If I should Fall Behind

I am Huge Springsteen fan, and have been for as long as I remember, so how I haven't come across this version of this song until now is beyond me.

I adore it. I adore every single thing about it.

It was regularly performed on the band's 1999 Reunion tour. The Boss, Little Steven, Clarence Clemons and Patti (his wife) took turns singing parts of the song.

I read that he wrote this song as a love song for his wife, and once described it as "one of the best songs about the dedication to one another that comes with love".

Enjoy.

B x

A Music Video That Stopped Me in My Tracks

Have you ever heard of Andrew Hozier Byrne?

I hadn’t, until very recently, when I came across the music video for his song “Take Me to Church”, which went viral within a day or two of being posted a couple of weeks ago. Smashing vocal, haunting lyrics and clear instrumental prowess aside, this video went viral because it did a very good job of bringing to life – with real cinematic beauty and hearty storytelling – an issue which simply shouldn’t exist in any society.

Hozier is an Irish singer-songwriter (originally hailing from County Wicklow) whose debut EP, also named “Take Me to Church” came out earlier this summer.

The video for this song follows the relationship between two gay men and the violently homophobic backlash that occurs when some people in their community learn of their sexuality. I didn’t realise it myself initially, but after doing a little digging I came to learn that the video was referencing (and I take this phrasing direct from Hozier himself following an interview he did with Irish magazine, State) “the recent increase of [organised] attacks and torturing of homosexuals in Russia, which is subsequent to a long, hateful, and oppressive political campaign against the LGBT community.”

Hozier collaborated with Irish director Brendan Canty of visual arts production house, Feel Good Lost to make the video. A personable and clearly passionate Canty was kind enough to let me interview him last week (our Q and A can be read a little further on).

Commenting on the song itself, Hozier said recently – “[it] was essentially about humanity and how it was undermined by religious organisations and those who claimed to act in its best interest. What has been seen growing in Russia is no less than nightmarish. I proposed bringing these themes into the story and Brendan [Canty] liked the idea.”

Hozier took to his Twitter and Facebook accounts to say that he was proud and overwhelmed by the response to the video, and so he should be.

The music industry and all it encompasses, is a huge influencer for our society and how we can consume the issues, social and otherwise, that it faces. I think this is particularly true for the younger generation. For me, it was refreshing to see an artist injecting so much depth and poignancy into delivering a message that actually matters, and a story that needs to be told and indeed, spot-lighted. As I said to Brendan Canty myself, I can’t say I appreciate the likes of Miley Cyrus swinging out of a giant cement ball, in quite the same way.

I took a punt and approached Canty on Twitter to ask him if he’d mind me posing a short interview, and he obliged…

BF: How did you and Hozier hook up for the Take Me to Church video?

BC: “I actually tweeted about the track a few months ago, saying how good it was. Within about an hour his label got in touch with me, asking me to do a video. I don’t know if it was a coincidence or what. From then we were put in touch, and we got to developing the concept.”

BF: What was the reasoning behind the location choice?

BC: “I wanted the video to have an industrial ex-soviet union sort of feel. The dam is a location near me called Inniscarra Dam; it’s really industrial and beautiful. The estate bits were shot in an older, more urban style housing area of Cork, which I thought resembled something you’d see in Russia. The bits running out of the city were shot up by Cork airport on a hill; I wanted it to have the feel of him leaving the city. And then the estate house was a perfect contrast from the city. It is actually my aunt’s house; I grew up there pretty much. That lane-way is so intimidating also.”

BF: Aside from the obvious (the events happening in Russia) did you draw inspiration from anywhere in particular for the video - movies, photographs etc?

BC: “Yeah I was pretty inspired by one video in particular by an amazing young Norwegian director Johannes Greve Muskat - This video is incredible, the way he gets across such a powerful story using beautiful little moments and in such a short time. The cinematography is incredible too"

BF: I've seen tweets from people saying the video reduced them to tears. How does that make you feel?

BC: “Pretty special. I never realised it would have such an effect on people. It's such a complement.”

BF: Great to see the storytelling and cinematography in 'Take Me to Church' getting such recognition by critics and the general public alike - a rare thing these days for a music video. Do you think it's important for music videos to make people stop and think / challenge their perceptions?

BC: “Yeah it is important. A music video for a great song is going to get great attention. It's important to make people think and challenge people. But not necessarily with every video, it has to suit the song and be the right project.”

And so there you have it, two very talented people come together to create a bit of a modern day masterpiece.

