more trophies than ideas

here are some pictures that i've reblogged on tumblr recently. Humbug is a year old, it's a year since the amazing Web Transmission and i suppose technically it's a year to the day since i first saw Arctic Monkeys live.

it was Leeds Festival last year. to say i'd been a fan for roughly 3 or more years, believe it or not this was my first 'opportunity' to see them. i'm not gonna go into what the experience was like, let's just say Glasvegas made my spine tingle and Arctic Monkeys just put a smile on my face.

since then, of course, i've seen them again. it was at the MEN arena in Manchester. to anyone who is actually reading this, you might remember me blogging about it back in November. that was a much better show to say the least.

the other night, i made a playlist. it consisted of 8 Arctic Monkeys songs. those 8 songs are the ones that i genuinely love, properly fully completely adore. but pretty much, they're the 8 songs that i can actually listen to any more. without thinking that they're 'not that band now'. does this make me a 'bad fan'? no. because i don't have Terror Pocket or Sandtrap does this make me a 'fake fan'? no. it just means that i have genuinely moved on with the band instead of claiming to and yet secretly hoping they slot A Certain Romance into a set.

basically, i still love Arctic Monkeys. but they're not my favourite band. they're high in my 'top five'. but they're not at the number one spot any more. i'm not giving them up. that would be ridiculous. that would detract any 'meaning' to my life over the past four years. and i'd be considerably out of pocket, too.

when album number four is released. when i see them live again. when they do something that seriously excites me. that, i honestly cannot wait for.

we've got obsessions

long time no blog... i'm still posting pretty much daily on tumblr though.

not really a lot to say, i'm really excited for Tramlines and my favourite electro duo from Sheffield have been retweeting me a few times recently which i have been enjoying.

went to London last Wednesday which was several shades of brilliant. i wrote all about it here if you care to read it :)

other than that i'm pretty much just loving Ellie Goulding a lot and errrm that's probably it...

ooh, i've got last.fm which lead to Heat Magazine giving me 5 promo CDs when we went to Bauer Media in London last week.

so that's it really. here's a quick play list of my favourite tunes at the moment.

Lights - Ellie Goulding

Roscoe (Midlake cover) - Ellie Goulding

Master Of Disguise - The Backhanded Compliments

Annabelle Was Her Name - The Backhanded Compliments

Plastic Tramp - Arctic Monkeys

The Afternoon's Hat - Arctic Monkeys

Are You Satisfied? - Marina And The Diamonds

Obsessions - Marina And The Diamonds

Mowgli's Road - Marina And The Diamonds

older does not always mean wiser

yo.

work today was draining. this heat is just silly today, thick heavy air with no breeze. yuck. stuck inside a small building with a constant circulation of hot air and sticky hair products. was glad to be out at lunch time. got no work next Saturday cos my boss is on holiday, so it means i get to rest after my trip to Birmingham.

booked another Saturday off towards the end of the month, cos there's a slight possibility i'll be in Manchester. :D don't know how i'm going to afford all this, just realised i've got a few family birthdays coming up. then Father's Day is this month at some point. hmm.

yesterday i hung out at my cousin's house with her and her kids. they're the cutest little things. its amazing watching them grow up, but sorta sad at the same time. i love talking to my cousin about music, she was telling me about her festival experiences and when she saw Manic Street Preachers at Shepherds Bush Empire. her kids are so lucky to have her. her eldest, who is 4 likes Kasabian! and my cousin announced that she loves Crying Lightning which was cool to hear.

i've been writing here quite a lot, doubt anyone is really reading though. sorry for boring you.

here's some photos that i've re blogged or posted on Tumblr recently. :)

close your eyes and count to 10

spent a bit too much today i think... but oh well!

i got a knitted/bodycon dress in the Topshop sale. i saw it before christmas and it were £45, got it today for £18 with Student Discount.
got a replacement grey zip up hoody from H&M. the last one i got was 4 years ago and it's a size 6. which i am certainly not! aha. its lovely and new so hopefully it'll be warm too. :) that were about £15.
then i spent £20's worth of HMV vouchers on CDs.

