An Open Letter to a Personal Hero

Dear Dr. Wood,

We met briefly in the pub before your concert in St Albans last month. It was one of the best concerts I've seen you do. I don't know why, because it's exactly the same set I've been seeing live since 2008. But something about that particular show was better, even perhaps better than your performance at the O2 with Status Quo a few years back.

You might vaguely remember me. I came into the pub with my dad about ten minutes before the show was due to start, and was slightly gobsmacked at actually meeting you in person. It was just such a surreal experience. You - Roy Wood - were there. In a Wetherspoons, right in front of me.
My dad asked you to sign about a million copies of the painting hanging in our "music room" (anyone else would call it the dining room); The Songwriter by Debra Dee, from the collection of portraits she painted of you. They were on display at St Paul's Gallery in Birmingham in 2012. It's one of the more crazy things my dad has ever bought - I remember coming home from school one day, and he was just grinning like a fool. I didn't even have to ask why. I think my exact words were "which one did you buy?" Apparently that painting makes up a portion of my inheritance. My boyfriend is thrilled...

We took a few photos together, which astonished friends and family. There are hardly any photos of my dad in existence. Surprisingly, this isn't because he's a vampire; it's simply because he doesn't like photos. When I was growing up, the only picture of him on display in our house was meeting you at some obscure concert in some obscure year of the 80s. I think that speaks volumes for you.

Without needing to be asked, my dad told you that his favourite song of yours is "Mist on a Monday Morning". And he's right, the poetry of the words is amazing, and the orchestration is very clever. Dad asked you if you'd written it (he knew you had, but didn't want to get it wrong, I think), to which you said "Of course I did, you knob." That sent him reeling. Hours later he was still over the moon; "Roy Wood called me a knob!", he kept joyously repeating.
When asked, you said that your favourite song from your extensive catalogue is "Beautiful Daughter". I agree that it's a lovely song, and I'm sure it has much more meaning to you than it does to anyone else. That's just how these things are. But it got me thinking about which of the thousands is my favourite. I'm sure you probably don't want to know, but I'd like to tell you.

It took some consideration. Being born in the 90s means that I have very little concept of what was popular, or successful, or even sometimes exactly when things were released. I also get confused between The Move and early ELO sometimes, but I'm working on it.
There are the obvious favourite songs, such as "See My Baby Jive" and "Angel Fingers", but whilst brilliant, neither of those was ever really contenders for me. I love "Blackberry Way", especially the new edit on Music Book, but I never know whether to laugh or cry when I hear it. It's quite a painful song in a strange way.
I absolutely adore "Brontosaurus", although it's a little muddy-sounding, and I think that building it into the intro for "California Man" is genius. "California Man" is another amazing song, although my experience with real Californian men leaves something to be desired. And I have to point out, Dr. Wood, you're not actually from California. You're from Birmingham. Sorry to break it to you.
I also get some enjoyment from the mad, comedic songs you've produced, such as "Curly" and "When Gran'ma Plays The Banjo". Heaven knows why. "Jolly Cup Of Tea" is also on the list. Somewhere.

But in the end, Dr. Wood, I think my favourite song you've ever written is "Whisper In The Night". There's a recording, an old live recording, of you playing it without the choir, and that's one of my favourite recordings ever, I think. It starts with you saying "That was Jeff Lynne, of course. Of course... Of course..."  and then you go on to explain the song. It's beautiful and I don't really know why. That song also contains on of my favourite quotes of all time; "Though God gave the world // It's not mine to throw away." I don't know if you're religious or if it's just there for musicality, but it really strikes a chord with me. But I suppose you don't need telling how amazing your work is. It's right there, every Christmas, when the whole world is playing your song. (And a smaller portion of the world is playing your other song, "Sing Out The Old, Bring In The New". That's also great, by the way.)

But I've been talking for a while now, I'd better stop so you can get on. I guess what I'm trying to say, Dr. Wood, is thank you. Thanks for being a genius and writing a lot of my favourite songs; thank you for founding most of my favourite bands too. But thank you most of all for being a decent human being, and letting a starstruck young woman and her dad interrupt you in a pub. Having a hero who's also a stand up guy is a real blessing.

