British band love-in

After buying three, yes three(!), music magazines yesterday - Kerrang!, Rocksound and NME (urgh, only for the G.Way interview) - I realised how fucking good British bands are right now. Thanks especially to RS for featuring so many of said Bri'ish music in the 'Exposure' section, the 2009 Readers Poll and on the free CD. (Oh and they have a lovely article on Emilie Autumn, so extra snaps for them!)


So, lets start with the British bands that I've mentioned before and been into for a while:

• Enter Shikari
• Lostprophets
• Bullet For My Valentine
• Placebo
• Funeral For A Friend
• My Passion
• Yashin
• The Horrors
• The Blackout
• Young Guns
  

True, I haven't been listening to all of them in recent months but some of them (ES, LPS, BFMV, FFAF) have helped me discover other bands and so on. Some of these other bands I've found are:

• Shadows Chasing Ghosts
• Deaf Havana
  
• Don Broco
  
• We Are The Ocean
  
• Kids In Glass Houses
• You Me At Six
• Tiger Please
• Twin Atlantic

Shocking that You Me At Six are up there, I know, since they're already onto their second album. BUT! I did like Save It For The Bedroom when it first came out, everyone else soon caught on, I lost interest blah, blah, blah. Now the couple of songs I have heard off 'Hold Me Down' (The Consequence & Underdog) are pretty damn good! I'm considering going out and buying that album sometime soon, as well as 'The Betrayed' by Lostprophets.

But as is expected, there's one band I really can't get into.


Bring Me The Horizon.


Admittedly, they're a pretty big band now, so good for them. But the music....eh, that's a completely different story altogether. I hated the first album, actual hatred I tell you! And I can only bear to listen to two songs off their second CD (Chelsea Smile and The Sadness Will Never End), but even then I find myself saying "What the fuck am I doing listening to this?" I think it's down to the fact that I can hear words coming from Oli Sykes' mouth in said two songs rather than a bunch of growls and whatever else. There was also a hatred for Oli too, but since that K! interview in October, it's more of an indifference towards him.

Anyway, British bands are all over atm. Look at the Kerrang! tour line-up, (for which my ticket finally came yesterday!)
We have, My Passion, Young Guns and The Blackout all on the same bill! Topped off by US band All Time Low. I think that's amazing, in the past couple of years it's been a 3:1 or 2:2 ratio of US:UK bands, take 2008 for example.

Coheed and Cambria - US
Madina Lake - US
Fightstar - UKCirca Survive - US

2009?
Mindless Self Indulgence - US
Dir En Grey - Japan... class them as non-UK
Bring Me The Horizon - UK
In Case Of Fire - UK
Black Tide - US

So this year it's nice to see the majority of bands playing are British rather than American. And let's see what Sean Smith and Gavin Butler from The Blackout said in the RS interview:

How do you think British alternative music has changed over the last five to ten years?
Sean: I think it's got a lot more commercial and I don't mean that in a bad way - it's a good thing. It's good to have something that can stand up to the rehashed American bullshit. On Warped Tour this year there were a lot of bands that were identical, there are so many that sound exactly the fucking same and I hate that kids love it when there are so many better, more original British bands.

Is British rock about to take over?
Gavin: We have a very strong foothold now, it's exciting to see what's going to happen.
Sean: Listening to the radio at the moment, for every American band played there's an equal or better British act. It's amazing.

And there we have it. Let the British band love-in commence!

Film overload.

Listening to: Young Guns
(my Winter Kiss bundle arrived today! Happy face!)

I'm making up for lost time here. As stated in a previous post, Daybreakers appealed to me and last Friday my brother and I took a much-delayed trip to the cinema. Despite so-so reviews I wasn't put off. The trailer looked good and REAL vampires are an instant win in my opinion. There was plenty of blood, gore and a nice dose of projectile vomit. Hm. (Just watch it and see) The plot was great, a world populated by vampires after some huge outbreak leaving the remaining humans being farmed for their blood, and there was some nice prosthetics in there too. When I say 'nice', I mean disgusting yet oh-so-good, of course. The script seemed a bit dodgy in parts but overall it wasn't too painful. And oh, the ending was a beautiful mass of slow-mo, blood and vampires eating each other. But, perhaps most importantly (at least for me) NOT A SPARKLING VAMPIRE TO BE HAD! Shit, these ones actually BURST INTO FLAMES when the stepped into sunlight, drank human blood, had visible fangs and are so high-tech it's unreal. FUCK ME, THE WORLD MAKES SENSE AGAIN!!



