February 2012
1 post
January 2012
1 post
December 2011
1 post
October 2011
1 post
August 2011
2 posts
2 tags
goonerproblems:
Surely the Gunners’ fire sale?
June 2011
1 post
May 2011
2 posts
“I’m saved
I’m saved
I’m saved
I’m ashamed
I’m...”
“we could kick it in the living room
looking through my whole vinyl collection...”
April 2011
1 post
March 2011
1 post
February 2011
2 posts
Memories that are not real
With Fleet Foxes’ self-titled debut album came a sheet of paper containing not the lyrics but an essay of sorts written, I believe, by the lead singer Robin Pecknold, (despite being somewhat hilariously attributed to a dead US President, yet spoken in 2008 or something), which talked about how so many of our memories are defined by photographs, and yet these memories are not...
December 2010
1 post
Well, that went quite well...
I have finished my first semester of university in Glasgow, and it has been brilliant. Of course there’ve been ups and downs but I have to say I cannot find a single reason to regret my decision of going to Glasgow. It is a wonderful city and everything about it just feels right. I’ve not been stabbed or anything.
The culture side of my course was perhaps a slight niggle; it feels...
October 2010
1 post
So here we are
Looking back over some old posts, specifically in this case my very first ‘tumbl’, it’s funny to see how things turned out. (I picked Glasgow, jsyk).
I wrote this earlier today but it’s still accurate bar the location.
I’m sitting in the library working away at some French, thinking, “I am so happy here.” And I don’t mean at the library, just here...
August 2010
1 post
Teaching
Picking my subjects last year was pretty difficult. By the end of my fifth year at high school I’d pretty much covered all the subjects I’m interested in: English, Maths, Geography, French and Chemistry. So trying to come up with another four subjects to tackle in my sixth and final year was pretty difficult; this led me to take the natural, if not particularly interesting choice of...
July 2010
1 post
Boxer
I’m so terrified of losing touch with my friends. I have maybe 4 or 5 really close to me and the thought of living my life without them is just horrible. I guess a part of this is selfishness, not wanting to miss out on any memories. I don’t want to move on and grow up and have to leave my friends behind.
This is why I’ve been connecting with The National a lot lately. Boxer...
May 2010
3 posts
Test cricket
It was only last summer that I “got into” cricket, in time for watching the Ashes. The real reason I wanted to follow it was to fill the void of the football close-season, where nothing really happens between May and August. And there was always a lot of hype about the Ashes after 2005, so I thought, “Right, I’m going to follow this all the way through, for better or for...
Thoughts on "The End"
LOST spoilers ahead. Beware.
I don’t understand the people who went to watch the finale of this fantastic, six season-spanning programme, expecting every tiny question to be conveniently filled in within the two hours. Imagine if they did. It would have been dreadful, stop-start, choppy television with no sense of direction, structure, or scope for actual enjoyment of the episode and a...
I've failed
I knew this would happen; I haven’t blogged in a while. It was inevitable after the initial spree. Have I failed at blogging yet?
I’ve since ‘finished’ school, but not really since I appear to be studying like hell for the exams ahead. Despite them not being of incredible importance — I have accepted my unconditional offer to Glasgow University — I still want to succeed...
April 2010
13 posts
I like music that can make me dance. I like music that can make me laugh. I like music that can make me cry.
That’s why I love LCD Soundsystem, the only band I can think of that does all of these things, often at the same time.
Conservatives
Rather than posting about last night’s Leaders’ Debate on the whole, I thought I’d just ramble about my dislike of the Tory party in general, which was further emphasised to me by the debate and follow-up Question Time.
The whole party strikes me as very sinister to its very core. I get the feeling the Tories are loving the fact that these leaders’ debates are turning our...
I break the law, but I don't need to
I’ve not got any particularly valuable insight to throw into the ring regarding illegal downloading of music. I’m just gonna explain my position.
I illegally download music. A fair amount. But then I buy music. A very fair amount. More than just about anyone I know. Yet I’m the one killing the music industry? Probably not. I can’t justify illegally downloading though. I...
A great day
“Meet me at Tesco at 1. Bring your bike”. These were my instructions. I assumed this would just be another rubbish Payne-plan that was going nowhere; little did I know that I was going to have one of the best days in a long time.
It’s hard to pin down exactly what made it such an enjoyable day. The mood was just right. Four good friends all comfortable in each other’s...
Words, not numbers, please.
I’ve grown up in a household where my mum has been a maths teacher for two spells, tutors maths for as long as I can remember, and now runs a small business teaching maths to kids of various ages/stages; I was always destined to be good with numbers.
This year I’ve found myself studying advanced higher maths. Yeah, crazy. Particularly crazy when I realise that, in all seriousness, I...
After the storm
I love albums that finish with the penultimate track being the sort of ‘climax’ to the record, and then the final song is a calming sort-of aftermath. Examples include:
Keeping Warm > An Almighty Thud
Lucid Dreams > Dream Again > Katherine Kiss Me
Arabian Sand > Late Afternoon
9/15ths > Machines
Good To Know That If I Ever Need Attention All I Have To Do...
I'm losing my edge
I think a lot of bands “lose their edge”, as James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem might say, as their time goes on. Some say it’s just a part of the ‘growing up’ process, or ‘maturing’, but I don’t get that. When you’re in a band potentially just starting up at the age of 23-25, you’re already pretty mature I’d say. So why do many bands,...
I’m a sucker for continuity or patterns in album artwork. Just something that says, “We thought about this for longer than five minutes.”
From something as simple as using the same font across multiple releases…
to a series of singles artworks all based on the theme of the parent album.
Just a little bit of thought can go a long way for me.
Football
I love football. I think to a lot of people I don’t seem like “the type” to like football. But I do. It’s not the national obsession for nothing!
Supporting teams has always been a bit awkward. Being brought up in a family where my dad, his dad and beyond are Rangers fans, and where my mum’s dad is also a Rangers fan, it was pretty damn difficult not to support the...
Edinburgh or Glasgow?
Surely my future doesn’t depend on this decision?
Both will give me a degree in French and Spanish, and both will let me study from some of the widest ranges of outside subjects around. They will both give me a year abroad in France and Spain.
But, this year abroad with Glasgow will be BEFORE my third year of University, as opposed to with Edinburgh where the year abroad actually IS my...
1 tag
Why I'll never be in a band
I love music too much. I’ve seen, heard and read so much talent in so many different styles that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to be part of a proper band without being so self-critical that I’ll just explode and fail to see the point.
I can’t write lyrics for shit, which is frustrating because I feel like I’ve got loads to say. I haven’t got an ear for...