L.I.F.E. D.O.E.S. G.O. O.N.

Wherever you go there'll be love love love... I promise. 

Noah and The Whale

Forgive me for I must rant&rave a little.

Favourite word of the moment? Nonchalant. That's right, Grace used the word nonchalant, big word I know but today of all days I feel I must be slightly poetic in what I say or feel. It really is the prettiest word I can use to describe how I plan to feel about something in my life at the moment. Since my close family and friends are appearing ever more important in my life by the minute as I see past the little dramas and things of unimportance, I can be happy in the thought that they are there!  My mum has lost a friend to cancer this week and heard terrible news of another friend just tonight - it saddens me so much.  So I will say now, that my feelings on the subjects of unimportant matters are nonchalant; meaning I shall be seeming to be cooly unconcerned or indifferent. I just want to write a little note to remind everyone to stick with the people that only make you happy, and to appreciate those that want you in their lives forever, and not just for the moment.

Songs? Music? Artists? Yes I know what I am hear to write about. I didn't forget, I have replayed Noah & The Whale's song "L.I.F.E G.O.E.S O.N" about 7 times while I've written all my babble. So there is no room to say I am slacking! So................................ what an amazing little song? I had heard it a while ago when it was released back in January, but until I sat watching this band at Glasto on the telly with my parents and brother I hadn't realized how wonderfully pleasant they were! I also hadn't realised how handsome the lead singer was, yes... he was the reason I got into town at 11.15 pm instead of half 10 with my mates that night. What of it? You can see that picture two paragraphs above can you not? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Nope, you're not daydreaming. I am though.

Enough! The song is beautiful, their sound is enchanting and relaxed and made Glastonbury even more of a pleasure to watch! Don't you worry I am dedicating an afternoon tomorrow just to Beyonce too, of course I saw her! I have already practiced shaking my bum like her in Mc.Donalds at 10 pm with the girls on Tuesday night and did the Beyonce walk  all the way round Sainsbury's today. Holla!

At this late hour, this post is not to critique or to offer anything new, just to lifts any hearts that felt down like mine did today. Get curled up in bed and get listening to these two songs by Noah and the whale.

FiftysAtHeart xx

Metronomy, I'm giving you the look - look.

2 bears remix of Metronomy, The bay

"This photo is going to be with you for the next 10 yeaaaarssss" the photo guy said eerily as he held the most complicated looking camera I have ever seen to his eye. No pressure then I thought? And as he pressed the button I knew pushing my "unacceptable to passport offices" blunt fringe to the side was a terrible idea. And so grimacing a little I collected my new photo ten long minutes later and held it side by side with my old one. WOW. 15 years of age I must have been on my last passport. Long blonde hair, an addiction to eyeliner and the colour black I realised today not only has my musical taste come along way from "Babycakes, you just don't know know. How I -I, wanna take it down low - low" to whatever indie/electronic beat I have grown to admire today at the grand old age of twenty-one.

So who must I talk about today?  

Metronomy

Well Nick Grimshaw my little heart throb, you have done well. Not only are you FIT, but you have an absolutely wicked taste in music. (Marry Me? Cool, yeh, June wedding is fine with me) As I sit here in bed clock watching and deep in thought about a few changes I need to make to my life ASAP, Nick tells me of one of his most favourite tunes of the summer. Metronomy - The bay, remixed by two of his favourite DJ's The 2 Bears. I listen, then have to listen again... and AGAIN. The beat is addictive, and as I have just found as I eagerly clicked the replay button on youtube... EVEN BETTER, LOUDDERRR!

LONDON, PARIS, TOKYO.

Now, as per I've started liking the remix better than the original. Always the case when a DJ plays about with the acoustic, i like a bit of repetition, a heavier bass and quite melodic sounds when they have been sped up. "Sped up"??? I possibly need to learn the music lingo and technicalities if I want to be any good at this! 