See that SMeyer? That is an example of a vampire. Learn.

Tomorrow I'm going to see Avatar after college. IN 3D! Yeah, yeah, I know I'm a bit slow on this one since it's been running for quite a few weeks now, but I thought 'go now after the majority have already seen it.' That and I was feeling kinda out-of-the-loop when it came up in recent Film Studies classes. Sad face.


Also, I've made a list of films I need to buy for these reasons:

1. simply to update my collection
2. have a wider knowledge of films (Film Studies student, helloooo)
   
3. catch up on some good ones I've missed
4. for my own joy of having a new DVD to watch

Okay, so on my list of ones to look out for and possibly buy this weekend are:

• Dorian Gray*
• The Hangover (hm..)
  
• Requiem For A Dream*
• Heathers
• The Breakfast Club
• Reservoir Dogs
• A Clockwork Orange
  

* = high to definite chance of buying.

It's an ongoing list, which is pretty obvious as there's so many films that I haven't seen, which I really should. Anyway all this talking about films lark is wearing me out. After a 2 1/2 hour Film Studies exam I just wanna sleep. It made my brain hurt.

Some more goals...

Two more things I want to do this year:

• Get an industrial piercing
  

• GO TO DOWNLOAD!

Okay, the industrial I've wanted for about...however long ago it was when I got the top of my ear done anyway. And now I have my own income (hellooo EMA), I can easily pay for it myself. Hmm, must research some places either in Middlesbrough or Newcastle.

NEXT!


Holy Jesus Christ on a bicycle! Download is on my birthday weekend this year! Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I've never been to a festival before, but there clearly is no better choice for that than Download. Fuck you Reading and Leeds! Pile of indie shite. *Ahem* Regardless, Download just seems ten times better than RandL, plus the line up in the past has been quite amazing. Last year we had My Passion, The Blackout, Young Guns, Enter Shikari, You Me At Six and Mofoing MOTLEY CRUE(!!!) just to name a few. Oh, Kill Hannah, Lostprophets and HIM played in 08. In all seriousness, it would be an amazing-mind-blowing present. Please?

MAT’S NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS 2010:

I just had to post this from Mat's Raccoon Society blog. They're too funny to not be shared.

1. Learn how to become a great cat burglar.

2. Learn how to use swords

3. Start digging

4. Give less money to the homeless. They r insane.

5. Say "I was wonderful last night" every day to the guy that sells me my morning coffee-

6. Eat more spanish olives, or tangerines… foods that are round

7. Shirt: Yes, I do know what you are saying

8. Say "Fuck you, world" right before bed every night- just in case u die in your sleep.

9. Scowl at anyone who says, “have a good one.”

10. Take the shells off the peanuts

11. Get to know the REAL Will Smith. Not the one i hate from his countless movies, albums, interviews and appearances.

12. Stop referring to all Puerto Ricans as "ticking time bombs" and stop using the word Jihad in so many jokes

13. Call Elias by his real name, not Chupacabre, Jabberwalkie or The Human Carp

14. Start a deathmetal band called Holy Shit. If that’s taken, try Holy Fucking Shit, and start a rivalry with Holy Shit.

15. Drinking alone is perfectly fine. Doing a beer bong alone is kinda borderline.

16. Avoid Wyoming

17. Die in the Chelsea Hotel.

18. Don’t leave the house unless you really, really have to

19. Don’t use the term “ape shit” so casually.

20. Impersonate a priest... pretend to pray for people, they won’t know the difference… Maybe even get some free shit.

21. Walk with a limp and a cane... whenever anyone asks, “What happened?”, say, "I got gored running with the bulls in Pamplona." When they say, "Really?" , say, "Why the fuck would i make something up like that?"

22. Wear spy camera at all times

23. Don’t judge by Rock Me Amadeus alone; Really dive in to Falco’s entire catalog.

24. Stop eating Twix bars and salsa in my sleep

25. Spread the word that, unless you’re eating a beating frog heart in Singapore, your daily Tweets about your meals are not interesting.

