This girl is Irish and has red hair – so might just be my idea of a perfect girl. That said, she’s also massively talented. My brother’s girlfriend posted one or two of her videos on Facebook and I have to admit, this is the most impressed I’ve been with a female singer-songwriter for a while (possibly since Emmy the Great’s first album). This girl looks to be one of these prolific Youtubers, with a fuckload of cover version videos from (presumably) her bedroom, but I’d be unsurprised if she crops up on the radio or in the charts soon. This song’s called Sixteen, but check out the other videos as well.
There were two gigs in the past weeks that I wasn’t at. This is because there is no justice in the world. First of all, Frank Turner played Wembley. I really hate all that ‘I was into this before you were into this’ chat – who cares? Normally people get into bands when they get popular because that’s when they get really good. Having said that, I’ve been going to see Frank since I was a teenager – since Sleep is for the Week, which I just got on a limited vinyl pressing for Record Store Day, which is awesome – and I still love everything that he does. I don’t care that more people have jumped on the bandwagon, that’s great, there’s still room for more. It’s a real ‘Local boy done good’ kind of feeling that I have when I try to imagine the 11,000 people who packed out Wembley to see the show on Friday. My only complaint is that I wasn’t there to see it too.
This is my favourite video (so far) because he got his mum up on stage to play in one of his songs. This is exactly what you should be doing when you play the biggest show of your life: get your mum involved.
Another show that I should have seen is the triumphant (so I hear) reformation and return of Refused, who played Coachella in California over the weekend. The only UK date they’re playing is Download and I’m unlikely to make that. Proof, if ever it was needed, that God hates me.
At the moment, I have a grand total of 10 tattoos. I have Black Flag bars on my arm, swallows on my chest and even an acid-house smiley on my hip. If I’m honest, some of them are a bit silly. On my right arm I have artwork from a Frank Turner album. It’s perfectly reasonable, I think, to conclude that this is song is all about me.
When I went looking for the video again, I also found this outtake from the video for I Still Believe. I can totally relate to this.
More vanity today I’m afraid. I don’t really have much else to post at the moment. I’ve been working on some words and recording riffs and verses in snatches. Nothing’s finished, nothing’s polished. I recorded this in my living room a couple of months ago and I’ve just taken the privacy settings off of it on Youtube. It’s one of my favourite songs, one of my favourite bands, but I’m not saying it’s a good version – I just like finding songs I can easily sing in my own accent.
I’m jamming with friends today. I’d honestly forgotten how difficult it is, after years of playing with the same, accomplished musicians, to start a band and get used to new people and their playing styles. I’m not sure if the band will come to anything, but I’ll hopefully get a few more ego-stroking Youtube videos out of it.
I’ve been working on a cover of Such Great Heights by The Postal Service. It’s one of my favourite songs and I’m really excited to be putting my own twist on it. Last week I was finally able to get my hands on a vinyl copy of Give Up, with bonus covers and remixes disc. I was lucky enough to pick up a copy of Wincing the Night Away in the same shopping trip, so this track is a perfect representation of my past week. Enjoy.
So I finally decided to man up and set some of the random videos I’ve uploaded to Youtube over the past year to public. I tend to record these when I don’t have time to do anything more in-depth but I want to remember how a particular song goes. They end up on Youtube when I want to show them to someone, normally a band-mate or my brother. Here’s one that’s at least short and sweet.
So my brother pointed this out to me the other day. My favourite artist covering the artist I just can’t get enough of right now. No-one’s saying it’s perfect, but I choose to think of it as validating. Big up to The Ruckus who posted it, Frank who played it and Craig and the boys who wrote it.
Check out the full article here. Check out everything else Frank is up to here. Check out a video of, potentially, a song from the next record here. FTxHC.
Once more to the boards One more curtain call Give the crowd everything they’re asking for and more
Always make them laugh Try to make them cry Always take the stage like it’s the last night of your life
So I finally got my hands on the new Frank Turner album. I may have slightly ruined this for myself by constantly surfing for live versions of new songs, so there weren’t many surprises. The last of three bonus tracks, Balthazar, Impresario, is definitely a gem in the rough. That’s not to say that the rest of the album doesn’t have its charms, but I suspect that on repeated listenings the acapella English folk song – English Curse – will wear a little thin. Otherwise, the singles are stellar and the filler is pretty – just as you’d expect. Frank is my favourite artist recording today and I’m sure I’ll grow to love every song on this album for different reasons, just as I have with each previous release. In the meantime, for those of you who care, here’s a video of the song (working at time of posting):
And, because it’s absolutely what makes this song special, here’s that riff (tab from the chorus, as found on UltimateGuitar.com):
ReelGlasgowKid 