Long Ass Meme

50 Questions meme.

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
Oy mcvay

2. How much cash do you have on you?
Enough to pay for a small pizza with sausage and pepperoni

3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?
floor

4. Favourite planet?
Betelgeuse

5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone?
dunno, missed call list is clear at the moment


6. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone?
really don't have one

7. What shirt are you wearing?
Folger's library student Shakespeare festival from 7th grade

8. Do you label yourself?
constantly and it usually involves the word nutter, anglophile and looney

9. Name the brand of the shoes you’re currently wearing?
socks, no shoes right now

10. Bright or Dark Room?
bright, so as I don't get depressed from the gloom

11. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?
writes the best damn DW fanfiction

12. What does your watch look like?
umm...don't have one

13. What were you doing at midnight last night?
sleeping

14. What did your last text message you received on your cell say?
I don't get texts

15. Where is your nearest 7-11?
somewhere not near by (aka I don't know)

16. What's a word that you say a lot?
umm

17. Who told you he/she loved you last?
Sophs or Mums

18. Last furry thing you touched?
Nikki or Rosie

19. How many drugs have you done in the last three days?
My meds, so quite a bit

20. How many rolls of film do you need developed?
one

21. Favorite age you have been so far?
Right now

22. Your worst enemy?
Myself (how cliche)

23. What is your current desktop picture?
Women walking dog in the snow (it's a graphic I got from Veer)

24. What was the last thing you said to someone?
I don't remember...I think it was "okay" to my sister

25. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly what would it be?
Oooh toughy...million bucks

26. Do you like someone?
Why yes, yes I do.

27. The last song you listened to?
La Gazza Ladra, can't remember the composer's name

28. What time of day were you born?
7:25 am, which is why I hate the morning

29. What’s your favorite number?
42

30. Where did you live in 1987?
I wasn't born yet

31. Are you jealous of anyone?
Every single person in the UK

32. Is anyone jealous of you?
Dunno

33. Where were you when 9/11 happened?
Chorus


34. What do you do when vending machines steal your money?
Have yet to have that happen to me, but I suspect I would get very annoyed and then walk away

35. Do you consider yourself kind?
Most of the time, yes

36. If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be?
When I get my tattoo, it will be on the back of my wrist, 'cuz I thnk that's a cool place


37. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be?
French, so I could live there and become very, very large eating nothing but crepes

38. Would you move for the person you loved?
No, unless they lived in London in which case yes

39. Are you touchy feely?
Umm, does clingy count? If so, then yes

40. What’s your life motto?
Don't panic

41. Name three things that you have on you at all times?
Ring on my right index finger, ring on my right ring finger and Irish wedding band on my left thumb

42. What’s your favourite town/city?
London

43. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?
Small pizza with sausage and pepperoni

44. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
No clue, it's been so long

45. Can you change the oil on a car?
God no

46. Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
He's in NYC

47. How far back do you know about your ancestry?
I know bits and pieces from both sides of my family and recently found out I do in fact have some English from my Mom's mom's side of the family

48. The last time you dressed fancy, what did you wear and why did you dress fancy?
That would have been for my chorus concert and it was all black and a green blazer

49. Does anything hurt on your body right now?
No

50. Have you been burned by love?
Rather not discuss that, ta

Hold My Hand

I've been feeling rather depressed lately. I think it has something to do with being home and the sun not shining as much as I would like it to. In any event I've been feeling a bit blue and today just compounded that feeling. Today has not been very good for making me feel better, not one bit.
Hunter's not coming back next semester, or at least he doesn't think he is. And quite frankly unless Ms. Smith can pull a fucking miracle out of her ass, I don't think he will be coming back next semester. The strange thing is that he's totally calm about the whole situation. I'm having a freakin' melt down, emotionally speaking, and he's all fine and dandy. A wee bit pissed, but mostly just calm. Which is fine, but I feel really odd about the whole thing. A month ago I wasn't even sure I liked Hunter enough to be his girlfriend and now not only am I freaking out on his behalf, he's entered my subconscious (booyah to the dream world). It just seems so strange how quickly things can change in life. I feel slightly paralysed to be honest. Maybe this is why Farber wanted to have a boyfriend, so I would learn not to be paralysed by unfamiliar and stressful situations. Dunno though, never will either.
Well now that I've entered into the realm of stream-of-thought rambling, I guess I'll end it here. Don't mourn for me too much though. He's promised to visit and if the world and karma decide that I'm (and by proxy he's) not too shit he'll be back at UMW this summer, and trust me if he is my weekends will be spent in Fredericksburg. I'm just that clingy.

I'll Be Home For Christmas

I sometimes wonder how I can be apart of the family that I'm apart of. I use to think that since I didn't belong I must have been adopted or something like that, but since I've inherited too many of the same disabilities (both learning and pyschological) that option has long since left the th building. HOwever I still do wonder how it is I ended up in this family since I'm so patently different from any of them. I also can't stand being around the lot of them, though really that's not a sign of anything based on the movies. Still I've been home four days and I'm already looking forward to the beginning of the next semester. In fact if the world could just fast-forward to Christmas (because I like presents) and then fast-forward again to January 11th, I'd be just fine, ta. Of course this could all pass and like I almost told Hunter (decided against 'cuz I didn't want to worry him too much) I'll just become numb to the whole situation. Either that or time will pass as quickly as always does and I'll be back at school before I know it. Still, I'd rather be at school now instead of having to wait. C'est la vie I guess. :sigh:

Another Finals Interruption

We again interrupt Nore's study of linguistics with this small piece of news: Blur are reuniting. Now over to Nore for her reaction...
LIES!!!!!!! I don't know why I have such a visceral and unloving response to Blur reuniting, but I do. I think it has to do with the fact that two of the four members have gone on to have semi-successful music careers and they probably won't make it to the US and I don't need any more disappointment in my life. Or I'm just a very bitter old hag who doesn't want anyone to be happy. Dunno.
In other non-music news (well non-pop music news anyway) I've all but given up on completing MacBastard (MacGamut/aural training) by Thursday when it's due, but I still have to figure out how I'm going to write a fugue by Friday. Tomorrow is going to be hell, absolute hell. So's Thursday, but less so because I don't have a jury, just skills and socio. But as Amber (from Seaco) said this morning, by this time next week it will all be just a really horrible dream and I'll be able to sleep like a normal person again. Finally, Kathy has disappeared for the most part, which is a nice but very odd alternative to last year when Allison hid in her bed for the duration of finals. At least I can listen to my music without headphones, which is also nice, and talk out loud while I'm studying, which I acknowledge is very strange. Anywho, got to get back to linguistics. Do you know what a polysemy is? I do.

Lyrics for Finals

Well, more like a part of some lyrics. Two stanzas in poetry terms. From two different songs. By the same artist. Anywho, here they are:

"You Want History" --- Kaiser Chiefs

It's a waste of money you have to admit
If it's a waste of money you have to have it
It's a waste of brains but hard to resist
If you wanted mystery you've blown it

It's a waste of money you have to admit
If it's a waste of money you have to have it
It's a waste of brain cells hard to resist
If you wanted history you missed it


"Like It Too Much" --- Kaiser Chiefs

Going in and out of
Another state of
Try not to be obvious
With a ringside seat
Going in and out of
Another state of
Try not to be obvious
You get the first one free...

You are descended from animals
And you are constructed of chemicals
The one thing you can't have you like too much
You look but you cannot touch
I like it all too much

The Fear of Good Days and Bad Days

Ah, time for some reviews. Lily Allen has a single, the Kaiser Chiefs have a single...and both have videos! There's also the small matter of not wanting to think about my exams, so here's a nice way to pass the time. Write two reviews.

"The Fear" --- Lily Allen
Lily Allen has a gift for lyrics. She writes brilliant and catchy lyrics that, while not exactly mind-stretchers, are able to be topical without sounding pedantic. However, as with "The Fear", she can sound a bit hypocritical singing them. In this latest single Ms. Allen's musical vocabulary has expanded to a certain extent, but ultimately her songs aren't about the music but the lyrics and the lyrics sound silly coming out of her mouth. Ms. Allen is almost as well known for her tabloid antics as she is for her music and so singing about the stupidity and shallowness of her life seems a tad rich. A bit like the pot calling the kettle black if you know I mean. But "The Fear" is saved by the musical expansion exhibited by Ms. Allen and her cohorts. If this any indication of her next, I'm sure it will be as good and as catchy as her last one. Let's just hope she avoids any more hypocrisy. [As for the video, it's majestic and visually interesting, but Lily is not a good actress. Really horrible in fact.]

"Good Days Bad Days" --- The Kaiser Chiefs
There's something peculiar about the Kaiser Chiefs. First impression rarely do justice to the actual quality of the music they produce. While I wouldn't exactly retract my original grading of Off With Their Heads I don't hate the album much as I did when I first listened to it. There are moments in nearly every song that makes it worth while to listen to. In the case of "Good Days Bad Days" it's the refrain and bit towards the end that discusses changing your attitude. "Good Days Bad Days" isn't a brilliant song by any stretch of the imagination, but if you listen to it enough times, you too will find a moment in it that you like and makes it worth while to listen to. That's just how the Kaiser Chiefs work. [Peanut was in hospital during the video shoot and the hang a neat little sign on his keyboard that says "Be back in 5 minutes." The whole thing is a giddy romp that reminds me of the video for "Everyday I Love You Less and Less" except without skeleton sex. Though it's odd, they always pat down Ricky's hair and it makes him look really odd. But yeah, good video.]