26. Remind myself in the mirror every day, “If a band called Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch can sell 6 million albums, NOTHING is impossible.”

27. Stop dressing like i live in a bog.

28. Start carrying a tape measure around. Have an assistant follow me closely wearing a lab coat, holding a clipboard. Periodically stop and measure random peoples’ shit, (their coffee cup, table leg, sandwich, etc…) As the assistant collects the data, alternate between looking pleased with some measurements and VERY unpleased with others.

29. Start a rock band called Suspicious Package.

30. Start a gay DJ duo called Delicious Package.

31. Make them fight

We want your blood, now.

Listening to: Winter For Lovers - My Passion

Aah My Passion, how I've missed listening to you. This seems like a show ritual, I start listening to the bands I'm going to see about a month in advance. Well...in this case, approximately 25 days in advance. So looking forward to it. And in two weeks time I should have my tickets and the Young Guns "Winter Kiss" bundle. Result! Anyway, I need to get motivated. Seriously. I have work to do, but I need inspiration. Hmm. The snow's doing me no good either. It nearly gave me a hideous case of snow blinded-ness as I was walking home from college this afternoon. I didn't think it was possible, but yknow when you're walking along the road, minding your own business and you suddenly become dizzy from walking along a sheet of never ending white...shit, basically. I seriously hope it fucks off by the time K! Tour gets here, or I am not going to be amused in the slightest.

In other news, I really fancy seeing Daybreakers. It's set in the near future and the human race has been almost wiped out by a disease that turns everyone into a vampire. The blood supply starts to run out, due to the lack of humans obv, and the remaining humans want to start rebuilding the human race. Cue epic battle between humans and vampires? I fucking hope so. I've seen the adverts on tv a few times (took me a while to realise there's a Placebo song playing) and it looks JUST the way a vampire film should. Blood, darkness, fangs, rain, more darkness, fire and probably more blood. None of this Twilight shit. Urgh. It kinda has the same look as Underworld, but regardless of this I wanna see it.

But now, I'll leave you with what is probably one of my favorite photos of Audrey Kitching. Circa 2006. I adore the colour of her hair (ahem), the glitter eye make-up, doubling up of the tiras and the jewelry that looks suspiciously like Tarina Tarantino's. Actually... I'm pretty sure it is.

Hello 2010. This month's inspiration is...

Watching: The Big Bang Theory. Season 3 Episodes 8, 9, 10

Well hello 2010. How are you this fine snowy evening? Me, I'm doing quite well. I'm multi-tasking at the moment, writing this blog while taking part in a much loved KHK chat on msn. I love those guys so much. Anyway, New Year's was quite strange in a way, but still. Andrew and I watched all of Gossip Girl season one, ate pizza, chips and garlic bread, then after it went midnight we had a bit of Lady GaGa rave and made a Chuck Bass "Bass does not approve" mascot on a stick. Don't ask.

So, new year, new 'me'. Apparently. I'm starting this by trying to be a bit more...adventurous with my clothing. That said, each month or so I'm going to choose one person as my style inspiration. This month I've decided to focus on Audrey Kitching.























Admittedly, Audrey's style may be a bit... 'out-there' for some people's tastes, but it takes guts to pull off some of the clothes she wears. She's notorious for her hair bows, and is very DIY with clothes, customizing tshirts and even making her own headbands. I'd describe her style as vintage with a modern 'punk rock' twist. She takes cute dresses and layers them with leggings, heels and tonnes of accessories such as leather fingerless gloves, rings, feathered headbands, belts, huge sunglasses and as many necklaces as she can pile on.
















For this look, I like the way Audrey has kept the top half of her outfit simple, with a white coat and shirt, then combined it with a pair of bold leopard leggings. I love how she's piled on the accessories, yet it doesn't look OTT and the big floppy hat and red lipstick set the look off perfectly.

Throughout the month I'll post some photos of Audrey that I like, be it the hair, clothes, shoes or make-up she's wearing. It might even be that I dig out some older photos, circa 2006 and talk about those, and possibly some looks that I'm not too keen on will make an appearance.