As we're approaching the end of 2010, it's time for the obligatory end of year lists. So here are my top 10 albums of 2010:
1. The Dead Weather - Sea of Cowards
2. Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
3. Menomena - Mines
4. Aloe Blacc - Good Things
5. Beach House - Teen Dream
6. Sleigh Bells - Treats
7. Standard Fare - The Noyelle Beat
8. Kings Go Forth - The Outsiders Are Back
9. These New Puritans - Hidden
10. Gonjasufi - A Sufi and a Killer
Sadly Gonjasufi is not on Spotify, so if you're curious you might just have to buy that one. As a further treat for you, here's my Best of 2010 playlist.
Happy New Year!
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Now playing: The Fresh & Onlys - I'm A Thief
via FoxyTunes
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Thursday, 30 December 2010
Monday, 4 October 2010
Tales of the Un...Employed
It's now been four weeks since I finished my Masters, and I am still unemployed. So how have I been filling my days I hear you cry? Well, first and foremost I have been applying for jobs, obviously. Frustratingly this is not a process I am particularly fond of, primarily because nowhere these days seems to accept a CV, instead insisting that you fill out an online application form. Fair enough I suppose, I assume this ensures all of their applications are uniform. However, for us poor suckers who want to apply for more than one job a day, it is soul destroying. Filling out all of your work experience and qualifications in slightly different formats is incredibly tedious, and then writing what is basically a small essay for each job on why you want the position is remarkably time consuming. I swear that this affects my chances, because I'm so bored by the second application that I end up copying and pasting a lot of information without really thinking it through. Unsurprisingly I'm yet to hear back about any interviews.
My alternative to job hunting is to either do a PhD, the idea of which I'm warming to more and more, or to do a more practical course that will supply me with all the essential practical skills needed to work in the environmental sector. This second option is less likely at the minute because most of these courses cost, and are not in Birmingham, so I need money for accommodation and such. Whose bright idea was money?!
Elsewhere, I've been re-immersing myself in the world of music, starting up both As Well Continue To Run and Couthe again, much to my delight. The former had a very successful gig in Hinckley on Friday which seemed to go down well with both the crowd and the management, as we've been invited to play three more dates at Praha in the next few months. I've also signed up for the Birmingham half marathon, a decision I'm regretting slightly having realised I only have three weeks left to train. In fact I better start warming up for tonight's run...
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Now playing: Why? - The Vowels Pt. 2
via FoxyTunes
My alternative to job hunting is to either do a PhD, the idea of which I'm warming to more and more, or to do a more practical course that will supply me with all the essential practical skills needed to work in the environmental sector. This second option is less likely at the minute because most of these courses cost, and are not in Birmingham, so I need money for accommodation and such. Whose bright idea was money?!
Elsewhere, I've been re-immersing myself in the world of music, starting up both As Well Continue To Run and Couthe again, much to my delight. The former had a very successful gig in Hinckley on Friday which seemed to go down well with both the crowd and the management, as we've been invited to play three more dates at Praha in the next few months. I've also signed up for the Birmingham half marathon, a decision I'm regretting slightly having realised I only have three weeks left to train. In fact I better start warming up for tonight's run...
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Now playing: Why? - The Vowels Pt. 2
via FoxyTunes
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Am I Pleased To See You Or Have I Just Stuck A Canoe In My Pocket?!
Don't be alarmed readers, I've just been enjoying a bit too much Blackadder.
Today I was back in the field after almost a week off, armed with the seemingly dozens of extra tools I was gifted back in Birmingham. The day began relatively badly, as when I arrived at the first site I realised I had no idea how to use any of the said equipment, but I soldiered on and got some good, if slightly inaccurate data. I also ran out of batteries in both my camera and GPS device, so had to keep swapping a spare set between the two which got fairly annoying. I'm now taking samples from each site though, and for once felt like a proper scientist; putting leaves into bags pre-filled with unusual looking globules to the curious glances of onlookers.
I made my usual treck over to Mullion this evening for some groceries, but for once it was a real joy! I had my iPod blaring for the first time in the wild since I've been here, and the sun was beating down on my back. I'd forgotten how good it feels to soundtrack a walk using the Shuffle function. A lot of the time it's bang on the money, and today served up some sweet reggae courtesy of The Congos, forgotten classics from Sneaker Pimps, elecro-pop from XTC, and rather fittingly some cheese metal from Dio (RIP). It was perhaps due to the fact that I've been without my whole music collection for some time, but I simply couldn't get enough! I kept coming up with dream playlists in my head, but am holding off currently as the iPod is still not working at full speed. It seems some albums it simply can't play, but as of yet nothing major has been lost in the ether.
I'll stop gushing about music now anyway, as I should be doing some work. It's nice to be able to listen to music whilst I do it though! The next few days will be filled with desk based work unfortunately, although I'm hoping this will help to pass the weekend; I think I got a little too used to being back at home...
Today I was back in the field after almost a week off, armed with the seemingly dozens of extra tools I was gifted back in Birmingham. The day began relatively badly, as when I arrived at the first site I realised I had no idea how to use any of the said equipment, but I soldiered on and got some good, if slightly inaccurate data. I also ran out of batteries in both my camera and GPS device, so had to keep swapping a spare set between the two which got fairly annoying. I'm now taking samples from each site though, and for once felt like a proper scientist; putting leaves into bags pre-filled with unusual looking globules to the curious glances of onlookers.