# The Strokes - Is This It?
# Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You.# Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum# The View - Which Bitch?
all are cds i've been wanting for a while but didnt really want to pay like £6 upwards individually for them. my Crying Lightning promo cd i got from ebay for 99p also arrived today!
i just wish my other stuff would hurry up and arrive. even though i only got most of it on Sunday/Yesterday.

she was marrying the matador but he was with the weather girl...

finally beginning to build up my physical collection. after just having the 3 albums and the latest singles on vinyl i went on a 'mini spree' on the Domino store earlier in the week.
i thought i'd start off with some of the most important stuff, like EPs then move onto singles a bit later.

so this is what i bought;

snagged myself a Teddy Picker promo off ebay in the summer too :)

around your crooked conscience she will wind

thought i'd post while i'm waiting to get some feeling back in my face after being out in the cold for like 5 hours. a lot of people seem to be doing their Top 10 Albums of 09 lists but instead i'm just going to tell you what my favourite records from this year are and not care about numbers. :)

Skanky Skanky - Toddla T. first and foremost. the most important album from 2009 for me. it really did change my perspective on music and got me into loads of new genres, djs and producers. it made me think 'how am i ever going to like guitar music again?' i loved it so much. it's got a thoroughly Sheffield vibe even though it brings in Jamaican dancehall amongst many other genres. Toddla blends it all so well it really is impossible to hate this album. another contributing factor to how good it all sounds is co-producer Ross Orton. He's incredible. End of. as well as being musically brilliant Skanky Skanky is also hilarious. the interludes and just generally Mr V and Serocee make it worth a listen. He collaborates with the likes of Tinchy Stryder, Matt Helders, Shake Aletti and Roots Manuva. i can't fully explain just how much i love this album. best thing i've heard all year. :)

A French Kiss In The Chaos - Reverend And The Makers. at one point i liked this more than i liked WPSIATWIN. which is a big thing for me. very big. it shows just how amazing this record is. a complete step up from The State Of Things the makers take it to a new psychadelic level. lyrically it's so much more interesting too. each and every song is just wonderful. the first song i heard from this album was Professor Pickles and admittedly, i wasn't keen on the first few listens but i soon came around and it slots in great on the album. my favourite tracks are Mermaids, The End and Hidden Persuaders.

Humbug - Arctic Monkeys. on first listen i wasn't too fussed. and i will admit that it took about 30 listens to fully appreciate and love every song. i can't possibly write down why it's amazing or why i love it but i do. i might go as far as saying i like it more than WPSIATWIN but i've been hasty with that before so i won't go there again. i would quite happily go to a gig where they just played this album (and b-sides of course). favourite tracks are Pretty Visitors, The Jewellers Hands, Dangerous Animals, Potion Approaching and Dance Little Liar.

other albums of note from 09; Better Than Heavy - Mongrel. Kings and Queens - Jamie T. Hands- Little Boots.

i'm worried i'll forget your face

2 photos to sum up this past weekend. one taken on a macro setting on my fujifilm mini-slr. the other on my phone camera. guess which one's which ;)

Good Evening Manchester, Are You Mad For It?

last night aka best night of my life!!

after four long years of being a dedicated fan i finally got to see my favourite band in an non-festival crowd!
i was standing at the MEN arena, Manchester. which i was proper nervous about cos i'm really tiny and arenas are huge and everyone is taller than me, stronger than me, and much more pissed than me. haha. i got bashed about a bit, but after the support band (Eagles Of Death Metal. anyone who was there will know how awesome they were!) we found a decent spot then when they came on, went fully for it!
i was dubious about them opening with Dance Little Liar but in hindsight i have no idea why! it was bloody incredible. they went straight into the faster crowd pleasing songs such as Brianstorm then just before Dancefloor, Alex said to the crowd "who's seen Arctic Monkeys before? this one's for those who havent" arrrrgh! the crowd went mental!!
i can't physically pick a favourite song from the night because i'm so overwhelmed by it all i cannot decide. The Jewellers Hands worked perfectly in the middle of the set. and i'm proud to say i was one of the few who dint shit themselves when the confetti cannon went off in Secret Door. (because i knew it was going to happen ;) haha)
the encore consisted of 505 and FA/Mardy Bum mash up. the set was quite short, and incorporated no b-sides or anything. but it was still awesome. they had the audience in the palm of their hands.

