Wandering through the unknown

It’s been a while, but I’m back

wanderingthroughtheunknown — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 20:54:40 +0000

So since starting the not-so-new-anymore job I seem to have let the blogging slide… it may have something to do with the fact I write almost 4,000 words per day and there is not much energy left in the old fingers once I get home. However, I’ve decided it’s time to pick up where I left off.

What’s new? Well there’s been a few eventful and not so eventful adventures along the way, most notably a trip to the US that saw me embark on a whirlwind tour of Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco. Ten days, three cities, not a lot of sleep.

Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles

Flying into LA I met up with a friend who had been living the backpacker dream I embarked on three years previously and we caught some sun on Santa Monica beach, drank cocktails on Rodeo Drive and partied Hollywood style before heading off to Vegas with a bad hangover. Not the best way to kick start four days in Sin City.

However, we took in a show, explored iconic casinos, wandered the famous strip, danced till dawn in 50 Cent’s club and met a host of colourful characters. One of the highlights was an extravagant but unforgettable helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon.

Bright lights, big city

Cruising over the gorges and landing in the peaceful valley made the lights of Las Vegas seem a million miles away and to anyone considering a trip to the party capital of the world I would definitely recommend taking a break from the gambling and splashing some dollars on a flight.

The Grand Canyon from the air

Next up… San Fran and possibly the best of the three, offering a mix of culture, individuality and normality after the commercialism of Hollywood and consumerism of Vegas. The historic suburbs of the Castro and Haight & Ashbury provide a glance at the city’s not-so-distant past, with the rainbow flag flying high and a 60s vibe still present.

60s cool in the birthplace of the Summer of Love

Along with highlights such as the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and the rattling trams the locals are friendly and the city has a relaxed feel- I think I could live there.

The Golden Gate Bridge

Heading back to LA we had one last night before an 11 hour flight, a six hour wait in Heathrow and then a connection to Manchester.

Despite sprawling myself across benches at the airport in a bid to catch some shut eye and attracting some unusual glances when I woke with a start after inhaling the tassels on my scarf, I arrived home feeling like I’d been away for weeks and not slept for almost as long.

(Ok so clearly this is not me as this person is male and appears to be a businessman, however, this is pretty much the sleeping pose I was rocking.)

Next stop? Madrid.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Grand Canyon, Haight and Ashbury, Heathrow, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, the Castro

4×4 drivers- the bane of my life

wanderingthroughtheunknown — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:01:27 +0000

I’ve started to notice a subconscious recurring theme in my latest blogs, namely that I tend to use this as an outlet for ranting about what ticks me off, and so after a run-in with one of my top ten bound to annoy me situations I’ve decided to continue the theme with a tirade about the most annoying people on the road- 4×4 drivers.
I passionately hate 4×4 drivers who seem to be a law unto themselves and an extreme annoyance when I have to go places. There appears to be an unwritten rule whereby if you own a giant gas-guzzling car you can drive like a complete moron and park wherever the bloody hell you want, even in the middle of the road, if you so wish. Unfortunately for me Altrincham is full of them.
When I rule the world 4x4s will be the first to go, unless you live on a farm/mountain in which case go for it, however neither of which stipulations relate to Hale- it couldn’t be any flatter if it tried and quite frankly there is no way the prima donnas that drive these blacked out monstrosities live on farms.
It pains me to say it but the majority of the offending drivers are blonde women, a stereotype I’m not quick to use but which is fitting in this instance, who can barely see over the steering wheel as they amble around town making me increasingly irate.
After attempting to drive through Hale village yesterday, during the afternoon school run, I was pushed to boiling point and had to come home and vent for a good 10 minutes. In a half-mile stretch I saw 15 of these god damn vehicles- 15- most of which were parked in a highly illegal manner and completely blocking the road in every possible way. Not only that, but those that were actually moving were crawling at a snail’s pace as their drivers clearly had no spatial awareness and so at times the traffic came to a complete standstill, as the village is barely wide enough for two regular sized cars. AHHHH RAGE.
Lesson learned though, do not attempt to drive anywhere between the hours of 3pm and 4pm as there is a school/nursery on almost every other road and the swarming army of silver and black beasts will be everywhere.
Rant over.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: 4x4's, Altrincham, Hale

