Exam Week Interruption

:Minor brain explosion: (See here for reason)
I haven't actually read the article (don't have time don't ya know) but just the headline causes my brain to explode ever so slightly. That and the photo, but really that's to be expected.
I'll be off then. Cheers.

Three Weeks

The following is three weeks of Friday Fives. I'm bored and stressed and need something to take my mind off of my stress and boredom. That and Dr. Baker scares me and I need to focus on something other than that.

1. Whats harder to live without, chocolate or alchohol?
Chocolate, since I don't really like alcohol to begin with.

2. Does the colour yellow remind you of anything?
PEO? My Kaiser Chiefs tour shirts? The Yellow Pages?

3. Who most annoyed you last week?
You mean besides my roommate? And my relatives? (Yes I am answering everything in question format because it's fun)

4. Do you have a cutesy romantic nickname for your partner (or previous partners)?
No. -_-

5. What is your favourite Stephen King movie?
I don't have one! Ha ha!

1. Love at First Sight: Fact or Fiction?
I want it to be fact, I really, really do!

2. Fortune Telling: Fact or Fiction?
Fiction, unless you're in a movie in which case it's fact.

3. Other Life: Fact or Fiction?
Other life? What the hell does that mean? Parallel universe kind of stuff? If so, then in between the two.

4. Afterlife: Fact or Fiction?
Gah. Dunno.

5. Bigfoot: Fact or Fiction?
FACT!! Because that would be awesome.


1. If you had the ability to legally change your name, would you? To what?
Yes and I would change it to Trillion or Fenchurch, just for shits and giggles.

2. What do you with with change that you receive from banks/purchases/find on the ground?
Well most of the time I use it to buy junk food and soda, but yesterday I divided up my spare change between by two roommates because I was feeling particularly nice.

3. If you could travel back in time to change the course of one historical event, what event would it be?
I wouldn't because then Reapers would come and destroy the world.

4. Would you rather live a safe, stable, moderately interesting life or one where every day was dangerous, volatile, and different?
Can I have a mix?

5. What do you think you'll be remembered for when you die and, if you could, would you change it to something else?
Being an absolute looney and no I wouldn't change that. I like being known as an absolute looney.

Mercurial

Well things have improved dramatically since last night, at least in terms of my "home" situation. It's amazing how mercurial she is.
In other news, Last Bus Home wrote an interesting entry that oddly enough reflects many of the entries I've written over the past four years. Namely, the pointless entry for the showing off of X. Or this entry actually. Anyway, I would have something else to write about if NME.com would load. But it's not, so I have nothing. Sorry.
Ta until laters.

Lord Get Me Through This

So, I've been having a bad time of it lately, mainly because it's the last week of classes and don't handle the end of the year/semester that well. I never have and I suspect I never will, but nonetheless it is a very stressful time of the year. What doesn't help, however, is the fact that my New England roommate has turned into an iceberg around me. She barely acknowledges me presence and when she does her tone is just slightly above civil. So I'm being made to feel like a piece of shit by one of my roommates which only compounds the stress I'm feeling from finals. Last night I went in my stocking feet down to the basement and when I found that place had people in it, I speed walked my over to the practice rooms at Pollard. In my bare feet without my key-card. Granted I did feel a lot less stressed when I was done, and didn't have to wait at all for someone to show up to let me in, but I don't think I should be in such a desperate state as to walk out of my dorm in my barefeet, just so I can get away from my roommate(s). Sadly, there is nothing to be done about it. B**ch roommate handles stress one way and I handle it in a very different and opposing way and ne'er shall the twain betwixt. Or something like that. I just wish my life wasn't such in such a shitty place right now. Thankfully I have my classes and my time away from my room to counteract the horribleness of my "home" life. I just wish I never had to "home."

My Lyrics are Bottomless

I have said this before, but I will say it again: Ain't no party like my nana's tea party! Hey! Ho!
God I love Flight of the Conchords sometimes.
Edit: There is something to be said for either an artist or a band that insist on being fair to their fans. Case on point, Alex Turner side project The Last Shadow Puppets have released their single "The Age of the Understatement" in the US through someone other than iTunes. It makes me happy, what can I say. Also, I miss Muse. I really want to see them again. 0_0 They're so much fun!

