Books: The girl in the song

The Girl in the Song by Michael Heatley and Frank Hopkinson is a great little volume that explains the true stories behind fifty songs about women. There are songs by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Leonard Cohen to name a few.

I found this in Waterstone's on Oxford street in their staff picks area- credit where credit is due and all that.

Glamping

I love music festivals but I do not I'm afraid *whispers* like camping very much. It's basically a toilet/ shower/ getting changed while crouching issue. Also living out of a rucksack, never being able to find anything, everything starting to smell either of festival or of hand sanitizer (which is obviously a wonderful invention) issue. I do see the sleeping outside, fresh healthiness of it all (though actually I got a cold after my last festival last year) but for all the lung fulls of sometimes very fresh air there are the hard bits of ground in your back, getting soaked and waking up feeling like you are in the Wizard of Oz in the middle of the night and your house is about to take flight parts.

So generally I find staying up as much as possible is the best solution- and I must say having a camper van did seriously, seriously soften the blow (though you do feel a bit shame faced walking through the tent section at a rainy festival).

However I do like to do things properly and I'm getting very excited about music festivals this summer so in the spirit of getting in the spirit here are some camping essentials and my list of the festivals I think look best this year.

Firstly End of the Road festival in Dorset is astonishingly good this year. It would be on my list without even knowing the bands playing for many reasons, the tipi tent, the cider bus, the light up dance floor in the forest, the woodland library that lets you borrow books for a year (I'm taking one back this year) and so on. it's also a short train ride and pretty ride through glorious countryside on a coach and you are there. This year you can also see Midlake, Laura Marling, Joanna Newsom, John Grant, the Unthanks, The Leisure Society, Caitlin Rose, Willy Mason and more- and you will no doubt find loads of new acts to love because it's that kind of festival. Go for Thursday too because last year there were secret sets by Willy Mason and Darren Hayman and why would you want to miss those things?



In a similar vein but in the hills and mountains of Wales is the glorious Green Man festival. Green Man is worth going to for the Chai Wallah tent alone. You could happily spend the entire festival there drinking chai and dancing to the kind of music that makes you want to keep going even though your feet hurt like they've never hurt before. Also recommended for a great cinema tent where I enjoyed Ponyo last year with marmite toast and tea in my pyjamas. The lava bread burgers by the Green Man pub stage are also worth going for alone.

Also in Wales and much earlier is the Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts which I have obsessively wanted to go to for years and have still not been to. I don't think this one involves camping but it's not the reason I want to go so much, it just sounds like heaven for people who love books and the arts. I will be in Sweden (ash cloud permitting) but if you are going I am very jealous and would love to hear all about it.

Back over in the West Country is the Daddy of all the music festivals Glastonbury, which needs no introduction. This year it's all about Paul Simon if you ask me- but I'm not going so it'll be all about Paul Simon on tv for me.




I also think Open House Festival in Belfast, Deershed Music festival in Yorkshire and Latitude in Suffolk sound pretty ace.

If you are doing the festival sleep over thing then I love these Seagulls and Anchor sleeping bags (found via Cup of Jo). I can't vouch for how warm they'll keep you and stuff but they look pretty. (I am also told an air bed improves camping considerably but I've never fancied taking one on a train).

If you are a reluctant camper like me but would like to try harder, or an enthusiast who wants to find interesting places to peg your tent then the cool camping website and books seem like a very good place to start.

(the pictures above are from the End of the Road festival website).

Cold water surfing

Surfing in Sweden- it's unexpected.

I first came across the notion that people actually walk out into the surf of the Baltic Sea in Intelligent Life magazine. Their story was inspired by and featured the beautiful photographs of Daniel Månsson.

The art of photography has been long established and with digital cameras giving most of us the ability to take passable photographs it is easy to forget just how remarkable these still moments in time can be. Månsson's pictures reminded me how much I wished I was a great photographer and that I am definitely not.

