Death Cab for Cutie: "You Are a Tourist"

I know that most of you my dear readers, aren't Death Cab fans.. (and those who are, are major fans) but I for one am excited.

The new album "Codes and Keys" will be released May 31st (Sadly, just after my birthday.. but I will be accepting presents till up to a month later) and today they released to the public the first full song off the Album.

Check out Death Cab for Cuties new song  "You are a tourist" by clicking here.

Generally, I quite like it, the song has loads of comments on how its completely different to what they "used" to sound like.. but actually, I think it sounds like It could have come off either "Narrow Stairs" or "Plans" and yes, it is quite different to their early stuff but there is no massive leap. There isn't a massive leap from Transatlantacism; its certainly more electronic but that was a gradual change throughout the albums, just put a distorted kind'a electric fuzziness over Title and Registration and they could easily fit on the same album. It is, I'll admit, slightly overproduced and isn't quite as bare as some of their other stuff, but I do quite like it.

I think that's maybe the best thing about Death Cab, that actually, their albums all sound individually different, but they still have the same "sound" and I don't just mean Ben Gibbard's voice.. I don't think. Now, I haven't heard the rest of the album, so I guess I can't judge yet, but if they have produced another album that echo's any of greatness from the last 5 albums (I wasn't the biggest fan of the first two - but each to their own) then that's more than most bands. It only took Arctic Monkeys second album to completely lose their sound, Coldplay began drifting years ago and I think even P.Wolf lost something during a few of the tracks on "The Bachelor."

Either way, I think the new songs pretty good and I hold high hopes for the album, and too add, I still like Arctic Monkeys a lot, but their "Favourite Worst Nightmare" was totally different to "Whatever people say I am, that's what I'm not" and "Humbug" was good, but a kind'of cross over between the two - try hard album. But I am totally bored of Coldplay.

I also today, stumbled upon Taking Back Sundays new single, and kind'of hated it. Probably for the same reason that some people didn't like "You Are a Tourist" because it "didn't have the same sound" (even though it totally did) this new TBS sound is different. It's really angry, and I know its probably because I'm a sucker for their first 2 albums and the whole emo kid vibe they had going, but this sounds a lot more hard-core. Not in the same way Brand New went a little hard-core with "Daisy" but like.. actual hard core. Saying all of this, I am still going to get it. I to this day, still have my Adam Lazzara poster on my wall and the first 3 albums hold some of my favourite (and least favourite) memories. I feel sad that I hated the song. I did hate their last album too though, so it was to be expected. 

Anyway, for a listen - it still has under 500 views on youtube as I'm writing this - I'll leave the link bellow

So.. That concludes my music judgement, and it is ALL just opinion.. but I thought I'd share my opinion, and these two public releases with you all, so enjoy.

God Bless, L x

RT @amberniko: @_PATRICK_WOLF was stupendous tonight in Manchester!

If anyone has read my last post "How to be Indie:" I write at the beginning about when I bought Patrick Wolf's "The Magic Position" album. Tonight I finally got to see the pure talent that was splashed onto that (and all 3 other) album. I wouldn't in any sense suggest that The Magic Position was his best album - in my own opinion, but there were definitely tracks of genius on all 4.

Tonight was the first time I think that I've been to the academy and not felt like it could have been a better night if I was drunk - in the case of the Kapptive gigs of 2007/8. I don't mean paralytic, but I did find it unusual standing in line not sneaking a bottle of vodka in. 

I was a bit hesitant in finding out that the support act was a hip hop artist called Rowdy Superst*r. As anyone would be. I couldn't at all picture any hip hop artist supporting Patrick Wolf as it was, and well, quite frankly he wasn't what I had paid to see. I'm a fan of "hip hop" and "rap" just as much as the next person, I have all of the Dizzee Rascal, Childish Gambino, Lil Wayne and Eminem discography's on my hard drive(s) but a rapper called Rowdy Superstar... You gotta be kidding?

