"I will do anything to be on TV. ANYTHING."

Ryan Ross is, with the exception of Frank Iero, the only man that I have adored completely and consistently since 2004.

"Put a tune to that and you've got a song"

I wanna fly like an eagle
I wanna sing like Sinatra
I got a date with destruction
I wanna love like a mother

thxthxthx

From http://thxthxthx.com/

"I suggest we imbibe copious amounts of alcohol and just wait for the inevitable blast wave."

I finally got around to watching the season five finale of Supernatural. WOW. I would say that it is probably the best season ending they have had so far - and also one of the best episodes. Amazing.

Yorkshire Vibe #1

Yesterday, to celebrate the sunshine, my parents and I went to Spurn Point, which is basically a four mnile long beach that sticks out into the North Sea. It was beautiful! I haven't been since I was very tiny, thus I didn't remember any of it. We walked all the way around the point and the lighthouse, went paddling, and I waved at a passing pilot boat and it tooted a little tune on its horn at me. I got my northern pins out, wore lots of suncream, and basically had a delightful day.

Also, I realise that this place can barely be classed as Yorkshire (East Riding, you Yorkshire fakers) but I wanted to start posting about my adventures around my fair county.

"You have the grand gift of silence, Watson; it makes you quite invaluable as a companion"

I finally got the chance to see Sherlock Holmes. Oh. My. Goodness. I LOVE HIM. Never before have I watched or read a Sherlock Holmes story, but I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Because of Robert Downey Jr, of course. His voice! His accent! His magnificent outfits! He was perfection. There was the whole 'I'm odd and I talk really fast and nobody has a clue what I'm doing apart from me' vibe going on that I adore - Matt Smith as Doctor Who also pulls that off marvellously. The film was classic Guy Ritchie (unnecessarily complicated, lots going on, all culminating in a revelatory speech at the end of the film) which I thought was great. I'm not really keen on Rachel McAdams (boring boring boring) and Jude Law - who was lovely - could have done without the nasty moustache, but overall I thought that this film was quite wonderful. Mark Strong makes a wicked bad guy. And Robert, oh Robert. What a babe.

Just Remember

Oh, hey freedom! I've missed you.

There are two things that I am loving about my life right now:
1. All my university work is DONE.
2. IT'S SUMMER.

So that's it. My second year of university done and dusted. What an absolutely terrifying thought. I only have one more year of this before I am kicked out of my comfortably academic life and thrust, wide-eyed and hyperventilating, into the Real World (dun dun dunnnn). But I am trying not to think about this. Instead I am focusing on the fact that for the next four months, I am FREE.

Yeah yeah, I still have to go to work (yawn) and I still have to get up at 6:30am to do this, and I still have a dissertation proposal to write (but it's about Bret Easton Ellis, so it's cool), but WHO CARES. It's summer and I am going to have a good time. I'm going to a selection of festivals. I'm intending to spend some time in our fair capital when my lovely friend Gregory returns to his homeland. I'm going travelling for a month around Europe. Win win win for me.

And despite the fact that right now I am possibly more tired than I ever have been in my life - in the past three days I've knocked out two essays and had only five hours of sleep combined - things are looking good. Maybe it's the fact that it is sunny and warm (I loathe being cold more than almost anything and my hair reacts to rain like David Cameron reacts to a council estate). Maybe it's the fact that tonight I am going to be spending the evening with some of my best pals (who, depressingly, are almost all going back to their home towns tomorrow - must not think about that).

Maybe it's the fact that I am still feeling violated from last night. Violated in a good way, mind you. Like when someone you really really fancies feels you up, and you pretend to be classy and indignant and definitely not a slag, when really you're thinking ohmygod niiiiice. In fact, today still feels like last night because I have only had one hour of sleep. Stupidly I went to the gig without having even started my 3,500 word American Lit essay...that was in for this morning. Stupid stupid. I kept telling myself, though, as I wept over my laptop in the wee hours of the morning, that this time tomorrow it would be worth it.

And you know what...I was right. I love days like today.

I Got A Date With Destruction

When I was but a young girl of 14, I had an ambition: to see Guy Mcknight in person. Tonight, after a mere six years of waiting, I fulfilled that ambition. Tonight I saw The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster live.

