Done right, and thankfully so much of it is, music should move you deeply and completely and wholly. Mind, body and sould should be engaged; you should never hear a song and just go “Oh … that’s nice.” Upbeat songs should move you to dance or turn a dark Continue Reading
Music
Now this is music: Kick back and chill (Louis the Child, MÖWE, Tokyo, Snow Culture, Imogen Heap)
Life is a crazy, busy descent into delightful chaos, spirited freneticism and colourful explosions of love, joy, sadness, deadlines and expectations. Most of us manage this dance of extremes with aplomb because we have to, but also because we have the rhythm down right and we’re perfectly synced to Continue Reading
Now this is music #93: Wafia, Snow Culture, Daudi Matsiko, Salute, Kiran Leonard (+ Eurovision news)
You only have to be in this world for a very short time to realise that there a grand buffet of mixed emotions on offer. The ecstatic joy of first love. The crushing loss of a romance gone sour. The breathless anticipation of the new and unexpected opportunities and Continue Reading
Now this is music #92: Freya Ridings, Froth, Rationale, Jessie Reyez, Tove Styrke
So love huh? It’s the best of times, it’s the worst of times; and while Dickens never really recorded a song about love – on account of there being no recording technology at the time, a minor impediment to be sure – you can’t help feeling that if he Continue Reading
Are there monkeys in Ernie’s bed? There are and elephants in the sock drawers too #SesameStreet
Next to Grover, who is my favourite Sesame Street monster bar none, I have a huge amount of affection for Ernie (especially) and Bert, the two diametrically-opposite housemates who have long amused and delighted with their Abbott and Costello-ish antics. Now Ernie is starring in a delightful musical number, Continue Reading
Now this is music #91: Fare Soldi, HAEVN, Goldmyth, LAUV, Tyzo Bloom
Stop right there! Yes … YOU. I know modern life is busy af and slowing down seems like anathema, the desperate beats of FOMO drumming mercilessly through every thought and feeling, but there is a real joy and reward in taking a few steps back, finding a seat somewhere Continue Reading
James Corden presents … Crosswalk the Musical: Mary Poppins
No matter how you slice it, James Corden is a joy. An actor, singer and host of The Late Late Show With James Corden, he is an imaginatively talented man who is responsible for the viral-happy Carpool Karaoke, very funny skits and interviews, and the subject of this post, Continue Reading
Now this is music #90: Jessica Hernandez, Coin, Grizzly Bear, VÉRITÉ, From Indian Lakes
Given music’s deserved ubiquity in our society, it’s all too easy to forget how profound an effect it can have on our lives. For those of who love music, truly deeply, madly, completely love it, it is essential, not just a way of adding colour and flavour to our day-to-day Continue Reading
Now this is music #89: Knox Fortune, STRØM, Lxandra, Refs, Ruby Fields
One of the things I love about music is its complexity and relatability, the way it helps you to not just make sense of life but to add to it too, even if it all it does is lift you up for a moment. At the end of a Continue Reading
Now that the glitter has settled: Eurovision Song Contest 2017 wrap-up
This was an oddly quiet year for the Eurovision Song Contest. Granted yes there was the kerfuffle over Russia sending along an act to compete who had, in contravention of well-documented Ukrainian law, performed in Crimea, a brazenly provocative act that saw them withdraw from the event this year, Continue Reading