Ugh. Exams. I've got so much MacGamut to do it hurts my brain just thinking about it. However I got to watch a really weird French movie last night, so it's not all bad. Well the exam bits are, but the French movie isn't. So yeah, off to bed. Night.

This Is Going to Be Very Long, But I'm Very Bored

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (marching band, Rock Band)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain (in the mountains is close enough right? Because I've done a lot of that)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (and I will never eat doritos again)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (and I have a poster of her too!)
20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (of the heart!)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David (or a replica, I can't remember)

41. Sung karaoke (it was awful)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted by your mother. it wasn't flattering.
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (in November and it was cold)

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class (and never got beyond an orange belt)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a cheque
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial (one of the last things I did before moving to the suburbs)

71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a mobile phone (how is that impressive?)
99. Been stung by a bee (which is one of the ways I found out I'm allergic to insect stings)
100. Read an entire book in one day (back when I had time to read)

I'm Taking a Break From Writing About Sociology to Write About My Life

If I write one more page, get through one more topic, I can go to bed and finish the paper tomorrow. I just have to write about one more topic and since I underlined so damn much, this paper is proving a hell of a lot easier than the last one. I just have to write about one more topic. :sigh: I'm good at this, I just hate doing it.
Today has been so stressful. I had one three hour break in the middle of the day, but even then I had grocery shopping to do and then tonight was utter chaos, so the break really didn't mean that much to me. The only plus side was that I got to see Hunter after the chorus concert and before I rushed back to my room to eat and watch GG. Now I'm working on a sociology paper that will be five pages if it kills me. Still I got to see Hunter and watch GG, so it isn't all doom and gloom. Just mostly.
So, for those who don't know, Torchwood, especially the first season, is ridiculously sex-drenched. Just a ridiculous amount of sex and sex innuendo. So it comes as no surprise that John Barrowman (Barrowman, not Boarowman) would take out his dick while on the radio. I mean absolutely no surprise whatsoever. He turned a song from The Sound of Music into a perverted thing about wanking when he was on Buzzcocks. Really, people are just silly.
So this is my last week of classes before exams. Many people on Facebook have been describing the next two weeks of hell. I would tend to agree with them. This, however, does not guarentee that I will not be blogging throughout the next two weeks. It simply means that if I do write, I will most likely be bitching or bitching. So yeah, welcome to hell.

Another In A Long List of Lyrics

Because lyrics are my poetry

"Save It For Later" --- The English Beat

Two dozen other dirty lovers
Must be a sucker for it
Cry cry but I don't need my mother
Just hold my hand while I come to a decision on it.

Sooner or later your legs give way, you hit the ground
Save it for later don't run away and let me down.
Sooner or later you hit the deck you get found out
Save it for later don't run away and let me down, you let me down.

Black air and seven seas all rotten through
But what can you do?
I don't know how I'm meant to act with all of you lot
Sometimes I don't try
I just now now now now now now now now now now now
Now now now now now now now now now now now

Soomer or later your legs give way, you hit the ground
Save it for later don't run away and let me down.
Sooner or later you hit the deck you get found out
Save it for later don't run away and let me down
You runaway runaway and let me down.

Two dozen other stupid reasons
Why we should suffer for this
Don't bother trying to explain them
Just hold my hand while I come to a decision on it.

Sooner or later your legs give way, you hit the ground
Save it for later don't run away and let me down.
Sooner or later you'll hit the deck you'll get found out
Save it for later don't runaway and let me down, you let me down.
You run away run away runaway runaway runaway runaway
And let me down.

Thankful Two Years On

Today is Thanksgiving in the US and now that I've recovered from my five hours of social torture, I'm going to list the things I'm thankful. Because that's just how I roll.

• My music, it's the only thing that keeps me truly sane
• British panel shows, they keep me entertained for hours on end even though I should be working
• Living five minutes away from Pollard
• Doctor Who, which needs no explanation
• My family, even if they do drive me up a wall after long periods of exposure
• The UK without which my music collection would limited and very different, there would be no DW and no panel shows to watch
• Hunter (I didn't want to place him too early because that would seem desperate)
• Not having to host Thanksgiving this year

That's about it. May not seem like a lot, but it covers a vast swath of territory. So there you have, what I'm thankful for in random order. Night.

Damn Scarf

I am irrationally jealous of an inanimate object. Namely this scarf. Completely and irrationally jealous of it. The only thing keeping me from tearing the whole thing up is that a) it's not finished and b) that would be cruel to the scarf. I think next time I'm just going to magically overcome all my inhabitions and jump him*. Though hopefully the next time I get the chance to jump him, he'll be finished with that damn scarf. Damn my eyes! Damn them to hell.
*I'm talking about Hunter. Because jumping an inanimate object is even more irrational than being jealous of it. And yes, I do want to jump him.

A Very Happy Goat Indeed

For a very long time I believed that romance and love worked in the real world the same way it worked in books and movies and music. I'll never really let go of that belief, and it's not something I wish to let go of, but now I know better. Admittedly it was hard letting go of that belief, at least in practical terms, but now that I've let go of Cinderella I can finally embrace what I have. And it is wonderful. Awkward, frustrating and wonderful. Somehow in the past week I've been able to make the psychological leap and actually and completely believe that there is someone in this world who cares about me. He is awkward and dorky and adorable and he cares that I make it back safely to my dorm room. And it is a wonderful feeling knowing I have that in my life. It makes everything else seem superfluous. So you can see, for the first time since I started writing in this damn blog I am genuinely happy. I am a very, very, happy goat.

The Things She Knows

Allison has become a vital force in my life again. Well, not so much a vital force as an outside annoyance I wasn't really expecting to have. You see, unlike my relationship with Allison which is contentious and full of bad feelings (mostly on my side), Hunter and Allison are bestest friends and if she asks, he'll tell. A situation which has some very awkward potential. You see, what makes this all the more annoying, is that Allison is visiting UMW during spring break. Which means I'll actually have to see her again and more than likely by that time she'll know things that I haven't even had the nerve to write about in this here blog. Things that, to be perfectly frank, I never would want her to know. But there's naught to be done about it. I'm not about to begin dictating who Hunter can talk to and what they can talk about. Still, for someone who I thought I had "gotten rid of" (aka she left because she hated it so much here), Allison is still awfully present.
Nonetheless life isn't all bad. Granted I do have what amounts to one week of school left until exams, but it could be worse. I could have a drama queen for a roommate and no means of releasing built up stress. So yeah, I complain, but really except for my inability to open up this damn bottle of orange juice, my life is good and I am happy. An odd thing really, but I'm getting use to it.

Fire!

My dorm is experiencing a smoke related fire drill (aka a real fire, but just in a kitchen and not really that serious). The current temperature is somewhere in the 20's (Fahrenheit). My dorm happens to be spitting distance from the library. Guess where the majority of my dorm is currently located?
At least I wasn't really planning on going to be anytime soon. I'm too hyped up on caffeine and music and Buzzcocks to be sleepy. But yeah, thank god for the library.

Brighton Port Authority

So the bloke who writes The Last Bus Home may or may not have moved over to a new blog called 853 and so I move with him, because it's British and dammit I need my British! Anywho 853 posted a youtube clip of this song called "Seattle" being performed by Brighton Port Authority and it's bloody brilliant. So head on over to 853 or youtube and watch/listen. Tis bloody brilliant.

In My Ears

- "Wouldn't It Be Nice" The Beach Boys
- "God Only Knows" The Beach Boys
- "That's Entertainment" The Jam
- "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" The Shirelles
- "Every Little Thing" The Beatles
- "Waterloo Sunset" The Kinks
- "To The End" Blur

Short Random Spurts

You can almost always tell when you're watching a robot movie based off a robot novel by Isaac Asimov. The way you can tell because Asimov created what are called the Three Law of Robotics and they're always included in the movie. For instance, if I hadn't been paying attention during the credits of The Bicentennial Man I still would have known that it was based on an Asimov story because there's a whole big presentation on the three laws of robotics, complete with holographs and a Sousa march. So that's how you can tell it's a Asimov robot story. For everything else he wrote, pay attention to the opening credits.

I was watching an old episode of NMTB and one of the songs featured was "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys. I decided to download said song as well as "Wouldn't It Be Nice." The odd thing is that whenever I hear either of those songs I immediately think about my freshman seminar and how incredibly depressed Brian Wilson was when recording Pet Sounds. I still like listening to the songs though because the Beach Boys are one of the few non-Motown American bands that had a large impact on British pop music, at least in my opinion. That and the fact that those two songs remind me of my favourite prof. ever, so it's all good.

Last night I got to hang out with Hunter which was uber-nice since I hadn't seen him all week and despite my paranoia, I'm really clingy. He mentioned that this week's "Sexclamations" in the Bullet (UMW's newspaper) was about penises (which is par for the course really) and that it was funny. So today, after much searching, I found said column and read it. It wasn't really that funny, but does feature a picture from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life and kinda mimics my own opinion of penises. Which I'm sure all of you really care about 0_0

In other Hunter-related news I got him to download "Victoria" by the Kinks. It's a small step in the right direction in my opinion. The next step involves Terry Pratchett and more Kinks, but we'll get there eventually.

More Buzzcocks!