The pictures speak for themselves- both for his talent and for his desire to share the story of the Swedish surfers. You can view a slide show of the pictures at Kontinent. Daniel also has his own website with a print shop and guide to his books- and you can like his Facebook page (if you like to like). He doesn't just do surfing- he has some awesome pictures of skateboarders doing things I don't understand which look good and gorgeous pictures of Sweden that are making me want to visit there again sooner than now (happily I am actually going in May).

It was the cold water surfing that first led me to him though- and which particularly inspired me too. Having surfed in the relative warmth of British waters in the summer (with a wet suit on, obviously) and found my body elated but exhausted afterwards I can only imagine loving something so much that you would wear a 5cm thick wet suit and get into water that is colder than the freshly chilled glass of water on my desk- that is making my teeth stand on end and my fingers turn white when I drink from it. To need to do something so much, that's cool- that's what I want to find in the world.

If you like surfing stuff why don't you also check out this blog by Joanna Goddard on pre second world war surf photographer Don James- with a great re- print.

When I got in touch with Jo to ask if she could give me the link to this story she also recommended a really interesting documentary called Surfwise about an 85 year old surfer, his wife and their nine children- thanks Jo!

I've started making a Spotify playlist of surf songs which I will be popping up here later- but you know what- just put on the Beach Boys and you're pretty much there.


Thanks very much to Daniel for letting me use the above image.

For Folk's Sake It's Christmas

I love Christmas but let's be honest, the music usually isn't cool. Happily the lovely people at For Folk's Sake, who know everything there is to know about good folk and good songs, have made their first album- and it's festive!

For Folk's Sake It's Christmas is available to download on a 'pay what you want' basis and is in aid of the Integrated Cancer Centre at King’s College London, which provides cancer care and undertakes research. Everyone involved in the album gave their time and considerable talents for free and together they've made a collection of songs that I am certain I will be listening to for many Christmases to come.

The full track listing is as follows:

1. Wise Children - I Saw Three Ships

2. Laura Hocking - I Am Christmas

3. Sam Airey - In The Bleak Midwinter/Lonely This Christmas

4. Dan Michaelson - Another Messy Christmas

5. Emily & The Woods - O Little Town Of Bethlehem

6. Evanjack - Homeward Bound For Christmas

7. Bears Den - We Three Kings

8. Tiny Birds - Christmas Is Where I'm From

9. Dear Winesburg - Cherry Tree Carol

10. Brooke Parrott - The Office Christmas Party

11. Josienne Clarke - Silent Night

12. Salwa Azar - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

You can listen to and download the tracks here.

All of the artists featured are really worth listening to- far more so than those who took over the media this weekend- so do check out their myspaces.

Do also follow For Folk's Sake's website and twitter feed for updates on all these artists and lots of other musical delights.

Prom Queen for a day

I went to my first Prom on Sunday night. No not an American prom with big dresses and etiquette I don't understand but a BBC Prom. These Proms, promenade concerts, are a summer series of recitals and performances of usually classical music culminating in the last night of the Proms: the much televised evening of an almost debauched level of flag waving and group singing which your head might tell you is silliness but which can make this lefty smile- even if it's just because surely singing at the top of your voice is much the best way to express a bit of nationalism if you want to do so. The first Prom was in 1895 and the season has been growing steadily ever since then.

I don't consider myself to be knowledgeable about classical music but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate it- and I appreciate it more and more as I get older. I was certainly visiting as something of a novice though- and partly for the experience of a Prom- to be one of those people outside the Royal Albert Hall every summer evening, to take part.

What I found was rather touching. There were people like me of course- also uninitiated, or perhaps going to accompany an enthusiast- and there is an impressive amount of information for newbies; a lovely programme with background on the Proms and the programme of the day, the composers chosen and why, the artists performing, the stories behind the compositions and how they related to each other.

There were also many seasoned Prommers, ripe for people watching. My favourites were the couple who chose not to stand but to lie down in the promenade (read standing) area, take their shoes off and make little pillows from their sweaters to enjoy the show in full comfort (and why not); the little girl who sat on her Daddy's shoulders for the whole of the first half in total silence seemingly gripped by Mozart despite being not more than four years old; the chaps down at the front who knew to shout 'heave. ho' when the grandest of grand pianos was carried in like a magnificent lady in a sedan chair.