The result is... well, along with highlighting a brutal, political no-holds-barred campaign against the LGBT community, to hundreds and thousands of people (me being one of them)… the result is, This –

You can download the Take Me to Church EP for free, here: http://goo.gl/dDfTQ

Lights, Camera... London Film Festival!

So there is one week to go until the cultural orgasm that is London Film Festival arrives in our bustling City, and it wouldn't be completely nuts of me to assume that tickets are selling fast...

...Yep, I've just checked. They are. Get involved.

For those who may not be familiar on its background, here's a quick LFF history lesson - It is organised by the British Film Institute (BFI), and has been on the social calendar since 1953. It is the UK's largest public festival of its kind and is visited by thousands of film enthusiasts who are given the unique opportunity to see over 300 films, docs and shorts from all over the world. The festival is all about showcasing both internationally established film-makers as well as the new kids on the block. Another cool thing (one of my favourite aspects, in fact) is that visitors also have the ability to see restored archive films.

Having had a look at the line-up, it seems that this year's momentous jubilation of new movies covers all the bases, from the big Hollywood blockbusters to the indy gems.

Here are my 'Top 5' picks. If I get my way, I'll get along to at least on of these over the course of the festival. It's one of those things where there really isn't an excuse that's good enough not to.

12 Years A Slave

Steve McQueen's period biopic has already received rave reviews at Toronto Film Festival, and has emerged as the bookies favourite for Best Picture at the 2014 Oscars. Can't say I am all that surprised, what with one of the most impressive casts the industry has seen so far this year. Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt and Benedict Cumberbatch are all in the mix. Time Out describes it as a pull-no-punches slavery drama that is perfect for seekers of serious and seriously excellent drama. I'm sold.

Captain Phillips

Now, I am a HUGE Tom Hanks fan. I have never wanted a celebrity to be my dad, quite as much as I do in the case of this legendary chap. So, it doesn't take much for my interest to perk when it comes to any movie he is in. In the case of Captain Phillips, it's not just the Hanks factor that has me purring... Director Paul "The Bourne Supremacy" Greengrass is involved, not to mention the fact that this is a story about an American captain whose ship is taken hostage my Somali Pirates... Pirates! AND... it's based on real life events.

Don Jon

I have a fairly sizeable crush on JGL at the moment, so even if this movie wasn't getting such great reviews, I'd probably still want to see it. His directorial debut is yet another flick that got a lot of attention at Toronto.

Inside Llwelyn Davis

You had me at Coen Brothers... Feels like a lifetime since the last helping from these wickedly talented brothers, and I greet their latest production with open arms. Wide open. In this Sixties folk drama, we see Drive's Oscar Isaac playing a struggling musician in New York City. When it comes to movie critics, The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw is usually pretty trustworthy... and this is what he says on the flick - "Brilliantly written, terrifically acted, superbly designed and shot; it's a sweet, sad, funny picture about the lost world of folk music which effortlessly immerses us in the period".

Enough said

Sadly (very, very sadly), this is the final performance by the undeniably and epically talented James Gandolfini. For me, it's a case of "say no more" - on those grounds alone, I am already queued up to see this movie. He plays a frumpy, overweight academic named Albert, who embarks on an awkward romance with Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a masseuse who, like Albert, is the divorced parent of a teenaged daughter about to leave home for college life. Feedback so far see's big Jim being crowned the star of the show, with a performance that has lead to astonishing reviews in the US and a heck of a lot of Oscar nominee talk.

If you're worried that you've missed the boat - like I was when I was reading my Time Out on a packed tube this morning - stop. No need to panic. There are still tickets on sale, and a heap more will be made available this Thursday (October 3rd). Hit up bfi.org.uk to see what's on offer!

Worth noting that the whole city seems to be fairly actively involved in LFF this year... The Ritzy in Brixton, the Screen on the Green in Islington, the Picturehouse in Hackney and the Curzon Chelsea in the West are all participating in some way or another.

Like I said - Get involved :)

Cover Me Up (part three)

I have one of these switches behind my left ear...

For those of you (all 2 or 3 of you... Hi mom, 'sup Nana. Dad... *tips hat*) who are privy to this blog of mine, you'll know one of the main subject I tend to post about here, is music.

Now... I love a good cover, and I've even gone and dedicated a couple of my previous posts to some compilations of them. You can check them out by scrolling down, or if you're super-lazy just click here, and here.

When I decided to pick this blog up again, I thought - what better way to get back on the wagon, than to do another 'Cover Me Up' write-up. So that's precisely what I've done.

Over the course of the last few months, I have been lucky enough to come across some excellent covers. The nice thing about this batch, is that it is quite eclectic. Something for everyone... you might say. In saying that, it is quite heavy on newer generation artists.

