The xx - Islands

When I was a young girl, I took dance lessons. Tap was always my favourite because you have to work with and create the rhythm.
This video immediately reminded me of all of the dance routines I did as a child. Every movement of the body had to be exact so that we could do the same routine over and over and over again and it would always be the same.
I still love to dance - I still love most the beat in music - but it's been quite a long time since I did routine. I would have to say high school, and that routine was for a drama performance.
Needless to say, I miss both art forms: dance and theatre.
I had a conversation about art that I mentioned in my other blog last night. All day yesterday, after the conversation the night before, I kept thinking about the forms of art that I enjoy. There's literature, which was my first - and will therefore be my forever - love. Then, theatre: I will always be melodramatic, if not a drama queen ;-). Third is music, although it consumes so much of my life right now. It is an educational journey that I am on right now. For now, I am a mere spectator, but maybe one day (and generally after an alcoholic beverage...or even just at home, alone...) I'll go back to dance as a creative expression as well...

One of my best friends told me about this band. We met when we were both lonely and craving friends our age (working with children has a way of bringing that out in young adults). Our situation forced us to be friends, but the similarities that we shared then, and even today, is what makes our friendship so strong.

Anyways, about the band:

They've been together for over five years now, forming in 2005, while studying together in London, England. The fourth (and now missing) member of the original group left in 2009, the same year they released their self-titled debut album. Despite the departure, the band has received quite a lot of attention via television. If you watch Grey's Anatomy, you might possibly recognize this song. Other songs of theirs have been featured 90210, Mercy, Cold Case, Lie To Me, Waterloo Road, NBC's broadcast of the 2010 Olympics and even an AT&T commercial featuring Apolo Ohno. What publicity, eh?

Personally, they remind me of Skins, which is brilliant! I haven't seen enough episodes of that show, but I loved catching it on tv while living in the UK. Have The xx played on there? Is that show still on the air? If so, they should get together...and then somebody oughta let me know about it! I love it when things I love get together...so, yeah, pretty stoked that they're on Waterloo Road, at the very least!

Day 121: Mumford & Sons ~ White Blank Page

Can we ever escape our memories?

Last night, I watched Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, for probably the tenth time. It's a very real story about a daughter coming to understand her mother as a real person, and not just the role she played in her life. In order to love somebody, truly, we have to understand them on that level, whether we are loving a parent, a sibling, a friend or, the more conventional "lover"...

I thought about that all last night, and this morning. Perhaps I've never been "in love," but I have loved. Perhaps I'm just a girl in love with love, but aren't we all... Haven't we all fallen quickly, and loved too soon, only to have our hearts ripped open and exposed...

Yesterday morning, my heart broke. Don't worry, not the real one ;-) My white heart necklace - that I had only fixed up Thursday afternoon! - fell from my neck while I was working. I attempted, quickly, to fix it, but to no avail. There is no quick fix for a broken heart...

My love for Mumford & Sons is as real as my love for any past lovers! My heart swooned upon the first listen, my desire grew with each new song I heard, and before I even knew where they were from, I was proclaiming them my latest favourites! It was only last night that I realized how I could love them so quickly. They remind me of my last great adventure, London in the late 00's... Perhaps because they began in West London's folk scene around that time as well. Or perhaps because they sing about the emotions I was going through at exactly that time...

To be fair, I probably love them because they're rising in popularity these days (everybody loves to feel just a little mainstream...every once in a while, at least)! ;-D How many Grammy noms did they get this year? Two? There'll be more to come, for sure. And, well, they deserve everything they get! Their lyrics are literary, their music forces your body to sway, and the emotion they evoke flows from their souls to the souls of their listeners... THIS is what music is about!

Holiday Tune #1: The Florin Street Band ~ My Favourite Time of Year

Last night began my holiday celebrations with the decorating of my apartment and the watching of my Christmas favourite: Love, Actually. I've watched that movie every year since its release in 2003, and never plan on missing it. In fact, I was so close to missing it when I lived abroad, that I now possess only the UK edition of the DVD, and I am therefore forced to watch it on my laptop... Alas, life could be worse.

