alice

I found a video on YouTube of Stilbruch playing in Vienna… I must have been standing right behind the person who filmed this!

I can’t stop listening to them.

I haven’t been to a gig in AGES. Not yet this year! I have V Fest lined up for August which will be ace, but I miss the days of gigging it up in Leeds or Manchester at the weekends.

K and I have been trying to find a good gig to go see before I leave the country. Unfortunately nobody decent seems to be touring at the mo. Booo. Anyway, I’m listening to the fantastical Wolf Parade right now and I really want to see them live!

Here’s my list as it currently stands:

• Okkervil River
• Wolf Parade
• The Mountain Goats (I heard a wee rumour he might be over here in September, if that’s true then I will deffo be going to that!)
• Stars
• Cold War Kids would be nice
• The New Pornographers
• Decemberists
• Modest Mouse

I WISH I was in North America in April, not only are both Okkervil River and the New Pornographers touring then, but they’re doing a joint tour! How amazing would that be? K and I both agreed it would be fantastic.

Hmm who else do I need to see?

My brother gave me this album, by Wolf Parade last year for my birthday, but until recently I had never given it the full listen it deserves. Someone at work with great taste in music was raving about this album, so I decided I really should check it out.

And wow. It’s every bit as good as I hear, if not more. I thought nothing could tear me away from Okkervil River at the moment, but in the last coulpe of weeks K has managed to find two albums which do exactly that. And this is one of them (the other is the new Mountain Goats one, I may write about that later…).

It’s one of those perfect albums from start to finish, 48 minutes of pure perfection in the form of beautiful music. I can’t skip a single track on it and it’s impossible make up my mind which track I like the best. Each song is absolutely fantastic and a masterpiece in it’s own right.

Now we’ll say it’s in God’s hands. But God doesn’t always have the best goddamn plans, does he?

I got a lot of really good music lately. Someone at work has a fantastic taste in music so he recommended me some stuff and I made some nice orders off Amazon and Play.

In return I recommended him some of my favourite bands (that he didn’t already know!) including: Okkervil River, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Elliott Smith.

I’m loving Wolf Parade and The Mountain Goats albums SO MUCH.

I’m coming into your town. Night is falling to the ground, but I can still see where you loved yourself before he tore it all down. April 12th, with nobody else around, you were outside the house… where’s your mother? When he put you in the car, when he took you down the road. And I can still see where it was open, the door he slammed closed. It was open, the door he slammed closed. It was open, long ago. But don’t lose me now, don’t lose me now. Though I know that I’m not useful anyhow, just let me stick around while I tell you, like before, you should say his name the way that he said yours. But you don’t want to say his name anymore. Oh, Cynda Moore. Baby daughter on the road, you’re wrapped up warm in daddy’s coat. Well I can still see the cigarette’s heat. I can’t believe all that you’re telling me, what is cutting like the smoke through your teeth as you are telling me forget it. But if I could tear his throat, and spill his blood between my jaws, and erase his name for good, don’t you know that I would? Don’t you realize I wouldn’t pause, that I would cut him down with my claws if I could have somehow never let that happen? Or I’d call, some black midnight, fuck up his new life where they don’t know what he did, tell his brand-new wife and his second kid. And I’ll tell you, like before, that you should wreck his life the way that he wrecked yours, you want no part of his life anymore. Oh Cynda Moore, don’t lose me now, let me help you out. Though I know that I can’t help you anyhow, when I watch you I’m proud. When I tell you twice before that you should wreck his life the way that he wrecked yours, you want no part of his life anymore. Oh Cynda Moore. It’ll never be the way it was before, but I wish that you would let me through that door. Let me through that door, baby.

This has been my favourite song for almost a year. I still can’t get enough of it, and last night, I heard it live! Bob saw Okkervil River live in London, and phoned me during this song YAY!

Look, though, I don’t know what notes you want to hear played, I can’t think what lines you’d like me to sing or say, and I’m not sure what subjects you want mentioned. So pause and add your own intentions. We’ve included a form you can print out and fill out and send below:
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All the latest toughs, well, we have seen that stuff, and we have seen enough blood in dying coughs, which means that we have lost. We have lost, and if you’re crying to be tossed they’ll toss you down the oubliette with all the old things that you let yourself forget because you’d like to love a star who’d throw you down below the ground he thinks you are.

I LOVE Okkervil River.

I really really really want to go and see Stars at Manchester Academy on January 31st. It’s a Thursday night and tickets are only a tenner. So what’s stopping me? I don’t have anyone to go with

Maybe I could go by myself. Though Manchester is a scary place at night. And I don’t fancy driving, motorways still scare me. And the academy is a million miles from the train station.

Hmm who could I ask to come with me? I did ask Jon sometime last month but he doesn’t like Stars all that much.

On a somewhat related note I also want to go and see Okkervil River on 5th February but I really do not see that as at all possible because it’s in London, it’s a Tuesday night and I can’t take any more days off work right now. I wish they’d do a proper tour. I would pay good money to see those boys in concert!

But Stars is oh so possible. I wanna go

Eeee London tomorrow! :D!

I’m listening to the new album from Stars. It’s fantastic. Much like their first album, it’s one of these near-perfect albums I can listen to from start to finish without skipping any tracks. I just love the sound of this band. Definitely one to check out if you’ve never heard anything by them. Mmm I have this on repeat and it is GOOD. There’s something so lovely about this band. When I hear them it makes me smile hearing how honest and perfect and beautiful their music is. And I can’t say that about a lot of bands.

Life was supposed to be a film, was supposed to be a thriller, was supposed to end in tears. But life could be nothing but a joke, could be nothing but a con. Where’s my unhappy ending gone?

Ps. This is my name in Thai (thanks Lucy!): อะลิซ

A couple of days late but we miss you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd-zwe1fWB0

This album, by the awesome Okkervil River, is simply amazing. I had heard one song, Black, ages ago and proper loved it, but didn’t get the full album until a couple of months ago. Every song is a pure work of genius, every sentence in this is perfect. I kind of like really wordy songs, like Bright Eyes, Elliott Smith, Sufjan Stevens style. This guy, Will Sheff, is better than all of them. Well except maybe Sufjan Stevens and Elliott Smith

I’ve had it on repeat all day - you’d think I’d get bored but god no.

Though I know that it never can be, I’d be pleased to post your decrees, to fall at your knees, to name all your streets and to sit down and weep when you’re carried back through them and set down to sleep, and to lie by your side for sublime centuries.