OK, enough of that. Here goes...

Jagwar Ma cover Losing you, by Solange

Arctic Monkeys cover by You Know I'm No Good, by Amy Winehouse

The Morning Benders cover Lovefool, by The Cardigans

The Maccabees cover Lonely Boy, by Black Keys

The Riptide Movement cover Halo, by Beyonce

Foy Vance covers Where Everybody Knows Your Name (Cheers theme-song)

Ingrid Michaelson covers Can't Help Falling in Love With You, by UB40

Frank Ocean covers Strawberry Swings, by Coldplay

The 1975 cover So Good to Me, by Chris Malinchak

The Weekend cover Dirty Diana, by Michael Jackson (warning: will make you want to sex a person)

The White Stripes cover Jolene, by Dolly Parton

Angus and Julia Stone cover Say it Right, by Nelly Furtado

Lykke Li covers Silver Spoons, by Fleetwood Mac

And finally...

Chairlift (and special guest Kool A.D.) covers Party, by Beyonce

- - -

Bon Listening,

B x

My Hiatus

So, it's been a while, hasn't it?

I don't really have a credible reason for why I haven't been posting over the course of the last few months. I can't really explain the Hiatus. But, what I do have, is a significantly large urge to pick it up again.

Right... here we go :)

*stretches fingers, cracks knuckles, clicks on 'new post'...........*

B x

Sound of the Week (14.04.13)

The Local Natives.

I came across The Local Natives thanks to a friend of mine who has, in my opinion, an unparalleled taste in music, a serious ear for good music, a right “squiggly” fucker.

The name of the Local Native’s second EP is called ‘Hummingbird’. The band wrote and produced most of it while in Brooklyn, New York. This came about when the band met Aaron Dessner while on tour with his band, The National. He asked if he could produce their next album. Drummer Matt Frazier noted, "One night, after maybe drinking a little bit too much, he was like, 'Maybe I should work with you guys.' We were like, 'Sure, buddy.' After meeting with all these other producers, it just seemed like we should work with somebody we really get along with and respect as a songwriter." So, the band relocated to Dessner's home in – that’s right – Brooklyn, NYC.

Vocalist and keyboardist Kelcey Ayer, said of the time in Brooklyn, "It was awesome because we stayed upstairs on the two top floors, and he and his family are downstairs, and the studio is in the back. It's this really tiny space, but it was so convenient to us."

Happy families…

OK, enough of that. Back to the music itself.

Hummingbird was bound to be different to their debut album, Gorilla Manor. Not only did they have Dessner involved, but they were also dealing with the departure of band member and bassist, Andy Hamm, which the band have described as “heartbreaking” in interviews.

It is a refreshing mix of bare-faced emotion - that even the most “feelings? Ugh” types couldn’t argue with - and upbeat loveliness that makes you smile and head/toe bop to.

‘Heavy Feet’ has a really nice flow to it. It has made its way onto my running playlist.

The first time I heard ‘Breakers’, it wasn’t the album version, it was a live acoustic recording of it on the bank of some river in Paris. I have to admit, in classic Becca style, I prefer the acoustic version, but either way the song is good. Very good.

Bowery is the last track on the album. I remember when I was younger – a lot younger – I used to find that the last few tracks on albums were always rubbish. I soon realised I was listening to the wrong albums. This track is a perfect finisher, that makes me want to play the album from the start, all over again.

I have two favourite tracks on this album. One is ‘Columbia’ (track no. 10). This was written after the death of Ayer's mother in 2011, and therefore is unsurprisingly dark. The lyrics are raw and beautiful, matched perfectly by the unrelenting emotion in Ayer’s voice. He even name-checks her in its closing moments.

My other favourite track is ‘You & I’. In fact, it is probably my favourite track by the band, followed closely by Airplanes, from their previous album. I adore the lyrics and the build up is pretty cracking.

Most of the reviews I’ve read see critics concluding that, with Hummingbird, Local Natives show that they can dig deeper, and that in the case of their debut EP, they were just scratching the surface. Having listened to both a lot, I agree to a certain extent. I like Gorilla Manor a lot. I’d rate them close enough, but Hummingbird takes the win. It feels more like the all-growed-up, slightly cooler and wiser brother of the debut.

Big fan of this. Cannot wait to see them live.

Sound of the Week

So this is my first 'Sound of the Week' installment in a while. Plan is that I manage to do one of these - yes, you guessed it - a week. Famous last words...

The Morning Benders.

I discovered this band last night, completely by accident, while baking an apple pie (there it is below, right before it went into the oven. It was exquisite).