Just Say Yes

wanderingthroughtheunknown — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 18:00:23 +0000

My latest logic is being more about the ‘yes’ and less about the ‘no’- open to opportunities, a little more spontaneous and less concerned about the outcome. I may have borrowed this mantra from Danny Wallace’s book Yes Man however sorry to disappoint but I shall not be following it to such extremes, anything that involves me making a complete tit of myself, potentially being maimed/injured or becoming imprisoned are off the table. So I figure what’s the worst that can happen?! I could discover I am in fact destined to be a jack of all trades or may find the one I will be master of a long the way.
So with my new-found motto I dived head first into the week and, despite a few bumps in the road, so far it’s been all good and seeming to work in my favour and yeah admittedly a few of the ‘yes man’ conquests may have been lame and not so wild but it all counts and after all you have to start somewhere.
So for the big opening act I ventured to the new Waitrose in Altrincham, this appears to comes under the lame category, HOWEVER, this was not so lame, but almost fun (if you’re a 7-year-old kid or an easily amused 25-year-old). Turns out they have these amazing do-it-yourself hand-held scanners which make the mundane food shopping experience mildly thrilling, you go round the store zapping what you put in your trolley and it calculates how much you have spent allowing you to pack as you go so all you do at the end is hand it in and pay- doesn’t that sound like at least half an hours worth of good clean fun?!! yeah, like I said I’m easily pleased. The one thing I don’t get is how do they know you’re not swiping every other item and sneaking in a few freebies? Those who like to thieve this is the place for you…
So then to balance out the lame there was the awesome… I booked flights to LA! (well almost- due to a potential date conflict i postponed the booking part for a few weeks, however I am most definitely going) After a ‘you should come meet me in Vegas’ conversation over a few cocktails with a mate, I thought why the hell not you only live once and the best part is I fly the day after my 26th and what better place to celebrate the downhill slide to 30 than VEGAS BABY!!
Next up was another not so exciting for the masses but albeit new experience for me, in which I took an emergency first aid course and learnt how to do CPR, the Heimlich Maneuver and treat broken bones, burns, electrocutions and other scary stuff. I’ve always wanted to know what to do in an emergency and I’m now hoping I could be of some use and not panic or pass out at the site of loads of blood or something pretty serious. However I’m thinking I really need to work on my puny upper body strength as chest compressions are knackering! I did the first round of 30 and was ready for nap time- not really an option I imagine when someone is not breathing- so god help anyone who has a heart attack on my watch. The four hour course also made me slightly paranoid about how easy it is to do yourself in and I was left wondering how I’d survived all this time without doing myself some serious damage.
Part way through the week I encountered my first offer which made me glad I had given myself a guideline rather than an out-and-out must follow it to the letter rule- I was invited on Skype to, ‘find a Russian lady to love you with all her heart’, and after some careful consideration decided not to browse the ‘hundreds of portfolios of these lovely beautiful Russian ladies that have royal blood and royal look, fine women of any age for every taste’, but instead stick to men, who don’t require payment.
Finally I signed up to volunteer and hang out with the elderly, in particular being a buddy who visits those who are alone, as I hope that should I one day be in that position someone would come see me and take an interest. I also figured it would be good practise for my ‘Home for Cute Old Men’ (not-so-cute need not apply) that has become a running joke among friends ever since I announced after seeing yet another sweet elderly man slowly shuffling along or eating alone that one day I would open a home where all the cute old men who are lonely can come live and hang out- and before anyone gets any wise ideas, this is not some weird old man fetish thing, but just a place that sounds like where I’d like to live, chillin’ out with my other grandmas when I’m old and alone- it just so happens old men seem to be cuter than old women, so a ‘Home for Old Men’ it is.
So there you have it a rather diverse range of accomplishments, some more exciting than others, but not a bad a start I don’t think. I’m hoping to build on these cautious first steps until I’ve signed up to do something completely out of character and life-altering (in a positive way- remember, no maiming) but until then I’m intrigued as to what’s coming my way next, but I’m ready so bring it on.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Danny Wallace, First Aid, Las Vegas, Skype, Waitrose, Yes Man