It was the most insane, intense and incredible thing that I have experienced in a long time. I feel like my brain has been punched by pure musical genius. I am tingling all over. My body is aching. It was painful and beautiful and astonishginly mind-blowing. Please do not misinterpret me: I have been to better gigs. I have seen better bands. But I am having a hard job thinking of the last time I saw a band perform with such raw intensity. And I go to a LOT of gigs.

My friend (not Hayley, this time) and I were right at the front. The venue was quite small. There was no barrier between the stage and the crowd; we were leaning on the speakers. The place was packed; it was incredibly hot, incredibly sweaty, and every single girl I saw appeared to be absolutely loaded with I don't even want to know what. The lass next to me actually kept flashing the band. Just pulling h er dress down. It was surreal. They didn't even notice her (apart from the rhythm guitarist, who frowned in a confused, kind of disgusted, way).

They were exactly how I always thought a band should be: focused, committed, and fucking great performers. They owned the room, they really did. They just commanded your attention. And the songs, oh man, the songs just blew me away. They played all the old classics, plus several off the new album (which was released this or last week - BUY IT) which were fantastic. Listening to them play live was, as corny as it sounds, like stepping into a dream world. Everything was just different. It was beautiful.

Now, I know I say this about every band I write about, but please, please go and see them. Tonight was only their second in as long list of current tour dates, and for £9, you cannot got wrong. Go for the music or go for the experience - either way, it will absolutely blow your mind.

Here are some photos I took. They're not up to my usual high standard because I was right at the front and the lights were mad, but you can see McKnight's various stages of undressing.

Hemily

I'm part of a team. Have I ever mentioned that before? We're called Hemily. This word is a clever amalgamation of our names, Hayley and Emily. We're soul sistas. Not even sisters, but sisTAs. There we re on the left. When I post about exciting events that I have happened in my life, Hayley is usually the one who accompanied me.

The reason that I am chit chatting away about this now is that I want to do a post about how much I am adoring Robert Downey Jr right now, but Hayley has already done one. You can see it here: http://theyhadmadeamovieaboutus.blogspot.com/2010/05/robert-downey-jr.html I suspect that people get bored when they are in the company of Team Hemily, because the two of us love pretty much the same things (not always, but mostly) and often it is things that are quite random. Like Edward Norton's chest in American History X. Or the every fucked up sarcastic thing Patrick Bateman says in American Psycho. Or the way Zachary Quinto says 'live long and prosper'.

I'm rambling on. All I really wanted to say is this: Hayley, you may have got there first, but I'm posting my favourite RDJ pictures anyway. Enjoy, they're a treat for the eyes (and luckily he is very accomodating with the amount of time that he has his shirt off).

I Want To Be A 1950s Boy

Nowhere Boy is one of the best films that I have seen this year. I didn't manage to catch it in the cinemas when it was released last December, but I just got in on DVD. I love The Beatles and I love Aaron Johnson, so naturally I was going to love this, but it was far better than I imagined. It is sort of obvious that it is director Sam Taylor-Wood's first full length film, because it is nowhere near perfect. Some of the scenes are quite choppy (or too long) and there is sort of a first-film vibe around the whole thing. But it's a great British film and there's a great cast, including Kristen Scott Thomas, who epitomises glamour, and Thomas Sangster, who is completely adoreable as Paul McCartney, and who also looks like a young Ryan Ross (loovvveeee).

But Aaron Johnson is the best. His John Lennon is actually stellar. Obviously he doesn't look much like him, but he has got the cheeky accent down to a T. He pulls off the same sarcastic humour that Lennon was famous for, and when he sings he sounds just like him. Plus he is unbelievably attractive. He's got this amazing swagger and amazing hair and his clothes! Oh my word, I want his wardrobe from that film. Incredible. It's a cracking film, and even you're not into The Beatles (what's wrong with you?) then you should watch it. It's worth it just for the bit where Aaron first wears the 'Buddy Holly' glasses (I think I have mentioned before my perverse obsession with lads who wear glasses...)