I haven’t been able to tear myself away from them since… or the apple pie that I made, for that matter… snort

I accidentally came across a live acoustic performance they gave, of their song, Promises. I was looking for some Local Native live sets to add to a playlist and up popped this video, as they do on YouTube, along the right-hand side of the webpage. Couple of things caught my eye, the first, being the name ‘The Morning Benders’. It’s a bit odd, and for any Irish people reading this that are as immature as I am, it’s also quite funny. The other thing that caught my eye was the thumbnail frame of the video. It was a close up of the lads in the band, each of whom embodied everything wonderful about classic geekiness (see for yourself below). Between that and the name of the band… I was sold. Off I clicked...

Promises may be just another one of those songs about an uncertain relationship, but its unique combination of big-beat thump and tangled voices add something kind of special.

As most people tend to do when they find a song they like by a band they’ve not heard before, I went and had a gander at what else they had to offer. After a little bit of digging, I got the impression it was their second album, ‘Big Echoes’ that I needed to pay most attention to. So I slowly but surely, in my belly-full-o-pie state, nommed my way through what ended up feeling like dessert number two... The type of dessert number two you have room for, and turns out to be way more satisfying than you had anticipated.

The Morning Benders' vocalist and founder, Christopher Chu, said in a recent interview, that he likes to attack the recording process with a "Phil Spector kind of vibe." He went on to say that he would just like to "pile in like 50 people into the studio... and just blow it out."

Enter their recording of ‘Excuses’ (video of recording below), courtesy of Yours Truly sessions. Excuses is my favourite song on the album, and I think it is down to this recording. The quartet were joined by an array of friends and San Francisco music found-abouts, while they performed the song.

I fell for the lyrics pretty quickly. Chu says, when speaking about the meaning of the song, “It’s a song about trying to reconcile falling in love for the first time… physically, specifically, having sex for the first time, or kissing for the first time. That kind of experience. And then, growing older with someone, and picturing yourself with someone forever. And it’s trying to reconcile how you can make those two things work, or how they can exist in one person…”

Excuses is a fun, sunny, lilting little tune that evokes a 1950s pop feel. If this song were a person, that person would be an incredibly easy-going, honest pal, who you'd love hanging out with, especially on lazy summer Sundays.

These guys are fun to listen to. I have a long way to go in terms of making my way through all of their EPs to date (there are about seven, I think) but Big Echo was a good place to start. It isn’t overly sappy or sweet, the way you might think an album from a group of mop-headed twenty-something lads from California might be. It’s accessible, and it kind of gets deeper with every listen. Like many of my favourite albums, this seems like it has longevity.

Enjoy.

Cover Me Up (part two)

So, I know I’ve posted a few of these bits on my favourite covers, and they always seem to go down quite well. I’ve been asked by a few people over the course of the last month or so, to make another one.

This time around however, I am taking a slightly different approach. Whilst the songs named below alongside their original scribblers are likely to be familiar to most, the bands that perform them, may not ring such a bell. Well, in some cases at least.

I've gotten into this habit lately, where if I come across a band that I like, I'll do a search to see the sorts of songs that they have done covers of. A few of the below are as a result of this. Others, i've come across in one way or another over the years.

So, here goes…

Elbow covers Teardrop, by Massive Attack

Peasant’s King covers Stay, by Rihanna 

Kodaline covers Latch, by Disclosure

Matt Corby covers Lover You Should Have Come Over, by Jeff Buckley

Passenger covers Sound of Silence, by Simon and Garfunkel

The Head and The Heart covers Go Your Own Way, by Fleetwood Mac

Nada Surf covers Enjoy the Silence, by Depeche Mode

Amanda Palmer covers Fake Plastic Trees, by Radiohead

The Tallest Man on Earth covers Graceland, by Paul Simon

Peter Gabriel covers Flume, by Bon Iver

Lisa Hannigan covers Somebody That I Used to Know, By Gotye

Tom Odell covers I Knew You Were Trouble, by Taylor Swift

Oh, and the bonus track… Nirvana covers The End, by The Doors. While they have a bit of a laugh with this, it is still fantastic to listen to. Perhaps even more so for that very reason. It is rare too, I believe they only did this once.

B 

Harlem Aches - my rant

Do you ever stop to think about the sheer magnitude of excellent, musical talent there is out there?

This is a question I asked a good friend (and fellow music lover) of mine earlier on today. His response was - “I had given it some thought before, but never in a long/medium term sense. Was always just ‘wow, a lot of good albums out at the mo’, then I'd forget, then rinse repeat! It is vast. It’s kind of jaw dropping in fact, to think there are so many endlessly talented people out there making excellent ear porn”.

