those friends that I don't speak to for a few months, but as soon as we're in the same postcode, party is ON. He has an artist management company, and over the last year or so I've seen his life change in ways I can't imagine, but always believed. I completely admire people who go out and get what they want. Who take risks to live the life they want. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love my life in academia and at university, but would I be happier doing a music journalism internship? It's a subject I seldom like to dwell on. So Tom has taken me under his fabulous wing (seriously I think I've said fabulous more in the last two weeks than I have in the last two years) and that I will not complain about. We've been hitting Soutport, St Helens and Liverpool and I've loved it. Its refreshing to go out, get dressed up, and hear just dance music. No interlude of The Smiths. No ironic shuffling to Joy Division. Not even a Kook in sight. And I couldn't be happier. Don't get me wrong, when I put my ipod in, only the cream of the indie world receive my ears (Tame Impala being one such band) But when I'm out, probably a bottle of wine for the worst and sporting painful footwear, the last thing I want to do is shake my shoulder to Two Door Cinema Club - Give me Avicii anyday...

So I'm now that girl then re-applies lipstick, gets ready two hours before and wears mascara. Don't worry my hair is still a dreadlocked mess...

In other news I have lost more friends to university. Its quite funny to see how people are choosing to document their freshers via Facebook. In my eyes there are three levels:

BRONZE LEVEL: Mild status updating, most updates if any are either hungover or drunk. Mild photo-action, a few new tagged photos.

SILVER LEVEL: Moderate status updates, maybe tagging of new flatmates, a small album (60>photos), addition of Univeristy to 'Schools and Colleges section'

GOLD LEVEL: Several status update, many frapes, possibley two photo albums, probably named after 'the freshers song' lots of tagged photos, maybe some mobile uploads.

Now then. I'm not ashamed. I was a fully fledged, Gold Level fresher. I wanted everyone in my facebook world to know I was having the best time of my life (none moreso than my newly-ex-boyfriend-of-the-time, we may have finished amicably, but he was going to get all freshers details - well maybe not all, ahem) My album was even called 'If I hear magnet one more time' sort of named after the Bombay Bicycle Club song - It was our predrink tune, But this year, I do believe there is a whole new level of documentation. PLATINUM LEVEL. This consists of:

None stop status updates
An album purely on one aspect of university life - ie 'Food I Have Made'
More than three photo albums
Constant frapes
A general plague on the society of facebook.

Looking back, its quite embarrassing to see how keen I was in freshers, and probably how niave I was and looking back at the statuses I posted and the albums I made, I cringe a little bit inside. However, God know's how this new ' Platinum Breed' of students will be coping in a year. deary me.

Well I can't really think of much more, probably becasue its 1.27am and I need to be up early to go to liverpool tomorrow. I suppose the main point of this post was to say, friends are friends when after hardly seeing eachother for 6 months, you fall right back into the reason why you became friends. Even if that dooes mean buying a new lippy. So to prove I haven't lost my indie roots,here's a song to end on:

Wild Nothing - Cloudbusting

I'll be back soon with another excitin', thigh slappin', lip smackin' episode of The Barrel and if not, just another load of my philosphies and sentiments. Bye xxx

Ps, I'd just like to mention, I found out that someone who I didn't know for very long, but greatly admired from afar, passed away last week. She only skipped through my life for a short time and I really didn't know her that well, but she will never be forgotten. Life is precious, and she lived it graciously. RIP F.P <3

Back with another one of those block-rockin-BEATS!

2011-09-19T21:42:00.001+01:00

I am now a trainee DJ. I say that, I've been djing my whole life (literally used to make my own mix cds at aged 6 - perils of being a music teacher's daughter) and I say trainee, well I'm training myself. But all day I have spent mixing tracks, putting in 'sick drops' and making mash ups that will have Annie Mac quaking in her boots. Now, let me level with you here, a) I have a project to do and b) I've barely started it so the term PROCRASTINATION comes to mind. However I think I have a bit of a new found skill/obsession, no doubt my housemates will have to endure many a 'GUYS SERIOUSLY, HERE THE DROP ON THIS' which is currently what my mum is putting up with. But anyway, this new dj persona has inspired me to write a long over-due dance music post. Its no secret that dance music lies close to my heart (look HERE), and after doing a Creamfields double 10/11, I'm serious about my beats. Lately I've been really into my chilled out beats, the days of mind tingling dubstep seem to be fading, however I've decided I shall do My 10 Favourite Remixes, Drops and Downright BANGERS Of The Year (in no particular order) ...