A Rather Silly Update

This update will be done in the form of headlines with links, because I'm lazy and a little busy. Enjoy

British Kaiser Chiefs fans bitch about warm-up gigs not being "close enough." American fans blow raspberries at them for complaining at all.

The Pipettes lose two members and no one cares.

The Washington Post live reviewers get something right. Nore is shocked. (Second review after, the Mortensen trio)

That's it. Nikki is currently making it impossible to type with both hands, so I'll bid you all adieu until I have some more time. So hopefully the next time I write I'll be posting the Kate Nash set list avec comments. Till then, adieu

Quiet

I'm currently sitting in the study room at Trinkle putting off writing a complete thought in my history paper. I've been at this since 6 and so far I've gotten three pages, based mostly on the fact that I have somewhat lengthy footnotes. The paper is only suppose to be four pages, so the fact that I have three is a good thing, but it also means that the majority of it is crap and quotes from my primary resources. However, from past experience, all this means is that I'll get an okay grade on the paper and comments similar to the ones I had on my first paper. However, it is nice to be some place quiet, especially considering how hectic today has been. I actually thought it was Thursday based solely on how stressed out I was.
In the little spare time that I did have today I cut my bangs. According to Prof. Tavenier it makes me look Irish, but in my opinion I cut them too short. Thankfully my bangs grow quickly and will soon be covering my eyebrows again. Also I'm fairly certain they are in no way even, but what can you expect from someone who has no training in haircutting?
I'm going home tomorrow to see Kate Nash, so a play list will be up probably on Friday. Saturday is Mums birthday and then Sunday I have a chorus concert. Monday is my final recital and the beginning of my last week of classes. I'm in utter shock that it's the end of the year, but given the amount of stress I'm currently under, I really shouldn't be.
On a final note, Dr. Long is an absolute sweetheart and complete looney. I'm really glad I get to have him as a teacher again next year. And the semester after that. Oh, and I got a bear from the University of Westminster. His name is Richard Kent. ;)

Cute

Summer season has started (as the weather in this town can prove) and in the vain hope that my favourite band might be venturing out into the wide world (they are, just not here) I checked their site for any updates. First thing I see is a petition to give Leeds United 15 points back. I've absolutely no clue what they're talking about or how Leeds United lost 15 points over the past football season, but there you have it. A petition to get those damned points back. On the front page of the Kaiser Chiefs website. So cute.

Music Critics

Music critics are some of the most pretentious pricks known to man. Here is my reasoning:
In effort to broaden my horizons while also following the rules of the radio station, I've decided to feature one new album a week. For this week I was thinking of featuring Los Campesinos! who are a Welsh band that have gotten much attention and an A from the AV Club. However, I was also hoping to shed some light on the album/band I'm featuring and so I was gathering reviews from other outlets such as the NME, Drowned in Sound, and Fake DIY. This was obviously a bad idea because now I'm not going to be featuring Los Campesinos! and I think music critics are pretentious pricks with sticks up there asses and a God complex to beat the bands.
First we have Drowned in Sound. The reviewer, Dom Passantino, starts the review by bashing the demise of Britpop and then goes on to bash the Kinks. Now, I know I'm prejudice against anyone who bashes the Kinks, but I'm willing to accept such a bashing if it makes sense. And yes, I also understand the most people in Wales identify themselves first and foremost as Welsh and then British, but this does not mean they are somehow immune to what's happening on the rest of the island. Making Wales out to be France is idiotic and claiming that someone from Wales could never be influenced by one the of the biggest names in rock (not just British rock) is even more idiotic. Culture permeates and can not be avoided, no matter how much wish it weren't so. In making a claim otherwise you are showing cultural ignorance of the top order. So that's Drowned in Sound.
The NME spends the first paragraph of it's review talking about how good music goes beyond genre and how "indie" music is "more a mindset than a musical style, and one that values ideas, imagination and anti-sexist, anti-racist ideologies above record sales and profit margins." The reviewer then goes on to say that musically the album is boring but lyrical provocative in that it sticks to the above mentioned epitaphs. Los Campesinos! are, as they say "a band to believe." Just like every other indie band.
Thus far I've got pretentious culturally ignorant prick and bollocking grandiose prick. Let's see what Fake DIY and the AV Club have to say about it.
AV Club: Twee!! But the good kind like Belle and Sebastian twee. Also, those lyrics, oh they are to die for.
Fake DIY: Lyrics!! And happiness!!! Hurrah!!!
So two pretentious and two taking the thing at face value and not reading into the album or bending it around to fit the reviewer's views. As you can see music critics come in two forms: Pretentious dicks and people who actually enjoy music. Yes I analyse the Kinks and Kaiser Chiefs to death, but hypocrisy is my middle name and the Kinks were born to analyse. Kaiser Chiefs are another matter.

