Saturday 26 February 2011

laura marling: alas i cannot swim



Okay, so please forgive me for only just popping this beauty of an album on my blog; it's not like I've only just discovered Miss Marling, I just haven't gone back through the archives from before I was blogging. (I have a feeling this will be a common thing, since there are so many artists and albums from the past that I cannot hush up about).

It's been an odd week, so visiting this album helped to restore a bit of my old self, especially Tap At My Window and Your Only Doll. It's a happier, more youthful album than I Speak Because I Can (although another beauty) and has been helping me get through the bundles of coursework I've been doing over the last few days.

So I give my full, if not belated, thanks to Laura Marling, and if I wish hard enough and keep a beady eye out, hopefully I'll get to see her this year. That'd be lovely.

Visit Laura Marling's website here.

Sunday 20 February 2011

postsecret



My little discovery yesterday was the PostSecret blog; an amazingly simple concept yet so intriguing, both for the writers and the readers. Postcards with your deepest darkest secrets and the guarantee of complete anonymity seems pretty liberating. I'm kinda addicted already, flicking through the secrets of strangers, and also on the PostSecretFrance site, where I feel like I'm doing some kind of french homework too... although I secretly know I'm not. Maybe that should go on my postcard?

Saturday 19 February 2011

benjamin francis leftwich: pictures

This was also a wednesday night discovery for me, but it's taken me a while to find the man behind the beaut of a song... A friend and I were talking in the car with the radio on in the background, and I literally zoned out of the conversation as I was listening to this. I caught some lyrics and locked them away so I could find the song once I was home, but only now found the video. It was worth the wait.

Visit Benjamin Francis Leftwich's website here.


P.S. I apologise to the friend I zoned out on. But I did have a very, very good reason to!

Thursday 17 February 2011

never let me go

Another cinema trip this week to see Never Let Me Go, a film I have been looking forward to for literally months, mainly due to the sepia-tint and Carey Mulligan (of whom I have been a fan since she appeared on Doctor Who... a show I no longer watch since the farewell to David Tennant, I must admit).

It wasn't exactly the cutesy film I had in mind, yet with such a deep storyline it truly was something better, if not a lot darker.

Which in many ways I respect more.

If I'm honest, I have never felt a stronger urge to cry at a film (I did so, and walked out unashamedly with my tear-stained cheeks). Apparently it has been criticised for not sustaining an emotional link between the audience and the characters, but for me I felt this was almost deliberate, as the children seem shy, innocent creatures with no real sense of the world and their emotions. Especially once their pre-chosen future is revealed to them; at first, the way they do not seem to grasp the gravity of their destinies, but then the way the grow with it and let the viewers watch it destroy them.

Tragically beautiful. A book I must read this summer, even with its haunting storyline.

Monday 14 February 2011

boy & bear: mexican mavis


I stumbled upon Boy & Bear a while back, but only recently searched out their MySpace and other videos on YouTube... For me they're a cross between Fleet Foxes and Mumford & Sons, so I'm getting ready for a lovely folksy soundtrack to this year's summer (especially if they release an album before then).

If you listen/like/love, visit my YouTube channel here for some more of their music videos?

Visit Boy & Bear's MySpace here // Sign up to their mailing list here to download Mexican Mavis for free.

Thursday 10 February 2011

zadie smith: white teeth

A book I finished reading a while back, although one which I will be adding to my book collection (yes, I am a regular user of the library, and proud!)

It popped up in my life again after I found the television adaptation on 4OD, so I'm currently going through the episodes which are, incredibly, the best adaptation of a book I've probably ever seen (some serious credit due to Simon Burke, as the book's complex twists and turns have somehow managed to be beautifully condensed into less than four hours of film).

If you're a 70's, 80's or 90's child then you're gonna love it. Or even if you're in it just to see a young John Simm, James McAvoy and Russel Brand...

Normally I'd say watch the film/television version first, then read the book to avoid disappointment, but I don't think that's necessary.

I've got to admit, I aspire to be able to write like Zadie Smith. One day, maybe.
Watch the television adaptation here.

Monday 7 February 2011

black swan

So last week I coloured my Wednesday orange and went to see Black Swan with a few friends.

First of all, I was NOT expecting it to be so psychologically dark.
But brilliantly done, to be fair. Even down to the way Nina dresses in white and Lily in black.

And Natalie Portman definitely deserves an award or two, her acting was incredible. Especially compared to the only other film I've seen her in... Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium.

Still a little bit creeped out by all the blood, but for a film I wasn't too bothered about seeing, I loved it.

One to see at the cinema, but I doubt I'll be buying it on DVD.