Hidden Gems

I generally listen to quite commercial music. Mostly, when I say to somebody what band I am listening to, they can say 'oh right, yeah'. But there are a few bands that I adore that, while perhaps not being entirely unknown or underrated, they still do not have the recognition that I feel they deserve. So here is a list of my five favourite underappreciated bands. Have a listen. Spread the word.


1. The Sunshine Underground.

When I was 16 I used to hang around in Leeds pretty much every single day, and basically I discovered TSU just by being in the right place at the right time. They were doing a single signing at Leeds HMV where they also played a short live set, and it they were astonishing. I have never ever seen a man wearing jeans and an Adidas tracksuit jacket that could sing as powerfully as TSU's frontman can. I few months later I saw them for the second time, again at a single signing, and they just blew me away. Raise The Alarm is such an epic album, and it really should be heard by more people. I have also recently just bought their second album Nobody's Coming to Save You, and while I don't prefer it, I still love it.

Fun Fact: they're from Yorkshire and the lead guitarist is WELL fit.





2. The Chapman Family.

I saw The Chapman Family in York when I went to see Frankie & the Heartstrings on an NME tour, and they were exceptional. Their music is different to anything that's really going on right now, and when they came on stage they started off with this really weird, rowdy piece of music before they even played any songs, which I thought was a great sign of their confidence, and also bravery as a band. They are probably a band that needs to be seen live to be fully appreciated, but I listen to the stuff on their YouTube and it still makes me happy.

Fun Fact: the guitarist looks and acts exactly like Frank Iero, who I adore. And their band t-shirts are the softest and most comfortable that I have ever purchased.






3. One Night Only

Yeah, you probably know who these are. They did that Just for Tonight song a couple of years ago, remember? Well in 2008 I was obsessed with this band. OBSESSED. Thinking about it now, it is embarrassing how obsessed I was. I saw them 12 times in the space of about eight months. No doubt when their new album comes out in a little while I will do a full on ohmygod post about them, but right now I'll just say this: NME were wrong. NME ripped the shit out of One Night Only every week for about a year, and it pissed me off. Yes, they are seen as a band for 13 year old girls. But that's because they're cute and their music is easy to listen to. If you listen to them, really listen, you will understand that George Craig's voice is actually so beautiful. It is. It astounds me even now how lovely his voice is. And when you see them live, they are so much more raw and powerful than on record. I love them.

Fun Facts: In his spare time, George models for Burberry, probably because he's the most beuaitufl 19 year old on the planet. Me and my friend once went on their tourbus and played poker with them. I got drunk on their WKD.





4. The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster

Eighties Matchbox really, really should be superstars by now. Imagine The Cure, The Horrors, The Mighty Boosh and The Dead Weather with extra Jack White, and then add a strangely attractive goth singer, and you have TEMBD. I'm almost entirely certain that Noel Fielding bases his entire personality on Guy McKnight (singer).

Despite being a fan of the band since I was about 13 or 14, I have never seen them live. UNTIL NOW. I'm going to see them on Thursday and I am uncontrollably excited. Apparently they're one of those bands that it is an experience to see them live, and I cannot wait.

Fun Fact: If you want a good rock 'n' roll story, read this band's biography. Their former guitarist said the following about why the band eventually stopped doing drugs: "Because it's irresponsible, and you can't get anything done, and it stifles your creativity, and there's no benefit in it really, apart from its like going on vacation constantly"





5. Bombay Bicycle Club.

BBC are a really sweet kind of folk-indie band. Jack Steadman's voice is lovely; he's got that whole warbly (is that a word?) thing going on. I saw them for the first time at Leeds Fest in 2007 before NME started bumming them, and then again in Hull in 2008. The thing about BBC is that they genuinely want to be different to other bands - their sound in 2006/7 is quite different to it is now. Back then nobody really played music like they did, but now with bands like Mumford & Sons (incidentally who I aso love), it's quite common, so they have changed to a much more folksy kind of vibe.

Fun Fact: At gigs in the past, BBC used to invite fans to come on stage with them when they played their final song. When my friend and I saw them at Hull, we mentioned this to them, and before they played their last song they asked us to come on stage. You can find their music pretty music anywhere on the internet, so the below video is me and my pal dancing on stage with Bombay Bicycle Club.