Thoughts of an Anarchist

Voltaire.

No, not the philosopher. The musician. The amazing ‘Gothic Renaissance Man with a gypsy pirate band’, who does such lovely animation and music.

My favourites? Zombie Prostitute (’She was a rotten kind of cute…’), When You’re Evil (’To the gentlemen I’m Miss Fortune, to the ladies I’m Sir Prise’), The Vampire Club (’Fangs were flying, capes were torn; Hell hath no fury like a vampire scorned,’), God Thinks (which is weirdly serious for him, beautifully satirical of every extremist group ever, and contains the line ‘God thinks there was something very wrong with Copernicus…’) and Cannibal Buffet (’We cannibals always say grace… then we eat your face!’). Ah, genius.

There are some lovely tracks up on his myspace, here, if you’re interested and don’t know him. And his animation is awesome. Ah, Voltaire. He’s a wee bit geeky and a wee bit nuts and I think that’s another reason why I like his stuff so much.

I have a rant on Why Feminism Is Not A Bad Thing saved somewhere, but not finished. Watch this space.

Abs x

So, college was good fun today, not as scary as I thought.

I also went to Shrewsbury Folk Festival…

…which was amazing. Jez Lowe, Show of Hands and Bellowhead all converted me for the first time, and Kate Rusby was as wonderful as I knew she would be. Squee. I love Kate Rusby. So much. Her voice and her lyrics and uuugh love her she’s great I am so very happy right now.

Bellowhead were an 11piece load of nutters in suits, and I adored them; Show of Hands simply blew me away with the talent, and Jez Lowe was the kind of disgruntled Geordie you just wanted to pick up and give a cuddle to.

The food was nice, especially the noodles, and I had loads of fun in the craft fair. I also met a crazy mandolin man who gave me his feather and said he’d write me a song, and Dingle’s friend who flung me around at the ceilidhs. Which were also great.

I bought a new trilby!

Oh, and there was also a great mandolin player, Roland Chadwick, who told us an awesome joke:

George Bush, the Pope, and a small school boy are in a plane, about 30000 miles above the ocean, when, tragically but inevitably, the overweight pilot has a heart attack and dies, leaving the three passengers with only two parachutes.

Mr Bush looks at the other two and says “I am the President of the United States of America, the most important man in the world, and the smartest, and I must save myself in order to continue my workerings in the free worlds.” Or something. And he grabs a pack and jumps out of the plane.

The Pope and the small boy look at each other, and then the Pope says “My child, I have lived a full life. You take it, grow up strong for me, and work hard! Fight against evil, and destroy all that is ignorant in this world!”

And the small boy says “It’s alright Father, George Bush took me schoolbag!”

love,

Abs x

ETA: Ha, it appears I wasn’t concentrating when typing. Fixed now. 

FLUTES IN A SONG BAD SONG.

No love,

Me. 

Listening to: Flogging Molly. 

… pation.

So, a certain member of our friends who has asked to remain nameless has accquired a blog; can be accessed on the sidebar via the link ‘The Monarch Dailies’, which should give you a clue as to who they are if you know them. Mindez has also accquired a nice new shiny blog, and by the way

SCHOOL’S OUT FOR SUMMER.

Except it’s not, because, y’know, revision sessions and exams. But still, spent a lovely weekend celebrating. Walked to Lydiard, had barbecue, put up gazebo, it was awesome. And then on Friday evening…

It was beyond awesome. The music was superb, and we all had a great time singing and dancing along with the songs; we’d all memorised some of the alternate script, so we heckled happily:

“Frank’s kisses overwhelmed me and my lips were hungry…” “WHICH ONES?”

“It felt as though she was riding a great - ” “COCK!” “… Well, I’ve got tidal wave down here, but I’ll take cock if you want me to.”

Frank (see left) was gorgeous and wonderful, and even the straight men fell in love with his voice by the end of the evening… he also looked far better in fishnets than I did. He was practically Tim Curry, which was rather scary. Columbia was also brilliantly insane, although Eddie left a little to be desired. We laughed and we came close to crying - or at least I did - in the final death scene… and having sat next to Gemma all evening I can proudly say I heard all the songs in surround sound.

