Today is a hard day for me. It’s my dad’s first birthday since he died on 10 June last year and as with all the first days since someone you loved dearly dies, it has left me feeling deeply reflective, a little sad and lost and not up to Continue Reading
Music
Road to Eurovision 2017: Week 2 – Czech Republic, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Latvia
What is the Eurovision Song Contest? Started way back in 1956 as a way of drawing a fractured Europe back together with the healing power of music, the Eurovision Song Contest, or Concours Eurovision de la Chanson – the contest is telecast in both English and French – is open Continue Reading
Road to Eurovision 2017: Week 1 – Albania, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Cyprus
What is the Eurovision Song Contest? Started way back in 1956 as a way of drawing a fractured Europe back together with the healing power of music, the Eurovision Song Contest, or Concours Eurovision de la Chanson – the contest is telecast in both English and French – is open Continue Reading
Now this is music #85: Bad Wave, Rubblebucket, Deidre & the Dark, Fufanu, Grace Mitchell (+ Eurovision 2017 news)
In those moments when life seems just a little too complicated for its own good, or more pertinently, ours, you might wish that things were a whole lot simpler. And while, yes, there’s a good case to be made for a simple life, there’s a lot to be said Continue Reading
Now this is music #84: Perish, Melvv, Mako & Morgan Page, Jarina De Marco, AOE
One of the great joys of listening to lots of music are the multiple perspectives granted to you by artists who have struggled long and hard with some aspects of life and put their thoughts and heartfelt emotions into their songs. For anyone of us who struggle to make Continue Reading
Will being told the minor key way to Sesame Street make you happily sad? It just might
One of the most noticeable and much-loved parts of Sesame Street, which is currently in the midst of its 47th season and now broadcast on HBO, is its extraordinarily upbeat theme song which asks eager boys and girls (and let’s be honest more than a few adults) “Can you Continue Reading
Daffy Duck finds his Gangsta’s Paradise in this marvellous mashup
In the unexpected cartoon/musical marriages made in mash-up heaven, may we introduce you to the joining together of Daffy Duck in all his gloriously hilarious cantankerousness with Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise”, which you’ll recall was the standout song on the soundtrack for 1995’s Dangerous Minds film. This impressive mash-up is Continue Reading
Now this is music #83: Golden Coast, Darling James, Julie Bergan, MUNA, Maribelle
Life is not easy on us. There are twists and turns all over the shop and coping with it all, whether it’s resolving what troubles us, or finding some temporary sanctuary in the midst of the hurt and madness, can be a real challenge. None of the five artists Continue Reading
Now this is music #82: The xx, Contessa, SOFI TUKKER, Matoma & Becky Hill, Half Waif
Life is a complicating thing. Depending on events or circumstances, we are either happily content, in pain, in love, unsure of what’s next or a mixture of all or none. Regardless of where life might have deposited you and what you’re dealing with, these five artists are proof that Continue Reading
Celebrate diversity: Eurovision gets ready for this year’s epic event
The Eurovision Song Contest began in 1956 as a means of cementing new bonds of European togetherness, forged in the ashes of World War Two, using music and song to draw people together in peaceful intent. While you could argue that things haven’t always been peaceful in ensuing years, Continue Reading