Little Wanderer

I am still very much alive, never fear! Not only have I not felt like blogging lately, I keep forgetting to listen to all the new music I've been buying. Ha!

Lately, no music has made me feel like I want to blog about it. Nothing, that is, until I came across the band Lilliput.

It's a funny story how I came across this band. (Okay, maybe it's not that funny...) If you have interacted with me at all in the past 6 months, you'll probably know that I've been voraciously watching the TV series Byker Grove (also affectionately referred to by me as my "children's soap opera"). I merely started watching the show because that's where Ant and Dec's career and friendship began, and before I knew what was happening, I was finishing the the 18th and last series. I love that show, okay. And I'm American so I can't even claim I merely like it for nostalgic reasons. :P

Anyhow, on one of my many walks down the crowded streets of Google, I discovered that Dan[iel] Waterston (who played the character of Mickey in series 15-18 of Byker Grove) was now the drummer in a Sunderland-based band called Lilliput. My hopes were raised when I saw the band's genre described as "alternative folk".

I first watched their video 'Until' and quite liked it, but it was only when I went on to watch their live video for their song 'Little Wanderer' that I knew I had found a new favourite.




Lilliput has yet to release an album or an EP, but you can be sure that I will be waiting eagerly for the day when they do.


(Supplemental link: Head to their official site to join their mailing list and get a free download for their song 'Until'!)

Coming Up

Nikki, a sweet new reader of mine, has given me an award! Thank you so much, dear!


Here are some instructions:
1. Nominate 15 others for the award and inform them with a comment on each of their blogs.
2. Create a post for the Versatile Blogger Award.
3. In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.
4. In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.
5. In the same post, include this set of rules.

Seven Random Things About Moi:

1. I drink my daily coffee black. Sometimes I'll have cream or sugar, but not often. I like it black. I'm prouder of this fact than I should be.

2. I have library cards for two different libraries, and I'm thinking about getting a third. (I'm not collecting them, no. It's just that even with two library systems at my fingertips, there are still many books I want to read that aren't in either of their collections.)

3. When I was a young girl, I aspired to be just like Madeline (from the books by Ludwig Bemelmans). Mainly, I wanted to be as brave as her. Not sure how well that worked out, but I do attribute my Francophility to those books.

4. Due to the fact I have no life, I read somewhere over 440 books last year. (441 according to my goodreads, but there were some re-reads that weren't entered.)

5. I would rather clean toilets for money than babysit. (I've done both, yes, and I prefer the toilets.)

6. I hate eating in public. I'll eat in restaurants, but at parties or other gatherings - no way. We affectionately call it my "public eating disorder".

7. I often professed a desire towards a medical career as a child, but somewhere in the transition from childhood to teenage-hood, I became one of the most squeamish people ever. (Not squeamish when it comes to cleaning toilets, evidently. :P But if someone starts describing a surgery or something - ugh!)

[I should tag 15 people in this space, but if you haven't noticed, I usually skip that step and say if any of my readers would like to do this on their blog, they are welcome to do so, please!]


To make up for my lacklustre facts, and to make this a music-related post, I am posting one of my favourite music videos: 'Coming Up' by Paul McCartney! I've been listening to a lot of my darling Paulie lately, and I've been meaning to post this video for a long time - so right now feels as good a time as any!

'Coming Up' is from Paul's 1980 album McCartney II. The quirky music video features Paul dressed up as ten different people (including a portrayal of himself circa 1963), and his wife Linda dressed up as two.

And sorry - this song will most likely get stuck in your head...

An Ant & Dec Christmas

As is my wont every year, I've been listening to almost no Christmas music. Actually, yesterday I put on a piano Christmas CD... and switched it out for The Greatest Folksingers of the Sixties shortly afterward. Yet, for some reason I do a token Christmas post every year. No idea why. But I do love this season, after all.

Actually, I have been watching/listening to one holiday themed video. Not because it's seasonally appropriate, but because it makes me grin and I adore the lads it features: Ant & Dec.