But, in the end, it was fun, and some of the looks as we walked around Bath and Chippenham in corsets and miniskirts were rather amusing (I teamed my red corset with knee high black leather boots). The best had to be Dingle coming down the stairs at the station, wherein a guy screamed “FUCKING HELL!”, although the boys earlier with “CHICKEN LEGS!” and the disapproving chavvy girls were quite funny. There was a sense of comraderie between your fellow Rocky Whores, and at the end you’d see other people in corsets and hug them like lost friends, saying “Wasn’t it wonderful!” and weeping copiously that it was over.

Regardless, next year I shall definately be doing the time warp again. Any one coming with me (I know you will be!)?

“What have you done with Brad?!” “Nothing. Why, d’you think I should?”

I started this rant last month; then I lost my PC. Anyway, will update with more modern news in a second.

 Have literally no voice, as in can’t speak at all, can’t make noise.

Do this, though, people, because it’s really quite accurate and takes a few moments.

miss you x

Google Video Search for Wicked + Idina Menzel. Or just find the songs somewhere. I don’t care. I have the whole album and I’m watching the video right now for the first time and it’s bloody brilliant.

“I don’t see why you can’t just teach us history, instead of all this harping on about the past.”

“There’s been some confusion for you see my room-mate is…”
“Unuuuusually-and-exceeediinglllyyy-percuuuuliar and altogether-quite-imposssssiiible-tooo-descriiiiiibe!”
“… Blonde.”

“You’ll be POPULAR! … Just not quite as… popular… as me.”

“Well, I can see that once again the job of corrupting my fellow students falls to me. Fortunately I am up to the task.”

AND I’m only up to 33 minutes. I think Sophie would like this. The music is superb, some of the best musical songs I’ve heard, it’s hiLARIOUS, the characters are fun and the storyline engaging… it is in general one of the best musicals I’ve seen. And I don’t, as a rule, like musicals.

Defying Gravity > All other songs.

Yay!

Also, I got a B in my Maths, so yay. I got a B in English, so boo.

School = sucky.

Also. SHIT. WE ARE PERFORMING IN THREE MONTHS = ER, WEEKS, I MEANT WEEKS, I TYPED WEEKS, NOTHING TO SEE HERE. THREE WEEKS! I AM DOOMED AND GOING TO DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE.

AND THEN I WILL DIE.

Abs x

I love this song.

We’re off school at last, huzzah!

And I have just one thing to say to that:

MY REINDEER FLIES SIDEWAYS,
YOUR REINDEER FLIES UPSIDE DOWN,
MY REINDEER FLIES SIDEWAYS,
YOUR REINDEER IS DEAD!

Abs x

The hills are alive… with the sound of Abbi…

Yes, kiddywinks, it’s time for me to talk to you about folk rock; my favourite names in the business.

Starting with the amazing, one and only,

Flogging Molly.

Irish-Celtic-Punk-Rock! WHAT is not to love about these guys? Devil’s Dance Floor may well be the best song ever; one of.

“Her blood began to speak as she stood right in front of me,
The colour of her eyes were t’ colour of insanity…”

Also, around 40% of their songs are about pirates. They even have a song which has the lyrics “Drink and drink and drink and drink and drink and drink and FIGHT!” I mean… seriously. Folk rock to the extreme. Any group who can pull off the lyric

“I once loved a girl; a child I am told… I gave me her my heart and she gave me her cold.”

Deserve your love and adoration. Right now. Stop looking at me like that.

Dylan.

Of course. How could I ignore him? His voice takes some getting used to, but his new album Modern Times has an upbeat, almost bluesy feel. I couldn’t avoid him when I went to Portsmouth, and ended up taking the album with me.

Best song of his, however, has to be the classic “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.” The imagery… man, if I could write half as well, that descriptive writing A* would be in the bag.

I can’t really say much more on him.

Tom Paxton.

It’s a rumblin’ in the land! You can’t get much more perfect than the biting, cutting wit of Paxton, and the bittersweetness of “When Morning Breaks”.

