Dream Super-Group 2

Alright, after much thought and deliberation, I’ve come up with some of the members for my super-group! These are just some artists that I think would be amazing to work together, and to see them all in the one place would be incredible.

I’ve decided that my super-group should have five members in it, and that awesomeness would stem from their collaboration. That said, I don’t have a complete band yet, so any suggestions would be most appreciated!

Vocals – Glen Hansard
There’s an unrelenting, raw passion that comes from this man every time he sings. He gives every performance an honest 1000% and makes every song he sings unforgettable. For me, he’d be an amazing front man. Plus, he plays guitar, so that gives us a rhythm guitarist too!

Keyboard – Imogen Heap
The things that this woman can do with a keyboard or synth and a looping machine is simply magical. She creates layer upon layer of magnificent ambience, but knows how to completely rock out when she needs to – there would be many a keytar solo in this band.

Bass – Christopher Wolstenholme (of Muse)
Wolstenholme is one of the most laid-back bassists I’ve ever seen, as well as knowing how to work his instrument. His bass-lines are always interesting, but never intrusive, providing a strong backing for the other instruments to show off over the top of. That said, you always admire the bass-work and it always stands out, almost like he’s not even trying to.

And… that’s where my list kind of ends. I still don’t have a Drummer or a Guitarist to add to the line up.

For the Drummer, I’m entirely sure who to pick… Gavin Harrison (of Porcupine Tree) is an awesome candidate, as was Dominic Howard (of Muse). I’m tempted to suggest Dave Grohl (of Nirvana/Foo Fighters), which would give me another singer to add to the awesomeness, but I don’t know at the moment… I don’t know enough about drummers as I should, or who the best drummers are, as most of them are stuck behind the shadow of the lead guitarist or singer. Then again, I could always pick Ringo.

The Guitarist I had in mind at first was Matt Bellamy (of Muse), but since I can only have one member from each band, I decided to go with Wolstenholme instead. Part of me is really considering The Edge (of U2), as his effects stuff would work really well with what Heap does, but I think that he works best in U2, with his band around him. Brian May (of Queen) would be awesome, but a very traditional choice, and I think that the choices I have so far are slightly less traditional and more alternative.

So… any suggestions? I really want to fill this band out, just for my own benefit. And what about your own super-groups? Any musicians you wish would work together to create awesome, awesome music? Let me know!

Top Twenty Favourite Films – 3: Moulin Rouge!

Moulin Rouge!
The first time I was introduced to this film was through a friend of mine showing me the ‘Elephant Love Medley’ scene, which I think is a fantastic mash-up of songs, and a great way to demonstrate the conversation and eventual chemistry between the two leads. At the time, I just liked the U2 reference.

My friend then showed me the ‘Spectacular, Spectacular’ scene, which I enjoyed for the frantic, melodramatic sequence of events that unfolded, and I left that day thinking to myself that I had to watch the film at some point.

After school one day, I sat down with a library-borrowed copy and let myself get consumed by the tale of penniless writer Christian and his lover Satine, main dancer at the Moulin Rouge. I loved every moment of it, every high and low, every song, every piece of melodrama and every piece of realism (which, I’ll be honest, doesn’t occur often, but when it does, it’s used so effectively).

Eventually, in my final year at high school, we studied the works of director Baz Luhrmann, watching the three films he had released at that time, as well as some documentaries where he explained some of his work. Now, I won’t lie – as much of a fan I am of his films, I’m not terribly impressed with the man himself, but he had some good things to say. Like the fact that he was inspired to make Moulin Rouge! based on a Bollywood film he saw, in which he felt every emotion he could think of without understanding a word that was being said, and it was all through the melodrama and the music (whether this is true or not, I’m not entirely sure, but it’s definitely a lovely ‘behind-the-scenes’ type story). Nevertheless, I completely understand this link of inspiration.

Yes, Moulin Rouge! is melodramatic and over-the-top. Yes, it goes on and on about true love conquering all, which isn’t the most ground breaking of messages. But, to be honest, that’s what I love about it. It’s pure escapism; we get to delve into this over-stylised world where everyone bursts into song and dance, where the shots can’t remain on the one image for five seconds and everything is fast-paced and highly emotional.

Ewan McGregor hasn’t disappointed me in a role yet and he draws the viewer in as Christian- you really believe that he believes in love above all else, and that he really loves Satine, played by Nicole Kidman. I’m generally not a fan of Kidman’s work, but I really like her in this outing. John Leguizamo and Jim Broadbent are very strong supporting players, but my favourite has to be Jacek Koman’s Unconscious Argentinian – his singing voice is ridiculously gravelly, yet passionate. Richard Roxburgh is wonderfully over-the-top and seedy as The Duke, the man knows how to play a fun villain.

As for the songs and the singing, I think a lot of them really, really work. I was really surprised by some of the voices in the cast, especially McGregor’s, and I thought the songs were well integrated into the plot, and well arranged to give the viewer a moment of uncertainty before they realise that they’re singing ‘Like a Virgin’. And I still don’t think I’ve met a person who didn’t think the ‘El Tango de Roxanne’ scene was awesome, even those who didn’t like the film. It’s one of my favourite scenes in all of cinema.