Ant & Dec (Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly) are two Geordies who have had a prodigious career together as actors, presenters, entertainers, and even *cough*singers*cough* (as they would say). But above all, they are best mates. They don't seem to be very well known here in the U.S. which is a shame. It was only recently I grew to love them through watching old clips of the "children's" show they used to present, SM:TV Live. (Many thanks to a British blogging friend for introducing me!) Before I started watching SMTV I had only seen them once, to my memory, in Susan Boyle's audition for Britain's Got Talent as that is a show they present. Even then, till I re-watched it, I didn't remember them.

The video I'm posting is from the 2009 Christmas episode of Saturday Night Takeaway, one of their many shows. With British singer Robbie Williams, they perform an festive medley that turns into a battle of choirs. All I can say is, it always makes me smile. These two are simply the best!




I wish a very joyous, blessed Christmas to everyone reading! And even to those of you who aren't reading. ;)

Meg & Bryan's Record

Have you ever wanted to release a record? Well, here's how you can do so vicariously!

Allow me to backtrack: the other month I was browsing youtube as is my wont, and I happened upon a video of a duo performing live on some steps. The two people were Bryan Bangeter and Meaghan Maples who make music together under the name Meg & Bryan. Since their sound caught my ears, I started looking up more of their stuff, and liked them better and better the more I heard. I love duos, especially when they're composed of a guy and a girl. And since Meg & Bryan make fun, intelligent music with lots of harmony, they were an instant win for me.

Soon after my discovery of them, I found out that they are trying to release their first full-length album. Through the awesome site kickstarter.com (which is "the world's largest funding platform for creative projects") their fans can help make their record a reality with "pledges". (Mediums like kickstarter are quietly, but surely, becoming the norm, and I have to say I am immensely in favour of them!)

Anyway, I'm just putting this out there for awareness - pressure not included. :)
If you want you to learn more you can check out their kickstarter here, or perhaps go to their bandcamp and download their live EP for free!

Here's a video of Meg & Bryan performing one of their newer songs, 'Expire'.






And guess what! I have December's artist of the month all picked out and everything! I'm just eagerly waiting to post all about her, though I suspect I maybe alone in this particular enthusiasm; but I care not!

Autumn Tree

Oh. my. word. Today I had one of those wonderful moments where I accidentally stumbled across a song that just reached out and touched me in a deep, hidden place that few songs reach.

This is the video for the song that has so affected me: Milo Greene performing their song 'Autumn Tree' live at Ashley House:




At first when it started I thought, "Oh, this sounds a little too country..." But as the song grew and filled me I thought, "No, this song isn't 'too' anything. It's perfect."
I think ultimately it must have been the harmonies that captured me so fully. I'm a sucker for people standing around around in the room making impassioned, harmonic music {like this}. The lyrics, though, are also lovely and evocative.

I don't know much about Milo Greene yet except that they're a quintet whose music I will definitely be listening to in the future. {Sorry, the internet is not forthcoming with info about the band and it's too late at night for me to care enough to do extensive research. ;)
Their official site is here if anyone is interested.}


Somehow, songs like this always come around when I'm feeling really uninspired. There must be an Angel of Music watching out for me. ;)

Love is a Tricky Thing

Ah, me. It's always when I swear I will be posting that my brain gets paralyzed and nothing inspires me to write.

This is just a pathetic, diminutive post to share a music video I'm addicted to right now. This post might have been better if blogger had not shut down yesterday because now I find I am too tired to finish this post properly after this evening's miniature meltdown. {Heh... heh... *sigh*}

Anyhow, I've been watching Julie Feeney's music videos lately. {Artist bio in a nutshell: Julie Feeney is an Irish singer/songwriter/producer/conductor etc.! Let's just say, she can do it all!}
At first, I just watched her videos for the videos themselves, but then I started going back for the actual music. Today I am posting my favourite of her videos, 'Love is a Tricky Thing'. (But I would recommend the other two: the quirky, catchy 'Impossibly Beautiful' and the beautiful 'Aching' which really will have you aching by the end, in a good way.) 'Love is a Tricky Thing' is my favourite because I like the song and lyrics best and the video is just too darn cute! Definitely one you want to jump into and walk around in.