But yeh, Metronomy are wiccckeeddd mattteee yehhhh. (Sorry, excuse me jokey dialect in recent posts, being back up north with old friends means i've got back into talking in any accent other than my own. Like for instance, everyone around me seems to be saying things like "He's gone West"..."Oh yeh he is so East its unreal" At first I thought they were informing me of his/her location. But someone mentioned it has something to do with drugs? Please explain before I start telling people I'm West or East!)

...Metronomy - really quite odd, different, unique some might say... tragically hip i say. One of my favorite songs of theirs? The Look. They're trying something new with organ solos, his voice we might have heard before but I like it because its a pitch I can reach! But overall this post is to draw your attention too the band, to this song and to the remix. They're a wicked listen whether you're listening on your own or you want to impress your friends with something a bit retro and hipster. Yeh that's right, I said hipster.

FiftysAtHeart

xx

Cults knew right that they'd been abducted

He tore me apart because I really loved him 

He took my heart away and left me to bleed out, bleed out 

He broke my heart because I really loved him 

He took it all away and left me to bleed out, bleed out 

The first song I ever listened to by Cults was Abduction...

Quiet guitar, quiet vocals almost whispering “I knew right then that he would be taking my heart”... You’re sucked in to the tentative, slightly sorrowful sound of her voice and are made to listen intently as she speaks of what I can only translate to mean the abduction of her heart. Then the acoustic falls flat and the bass and kick drum take over the song and lift the energy and the emotion in her voice from 1 to 100. His voice appears as if you were expecting it, and the Cults begin to develop and define their sound with their band in unison. 

This duo/pair/romantically inclined couple in fact have an individual and eerie sound (I am loving the word eerie right now, plainly because I haven’t physically experienced anything eerie or abnormal since forever ago – Where is the weirdness in my life?).... If need a dose of it I'll be sure to go to this album to regain some quirkiness and individuality.

Brian Oblivion & Madeline Follin : They're both 21,  from San Diego but produced their music in New York just a few months ago. They started by posting music online which to my disappointment isn't where I found them, I found them reading "Wonderland" magazine which is one of my favourites from giving quite fun and personal interviews with bands. What I did read somewhere is that they're recruiting new band members to support them when they gig as a support act with friends "Sleigh Bells"... remember when I blogged about them before? Have a little scroll back through my posts and have a listen, they're wicked too. A little rockier sounding than the chilled out and relaxed vibe of Cults. Singer Madeline has such a feminine and moving voice I feel she's like a young Lesley Gore in the song "You don't own me" - beautiful!
Cults: Formed the name based on their interest in cult's they had seen or read about and said it represents their obsession with presenting a message to people  -a nice one of course - their morals and messages are strong yet don't have the same hostility that might be associated with cults! Also have a listen to "Go Outside" and "You know what I mean"... if you like The XX and Broken Bells (wicked band)... then I've got a feeling you'll like Cults. :)

Here we go, have a listen
Grace, FiftysAtHeart xx

Wouldn't it be cool, if I could let it go?

Sometimes its hard to live and sometimes its hard to love you

I keep pushing you away doing things so you won't stay with me

Ahahaaaaahhhaaaa

Ahahaaaaahhhaaaa

And wouldn't it be cool if I could let it go?

So the last time I mentioned The Kooks I was saying "September? What? I can't wait that long for a new album!"; but it seems they have done a Kasabian on us. And by that I mean they have released a single ahead of the album, it's not on the album but it's thrown out to the public as a bit of a tester and as an example of what is to be expected of the new album Junk of the Heart. Good thinking Batman. Although what happened to standing up tall, saying this is who we are, this is our sound.... like it or lump it? They have got a huge fan base from just a few years ago, have regularly played at Ibiza rocks and got a great reception - and if they're worried they can have my word that I regularly sing "And I am alllwaaysss where, I need to be. And I always thought I would end up with you even-tua-lly" to the best of mine and my lung's abilities in the shower! Happy? No I really wouldn't be.

