Save Yourself !!!!!!!

(DJ Hiatus Myspace. www.myspace.com/djhiatus)

A new band have appeared on my radar, Hiatus.

Hiatus is a word that usually means one of my favourite bands have decided to call it a day (see earlier post!). But this time it's not a negative reason I am attracted to this word it's the haunting music they have produced.

Save Yourself, a song by Hiatus, was released mid December and I am dumbfounded how they have escaped my attention up until now.

Save yourself is reminiscent of a song by Moby, and shares the chilled out vibe of Shed 7.

The track is a relaxing song with a simple piano tune, accompanied beautifully by an eastern sounds and singing throughout. The tracks catchy point is a short verse, that is repeated on a loop throughout the track. Completing the song Save Yourself is a slow drum beat managed to keep the song energetic.

The song is .....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-KfoV49FBk

As well as being a beautiful but simple song, the video shows that Hiatus might want to be used as the soundtrack to the political history of Iran. It is refreshing but not only that powerful.

Two Halves Make a Whole ?

(FlickR)
I was born in the year of the dragon, some of my friends the year of the rabbit, and I think my younger brother the year of the tiger, so I think this year could be the year of the sea anenome.
Never mind what year of which irrelevant animal it is, what I'm more concerned with is, whether it's in fact the month of the split.
This month my conversations with my friends have been referring to splits particularly of the celebrity variety. Regardless of whether they were genuine star crossed lovers, or a publicists concoction, we couldn't believe how many people were residents of splitsville. Pop stars, actors, sports stars, reality TV stars but most recently a split occurred between a group of four, Paramore.

I originally discovered Paramore back in 2005, after meeting a friend at an All American Rejects concert. I stayed in contact with the avid morrisey and Panic! At the Disco fan (what a combination?) adding him on Myspace, Yahoo Messenger and Last.fm (all social networking bases covered). Meeting through love of music we carried on speaking and he sent me music to keep an eye on. He sent me; Mewithoutyou, Acceptance and Paramore. I listened to all three; Mewithoutyou, were appropriate to the sound at the time, emo and screaming about a love story, Acceptance were a generic pop rock sound and then there was Paramore a great band that spoke to me and were fronted by a girl !?

I couldn't believe how catchy and refreshing all the songs were, Franklin, Emergency and a particular favourite Pressure. This was eye opening, listening to a band who were talking about teenage angst and lost love spoke to me, without relying on rhyming stanzas.

My fandom exploded when I went to see Give It a Name in 2005, surrounded by thousands of other teens waiting to hear their favourite bands vocalise their confusion and love stories, in a way that they couldn't. It was the first day of the mini indoor festival and BRAND new comers the Blackout had just taken to the stage, I was particularly fond of this band, having been "talking" with one of them on Myspace. They screamed through their unrecognised songs, using overwhelming enthusiasm to make up for the thin crowd. We went on to look round the stalls, the merchandise and of course the boys (ha). The crowd got thicker and eventually after another lesser known band the Gym Class Heroes burst onto stage. Another Fuelled By Ramen graduate that were about to shake the music industry awake for a brief minute. Following them Paramore came on the stage, Hayley bounded on, and the band shadowed her. I was beaming my new found heroine was there in the flesh, about to rock me and my friends world. I stood there transfixed listening, jumping and shouting every single word back at the band as if my life depended on it. The one thing that surprised me though, was that no one else had seemed to have heard of them and that made them all the more important to me.

Like people do in life I drifted apart from the band, new bands came along and I wasn't keen on the direction Paramore were going so decided to stop buying the records. I started listening to Paramore again recently, really enjoying the slowly tempo of Only Exception and the bite of Playing God, but the news that two of the founding members were leaving, has made this reunion all the more bitter.

Not only is it a break-up it's a messy one. Like in relationship, mud is being flown (blogs) and people are making the break-up trendable on networks such as twitter.
It's always sad when people you know break up and in this case people you don't. A band that bonded together in their home town got thrown into the spotlight at such enormous speed that it seems to have broken them. The band who went against the crowd, rallied up a huge following are now less like a group of friends, are more like the damaged wings of the butterfly on their album cover, Brand New Eyes.

Lost in Political Translation

After being briefed for my role reporting on the local elections for radio, I realised I am really very lost when it comes to politics. There's no shortage of political satire and the debates seem to be the ultimate water cooler moments, but the more I learn to more confused I feel. Ultimately they all seem to be promising very similar things and putting their feet in their mouths as much as possible. What is worse is that it seems like the should be "impartial" news stations fuel the fire. On Thursday I was watching the BBC 10 o'clock news, within the first 3 minutes the BBC had played Gordon Brown's mistake twice. in full! This blog is mainly a procrastination from a large law essay (4000 words to be exact).
In short I would just really like an idiots guide to politics it would make me quite happy :)

being a tramp...