Tram Life

wanderingthroughtheunknown — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 18:08:57 +0000

Having abandoned the use of my own four wheels to undertake public transport while temping in the centre of Manchester has been a far more intriguing and enlightening experience than I could ever have imagined. The good old Metrolink, Manchester’s answer to the Underground- overground, where barely a trip goes by without some kind of drama. It’s rarely a hassle free ride but more than anything an eye-opening experience.
So having recounted yet another delightful tram story when I finally made it home on Thursday it got me thinking about all the hilarious and sometimes disturbing experiences I’ve had of late.
1. SNOW- it seems unless the sun is shining and there is not a cloud in the sky the tram does not run, so the January snow and ice provided all sorts of fun and games trying to get into work. The tracks and overheads freaked out and I got to experience the joys of another form of public transport, the bus.
2. Knitting man and Staring woman- Ahhh how I do love the tram crazies, possibly the highlight of any ride and most probably sat next to me, those random people who despite how freaked out they make you feel at the time, when you look back on it they in fact brightened your day. Knitting man spent 5 minutes clutching something inside his bag and being shifty as hell before unveiling his unusual hobbie whilst my imagination ran wild that he was preparing to detonate a bomb. While Staring woman, did just that, spent the 20 minute ride sat next to me blatantly staring at the side of my head.
3. Death wish United fan, Death wish platform leaper, Death wish tram surfing kids- The sight of a tram seems to cause some people to have a fit and decide to hurl themselves in front of it, yeah not really the best idea and having witnessed three near misses I’m surprised no one has been mown down on my watch.
4. CAR vs TRAM vs BIKE- multi-vehicle incident in the centre of town causing me much inconvenience and rage when I had to mission to Gmex from Piccadilly in order to make it home before midnight. Picking up randoms on the way I had a Piped Piper moment leading the masses stood looking dazed and confused at St Peter’s Square.
5. United crush- The weekly delight of drunken United fans crushing the tram at rush hour wahoo.
6. Rubbing up against randoms- slightly disturbing at the best of times even worse when combined with the above.
7. Ticket machine rage- the joys of a monthly pass, strolling smugly past the man furiously banging the ticket machine that keeps spitting out his tenner.
8. Car park rage- who the hell are all these people who keep taking my space?! It’s 7.50am how did you beat me here?!!
9. Emergency break bail- always embarrassing, always me.
10. Staring out randoms you see daily- another favourite of my tram ride past times- until you get busted.
11. Crush induced combustion- overheating due to the fact you have to wear 10 layers or you freeze to death while waiting for the ‘delayed by 12 minutes’ tram, and that there are 52 million people crammed into a carriage where the heating is racked up and the windows seem incapable of being opened.
12. Commuter crushing rage- last week I actually witnessed a woman yelling at a guy that there was, ‘NO ROOM, GET OFF THE TRAM, GET OFF THE TRAM, GET OFF THE TRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!’ awesome.
13. Bag in the head- on the off-chance you do manage to run onto the tram as soon as the doors open and blag a seat it’s highly likely you will spend the entire journey with someones bag/ass/elbow in your face, wishing you were stood up.

Fun times.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Manchester, Metrolink

Help, I’m out of control

wanderingthroughtheunknown — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:00:03 +0000

At what point does too much become truly too much? When is it time to take a step back and admit you may have a problem, is it when the habit you can’t drop becomes all you can think about doing when you have a quiet moment, or is it when people begin to notice and the comments resonate with you deep down. Signs you may have a problem include; feeling annoyed, disappointed or if it’s really that bad maybe even a little sick if your chosen fix is taken away from you, even momentarily.