So without further ado,

BIG NUMBER TEN - TREMEL (JAMIE XX REMIX) - GLASSER

I am waiting for Jamie XX to do something wrong. The XX themselves were/are a formidable force in music, deserving of their Mercury music prize and since, Jamie XX (James Smith to his Mam and Dad) has been remixing, producing, fiddling and flexing his musical muscle with everyone from Adele to Jack Penate and this particular offering, a remix of Tremel by Glasser is one of my faves, almost religeous in its production.

CLOUD NINE: SADNESS IS A BLESSING - LYKKE LI - GOLD PANDA REMIX

Another remix, this time coming from Gold Panda. I don;t really know much about them, apart from the fact they've been making cracking tunes and even better remixes for the last few years. This particular is my favourite, heavy and emotional, yet still hopeful (which I suppose should be accredited to Lykke Li) Gold Panda give the song a whole different personality. Which I love.

AFTER EIGHT: HOUSEHOLD GOOD - TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT DINOSAURS (teed)

Again, don't know much about them, but does that really matter? The guy in the funny hats makes amazing, synth-heavy dance delights and I've not yet heard a bad record by him. This is my favourite by far though, just perfectly simple, yet resonating. Enjoy.

LUCKY NUMBER SE7EN: SUMMER JAM - THE UNDERDOG PROJECT

Okay, I know this may seem contraversial, but I love this tune. It doesn't pretend to be cool, the video doesn't pretend to be cool, the lyrics don't pretend to be cool and that doesn't matter! As the tune says 'This aint nothing but a summer jam, we're gunna party as much as we can' So party on.

SIX DICKS: Y.S.L.M - BURNS AND FRED FALKE

Heartbreak power-pop-dance. Simple sentiment. Simple build up. Simply brilliant. I defy you to listen to this and not want to either break it down like a modern day jackson brother, or sing along like Beyoncé would on her day off. (You know she would)

FIVE WILL MAKE YOU GET DOWN NOW: TIME - CHASE AND STATUS FT DELILAH.

Chase and Status, the jewish kings of dance. They have had an awesome year, and I'm sure they loved it when I was rolling round their Liverpool Chibuku gig having the time of my life (much to everyones annoyance, but it was my birthday). Delilah's vocals are perfect on this and the video is continuing in the long line of depressing-chaseandstatus-vids, however the song stands alone as being very bloody good.

FOUR TO THE FLOOR: VULTURES - JESS MILLS (MJ COLE REMIX)

Jess Mills is awesome. Her music is awesome. Her blog is awesome. Her hair is aweosme. And MJ Cole is so prolifically huge in the world of dub/d&b/breakbeat that this remix was always going to be a winner. As heavy as it is light, MJ Cole makes this standard pop affair into a mystical party of musical joy.

THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: SCARY MONSTERS AND NICE SPRITES - SKRILLEX

OH MY GYYAAAAD. that's all. I've blogged about this before and how awesomely brain melting it is. You can't like dance music and not like this in my book.

DEUX: YOU CAN DANCE - CHILLY GONZALES

A feel-good festival of fun. Completely harmless, completely inoffensive and completely perfect. Sadly due to Reading's love of commercial RnB of a night, and my inabillity to not get trollied in Liverpool, I have never heard this in a club. One day, one day....

NUMERO UNO: I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU - GIL SCOTT-HERON AND JAMIE XX

Gil Scott-Heron passed away this year. And the last thing he released was this album with Jamie XX. The man was a pioneer, a poet and a legend in his own right, and it only seems right this track should make my top ten. Its not hugely dance-y and could probably pass for some indie-step genre. However I think its beautiful and the line 'I've loved and I've lost..' sung by his unparalelled voice, gets me everytime.

