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.

December Deluge

So, I took a short break over the December period - what with balancing the two jobs, university course, magazine editor-ing and of course, prepping for Christmas - and instead I put together some jottings for upcoming blogposts. There's so many new finds to tell you about!

However, sitting here scanning through the lovely gifts I received and after a tiresome couple of days, I've got the blogging bug back - most probably due to a combination of missing it, and also reading through January's Company magazine, chiefly featuring some inspiring bloggers and blogesses. So here's a short post-Boxing Day update for you all, and to let you know that there'll be a whirlwind of posts on here over the coming few days.

- Besma x

Annie Dressner: Strangers Who Knew Each Other's Names

Annie Dressner recently got in touch with me to see if I could have a listen to her new album, Strangers Who Knew Each Other's Names. With its ditsy-pop feel and her sugary-sweet voice, much like Zooey Deschanel's in She & Him, I felt more than happy to oblige.

Throughout the record, the happy guitar strums and melodies conjure up imagery of cycling in the springtime or picnics in the park, despite the lyrics often dipping into a pool of sadness, such as "I smoked a cigarette so I could taste you on my breath" and "I'll look for you in me". For me, this is really what makes the album listenable and loveable however - there's a journey to be had when listening through the album.

So, if you like Alessi's Ark or Jenny Lewis, you'll probably like Annie Dressner too. And if you're missing the sun's yellow rays coming in your windows, at least you can pop this record on and have it flow out of your headphones instead!

Matt Corby, Bear's Den and Lucy Mason: Live

(Clockwise: Lucy Mason, Bear's Den and Matt Corby)

On Friday night I went to see Matt Corby live at HMV Institute Birmingham. It might have been a cold, cruel night outside but inside The Temple, the top-floor room in the venue, it was a night filled with awe-inspiring, goose-bump-inducing music.

Lucy Mason was a lovely start to the evening, with a sweet voice and pretty dress (I want it!), and Bear's Den then followed. After spending most of their set wondering why I recognised the lead singer's voice, they played one of their older songs - Don't Let the Sun Steal You Away - and I had an epiphany; realising they're a more mature, more talented form of Cherbourg, with a new name to match. I'm putting their EP on my Christmas wish-list as we speak!

Last up was the headliner himself, Matt Corby. I now realise in my first post on Matt, I may have only revealed the tip of the iceberg; Matt's music is a lot more than simply another Bon Iver/James Vincent McMorrow-alike, demonstrated professionally through his style variations: from the soft, sweet intro onto the stage to the face-melting, stadium-worthy songs, he's a man of many talents. That, plus his band, and his swapping of guitar to piano to vocals and the use of looper pedals means he's one to definitely see live if you can. However, as a jet-setting Australian, you might have to wait a little longer than usual!