Besides the marketing and the technicals of the album, I like what I here in new single "Saboteur". It's a little dark, it's edgier and more pumped up than what we last heard of them. But what else would you expect from a song about sabotage? I love it. Luke Pritchard attempts a bit of Piano, his voice as distinctive as ever and the band give it their all for the excitable crowd jumping around just at their presence! I said it before and I'll say it again, I'm very much looking forward to the album in September, the interviews the gigs and the tour! 

The Kooks were about when I was a teen, they were band blaring out of the little car stereo on the drive back from days at the beach with friends and the songs you thought you could perform on the Kareoke after 4 or 5 wines. Good to have the boys back on the radio, hopefully you'll be at next years Ibiza Rocks where want to be next summer!

So here it is!

Gracie, FiftysAtHeart xx

Bombay Bicycle Club get a "Shuffle" on with their new album...

Yes Bombay BC, Shuffle... But not too much

Good Morning Sir... Good Afternoon Madam... Can I get you something to drink? Can I get you the dessert Menu? Can I get you your 6th glass of pointless tap water? Can I mop your brow? No, waitress and slave aren't the same thing. Yes I'd love to watch you drink coffee after closing time rather than go home.

Oh how bitter I must sound, I do very much enjoy waitressing as a part-time leisure but boy do grumpy customers try to get you down some days! ha! So as I return home from the hustle and bustle of Leeds train station, sitting uncomfortably close to a large breasted woman and walking up my Avenue which seems to have lengthened since yesterday. I can sit down, have my PJ's on by 8pm and stare aimlessly into the mirror as I take my makeup off. Seriously, how nice are baths?

But one thing that has many a time accompanied my train home, my walk up the Avenue and played soothingly as I light 4 candles around my room and sit exfoliating, moisturising and all the usuals - is Bombay Bicycle Club's album "I had the blues but I shook them loose". The title of the album couldn't be more fitting for my feelings when I listen to them. It's played when I've needing cheering up after a long day, in the background when my boyfriend has given me a kiss or two and to a simple start to my day to get me in the mood for the day's activities! I absolutely love their music, the tone, the vibe I get from the album and guess what I'm going to joyfully tell you next? They're back! They --- are --- back!! With new single "shuffle" which is to be played on Zane Lowe's show on Wednesday night at 7.30pm, this makes me very excitable and anxious. I don't want them to change enough for me to notice too much, I know bands develop their sound but change? Please don't!

Looking forward to Wednesday! Will post the song on here as soon as I can get my typing fingers on it! But for now............ let's play a favourite, "Rinse me down" where I love the lyrics. "You turned your head, to mine instead.. Gave me the eyes, burning like mine"

Good night and God Bless then

Gracie, FiftysAtHeart xx

See you're jadin' me, dazin' me

The moment I heard this beat and felt the vibe shudder through to my little drum&bass core, I just knew ShyFx had something to do with it! The vocals are right up my street, its like someone has grabbed hold a reggae style voice, borrowed a little bit of skream and shaken it up with some brand new drum&bass beat and produced something that can inject a thousand watts of energy into the bodies of everyone listening. This is a song I can see us playing while we get ready at camp to go to the festival, one we here amongst a crowd of people bouncing in a dance tent at the early hours and even something to be played as plainly as on the train just to get you to work!

I know of Maverick for his eerie vocals, and I can say that without this remix the original song is frightfully eerie. At first you're taken in by the instrumental, quite upbeat (not cheerful, don't be silly)....but that all changes. The voices slow down and you suddenly feel like you could be in a place with psychedelic colours and a room full of people smoking a bit of MaryJane and drinking cocktails in dark corners. That's what I pictured anyway! I loved it and wished I could be there just for a few seconds longer. Am I allowed to say this next bit though? I really don't want to... but I definitely felt a sense of AIR in the original... see what you think anyway. Wicked record.