SO that my freinds, romans and countrymen concludes this post! I hope you've enjoyed my little walk through my most played on my ipod of this year (letshhh be honest) and go download all these tracks ASAP!

There are some really exciting things in the pipeline so watch this space (or read this space, either way)

inabit folkz x

THE BARREL - EPISODE TWO

2011-09-17T14:35:00.000+01:00

Sat with me at my Barrel of fun this week, is Joshua Keogh, formerly of the band Montaine, the young troubador is now carving out a very lovely solo career. And with crystal clear vocals and melodies that make ice queens melt, Mr Keogh is clearly ready for a big future...

Welcome Joshua Keogh to my Barrel of dreams, how are you today sir? Right let's get straight in, describe your sound in no less than FIVE words..
I'm doing wonderfully, thank you.

Redemptive - If only for myself

Very nice to hear! So after my ever-so-thorough research, I believe you have recently split from the band Montaine, becomming a solo artist. How's it been so far going it alone?
Pretty awful actually. I much prefer the company of others when it comes to music. Not in terms of the security that other people bring - because all musicians will get slated and all musicians will have people who think they aren't any good; but rather that I enjoy music more when I can share it with friends. And that's the only negative I could ever say about writing solo music. On the flip side, the
ultimate control I had over the composition was kind of liberating.

Yeah I can imagine that, although from the sound of your new ep Keepsakes, you sound like a man who is more confident than ever! Speaking of Keepsakes, what is your favourite keepsake?
That would be telling...

Aha, quite. So moving on, who would you list as your main influences, both lyrically and musically?
I like stories. So lyrically - I like things to be happening, so I reckon lyrically artists like The Tallest Man on Earth. Musically, and in terms of composition, I am a sucker for rock/pop such as Coldplay and the likes of the new Charlie Simpson album. So I'm sure that that kind of thing is ever apparent in the EP.

That's really interesting, I adore The Tallest man on Earth and you can really feel the Coldplay (circa Parachutes) influence on 'Keepsake' the title track from the ep (keep reading to see my full review of Keepsakes). So do you have many tour dates or gig dates planned for the near future?
I'm afraid to say - I don't really have much of a clue right now. Recording this EP came at a time where my life is kind of all over the place. I'm relocating up to Nottingham! So I'd be able to tell you more in a month or so. Stay up to date on my facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/JoshuaKeoghs and if anything comes up - you will find out!

Well I shall be waiting with anticipation Joshua! So as The Barrel is designed as a 'casual drink in a pub' I can't let the interview go without asking; If your music was a thirst quenching beverage, what would it be?
A pint of orange juice and lemonade - refreshing with a slight bite. No ice. Ice means less drink.

I see, well refreshing indeed! So its that time in The Barrel that every new artist awaits with anticipation..(well, not really, but) WILDCARD QUESTION: Who would win in a fight, David Cameron or Nick Clegg?
Cameron. Better politician and less of a snake. Doesn't mean I like either of 'em though...

Very true words indeed Joshua, so nice speaking to you, best of luck.

So I'm sure after that lovely episode you're all thinking 'Elizabeth, you need to let me hear this wonderful young man, where can I pick up music?' Well never fear my friends, you can pick up a FREE DOWNLOAD of Joshua's EP HERE which I suggest you do in a heartbeat. So whilst that is down loading, here is my track by track review of Joshua Keogh's formidable first ep, Keepsakes.

'Keepsakes' begins with a spritely number, 'Brother'. A definite 'Tallest Man On Earth' flavour but with Keogh's flawless vocal above the jingling guitar backing. Its a refreshing start to the ep, and as so many artists of late are caught up with the pseudo-emo-folk style (reference Benjamin Francis Leftwich, lovely, but ever so depressing)

The Tallest Man on Earth. He isn't actually the tallest man. Just in case.

However Joshua makes a friendly wide-smile of an opener.

Next track on the ep is 'Love'. A beautiful ballad, that showcaes Keogh's voice to be far beyond his years. With a graciously lilting chorus and the twist of melancholy lyrics, 'Love' is indeed a 'Love'ly track.