What am I talking about? It’s not drugs or alcohol or many of the other common addictions people the world over struggle with, but a new wave of addiction, something far more widespread and seemingly out of control – Facebook. And the leading cause? iPhones. With immediate updates and constant reminders that there is a whole online world out there social networking away while your at work, driving, sleeping it’s no wonder the inquisitive side of the human nature is drawn in to checking what that little notification alert is concerning. After all it could be vitally important right?

Wrong, the chances are constantly logging on will make you appear like someone with far too much time on their hands, a lack of real 3D friends, and as somebody too busy announcing your hectic, whirlwind life to actually live it.

And so to my admission; the irony of it all is, I think I may have an obsessive problem with Facebook and I don’t even have an iPhone. I have mobile browsing on my mobile but it charges me to access the internet and so it began at first with just the occasional use when I couldn’t get to my laptop for a day or so, but then it became something I (against better judgement in the cold light of day) felt I needed to check after a few too many cocktails and then the final straw, which progressed my mild interest into full blown infatuation, came when Vodafone kindly rewarded me with free internet for 3 months due to my increasingly expensive use of it anyway. So now here we are 1 month in and I’m a little out of control. The worst part is the amount of time I must waste and the worrying way in which I can get sidetracked and find myself having twice removed myself from someone I know and instead be mindlessly stalking through a complete stranger’s photographs. How this is in anyway healthy or constructive to my day I cannot think of and so it has to stop.

So I’ve decided to challenge myself to only 2 viewings a day- one in the morning and one in the evening, to get my fix and move on, going cold turkey would be too much and after all with so many social plans being arranged through Facebook these days it seems it would only be foolish to abandon the website completely- I don’t want to become a recluse and plus it’s a great way to keep in touch with friends from abroad (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it).

Filed under: Uncategorized

Musical greats from A-Z

wanderingthroughtheunknown — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:57:15 +0000

A is for Alexi Murdoch- loving the voice
B is for the Bob’s- Marley, Dylan, Seger legends- with a song for every mood
C is for Creedence Clearwater Revival- the oldies are still the best
D is for John Denver- a great poet even if he isn’t considered cool
E is for The Eagles- who doesn’t love Hotel California
F is for Foo Fighters- Dave Grohl’s done good
G is for The Gaslight Anthem- the best new band around (and my other love- The Goo Goo Dolls)
H is for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers- a recent discovery
I is for Iggy Pop- he may have sold out doing the insurance ads but still an original punk rock pioneer
J is for James, Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Eat World- same name very different music
K is for Kiss- grown men in facepaint hell yeah
L is for Lynyrd Skynyrd- touring next year- I’m so there
M is for Mika- yeah right- Michael Jackson- the king of pop- enough said
N is for Neil Young- oh to have been there first time round
O is for Oasis- You either love them or hate them
P is for Pink Floyd- one of a kind
Q is for Queen- sing-a-long anthems that never get old
R is for Ray Lamontagne, Rod Stewart (a guilty pleasure), Rolling Stones and Ryan Adams- I couldn’t pick just one
S is for Simon & Garfunkel- love, love, love
T is for Tracy Chapman- heartfelt lyrics at their best
U is for The Undertones- Teenage Kicks is a classic
V is for The Verve- It’s a bittersweet symphony, that’s life
W is for The Who- Baba O’Reilly what a tune
X is for… I have no idea
Y is for Yusuf Islam aka Cat Stevens- sound track to your life
Z is for Led Zeppelin- still the best after all this time

Posted in music Tagged: Iggy Pop, James, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Eat World, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Michael Jackson, Neil Young, Oasis, Pink Floyd, Queen, Ray Lamontagne, Ryan Adams, Simon & Garfunkel, The Undertones, The Verve, The Who, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Where the freaks meet

wanderingthroughtheunknown — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:56:29 +0000

