Matt Corby: Made of Stone EP

I burbled about Matt Corby a while ago, mostly in amazement after his performance at HMV Institute Birmingham, but never really let you all know that you can try before you buy!

Yes, yes, I'm back to my student-y ways with some free download recommendations. And first on the list this year is Mr Corby's Made of Stone EP. The title track really is a gorgeous piece, if not a little over-simplified in the lyric department.

Simply go to the website and sign up to the newsletter to get your free download!

Resolutions

"Should we really be making resolutions?" Was the first question that I thought about, when I got asked what my resolution is this year. Like a very wise man once told me, you should celebrate every day, grow every day, and not need an excuse such as New Years to make resolutions.

On top of this, my lovely grandma told me hers was "to be more tolerant". The same as last year, and the year before - perhaps indeed one long pathway to reach to enlightenment. Whether it's the right track or not, it got me thinking: my resolution should be a personal promise to myself. No gym sign-ups, or saving for a rainy day financial rubbish, but an aspiration:

To do what truly makes me happy.

However selfish sounds, I've found that it's something that takes a lot more effort than it should; I'm quite an open, happy, optimistic person, but I do sometimes find myself wondering "Why on earth am I doing this?!". Last year I wasted a good few hours of my life in market research groups - for no pay - or bulking up numbers for things I myself didn't want to attend. What with university, two jobs, a magazine and eating/cleaning/sleeping on the agenda, what I should've been doing is pencilling in a few hours to simply relax and do nothing.

Read, write, listen... that's always been the motto, so why not put it into practice?

Bienvenue 2013!

I'm welcoming in the wonderful, slightly ominous-sounding year of 2013 surrounded by my family and wishing everyone who isn't here a truly happy twelve months to follow!

Thank you to everyone who's moulded 2012 into my most enjoyable year to date, and to all you reading this specifically - thank you for taking the time to browse through my blog. My promise to you is that I will blog much more frequently from now on, to which I hope you'll enjoy - rather than run away screaming!

I'd also like to tell you all my recent big news at this moment in time; this coming summer I will be moving to Paris for a year! It's been a long time coming, and I'm still a little nervous over my French skills, but I can't wait to experience and document it all here!

So, here's to a sparkly, amazing 2013!

- Besma x

Jack Kerouac: On The Road (The Original Scroll)

Last night I (finally!) finished reading Jack Kerouac's cult classic, On The Road. Now, I'm not going to be naive about this and assume no-one has head of On The Road. It's one of the pillars of the "Beat Generation", and with the recent making of the film, I'm pretty sure it's been thrown back into the public eye this year. However, after taking a good, long while to read this, there is one little recommendation I would make for anyone looking to read this book, or try something new with 2013 just round the corner: read The Original Scroll version.

As you get sucked into maddened trail of Jack Kerouac's adventures hitch-hiking across the North American continent, there's something so pure, and holy (!), about reading the story in its original form. As if still smudgy with the ink from his typewriter, the dense text never lets up, and its consuming style adds to the fact that the characters haven't yet been given their fictional aliases yet. No matter how sad I was to get to the end of his excited, messy first draft, it was a pleasure to read it in its naked form.

Charlotte Carpenter: Love Songs

As time has gone on, I have found myself growing a little more sceptical towards girl-and-guitar acts, because, let's face it, there are many girls who own guitars (ahem, me!), but have no idea how to write songs or play the guitar in the first place. 

However, Charlotte Carpenter is a mean guitarist and cute-as-a-button songstress that I was fortunate enough to stumble across supporting Boat to Row a month or so ago. With Charlotte, I was hooked from the first chorus of her first song. She's bold on stage, and with the added kick of a drum pedal (or something like that, I couldn't quite see from where I stood!) her songs really hammer home while her guitar prowess and sweet voice create a mixture not quite seen or heard even from the likes of Alessi's Ark (probably the closest comparable artist).

And for a few coins jingling at the bottom of your purses/wallets, you can own her latest EP entitled Let It Go, featuring the above track and a few other sterling songs. Go to charlottecarpenter.bandcamp.com to find out more.