Keepsake comes next, as I mentioned earlier the early-Coldplay influences are evident, with heart-beat drums and a feeling of almost urgency at the start of the track. A sentiment filled chorus 'Oh my friends, we may grow old, but my friends we're never alone' which will ring true for anyone, who has had to say goodbye to a friendship gorup, or a job, or even a loved one.

Stone is my personaly favourite on the ep, starting with the lyrics 'If I had a wishlist, oh my god I'd put you first' the way Keogh sings it you can feel the emotions behind it, the song is brilliantly put together and for me the stand out single on the ep. Again the Coldplay-esque pop-rock bridge carries your heart and emotions away to higher levels, and I'm not complaining.

All in all, 'Keepsakes' is an ep Keogh should be proud of. A performer way beyond his year, who I hope, will be around for a good while yet.

So that wraps up episode number two of The Barrel, remember, bands contact me, lizz_ward@hotmail.co.uk or TWEET ON MY FACE - @elizabethmward

I just love Kerouac

2011-09-16T00:36:00.000+01:00

"What is that feeling when you're driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? - It's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's goodbye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies."
- Jack Kerouac

This is, in my eyes, is one of the greatest things ever said by the legendary, iconic, beat poet slash writer, Jack Kerouac. He was a pioneer of the Beat Generation and wrote such epic tales as On The Road, Big Sur and The Dharma Bums to name but a few. Most of his books have some form of autobiographical slant on them and he writes about himself as the character Jack Duluoz. But I'm not here to give you all an english lesson. Go back to the quote. Read it again. Don't you think it's beautiful? For me, it's my life mantra. When I left to go to university, this time last year, there was a feeling of underlying nausea beneath the 'down-it-freshaa' bravardo. And I think it was the 'too-huge world vaulting' me, towards an unknown beast that was Reading Univeristy. But now, a year later, heading back to Reading is like putting on a favourite jumper. I know exaclty what to expect, how to behave, how to treat people, and trust people for that matter. And I suppose when that 'favourite jumper' feeling turns into a 'I've-had-this-jumper-for-too-long-now' feeling I guess that's when you up sticks and leave again. But when does it all stop? Job security? Nice house? Love? Who knows.

I suppose what I'm getting at, is that yes, moving away, leaving people, its scary. Its lonely. It's everything you need but don't want to do. Attacked by what-ifs. But you have to, becasue that's life and no-one wants to be left behind. No one wants to be that speck dispersing on the plain. So grab life by the proverbials.

So that's that I suppose. A little bit of late night philosophy of some sort.

Music wise, The Barrel is now fully up and running, so scroll down if you want to see what that was all about, ANY BANDS of ANY GENRE rap, jazz, metal, hardcore, electro, djs, folk, indie, singer/songwriter, even if you think you're the next Justin Beiber (actually no, you need not apply) but anyone else EMAIL ME on lizz_ward@hotmail.co.uk or tweet me up on - @elizabethmward and we'll have a nice little session (ooh not like that, cheeky)

I'll be posting more about music soon, but felt a little life post was needed.

love X

THE BARREL - EPISODE ONE

2011-09-14T12:13:00.000+01:00

So, as you may or may not remember, I'm doing a new feature called The Barrel. Basically a small barrel-sized platform for new bands to have a little chat with me, tell the world about their music and I can introduce you to some of the coolest bands around.

So, this week is all about the band Joshua and The Occasionals. Representing the merry old town of Milton Keynes, Joshua and The Occasionals consist of Joshua Timmins and James Garvey. So let's hear a little more about the dream-folk duo as I sit at my metaphorical Barrel with Joshua from the band...

So Josh, Who Exactly are Joshua and The Occasionals?
Joshua and the Occasionals are a two piece folk band hailing from the metal haven that is Milton Keynes comprised of myself and James (who’s not here at the moment). I’m allowed to do all the talking because we’ve already established that I’m Simon and he’s Garfunkel.

I see. So just how occasional are The Occasionals? (Or Occasional in this aspect) Do they only appear for special events?
The Occasionals were an occasional thing to start with, but now I’ve got a full time occasional, I guess that means the name needs to change to Joshua and the Regulars or something, but that’ll make us sound more like alcoholics and I don’t need any help with that.