After the film finished and I once again had access to the internet, I began my search for the perfect Holiday tunes to follow my mood. I quickly came across this band...

It all began with a UK musician, Leigh Haggerwood, who decided to bring the Christmas of Victorian times back to the month of December. He approached several music producers, but none would help fund his project of having a TRUE Christmas tune top the charts in December. The record companies were not prepared to compete against media giants produced by the likes of the X Factor. (Think of that opera singer from last year - something Boyle, wasn't it?) Faced with this rejection, Leigh refused to give up! This July he gathered as many people as he could get involved with him privately, including Nick Bartleet and John Perez. They made their way out to Shropshire (a little county just East of Wales that will always have a large home inside my heart) to film in the Blist Hills Victorian Town. As part of the Ironbridge Museum, Blist Hills was a great location for reinvigorating the Victorian spirit that so many of Leigh's holiday traditions have come from. This was his dream, and this is the year it came true for him. All I want to do is help him live his best dream!

If you like this video, or this story, please help him out. Go to:

http://www.florinstreet.com

or download his single off of iTunes. I know I have a new holiday tradition in Leigh's dream and the Florin Street Band; I hope you do, too!


My Favourite Time of Year
Words & music by Leigh Haggerwood

Day 89: Love It When You Call ~ The Feeling

This is a catchy tune, and a cute video to go with it!

Yeah, ok, so maybe I like a lot of 'pop' music, but not extremely popular 'pop' music. Does that make it better? I really am one of those hipster wanna-be's who likes a band more because they are indie than because they are good artists...

No, I just like some random 'pop' music. I can appreciate what's out there in the mainstream and even tap my foot along to it. What I aim to do, though, is bring indie artists who are good a little bit closer to the mainstream by showing their music to you, the listener. I hope you enjoy it!

Day 70: Kate Nash - Merry Happy

Bundled up under three layers, the beat begins to move me. The sound comes from the small white knobs tucked into my outer ear, covered by earmuffs, a toque, and a scarf. The movement begins in my fingers. I don't control them, the beat does. It continues to move up my arms, into my shoulders and before I know it, my hips are swaying and my feet hit the packed snow in time to the beat - the explosions of sound - hitting my ears.

This is why I love music!

Noah And The Whale - Blue Skies

Original Facebook Message:

It's not that difficult to make me smile...many artists have succeeded at that, myself included. It is difficult to make me smile - and cry - with the same song. Is it any surprise that this band succeeded?

They're English; their music video features a bicycle!; the first music video of theirs that I fell in love wit...h featured yellow predominantly; they sing about love; and did I mention that they're English - nice thing to be if you're not Canadian ;-)

I'm so happy to be sharing the videos now! :-D

I first heard "Five Years Time" by Noah and the Whale. If you like this song - or you like upbeat songs (as this is not an upbeat song) - you should check it out as well. It is filled with hope and admiration for not knowing what the future holds. I stumbled across it in my iPod when I needed it most...

Last week I ended a relationship that could be characterized by this song. I've felt like this song for almost a month now. One of my friends was shocked at how well I was taking everything when I last talked to her. To be fair, I was handling it much better at the time of our conversation than I had handled it the entire time I was contemplating the end of the relationship.

Last night my anger over the relationship faded away. My anger had kept me content with the thought of everything being over throughout most of the weekend! This morning I woke up with sparks of the feelings of this song ripping through my body and my mind. Luckily, I had a massage scheduled for the end of the morning. It helped me release a lot of emotion. Somehow, though, I was still called to Noah and The Whale today. It's part of the healing process, I know, and maybe I should have chosen Five Years Time, but that would not be an accurate depiction of who I am today. :-D

I've also been dealing with a lot of death this year. That's another reason for this video. I love the urn in it. I've recently come to realize that death is nothing to be afraid of, whether for us or for our loved ones. It is a splendid moment when we get to reunite with whatever it is that's out there that is bigger than us. This song hints towards those feelings as well.

Sorry to be so into my feelings today. It was a good day - filled with feelings! :-D