So you're a rocker and you're a woman... so what? Many things, that's what.

There is always one concept in the music industry that people can't seem to grasp. Male musicians 40 years old, teenage boys who want to be "rock stars", even little 11 year old girls, transfixed by the likes of X Factor (which I do NOT watch, just to put it out there... but that can be another blog post) for crying out loud!

It's the concept of the 'girl' rocker. The girl/woman who can rock at fast, as great and as powerful as the men of her equal music ... the examples are endless. Courtney Love being the prime example in my horizon... you have Janis Joplin, Patti Smith, Joan Jett, Debbie Harry, Siouxsie, Chrissie Hynde, Shirely Manson, Kathleen Hanna, Alison Mosshart... bored yet?

But of course, as a woman who DARES to breach the innoccent, 'feminine', disadvantaged prototype of woman that is STILL circulating today (believe it or not, not then read some Jessica Valenti for some 21st century feminism that ascentuates the importance of feminism over sexism today of all times) will be judged, doubted and put down for her career choice, stepping into society to supposedly trying to 'ruin' the male dominated music industry. You might not agree with me on that one, but sure, there are increasing images of girls more "rocked up" and I'm not talking Joan Jett in leather trousers, I'm talking so called "soft grunge" girls with dip-dyed hair and tumblr blogs. This is not what I intend society to cast its ignorance off from, I just think more girls deserve the recognition that we can play harder and faster than boys if we want to... anyone can have rock soul. 


To the girls who are living vicariously with guitars in their hands and a snarl at their lip.... keep doing what you're doing, darlings. The world needs a bit of realism in a totally surreal, male dominated world. Teach the ignorant. 


This post is dedicated fiercely to the first WOMAN rocker I discovered, Courtney Love. Happy 48th Birthday, and I hope that you know there are so many girls out there who look up to you because of your strength and beauty. You are the epitome of everything I love and believe in. I think you know that now, after retweeting me and making me a top tweet! (of which I screamed like a little girl) What can I say, I have a way with admiration! In some ways, you saved me (and doubtless others) Thank you. 

BST and singing like Eddie Vedder

... Speaks for itself. Surprisingly, I had the best winter of my life this year- somwhow, I managed to turn a horrible and bottomless pit of selfish whimsical moaning into something that I could remember.

Anyway, I have no real inspiring thoughts at the moment, but I did finally purchase Pearl Jam's Vs. this week, and as I am now spending my days gigging, revising for my AS levels and singing like Eddie Vedder, I thought I'd post.

Enjoy another grunge classic.

When the sun shines, climbs through your window ...

Life really sucks sometimes. But when I listen to this song, and remember that pretty much everything around me has the potential to be amazing and beautiful, just as Billy Corgan makes it out to be in this song, everything is nearly okay. 


2012 is nearly okay, but it can only get much better with each passing day, which I have every faith and have learnt that it does. 

This has been a short motivational post. Thank you. 

Melancholy

So I'm bad person because I haven't written in almost two months, and I'm still miraculously getting visits. How is this? I don't know, but I hope 2012 carries on like this.

The problem with having this blog is that I so often get swept up in the events of life and always cease to remember that I like writing about music.

But the last two months have been different for me and this connected love of writing and music.

I've met someone- or got to know someone- who writes as earnestly as me about the state of music today and how there's no feeling, Smashing Pumpkins do a better job of capturing that whole spectrum of emotions music should make you feel when it plays.

He idols Marilyn Manson, I idol Courtney Love- a friendship made in hell, you think? But we both share our romance for Billy Corgan, the actually really gay semi-rock God, that wears Paisley shirts and should never have gone bald. Our romance for the whole catalogue, where he prefers the damn evil songs from "Melloncollie... " and I am such the 'fangirl' I love Siamese Dream and those are the songs I learn obsessively on my guitar. Reading this, you'd think we have nothing to talk about. But we have, and it's great to finally speak seriously with someone about music. Here is the song that always reminds me of him, and saying this I am so close to buying the "Gish" reissue for vinyl, it's unreal. So I can be one big cliche once again and post Rhinoceros because it's all I need right now, the calming effect on life where 2012 just seems to be one stressful, horrible ride already. 

When you read this Jordan, remember that I never want to stop hearing you play "1979" and listening to music with you. It was the best thing to end 2011, and I want this in 2012 too, trust me. Happy new year. 

Ages of Rock

Last week I got so unbelievably excited beyond belief when I found, much to the new-found amazement of FREEVIEW, that BBC4 were running a 'Nirvana Night'. Of course, remaining my eternal favourite band 4eva & 4eva this would be... interesting. How many hours of it could I watch without falling asleep? Nah, well I ended up recording them, and thank my lucky stars I did.