Alright, that's all for now. Oh, on an unrelated note, I turned 18 last Saturday! Now I can get duly punished for all my crimes. Oh dear. :P

Poison & Wine

My computer and I are lodged in a battle. I am afraid my computer is going to win in the most vengeful way possible... he is going to die. Quite a spiteful fellow he is.
Since I have been struggling with my computer for a couple hours or so, I'm keeping it simple today. {Though at the moment we seem to have reached some sort of truce. *crosses fingers*}

I am posting one of my most favoritest songs ever: 'Poison & Wine' by the Civil Wars!
I've posted about The Civil Wars before, back in July when I first discovered them. But at that point, I had never heard this amazing song. Since then it has become a favourite and is a constant inclusion on playlists I make for everyday listening... And I have fallen asleep to it countless times. {It's a good thing, heh.}

Regardez!

{YouTube Link. Stupid cut-off edge...)


That's all for today. I hope by tomorrow my computer will have learned better manners or at least a less drastic way of doing warfare. :P

Let Me Go

Here's a noteworthy song I came across the other day while flitting around the internet. 'Let Me Go' by The Chapin Sisters.

The Chapin Sisters consist of real-life sisters Abigail and Lily Chapin. Their half-sister Jessica Craven is also a member but as of 2010 has taken a leave of absence. Apparently their father/stepfather is Tom Chapin. {A fact which might impress me more if I had known who he was. :P} Actually, many of their family members are musicians, so it must run in their blood.

The Chapin Sisters' sound is a mixture of folk, blues, and pop. Their lyrics are somber and full of heartbreak, most of which they caused themselves. And of course, what good is a sister act without gorgeous harmonies? Well, check! They have them.

Ever since I heard this song, I have not been able to stop listening to it... {Ok, well, that might be a slight exaggeration.}

I Just Realized

You know what I thought would be fun? If I posted a song every day for a week! I know, you're probably thinking "Tell me why that is fun, exactly?" And well, it's not. But I want to do it and this is the perfect time of year for it, so paste a smile on your face and let's go!

Basically I shall be posting the songs that have been "rocking out to" lately. {Well, if I rocked out, which I don't. And if the music I listened to induced rocking out, which it doesn't.}
So, let me phrase this differently... I shall be posting the songs I have been listening to constantly as of late.

The other day I saw the music video for this song, 'I Just Realized'. It is by an artist named Matt Wertz. I had never heard of him before but this video made me an instant fan! ;)
I think it is so sweet! I love the video's lighting and summery aura. It makes me feel nostalgic for some reason. The song and lyrics are marvelous as well... Oh, I just love the whole thing!




Well, that's all for now! I'll see you all tomorrow. :P

A Hard Day's Night

I remember a weekend afternoon about 3 years ago, my father bringing home a movie he had randomly bought at Barnes & Noble. The movie was A Hard Day's Night. He had seen it before but the rest of us had never heard of it. We all sat down to watch it.
Our lives were never the same again.

A Hard Day's Night, made in 1964, was the first film to star The Beatles. The plot is basically "a day in the life of The Beatles". Following their madcap lives: running from fans, performing on telivision programmes, doing interviews, From the first scene I was hooked. Their cheeky, hilarious and almost random dialogue was right up my alley. I loved their Liverpudlian accents and just plain adorableness. After we watched the film, Beatlemania hit our household 40 years late.

Of course, I had known who The Beatles were. I had even listened to them. We had a tape of their love songs and my mom and I would listen to it. Until we lost the tape, that is. And of course, my father was a fan of theirs. Still, my siblings and I had not been fully converted.
But after A Hard Day's Night, I became like a sponge whose main purpose in life was to soak up as much information about The Beatles as she could. And I did. I still retain most of that knowledge though I am not as obsessive as I once was. I still think they are the greatest band ever.

I love the early Beatles with their clean-cut image....

and I love the later Beatles who were bickering more often than not.


Give me the name of one of their songs and I can sing it for you, tell you which Beatle sang it and spout trivia about the story behind the song or interesting recording details. {Just think, the first time I watched the movie I couldn't even tell them apart!}

And of course, the inevitable question, do I have a favourite Beatle?
Why, yes, I admit, I do have a favourite. Though I love them all, I have a thing for Paul McCartney!


