make us a brew!

...enjoying lunch with Katrina at Teacup in the Northern Quarter of Manchester. Teacup is a cute cafe owned by DJ, producer and cartoonist, Mr Scruff, who also has his own line of tea and related products - a slightly odd pairing of interests but hey, i'm not one to judge..."like many people, mr scruff loves a nice cup of tea"

i'll bear this broken cross with you...

Eighteen - ¡Forward, Russia!

..this song just popped up on my ipod for the first time in a while and got me wondering..and dispairing...what happened to ¡Forward, Russia!?
Hailing from Leeds , they released Give Me A Wall in 2005...one of the soundtracks to my Sheffield days, and later Life Processes which i never really gave a good listen....but i'm sorry guys, really i am...i will pay much more attention to you if you come back from hiatus and give us more wonders like Twelve and Eighteen...

..lyrical genius that stuns -
"Time to fall asleep
And take the fractions of emotions
That still litter your stale dreams like barley"

i told you your dreams would come true...

...word on the street is Yacht are supporting LCD Soundsystem at their London shows...can this gig get any better?! if you haven't heard See Mystery Lights yet definitely give it a listen. Is it just me or does a lot of cool stuff come out of Portland?

Psychic City - Yacht

i'll be the one who'll break my heart...

...finally had the birds added to my tattoo today... in celebration, i have chosen one of my all-time favourites and a song i was listening to a lot at the time of designing this...

I Feel It All - Feist

you and me...we're just crazy...

...i've only just found what last.fm describes as..."beach blanket lo-fi pop from Bethany Cosentino" (very cute indeed). Searching through records by Best Coast reminds me of other beauties from my university days like The Breeders and The Concretes...i sure am a sucker for dreamy girly vocals...

.. you may well find me swaying to Best Coast at The Old Blue Last in May...

When I'm With You - Best Coast

a minefield of crippled affection...

...just twisting the knife that i'm gig-ticketless...Broken Social Scene's first sneak peek from new album Forgiveness Rock Record is really really nice...more of this please..












World Sick - Broken Social Scene

your drug is a heartbreaker...

...after Gemma's show last night we all went down to Catch in Shoreditch to my friend's Weezer night which promised Weezer every third song and only amazing indie classics inbetween. Snakebite and black whilst singing [shouting] Say It Ain't So and Emo at the top of your lungs makes only for pink arms and no voice on a saturday morning....good times i say!

Say It Ain't So - Weezer

London Fashion Week: Gemma Slack & Chew Lips

...last night was the unveiling of my friend's new collection at the Freemasons Hall as part of London Fashion Week. The new collection was flavoured with Gemma's signature dark and striking materials, sharp jackets with high collars, sexy yet powerful dresses...this is my own personal favourite collection so far...please make me a dress Gemma?

A/W 09 collection

Gemma has already styled Roisin Murphy of Moloko fame with a previous collection and now Tigs of Chew Lips. The band played a short set at the end of Gemma's presentation and as always Tigs did not disappoint...sporting gold leaf shorts with matching jacket and square punched leather vest...created especially for her by Gemma.

Check out Gemma's previous work here and hopefully soon we'll see the pictures from the brand new collection...so sleep well Gemma, until it all starts again...

a dream came true, just like a song by Blink-182...

feeling all so childish, like i want to fall in stupid stupid love...

...just like this..

Homecoming - The Teenagers

friends in musical high places...help!

so i decided to go home and see my folks in March for my Dad's birthday...which incidently means i miss the Frightened Rabbit gig i had guest list for in London....and the Sheffield gig has sold out....
..i also booked a holiday to Morocco, my first proper holiday in years...and i'm super excited but also shedding a tear that i miss the She & Him gig!! As well as The National...how can this be?? ...and to top it all off Broken Social Scene sneakily scheduled a gig without me knowing and that too has sold out..

so i beg of you....people...have a heart...and find a girl some tickets for the following gigs:

Frightened Rabbit - Leadmill, Sheffield 13 March 2010
Broken Social Scene - Heaven, London 17 May 2010

[and any extra special miracles of gigs far and wide for She & Him and The National are greatly welcomed.. x]

Gig Review: Beach House

despite fighting yet another bout of tonsillitus i made it out to the Beach House gig with my face wrapped in a big woolly scarf, and boy did it pay off...
my second time to Bush Hall and jeez i love that place, the perfect size and good acoustics...i've no idea why but it always makes me feel like i'm seeing a band in some small old music hall in San Francisco...i always go with the dream..

there's really not too much else to say other than...incredible. Victoria's voice is just...incredible. She sings even the most impressive of notes with such ease, ranging effortlessly from soft melodic intros to deep sultry lyrics, her hair draping over the microphone as she impresses with her long-stemmed organ playing...
...aside from Take Care (my favourite song from Teen Dream) which played last before the encore, best song of night for me had to be Silver Soul...followed closely, of course, by a somewhat fierce version of Norway...


