Z is for ... The Zutons

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Today is 30th April, so here is my twenty-sixth post for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  This year I am sharing my musical tastes with you.  I hope I can introduce you to some new bands/artistes, and if you'd like to comment perhaps you could introduce me to some of your favourite bands/artistes beginning with the appropriate letter of the day.  For more music, please have a look at my last.fm profile.

The Zutons

https://myspace.com/thezutons

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I have to admit, when The Zutons first came out, I really didn't like them.  I don't know why I didn't like them.  They just didn't appeal to me.  I could have seen them in a really small venue when I was at university, but I didn't.  And now I wish I had!

Many of you may have heard 'Valerie' by Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson, but how many of you know that it was originally written by The Zutons?  Please listen to the original as it's so much better than the cover.

They're indie.  They're rocky.  They're a band I missed out on for a while.

The Zutons - 'You Will You Won't'

*****

Honourable Mentions go to - 

Zig & Zag - Ok, these guys aren't musicians.  They're aliens from the planet Zog, and they used to co-present The Big Breakfast on Channel 4 during the 1990s.  I dare you not to love it.  Wrap your ears around Dem Girls.

Zwan - If you like The Smashing Pumpkins, you'll like Zwan, basically because they sound pretty much the same (and it's not just because they have the same lead singer).  Wrap your ears around Honestly.

Zero 7 - They're a bit jazzy and a bit electro.  You can chill out with these guys.  Wrap your ears around Today.

*****

What Z bands/artistes do you like listening to?

2013 A-Z Challenge post - Z is for Zut Alors!

Y is for ... Yeah Yeah Yeahs

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Today is 29th April, so here is my twenty-fifth post for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  This year I am sharing my musical tastes with you.  I hope I can introduce you to some new bands/artistes, and if you'd like to comment perhaps you could introduce me to some of your favourite bands/artistes beginning with the appropriate letter of the day.  For more music, please have a look at my last.fm profile.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

http://www.yeahyeahyeahs.com/

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Yeah Yeah Yeahs are part of the New York indie rock craze that took over the music world in the early to mid 2000s.  They're rocky and grainy (I do love a grainy singer).  Karen O screams and screeches and sings, and makes you want to get up and dance.

*****

Honourable Mentions go to -

Young Knives - Another Indie Soc band.  Again, a lovely English accent comes through in the vocals.  Wrap your ears around She's Attracted To.

Yellowcard - This band is from the American 'punk' ilk.  Sometimes they can sound the same as the next band, but I still like them.  Wrap your ears around Empty Apartment.

Yum! Yum! Orange - Japanese ska pop?  Surely not?  But yes, it exists and it sounds like this.  Wrap your ears around Precious Days.

*****

What Y bands/artistes do you like listening to?

2013 A-Z Challenge post - Y is for You Can Do It

X is for ... The xx

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Today is 28th April, so here is my twenty-fourth post for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  This year I am sharing my musical tastes with you.  I hope I can introduce you to some new bands/artistes, and if you'd like to comment perhaps you could introduce me to some of your favourite bands/artistes beginning with the appropriate letter of the day.  For more music, please have a look at my last.fm profile.

The xx

http://thexx.info/

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I found The xx on one of the millions of music television channels.  It was the video which captured my attention before the song (Islands), but the music is beautiful on its own.  Romy has such a soft, hypnotic voice, and the music is so simple, you can't help but drift away in it.

'Islands' by The xx

*****

Honourable Mentions go to -

I wish I could have some honourable mentions, but I don't know any other X bands or artistes.  Please introduce me to some!!

*****

What X bands/artistes do you like listening to?

2013 A-Z Challenge post - X is for X mistakes Y for Z

W is for ... The Whip

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Today is 26th April, so here is my twenty-third post for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  This year I am sharing my musical tastes with you.  I hope I can introduce you to some new bands/artistes, and if you'd like to comment perhaps you could introduce me to some of your favourite bands/artistes beginning with the appropriate letter of the day.  For more music, please have a look at my last.fm profile.

The Whip

http://www.thewhipband.com/

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The Whip is another support band that I fell in love with.  They're electro dancey, and they have a female drummer (I don't know why I like that, I just do!).  You'll learn the lyrics in a second, but that doesn't matter.  You'll be dancing like a lunatic to even notice what they're singing!

*****

Honourable Mentions -

The White Stripes - Are they brother and sister?  Are they ex-husband and wife?  Who cares?  These two people make so much noise with just drums and a guitar, and they like to wear a lot of red.  Wrap your ears around Fell In Love With A Girl.

The Walkmen - If you like a bit of Razorlight, I think you'll like this band.  Wrap your ears around The Rat.

Walk off the Earth - I'm not always a fan of cover bands because they tend to play the song the same as the original and they don't (in the words of Louis Walsh) make it their own.  The members of WOTE are brilliant musicians and manage to add their own dimension to the songs they cover.  Wrap your ears around their cover of Lorde's Royals.

*****

What W bands/artistes do you like listening to?

2013 A-Z Challenge post - W is for Word Ladder

V is for ... V V Brown

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Today is 25th April, so here is my twenty-second post for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  This year I am sharing my musical tastes with you.  I hope I can introduce you to some new bands/artistes, and if you'd like to comment perhaps you could introduce me to some of your favourite bands/artistes beginning with the appropriate letter of the day.  For more music, please have a look at my last.fm profile.