I'm going to another of your concerts this year, I've been incredibly lucky. A friend and I are going to Birmingham on the 20th December to see Rockmas, with you, Chas and Dave, and Andy Fairweather-Low and the Low Riders. We even got seats really close to the front. You won't be surprised to hear that I'm looking forward to it!

Anyway, it was a pleasure meeting you. I look forward to seeing you again.
Best wishes,
Emma

Making Friends

Hello dear friends! Today I am writing very briefly about one of the downsides of living in halls of residence (not that there are many!) because it's happening right now and I'm pondering it as a result.

The gentleman below me and I have only met once during my time here (and I'm not even entirely sure which one he was) and at that point, Declan, Beth and I were rolling around on the floor laughing like loons on loon tablets. However, I have learnt quite a lot about my downstairs neighbour from his taste in music.

At some point each day, usually when I am sitting in my room "studying" (i.e. Eating cheese and biscuits, painting my nails, blogging, arranging my stuff/timetable etc.) the gentleman downstairs will begin playing loud club dance music from the (rather impressive) speaker system he must have down there. I know that dance music is designed to have a very noticeable bass line and hence would be fairly audible at any volume, however, this particular music is being played so loudly that I am able to tell what the song is.

Think about that for a second. I, Emma, can identify the club music which is being played. Any other genre, you might sort of say "well, yes, but you know every piece of music ever released" but club dance music should make you think something's up. Firstly, I absolutely hate club dance music and know very little of it; the fact that I know some is merely a reflection of Freshers' Week and its effect, the fact that I can identify it shows how loud it must be. Secondly all club music sounds exactly the same when played quietly, for it to be identifiable, it must be quite loud....

So I have come up with a solution. Many of you will think it childish, but to you I say "Ner ner ner ner ner!!!" I have declared "Battle of the Awful Music", which means that every time his music is so loud that I can hear it, I turn up the music I'm listening to to drown him out (and hopefully educate him in what music should actually sound like.) So far today, Mr Underneath-Room has been subjected to "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by the Beach Boys, "Ticket To The Moon" by ELO and "I Wish It Could Be A Wombling Merry Christmas Every Day" (Fat Boy Furry Crucial Dub Groovy Acid Burrow Garage Mix) by Roy Wood and the Wombles, which he may well have actually enjoyed.

Grow up? NEVER!!!

Parthenon Huxley

Hopefully, this post might actually work this time...

As many of you who have me as a friend on the beautifully renamed Facepoke will know, I recently posted a picture of a tiny poster I made for the Rewind Henley festival which Liz and I attended at the weekend, which said "I <3 and="" confused.="" explain="" feel="" generally="" hux.="" i="" p.="" p="" should="" the="" this="" to="" u="" undereducated="">
Parthenon Huxley is the guitarist for the Orchestra, which is what's left of ELO (the Electric Light Orchestra) now that there's no Jeff Lynne or Bev Bevan in the line-up. Apart from having one of the best names in the world, Huxley's key claim to fame (in our household at least) is his excellent album "Homemade Spaceship", on which he sings (and has arranged) several covers of ELO hits, my favourite of which is probably "Don't Bring Me Down." (Not, as Ella claims "The day my toaster killed your grandmother with a cat".)

Unfortunately, P. Hux's work is virtually unknown in the UK. This means that it is nigh on impossible to find anything by him online, but here is what I could find in the YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glsawak-ceA -  (10538 Overture, another excellent cover.)

[SIDEBAR:] Yes, I am aware that P. Hux can be read, deliberately or not, as "phux", but I am not that immature (usually) and I ask that you aren't either (except when I am). Yes, Dad, I know you think it's hilarious and that's why it's like it on iTunes...