..i'm definitely going to try and make the Grizzly Bear show in March where they'll support...i can never see a band just once..

..so now today i'm drinking hot lemon with Beach House...don't you just love listening to an album again after seeing the show?...all those memories now attached...

Silver Soul - Beach House

two drifters off to see the world...

...what a delightful Valentine's Day i've had...after several concerned looks from passers-by on Columbia Road market at the horror of a girl buying flowers for herself, Tabitha and I took to the Rio in Dalston to see one of my all-time favourites on the big screen....and here is one of my all-time favourite songs from that very film...sung by the most beautiful woman that ever lived...


Holly Golightly: "Do I detect a look of disapproval in your eye? Tough beans buddy, 'cause that's the way it's gonna be"

Moon River - Audrey Hepburn

when you build your house, i'll come by...

... from Stevie Nicks about her best friend, Sara, who started a love affair with Mick Fleetwood whilst Nicks herself was seeing him...very sad, but a dreamy wonder i love...all 6:27 of it...

Sara - Fleetwood Mac

in the morning i'll be gone...

..my friend Lex took me to see Stornoway last night who were brilliant (definitely check them out) but the star of the show for me was support act Beth Jeans Houghton. Wearing a huge groomed white wig and a Beetlejuice-esqe dress, her stage presence was equally matched by her soft low voice...I can't wait for more performances at Field Day and Bestival this year...

... definitely pick up a copy of the EP, Hot Toast Vol 1, produced by none other than my neighbour, Mike Lindsay of Tunng...

I Will Return - Beth Jeans Houghton

...also, the video which you can check out here is made by an old Sheffield friend, Dave Chavannes, am i somehow related to this girl??

She & Him swoonfest

...just listened to the Live Lounge session from She & Him on 6music yesterday where they performed a cute cover of Gonna Get Along Without You Now... listen to the show here

Field Day 2010 first acts announced....

...wet yourself.....NOW. The first acts for this years Field Day (Victoria Park, London) have been announced...

AMIINA / BETH JEANS HOUGHTON / CARIBOU / CHILLY GONZALES /CORSANO AND FLOWERS / ESBEN AND THE WITCH / GOLD PANDA / HYPNOTIC BRASS ENSEMBLE / JAMES HOLDEN /JOKER AND MC NOMAD / MAX TUNDRA / MEMORY TAPES / MOUSE ON MARS /PANTHA DU PRINCE / SILVER APPLES /

...oh wowzer, and it just so happens to be on a certain persons birthday this year....do i have my ticket already even though it's in July? YES I DO!

why must I always see the ending at the beginning...

...i just heard this song on the radio at work (erm, whilst working...ahem) and had to post it immediately. Casey Dienel's voice is just beautiful...touring this year with Taken By Trees, very cool indeed. Icarus is the opening track on the new album, Kairos, out on 9 March...definitely on the record shopping list...

Icarus - White Hinterland

(photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/cleo_moss/ )

tonight i'm gleeful...

..in honour of my new favourite trash obsession, Glee, on which tonight the girls performed Halo...albeit a drug-fuelled fast tempo version..
yes, another cover (i do love a good cover) by yes, Florence & The Machine (she's good at them alright!)....but this is just lovely...

Halo (Beyonce cover) - Florence & The Machine

i always say "i love you" when i mean "turn out the light"...

..this band always make me think of my university friend Rebecca...she taught me an awful lot, more than she probably realises. Oh 2002 how I miss you...



...maybe one day i'll leave my emo ways behind.

maybe.

I Think I Need A New Heart - The Magnetic Fields

i know you've been waiting a long time for me...

...i'm a little lost for words on the voices and guitar in this song....it's just beautiful...


Hot Like Fire (Aaliyah cover) - The XX

and she's the moon...

...so who knew? Peter Gabriel's upcoming orchestral indie rock cover album Scratch My Back...worth a listen after this cover of Flume...yes yes, another Bon Iver cover...this one's for crying into your red wine on a dark night....only kidding....not really..

Flume (Bon Iver cover) - Peter Gabriel