Aha, A true rock and roll man then Josh? So out of all occasions, what would be your favourite? (apart from James of course) Had many 'occasional' mishaps?
Tough one, cop out answer though, probably between recording and gigging. [Worst bit about being in a band is]people who just won’t leave you alone. I played a gig a couple of months ago (before I found James) and some guy took a call in the middle of one of my songs and was like "ahh yeah I’m at this venue, this guy on now’s fucking shit etc. etc. etc." so a couple of smart remarks back on my behalf later and I carried on playing. I finished my set and the same person came up to me and was saying things like "that was fucking amazing" seeing that I was clearly packing my things away. He followed me around the whole of the time I was there, he wasn’t even drunk or anything. I’ll always hang around and chat to people after gigs, but let me pack away first please and under no circumstances stalk me. I know this’ll probably make me sound like a dick.

So you've faced stalker city already!? Maybe James can now be your bouncer. So, if your music was a beverage, what tasty cold alcoholic beverage would it be?
Guinness and Black. A fairly heavy drink but the black just takes the edge off it slightly and gives it a fuller taste. Also, there to be enjoyed over a long period of time.

Indeed Josh, Guinness and Black, you strike me as a man who knows his bar tarrifs. So big question; What are your main influences?
For me it’ll have to be Joni Mitchell, Jackson C. Frank, Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel), Yann Tiersen and (pretentious I know, but) Gustav Mahler and Sergei Rachmaninoff. The last two’s music is just so precise and perfect. I urge anyone to listen to Mahler’s 2nd or 6th symphonies and not be moved by them in ways they can’t really describe.
I get told that I sound like Morrissey, Jack Steadman and Orlando Weeks a lot so I guess them too. Lyrically though I’d have to say Loudon Wainwright III.
Although writers like Jack Kerouac and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s works have all made me want to pick up a pen so I guess they could be considered influences on me.

Gustav Mahler - and 'occasional' influence har har

Very nice, I'm sure you've educated a few with that formidable list (me included) Any plans for a single/album release or a tour over the coming months?
They’ll all be coming next year hopefully. We’re looking into starting our own label up at the moment to release things on, because no labels love us. Recording the album at the moment which is sounding pretty good, needs a lot more work on it at the moment though.
We’d love to tour, but need to find a band willing to let us support them on it. Laura Marling would be wonderful to tour with but it’d end in restraining orders.

Marling, you can SEE why a restraining order may be needed. I have too many pictures of her in this blog...

Quite, I think I'd be scared for Laura's safety! Right it's that time in the interview WILDCARD QUESTION, Who in the band would be most likely to end up on the UK's favourite retard display, Jeremy Kyle...
Me. James is too straight edge. I’d go on in a three piece suit (complete with pocket watch) and speak really eloquently. I have a theory that Jeremy only gets really stupid people on the show because he’s thick himself and they make him look really clever.

A very understandable point of view from you there Josh, well thanks for coming sitting at my Barrel and letting us into the world of The Occasionals!

So I'm sure you are all waiting with bated breath to hear what these sparky miltoners sound like? Well head RIGHT over to their facebook page where you'll be able to see up and coming tour dates, information on the band and of course their guinness soaked folk offerings, JOSHUA AND THE OCCASIONALS song-wise I think 'How We've Grown (Apart)' is beautiful melacholic melody, whose lyrics match perfectly to the lilting aural backing. JATO's lyrics are not to be underestimated, telling truths of teenage loves and losses, lines like "but I haven't seen you in a little while, my how you've grown and so have I" Will most definitely ring true for many, especially in this world of leaving for uni and college. The demo of 'Shipwreck' shows of Joshua's voice perfectly and one can undeniabley hear echos of both Jack Steadman and an early Morrissey.

These guys are one to be watched, and a force to be reckoned with. They're called Joshua and The Occasionals, and this year is their Occasion.

As I said, Guinness soaked.

Enjoy this? Want your band to be on The Barrel? Tweet me - @elizabethmward or email me lizz_ward@hotmail.co.uk

Look out for the next episode of The Barrel soon!