First off was the iconic Nirvana 'Live at Paramount Theatre, 1992' which featured Dave powerhouse, Kurt floppy hair and bouncy Krist running through their new found hits in their new, new stardom. The best 'song' of the set ended up being for me, the one that I'd least expect overall, 'Endless, Nameless'. Oh gosh, more than anything else, the ENERGY that it provided out of my television screen was out of this world. I'd stare at my screen, transfixed, not being able to move because I might miss something if I'd literally blinked. Cue Pete Townshend smashing and looping guitar movements, fun fun fun.

Coincidentally, If you were to break down the structure of 'Endless, Nameless' (which is funny because it's supposedly totally obscure, with no structure or sense of being- just total orgasmic punk rock) it's literally Very loud- Paced 'quiet'- Very loud- Paced 'quiet', which was a dynamic practically invented by the Pixies.

The Pixies and their legacy were discussed in detail on the next program 'Seven Ages of Rock' - Black Francis and Kim Deal discussed their Nirvana-inventing, soul inspiring musical song structures, and it was actually so interesting. This was a program that actually discussed, in detail, the rhythms of Kim Deal's bass line in "Where is my Mind?" and why that makes her a good bassist, better than others and Black Francis broke down the eternal Pixies hardcore fan favourite, 'Gouge Away'. After watching this program, 'Gouge Away' is now one of my favourites, being so ridiculously clever and simple simultaneously. It's memorable, because it's different and it demonstrates such beautiful melody with the Punk Rock ethos still intact. Francis runs through the line on an acoustic during the program, and I don't want to give much away, but he's still got it. If only Pixies were doing a UK tour soon... But anyway, make sure you check out the informatively factual Seven Ages, because it is the only doc I've seen that cares about the music and doesn't talk about any of the other selling media nonsense like "their songs got more painful blah blah blah cause she was on heroin blah blah and he was too blah blah music junkies vanity fair blah marriage blah she's a bitch". The program that came after, "The Last 48 Hours of Kurt Cobain", I don't want to talk about, because it made me cry that much. It's very well done, but so sad I felt depressed for hours after.

But in the meantime, here's some Pixies to feed your brain. Because once you like Pixies, there is no going back. It is a way of life.

Fun fact for you: this is the Brixton gig in 1991 that they did that Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl supposedly 'snuck into'. Rock star stories amaze me.

P.S. I've got my family so educated on Nirvana my Grandad even watched the Paramount performance and said Dave Grohl was 'wow... he's just such a powerful drummer, isn't he?'. I've got him interested... and I hope anybody that reads this blog can be, too.

7 Billion people... and 7 Billion music lovers.

So today is a momentous day in the history of demongraphy, right? Yes, you say. Today, we have *supposedly* reached our landmark number of 7 billion people on earth. 7 billion souls... 7 billion mouths to feed... 7 billion people who need love. Yes. I thought really this is the only topical thing to write about today, as the UN and other charities have very much involved themselves in new changes to be brought about now... because 7 billion is a motivator, of course. 7 billion should bring change right now. They are launching many strategies to try and tackle this 'problem' as it may be, or tell 'stories from 7 billion' and '7 billion strategies' to also kind of celebrate the fact we've come so far... or have we? Anyway, I'm getting more into the contexts of the matter, as I am naturally a Geography student, and this is what I study. Change of people over time. But the '7 billion actions' page is brilliant, packed full of information and it's qutie a landmark really, 'a global movement for all humanity.' But I'm getting besides the point, this is a music blog and a music blog it shall be.

There are only two things that unite these 7 billion: love for music and love for love. So there. Enjoy this little fabulous song and its message. I love the diversity of sounds coming from one song! From your one in 7 billion xox

10 Reasons why you should listen to Smashing Pumpkins' "Siamese Dream" TODAY

As a teenager at her optimum "music age" of sixteen, it's easy to obsess over music. New music that's hit the charts, newly discovered music that your mum had listened to when she was sixteen. Sixteen, sixteen, sixteen. It's a great age. You have so much more of your life to go, so much more disposable income to spend as you wish, so many more albums and bands to discover that will "change your life"... this prospect excites me more than anything else. The possibility of all this music, right at your fingertips! I find that the single reason why life is so unpredictably amazing sometimes.