Anyway, this man is amazing. If you ever want to see me fangirl with the best of them, take me to see the Orchestra with P. Hux in concert; I will be the only one there excited about this guy, but it's so worth it :)

The Hipster Culture

Hello, today I have been painting a shed. This has given plenty of pondering time, which I have spent primarily on the concept of Hipsters. For anyone over the age of thirty, or who is not accustomed to the ways of Youth Culture and the Internet (congratulations on finding this if this is you) a hipster is a young person who deliberately goes against popular culture to stand out from the crowd. Usually, this involves wearing clothes which would look more appropriate on a pensioner and eschewing the ways of modern technology; using cassette tapes or records instead of CDs and MP3 Players.

Here is a brief educational video if you'd like to know more (be warned, it says it's clean, but it's not entirely free of rude language): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krsRqZ42lyE

Anyway, anyone who announces to others that they are a hipster is, by definition, not a hipster. Hipster culture has become an essential part of mainstream youth culture and therefore anyone who relishes the title of "hipster" is actually a mainstream try-hard.

But in my opinion, a hipster is just as bad as someone who only likes things because they're popular. Trying to stand out by liking things that nobody else cares about is ridiculous. You should like things (and listen to them, wear them, whatever) because YOU LIKE THEM!!!! What other people think of them should have no bearing on your opinion.

I mean, I like bands that I don't think people have heard of, such as Sixpence None The Richer, Violinski, AlternativA, the Flashcubes and Voice Of The Beehive or individual artists, such as Parthenon Huxley (P Hux) and Juliana Raye (I may be wrong, those bands may be quite famous. Does it matter? No!) but I don't like them because nobody else does, I like them because they're god musicians with music that makes me happy. Usually. I also like people like ELO, Queen and the Darts for the same reason, even though a large portion of their members have, sadly, now died.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that hipsters are really silly. In the same way that people who change their lifestyle to be like everyone else are silly. You should like what you like because of your personal tastes, whether that be modern, old, alternative, cheesy, popular, underground, reggae, jazz, soul, dubstep (please God no), or even Math Rock. What actually is Math Rock?

[SIDEBAR:] Thanks to Dad for reminding me of all the weird bands I like that nobody else has heard of/cares about.

Musical Education - Seriously, you should know this by now

As Jeff Lynne has two new albums coming out later this year, I have been pondering the awesome world of music. And by music I mean proper music, not that rubbish that passes for music nowadays (golly, I sound at least sixty)...

OK, so, a brief lesson on Rock Family Trees:

• So, Jeff Lynne was in a band called "The Idle Race", who were alright.
• Then he got bored of them and moved to a band called "The Move" (so called, because all their members moved about a lot).
• Also in "The Move" at that time were Roy Wood, Bev Bevan and Rick Price (previous members include Ace Kefford, Carl Wayne, Trevor Burton and Richard Tandy).
• Roy Wood had moved to "The Move" from "Mike Sheridan and the Nightriders", where he was constantly fighting for supremacy with (surprise surprise) Mike Sheridan.
• After "The Move" Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood and Bev Bevan rejoined forces with Richard Tandy to form "The Electric Light Orchestra" ("ELO"), who are one of the best bands ever to have existed. "ELO" also included about six or seven other members, most of whom played strings (and Bill Hunt, who played keyboard and french horn).
• The incredibly talented Roy eventually left "ELO" to pursue a more lucrative career where he wasn't fighting for supremacy against other incredibly talented musicians (Lynne). Roy then went on to become the lead singer of "Wizzard", one of the other best bands of all time, along with Charlie Grimma, Nick Pentalow, Mike Burney and Rick Price (from "The Move"), amongst others.
• "ELO", in Roy's absence, picked up several new members, including Kelly Groucutt and Mik Kaminski, and became extremely successful. Eventually, somewhere in the midst of the eighties, Jeff Lynne got bored and left, after writing a song about it (as you do). 
• After this, "ELO" picked up an excellent new singer called Eric Troyer and formed "ELO Part II", "Orkestra" and "The Orchestra" in quick succession (Jeff Lynne had the rights to the "ELO" name).
• Both Kelly Groucutt and Jeff Lynne took up solo careers at various points during the nineties and two thousands. Jeff Lynne also "reformed" the "ELO", still having the name rights, but with girls, and very few of the actual original members. They did a tour called "Zoom" in 2001, but everyone seems to agree that the less said about that, the better.
• Jeff Lynne was also in the supergroup with the best lineup ever (Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, George Harrison and Bob Dylan - I know, right?!?!) - The Traveling Wilburys.
• Roy Wood, in the meantime, has been in several bands since Wizzard; firstly there was "The Wizzo Band", which was weird and experimental, "Roy Wood's Helicopter", "Roy Wood's Army", "The Roy Wood Big Band" and, now, "The Roy Wood Rock and Roll Band". ("Roy Wood's Army" and "The Roy Wood Big Band" were both mostly, if not all, female apart from Roy. This makes them doubly awesome. "The Roy Wood Rock And Roll Band" is not all female, as the majority of the musicians from "The Roy Wood Rock And Roll Band" all went off to have families and babies.)
• Roy was also part of a supergroup called "The Rockers", who were the House Band on the TV show "OTT" (which Roy wrote the theme tune for). This band comprised of Phil Lynot, Chas Hodges and John Coghlan.