Life Is Short

I'm currently working on writing a semi-snarky analysis of an article written in 1964 were nine jazzers (as Prof. Long would put it) were interviewed on a series of questions pertaining to the larger jazz scene. I just wrote in a paper that I'm turning into my professor tomorrow "the party lines were drawn." For some reason in my sick-addled mind that is absolutely hilarious. I don't know why, it seems absurd now that I'm writing about, but it is. God I love hate being sick.
So sometime this week the Kaiser Chiefs and Lily Allen were on a BBC radio show hosted by Zane Lowe. Someone over at the Lily Allen forum pieced together a video based on photos. Or something like that. In any event, a video was made and the result had me chuckling, even though I couldn't hear the song they were performing ("Always Happens Like That" in case you were wondering.) The reason I was giggling was because Lily had a long piece of string and was fidgeting with it the entire time and Rick looked incredibly awkward. He kept tilting back and forth like a loony bin patient or a chicken pecking at food. I even came up with a little dialogue between Ricky and Lily where in Ricky told Lily to stop acting like a cat and Lily told him to shove off. It was great fun. I should have been writing this paper, but oh well. Life is short and Ricky's hot.*
On Tuesday I realized that everyone and their uncle know I'm in a relationship. It was an awkward realization mainly because I find being in a relationship awkward, but it happened nonetheless. It's going to be even more awkward tomorrow when he meets my sister, but from a purely intellectual standpoint, my emotional reaction is quite fascinating. Sad, but fascinating.
On Wednesday I got to show off my anglophilia in full force during linguistics. Namely because I know what a spanner is and also know that Welsh is an offshoot of Celtic. I also know how the British pronounce things (or at least the accent people associate the British with) and how they like to spell things with a "u." My professor asked how one might come to know these sorts of things and in my scratchy nasally voice responded "Youtube." She smiled and said yes you could research it. On Monday, when we discussed regional differences and accents and dialects and all that, I couldn't help but think of all the regional differences and accents and dialects found in the British Isles. I didn't bring them up, but I thought about them on my walk to Pollard. God I love being an anglophile.
*A re-jiggered quote from the 3rd season of Doctor Who. The original quote is "Life is short and you are hot." Oh yeah, fangirl in the house.

I'm On a Sugar High!

I've got news! Music news mind you, but news nonetheless. Some is exciting in a really weird way and some is tragic in a not actually tragic way. So onwards and upward mes petites, I've had enough sugar to get allow me to ignore my cold and actually write this entry. Hurrah!
So first up, who wouldn't want Gary Glitter on a music exam? Yes, he is a paedophile, but still, I would have died and gone to heaven if Gary Glitter had been mentioned on my IB music exam. Literally. I mean it was cool having "Rhapsody in Blue" and everything, but Gary Glitter would have made me squee so hard. So yeah, shame he's a paedophile.
I was doing my bi-hourly check of NME.com to see if anything happened since I had last checked it and I saw this headline: "Kaiser Chiefs man hospitalised in Brazil." I immediatedly freaked because I was absolutely sure Ricky had managed to break another limb. Turns out, even worse news. Peanut has been hospitalised with appendicities, which is just no fun and requires surgery. At least with Ricky, no surgery required. So, get better Peanut and congrats to Ricky for having made it about a year without breaking anything!
So I've got another cold to get over. And a band performance this Friday. And the awkward situation of having to tell Hunter that a) he's meeting my sister and b) we can't "hang out" Friday because he's meeting my sister. It should be fun.

Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

So last night was a bit of a bust. The dance-y thing (as I'm now calling it) started at 7 and I was back in my room around 9:40. Multiple photos were taken of me which are now on Facebook much to my chagrin. After said dance-y thing I spent the rest of my night with a headache (from not having any caffeine) and watching Mock the Week. So when I say last night was a bit of a bust, I mean it was shite. Oh well, at least there was some socialization involved and I got to see Hunter act like a complete goof, which was actually quite brilliant.
I've been up for about three hours as I type and have spent most of that time watching Mock the Week and trying to figure out whether or not I've actually lost my voice or whether it just sounds like I've been smoking for two decades. My mum had the brilliant idea of going to the clinic tomorrow to get a Rx for meds, which really is quite a good idea, since I've been feeling like shit for a month. So yeah, today has been interesting in how boring it's been.
In a final note, I had what was actually a really awkward dream that, in my opinion, is a foreshadow of how incredibly awkward Thanksgiving is going to be for me. It involved Hunter meeting my grandparents and we were both in our pants. 0_0 Thankfully real life won't involve my grandparents actually meeting Hunter and I will fully dressed. Still, the prospect of having to tell my grandparents is frightening enough that it has entered my subconscious. Huzzah.

Time Marker

This entry is purely to mark a point in personal history. I think if I can figure out when I bought the first Kaiser Chiefs album based on journal entries, I should be able to pinpoint slightly more important personal dates based on journal entries. In any event, here's a Friday Five for your general amusement:

What's your favorite holiday ...
1. Song?
So many great holiday songs, but definitely "For Unto Us a Child Is Born" from Handel's Messiah. Actually anything from the Messiah gets me into a holiday mood, so yeah. Handel's Messiah

2. Movie or TV special?
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, duh. And Holiday Inn. :D

3. Memory?
We went to Arizona for Christmas one year and I had insomnia the entire time. But the night before we left I watched My Fair Lady and that was the last night I went to bed at a normal hour.

4. Baked good or desert?
Fuuudge. Mmm...also chocolate spritz.

5. Each year, what's the one moment that lets you know it's officially the holiday season?
When it's December 1st or when the Christmas lights get taken out by department stores.

So I'm going to a masquerade ball as Euterpe, the muse of music and lyrical poetry. I can't even pronounce her name, but that's who I'm going as. I'm very excited :D

Pop!

Remember, Remember...

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I can think of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!

Another Quickie News Update

I am a wicked and evil vixen. In my mind anyway. Mwhahahahhahahahahaha!
My left eye has swollen up for no apparent reason. This has given my eyes a weird almost lopsided look but I doubt anyone will notice. I just hope I'm not getting sick again.
Seeing as today is Election Day, GO VOTE. I voted absentee, so I've already voted, but if you're reading this GO VOTE.
Tomorrow is Guy Fawkes day. I slightly more excited about that than I am about today. That is how sad I am.
I don't have theory Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday and I'm really excited about that fact. However the weather is making me feel apathetic about just about everything, so you wouldn't be able to tell based solely on my demeanour. Nonetheless, I am excited.
That's it really. More news may or may not occur as the week progresses. You'll just have to way and see.

Generally Good

Generally life is good. There are some not so good bits that are more frustrating than actually bad, but those frustrations mostly just makes me more motivated than defeated. The major frustration lately has been music theory mainly because my teacher doesn't know how to teach to people who don't care about theory as much as he does, but now that I've realized that he really does take his exam questions from the checkpoint questions in my theory book, at least the tests will be easier. I've also had to embrace the fact that you can't be perfect at something you've never done before and being disappointed in yourself for not being perfect at something you've never done before is the road to becoming my mother. It's frustrating, no doubt, but you just have to embrace the frustration and live with it. Eventually it will go away, or at least that's what I'm banking on.
But as I said life is generally good. I've got someone who cares about me which is something I've wanted for a very long time and quite frankly having that in my life tempers my overall bitterness about the world. The fact that I haven't listened to the Cribs in weeks is a testament to that fact. No, I've nothing real to complain about and that's a very welcome change.

A Review (Because I Couldn't Come Up With a Clever Title That Included Both Album Titles)

As promised, my review of Off With Their Heads and Perfect Symmetry. Not as much bashing as I thought there would be, but still rather good if you ask me.

Originally Off With Their Heads and Perfect Symmetry were suppose to be released on the same day. It was going to be an absolute bonanza for me: Two of my favourite bands releasing their third albums on the same day. Sadly, though I guess ultimately for the best, Off With Their Heads was delayed three weeks here in the States and so I got to hear Perfect Symmetry before I heard Off With Their Heads. If you had asked me at the beginning of October whose album I was more excited about I would have automatically answered the Kaiser Chiefs. But now, after listening to both albums I must, sadly, admit Keane has the better third album. And what it comes down to is passion.
My main complaint with the Kaiser Chiefs’ lead single, "Never Miss a Beat" (beside the idiotic nature of the lyrics), was the lack of passion contained in the song. This apathy pervades the band’s new album Off With Their Heads leading the listener to think that band doesn’t care about what they’re singing or playing, that they are merely putting out and album to put out an album (and ultimately, why should we care about an album that the band doesn't care about). Although Mark Ronson and Eliot James do a very good job of producing Off With Their Heads, the band’s lack of enthusiasm and the poor quality of the lyrics makes listening to this album a very trying experience. The few saving graces on the albums, particularly "Like It Too Much" and "Always Happens Like That", are the songs that seems to have even iota of passion in them. Unfortunately those songs are too infrequent to make up for the rest of the passionless tracks that dominate Off With Their Heads. Recommended Tracks: Like It Too Much, You Want History, Always Happens Like That, Remember You're a Girl
On the flip side, you could never accuse Keane of not being passionate about their music. While not every song on Perfect Symmetry is absolutely brilliant, the band never wanes in its enthusiasm for the music they’re producing. As often happens in the mixing of an album, Perfect Symmetry is front loaded with the best songs recorded by Keane, but there are a few gems on the second half of the album particularly “Pretend That You’re Alone” and album closer “Love is the End” that save the album from being too dull at the end. While some of the messages on the album can come across as heavy-handed the musical experientialism paired with Tom Chaplin’s complete and utter belief in what he is singing more than makes up for calling mankind weeds. The best songs on the album are those that break ground both musically and lyrically for the band, those few times when they step out of their comfort zone and create something unexpected. Recommended Tracks: The Lovers Are Losing, Better Than This, Perfect Symmetry, Pretend That Your Alone, Love Is The End
A good album shows growth musically and lyrically and conveys the passion a band has for creating music. Good songs step ever so slightly outside a band’s comfort zone, showing a certain amount of experimentation without alienating their fans or casual listeners. Those elements and the lack of those elements are what make Off With Their Heads a disappointing album and Perfect Symmetry a good one. Ultimately, it all comes down to passion.
Perfect Symmetry: B+ Off With Their Heads: C-

In other news my self-created issues with my relationship are slowly dissipating, though they haven't gone away completely. I still think way too much about everything, but since that's a problem that will never go away, I'm coming to terms with accepting what I have and embracing the idea that I will never be the perfect girlfriend because I don't live in a fictional world. Oh well. Ultimately my life is good and I am mostly happy. Except when I think about music theory. Then, not so much. But that's for another entry at another time.