To my pleasant surprise it was one of the best support acts I think I've seen (third only to The Cribs + Foals supporting Bloc Party and Boy & Bear and Alessi's Ark at Laura Marling last April.) I wasn't hoping for much when two dancers (The Hype Girls) - one rather moody looking - came and took there positions on stage. I was patiently awaiting a moment similar too the Glasvagas incident at the 2008 Academy 1 Wombats gig (no judgement please, it was some time ago and they had a catchy song at the time + to my boy and Eugene McGuinness supported, so... It was an over all ok call - I think it was also a birthday present) when Glasvagas got booed off for being  boring. It wasn't until a sequin covered Rowdy Superst*r came on stage in a flamboyant rage that I was taken by surprise. I was expecting to dislike who ever came on but through hilarious showmanship, a catchy beat with witty lyrics and a exciting presence I was happily taken-a-back. It was a really unusual performance, a mass focus on the dancing and lighting but I really liked it. Its worth a listen defiantly, its a shame you can't really get his stage presence through the tracks alone. This is the best I could find: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV7zUKT3dPk - "Knick-Knack paddy wack, your getting boned." Either way, he was really good support act and had the audience eating out of his hand.


It seemed like we were waiting forever for Wolf to get on stage, there was the usual push to the front that you get after the support acts been on, the tall people getting in the way of your previously perfect view of the stage and a bitchy girl who thinks that she's all that getting touchy because you've been pushed up against her and casually starts bitching to her friends who probably don't care. (None of this happened to me, just my friends luckily, though I did have the whole couple stood in front of me and the boy is WAY protective over his girlfriend situation.) Just after 9, PW's band set up and he strolls on in a burgundy/red suit thing with a matching scarf and a long sleeved shirt with what I assume were button decorations.. but they might not have been. Opening with new song "Time of My Life" he looked so angry and arrogant and my heart dropped... before he opened his voice I felt like I was watching the dick head that's on university challenge at the moment representing York, but as soon as he sung and spoke to the audience and smiled I remembered why I lived on his first 3 albums in lower school. Now, I wasn't the biggest fan of The Bachelor album, it was darker, more electro and depressing to listen too, musically, probably just as good but it was a completely different direction to his previous albums and didn't have quite the same instrumental focus. However, even his tracks from that album (Hard Times, The Bachelor and Damaris) were absolutely superb. It was entirely what I expected, starting a song on a Harp and ending on a Violin. It was musically perfect.

It was an unusual crowd, half were stood watching in awe, the others were dancing and singing away like it was the best thing they've ever heard; more than once I found myself watching the amazing musician to the side of the stage who was swapping instruments just as much as Wolf and absolutely beasted the sax. It's hard to pin-point my favourite bit, the nostalgia of Bluebells (where I'm quite sure he sung straight to me and it was just us two there) the roar of "My name is Tristan and I'm alive" or standing quite silent listening to "Don't say no"

There was, of course, a costume change before the encore when he came back on with an black velvet open chest suit (I think it was a velvet suit, I was too busy looking at the tattoo of a unicorn on his chest) and glitter wiped across one side of his face and chest. Storming back on and ending with The Magic Position.

I don't even know what else to say. It was mint, musically amazing, the crowd atmosphere was a bit shoddy because no one could decide if we should stand and listen or dance and sing but on a musical basis, probably the best gig I've been to, slightly better that Laura Marling on her own, but that gig had amazing support artists which probably levels it out and they were completely different kind of gigs and artists so, I guess its not fair, and Bloc Party was only better because the audience were on fire and so were the support bands.

Both Rowdy Superst*r and Patrick Wolf were well on form, for those that haven't heard of either check out: Rowdy Superst*r - Tik Tok and my Patrick Wolf  Spotify Playlist of my Favourite ones. But I am doing this at 3 in the morning.. so, I might be misjudging them by name. Check them.

Anyway, had a sweet night, got myself a mug and got re-tweeted by Rowdy too!