i ♥ John Ashton

Nice Try, You Cannot Turn Away But Nice Try

Went to get the vinyl from Oxfam at lunchtime. Only to find out that they didn't have it. And neither did HMV. So i spent £2.20 on bus fares to get into town and back from 6th form for nothing! Certainly put me in a bad mood, especially as i'd restrained from listening to leaks of the b-sides. I don't regret not listening, just exercising my patience y'know :P So i've ended up ordering the 7" from HMV and it should come in the next few days. I couldn't wait much longer for the b-sides so i've downloaded them from iTunes. They're okay, but i don't think that they're worth the hype around them. Fright Lined Dining Room is much better than Catapult. They're kinda strange cos they're neither FWN era or Humbug. i cannot really place them. People are saying that they should have been on Humbug but i see them as very b-side material. Brilliant lyrically and drumming wise but i feel like they're lacking something. Nevermind, at least they're not awful. Only a few days to go now! :)

Like A Butler Pushing On A Bookshelf I'm Unveiling The Unexpected

i who was earlier reluctant, was suddenly embarassed and corrected

hiya :)

since my last post, my arctic monkeys tickets have arrived in the post. so excitement has been kicked up yet another level. wasn't at 6th form yesterday cos i wasn't too well, so ended up playing Humbug on repeat. it was also the soundtrack to my wait for a bus that was 40 minutes late tonight. it's such a brilliant record, and even The Jewellers Hands has grown on me. my favourite track at the moment is Dance Little Liar.

In case you've noticed, which you probably haven't ;) i've added a links section on the right hand side of my blog. under the title 'dangerous animals' i will think of something better at some point! anyway, i'll give you a run down of what i've linked.

www.arcticmonkeysuk.com/forums better than the offish anyday ;)
http://www.betterneverthanlate.blogspot.com/ biggest inspiration to start a blog.
http://www.alltheprettyvisitors.blogspot.com/ wonderful :)
http://www.drinkteabecontent.blogspot.com/ good stuff :)

if you haven't already, check out those sites. will add more at a later date. have a good week everyone! xxx

Fright Lined Dining Room

it's safe to say that i'm pretty bloody excited for the Cornerstone vinyl. even though it's not one of my favourites from Humbug, i'm just anticipating the b-sides. i'm also sticking to my guns from when Crying Lightning was released and not downloading any leaks of the b-sides. :)

10 days til Cornerstone.
16 days til AM @ MEN Arena.

Seventeen

hiyaaaa.

this half term's been great, however now i'm left with a lot of work and no time.

for the first time probably ever i've been busy every day of the holiday, so it wasn't procrastination stopping me from working. although today i've been pretty bad considering i got up at 9.30 to do work and at nearly 7.30 i haven't even written a page. oops!!

oh well, i will get it done before first period tomorow...

On Thursday night i went out for a meal at Pizza Express with my friends to celebrate my birthday which was lovely. had a really funny night and got some brilliant presents :')

Me, Olly and Loz ended up back at Olly's watching Scrubs and before i knew it it was almost midnight. so we stuck around and cranked out the vodka and orange. it was the most memorable start to a birthday i think i've ever had! :)

for my 17th i got a Nixon watch, might post a picture later it's so beautiful. and a Parka. :) got loads of topshop vouchers and some money too. wasn't keen on driving lessons and besides i still haven't sent off for my provisional. went out for a meal with the family on Friday night.

yesterday was Halloween and as opposed to going to this big party which the majority of the people i know were going to, me and a friend decided to go on a ghost walk which ended up being this crazy ghost vigil thing. :S so we ditched it and had a wander round town. we ended up in Pizza Hut. haha. so we had some food then went down to the river for ages. i might not have been as eventful as the party but it was a pretty enjoyable night anyway. haha "i'm a fucking wolf!"

ready to go back to 6th form now, i need to find a work ethic from somewhere.

on a brighter note; 15 days until the Cornerstone vinyl

and 20 days until Arctic Monkeys at the MEN arena.

♥