Goodbye

Ten-Inch is leaving the building. Technically he hasn't left the show yet, but he's still left it in spirit. He says he doesn't want to out stay his welcome, but look at Tom Baker: He was on the show for seven fucking years. Being on it for only 4 years really isn't that long. I mean generally speaking. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DON'T LEAVE US DAVID!!!!!!!
In other news, I'll be writing up a review of the new Kaiser Chiefs album this weekend. Look forward to a lot of bashing.

If Only

If I could get everything floating around in my head off my chest, if we could just talk about my issues for a little bit, so he could understand what's going on in my head, I think things would be better if not necessarily easier. There would still be some things in the way, but it would be better. If there was a guide or a template I could work from an example of how this is suppose to work I would feel more comfortable knowing that this is how it's suppose to work. If I could trust myself and my own judgement and if he weren't so damn horny I wouldn't be so confused and unsure of everything. If he had listened when I said I wanted to take things slow and I hadn't allowed my pent up sexual energy run the show we wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be so frustrated with myself. If I lived under a rock things would be so much easier. I try to go along with things and not let my paranoia and psychosis get in the way, but when all is said and done they're still there haunting me and calling into question every aspect of this relationship. I want Prince Charming and have decided that settling for a person is just fine and I can be happy with that, but then the memories of fifth grade and Miles come back and make me wonder how long this will all last. If he hadn't happened, if I didn't hold onto that experience like a safety blanket or protective shield, I wouldn't be calling into question every move we make and every little thing we do. It was all so much easier when I could believe that romance worked in the real world the same way it does in musicals and books. I wish I had someone neutral to talk to about all of this, just so I could know I'm not losing my mind. I wish Farber was here. He always seems to know what to do, even if I don't usually follow his advice.
I don't want to take back what's happened. I just wish I knew where this was all headed towards.

This Week...

- My hall finally passed the middle of the night fire drill (only took us like five times, but we passed!)
- Shocked Allison into talking to me
- Established that I am actually in a relationship
- Got really fancy shampoo
- Have re-established (multiple times) that I'm a paranoid nutter with body issues
- Decided that I will secretly and deceptively brain-wash Hunter
- "Watched" Spaced with someone outside my family (some watching was done, just not a whole lot, but I'm counting it anyway because I don't think I'll ever get Clark to watch it [sadly, cuz he'd really like it])
- Didn't completely fail my skills mid-term
And Finally...
- Got Young Frankenstein, Hogfather (go Terry Pratchett and Elton!), and The Nightmare Before Christmas

Once a Cold, Always a Cold

I'm just going to start off by saying NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The reason I'm saying this is because Once was not meant to be made into a Broadway fucking musical. It is perfect in its movie form and why are the trying to ruin my favourite movie???
I've got a cold at the moment and have decided that I'm in conversation, no matter how hard I try. There are fences that have yet to come down and I'm dating a person with the exact same disability I have. But the cold is getting better.

Anglo-Audiophile, Paranoid Nutter

I feel I should post something, but what I want to write about is a bit to personal and hasn't been fully worked in my head, so instead I'll post a random Friday Five. It has to do with death 0_0

1. If you were to die today, what would your last words be?
Don't panic

2. What would you want your epitaph to say?
Anglophile, Audiophile, Paranoid Nutter

3. What song would you want played at your funeral?
"All These Things That I Have Done" by the Killers and "Days" by the Kinks

4. In lieu of flowers, what should loved ones do in your honor?
Listen to Kaiser Chiefs, the Kinks, and the Cribs a whole damn lot

5. What unfinished business would you wrap up
Visit London one last time

V. Random

Just to amuse: The 20 Most Awesome SciFi TV Theme Songs
Yeah, I'm a little bored right now. Enjoy.

Easy Observation

I'm of the opinion that it's much easier to hide under a rock than to open oneself up to the possibility of being hurt. I'm shy and quite by nature and tend to spend a lot of time by myself. I've developed a rather eccentric personality and a broad (as in from abroad) range of interests that set me apart from most of my peers. And now for the first time in my life someone is trying to penetrate my fortress. It's a bit scary I'll admit, but all my fears and worries seem to all but dissipate when I'm in his arms. Just being there is the best feeling I've ever known. I tend to forget everything else and just concentrate on his breathing. It's nice, very nice indeed.

Oh What A Night

Remember in my last entry how I joked about my big news being that I had finally gotten a boyfriend? Ya know, the funny bit right before I said that Franz Ferdinand had announced a release date for their third album? Yeah, think back. (This is my way of saying I think* I really, honestly do have a boyfriend. No shit.)
I've got one very persistent song running through my head which has now been given a partner ("Then He Kissed Me" and "December 1963"). My limbs haven't fully recovered which seems a bit odd but overwhelming joy can do that I guess. This is all very strange and very foreign and amazingly wonderful at the same time. Thank god I had never seen The Blues Brothers before. That's about all I can say right now.
One last thing: I found my Doctor :biggest grin known to man:
*The word use of "think" comes from a distinct lack of knowledge on how this whole thing works. In a sad bit of pathetic-ness, I'm waiting for him to change his status on Facebook.

Not So Bitchy Update

So last night was a bit bitchy which I will blame on my canker-sore. However, this morning provided some happy news so I have decided to update with said happy news. What is my happy news? I have a boyfriend! No, just kidding, that's not it all. No, Franz Ferdinand have announced a release date for their third album! And a track listing! Not that it really matters since the only song I've heard from their new batch of songs is "Lucid Dreams" but still yay! That means I have two more exciting releases before the end of the year (Kaiser Chiefs and Killers*) and then one really exciting release at the beginning of the year. (Lily Allen has announced a release date but it's only for those countries that release CDs on Monday and therefore does not apply to US) Also, Pitchfork is coming out with a book in November. I don't actually care about that fact, but found it interesting nonetheless.
*The Killers have turned into a nonsensical techno band which makes the raver that lives in the joy center of my brain very happy. Their new single "Human" is ridiculously giddy and wonderful. Here's part of the chorus, as an example: "Are we human/Or are we Dancer/My signs are vital/My hands are cold/And I'm on my knees looking for the answer/Are we human or are we dancer?" It makes me happy on the inside just thinking about it.
Ta for now.

Bitchy Update

I was so stressed out by my mid-terms that I got a canker-sore at the back of my jaw. You have to admit, that's pretty fucking stressed out. Granted it's a pain in the ass given where it is because the damn think makes it really painful to open my mouth all the way which makes yawning really painful and hard to do. Anyway, I've got classes tomorrow which I'm not particularly looking forward to no real reason other than that I don't feel like getting up before 9am. Also I'm currently trying to wrap my head around playing music that I don't have memorized because real hipster listen to cool hipster music. However depending on how my Thursday goes I may not want to be a real hipster, so we'll see. God I just want this week to be over. And for it to be really truly fall instead of this endless Indian summer.

Pop Shouldn't Be a Dirty Word

We're studying secondary dominants in theory right now and Prof. Long has been making a lot quippy remarks about pop music. Today however was the cherry on the sundae. I feel I should mention that Prof. Long is a composer and holds a fancy doctorate in something pertaining to music (I don't remember whether it's theory or composition.) To Prof. Long pop starts are illiterate idiots who degrade the artistry of music. I sighed heavily and closed my eyes every time he mentioned pop today, mainly because I was thinking of skipping today's class and was wishing I had. You see I wish I could immerse myself in pop at all times and really want to spend the rest of my life listnening and studying pop music. Yes the people who perform pop music can be considered the equivalent of trained monkeys (I'm thinking of Britney Spears and her ilk when I say this) but the people who write pop songs are every bit as sophisticated as classical composers. A person can't write a good pop song without knowing what they're doing. Singer-songwriters may not get a formal education in theory (most of the time anyway) but they know what they're doing. They have to. You can write mediocre crap and get no where very quickly in the music business. It takes skill and a thorough understanding of pop music to really get anywhere in the business (at least the mainstream business.) Writing off pop music as the domain of idiots is like accusing Judy Bloom of not being a good writer. Pop shouldn't be a dirty word in the world of music.

Lyrics pt. 4,252

In a vain effort to avoid writing my sociology paper (minimum wage sucks ass and here's why the politicians won't do jack about) here are some lyrics. I've included a small explanation for why I chose each song because I really don't want to write this paper. Cheers!

Autumn Almanac --- The Kinks [It's officially autumn, the song's called autumn almanac, it's by the Kinks, therefore it's perfect]

From the dew-soaked hedge creeps a crawly caterpillar,
When the dawn begins to crack.
It's all part of my autumn almanac.
Breeze blows leaves of a musty-coloured yellow,
So I sweep them in my sack.
Yes, yes, yes, it's my autumn almanac.