Hope you enjoyed reading this, lots of love and God Bless, L x

How to Be Indie.

I don't really know where to start with "Indie." Similarly, I don't know when it began.

I remember talking to one of my dads morris men friends (peter) years ago and he asked me what music I listened to. That day I'd bought Alex Hannaford's book, "Pete Doherty: Last of the Rock Romantics" and Patrick Wolfs (then new) album "The Magic Position." I had no idea really what to say, and I told him that I listened to "indie." In that moment, I put Pete Doherty and Patrick Wolf in the same category.

Now, I understand Indie to mean "Independent" right? This Indie "Do it yourself" outlook covers music, film, literature, publishing, fashion - anything outside of society's "mainstream" industry.

Interestingly, I checked on what I'd bought that day and the book was published mainstream but the Patrick Wolf album I bought was with an independent record company, as were all of his albums to date but has since joined mainstream record label Mercury for his newest release this year.

Now, I don't see any problem with using insider record company's, publishers and fashion lables. - besides the extra price. It's really about what your getting, what the musics or film or book is like right? But now Wolf's joined Mercury, does this mean he is no longer indie, or do we look at his early records to decide that. - of course, he is not indie because we then assume its singer/songwriter rock stuff, but a sub-branch of indie: "idietronica."

Who is Indie? What is Indie?
People outside of the societys idea of "Chav" are automatically (by Chav's) labelled "Mosh Heads" "Emo's" or "Goths." In fact, any teen walking down the street in Oldham not wearing a Nike Tracksuit and a Henley's T-Shirt with a shaven head or an orange face is automatically dubbed Mosher.  A good friend of mine said to me the other day "I wish that chavs were more rife so that people could be indie in peace." If we were all chavs.. maybe people could be indie because they would actually be independent.

It is not possible for someone to be Indie. It is possible for one to enjoy great independent films such as Withnail & I, Slacker and City of God. It is possible to enjoy great independent music, such as Patrick Wolf, Belle & Sebastian, The New Porngraphers, - but now these are all signed up to independent record labels, can they be called Indie? ....because they don't have anything else in common. Remember when Kings of Leon were indie, but then too many chav's caught on, and now everyone thinks that they're boring because the pop radio shows over played them.

How can someone even have an "indie" sence of fashion. They might wear clothes from independent designers, but from what I gather, that's not indie fashion. Indie fashion - though ever changing, seems to me this week as chino esc pants, leather pump shoes that aren't actually shoes but look like shoes and faded vintage tint hue photo t-shirts black or white with a quilted jacket. Last month, it was all about the military boots, before that it was all about bringing converse back - not to forget the whole lace dress phase, and the tweed and head scarf thing. ---- All of which can be purchased at our favourite high street stores - and people would still see you and thing "that's indie."

My dads friend Peter that I mentioned at the start of this blog, said indie music was just a distorted guitar and some quite bad singing to give emotion.

I can't quite remember the point of this blog, I think I can't come to grips with labelling something Indie. Of course, all sub-cultures are stereotypical generalisations, but indie was never a sub-culture.. it was never supposed to be one because it was about independence. Indie is no longer indie but.. more, established, conventional, general - dare I say it "generic." Any kind of synonym of Mainstream.

Sadly. I don't think there is any other word to sub-categorise all those that already labelled themselves indie. Twee, folk, electro, rock... I don't know. I think Indie has now in fact changed definitions and it's just something I'll have to live with.

So. To conclude before I go and put on the smiths and watch Youth In Revolt or watch whatever's just started on Film 4... 10 things I hate about you, I will leave you with these tips on how to be Indie.