Well said. 

Now, with this in mind, do you reckon anyone has ever said something similar with the likes of Gagnam style in mind? *Cue the harsh sound of a sudden stop of a spinning vinyl record*

Nope, me neither. I’ll explain why I am bringing Gagnam style into this a little further on.

I spotted a tweet from someone earlier today, which read, “Sound-tracking my Monday afternoon – [insert YouTube link to the animal song he was on about here]”. It got my attention straight away. Love a good song recommendation, me. I clicked through to discover a beautiful tune by a chap called Mike Rosenberg, AKA Passenger, entitled ‘Let Her Go’. It took me all of about 4 seconds into the song to give it the old ‘closed eyes nod and smile’ of approval. And so began quite a chilled afternoon in the office, the playlist for which, was the aforementioned. Thanks to Mike S for that tweet.

As I was working away, another Tweetdeck alert caught my eye. Quite a different sentiment this time, though. Yet another person was wanking on about how "This one is DEFO the best of the 234 Harlem Shake videos I've seen so far… blah, blah, fart" etc [insert YouTube link to brain-cell depleting video of people who appear to be having fits here]. This was probably the 50^th tweet of it’s kind that I had seen in the last 24 hours.

Chalk, meet cheese. Cheese, this is chalk.

I’d like to say that it baffles me, how much airtime mind-numbing tripe like the Harlem Shakes and the Gagnam Styles of the world get, when there is so much excellent creative content out there for us to consume, and enjoy, and share, and discuss, and of course… recreate. But this doesn’t baffle me. I get it. I work in the comms/media industry and I understand the appeal of this kind of thing. I even understand its 'mass' appeal. I understand that you simply cannot compare this kind of thing to, let’s say, a touching acoustic rendition of Black Key’s Lonely Boy. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

YouTube estimates that by the end of last week over 40,000 versions of Harlem Shakes had been uploaded and collectively they have been viewed over 175 million times. The song is currently at number two in the UK charts… and I have been invited by no less than two different groups of friends to be involved in a Harlem Shakes video.

The University of Georgia’s men’s swim and dive team did one under water. The Norwegian army did one. There are (at least) two Star Wars-themed Shakes. There’s also now a Harlem Shake Roulette single-serving site that will pull a series of the videos one right after the other, Chatroulette-style. This is the stuff of internet dreams, people. Is it, though? IS IT?!?!

*Giant face-palm*

Whilst I am happy with the thought of Harlem Shakes becoming yesterday’s news quicker than you can say the words, “New Pope celebrates appointment with Horsemeat sandwich and PS4 tournament”, what remains is the lurking feeling that something else will come along to fill the void. And at this rate, god only knows what that will be.

Nice words

"Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that may never come true, goals that were never achieved, and the many disappointments life has thrown at you.

When something wonderful happens, you cannot wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting, or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself.

Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are.

The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of a daily life. A phone call or two during the day helps you to get through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face.

In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to your mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon.

You open your heart knowing that there is a chance it may be broken one day and in opening you heart, you experience a love and a joy that you never dreamed possible. You find being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life."

.... Bob Marley. Who knew?

A Song to Stop You In Your Tracks

Do you ever hear a song for the first time, and it just kind of stops you in your tracks? Like it significantly impacts how you are feeling at that moment in time, if even only for a quick flash?

Enter Matt Corby's 'Brother'.

I couldn't help but do some digging when I came across this song this evening, purely by accident, I might add. Almost immediately after I heard it, I wanted to find out what Corby was writing about. When an artist composes something as unrestrained as this, there must be some significant, personal emotion attached.

I came across an interview with the man himself, where he talked about what the song meant. Apparently, this is something he never, ever does. So I am lucky to have found it.

"Lately, I have come to realise that a dear friend, one with a great influence on my life, might be drifting away. Because of certain decisions he is making in his own life. And because when we were friends, I never really had the guts to tell him about the weaknesses I saw in his life.

It’s heartbreaking. And a lesson I’m slowly grasping. That I do not want to live in a world where people cannot tell me I’m wrong. Or where I will not listen to others who dare to put their heart on the line, and tell me something’s amiss.

May I learn to speak out with courage and love. And receive instruction that strengthens bonds, not frays them."

This song is essentially a dynamic, powerful and somewhat explosive musical journey that is condensed into a few minutes.