If you are interested I saw the evening programme listed here. The pianist who played with the BBC orchestra for the Mozart concerto was Louis Lortie and he was a joy to watch- he has the face and the hands and fingers of a man consumed with love for what he does- how wonderful to find that thing and then to have the gift of being so very good at it. He made me wish again that I had taken those piano lessons my Father offered me.

I am very far from an expert but I thought the Messiaen was too much of a mixture of quiet peace and unsettling percussion- I understood he was trying to show Mozart's life was like that but I'd have preferred something less jarring for the man who gave us so much beauty; the Mozart delightful in every way; the Parry elegy for Brahms full of drama and with quite a filmic quality- and the Brahms was a a lovely surprise- again filled with action and somewhat soundtrack like, stirring, emotive, dark and impressive.

I don't know how well publicised the Proms are too tourists but as an example of something peculiarly British it would be hard to better. I loved being a visitor to that world for an evening. It is also another example of why, if the battle cry comes to save the BBC I will be there. The Proms might not be your thing but the coverage is exemplary and gives the opportunity to people to see and hear world class performance every night for very little (and if you can't get to London you can listen on Radio 3).

Proms memorabilia picture from the BBC website here.

#musicmonday: It's good to share

As the ever wonderful Lauren Laverne points out in this week's Grazia (yeah I know throw me a bone- I was on a long train journey) the people who stop liking a band when they get big are a rather strange breed of music fan.

I come up against the idea that some friends and contemporaries see to have that when an artist or band get too big or popular they should somehow drop off your radar on a weekly basis.

I have had the debate/ argument about whether you are truly a fan or supporter of an artist if you drop them when they do well countless times in person so I thought I would try in print, to see if I could do better.

Now I and I’m sure most people would freely admit that virtually all music is better heard in a small- ish venue- I’m not sure what the exception might be- Queen maybe- I think I’d have liked to have been at that Wembley gig- or festivals. With a truly great band sharing the experience can be part of the pleasure- look at the Blur reunion performances. The joy of seeing lots of up and coming bands is that you do get to see them in smaller, intimate venues and that’s a great pleasure and privilege- but I don’t now go and see a band at a festival because they are on the main stage- just to spite them for being successful- it doesn’t make any sense. Would I refuse a ticket to see Joni Mitchell say in some big aircraft hanger- no. Would I prefer it if I won a ticket to see her somewhere tiny- yes- but I'd just be grateful to see her at all!

So I admit if you have seen a band fifteen times on the way up you might not be thrilled about seeing them at Wembley on a tv screen. Your relationship to a band though isn’t just about live music it’s about when it’s just you and them on the tube, late at night when you are happy or sad, waiting for people, trying to sleep, trying to find solace, ease nerves, to just have fun. Do I like the Beatles less when they are playing just to me in my earphones because perhaps millions of people are listening to them at the same time? No not really. I don’t care I just care that I love the song I’m listening to. In fact perhaps I love them more because I know they are comforting others at the same time.

Sometimes our enjoyment of an artist can be really affected by their ubiquity in the media and especially from over playing of certain songs. Florence Welch is to my mind over exposed at the moment and if I were her or her management I’d probably think about taking it down a notch. Truly though I think it’s partly a question of the media you consume- some radio stations really over play artists to the detriment of both artist and station but there is nothing an artist can do about that- it would be a strange person who said don’t play my song given the current commercial situation. There is definitely an argument that says you can probably over do the press, but likewise I suppose you don’t want to seem aloof or that you take things for granted.

I got to thinking about other artistic work and whether your fandom decreases as it becomes more popular and perhaps it does and I am just less involved in those circles? I don't think so though- you don't get people saying they don't like Van Gogh because his paintings go for more than £30 million these days do you? I suppose it does follow with comedy though that when someone is playing the Palladium they are suddenly uncool- but not theatre- you don't get people saying Simon Rusell- Beale is rubbish do you?