1. Don't call yourself Indie, or refer to anything as Indie, let the rest of the world do that, for to you, it is not a sub-culture, but a way of life. Once dubbed Indie, it becomes some kind of sick irony.
2. Read NME, pay close attention to the Under the Radar bands - because when they get big you will be the first to know. 
3. Don't walk past a charity shop without going in to find some cheap deals on totally vintage clothes - check the bookshelves for a penguin classic you haven't already read, or buy an anthology to pretend that you love poetry, but use it as a display in your room along with your other books. 
4. Smoke because its cool, or hate smoking because its like, totally against who you are - that doesn't apply when you're drunk though.
5. Keep up with the fashion, even if it means looking on a mainstream shop website like river island or topshop, because they produce what you want but won't find in a charity shop and everyone does it so its actually ok, even if its not indie. 
6. Turn off XFM, because that was so like, 2009 and put on Radio 1, BBC 6 Music or your Last FM account. - Spotify is cool too, make sure you keep up with the latest NME spotify playlists.
7. If you hear a good song on a TV program, shazam it straight away because other people might not have been listening out for the good music on skins.
8. YOU ARE A PHOTOGRAPHER - and you don't even need photoshop because online editors finally have the option to give something a vintage hue and make it like a polaroid. 
9. Post your photography on tumblr in hope that someone will re-blog it and it gets re-blogged so many time's you see it in the radar colum. 
10. Shave your hair, dye your hair, move your fringe - do anything to keep a good indie hair style. Lately, we've been seeing the one side shaved look; go with that. 
11. Try and go to Leeds fest even if the line ups bad. V isn't for true music fans. Hop Farm and Green Man are acceptable second choices.

God Bless, Indie Hypocrite and checked off all of these a least once in my life, L x

My favourite is the "I love Karen O" bit... 

My 3 least favourite fictional characters.

This is a follow up to my previous, top 3 fictional characters post. I find this easier, there is so many characters that I really hate on TV, but alike my favourite, it changes almost hourly. I am going to structure this one differently, and give it an order of hate. You should also no, these are all TV Characters, I find it really hard to hate any fictional book character.. dislike maybe, but they don't get on my nerves because I imagine them, and I would never imagine someone I really don't like. Unless they are like, proper bad guys. All three of the following feature on my TV screen at least once a week, the winner of my most hated character less due to show release.. and i try to keep her off anyway. So:

At number 3.... Sophie Webster: Coronation Street.

Sophie Webster, Lesbian, Christian and recent strayer from the lord. Tonight's episode featured another (though, there aren't many because I imagine the Coronation Street writers hate her too) Sophie Webster special with her getting drunk and falling off the Church roof. It is not because she's a lesbian that I hate her, no, that doesn't change my opinion of her at all. Although Sian is almost as bad  and adds to my Webster hate. It is the accent... Living in Oldham, I experience first had a strong northern accent - of which I do not partake, and I quite like it. In fact, Billy Caspar was on my list of favourite characters. But there is something about Sophie Webster that makes me shiver. 

Coming in second place is Lyn Scully: Neighbours 

Lyn came very close to coming first. There are a number of bad things this woman has done throughout her time at Neighbours.

1. Left her baby in a car (it was post-natal depression, but I think that was actually just a cover up)
2. Had a problem with shop lifting
3. Served an eviction notice to the hero that is Harold
4. Blackmails Paul Robinson (which no one deserves, even Paul)
5. Ruined Rebecca and Paul's wedding
6. Becomes a spy for Paul telling him all secrets and gossip
7. Decides to become an insurance fraud by setting her home on fire, but then changes her mind and forgets to put the batteries back in the fire alarm OBVIOUSLY causing a fire. 
8. General all round rudeness, back stabbing and gossiping thinking she's mint around Ramsay street.

She still gets referred to as "Nan" by Summer, even though she was only even Summers step grandmother and no longer is any more. And all sorts of other stuff. I REALLY hate Lyn Scully.

And finally, anyone that knows me could have predicted this. Yes. The fictional character I hate most is Doctor Who's "Future Companion" River Song. 