I made my usual treck over to Mullion this evening for some groceries, but for once it was a real joy! I had my iPod blaring for the first time in the wild since I've been here, and the sun was beating down on my back. I'd forgotten how good it feels to soundtrack a walk using the Shuffle function. A lot of the time it's bang on the money, and today served up some sweet reggae courtesy of The Congos, forgotten classics from Sneaker Pimps, elecro-pop from XTC, and rather fittingly some cheese metal from Dio (RIP). It was perhaps due to the fact that I've been without my whole music collection for some time, but I simply couldn't get enough! I kept coming up with dream playlists in my head, but am holding off currently as the iPod is still not working at full speed. It seems some albums it simply can't play, but as of yet nothing major has been lost in the ether.
I'll stop gushing about music now anyway, as I should be doing some work. It's nice to be able to listen to music whilst I do it though! The next few days will be filled with desk based work unfortunately, although I'm hoping this will help to pass the weekend; I think I got a little too used to being back at home...
Saturday, 27 February 2010
Things That Annoy Me Part One
I fear that the majority of my blogs will inevitably involve life's little foibles, but, despite being a fairly positive person, I find it much easier (and more enjoyable) to rant on about things I dislike as opposed to gushing over the things I enjoy. So, today I will be looking at the four types of mobile music fans, and why I despise at least three of them.
1. The Conscientious Commuter. I'd like to think that myself and the majority of my friends fall into this category. These people keep their headphones at a reasonable level on public transport and are listening to music for their own pleasure, not to prove to everyone else how "gangsta" they are. They generally have a decent pair of headphones and one of the larger iPods as they actually care about music. I like these people, these people can stay.
2. The Bad Leaker. People who fall into this category seem to have a penchant for bad dance music. They also they refuse to have any bass on anything, simply insisting that their music has as much treble as is humanly possible so that when they are blasting out god awful happy hardcore on their tinny, low quality headphones, everyone on the bus/train can tap along and count down the seconds until their prayers for a sudden crash are answered at 180bpm. Crikey, that was a little extreme, not sure where that came came from. Anyway, they're incredibly annoying, and when everyone else can hear your music over their own, it's time to take a good long look at your life.
3. The Trendy Twat. This particular breed has only sprung up in the last few months, and I blame Urban Outfitters. This involves people who wear the big, over the head, stereo headphones. Now, I don't actually have a problem with this per se, if I didn't look like a pretentious prick in mine I'd gladly wear them out and about (instead they are saved purely for home use). My problem is that these people clearly don't care about sound quality, the majority of them are wearing them over ironic Davy Crockett hats. I swear most of them aren't even listening to music, they've just seen an episode of Nathan Barley and decided "That's the look for me!". Almost everyone in Birmingham has a pair, and they're all exactly the same. The photo to your left is a fine example of the sort of moron I'm talking about.
4. The Modern Day Boom Boxer. I came across this breed the other day. A clearly drunk lady and gent (this was at 11:00am) sat in the 6 seater area on the train and proceeded to blast out reggae as loud as their tiny portable speakers would allow. What annoys me about these people is that they somewhat arrogantly assume everyone on the train wants to listen to their music, and in fact enjoys their conversation being interrupted. Well I for one don't. Unfortunately, no one ever says anything to these people, myself included, so we're stuck with some wannabe DJ polluting our public transport with their sub-par noise.
So there you have it, I can't think of any more types of mobile music listeners at this current moment so I'll leave it there. If you fall into any categories beyond number one, please feel quite quite ashamed of yourself.
1. The Conscientious Commuter. I'd like to think that myself and the majority of my friends fall into this category. These people keep their headphones at a reasonable level on public transport and are listening to music for their own pleasure, not to prove to everyone else how "gangsta" they are. They generally have a decent pair of headphones and one of the larger iPods as they actually care about music. I like these people, these people can stay.
2. The Bad Leaker. People who fall into this category seem to have a penchant for bad dance music. They also they refuse to have any bass on anything, simply insisting that their music has as much treble as is humanly possible so that when they are blasting out god awful happy hardcore on their tinny, low quality headphones, everyone on the bus/train can tap along and count down the seconds until their prayers for a sudden crash are answered at 180bpm. Crikey, that was a little extreme, not sure where that came came from. Anyway, they're incredibly annoying, and when everyone else can hear your music over their own, it's time to take a good long look at your life.
3. The Trendy Twat. This particular breed has only sprung up in the last few months, and I blame Urban Outfitters. This involves people who wear the big, over the head, stereo headphones. Now, I don't actually have a problem with this per se, if I didn't look like a pretentious prick in mine I'd gladly wear them out and about (instead they are saved purely for home use). My problem is that these people clearly don't care about sound quality, the majority of them are wearing them over ironic Davy Crockett hats. I swear most of them aren't even listening to music, they've just seen an episode of Nathan Barley and decided "That's the look for me!". Almost everyone in Birmingham has a pair, and they're all exactly the same. The photo to your left is a fine example of the sort of moron I'm talking about.
4. The Modern Day Boom Boxer. I came across this breed the other day. A clearly drunk lady and gent (this was at 11:00am) sat in the 6 seater area on the train and proceeded to blast out reggae as loud as their tiny portable speakers would allow. What annoys me about these people is that they somewhat arrogantly assume everyone on the train wants to listen to their music, and in fact enjoys their conversation being interrupted. Well I for one don't. Unfortunately, no one ever says anything to these people, myself included, so we're stuck with some wannabe DJ polluting our public transport with their sub-par noise.
So there you have it, I can't think of any more types of mobile music listeners at this current moment so I'll leave it there. If you fall into any categories beyond number one, please feel quite quite ashamed of yourself.
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