Friday evenings, people get together,
Hiding from the weather.
Tea and toasted, buttered currant buns
Can't compensate for lack of sun,
Because the summer's all gone.

La-la-la-la...
Oh, my poor rheumatic back
Yes, yes, yes, it's my autumn almanac.
La-la-la-la...
Oh, my autumn almanac
Yes, yes, yes, it's my autumn almanac.

I like my football on a Saturday,
Roast beef on Sundays, all right.
I go to Blackpool for my holidays,
Sit in the open sunlight.

This is my street, and I'm never gonna to leave it,
And I'm always gonna to stay here
If I live to be ninety-nine,
'Cause all the people I meet
Seem to come from my street
And I can't get away,
Because it's calling me, (come on home)
Hear it calling me, (come on home)

La-la-la-la...
Oh, my autumn Armagnac
Yes, yes, yes, it's my autumn almanac.
La-la-la-la...
Oh, my autumn almanac
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Bop-bop-bopm-bop-bop, whoa!
Bop-bop-bopm-bop-bop, whoa!

You Don't Know Me --- Ben Folds ft. Regina Spektor [I've been wanting to post the lyrics to this song for various reasons for quite awhile now and I though it complimented the Kinks' general aesthetic]

I wanna ask you;
Do you ever sit and wonder
It's so strange that we could be together
for so long and never know, never care
what goes on in the other one's head?
Things I thought but I never said
You said things that I never said
So I'll say something that I should have said long ago

(You don't know me)
You don't know me at all
(You don't know me)
You don't know me at all
(You don't know me)
You don't know me at all
(You don't know me)

You could have just propped me up at the table like a mannequin
or a cardboard standup
and given me any face that you wanted me to be seen
we're damned by the existential moment
when we saw the couple in a coma
and it was weakened with the cliché
but we carried on anyway

So, sure, I could just close my eyes
Yeah, sure, trace and memorize
But can you go back once you know?

(You don't know me)
You don't know me at all

If I'm the person who you say i am
Clueless chump you seem to think i am
So he's been led astray like an errant dog
who occasionally escapes and needs a shorter leash than I thought
Would you want me back?
Maybe it's because...
You don't know me at all

(You don't know me)
You don't know me at all

So what I'm trying to say is
What I'm trying to tell you is
Not gonna come out like I wanna say it
'Cause i know you'll only change it (change it, change it)

(You don't know me)
You don't know me at all

Neeth the Beeches --- The Frames [There's something distinctly autumnal about Ireland and the Irish in general {maybe it's the red hair} so I picked a Frames song that seemed autumnal]

Hand me down the picture
Of you leaving unsaid
I know how simple it get
But sat by chance I need you
Will you always be there
And I will lie with you neath the beeches
On the strand again
I'm learning to hand it over
To whatever Lord there be
And in the same old colours
I'll be dressed for thee
But it's not about that though is it?
It's about you and me
I hung your feet
That famous painting above my bed
And you told me a story
About some guy who kept his head
He drowned neath the Southport
Near the pier where we stand

And I will lie with you neath the beeches
On the strand again

1234 --- Feist [I freakin' love this song and I thought it would make for a nice conclusion]

One, two, three, four
Tell me that you love me more
Sleepless long nights
That is what my youth was for

Old teenage hopes are alive at your door
Left you with nothing but they want some more

Oh, you're changing your heart
Oh, You know who you are

Sweetheart bitterheart now I can't tell you apart
Cosy and cold, put the horse before the cart

Those teenage hopes who have tears in their eyes
Too scared to own up to one little lie

Oh, you're changing your heart
Oh, you know who you are

One, two, three, four, five, six, nine, or ten
Money can't buy you back the love that you had then
One, two, three, four, five, six, nine, or ten
Money can't buy you back the love that you had then

Oh, you're changing your heart
Oh, you know who you are
Oh, you're changing your heart
Oh, you know who you are
Oh, who you are

For the teenage boys
They're breaking your heart
For the teenage boys
They're breaking your heart

Oh God Midterms

I don't have enough energy to write a proper entry, so I'm just going to say that I have mid-terms this week. Not that I expect that to change the way I update, but if I sound particularly frazzled, it's due to mid-term stress.
So I spent about three hours of my day hanging out in the amphitheatre, which was oddly invigorating. The place incredibly run down and because of the renovation that's taking place (and the fact that it's incredibly run down) no one really spends a lot of time in the amphitheatre, which makes it the perfect place for me to read and act like a goon. Granted every time I go there I get eaten alive by mosquitoes and today I had to contend with randomly falling acorns, but it was fun nonetheless. I even did a little singing which was quite risky since I'm sure my voice carries. However there were few interruptions, just a lot of acorns and bugs.
That's it. Ta for now.

One Liners (And Then Some)

- I'm not talented, stop acting/treating me like I am. >_<
- Damn Prof. Long is pissed at my theory class. He sent us two emails today and yeah, totally pissed.
- Vowels are evil and their phonetic representations are evil.
- Never Mind the Buzzcocks' new series premiers tomorrow night!!
- Stephen Fry is going to be a filler-in team captain on NMTB next week, which is even more exciting than the premier.
- My radio show is now Thursdays from 9 to 10pm.
- No House or Gossip Girl for two weeks. Which means I'm going to have to "secretly" watch them by myself when I'm home for fall break.
- One week till Keane (yay!), which means two weeks till KC (grr).

Okay, that's all the news from my world. I've got a rehearsal for this quartet that I've been asked to play in which will be performing tomorrow. I'm not entirely sure why I was asked to play in this quartet given the fact that I suck at sight reading for the most part and become a nervous wreck when playing in front of people, but I suspect it's because they couldn't find anyone else. And yes, I do realize that I'm being incredibly self-deprecating, but that's what happens when you have self-esteem the size of an ant. And no, don't try to pump me up because I won't believe you. Anywho I've got a linguistics mid-term on Friday as well as severe tongue-lashing from Prof. Long over the fact that the majority of our class sucks at life. Or, you could say that Prof. Long has expectations that aren't realistic because the three most vocal members of our class play a)more than one instrument and b)all play guitar. Because guitarists are freaks of nature, while the rest of the class are singers. And singers are idiots (at least when it comes to chords and music theory in general.) The rest of us just have to endure being stuck between idiots and guitarists. :shakes head: It's all so pathetically sad.

Strange Observation

This is the strangest entry I'll ever write (an amazing feat considering) but I just came back from the gym (shock!) and I've noticed something: My legs are looking thinner. Actually my thighs are looking thinner which is even more fantastic than just my legs looking thinner. This whole eating less thing is really working! Yay me!

Spiralling in Lucid Dreams But I Never Miss a Beat

[On a side note, before I even start the entry: God I'm so clever]
"Spiralling" - Keane
Keane has always had the potential to be incredibly emo. The band's lyrics are incredibly depressing, even when the song itself is in a major key. What stops Keane from being the emo kings is the main song writer, Tim Rice-Oxley's, proclivity for technological experimentation. Rice-Oxley's love of synthesizer and sound effects, as well as the band's overall aesthetic, keeps Keane's depressing lyrics from turning the band into another one-note band. This fact is crystallized in Keane's latest single "Spiralling." If one was to simply read the lyrics, with no knowledge of what the actual song sounded like or who the band was, it could be assumed that "Spiralling" was by a run of the mill emo band. However Keane's heavy use of synthesizer, drum effects, and various digital doo-hickeys along with Tom Chaplin distinctive vocals mark the song as one by Keane, who are anything but run of the mill. The only part that can't be taken seriously by anyone who has heard "Once in a Lifetime" is the spoken bridge, which just sounds too ridiculous coming from Tom Chaplin. In all other aspects "Spiralling" is an interesting and musically adventurous song that leads Keane's sound in a new direction without being jarring. Grade: B+

"Lucid Dreams" - Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand have always been clever. Since their debut, the band has been able to write pop music that has depth without sounding pretentious. With "Lucid Dreams" Franz Ferdinand returns to the dance floor that they came from while continuing on the intellectual, and at times nonsensical, path that their lyrics have been going down since their second album. The band also continues it's musical expansion in its incorporation of mood-setting instrumentation and guitar effects while Alex Kapranos reaches into his falsetto range during "Lucid Dreams" chorus and bridge. The band also more fully incorporate the keyboards that had taken a back seat on their second album which gives the song a fuller and more danceable sound. It seems that despite their long absence Franz Ferdinand are still quite clever. Grade: A

"Never Miss A Beat" - Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs biggest problem is that they must be listened to repeatedly before being appreciated. Unlike their peers, Kaiser Chiefs tend to write songs that must be listened to a few times before the inherent good qualities can be heard. Sometimes a few times turns into 10 times, but eventually the good in the song will come through. In the past Nick Hodgson, the man behind the majority of the band's catalogue, has been able to write a few tunes that are instantly loveable by the masses. This time however it seemed that he was unable to produce such a song. "Never Miss a Beat" consists of boring instrumentals and inane lyrics and can be described as mediocre at best. At worst it's a poorly written try at social commentary from a band that can do so much better. Kaiser Chiefs are no strangers to making a socio-political point, but in "Never Miss a Beat" the band comes across as platitude spewing rockers. But, as with the majority of the Kaiser Chiefs catalogue, it has it's redeeming qualities. It just might take a few listens to hear. Grade: C

Horny Teenage Sex (or A Discussion of BPM)

I have to put this up now or I'll forget and moment will pass and all will be forgotten. I love Alex Kapranos.

"The last record was fast, furious, frantic, 150 beats per minute," said frontman Alex Kapranos. "It was like a teenager having sex. This one's a bit more assured and a bit friendlier for the dancefloor. It's about 104/105bpm."