At the beginning you think to yourself, ‘yeah, this is good stuff’. You know it’s good, but you don’t know why. And then suddenly, a couple of minutes in,  as one critic put it "it grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you really hard". It’s good stuff because you can feel it, really feel it, and that’s something that makes this song extraordinary. That is, its ability to captivate and intrigue, in an incomprehensive, other-wordly kind of way.

Corby seems to have an inner fire, and in "Brother" he unleashes it to the world - especially in the last twenty seconds of the song, which are definitely worth putting the spotlight on. 

My instructions? Listen, rinse, repeat.

My Christmas List... The musical one

You know that token question you get asked at a family dinner, or a job interview, or a rubbish first date..?

"If you were stranded on a desert Island, and you could only have three things in your posession, what three things would they be?" I've always, always struggled to pick the full three, but have never failed to get the same ONE item on the list, every time. 

Music. I would bring music. When this question comes up, people tend to get into the nitty-gritty, saying things like, *cue exaggerated annoying whiney voice* "but you can't just say 'music'...  and you have to include earphones, and that would then be two things. And then what about battery power? And what if the sand broke your iPod? Or it over-heated in the sun? 

To those people, I say, get the f*ck off my island.

So, without further adieu, here it is... Round two of some of my favourite covers. A lovely little playlist, which, given the time of year is a bit more... specific.

Merry Christmas (I don't wanna fight tonight) - The Ramones

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - U2

Fairytale of New York - Matthew and the Atlas

Jingle Bell Rock - Arcade Fire

Blue Christmas - Bright Eyes

Father Christmas - The Kinks

Silent Night - Alexi Murdoch

Baby it's Cold Outside - Tom Jones and Carys Matthews 

O Little Town of Bethlehem - Sarah McLachlan

Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Bruce Springsteen

Little Drummer Boy - Jimi Hendrix

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Frank Sinatra

Have a Yule-iscious one x

B

Cover Me Up

In the world of music, there is nothing worse than being subjected to a diabolically bad cover of what was originally a decent song. A few examples of this that spring to mind instantly for me, are Madonna's 'American Pie', Jessica Simpson's 'These Boots Were Made for Walking', and let us not forget (please God, let us) Britney Spears' atrocious butchery of Joan Jett's 'I Love Rock and Roll'.

I pondered over this for a while, had a look at the aforementioned monstrosities and face-palmed the sh*t out of myself... I had nearly resigned myself to the idea that a higher power (Simon Cowell?) had decided all good music, at some point in its life, was destined to be tainted....destroyed... by messed up, female, blonde pop starlets.

Then I got sense, and started thinking about covers I like. The very first one that popped into my head was Nirvana's version of 'Jesus Don't Want Me for a Sunbeam' by the Vaselines. The V's took the song - an old Christian folk song, which is actually called 'Jesus Wants Me for A Sunbeam' - and re-recorded it under the new title. Cobain wanted to cover that version, so that's what he did. And boy, did he do it well.

See, this is a prime example of the goodness that can come from cover versions... And when I started thinking about this more, let's just say the floodgates opened... (thanks to a few friends for assisting with that via Twitter - I had a field day).

Some of the most superbly composed songs have been covered time and time again, by recognised, accomplished artists who have done (in my opinion) a beautiful job of making a song "their own". Side-note: One of the reasons I'd rather X Factor didn't exist, is that it is diminishing the kudos deserved for a good cover.

So, with all of this, I thought i'd pull together my own list of covers to share with you good people. All 3 of you reading this... Hi mom. Now, this list was long, but i've whittled it down to these few because let's be honest, you don't have all day.

The ones most people will be familiar with...

Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley's version

Nine Inch Nails, Hurt - Cover by Johnny Cash

The Beatles, With a Little Help from my Friends - Cover by Joe Cocker

Nina Simone, Feeling Good - Cover by Muse

Kate Bush, Running up that Hill - Cover by Placebo

Bonnie Raitt, I Can't Make You Love Me - Cover by Justin Vernon

Bob Dylan,  All Along The Watchtower - Cover by Jimi Hendrix

Some others I adore, which may not be as widely known...

Hank Williams, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - Cover by Seasick Steve

Ben Harper, Waiting on an angel - Cover by Joshua Radin

Tom Petty, I Won't Back Down - Cover by Benjamin Leftwich

Tracey Chapman, Fast Car - Cover by Foy Vance 

Joni Mitchell, A Case of You - Cover by Diana Krall

Oasis, Wonderwall - Cover by Ryan Adams

Elliott Smith, Between The Bars - Cover by The Civil Wars

Arcade Fire, My Body is a Cage - Cover by Peter Gabriel

Bob Dylan, My Back Pages - Cover by The Byrds

Robert Knight, Everlasting Love - Cover by U2

Gerry Rafferty, Baker Street - Cover by Foo Fighters 

Here are some covers I came across thanks to some friends with excellent taste in and knowledge of, music...