Dad introduced me to him, and I was addicted on the spot. He regretted it, as I wouldn’t stop singing:

“Daddy’s taking me to the zoo tomorrow! Zoo tomorrow! Zoo tomorrow!”

Again…. and again… and again…

Simon (& Garfunkel).

Seperately, these two are beautiful - remember Bright Eyes? The only time I could stand rabbits. And Paul Simon does beautiful imagery in all his lyrics. But put them together and you’ve surely got a force for the good! Like Bob Dylan with a million times better tunes.

On The Side of a Hill isn’t one of their best known songs. But it’s the saddest, simplest thing I’ve ever heard. It is also important to note here that you get some very funny looks when singing “Cecilia” at the bus stop.

“MAKING LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON, OOOH, WITH CECILIA UP IN MY BEDROOM! OH, I GET UUUUP TO WASH MY FAAAACE, WHEN I COME BACK TO BED, SOMEONE’S TAKEN MY PLACE!”

You probably know one of their songs, even if you don’t realise it. Sound of Silence? Bridge over Troubled Water? I Am A Rock?

…No?

I despair of you. Never mind. Let’s try:

Rufus Wainwright.

He is very awesome, it’s true. Who else could possibly write a song called Gay Messiah and get away with it? He has folky influences, if not strictly folkrock in itself. So, so much better when he’s off the crystal meth… Want One: has there ever been a better case for musicians going through rehab? Absolute bohemian bliss.

Grey Gardens makes me tear up; Evil Angel freaks me out, and of course… his cover of Hallelujah.

Seriously.

Has a better song ever been recorded or indeed written? Possibly! WHO CARES, though?!

Steeleye Span.

GAUDETE, GAUDETE, CHRISTOS EST NATUS, EX MARIA VIRGINAE, GAUDETE!

Fairport Convention.

Liege and Lief is in fact the best folk-rock album EVER. All of it rocks, every little bit.

… Shut up, you don’t even know them.

That Guy from the Folk Club Who Sang ‘Will Ye Go To Flanders’ And Made Me Wail Like A Small Girl.

Anyone who says anything similar to “But Abbi, you are a small girl!” will be executed on sight.

I’d do some more, but it’s taken about three days to do this much, so… I also love Peter, Paul and Mary. Whether they’re manufactured or NOT.

My throat hurts and I think I’ve got a cold.

And I have Jimmy’s tie.

Abs x

Muse on Sunday were, quite simply, fucking amazing.

I can think of no band I would rather, as Loup put it, have lost my ‘gig-virginity’ to. So… *lights up* Was it good for you too?

Holy hell. Got there, went to get food, got back. QUEUES ROUND TWO BLOCKS, I kid you not. Queued for… a surprisingly small amount of time, saw Jim’s old guitar teacher and nearly - NEARLY! - got tricked into going to the back of the queue by a small Welshman in a fluorescent coat. (Flee! Flee!)

Here is the queue, size of:

When we finally reached the door, another Welshman shouted that LADIES had to queue seperately. They were frisking everyone, saw I was young, and nodded that I could go past. I knew I was small for a reason. When we actually entered the hall, Jim bought stuff and we went off and went to find a place to stand.

We stood.

For ages.

Some really smelly girls came to stand behind us and talked loudly. Then some huge blokes stood in front of us, and I had to politely tap one on the shoulder and say “Fascinating though your back is, is there any chance you could please move a little to the right?” They didn’t knife me, which is always pleasant. Then the Noisettes came on and sang. They were… okay, I suppose. I don’t actually remember a thing about them.

Then we stood some more. Vertigo came on over the speakers, everyone went crazy, it went off, everyone went quiet again. Then, at 9.30…

The black curtain went down. MUSE were on stage. They launched into Knights of Cydonia.

IT WAS SERIOUSLY THE MOST FUCKING AWESOME NIGHT OF MY LIFE.

I have little else to say on it, except that it really was euphoric. Best gig ever. It just - guh.

GUH, I SAY!

Abs x