Re-emerging myself in gym life was a shock to the system, just stepping out the lift almost floored me, literally- they’ve built a wall, a giant white wall right in your face as you step out the lift. And my reaction, as the doors opened to reveal the imposing wall and a man patiently waiting to exit, was to exclaim loudly and stumble backwards further into the lift almost tripping over myself- so much for being smooth and acting like I’d never left.
After three months of feeling the inevitable guilt of not having been I finally summoned up the willpower to drag my ass to the gym and after tackling the new wall, I was then met with the re-shuffle. Now never having had an induction I tend to stick to the equipment I know and trust myself not to get entangled in/crushed to death under and therefore know where everything I use is and have a vague sort of plan of attack. However it seemed some wiseacre had decided to have a spruce up in my absence and rearranged all the equipment in to nicely ordered rows.
So once again my plan to try and be cool like a regular gym goer failed hopelessly, as I was left to wander around looking like a lost puppy trying to find the arm bicep machine-thing. Add in my short-sightedness, combined with machinery scattered all over the huge floor space and it was a fairly long-winded task. After what seemed like 20 minutes of looking like a fool I stumbled across the one I was after, only to find a red-faced, incredibly serious looking, muscley man grappling with machine.
Crap what to do? More aimless wandering before lapping back and swiping the machine before the preened housewife without a hair or nail out-of-place attempted to steal it. However due to my eagerness to work those biceps I forgot to check the weight the muscley man had left me with and proceeded to almost give myself a hernia on my first attempt. 50kg- that’s probably how much the housewife weighed and definitely more than I can handle.
Moving on I hit the cross-trainer and had a good oggle round the room, to relieve the boredom, checking out my companions; in the corner there was the stereotypical meat heads groaning under the pressure of the ridiculously heavy weights they can barely lift off the ground. Some had the special gloves while others had the gloves AND the belt that I assume magically make you better at weights.
As I was musing over whether maybe I should get myself some freaky fingerless gloves I was suddenly distracted by the man who clambered on to the cross-trainer next to me and proceeded to punish himself by hurling his entire body around and breathing so loud I could hear him over my Ipod. Oh dear god I needed to laugh and lost all coordination concentrating on not doing.
So I had to leave it was just too hilarious and I think he caught me looking at him, oops time for the treadmill and oh what a surprise the only free one was next to a man in crazy tight lycra- god help me. I tried to distract myself by imagining how much fun recreating the Ok Go ‘Here it goes again’ video would be.
Next there was barefoot man- why the hell would you be barefoot in the gym- what possibly could you be doing that would require you to be barefoot? And then there was pretending to be dead woman who appeared to be having a sleep on the mats.
The final incident occurred as I was exiting through the turnstile and managed to get my bag strap wrapped round one of the prongs and was yanked backwards as I walked off, much to the humour of the guy behind me- good times.
After an hours worth of fairly hilarious incidents and distressing sights I was left wondering why I stayed away for so long- who needs tv when you can go and watch the freaks in the gym.

Ok Go- ‘Here it goes again’

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: cross-trainer, gym, Ok Go, treadmill

Oh I wish it could be Christmas every day

wanderingthroughtheunknown — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:29:25 +0000