The Rolling Stones, Gimme Shelter - Cover by Merry Clayton

Bob Dylan, Man In The Long Black Coat - Cover by Mark Lanegan

Ricky Nelson, Lonesome Town - Cover by Richard Hawley

Bob Dylan, Times They are a Changin' - Cover by Odetta

Tom Waits, Martha - Cover by Mick Flannery

The Beatles, Twist and Shout - Cover by Shaka Deemus and Pliers

And the beauty of a good cover..? On the rare occasion, it can actually be an improvement on the original. Evidence of this is right here. 

Carly Rae Jepsen, Call me Maybe - Cover by Ben Howard

LMFAO, Sexy and I know it - Cover by Jimmy Fallon and Bruce Springsteen

JoJo, Too Little Too Late - Cover by Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear

Katy Perry, Hot n' Cold - Cover by Los Colerados

Happy Listening :-)

My NYC Twenty-Six Point Two

About two weeks ago, Hurricane Sandy lambasted her way through the east coast of America, and left behind scars that will have impacted thousands, in ways most of us will hopefully never have to experience.

Because of the damage the storm caused in New York, particularly downtown and on Staten Island, Mayor Bloomberg announced that the ING 2012 NYC Marathon would not be taking place as planned. I will be the first person to say that I completely agree with the reasons for this decision - When people have been left homeless after their houses have literally been blown away, there is no hesitation in my mind that any attention, support and relief efforts available should all be focused on where help is needed most. I do however think the media, in its typical fashion (Fox, my finger's pointing in your direction), painted a more negative picture than was necessary. I mean this in terms of how marathon organisers NYRR (New York Road Runners) were portrayed in the days before the cancellation of the marathon. Generators were originally being used by NYRR (as they are every year) to power entertainment stages / toilet stations etc. along the course route. NYRR came under a huge amount of scrutiny for this, as some reporting on the storm depicted it as wreckless and inconsiderate planning - casting a view that the same generators being used to support a city event, could be better used to provide power/heat to those in areas most affected by Sandy.

This was not an accurate picture, at all. As soon as NYRR realised the devastation caused by the storm, particularly in the areas along the run route, they immediately made the decision to cancel, and offered up all and any support they could to their wounded community. 

When I found out about the cancellation, I was pretty devastated. I won't deny that it was a hard pill to swallow - I don't think I have dedicated myself to something in the way that I have this past year, for both training for the run, and raising money for our charity, the IDEAL School. But it felt wrong being angry about it. OK, so the marathon wasn't going ahead and that was shit, but I was healthy and well, as were my family and friends. My "America Grandparents" live right on the coast of New Jersey Shore, and unfortunately their house and virtually everything in it had been destroyed by Sandy, but they were safe.

In the hour or so after Bloomberg's announcement, I had pretty much made a decision in my little round head, that be it official or otherwise, I was going to do a 26.2mile run before we left New York. I didn't want it to be a spiteful thing, I didn't want to come across as if I wasn't seeing the bigger picture. I did, with my own eyes. I saw some of the destruction in lower Manhattan, and I saw how neighbourhoods were coming together on street corners to pool any donations of food, clothes and other things for people effected in adjacent boroughs and cities. But we had a goal in our sights, that had been there for close to a year - to run a marathon in New York in aid of our chosen charity, The IDEAL School. It is a very uniquely ran facility originally founded by my aunt and uncle in New York City, which caters for children with and without learning disabilities, all under one roof. 

I talked to my uncle John - who I was due to do the marathon with along with my cousin Aoife - about wanting to go ahead with a run, and we both agreed we still felt we had to do something to honor the very generous donations we had received. 

My champion of a mother, who had travelled all the way from Dublin, with my bestest sister, was 100% behind me from the moment we made the decision. Well, I really should mention, she was 100% behind me from the day I got my place in the Marathon back in February. In fact, the week after I got the news she booked flights for herself and my sister to come along for support AND went and paid for my flight as a "well done for doing this", gift. Legend. Love you mum.

So, we came up with a DIY Manhattan-based course that went from the upper west side to the southern tip of Manhattan and back again, into Central Park for two loops of the perimeter road ending at 81^st and Central Park West. Sunday, the original day for the official Marathon, was a perfect day for running - Dry, no wind, sunny and cool. 