This film is all about the emotion for me. There are better scripts and better stories and better characters, but I just love the intensity that this film carries with it. It starts high energy and it maintains it from beginning til end. Thinking about Moulin Rouge! just reminds me of moments of love in my life, whether it’s my family, or my friends, or my drama class, belting the ‘Elephant Love Medley’ at the top of our lungs as we waited to be called into our final exam.

It’s the little things.

Strange U2 Lyrics Vol. 1

‘Stop helping God across the road like a little old lady.’
From ‘Stand Up Comedy’

‘And a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.’
From ‘Trying To Throw Your Arms Around the World’

Smashing Pumpkins

This year I have accepted a lot of bands into my life that, a few years ago, wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near me. One of them is Smashing Pumpkins, who I used to dismiss because I couldn’t stand Billy Corgan’s voice – I was very much a purist when it came to voices and very rarely did I accept a band whose singer couldn’t capital ‘S’ Sing.

I was pretty stupid back in the day.

I feel like I’ve learned a lot this year about music and how different things can be drawn from different inspirations, and that an open mind is absolutely vital.

The band and I have had two ‘Influences Days’ wherein we each bring a mix CD of what we’ve been listening to and show, demonstrate and explain how they’ve been influencing us. It’s interesting to see how much they changed over the six or so months between our two days – hell, I actually had to change my line up three times before it was actually shown to anyone.

As much as I love that my music tastes are evolving, I always hold onto my previous ones – maybe not as much as I used to, but they’re always there. My friends and I were hugely into My Chemical Romance for a while, and I think there are only two or three of us left that still like the band, the others have moved on to different styles and influences (I still think they’re friggen awesome and cannot wait for their next album).

I feel conflicted about when the best time to get into a band is. If you follow them from the beginning, you get to see them develop as it happens, but if you get into them after four albums, or even their whole career, you already know what they developed into, so you can’t experience the development naturally. It’s a tricky one.

I feel sorry for albums like The 2nd Law and Living Things, which have four or five fantastic albums to compete against. Or take a band like U2 – no matter what they produce, it will always, always be compared to The Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby! and be dismissed (the arguable exception, in my opinion, is How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, which is such a strong album - All That You Can’t Leave Behind had amazingly great moments, but wasn’t as such overall – that’s just me). My reaction to their last release, No Line On The Horizon, was that the songs were great and the album was great, it just couldn’t compete with the classics that have been ingrained into our consciousness.

What does that have to do with Smashing Pumpkins again?

Well, it is after Halloween, what else are you going to do with your left overs!

Good night, everybody! *Cue theme music*

Poetry Essay

I don’t think my lecturer is going to like my poetry essay.

For one, it’s not very good, but for the other, I don’t think I’ve referenced any capital-P Poems in it. Well, that’s not true, I referenced an e.e. cummings poem – a poet who I cannot for the life of me understand why he is well known – which he supplied us with, but all the other references? Song lyrics. Boo yah.

I think in some ways, I’m adamant to oppose the lecturer’s teaching style, or at least what he is teaching us. In some instances, he really knows his stuff, and in other ways, I just disagree completely. I would argue that song lyrics counts as a form of poetry, while he is slightly less open about the idea. So I got back at him by referencing Tom Waits and U2 in my essay. I feel pretty good about that, to be honest. The referencing, not the actual essay itself.

I could rant and rave about this lecturer for so long, about how sporadic the lessons can be and how half the time, he just seems incompetent. It doesn’t help that he is a published poet and supposed expert on poetry, yet I am still to be impressed by anything that he’s written (not that I’ve read a terrible amount, to be honest). When teaching us about haiku, he slipped a couple of his own in with the examples and, in all honesty, they were too obvious. They were a text book example of a text book example. It seemed like haiku for absolute beginnings, as opposed to the standard of a published poet.

Maybe I’m biased against this guy, or maybe poetry is just too subjective. Maybe his other stuff is a lot better, who knows?

All I know is that I worked U2 into my essay.

Who should I quote next? As much as I hate them, I’m desperate to argue why LMFAO has poetic merit.

Even if they are just awful. Just… simply awful.

Irish Rock

I love Irish music, and by that I mean, I love U2.

That’s one of the most ignorant sentences I’ve ever written and I want that to change. Drastically. My obsession with Glen Hansard’s music just keeps growing, especially after I’ve heard his bands – The Frames, which is more like Irish rock, and The Swell Season, which is more like Irish Folk/Indie and also contains Marketa Irglova, for all those who love Once like I do – and the more I think about it, I want to turn that obsession to cover more Irish Rock bands.

There’s just something about that Celtic sound that’s really making me happy, and I need more of it. I almost bought a Pogues CD today, because I’ve been eyeing for a while and I think I should get it soon, lest my craving fades.

However, I don’t know of many more Irish bands to add to my list.

So far, it’s The Pogues and The Dubliners, and I feel that’s hardly anywhere near enough. I feel that I need to listen to as much Celtic/Irish Rock/Folk as I can, so I can actually give writing that style of music a shot. You can’t create inside a vacuum, I always say.

