Meeting my musical heroes.....yay!

I have now had the absolute pleasure of meeting one third of my own personal heroes. Being an introvert personality (more on that to follow soon), there aren't many famous people that I would actually want to say hello to, but Turin Brakes are definitely on that list. And on Monday I got to do just that. They were performing and signing in a record store called Fopp in Covent Garden to promote their latest album, We Were Here.

I was lucky enough to receive my preordered copy through the post on Saturday and had been listening to it on repeat ever since. I had been feeling a bit down, but as soon as I put the album on I was surrounded by a lovely warm comforting feeling. I'm going to write more of an album review later on so I won't say too much now.

I've never been to a signing in a store before so I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but we all queued up outside and were ushered in to a cleared space downstairs. They came out and sang 3 songs from the new album and 2 old favourites, including my second favourite song of all time (Underdog). They were fantastic as always, and it sounded great being in such close proximity.

I have to admit to being very nervous waiting to get my album sleeve signed - I find talking to people I don't know pretty difficult anyway, especially the dreaded small talk, but actually being face to face with the people who have created such beautiful music that really has meant an awful lot to me, was a bit scary. I decided to just tell them that I thought the new album was like a great big musical hug. And that really is true. If you're in need of some comfort, go order it. Until you do, here is a sneak peak.....

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the other 2 people on my list to meet are Som Wardner from My Vitriol and the legend that is Karl Pilkington!

Tuesday Tunes - the return!

I've really been getting back into music this last year, so I want to continue my Tuesday Tunes and share all my favourites and any new discoveries. Today's song comes from the album 'Seven Rainbows' by Alice Gold. It had been on my Amazon wishlist for some time, and I finally took the plunge. And yes, I did buy the actual CD. There is just something so much more satisfying about finding a good new album if you actually have it in your hands. I don't buy all my music on CD by any means, but after my '30 before 30' project when I made an effort to discover new music on CD every month, I do buy them when I'm pretty sure I'll love them! This one even had the lyrics printed in the sleeve (sorry to everyone who hears me singing along). And now, on to the music............

I've only listened to the album once through, but it really is pretty good. Reminds me a bit of Bat for Lashes, Marina and the Diamonds and The Pierces. Well worth a listen if you like this sort of thing. And, apparently, she lives on a narrowboat!

Runaway Love by Alice Gold

Q is for ...Quixotic

Q always causes problems. In scrabble it's the annoyance of needing a U to make a word. Unless you're one of those irritating people that scour the official Scrabble dictionary to come up with stupid words that noone has ever heard of (if you are one of those people, you might like to look here!). 

The only thing I've bought lately that starts with a Q is the album Quixotic by Martina Topley-Bird. By choosing this as my daily post, I am giving those aforementioned Scrabble enthusiasts a new killer word - Q and X means a pretty big score - imagine that on a triple word-er!  The album itself, incidentally is really good, but hard to describe. I suggest you have a listen to some tracks on her myspace page and make up your own mind. 

So, what the hell does quixotic mean anyway? Well,  According to dictionary.com it has 3 meanings, so we can take our pick;

1. resembling or befitting Don Quixote
2. extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical or impracticable
3. impulsive and often rashly unpredictable

I like number 3 best. I wonder if I can get quixotic into a sentence today...........