By the way, bpm stands for beats per minute. 150bpm, to another less wonderful metaphor, is a very fast walk or medium paced jog while 104/105 is more a regular walk (most pop songs are around that bpm I suspect.) But yeah, I like Alex's metaphor a lot better, just because it equates musical terminology with sex. Very amusing.

Random News From Tuesday

My sociology prof asked me today what it would take to get me to listen to politicians. I said that they would have to say something new, something I hadn't heard a millions times over the past year or so. What I didn't say was "Absolutely nothing because I've given up on politics and politicians ever meaning anything to me ever again." I think that would have been a bit too disheartening for her.
In other news I'm trying to decide whether I should put up my new Ministry of Silly Walks poster and if so, should O'Keeffe or Matisse get the axe. It's a tough choice, but I'm leaning towards yes and Matisse.
Finally I had to let the whole of my music theory class see, and perform, one my horrible compositions. I hate everything I compose and that's never going to change. Never.

Passive Aggressive Bitch

Here's a word to the wise from one very passive aggressive bitch: Do not get in between me and my radio show. If you do I will write you a passive aggressive note and post on the radio station door. An anonymous note mind you, but still quite mean in a passive aggressive way. I love my radio show, it's the only time I actually get to work on the skills I will need one day as a radio engineer, so if you mess with me I'll be anonymously aggressive and potentially embarrassing. Mind you next weeks station meeting will be awkward, but I don't care. This is my time on air they were fucking with and I already had the whole show sketched out in my head. So, in conclusion I'm a passive aggressive bitch, so don't piss me off.
On a completely different subject, OMG!!! Gossip Girls is my sugary TV addiction. I loves that show so much, it's horrible.

Watch Your Phraseology!

A few months ago I wrote an entry about a line from the Proclaimers' song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" were I explained what a certain couplet meant because I didn't know what it meant and found the definition interesting. Well, I'm going to do the exact same thing with another song, this time by Supergrass, for exactly the same reasons. However my reason for figuring out the lyrics is slightly different, but still related to boredom so I won't get into the nitty-gritty details. Let's just say I was bored and wanted the issue cleared.
The line in mind is from the song "Alright" which is from Supergrass' first album I Should Coco which was released in 1995. The line is as follows:

We are young, we run green

Now I had deciphered the last bit as something else, but I was intrigued by what "run green" meant. So I googled the phrase and came up with this:

Run Green: the act of selling pot.

Unlike with havering this definition was more logical, but still interesting given the context within the song and actions taken in later verses (driving a car into a fence and still be alright for instance.) So there you have it, your little slang lesson for today.
Hopefully I'll be posting more in this blog in the coming weeks due to an onslaught of interesting releases. In fact Jenny Lewis comes out with her first/second solo effort this upcoming Tuesday and then three weeks later Keane comes out with their third album. Ben Folds enters the picture as well and of course there's the highly anticipated third album from Kaiser Chiefs, which will doubtless get it's own song by song review. Until then, keep listening.
Oh! Radio starts next week! Monday's 7-8 at wmwc.umw.edu. Be sure to listen ;D Also, kudos to anyone who gets the movie reference I'm making the entry title.

Meaningless Stuff and Marxism

I've got things to post and figured I might as well do it as a preface to my small rant on Revolution seekers. So here are the links in headline form:
NO BILL!! Don't leave us!! We love you ever so much and no one can replace you. Literally. No one
I know this is a comic, but you don't throw Abbey Road like a Frisbee!!!! You just don't, even in make believe land. It hurts me on the inside.
Now for the Revolution seekers rant. Yay rants!
According to Marxist theory first came feudalism. I can't say with an accuracy how long feudalism lasted, but it was definitely more than two hundred years. Much more than two hundred years in my estimate. Marx then states that capitalism came second and the last phase in History (and yes, the capital "h" is necessary) will be communism. Marx doesn't say how communism will work really or when communism will occur, only that it will be preceded by the Revolution which will be followed by socialism. So, to paraphrase, feudalism leads to capitalism which will lead to the Revolution which ends with socialism and finally communism. Communism, as my Western Civ II prof put, is a bit like Paradise or nirvana. Nobody knows what it really is, but its gonna be great. The idea of communism is so wonderful to so many people that certain types are always trying to ignite or look for the signs of the Revolution. Now, here is my issue with that mind set: If feudalism lasted so long, why are you constantly looking for signs or a means to start the Revolution when capitalism has only been around for 200-300 years (if that, my math and dates are a little fuzzy)? Surely capitalism is going to last a few more centuries before it petters out and the Revolution occurs. To my mind that's far more logical than feudalism getting to last 500 or more years and capitalism only getting to last only 200/300 years. But then again I'm not a die-hard Marxist or socialist so my opinion is voided by those standards alone. Still, the Great Depression didn't bring about the Revolution and our economy is pretty close to that right now. So why would the Revolution start now and not then?

Tonight's News, Pt. 2

I've somehow managed to get roped into being section leader for the altos in chorus. Prof. Tavernier decided that we needed to assign section leaders tonight at rehearsal and so when nobody from the section volunteered she moved on. I figured that someone would volunteer after the two soprano sections had chosen section leaders, but I was wrong. No one volunteered and so Prof. T chose me for no particular reason, at least in my opinion. She might have picked me because I was in the front row, who knows. The reason this is a bad thing is because last year I never went to any of my required sectionals because I always decided I didn't have time to go. This year I'm actually quite busy what with classes, rehearsals, and lab hours. But because I've disappointed Prof. T enough I said I would be section leader. I'm an idiot apparently.
I'm also currently experiencing eye problems. Monday night something got in my eye, I rubbed it in an effort to get it out of my eye and then went to sleep. I spent the majority of yesterday rubbing said eye and making the whole thing a lot worse. I thought it was allergies, but upon further investigation last night I can say with no authority that I scratched the outermost surface of my right eyeball near the tear duct (which I believe is called the cornea, but I've no clue.) In an effort to decrease the pain and inflammation I wore my glasses all last night and all of today. My right eye now looks mostly normal, but I'm going to avoid wearing my contacts until I can't see the scratch anymore. Hopefully that will be just a few more days since I'm incredibly vain and have a band performance on Saturday. I was rather panicked when I realized that the problem wasn't allergies and my right eye looked mostly red in the corner, but I've since gotten over that initial worry. As Mums said, I just need to let it heal on it's own, like a cut on my leg.
On a final note, I would like to point out that a certain lead singer is still ridiculously good looking and a certain drummer really should shave off his ridiculous moustache because he looks like an idiot.

Tonight's News, Pt. 1

So my initial fury at Kaiser Chiefs has waned considerably due to two things: Band has become a living hell and I need to constantly remind myself that the band is actually good at making music and "Never Miss a Beat" is an anomaly. Let's start with the first issue.
I haven't mentioned band in any entries recently because it's too horrible to think about. If I think about how crappy band is I become annoyed and annoyance and frustration aren't going to do any good. You see the scholarship I get from the music department is dependant on my performing in band. Also the reason I get paid $6.70 a week is partially due to the fact that I am both the band aide and a lab aide. Drop one and I lose scholarship money and job money. Since I'm hoping to put some of that into a nest egg for when I graduate, kinda can't lose any of it. And while both those factors are important and good reasons for not thinking about how crappy band is, the other, more salient and less money involved reason, is that Prof. Bartram (who is making band a living hell) will go back to being just the orchestra conductor at the end of this year and Prof. Naylor will be back and band will be wonderfully fun again. So, to summarize, band is crappy because Prof. Bartram treats us like we are high school students and makes me want to bash my head in with all his nonsense about breathing (which everyone should be able to do since we're in college). However I have no choice but to ignore this horribleness and wait with anticipation for next year when I will graduate back to college.
The second issue (KC are good at making music and "Never Miss a Beat" is ananomly) has to do with the fact that, after breaking down and listening to Employment, I decided that I should give "Never Miss a Beat" a proper listen instead of one where I'm not really paying attention. I listened to the song three times. It's crap. Sophs said it was a badly done derivative of a b-side the band recorded three years ago called "Sink that Ship" but I think it draws from the bands desperate desire to be socially and politically relevant. But no matter the source material, the outcome is mediocre at best and shitty at worst. The verses have no real meaning and the chorus is utterly pathetic. Worse than "Ruby" which in my opinion is really saying something. Sophs' hope is that Mark Ronson, who produced most of the album, hasn't ruined the band, but I don't think it has anything to do with Ronson. Being socially relevant is hard when you're writing for a pop audience (reference: the entirety of Rip It Up and Start Again) and while I'll never stop loving this band (no matter how many times I try to stop loving them) they are at their best when their social relevance is either vague or life-based. I somehow doubt that any of the members of KC "know nothing" and so the platitudes that fill the verses and chorus sound idiotic. Write what you know about applies to song writing as well.
What all of this boils down to though is something I've said before and will more than likely repeat over and over and over: KC are the aural equivalent of chocolate for me and always will be.
Part Two of Tonight's News will be posted shortly.

