I enjoy folk music. I enjoy the instruments that are played and the vibe
that is felt, and folk to me almost always sounds like folk.
Michael Kiwanuka is a folk artist. But not a conventional folk artist.
Merging soulful vocals with folk-y melodies, Kiwanuka has clearly set the
bar for the new generation of neo-folk talents embracing the British stage.
Released in 2012, Kiwanuka's debut album 'Home Again' is no disappointment.
Sweet melodies are counter-balanced by brass bands and orchestras (namely his
track ‘I’ll Get Along’), and – at 26 years old – his voice is wise beyond its
years.
However, his uniqueness and ability to perform exceptionally both live and
in the studio sets him well apart - a young man, seemingly certain of the
direction he's heading, and of the destination he is hoping to arrive.
So, I'm going to do what a LOT of people on YouTube have probably been doing over the last week or so. I am going to announce my favourite Eurovision Song Contest 2014 acts.
For those of you outside of Europe, or those of you in Europe who have no clue what I'm on about, the Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition where European countries come together to compete for Eurovision champion, and it's incredibly cheesy, and there tends to always be someone in leather trousers or singing about a cake [more to come on this later!]
Ok, I do admit to watching Eurovision, but I do normally have a bit of a moan about how horribly cheesy some of the acts are [Ok, there's cheesy, and then there's cheesy]. But, this year, I really do feel like some of the acts are incredible outside of Eurovision [i.e. I'd willingly listen to them outside of the competition, and probably wouldn't be judged for it either].
So today, I will release my inner Eurovision-ian [darn it - doesn't sound half as good as Whovian!] and give you my Top Five 'probably-won't-win-the-competition-but-I-like-them-anyway' acts:
5. Finland - Something Better
These guys' sound is pretty rock-y. I don't think I've heard anything like this in Eurovision before [I could be wrong]. I just hope that they can pull it off live...
4. Armenia - Not Alone
I was going to put Switzerland here. They had a really quirky guy with a slightly-weird-but-enough-to-be-called-quirky video, and whistling.
And then I heard this.
It has dubstep in it, which makes me question my like for it.
But - as much as I hate comparisons - he sounds a bit like John Newman.
And I like it. So there.
3. Iceland
Iceland are always cool. I always like Iceland.
2. Norway - Silent Storm
A gorgeously haunting, heartfelt ballad. It may not fit into the Eurovision scene, but I have a niggling inkling that he could do quite well...
1. Malta - Coming Home
I have high hopes for this song. I've always liked Malta at Eurovision - if they qualify - and I really like this song. Their harmonies are gorgeous (again, as much as I hate comparisons, they sound a bit like Mumford and Sons), and even though I don't know how well it'll do - their 2013 entry did really well - I'll remember it regardless!
Special commendation: Latvia - Cake To Bake
Umm, yeah. I couldn't go without mentioning this song. It's kind-of folky, which means that - more times than not - I'm by default going to like it.
And I really do.
Yeah...
I advise you guys to watch the video.
Yeah...
So, I thought that today I'd write a post about what made me want to blog. I've been blogging for about 8 months now, and for a while, I kind of forgot what I started for - I got off track a bit and wondered if I should even be blogging.
Anyway, it all started one summer's day (oh goodness, here we go!) when I'd finished my exams and had about 9 weeks before I started school again. I was reading through this book that I won in a competition when I was about nine or ten - called '101 Things to Do Before You're Old and Boring' - and one of the things in there was to start a blog. Which seemed cool.
You see, I'd wanted to start up a YouTube vlog for a while, and so did one of my friends, but the only problem was that I'm quite self-conscious. So I didn't really want to show my face to the world (well, I didn't want anyone to recognise me, mainly). Hence why I've only told one of my friends about this blog. And none of my family knows about it. I just think that it'd find it awkward to write things if I knew that my friends were reading it, I don't know, I'm babbling...
And then, two hours and a Blogger profile later, on a complete whim, this blog was born. Starting out with the (somewhat rubbish but quite original) title of 'Five Green Bananas' and, a bit like metamorphosis, transforming into 'A Little Red Notebook'.
And I'm so glad that I did it, as much as I persuade myself sometimes that I'm not...
So today I'm working off about 5 hours sleep.
Yeah.
Yesterday I went on an trip to Coventry to watch a play with my AS English class.
So, to put this into perspective, Coventry's about 3 and a quarter hours from where I live.
And the play started at 7.30pm.
And lasted for 2 and a half hours.
And I didn't get home until 3.10am.
Hang on, you may be thinking, wouldn't a 3 hour journey mean that you got home at 1.15am?
And to answer your question, yes, ordinarily it would.
But, oh no, this was not destined to be an ordinary trip.
Firstly, our bus broke. The play finished and we went out to meet the bus and our teacher came up to us with a concerned look and announced: "Guys, I'm sorry to tell you this... but the bus has broken".
In Coventry.
On a street practically in the middle of nowhere.
At 10 o'clock at night.
So we trooped back into the theatre and sat in the bar for 35-minutes waiting for a call from our bus driver.
Then we had to walk through the streets of Coventry to a car park where the driver was parked.
The battery died. And the driver had to call the RAC man to fix it.
Which may or may not have been because of a certain film that a certain group of people had watched on a certain 3 hour trip (But, to be fair, it was a pretty good film)
And then, there were diversions on the M50, which meant we had to divert down lots of winding roads in Worcestershire/Gloucestershire/Herefordshire (which, had it been light enough to see, probably was the scenic route).
But I have to admit - to be fair - it was quite a bit of fun.
So, Friday is my Sixth Form's Sport Relief fancy dress day, and - typically of me - I have absolutely no clue what to go as.
I'm in no way creative. I'd love to be one of those people who can make a dress out of a sheet, or something like that. And I don't want to spend goodness-knows-how-much on a costume that I might not ever wear again. But, then again, I don't want to be the one who doesn't put the effort in - because I'm really looking forward!
My friends and I were planning on going as the Seven Dwarves from Snow White, until we realised that there were only 6 of us...
Then we planned on going as a fire engine, but that backfired...
And now I'm stuck. Well, apart from some really obscure idea about going as White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland (sparking the "What's the name of the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland?"/"White Rabbit" conversation between me and my mum). They have some really cute rabbit glasses in Claire's.
But, I don't know...
I just hope that I can find something by Friday...
Hello!
Apologies for not posting for so long - school work's taking up a large portion of my life at the moment.
Anyway, whilst sitting on the school bus this morning, looking out of the window at an abyss of nothingness (well, trees and stuff) I came up with an idea.
Sort of.
I came up the idea of 'Film Club Fridays', where - on a Friday - I discuss and/or films that have been recommended to me by anyone who fancies commenting/suggesting their ideas.
I'm not too sure if this'll work, for a lot of reasons, but if anyone fancies taking part, then feel free to suggest away!