I think the attitude perhaps suggest you aren't a real fan (the word for fan of course comes from fanatic which I guess we only are about a very few acts at any one time). Perhaps it would be truer to say that you enjoy seeing new music and you are even fond of some groups or artists but there you aren't really a loyal follower in my mind if you drop them once they get their wings. If you truly want someone to do well because you so admire their work and love the way it affects you you are handing out their cd right left and centre, chatting about them, telling people they should check so and so out.

If you don't want to share your adoration for something then perhaps you don't really care for it?

Weekend homework: 21st of May 2010

This week six Penguin classics go (RED). The books in the set are: Dracula by Bram Stoker, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton and The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad. Why not read a classic in a sunny park this weekend?



It's the final ever Ashes to Ashes *makes little squealing sound*

I want to go and see the birds playing guitar at the Barbican; doesn't this sound cool:

'Trained as a musician and composer, French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot creates works by drawing on the rhythms of daily life to produce sound in unexpected ways. His installation for The Curve will take the form of a walk-though aviary for a flock of zebra finches, furnished with electric guitars and other instruments and objects. As the birds go about their routine activities, perching on or feeding from the various pieces of equipment, they create a captivating, live soundscape'. (finishes 23rd of May).



If you like Joni Mitchell, which I'm sure those of you with good taste do, catch up on For Folk's Sake's week of articles, reviews and Joni experiences. You could also read this piece on her album Clouds which I wrote for them.

I finally saw Four Lions, I was worried I might find it a bit tough but I laughed and then I cried- you can't ask for much more. It's definitely a very British comedy. They've managed to take extremely serious subject matter and build very real, touching characters- and then through some wonderful acting and astute use of funny runs created a really interesting two hours at the cinema. So I'd recommend it for after the sun goes down.



But while the sun is up and out I will be mostly wearing sandals and enjoying summer in London, when it's here there's nothing like it.

Weekend homework

Your weekend homework, should you choose to accept is:

If you don't already read Mr London Street then head over there for some really sharp, funny, poignant writing (especially for Monday's post which was introduced by me- my bits aren't the funny, sharp, poignant ones).



For relaxing why now download the free Jarvis Cocker National Trust sounds- what a cool idea (although their website doesn't seem to be working this morning so hopefully it will be fixed by the weekend!).

Or if you would prefer music to sounds then Pete Roe's new EP is available for pre- order here. His music is timeless, touching and just filled with goodness. I can't wait to have some new songs of his to listen to.



Show your suppport for Portobello by signing up to Portobello rocks if you would like.



Remember to watch Ashes to Ashes episode 7 tonight or on i-player if you are as crazy about the programme as me.

For some culture I really enjoyed the magnificent maps at the British Library- and again it is free. There is also a Peyton and Byrne cafe to revive yourself in afterwards. I'd actually never been to the library before (ducks, I went to University in London, there are lots of libraries to use at the colleges, I have seen Star Wars). I actually had a funny couple of minutes when I went in and realised how much treasure was there and how important it was. I felt a bit tearful and I wanted to hug it close to me. Then I got sidetracked in the shop and started behaving more normally- but it's pretty great it's there, we are very lucky.



Have fun!

#musicmonday: Rachel Sermanni interview

I first saw Rachel Sermanni play at Communion at the Notting Hill Arts Club in the very earliest days of January 2010. I immediately loved her voice and her songs, which are delicate but strong, very personal and touching.

Rachel features on the Communion compilation album which has rightly received rave reviews since its release at the beginning of March. It is brings together twenty- one artists from the Communion family and I can say honestly that every single track is a stand out. You can read more about Communion here and great reviews of the album on For Folk's sake and the Independent's website.



I asked Rachel if she would do a little interview for A Rose Beyond the Thames and she kindly agreed.

* Hi Rachel, firstly would you like to tell us about yourself?

Ok! Hello, my name’s Rachel Sermanni and I’m 18. I come from Carr-Bridge, a village in the highlands of Scotland. Recently I’ve also been living with my many kind accommodating family members and friends down in Glasgow as the music scene is a bit busier most of the time in the city. I have a very lovely family who, so far, have supported me in my decisions in the likes of not going to uni, living out the suitcase and stuff. I’m just getting into the beginning of my second ‘gap-year’. University is still an option, as it always will be, but for now I’m enjoying the school of life. I’m proud big sister to two bear-like siblings, brother and sister, whom I love very much :-)

* How did you start making and performing music?