Just When I Thought Things Were Getting Better

It's amazing how a cd release can suck you back into a world you thought you had escaped (except of course in your sick, sick mind.) Well it seems I have been sucked back into the world of Kaiser Chiefs much to my distracted, fearsomely angered mind. And, to make it so much worse, my sister told me that the band had made a video for their new single. I haven't actually watched it per se, but I did listen to it while I was closing up the media lab tonight. It sounds vaguely familiar, as in: "Gosh this sounds like an natural progression from YTAM" kind of vaguely familiar. That got me all worked up because it doesn't take a lot to get worked up. Then I got an email from the band, 3 days late mind you, that informed that Of With Their Heads won't be coming out until the 28th. Which is a week later than the rest of the world. Seems some packaging shit postponed the release every where else. Now, none of the sites have changed their information and poor Bliss is going to be left in a very bad rut because their having a little release party 3 days before the actual release. I changed my facebook status to "Nore needs to find a new favourite band." Because I do. Really.
I'm watching Gossip Girl right now, which is making my life a bit better. Teen melodrama is a wonderful distraction. That and House which happen after GG. Stupid British whore-mongers. -_-

Squee!! Boo

Squee: The IT Crowd is coming to the States in it's original form!! Yayness and cheer was heard throughout the land
Small Preface: What I'm about to boo, I haven't actually watched. You see if I watch I won't be able to stop and I like my sanity. That's all I really have to say.
Boo: Stupid band I'm horribly obsessed with has come out with a single. It's called Never Miss A Beat. It has a video. They are stupid and ruin my life. Because I'm horribly obsessed 0_0
Also, I went to the gym today. Sadly my dinner, lunch, and dessert have voided out any calories I burned, so it was really for nought. Except of course for the fact that I figured out my natural gait can cover about 2.5 miles in an hour. Thanks Mums!

Remembrance

I'm not often touched by the things I read online. Unless of course it has to do with one my bands, but that's a different kind of touched that has nothing to with the quality of writing. The touched of which I speak of has to do with writing quality and for all the wonderful blogs I read it's not often I get touched. I might agree with an opinion but most of the time it's an intellectual thing, not an emotional thing. Tonight I was actually touched by something I read online. The Last Bus Home is a blog I've been reading for quite awhile now and I mostly read it to get an understanding of what it's like to actually live in London. The man who writes the blog is, like most bloggers, an excellent writer and I've always gotten the feeling that his is an accurate glimpse into the life of a Londoner. Sadly a friend of his passed away recently and yesterday he posted a blog in remembrance of his friend. I doubt I could have written something so eloquent.

How to Punch Oasis in the Face

There are few things in life that make me happier than a good bit of Oasis-bashing. Of course when I say a few I mean quite a lot, but Cracked wrote an excellent article on "How to punch Oasis in the face." The article comes in light of the fact that Noel Gallagher was shoved on stage during a performance in Canada this past weekend. The person who did the shoving has been found, etc, but I like bashing Oasis not coddling them. So, how do you punch Oasis in the face? Cracked will be more than happy to explain.
Sadly, there are other people in the media lab right now, or I would still be laughing my ass off. :'(

Some Lyrics to Pass the Time

That's how it starts.
We go back to your house.
We check the charts,
And start to figure it out.

And if it's crowded, all the better,
because we know we're gonna be up late.
But if you're worried about the weather
then you picked the wrong place to stay.
That's how it starts.

And so it starts.
You switch the engine on.
We set controls for the heart of the sun,
one of the ways we show our age.

And if the sun comes up, if the sun comes up, if the sun comes up
and I still don't wanna stagger home.
Then it's the memory of our betters
that are keeping us on our feet.

You spent the first five years trying to get with the plan,
and the next five years trying to be with your friends again.

You're talking 45 turns just as fast as you can,
yeah, I know it gets tired, but it's better when we pretend.

It comes apart,
the way it does in bad films.
Except in parts,
when the moral kicks in.

Though when we're running out of the drugs
and the conversation's winding away.
I wouldn't trade one stupid decision
for another five years of lies.

You drop the first ten years just as fast as you can,
and the next ten people who are trying to be polite.
When you're blowing eighty-five days in the middle of France,
Yeah, I know it gets tired only where are your friends tonight?

And to tell the truth.
Oh, this could be the last time.
So here we go,
like a sail's force into the night

And if I made a fool, if I made a fool, if I made a fool
on the road, there's always this.
And if I'm sewn into submission,
I can still come home to this.

And with a face like a dad and a laughable stand,
you can sleep on the plane or review what you said.
When you're drunk and the kids leave impossible tasks
you think over and over, "hey, I'm finally dead."

Oh, if the trip and the plan come apart in your hand,
you look contorted on yourself your ridiculous prop.
You forgot what you meant when you read what you said,
and you always knew you were tired, but then,
where are your friends tonight?

Where are your friends tonight?
Where are your friends tonight?

If I could see all my friends tonight,
If I could see all my friends tonight,
If I could see all my friends tonight,
If I could see all my friends tonight

Thinking Too Much

I've been trying to avoid thinking too hard about my life and what I'm going through right because if I do think about it, I become depressed. I'm not in a particularly bad place, so much as my social life is lacking a considerable amount of socialness. But the condrum I face is that if I think about this lack of a real social life, I become depressed, which leads to inertia on all fronts including school. And so I'm left with what I see as two options: Do nothing about my social life and focus on not being depressed so I can do well in school or try and do something about my social life, become depressed about the whole situation, and do badly in school. The reason I see it this way is because my ultimate goal for college (other than graduating obviously) is to study abroad my junior year. To do that I have to have a certain overall GPA that is considerably higher than I've ever achieved. So when thinking about my predicatment (which trust me only occurs on Saturdays when I have nothing going on and am sitting by myself in my room) I tend to think about it in terms of my performance in school versus my overall happiness. Since there is plenty outside of social interaction that makes me happy I try to focus on those things and not the fact that I basically have no friends, eat all of my meals alone, and spend most of my time after classes alone in my room. Which isn't nearly as easy as it sounds. My one fervent hope is that I meet someone who latches onto me so that I can say I have at least one friend. Sure, I may end up resenting them to a certain degree, but at least I'll have a friend. All of which I try not to think about too much because it makes me depressed and I can't deal with depression right now.

Definitions and Categories

This is well sad but I have to say it anyway: Please do not use the term "post-punk" without a more specific reference. I get confused easily and there's a whole lot of shit that falls on the very vague category of "post-punk" and if you're not more specific (or I've never heard the band in my life) I might be thinking of something completely different from what you're thinking. For instance you might be thinking Joy Division and I might be thinking the Raincoats. Very different.
:sighs: I should just stop reading things. Life would be so much easier if I didn't try to know everything. Sadly I've been reading non-fiction since elementary school, so I doubt the reading will stop now. :sigh:

If I Could Think of a Title, It Wouldn't Be This

I don't have anything I can say. I have a lot I would like to say, but I can't actually form the words to write out what is going on in my head. Despite outward appearances I have a lot that I've been thinking about, a lot I've been experiencing and mulling over but for some reason I can't make the lot coherent on the page. Or screen as it were. I'm assuming that eventually it will come out, but for now, just know that I have a lot that I'm going through right now, some good, quite a lot not so good, none bad, and that if I could write about it I would. The world I'm living in now is just kind of strange.
There are three things I can write out though. The first is that the DW/Sci-Fi club that Hunter wanted to start has officially been started. I don't know if it's an official club, but we held our first meeting last Friday and it was geek-tastic. Hunter made me so incredibly proud in a really geeky way and I felt very at home, which was incredibly nice since I had spent almost two weeks not feeling at home at all. The second thing is that I've decided that after the disaster of last year when I didn't do any "karaoke" singing, that Monday nights will be my "karaoke" nights. Basically that means I go to Pollard, check that no one is practising or on the first floor, and belt out a wild selection of songs. It's absolutely fantastic. Finally, the third thing is, is that I'm very quietly hiding my more outlandish personality traits from my roommate. This is quite easy though because she doesn't spend a lot of time in the room, but when she is around I try not to show off my insanity. For instance, I was checking the Kaiser Chief's website and knowing a) Kathy was in the loo and b) I would be seeing a picture of the band, I decided the best thing would be to check the site quickly and cover the picture. If Kathy had not been in the loo I would have had to endure Nick with a moustache and the presence of R. There are other things, but that was a more recent example and a very good one at that.
Finally, finally, radio should be starting up by the end of the month. "Returners" (me and my ilk) and newbies alike have to do radio training (bleh) and then there's even more cleaning up to do (hurrah!) and thems what be in charge have to make up a schedule so I'm guessing my first show won't be for another two or three weeks. Still I'm excited to get back in the studio. Hopefully being in my element will make me feel better. I'm getting the feeling I'll be needing that time on the radio.

Big Freaks

I'm currently reading a book called Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984 by Simon Reynolds and after reading only 40% of the book I've decided something: Postpunk "musicians" were big freaks, one way or another. And the reason I call them "musicians" is because half of them refused to actually learn the instruments they "played" and the majority of them weren't musicians first and foremost. Some were politicos/philosophers using music as a soapbox while others were artists who got into music as a means of expressing their art (performance artists basically.) Of the bands I've read about about half thought that having a melody was to conservative and old fashioned and so screeched instead. I've read about the birth of industrial music which consisted of unconfirmed neo-fascists making strange noises from tape machines. The next chapter I'll be starting tomorrow finally gets to some bands I've heard of and who I don't think will depress or freak me out, namely the Talking Heads. But as my sister pointed there is a very good chance I'll be proven wrong. And this my friends is why I'll never be a true hipster. I'm not strange enough in the right way. I'm just a geek, not a freak.

Something That Should Be Known

A simple statement: You know I'm in a bad place when, in a desperate need to feel better, I watch the Ricky Wilson-hosted episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks. However you know I'm really bad off if I actually look at the screen the entire time during the episode and not just listen to the show.
So you may ask yourself "Nore, what are you doing?" The answer would be watching the Ricky Wilson-hosted episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks, though I'm not watching the screen all the time, so obviously I'm not really bad off. I'm just in a bad place.