Today I committed a sin frowned upon by most right-thinking members of the British public… I got excited about Christmas and it’s only October. The lure of the red and green decorations drew me in and before I knew it I was gushing over all the festive paraphernalia in the store and rambling about how good Christmas is going to be. Ok so I realise I’m 24 and not 4 and so really I should be over it, I mean surely most people will admit that once the illusion of Father Christmas has been shattered- for most by a cocky older sibling or schoolmate- most of the magic dies away and instead it becomes an annual time of stress due to the commercial pressure to get family and friends the latest must-have gift- but not for me. I LOVE Christmas. I don’t know why and every year I admit the day ends up being anti-climactic and in reality much like any other Sunday lunch (with added gifts) due to my failure to have millions of family members and as a result a series of rowdy, chaotic reunions. But still the anticipation and the build up gets me every time and each year I think it’s going to be different- I get excited about all the socialising, the cold snowy weather, mince pies and Christmas songs on a loop. However instead it’s usually a case of everyone being mega busy with family (goddamn those who have millions), or at work Christmas do’s where festive music is played to death and then by the time Christmas day roles round the last saving grace couldn’t be any less attainable as it winds up being the hottest day of the year. Yet here I am day dreaming about baking gingerbreads and arranging mulled wine parties where it’s acceptable to wear head-to-toe sequins because, come on, it’s Christmas! My favourite part- definitely the tree. Every year the four of us would go and argue over which to get- I’d always want a giant one that mum would infuriatingly point out wouldn’t fit in the house, while dad would stand around exclaiming about the price of trees and trying to make us get the cheap 2ft bald one in the corner. Then after much deliberation we’d haul the chosen one shedding its needles everywhere into the back of the car and my brother and I would lie excitedly amongst it on the ride home. However despite me desperately trying to recreate this every December last year my little brother wasn’t having any of it and my dad refused to come- gutted. Ok so at 6ft tall my bro maybe a tad big for cramming in the car with a 5ft tree and a 5ft 4in me, but I’m already planning how to orchestrate the traditional set-up again this year. The thing my mum always finds ironic about my festive fever, which starts every year around this date, is that my birthday comes first, along with Halloween and bonfire night yet I seem to skip the enthusiasm for those celebrations and head straight for the big one. What can I say, maybe I missed my calling, time for a change in career plan- Santa’s Elf here I come!

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: Bonfire Night, Christmas, Christmas tree, Father Christmas, Halloween, Mince pies, Mulled wine

The big 2-5

wanderingthroughtheunknown — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:25:05 +0000

It’s that time of year again- birthday season- and as the first of my close friends turns 25 next week it got me thinking about the denial I seem to have been in for the last few months about my own impending 25th. I don’t seem to be handling the prospect of reaching the grand age old of 25 all to well and I’ve realised the reason is due to the fact that all your options seem to run out (ok all maybe a bit dramatic-but thats just me) and I associate being 25+ with only negative concepts.
Everywhere I look I keep noticing things I can no longer do once I fall into the mid-twenties bracket; I can no longer apply for a young person’s railcard, I would be in the over-25s bracket on the x-factor where the contestants are considered past their prime, and I will have no problem with the ever increasing Challenge 25 ID that more bars and clubs are adopting. And while I might not be planning to audition for the x-factor it would be nice to have the option without being seen as “too old”- my musical talent may yet to be discovered!
The only saving grace is that while I don’t feel 25 certain people still don’t seem to think I look it either (ok so they may be short sighted but who cares!) Take Sunday for example, I was mistaken for being 17 by a family friend who I haven’t seen for years that asked if I had finished school yet! Awesome youthfulness is on my side- however I was sat in the boot of my car with a hoodie and a beanie hat on- dressed in what the media portray as the generic uniform of teenage youths these days. However wahoo I could pass for 17 and on top of that I’d had 3 hours sleep.
But then there’s the things that nobody may tell me I can’t do but I’m slowly having to accept I just can’t anymore, such as, have two nights out in a row and then not feel like death or get ill as a result, stay up past 11pm unless I’m on a night out due to my mind crying out for sleep, go to bed at 4am get up at 7am and survive a day at work- I may still feel like i’m 21 but 21 I definately am not.
What I find the most disconcerting is how I got here so fast-I’m sure I JUST finished University, but no that was in fact 3 years ago and in that time since I have worked, travelled, worked some more, done another course and in a flash the years have slipped by and 25 has crept up on me unnoticed. For me it was an age that seemed so old and mature when as 18 year-old leaving school I thought about where I would be and what I would’ve achieved- yet now that I’m approaching it, I don’t feel quite so sure….
What I do know is that is that it seems to be the age where everything really changes; wedding fever has begun and slowly but surely my friends are taking the plunge, first houses are being bought and lifetime money-draining mortgages aquired, most friends now have careers rather than jobs, and it’s becoming harder to find time to see people in amongst busy lives and the scattered locations that chasing the dream leads to.
And of course there’s the joyous observations that younger people like to point out (you know who you are) such as, “25 is the last big birthday before 30- it will be upon you in no time” and the best of the lot “its half way to 50 and therefore death”. Oh and I must not forget the older people who also like to point out really useful facts such as, “I’d been married for two years at your age”, and the classic when moaning about not being able to hack the pace of nights out: “well you’re not a teenage anymore it’s all down hill from 25″- great thanks, as if I wasn’t already slightly freaking out about all the things I need to do- you’ve now made me aware of a timescale in which I need to haul ass and get it done by.
On the upside… I get lower car insurance, I should be taken seriously as I’ve had some life experience and I’m not a fresh out of the school/university education safety bubble, I know what I want out of life- well kind of- and I no longer have to justify my desicions to parents and that’s all I can think of.
As for what I have achieved in the last quarter of a century, well I think i’ve done ok, im on target and I have no regrets-but I have a long way to go before I’ll conform to the stereotypical 25-year old and I have 4 weeks to do it in. The countdown is on.