I began writing when I wanted to productively use the chords I was learning on the guitar. So, there’d be a chord sequence I’d make up out of the usual D, A, E sequence or something like that and then I’d add words and therefore be able to practice. The excitement of writing did begin to overtake the want for practice, however, once I’d improved. It’s very therapeutic; so I continued, as you can see, to write and experiment with chords. I didn’t perform any of my songs until I was about 15 where I entered a little battle of the bands in our neighbouring village. My brother’s band had also just started up so I feel we have a connection…despite their band being heavy rock and mine being happy folk HA! There were numerous battle of the band type concerts that I entered around the area, it seems that this was the way forward to getting your name known locally.

* I like that you wrote 'song to a fox' (which is a personal favourite of mine) on a train down to London. Do you normally start a song with lyrics, or melody, or can it depend?

I sometimes come up with lyrics in my head but I find it hard to apply them to a chord sequence as it always feels a bit disjointed. The Fox song was different, slightly, as I was so aware and focused on what I was going to write about that there were probably a lot of phrases waiting to be put to melody but in most cases I sit down with the guitar and find a tune and don’t really have any idea on what I’ll write about until I think of a first line. First lines are difficult. My songs always have to have a personal connection, I couldn’t write about someone else’s experience I don’t think. But, anyway, usually the melody and the chords come first…

* You feature on the very wonderful Communion compilation album- was it hard picking one song (My Friend Fire) to put on there or did you know which one you wanted to use right away?

Well, My Friend Fire was the song I recorded down in London just a few months before the compilation release. During recording, we were not aware that it’d be put on the record but later on I was asked. It was my first, proper recording so yes it was quite an easy decision to make. I’m very grateful it managed to get onto the record and I hope that someday I record some more loud ones like that; it was a lot of fun.


* You list lots of your influences on your myspace but what new music are you listening to that you think more people should hear? Especially other Scottish artists that we might not have seen in London but should look up.

I’m very lucky in that my musical social circle over laps with the Scottish Traditional world also. Many of the girls that play with me are primarily traditional musicians and I started out playing whistle and fiddle before ever considering singing. For those out with that sort of circle, they may picture the cliché traditional music of accordion and snare drum on a lonely stage playing irksome ceilidh tunes. But it’s much more than that.

Before I speak of the musicians, I’d like to quickly mention that perhaps my favourite aspect of Scottish culture is Burn’s poetry. Robert Burns has written some of the most beautiful verse I have ever read. It’s all so sincere, romantic and very enjoyable to put to music. I’ve been lucky enough to sing a few of his songs, and they’re all very powerful.

Karine Polwart is a poet of this day and age and her songs are also really great. Her music merges with both contemporary and traditional. I’d recommend her album ‘Scribbled in Chalk’.

* I am a big perfume and fragrance fan and so are lots of the readers of this blog so- although this isn't a question you probably get asked much- what are your favourite smells? They don't have to be perfumes; mine for example are roses, old bookshops and toast

I love the air of the small Scottish islands: it smells very earthy and salty, and fresh; especially before storms. I like the smell of pizza and home-baking. I went through a phase where I liked that chocolate lynx stuff! And my favourite perfume is most definitely Coco Chanel. I got that for my 16th birthday.

* And finally what are you doing next?

I am getting ready to register as self-employed which I’m very excited about. I shall feel very independent and lady-like! There are some other business aspects to focus on which I really should get on with soon…I’m hoping to go on some more tours about Scotland like I did with Stornoway last week (they’re amazing). I have some festivals confirmed for the summer; Belladrum, Wickerman and The Insider. I’m going to play Communion in Dublin next month which I’m really excited about. Pretty much just going to try and get as many gigs as I possibly can this year and perhaps next.
Another very pressing matter is that of a few good recordings. I’m hoping to get some funding to create some quality home recordings soon. It’ll be very exciting when I finally achieve some recordings.