OK, that's a family tree which is practically horizontal. But awesome. For more information, check out this video, which is the best thing on the web:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRDqpaDEG3k <-- Watch it, or be forever shunned...

Awesome Songs For Undisclosed Purposes

Hello, I have to choose a song for something and I have now pondered my way down to a shortlist. If anyone is out there in the big wide world of the internet and wishes to comment, please do.
My choices are:

Need You Now - Lady Antebellum What can I say? It's a beautiful tune which appears to basically sum up my life right now (yes, I'm that sad). It's about two people who've broken up or something and don't talk to each other any more. However, they both still love the other, meaning they sing this beautiful, supposedly accidental, duet. The instrumentation is really good and I highly recommend you listen to it. So here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OfsZyYPLoI Unfortunately, it may not be totally suitable for the purpose I need the music for as it's a duet and there's only one... Never mind. Volunteers for a mystery project?


It Should've Been Me - Yvonne Fair This, for those who don't know, is a beautiful soul song about a woman whose boyfriend/fiancee leaves her for someone else and she basically stands up at their wedding and says "You said we'd be together forever and now you're marrying this bint? Dude!" But not...
Anyway, it's a really nice song and I think it'd be suitable, but the instrumentation leaves something to be desired. Anyone who's not heard this, it can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v_QB56-d5w and yes, Dawn French did do a version in "The Vicar Of Dibley".


We Are Family - Sister Sledge This song, well... There's nothing I can say that you don't already know. It's awesome and it applies to every aspect of my life. it's really cool and I can't even be bothered to describe it to you.... but here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBpYgpF1bqQ If you don't know it, you don't deserve to be a mountain sheep. Hand in your membership badge at reception.


Midnight Blue - Electric Light Orchestra Ok, now the ELO section starts. But I've chosen two, don't worry, it's not exhaustive. Basically, this song is beautiful and sad and happy and emotional and all those wonderful things a song should be. It's about a man who's so in love with this woman that he can't imagine his life without her. I'm not sure I understand the colour reference, but it adds to the poetic imagery. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwBGBElJcuo Watch it. Now. This is the song (husband permitting) that I want as my first dance at my wedding.
There is another song called "Midnight Blue" by Melissa Manchester and it is also wonderful, but sadder. Please listen to that if you get the chance too... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WweQJCqOFyI

Getting To The Point - Electric Light Orchestra a hugely sad song, written by Jeff Lynne when he decided to leave the band, it can also be seen to be about basically anything life throws at you where you look and you say "I can't handle this, I have to stop". My Dad listened to it the night he decided to quit Scouting for the first time. It's a really sad (if slightly techno) song. Give it a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfvYIwe6IJ4 If I ever needed a break-up song, it would be this.


As always, let me know what you think. I have Twitter, so come and find me if you're interested in my stupid thoughts and ponderings. Please check out my friend Emily's Blog at http://shirleynomates.blogspot.com too, she's a good writer, and she's almost as awesome as me. But awesomer.