"Today I fell asleep in a bath of hair..."

Well, actually I didn't. But 'Gemini (Birthday Song)' by Why? just came on whilst listening to my pod and inspired me to write this piece.

Above rests a lonely ticket. A lonely ticket representing a Saturday night in Dublin, red wine, a Blackberry and a gig that never was. It sits at my desk in work reminding me of the 'band that got away'. To this day I have still never seen Joni and his chums on stage. I feat which has annoyed me greatly. It is somewhat encouraging for me to one day see them, but hopefully before I am 50 and they are doing their stadium come back tour.

How did this miss happen you ask? Well, all I can say to you is don't agree to do on-call of any kind when heading away to see a gig. You know the drill, 99 times out of a 100 you won't get hassled, but the one time you go away you get a call. I remember the night well. Blackberry left in the other room while a few friends and I got to some good drinking before heading out. A few beers and a bottle of red, never fails. So, due to leave the house just before 10, also off call at 10, when the phone goes at 955. Game over man, game over. I knew at that point I wouldn't get to the gig.

So, I remained on the phone, watching a laptop screen, continuing to drink red wine (on my own) for about the next 3 hours. Gutted. The gang then came back, looking somewhat sad. I asked 'how was the gig?', to which I got back, 'I'm not going to lie to you, it was awesome.' Not what I wanted to hear, but at the end of the day, this could have been avoided.

If Why? are ever in town, and you are considering going to see them, just go. No two ways about it, just go. I know next time I won't be making such a silly mistake.

In the mean time, get some of their stuff into you life:
Why? MySpace

The Field - 'From Here We Go Sublime' (2007)

1. Over the Ice
2. A Paw In My Face
3. The Little Heart Beats So Fast
4. Everday
5. Silent
6. The Deal
7. Sun and Ice
8. Mobilia
9. From Here We Go Sublime

I thought id give a quick nod in the direction of the Field's cracking first album, From Here We Go Sublime. Due to the laptop possibly being on its last legs I havent had a chance to get anything new but ive been able to get a few from my co-blogger and so far its looking good, more on that later.

Anyway I was brought to the attention of the Field from Lem while I was furiously getting a Belfast history essay completed, seeing the fumes coming out of my ears he suggested some light entertainment in the form of the Swedish dj's lovely techo tunes. First off I took straight to it, the opening track 'Over the Ice' hit home and wouldnt go amiss in the Hackers soundtrack, next up 'A Paw in my Face' ends with a Lionel Richie hook which was appreciated as the L'meister is my 80's guilty pleasure artist. On another note this first listen brought me and the aforemention Lem to see the Field at last years electric picnic, we managed to get in on time (after I was offered some MDMA from a mild mannered southerner) and first heard the yelps from the computererised voice on 'Over the Ice', for several moments we were transported to Cream in Ibiza and I could see the words Tunnneee held up by some raver with the sterotypical smiley face t-shirt on. All in all Sublime is one of those albums which suits any condition, walking on a cold winters morning to get a big mug of coffee or with the top down in your Clio in the middle of July on the way to the beach (or Newcastle). A big thumbs up from this direction, keep up the good work. Ps im looking forward to getting my ears round the second album which features John Stanier the drummer from Battles.

Check out the Field at his myspace, www.myspace.com/thefieldsthlm

As I said earlier the laptop is on the mend so hopefully next time ill have a quick mention about Four Tet's latest, There is Love in You which is superb on first listen and Local Natives, Gorilla Manor, ive only got round to listening to the first track Wide Eyes and im impressed, hopefully the rest can match up to the good start.

Doooooooooooo.....it's The Beatles

Proud to admit it, I am am huge Beatles fan. Most that know me will know this.
I found this link a while back and thought I should share it. While I am one for having a go at other people's opinions, I do like a good article I can talk about and criticise. This is a count down of all The Beatles songs, ranking from 185 to 1. Definately something that interests me, although don't think I would be doing something as long winded myself.

Anywho, enjoy: Playing The Beatles Backwards

Oh Zooey, where art thou?

So, it's been a long time since She & Him's wonderful 'Volume One' graced my ears. Almost 2 years exactly in fact. Since then I have become 'almost' (anymore would be not only stakerish but also weird) obsessed with Zooey in the general press. It's not just because a framed picture of her overlooks me while I sleep, but generally due to her prowess both with her acting and beautiful voice. When I first saw her in 'Almost Famous' (Cameron Crowe's superb depecition of groupies, music, youth and journalism in the 1970's) as the older sister of main star William, she simply stood out to me even with her minor role. Her musical knowledge, along with caring presence, made her seem like the type of person you would want round in your life. The film, in fact, stays a firm favourite of mine to this day.

Anyway, so I have been waiting, and searching, to find 'Volume Two' on the web for a sneak preview listen to see what She & Him have to offer again. Not being a huge fan of M. Ward on his solo attempts, his music seems to complement the vocals of Zooey so well. Whilst trying not to listen to any singles before an album is out, I did take a sneak at 'In the Sun', the first track released from the new album. I was not disappointed. It seems the twosome have picked up where they left off and I am genuinely excited about the new release. As soon as it is out, I will get a review out. Although ultimately feeling it might be somewhat biased.

To listen to some of their material, have a look here: MySpace