You can buy the Communion compilation album here and you can listen to all of Rachel's recorded songs and keep up to date with her tour dates on her Myspace here. She is also on twitter.

Blur: no distance left to run

I was lucky enough to see the documentary film No distance left to run last night. It is a film in every sense- filled with drama, humour and beautiful cinematography.

No distance left to run is of course about Blur- through them it is about what it was like to be music artist from the early nineties to I suppose the time just before i-tunes conquered the world; about songs and gigs; life on the road and life in the bubble of fame but really it’s a film about friendship and particularly the friendship and love between Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon.

In Hyde Park last summer, as the sun was going down on a truly glorious evening in this beautiful city- and in Glastonbury weeks before in the darkness of that sacred place- it was Tender that felt like the zenith of this band and of the experience- and the relationship between these two men, who co-wrote and co sung that song is just that- tender.

No distance left to run is honest, at times searingly, uncomfortably and therefore fascinatingly so. All of these men are extremely interesting in their own ways. I thought Alex James was a revelation; back in the day he was always the fun one to me, the party animal, the one who didn’t seem terribly complex. To watch him talk about his friends feeling pain, losing them and finding them again- and the expressions on his face when the camera hangs just a moment longer than perhaps he realised was to see a man who probably looks for the light in life but who is more than he seems- and who is a very true friend.

I am sure with this level of access and input they could have made a whole series about this group but I think choosing to focus on their friendship was very wise because this is an interesting film not just for anyone interested in Blur or music but also in male friendships. I hadn’t thought about how different they can be from female friendships before watching this last night and how very pure and innocent they can be.

I don’t want to spoil anything so I won’t say anymore but just watch it if you can- and on the big screen if possible because the footage of the live scenes is great in the cinema. If you don’t manage to it’s going to released on dvd in February with a second disc featuring one of the Hyde Park nights- which should be the cherry on top of the cake that was those gigs.

Hums Oh my baby, oh my baby, oh- why, oh- my.



Images from the Guardian here.

Sigh No More

My favourite band of the moment Mumford and Sons have just launched their website here.

My love of music doesn't come as much as it should here- other sensory and shopping pleasures seem to elbow the tunes to one side but really music is the most constant and present cultural artistic thing in my life- and probably in many peoples.

This band are great- there's music to comfort, music to make you think, music to heal and music to dance to- nay kick your shoes off and hoe down too.

Take a peek and have a listen. Their new album is Sigh No More and it's available from all good record shops- and some really great ones too.

Never let me go

As summer has ebbed and flowed in recent weeks I have been reading Kazuo Ishiguro's beautiful novel Never let me go- a book that is suited to the evenings when the chill is starting to develop after a hot summer's day and also to the days of endless rain that have been a feature of this summer.

I am a long time fan of Ishiguro's book The Remains of the Day and an even greater admire of the film adapatation by Merchant Ivory.

I'm not sure why I have never read anymore of Ishiguro's work. I think I probably felt that it wouldn't be possible to repeat the haunting, melancholy of the atmosphere of the earlier novel and didn't want to be dissapointed.

I had been dancing around Never let me go in bookshops for some time, picking it up, thinking it sounded very interesting and then leaving it unbought.

I am so pleased I finally carried it home. The subject matter is not easy, a story about a group of teenagers attending what seems initially to be a normal boarding school which we come to realise is preparing the characters for a different life to the one we would expect.

One scene which really affected me as a reader and the characters in the novel centres around a song, also called Never let me go. The only lyric we know from the song is in the chorus line ‘baby never let me go’. As I read the passage I found myself wanting to hear the song and then trying to create a tune for myself.

I now read that Never let me go is being adapted into a film, which means they are going to have to create the song to be sung during this scene. I am desperate to know if they are going to record the whole song and if it will be available on the soundtrack. I hope they will make it resonate as much as the idea of it does in the book. It’s unusual with a film but I can’t wait to hear it rather than see it.

Picture courtesy of www.amazon.co.uk