Sometimes it's 'today I did', and other times it's a bit random. I guess that's part of the fun. Click here for the 'About - Dispelling the Awkwardness' page for a bit more info.
Over the next few months, I'm going to be uploading some of my favourite photos. You'll be able to see them all together by clicking the photography link on the left hand side, or clicking on the photography tag on any photograph post.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
![Album of the Week #5 [11/04/10]: Led Zeppelin - Live 1972 - 1979
Now, this isn’t actually an album. It’s a DVD, but I’ve been listening to it this week as if it were an album. I’ve been revising you see, and somehow I can do that while listening to Led Zeppelin, but watching it at the same time would be far too much sensory stimulation to allow me to learn the inner workings of a cat’s pancreas. The thing I really love about live Led Zeppelin, is that they improvise like no one else. Each track is different to the preceeding one especially as they start jumping between albums; having ‘That’s the Way’ and ‘Bron Yr Aur Stomp’ next to each other in the tracklisting is genius. In short, the DVD is great, but try just listening to the music with your eyes shut, and it’s a whole new world of Led Zep.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l00m2oNC5o1qbp44wo1_500.jpg)
Album of the Week #5 [11/04/10]: Led Zeppelin - Live 1972 - 1979
Now, this isn’t actually an album. It’s a DVD, but I’ve been listening to it this week as if it were an album. I’ve been revising you see, and somehow I can do that while listening to Led Zeppelin, but watching it at the same time would be far too much sensory stimulation to allow me to learn the inner workings of a cat’s pancreas. The thing I really love about live Led Zeppelin, is that they improvise like no one else. Each track is different to the preceeding one especially as they start jumping between albums; having ‘That’s the Way’ and ‘Bron Yr Aur Stomp’ next to each other in the tracklisting is genius. In short, the DVD is great, but try just listening to the music with your eyes shut, and it’s a whole new world of Led Zep.
![Album of the Week #4 [04/04/10] - Clor - Clor
I saw Clor live back in August 2005 at the Leeds Festival, and they were fantastic. They were bouncy, fun, quirky and unexpected. They squeak, squeal and electro-beat their way through a range of songs that make you feel a little like you’re stuck in a telephone line (not sure if the album cover has something to do with that). Take the guitar riff in “Making you all Mine” for example; alone it must have sounded like such a bad idea, but with the drumbox backing and vocals it works, maybe not beautifully, but effectually. This is by no means the best album in the world, but it’s really good fun. I remember sitting on a Megabus, on the M1 going to Leeds a few years ago, listening to this album and feeling like I’d had about 7 coffees by the time I arrived. It was clearly all too much for them too, as they broke up in May 2006. Still, it was fun while it lasted, and now they’ve reached ‘album of the week’ status 4 years later. What more could any band want?
I was the bird that buzzed the bees, and stole the honey. (Love and Pain - Clor (2005))](http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l07yeianyb1qbp44wo1_500.jpg)
Album of the Week #4 [04/04/10] - Clor - Clor
I saw Clor live back in August 2005 at the Leeds Festival, and they were fantastic. They were bouncy, fun, quirky and unexpected. They squeak, squeal and electro-beat their way through a range of songs that make you feel a little like you’re stuck in a telephone line (not sure if the album cover has something to do with that). Take the guitar riff in “Making you all Mine” for example; alone it must have sounded like such a bad idea, but with the drumbox backing and vocals it works, maybe not beautifully, but effectually. This is by no means the best album in the world, but it’s really good fun. I remember sitting on a Megabus, on the M1 going to Leeds a few years ago, listening to this album and feeling like I’d had about 7 coffees by the time I arrived. It was clearly all too much for them too, as they broke up in May 2006. Still, it was fun while it lasted, and now they’ve reached ‘album of the week’ status 4 years later. What more could any band want?