My lovely sis sorting the marathon do out... quite important when you have as much hair knocking about as I do

Woke up at about 7.30am, unaware that it was actually 8.30am with the time-change. We chowed down some brekkie - good aul Flahavan's porridge (Thank you Zabars!), bananas and honey - sorted out the running playlist (80's whipper tunes galor), did a bit of stretching and light-walking to loosen up, and set out at about 11.30am. Yep, by this time we'd figured out the timing miscalculation.... Extra time for my sister to sort my out of control hair out.

We were incredibly lucky to have "the man, the legend" - photographer/biker support/phone coordinator extrordinaire, Mr Gary Murphy, on the mountain bike with Gatorade, gel, gloves, iPods, bagels, bananas and more encouragement than either of us ever anticipated could fit in a backpack...

Here's the route we took -

  

26.6... to be exact ;-)

When we set off, we knew that while we were planning on a full marathon distance run, it wasn't going to be the same as the real deal. There would be no big crowd cheering us on from beginning to end, no water/toilet facilities, no blocked roads or controlled traffic flow. The first half was much like any of the long runs I had been doing as part of my training, with the exception of it being with my awesome uncle, in my favorite city in the world, with a slightly busier running route than i'd become accustomed to - there were a LOT of runners out doing what i'd guess to be the very same thing we were. 

Heading south...

I don't think either of us were prepared for what was to come when we hit Central Park for the second half of the run. The official Marathon may not have gone ahead that day, but what took its place was something truly surreal, something we will always remember as a completely unique and special experience. 

Part of the route for the official run, which loops the internal perimeter of Central Park, was packed to the gills with fellow runners, much more so than the route we had taken for the first 14-15 miles. You'll see in the pictures that I am wearing a bright orange running vest - this was given to all runners at the registration expo before the run was cancelled. I wasn't going to run in it as I had my kit all picked out, but under the circumstances I thought it'd be nice to fly the flag for the event. When we entered into central park we were met with a sea of orange! Hundreds (probably more like thousands over the course of the day) were out making their unofficial marathon mark, just like us. Along with the runners themselves, were their support teams rallying along the edge of the running track with flags and banners - cheering their own along with everyone else running by, like their lives depended on it.... 

Cheers dahlin'
 

... And along with those support teams, were a whole host of local New Yorkers, out in force, lining the roads to motivate everyone running by. People were passing out bottled water, bananas and energy bars, and kids were handing out sweets (I probably consumed more of those "for energy" than was really necessary). 

Just when I felt like I was nearing the dreaded "Wall", i'd get a massive burst of energy, from seeing total randomers holding up the most adorable signs, emblazoned with quotes like "NY welcomes you- We're all in this together", and "Run like its the real thing and we'll cheer like its the real thing", and "Run like you're a politician" (Presidential election day was taking place on November 5th). I don't think i've ever gotten so many high-fives in such a short space of time in all my days - Token Americana deadliness. I have no doubt the presence of these awesome strangers, along with some of our amazing family and friends, contributed to us being able to keep smiles on our faces right through to the very end.

Now, I must mention that even though my champ uncle is "a few" years my senior, it was his energy and banter that had me laughing my way up the final few hellish hills on mile 25/26. The guy made it look easy. He is someone I already admire and look up to a lot for many reasons, and this just reaffirms his awesomeness.  

Mile 23... Feeling it!

We were using John's GPS to navigate our route, and keep track of our distance. Needless to say, the number one goal was to ensure we actually ran 26.2 miles. Toward the end, John realised that the GPS has stopped tracking us for a small portion of our run so far - about a mile and a half or so (I think), so being the hero he was, whilst running - and bear in mind this was about 23 miles into a killer run that needed a certain pace to be maintained  - John figured out the appropriate distance we needed to go, to 100% ensure we covered at least 26.2miles. 

DONE!

We had passed the family/friends support team back at mile 21 in the park but much to our surprise, there they were again, about a dozen of them, waiting to greet us at our finish line. Heroes.

That was that. We had completed a 26.6 mile run, in a pinch over 4.00 hours.

So, yes, the official NYC Marathon didn't go ahead. But what happened in its place, was something few people will ever get to experience - An unofficial, inpromptu marathon, an incredibly resilient community coming together to make the most out of a very unfortunate situation, a pretty awesome demonstration of determination.

I raised over 5.5K for the IDEAL School to date (a Massive Thank You to my amazing Papa Bear, Kevin Fennelly, for being an energiser bunny of a campaign manager back on the homeland - I wouldn't have raised this much money without his support and dedication).

New York City stole my heart a long old time ago, and every single time I visit, the crush gets bigger. This time was no exception.

11 months 2 weeks to go until next year, when we make it official :-)

B