Geekdom is a Fun Place To Be

I just want to say, I get a little too excited when I see David Tennant. I was watching the fourth Harry Potter movie on ABC Family and when David Tennant was on screen I was all "Yay Ten-inch!!" Which considering how he plays the villian of the movie isn't a normal reaction. But god I love David Tennant.
Also, my friend Hunter wants to make a legit DW club on campus. Somehow I think that makes the world just a little better.
I've got classes tomorrow starting with linguistics and then moving on to theory (yay for cross campus classes!) and ending with jazz history. I think this is going to be a good year :D

Back At School (And It Feels So Good)

I got a cold on Wednesday, have errant ants wandering around my room (though those are mostly gone thank God), spent most of yesterday recovering from said cold, and spent all of today lounging around watching TV. Right now I'm wallowing in self-pity over my lack of social skills and in doing so ate a small pepperoni pizza. It hasn't been exactly the best three days of my life but there has been one small consolation. Last year my enthusiasm for Doctor Who convinced a friend of mine that he should rethink watching the series. He did. And now he's a complete fanboy now. He even set-up a Facebook group for UMW DW fans. Now all I need is for classes to start and my world will be fine. And if this DW group goes anywhere, maybe my year will be good.
My colds nearly gone though and Kathy moves in tomorrow. :prays for school to start:

Commercial/Corporate

I like to make villains of certain musical artists, mainly because it's fun but also because certain musical artists open themselves up to snide remarks. Oasis is one of those bands I tend to vilify and my reasoning behind that is because they open themselves up to being called idiots and twats. Anyway, I just wanted to put that in the open before I call Noel Gallagher an idiot once again. Because honestly, who doesn't play a venue because of nachos? Now I've read the article (because the whole nacho thing seemed too ridiculous) but Gallagher's complaint about O2 being "too corporate" makes me question the last time he's been to an arena gig (that he didn't perform at). I ask this because the last time I went to that kind of a gig, there were lots of people, during the headlining act, leaving to get more beer. Besides, not performing in a venue because it's too commercial/corporate is just a little too precious coming from the lead guitarist of Oasis. Can't call them a commercial flop, now can ya?

Summer/Beach Achievements

I'm currently waiting for an episode of Bones I haven't seen to download (oh yeah, totally love Bones) so I've decided to list the accomplishments of my summer/time at the beach. The beach part will be small since I've only been here two days, but that's not really the point. I mostly just want to write about my accomplishments from the summer. So onward and upwards!

• Write half of a novel aka The archives I worked on this summer totalled 133 pages, which, if a normal novel is about 350 pages, is about half the size of a normal novel.
• Managed to look like a human aka My skin is not the colour of neon white, which considering how that's what it has looked like since the summer before 9th grade, is quite an accomplishment.
• Gotten obsessed with a new show aka I've started watching Bones and by the time school starts I will have seen all three seasons.
• Gotten into an "argument" over the correct pronunciation of a snake cake aka Is it "jaffer cake" or "jaffa cake?"
• Continued my walking regimen aka The walk from my metro station to WPFW was twenty minutes for a total of forty minutes of walking a day. I've continued doing that even though I'm at the beach. Yay exercise!

That's it for my summer achievements. I have non-neon white skin and wrote half a novel worth of show summaries. All in all not bad.
In other music news, Keane and Kaiser Chiefs are competing for my attention by releasing their third albums on the same day. Hopefully my radio show this year will still be on Mondays and Wednesdays so that on the Monday before the releases (aka October 13th) I can concentrate on playing non-KC/Keane music and then on the Wednesday after the releases (aka October 15) I'll just switch between the two albums. Also I would like to apologize to KC and Keane for anything mean I might have said about when their albums might have been coming out. Obviously I was really wrong (World release for both: October 13; American release for both:October 14th). Now we just have to wait and see what Franz Ferdinand do. (By the by Franzie poo are streaming a new song on their site and you should really listen to it. It's quite good and I'm quite excited for the new album. Can't really say that for KC though. There is rapping involved, but it's not quarky 80's rap. It's the real kind. :shivers:)

Killing Me Slowly With Their Press

I know I said I wouldn't be updating that much during the next few weeks, but I'm having a "bad" day and need to vent. That's what blogs are for right?
My main complaint about today, other than the impending doom of rain, is my arch-nemesis, fanaticism. Namely fanaticism for a certain band. I think we all know which band I'm talking about (think Leeds) so I'm not going to write their name for the entire entry. Anyway, they are inadvertently ruining my day. See, back in 2007 when I decided I wouldn't allow a band to rule my life (yeah, that worked well), I unsubscribed from their email listing, because I figured unsubscribing from that and not bookmarking their website would mean I could ween myself from that particular obsession. It worked (sort of) and then I got addicted to Doctor Who. Anyway, I haven't been getting the band's newsletter's for some time, a fact that I enjoy because their updates usually just infuriated me. Until today.
I've figured out how the band got a hold of my email, but let me tell you seeing their name in my inbox just about stopped my heart. And then NME.com had some articles about them. And then NME.com said the band is planning some sort of mini-American tour. I didn't read the email and I haven't read any of the stories on NME.com, Drowned in Sound or This Is Fake DIY (which has a splashy new website.) However all of this press is killing me. Not knowing everything is killing me. However, I'm at work and if I were to read any of the above (except the email because I deleted it) I'd probably go insane. I can't go insane because I have my exit interview at 3:30. So, to summarize, a certain band from Leeds is killing me.
The only bright spot in my day has been the fact that I've totally turned a friend of mine into a DW freak, like me, without working too hard. It makes me happy on the inside.

The Plan

So this is my plan for the next few weeks:
This Week
This is my last week at WPFW which means I'm going to indulge at the Diner. Not much else really, I just won't be updating that much, unless of course something really fantastic or major happens. In which case I will.

Next Week
Next week I will be at the beach and occasionally having to endure my Mum's side of the family (all of them, grandparents, sisters, uncles, and cousins) without screaming. We leave Sunday and I'll be coming back the next Sunday. And then...

Two Weeks from Now
I'll be going back to school. I've been asked to be a "mentor" for the Disabilities Services' "Step Ahead" program, which I did last year. That and the fact that I didn't fail out of school means I'll be telling a bunch of freshmen not to be scared of their classes and profs. The rest of the week will be spent finding things to do and possibly harassing the Linguistics department.

So those are my plans for the next few weeks. I don't know how much I'll be updating, but just know I'm not dead. At least not right now.

Also, the new Keane song makes me laugh. It's very dancy, but there's a bit toward the end that makes me laugh. Tom sounds like David Byrne during the not-singing bits of "Once in a Lifetime." Which makes me laugh. 0_0

Signatures

I wasn't really that excited about seeing We Are Scientists again. Their second album leaves much to be desired and with the departure of Tapper, my respect for the band had taken a serious hit. But Sophie had purchased the tickets before either of us really understood how disappointing Brain Thrust Mastery is, so there was nothing to be done. Suck it up and enjoy the concert as much as possible. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as all that.

"So the merch guy left the band as well?" - Sophie (in a hypothetical question to Keith Murray)

At the last concert Sophie and I went to at the Black Cat, various members of the bands had somehow been put in charged of selling their own merchandise. The person who been selling for the White Rabbits had seemed somewhat disgruntled about the whole thing, which is why I ended up with a shirt a size too small, but it had been cool nonetheless. However, I thought that the whole thing had been because of the relative fame of the bands involved. So you can imagine my surprise when I see Keith Murray fronting the merch table.
Needless to say I flapped around a lot, was completely indecisive about which shirt I wanted and forgot what size shirt I wanted when it was my turn. Gorgeousness does that to me.

Nore: "Could you sign this?"
Keith: [swats card]
Nore: [makes small pouty face]
Keith: [signs card]

The first opening act was thoroughly unimpressive (I decided, after maybe three songs that "they [were] trying too hard"). In the lull between them (Apache Beat) and the second opening act (Oxford Collapse) I posited various actions I should take given that Keith was still manning the merch stand. None of them actually made sense and some involved taunting him about Tapper's departure from the band. This line of conversation was ended when I needed to use the loo (three diet cokes at dinner and two glasses of water, plus another diet coke at the club). Which was when I saw Chris Caine, bassist for the band, nonchalantly standing and talking to someone. When I came back from the loo I posited that I should get the two's signatures, since they were so readily available to the audience. Sophie concurred and we agreed that I would get Keith's signature and Sophie would get Chris'. After much hemming and hawing and general nervousness about the whole business I finally got the signature (hence the above little bit of dialogue).
(A very big version of the actual signature)

Sophie then tried to renig on her deal, but I wimped out from getting Chris' signature so Sophie agreed to get it for me. She missed the first two songs of Oxford Collapses' set, but she got the signature.
(Also a very big version of the actual signature)

The actual show was lack luster, but much of that opinion is due to the fact that I didn't care for the first opener, was coming down from an adrenaline rush during the second, and was completely un-enthused for the head liners. I'm sure actual fans of the band really had a fantastic time.

We Are Scientists

1. Nobody Move
2. Chick Lit
3. This Scene is Dead
4. Inaction
5. Impatience
6. Let's See It
7. Cash Cow
8. Can't Lose
9. Callbacks
10. That's What Counts
11. After Hours
12. Textbook
13. Tonight
14. Dinosaurs
15. It's a hit

Encore

• Lethal Enforcer
• Great Escape