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: 25, Age, X-factor

For the love of music

wanderingthroughtheunknown — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:26:09 +0000

Today i got a little distracted by the wonder that is youtube listening to acoustic versions of my favourite songs- yep this succesfully managed to distract me for more than two hours before i realised where the time had gone.
The sheer scope of availablity and unique pieces you can find on the search engine is rather a negative thing when there are other more important things you should be doing with your time.
However i like to see it as productive as my musical knowledge and horizons are broaden with every search. (Yeah that is what i tell myself to ease the guilt of wistfully whiling away hours spent listening to obscure musical samples). However what i would like to know is how the hell people get into secret- 10 people only- performances and even know about them in the first place?!
Anyway today i sampled the delights of Ryan Adams live with just an acoustic guitar, husky-voiced Eddie Vedder, current favourites The Gaslight Anthem stripped back and a bit of old school Creedence Clearwater Revival and i have to say it was a pretty awesome way to spend two hours.
One of my favourite things about youtube is how you can specifically search for an artist or performance and then suddenly find yourself listening to something completely random after following the ‘related videos’ at the side of the screen, and sometimes finding a rare gem you otherwise may never have discovered.
The thing with me is i have my favourites; songs that i can listen to anytime, any place, that either bring back memories or can change my mood for the better and as a result i tend to favour my ipod for the radio and sometimes new songs escape me.
However thats not always a bad thing what with a lot of the crap that gets passed for music these days- i mean Mika- what is that all about?! Which tone deaf music bod gave him a record deal?!!
And in my opinion nothing beats live music where all the artist has to support them is the humble guitar. The whole direction, emotion and perspective of a song can be changed by simply stripping it back to the bare bones.
Someone asked me the other day out of all the gigs i’ve been to which was my favourite- a question that was not so easy to answer but suprisingly i quickly said Tracy Chapman after she gave one of the most unique performances i’ve ever seen at the Manchester Apollo.
Sat on the stage with just a cluster of guitars she played a selection of her vast catalogue, as chosen by the audience who had filled in post-it-notes before the show requesting songs that meant a certain something to them, and it was definately one of the best things i’ve ever witnessed.
Up there alongside her is Ray Lamontagne, the incredibly shy and reclusive artist who unbelievably is still relatively unknown in the UK despite being an amazingly soulful performer who writes incredible lyrics. His performance at the Lowry in Manchester was a close second, with simplistic acoustic versions of songs such as ‘Trouble’, ‘Empty’ and my favourite; ‘Lesson Learned’.
However sometimes you just need to rock out and thats where the old greats come into their own, Zeppelin, CCR, The Who, and a bit of AC/DC of course.

If you fancy a listen…
Ray Lamontagne- Lesson Learned
Eddie Vedder- Society
Ryan Adams- Two
The Gaslight Anthem- Great Expectations
Ryan Adams- La Cienega Just Smiled
Tracy Chapman- Behind the Wall
Tracy Chapman- Revolution
Creedence Clearwater Revival- Fortunate Son
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