I was the bird that buzzed the bees, and stole the honey. (Love and Pain - Clor (2005))
![Album of the Week #3 [28/03/10]: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - A Night in Tunisia
It’s Sunday night again, which means it’s time for Album of the Week. This week, Jazz has invaded my musical world in a big way, and Fopp sneakily fed my newly found addiction with a £3 offer on a huge range of Jazz CDs, and this is the one that has really excited me. A Night in Tunisia is the opening track, and opens with a 90 second long drum fest, by way of preparation for the rest of the album. My only previous experience of the song was Charlie Parker’s sedate yet bouncy rendition, but the Messengers play it at about twice the speed with alot more spike. That’s not to do down CP’s version - it’s a beaut. Lee Morgan (another Jazzman whose albums I’ve picked up for £3 in Fopp) drives the tune on with some manic trumpet, and after 11 minutes the track is over and the rest of the album beckons you in like a siren.
It’s mighty different from Grizzly Bear, though notice how the album cover has a similar split-word alignment going on… creepy no?](http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l00kiaEUq21qbp44wo1_500.jpg)
Album of the Week #3 [28/03/10]: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - A Night in Tunisia
It’s Sunday night again, which means it’s time for Album of the Week. This week, Jazz has invaded my musical world in a big way, and Fopp sneakily fed my newly found addiction with a £3 offer on a huge range of Jazz CDs, and this is the one that has really excited me. A Night in Tunisia is the opening track, and opens with a 90 second long drum fest, by way of preparation for the rest of the album. My only previous experience of the song was Charlie Parker’s sedate yet bouncy rendition, but the Messengers play it at about twice the speed with alot more spike. That’s not to do down CP’s version - it’s a beaut. Lee Morgan (another Jazzman whose albums I’ve picked up for £3 in Fopp) drives the tune on with some manic trumpet, and after 11 minutes the track is over and the rest of the album beckons you in like a siren.
It’s mighty different from Grizzly Bear, though notice how the album cover has a similar split-word alignment going on… creepy no?
How cool is this!. I’m always fascinated by the way that acoustic sound recording actually gives the sound a physical presence. You don’t need any fancy electronic gizmos or lasers - it’s just there, and all you need is a needle to do the translating for you.
![Album of the Week #2 [21/03/10]: Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
I really can’t get enough of Grizzly Bear at the moment. I downloaded their new album, Veckatimest off e-music a few months ago, and first listened to it during an hour long drive down to a work-experience placement down in Surrey. It now evokes feelings of a warm autumn morning, physical and mental tiredness and a faint smell of horses; and I can’t stop listening to it. Also, isn’t the artwork fantastic!?](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l00k2oOSut1qbp44wo1_500.jpg)
Album of the Week #2 [21/03/10]: Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
I really can’t get enough of Grizzly Bear at the moment. I downloaded their new album, Veckatimest off e-music a few months ago, and first listened to it during an hour long drive down to a work-experience placement down in Surrey. It now evokes feelings of a warm autumn morning, physical and mental tiredness and a faint smell of horses; and I can’t stop listening to it. Also, isn’t the artwork fantastic!?
![Album of the Week #1 [14/03/10]: Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
I’ve partly chosen this album as my 1st album of the week because it’s great, but also because I wanted to fox everyone’s eyes with the optical illusion artwork. This is apparently AC’s most approachable album, and I must say that’s true - some of their albums that I’ve tried in the past have been impenetrable fortresses of noise. This on the other hand is still an array of multiple instruments and noises (most unrecognisable), but you can almost sing along - that unattainable catchiness, combined with the fact that you don’t really know what any song’s about to do at any point, even though you’ve heard it tens of times, is what really keeps me hooked. It’s a grower, and I promise that it’s well worth giving it a foot-hold.](http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l00lgkfv0e1qbp44wo1_500.jpg)
Album of the Week #1 [14/03/10]: Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
I’ve partly chosen this album as my 1st album of the week because it’s great, but also because I wanted to fox everyone’s eyes with the optical illusion artwork. This is apparently AC’s most approachable album, and I must say that’s true - some of their albums that I’ve tried in the past have been impenetrable fortresses of noise. This on the other hand is still an array of multiple instruments and noises (most unrecognisable), but you can almost sing along - that unattainable catchiness, combined with the fact that you don’t really know what any song’s about to do at any point, even though you’ve heard it tens of times, is what really keeps me hooked. It’s a grower, and I promise that it’s well worth giving it a foot-hold.