So, if anyone has any bands that meet the above criteria, please feel free to recommend them!

Now if you excuse me, I’m off to listen to the Once soundtrack for the bajillionth time.

Car CDs

My parents have very graciously and generously – out of the goodness of their own heart – loaned me the use of the family car every once and a while, and boy do I appreciate their stupendous kindness and their loving hearts (and they aren’t too shabby on the eyes either*)

*I feel like I had to add that sentence if I ever want another shot of the car, but we’ll keep that between us, okay? It’s not like parents can read sentences beginning with one of these, *, … right?

But in the numerous times I have taken the car out for a spin, I have successfully commandeered the six-stack CD player, so that every disk space is taken up with my own personal choices and, I’m not going to lie, it feels pretty awesome.

I’m not sure how thrilled my parents are about that, but they usually listen to the radio, so I think I’m in the clear.

At the time of this writing, the CDs in the car are:

1) Little Shop of Horrors 2004 Broadway Revival Soundtrack

2) OK Computer – Radiohead

3) Achtung Baby! – U2

4) The Black Parade – My Chemical Romance

5) The Joshua Tree – U2

6) Company 2006 Revival Soundtrack

To be fair, CDs 1 and 6 swap in and out with whatever musical soundtrack I want to listen to, so they’re changing quite regularly, but it’s always something from the stage. The U2 CDs have been in there for months – I went through a phase where I had to listen to every U2 CD and all six spaces were taken up by U2′s awesomeness – and the MCR has been there for a while too.

Radiohead went in today, because my amazing girlfriend got it for me yesterday, so it’s quite new, but there’s nothing like driving along, listening to ‘Paranoid Android’. That’s the type of music people should blare out of their windows as they drive along, instead of listening to the most horrendous of dance music, whilst making their hand move like a dolphin and making a face that screams ‘I have a belt, but you damn well know that it’s just for show’.

So what CDs are in your car at the minute? Are they as awesome as mine? You probably think so!

I wonder if there’s any sort of study that shows that you can tell something about a person by the CDs in their car, aside from what type of music they like listening to… Someone should get onto that.

Forget higgs bosons, Scientists should be studying this stuff!

If You Don’t Like This, Then You’re Not A Fan

I thought that it would be a cool idea to have the titles of each blog post be one or two words in length – the Top Whatever titles being excluded from this rule of course, because it’s hard to shorten ‘Top Eight Funniest War Songs’ – however, I’ve decided to break this idea with this post, for I feel that without the full title, this post would not be as effective as I would possibly like.

This is a ranting post, because something has angered me so.

I really hate it whenever I see this sentence on the internet: ‘If you don’t like X, then you’re not a true fan’ or variations thereof. I know it probably sounds quite petty or insignificant, but I really hate it when someone on the internet tells me that I don’t like a band or a film or a book or a sonnet or street directory as much as I would like to, simply because I don’t agree with them, or have the exact same reaction as they had when presented with said band/film/book/sonnet/street directory.

There is something that the internet needs to learn, and that is that people are entitled to their own opinions and just because someone doesn’t like the same kind of things that they do, this doesn’t make them the reincarnation of Satan.

What irks me (not hate or anger this time, simply irk [Why don't more people use the work irk? It's a quite nice word, I believe {Is it really annoying having three types of brackets at once? I don't think I've ever tried it before }]) is when people say things like ‘I love everything that (insert band name here) has ever done and that makes me a true fan!’

Now, I love U2. I think they are sensational musicians, they write excellent songs, their concerts are like nothing else – both in presentation and in talent – and their style of music has constantly evolved while still maintaining their own particular sound. However, I think their song ‘Numb’ is one of the worst things I have ever heard.

And I believe that I’m a ‘true fan’ (whatever that means) because I can safely say that ‘Numb’ is one of the worst things I have ever heard. Total devotion is not the meaning of true fan-dom. A possible-fan of this blog, for instance, would ignore spiling mistaces, uncorrect words and bad grammerly things and simply go ‘Oh, that’s nice’, whereas I’d consider a true fan to look at that sentence and say ‘Now I know you can do better, because I’ve seen you do better, so I’m going to bloody-well point out every mistake’ (Then, of course, there’s the haters, who would say ‘Now I know you’re terrible, because you’ve always been terrible, so I’m going to bloody-well point out every mistake’.)

I just really don’t understand the idea that people can’t accept other people’s opinions… I mean, I will accept anyone’s opinion if it’s well reasoned and well explained. As soon as someone says something along the lines of ‘My Chemical Romance are crap because they’re crap and Emo and stuff’, then I shall ignore said opinion. However, if someone were to say ‘My Chemical Romance are crap because I find their lyrics to be too dark and melodramatic, their guitar is grating and I think that the singer is unable to sing. Personally, I just can’t stand that kind of music’, then I’d just accept it. It’s their opinion, and I can’t change that.

I have my opinions that you may disagree with, and that’s fine.

For example, I thought that starting this blog was a decent idea…

…

You might disagree…