I don't know if I can put into words why I hate her. Maybe its the actress rather than the character (that's definitely part of it with Sophie Webster) Maybe its because of her crap tag line "Spoilers"... there are things I definately struggle with when it comes to her relationship to the Doctor, and this might be jealousy, but i can't understand who she is and what the point of her is. She takes away from the real companions and that would have been fine if it was Martha because she's so dull. But when it comes to Amy, and even Catherine Tates character (who is always going to be known as Catherine Tate) River Song just looked like a tit next to them. 

I just can't understand, I don't like the opinion that she might be the doctors wife, i don't like that she knows more about him than anyone else. I don't like that I'm indifferent to her like I am Martha. If she was just an unimportant character this wouldn't matter as much, but when its a main character I hate it almost makes me want to turn off doctor who, but i love the program. Not liking Harry Potter as a character is fine when reading the books, not liking Frasier is fine when watching the program because they both Frasier and Harry Potter have really good side characters and I don't hate them, they're just bad compared, but I really really dislike River.

I understand this has become just me rambling... but, there is nothing I can do to describe my hate. 

More characters that I hate are:

Nick Tilsley - Coronation Street

Scrappy Doo - Scooby Doo

Heathcliff - Wuthering Heights (i only ever read half the book i hated him so much)

Raskalnikov - Crime and Punishment

Bella Swan - Twilight 

Holden Caulfield - Catcher in the Rhy (though sometimes I really like him, its ups and downs) 

James Bond (though depends on actors sometimes)

Hamlet - Hamlet

Buffy's sister - Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Peter Pevensie  - The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Nicholas Cage (I know hes a real person, but i really don't like a single character of his, because i don't like him"  

Mayelle Ewell - To Kill A Mocking Bird 

Ginny Weasley - Harry Potter 

My 3 Fictional Characters.

In no particular order, I have managed to get my characters down to three of [in my opinion] the greatest fictional Characters ever written.. This changes hourly, so, tomorrow i might not feel so secure of this.

Firstly: Dwight K Schrute of Schrute Farms
"I am ready to face any challenges that might be foolish enough to face me"
He was, out of my choices the most liked on facebook, (10 x as much as Han Solo), and has the most impressive Wikipidia page. There is also a Trip Advisor page for Schrute Farms and band The Devil Wears Prada has a song and a T-Shirt dedicated to him called "Assistant to the regional manager" I think that Dwight Schrute is the most well written character on TV. Hilarious in everything he does.



Secondly: Dr Niles Crane. Frasier Cranes brother and constant rival.

"I've always liked the notion of meeting the great figures of history. But then I think: what if it's like high school and all the really cool dead people don't want to hang out with me? Mozart'll tell me he's busy but then later I'll see him out with Shakespeare and Lincoln!"

I think Niles Crane might be the sweetest man ever. He's rich and snobby, thin and rather scrawny, but is genuinely hilarious. I think that if I was writing a list of fictional characters I'd marry, it would be Niles
Crane. My Kinda guy. I genuinely think he's the lovelyest character on TV.



Finally: Han Solo.
"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." 
I think he's just... the best. Obnoxious, Handsome and Witty. Perfect almost. He doesn't reject his love for the boring queen, and he cares for her, Luke and Chewbacca and is almost compassionate. Yes... I think he is a really good character. I can't really get across my true feelings towards him... but surely, any reader will understand.



Any of these, and many more... could have been my choices. They tend to change day to day.




Christopher John Francis Boone - Curious Incident of the Dog in the night time.
Billy Casper - Kes - A Kestrel of a Knave
Anita (West Side Story) 
Karl Kennedy - Neighbours
Pocahontas 
Withnail - Withnail and I
Chuck Bass - Gossip Girl
Gandalf - Lord of the Rings
Lord Henry Wotton - A Picture of Dorian Gray
Margo Channing - All About Eve
Holly Golightly - Breakfast at Tiffanys
Gary Windass - Coronation Street
Aslan - The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Derek Zoolander - Zoolander
Alex Delarge - Clockwork Orange
Rick Blaine - Casablanca
E.T - ET
Lloyd Dobbler - Say Anything
Doctor Who.