I'm getting increasingly excited to see live acoustic sets, guitarists rock out and absolutely lose it on stage and the beautiful Julian Casablancas sing directly to me, yes....... it will happen, you just wait. But i'm also looking forward to the masses of people pulling themselves together after a long day at the beach, feeling a mess from the mosh pits and mustering up all of their energy to enjoy the dance/d&b tents til 4AM! Why the hell not?! 3 hours sleep was enough for me 2 years ago so i will be on it again. Beach hair and face paint wiped across my face or not, I want to be there for it all!

You want a bit of info on Maverick?

He's 20, shit he has accomplished more than me and I'm a year ahead of him. Fuck, i best release that hit single I've been hiding for the past 2 years. Seems about time? (I wish) He was born in Hackney, London born and Irish-bred. Returning to the capital to pursue his career in music - and that he did, with a wicked collaboration with Professor Green in single Jungle. Having been discovered by Plan B, thrown onto records with Chase & Status. And from what I heard of him last had supporting slots with Snoop D O Double G and Cee Lo Green. It's good to see he's holding onto his R&B routes but trying out a whole range of (for what of a cooler word) "Genre" darling!

Little tip from me, listen to "Look What I've Done", and if you didn't here it "Jungle" with Professor Green. Wicked tracks!

I'm loving it, and being released just 4 days ago I expect we'll here it again on Zane Lowe's Radio One show and in clubs/bars with very good taste!

FiftysAtHeart xx

Kissy never Sells out

16 bit mix, let's do it

It's difficult to breathe, it is difficult to move, it is difficult to speak. But it is easy to panic.

How can I concentrate on "Hopelessly Romantic" a gushy romance novel I was FORCED into reading by  my, well, hopelessly romantic friend, when I have the amazing Kissy Sell Out playing some of the best dubstep I have heard in a long time out of my little vintage radio?! It's not doable, so the book is down at 00.25AM and I'm getting up to date with his latest whereabouts/musical likes and dislikes. YES, I am aware I have to be up at 6.30am for a jog, then work til 6... but how can I go out in Leeds tomorrow night without knowing the latest on Kissy? Good argument Grace, Well Done. Thanks yeh. High-Five.

So, what ARE you up to Kissy you gorgeous man? Your album "Wild Romance" is out now? Wow it seems only yesterday I'd been reading of this being an up and coming thing! I was unaware of the date. I must apologize for not noticing as my vision has recently been obscured by library books and while I'd love to read NME and Radio One gossip, it just wasn't feasible. That has all changed now I tell you, back up North with prospects of visits to London to see my favouritist of friends, I am ready and raring to be thrown back into the madness of Dubstep/Electro/Grunge!

At Radio One, he's like a little gem they keep close to their heart and let him loose for a couple of hours when the sun it well and truly in. He's done over a hundred show and amongst all the times I have heard him play a set he shows off even more of those wonderful technical skills he has! I am always geekily eager to log on to the Radio One website after he's played a mind blowing mash-up of new talent and mixes of all the old records you forgot about. 

So as he's been back in the Studio, do we see an even deeper side to Kissy? Well it seems it. I've looked on his myspace page and the blog from quite a while ago gives a run down of some tracks he has produced and the whens and whys to his reasons for writing them. DEEP. But it's cool.

“I weave in a lot of classical music and I think had I not done the radio show I wouldn’t have known how to weave that in to a dance track. I’m so used to that, so what I wanted to was combine what I was doing already – writing my own music, and playing all my own instruments and composing it all – and mix that with the classical influence.” Kissy.

A lovely explanation really for his album YOUTH too..... I love the clash,no clash isn't the word, but you know what I mean - of musical genre. It's all in there and you can almost hear the effort of composition that has gone into his work. I love it. And so will you if you've not had chance to listen to his work.........So enough of my chat, get listening guys and girls. 

The album Wild Romance is out now, he's got a fixed spot on Radio One and you can catch up with him wherever is closest to you - he is EVERYWHERE at the moment. Wicked,have a good night. I must sleep to face this jog tomorrow. All for you Benicassim Body!! 

FiftysAtHeart xx

Massive Favourite, I must.