Frazzled

I'm beyond frazzled right now (band set-up gone awry, dealing with little kids and my inability to make small talk, life in general) and so I'm listening to the Cribs. They're cynical "I hate everyone" attitude makes me feel better about hating everyone at the moment. So in honour of my mood and the Cribs, here are the lyrics to one of my favourite songs by them. Hopefully I'll give a real update sometime in the future. Or not, we'll see.

"Things Aren't Going to Change" --- The Cribs

Well I've been drinking for days and I'm happy to say
That we've been leading you on so you'd do it our way
You've had a little success but you're too hard to impress
So raise your standards, change your number
It's for the best
And though I don't want you to stay
There's something about the way that
You say the words that you've rehearsed, now
I think I should explain
Things aren't gonna change
And last October when it took over
The boy was grabbed by his new controller
I'm shifting all the blame
But I still I feel the same

I didn't know what to say when I saw you alone
You say you do what you want but you do what you're told
I fell in love with you gaze, I fell in love with your name
We need to know what to say if we're playing your games

And though I don't want you to stay
There's something about the way that
You say the words that you've rehearsed, now
I think I should explain
Things aren't going to change
And last October when it took over
The boy was grabbed by his new controller
I'm shifting all the blame
But still I feel the same, yeah

And although it makes no difference I still know that
It's got nothing to do with the way I'm without you

Panic (!) at the Disco

This past summer I giddily read that Panic! at the Disco was no more. Of course the writer's at Drowned in Sound were just playing with my mind and the band had merely gotten rid of the exclamation point and had not, as I thought, disbanded. Little less than six months later here I am, listening to them. It's odd how the world works.
Panic at the Disco's new album Pretty. Odd. is a complete rip off. It seems that the band listened to everything the Beatles ever recorded and decided that they were going to do the same thing. In one album. Add to the mix an orchestral arrangement to every track and you have Pretty. Odd. Now the last three sentences might sound like I'm going to rip the album to shreds, but I generally don't listen to things I don't like and so I'm just as shocked as you when I say, completely ripping off late-era Beatles with orchestral arrangements works for this group. This is not to say that the album is brilliant (the Beatles did it better) or terribly original (the Beatles did it better) but Pretty. Odd. is peformed by a band whose last tour was a circus. Literally. So over the top theatrics and vocal harmonies work incredibly well and make for an album that's fun and completely radio friendly.
I know nearly zilch about Panic! at the Disco nor do I know much of anything about Panic at the Disco. The only thing I know about the band is that they got bottled two years in a row at the festival(s) formerly known as Carling Weekend and that in 2006 they lost their original bassist. I've never listened to more than a snippet of their first album and so have no idea whether Pretty. Odd. is an improvement, complete departure, or typical sophomore album. However, I do know that the band seems to employ nonsensical lyrics to make a point about typical rock band song topics. They have catchy hooks and choruses that lure in the listener like a fish to bait. Vocal harmonies are in heavy use and can be heard in every single song on the album, save "I Have Friends in Holy Spaces" which instead pretends that it's from the late 1920's/early 1930's. All in all it is what I've said before: A radio-friendly singles-laden album that hipsters in NYC won't feel too bad saying they own. It is neither brilliant nor horrible, merely passable in a good way.

Firsties

First: Ain't no party like my nanna's tea party. Hey! Ho!
Second: I almost died at Border's on Saturday because, I found out, there was a time when Glen Hansard had long hair.
(Directions for the above pictures: First one he's on the right hand side. Second one he's on the bottom left side, the one with the really long curly hair.)
Third: I spent basically my whole weekend either at the radio station, Central Park, or my room. It was brilliant.
Fourth: I'm taking a history of jazz, social issue, and music theory as of right now. I also broke it to my voice teacher that I'm not going to be a voice major. All is right with the world.
Fifth: Finished my first Washington Post crossword on Friday and my second one today. Very proud.
Ta until much later.