{You cannot deny the cuteness!}

Anyhow, I polled my siblings, asking them what song in A Hard Day's Night was their favourite. 2 out of 3 voted for the song 'I'm Happy Just to Dance With You'. {The third couldn't make up his mind. *makes a disapproving face*}

So, here's the video clip from the movie where they sing it. {The actual song starts about 35 seconds in.}




{As usual, watch it here if the chopped off side gets on your nerves.}


Since, 'I'm Happy Just Do Dance With You' is not very long, I figured I'd post another song. Which is a bit problematic since I love all the songs in A Hard Day's Night. I finally decided, when in doubt, post the title track! ;)
So, here it is, the song 'A Hard Day's Night'! {The video is the opening credits and most of the first scene, so you can watch some of it if you so desire.}

{Youtube Link}

Crayola Doesn't Make a Color For Your Eyes

I have returned! I was many states away, visiting relatives that I hadn't seen in 20 years. {Quite a feat, indeed, since I am only 17!}

Anyhow, last week I made a conscious decision to go search for new music to listen to.
It did not work out very well.
I've found I usually have better luck when I don't make a conscious decision to go on a music search. {Must be good ol' Murphy's law.}
Though, that is not to say it was a total waste of time! I did run across this unique song by Kristin Andreassen, 'Crayola Doesn't Make a Color For Your Eyes'.
The lyrics to this song, and the song itself, are adorably fun. I found myself involuntarily smiling the first time I heard it.

It also has a music video {which has lots of cute kids in it!!}:

{Disclaimer: Don't blame me if you find yourself randomly humming/singing this.}

Help Me! Help Me!

For the past 24 hours I have been helping my sister babysit a family {three children, all under 5} while their parents went away for a night. Well, I got there at 4:30 and I thought the parents were coming home at 12 P.M. the next day. Turns out, I had misunderstood and they were coming back at 2 or 3. "Ok," I told myself, "I can do this. No big deal." That was before the parents got stuck in traffic. We were there until 5: 15....
Now, I don't mind babysitting every once in a blue moon, but it's not really my thing. I was beginning to think I would never get to leave! Even my sister, who is a super-babysitter, was going stir crazy.
But it was fun. Really.
...
No, really it was. The kids were sweet and well-behaved. :)

I've also been trying to write a post for about a week now. But I've been vacillating between various song, reaching no resolute conclusion. Then, today, the appropriate song to post hit me: 'Help Me! Help Me!' by Lucy Schwartz. {Haha. Can't imagine why I picked that...}
To be more specific, I am actually posting the music video for 'Help Me! Help Me!' since I think it's quite cute, though not as cute as Lucy Schwartz herself. :)
Lucy Schwartz is a talented, young singer-songwriter who makes pop/folk/jazz music which doesn't sound overproduced. If life were fair, we would be hearing people like her on the radio instead of... well, those artists-of-which-I-do-not-speak.



{You can watch here, if you so desire. Since it gets cut off on blogspot...}

The Civil Wars

I've been in a bit of a blue funk lately. So, every time I come to write a blog post I write a few sentences then save it as a draft to "come back to later". {Whether I will or not is debatable!}
But today, I stumbled upon a band that made me want to write a post! Which is quite an improvement. :)

I was on some band's myspace, watching one of their videos. When it ended all the related videos came up. The first one showed an image of a woman and a man with a guitar. It looked promising! So, I clicked on it. And it exceeded my expectation.

Turns out, the band is called The Civil Wars and it is composed of Joy Williams and John Paul White. Apparently, this song, 'Falling', was the first song they ever wrote together!




I am inestimably glad that I found this band. They have definitely brightened my day! Their music really strikes a chord with me. {No pun intended. :P}
If you go on their myspace you can download their live album for free! {Something went wrong with my download, though. But thankfully, there was a provided solution.}

How is everyone's summer going? This summer my best friend has been our library. :)

Boat Behind

Salut! This is Melee logging in from her sick bed!
Yup, I have a rather unpleasant fever. I felt it coming on most of yesterday and sure enough, last night, my temperature decided to hang out at 100 degrees. It's still hanging out there, apparently it's having to much fun to leave. Wish I could say the same for me. :P

My computer, likewise, is sick again. *rolls eyes* It wasn't my fault this time either! So, it's left me deserted again, without my music files and I don't know when it will be back.
Sooo... music video, anyone? :)

The music video I decided to post is 'Boat Behind' by Kings of Convenience because right now I really wish I were out riding in a car on a warm, sunny day.
And also I simply love Kings of Convenience! They are often compared to Simon & Garfunkel, which suits me just fine! And since most of my music is dominated by female singers, it's nice to have some male singers I really love too. :)

Ta-ta for now! Hope everyone has a pleasant weekend!