V V Brown

http://vvbrown.com/

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I'm not a huge fan of female singers.  I don't know why.  But V. V. Brown has a great stage presence, quirky style, and beautiful voice.  I think I first saw her when she supported Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly a few years back, and then she was everywhere, advertising for Marks and Spencer.

'L.O.V.E.' - V V Brown

*****

Honourable Mentions go to -

VHS or Beta - Again, this is another band I found while at university.  I dare you not to dance.  Wrap your ears around Night on Fire.

The Vines - I like this band because the lead singer gurns when he sings.  They also make good music to rock out to.  Wrap your ears around Get Free.

Vega 4 - I wish, I wish I could remember where I first came across these guys.  Never mind.  I like them.  I hope you do too.  Wrap your ears around You and Me.

*****

What V bands/artistes do you like listening to?

2013 A-Z Challenge post - V is for Veuillez trouver ci-inclus

U is for ... Urthboy

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Today is 24th April, so here is my twenty-first post for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  This year I am sharing my musical tastes with you.  I hope I can introduce you to some new bands/artistes, and if you'd like to comment perhaps you could introduce me to some of your favourite bands/artistes beginning with the appropriate letter of the day.  For more music, please have a look at my last.fm profile.

Urthboy

http://www.urthboy.com/

source

I came across Urthboy, otherwise known as Tim Levinson, via last.fm.  This is a great website that takes note of music that you're already playing and makes suggestions with similar bands and artistes.  I'd been playing Hilltop Hoods for a while, after being introduced to them by my boyfriend at the time.  I didn't think I'd really like hip-hop, but then I thought all hip-hop was that 'guns, bitches, and bling' tripe that bled out from America.  I guess Australians have a different view of that musical genre.

There's something raw and grainy (a bit like Buck 65) that I really like about this guy.

'We Get Around' - Urthboy

*****

Honourable Mentions go to -

UNKLE - These guys are a DJ outfit, who produce and remix music.  When making their own stuff, they have a lot of other artistes singing on their tracks, so they may have worked with people you already like.  Wrap your ears around Reign.

Underworld - If you were a teenager in the 90s you will have seen the film Trainspotting, and if you saw Trainspotting you will have listened to this band.  Wrap your ears around Born Slippy.

*****

What U bands/artistes do you like listening to?

2013 A-Z Challenge post - U is for Univocalicism

KLWG April 2014

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Today, the Kessingland Library Creative Writing Group met.  And we had a great turn out, with 11 people.  The group really has grown, and new people keep coming, which is great.

Last session, I handed out a copy of Wilfred Owen's poem 'Exposure', which contains half-rhymes.

Homework was to write a half-rhyme poem.  A lot of people found it difficult but gave it a go, and the results were extremely impressive.

Here's my untitled piece -

a sight, a glance, a fleeting look

a quickening pace for a lonely heart

breaking ice with bursts of heat

a key is needed for this rusty lock

a smile, a nod, a nervous wave

a tingle wandering over skin

blinking eyes afraid to scan

a crowded room through which to weave

a walk, a glide, a twisted turn

a sudden gasp of mottled air

counting seconds passing by the hour

a jerky movement to a jumbled tune

a palm, a hand, a friendly touch

a shudder surging through the blood

merging moments becoming blurred

a match to light this fading torch

a taste, a lip, a secret kiss

a closeness shaped with bodies bound

quivering fingers form a bond

a freedom flight from a single curse

a space, a path, an open door

a venture taken with life at stake

following eyes silently stalk

a memorable minute forever held dear

*****

In the session, I wanted to talk about different narrative perspectives in writing.  I think most people are familiar with 3rd person perspective and 1st person perspective, but 2nd person perspective is something that not many people had heard of or even read.  I managed to find a few novels written in 2nd person, and gave the group excerpts of these to read and respond to.

'Winter Journal' by Paul Auster

'Stolen' by Lucy Christopher

'Why We Broke Up' by Daniel Handler

'Rule 34' by Charles Stross

'Ablutions' by Patrick deWitt

'Bright Lights, Big City' by Jay McInerney

So the task in the session was to write to yourself in 2nd person perspective/narrative.

You try.  I know you do.  It's not easy but you want to make a difference.  You want to make the world  better place, you want to make people happy, but it's not easy.  For some reason, people don't want to be happy.  For some reason they like to find problems in everything and you can't understand it.  You like to spend your time watching people, trying to work out what makes them tick, but they're complicated creatures.  You've tried to be like them but you didn't like it.  You found it unnatural to be so mean, so selfish, so rude.  You knew it wasn't you, but you persevered even though it was making you miserable.  You often wondered how people could be so mean, so selfish, so rude, and still be smiling.  Perhaps they didn't care about others as much as you did.  You tried to talk to them, to see if they could see things from your point of view.  You didn't expect them to agree with you, but you'd hoped you could open their eyes to the bigger picture.  But for some reason they didn't want to know.

*****

Our next meeting is on Wednesday 21st May, 10:30-11:30, at Kessingland Library.

Homework for next time is to use one of the following Picasso portraits to inspire a piece of writing.