But there is one band that I will always remember now. Smashing Pumpkins is that band. With every band, they're never perfect. Live, in the media, their albums, the members and the band squabbles are always changing. But the music, goddammit the music! If there's only one album that you could listen to for the rest of your life, this could be the one. For me, it's a pretty close tie between Siamese Dream, Live Through This, Celebrity Skin (both Hole) and Doolittle (Pixies)

Zane Lowe himself, the man of the music on Radio 1, personally my favourite DJ on there (for numerous reasons, mainly because I think he has a passion for what he does more than all of the other DJ's put together) has stated that this album is probably the most played album of his life. Not necessarily his favourite, but most played. There can be a line of difference between the two, depending on how your life swings, which album you go back to always but also which one you might save for the very special moments in your life, so not to become overplayed.

But why should you listen to this album from Billy Corgan and his bunch? Why not Mellon-Collie and the Infinite Sadness or any other? (Equally brilliant by the way, it's just this one is a step up) I'll give you ten quick good reasons why. I want everyone to make their lives more beautiful by listening to this album.


1. Corgan's effortless for the melodies that just come swirling out of this 50 so minutes is astounding. Where do they all come from? The beginning of 'Mayonaise' for example... when did he write this? HOW did he write it? His talent for beautiful guitar lines is immeasurable.

2. Okay, 'Mayonaise' then. That one song makes the album what it is. It's a complete soul healer. It really doesn't get better than this. The fuzzy guitars pull at your heartstrings, the lyrics .. oh, the lyrics: "Try and ease the pain somehow, feel the same/Well, no one knows, where our secrets go" is paired with a powerful almost arm punching realisation... and the perfection lies from where people try to sum up what they're feeling... but they don't quite get there. Amazing. That song always makes me feel like I have the best life ever, that everything's beautiful, no matter when. That there is promise in the music world.

3. High ranges on guitars that WORK. Whether it's fretting on ridiculously high E's... or the low grumbles of guitars on songs like 'Soma'.

4. The Guitar Solos: 'Mayonaise', 'Soma', 'Today'... these solos make you question if there is a higher power of guitar soloists through history that all deserve thrones.

5. 'Today'. My gosh, that one song has been described as "simply one of the best songs ever made" by one Music Journalist (Forgive me, for I know not which one, I read so much lately by many music journalists I only remember their words, and not their names...) I agree. It's about the worst day ever, summed up in one of the coolest verse chorus verse structure ever. I remember in Physics class one day with one of my best friends (also a Pumpkins obsessive) and we tried to DISSECT the lyrics to that song, man. They are intense. But on a weird sense... it's also happy. It tries to speak on a whole new level to those that are perhaps a bit depressed, but saying it points out the better aspects of life would be wrong. They make life seem weirdly cool, with all its lust and ridiculousness but the fact that you shouldn't get too bogged under by its strain.

6. The break in 'Soma'. I watched this song performed live in like the late 90's and when it got to the electric guitar interlude (followed by the jaw-dropping solo) I just started crying. If the music is powerful, if even the bloody chord sequence makes you want to jump up an down and smash things, but simultaneously almost speaking to you so much it makes you shed tears, it's done well. Trust me on this one. The anticipation to that cracks me up...

7. The random piano and string solitudes they put in the album. Whether it's 'Spaceboy' which is just one awesome string melody throughout, or 'Soma' when it's ridiculously quiet and then LEAPS into the grubby sequence mentioned aforehand, they really get at you, man. It almost makes that complete Macho Hair Metal Rock cower in the corner with its tact. The drums are also a huge variation. They go from "Little Drummer Boy" one minute and then another they could be mistaken for Grohlism.

8. The amount of distortion on this album is worth how much you pay. Ok, so you don't like distortion? The album has been worked so greatly that each of these songs can be played acoustically, easily, just like that. YouTube the acoustic live version of 'Cherub Rock'. I want to invent my own dance to that one.

9. Billy Corgan's voice. Nuff said. Even more entertaining when you have no idea of the lyrics and you mimic the poor guy. It's original, I'll give you that.

10. The fact that practically the whole album is tuned half a step down. Ok, even though this annoyed me the other day when I was trying to learn '1979' on my acoustic, it works. Really well. But if you can't be bothered, that's alright too don't you know, just find a version in standard. Simples.

I could go on for decades, but that gives you enough material worth reading to make the decision whether to leap in or not. One more thing: I LOVE THE COVER ART. It's cute, and reminds me of those summer days when you are only 4 and you've got all these wondrous things to come. Fun fact: one of the little girls on the cover is now the bassist in the current line-up of SP. That's one of the reasons I love life. Coincidence!

SO NOW GO BUY OR I'LL GO AND DO A SUPER LONG POST ON HOW MUCH I LOVE COURTNEY LOVE. You have been warned...