When Your Blackening Shows

My laptop is still not fixed but I thought I'd grab a moment here and post a music video I love,
'When Your Blackening Shows' by Our Broken Garden.
The artistry, and woebegone wistfulness of this video appeal to my innermost soul. :)





I hope you all are having a nicer winter than I am. What is it like to be warm...? I don't remember.... {This song definitely fits my mood right now.}

Out of commission...

Well, due to my clumsiness (*blush*) my laptop is out of commission for the time being.
Thankfully it can be fixed!
But... I won't have it back until mid-February. So, I won't really be able to update my blog cause all my music is on my laptop.
And I don't know how often I'll be on the computer to comment on blogs either.
Yes... I'm rather vexed and sad.
Such is life.


I didn't get a chance to do a post about the artist of the month last month, KaiserCartel. But, it is coming eventually! Till then I'll post the music video for their song 'Blue Sky'.

Ta-ta for now!

Actor Out of Work

And as a special bonus, I shall post my favourite music video of 2009: 'Actor Out of Work' by St. Vincent!



Watching this video for the first time was a very memorable experience for me... ha... haha. ;)
I introduced it to my brothers and they were vastly amused by it too. And they even like the song! Which is amazing considering they don't tend to like female vocalists. *rolls eyes*

Hope everyone has a great weekend! :)

Our Own Pretty Ways

It's 2010 now! How weird is that? It still feels like 2005 to me...
Anyway, I've been really busy lately and school starts tomorrow so I don't know how much blogging time I'll have.
But, I'll try to make time because I want to post my 5 favourite songs from 2009!

Until then, here's a group called First Aid Kit that I've had bookmarked in my "artists to listen to" for a while, but I didn't actually listen to them til New Year's Eve and I think they're pretty fantastic!
The group is made up of two sisters from Stockholm: Klara and Johanna Söderberg.

Here is a video of them performing one of their songs "Our Own Pretty Ways" in some woods near their home:



{Siblings do the best harmony!}

Les jours de neige en ville

They are calling for SNOW here!! Quite a bit of it too!!! (Where I live, it gets bitter cold, but snows very little. At most it flurries and sometimes we get a covering of snow on the ground in January.)
So, I am very excited... but still a bit doubtful.

It's very fitting that I have been listening a lot lately to Amélie-les-crayons' song, 'Les jours de neige en ville' {'Snowy days in town'}.
Amélie is very quirky, lyrically and personally speaking. But this lovely song is a little more serious. From what I gather, reading different sites, Amélie wrote this song after the tsunami in Indonesia, while in Lyon, France, everything was covered with snow. The contrast between horror and peacefulness was so astonishing that she wrote this song. Apparently the lyrics are about the contradiction between the rumble of an ordinary town and its quietness when it's covered with snow.




{Click here to download.}


*looks out the window* IT'S SNOWING!!!!!! =D

Falling Slowly

I've known the song 'Falling Slowly' by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová for a couple months now. But it was only very recently that I realized how amazing it is!
This song was first on the album they made together The Swell Season. (The Swell Season is now the artist name they record under.)
I found out that 'Falling Slowly' was also in the film they both starred in, Once. So I began listening to the film's soundtrack which is incredible. Most of the soundtrack's songs are written by Glen and Markéta. (Separately and together) I haven't actually seen the movie, but I hope to someday...

Here's the song accompanied with clips from the movie:


I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend! :)


-EDIT- I thought it might be fun to have an artist of the month! It would just be whatever artist has particularly been tickling my fancy. It could be someone I've posted about before or not.
This month's is going to be The Swell Season! (The box is located on the left, right under my explanation. I'm sure you've already seen it. :P)