Probably still sitting in the same seat and living the same routine, watching first look Hollyoaks. My life has taken a few more terms. Vowing always to be behind the camera not in front I have decided to give presenting a go. Now presenting for a new TV show that Daniele and Darryl moulded having a ball. We have completed two shows one with "Any Dream Will Do" finalist, Craig Chalmers and another with the rowdy Preston boys Mobius Loop. Having a ball at the moment just cannot seem to get a job and it's not as if i'm not trying

www.audioscribbler.co.uk

Leaving University

When you are in sixth form/college you have it rammed down your throat how amazing University is, how it's "the best three years of your life". Ex students of the school come in and talk to you about it is still the best years of their life and it is. You get to University you make your friends for life, you spend the last few weeks working on empty.
As the last couple of pieces near their completion your eyeballs are on stalks stuck to the computer screen, your fingers tap-tap-tapping on the keyboard and you find that despite all this work you are more on top of your soap operas more than ever before. Surviving on nothing more than knock off red bull and chips all with the thought THIS WILL END SOON.

And it does...


No one prepares you for it, the feeling that without this degree you will constantly feel like a spare part, now there are too many hours in the day and there are NO jobs that would be the soloution to it.

So the blog, the facebook, heatworld and Perez hilton all become your new best friends. And you constantly wish you could be working on the dissertation but maybe that's just me?

The end is in sight

And so the end is near and we face the final curtain.... The deadline. 23rd April. The goal is 5000 words. The result hopefully a good grade.
So reality it's the 18th today, the word count is currently 4,289 and needs serious structure so fingers crossed on the grade.
This project wasn't as complicated as once thought, word count is the main problem I want to write more (What is happening to me?!! ). I have compiled good interview from a magazine editor, an x factor manager, a band, manager of Moloko and Rosin Murphy, a man that used to be in a band and a leader of an online music download site. I have learnt a lot mainly from music lawyer Ann Harrison. Who's book is now my bible, I never knew the percentage of royalties, the deals and general business an artist has to go through.
More importantly the thesis of oversaturation because of sites; no one seemed to agree apart from people on forums. I even tried trying to sway people but yet it didn't happen. People beleive it, but can't proove it. I guess the next time I will talk about this is when I get it back .

mic testing testing 1, 2 1,2 mic testing

If there is one thing that most people that I have spoken to about my research project have in common is that they beleive one of the best ways to suceed and win support is to play a live show.
And whilst travelling back from Leeds in the car today that really did strike home. There are very few things that I can think about and automatically feel like I am there. But when it comes to live music I can. I can remember the atmosphere, the songs, the bands expressions what I was wearing and how I was feeling and what was going on around me. I assume these are my flashbulb memories.
I was remembering my first show, party in the park 1999. I had always loved music, people used to mock my music knowledge, I suppose it was a bit strange for a ten year old to know all the songs in the chart and the lyrics as well! So when my dad told me about party in the park I was over the moon. Even more so when your dad tells you that not only will you be watching live music but you might get to meet the bands AND celebrities as well because we would be seated in the V.I.P section. A ten year olds name dropping dream. I also remember wearing my little matching baige outfit. baige skirt, top and brown and cream fleecey gillet. O DEAR!
Until then the only other open air concert I went to was Greenday in 04. My first proper concert minus parents plus the extra "rock and rollness" of skipping school AND the school language teacher was driving us there. We were under the impression that Blink 182 and Foo Fighters would also be playing and ended up listening to "Take off your Pants and Jacket" on repeat all the way too Cardiff Cooper Castle. They were accompanied by Spunge, Iggy Pop, Hundred Reasons and A. I have seen Greenday twice and still feel that they are by far one of the best live acts. I remember standing next to people smelling poppers and at the time thinking I was going to smell them, pass out and die.
Aside from the music one thing I will take away from that day was the teacher turning round to us in the car before we got out and saying "Now girls if you have to take any drugs, smoke pot"!
As I write this more and more music memories come to my head I remember the gigs I was dragged to and purposely not trying to have a good time. Going to see Rooster in year 11 was one of these. I bought my ticket at Lunch time our newest thing at the time was to get tickets and go to the gigs from school. So despite being largely against rooster I went along. I dressed on purpose in a good charlotte designed t-shirt with a scowl on my face so people knew I was not into this kind of music. The last straw was definately when my mouth was open singing and the lead singer shook his sweaty mane and his sweat went in my mouth. A fans dream, but a fan I wasn't.
I could probably write a book on how many gigs I have seen and how I felt but feel that only my friends or a psychologist would read or even begin to enjoy it.
My next concert is OASIS. I wonder if in a years time I'll be writing about this !