This be the blog

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm so excited for this whole referendum lark to be over. It's got all the excitement and apathy of Christmas meets Eurovision, but where you know Australia are going to bring a tornado as their entry. If this is Christmas, then I'm somewhat fortunate to have been selected several months ago to be on Santa's good list of young uns and that the general public want to know what I want to Christmas. If this is Eurovision, I'm one of those screaming families that records their ridiculous parties and Graham Norton shows them to the world. For whatever reason, the BBC chose me to be a part of their coverage of the EU referendum along with 200 other 18-25 year olds. For all intents and person, we are the ominous, unheard, marginalised "voice of the youth". But for the best part of the program I've been a totally silent voice of the youth, basically getting a lot of exciting phone calls then being told the day befo...

Remember when America stumbled across the concept of a "cheeky Nando's", and they wanted the English to explain it? I saw my friend tweet that it was an "abstract concept". He was jesting, but in a sense it is, and in a sense the fact that people in the UK understand the concept of a "cheeky Nando's" but people in America didn't - well, to me, that say more about British culture than any amount of fish and chips, the monarchy, and tea: the things that allegedly sum up "British culture". To me, the same applies for Eurovision. Theoretically, Eurovision should be a singing contest, but anyone from Europe will tell you it isn't. The best song probably doesn't win. The best song charts around Europe the following Sunday (well, Friday, now), but all sorts of different factors affect who wins Eurovision. I've previously said that I don't feel an overwhelming sense of pride in Britain, whilst I do in Europe, but this ye...

As people keep saying: Big Sixes are over, but Club Omega is forever. A few weeks ago the "contemporary post emo jazz" (indie rock to you and me) band Big Sixes called it a day. The music industry seems to be in a current crisis of excellent bands calling it a day, but these guys were something special. It seemed only right to share a few memories. These were the guys who performed a show on a boat in the Thames, the guys who called their shows Club Omega, who made a zine, and a T-shirt with Madonna falling over on - and another with Justin Bieber on. They were more likely to steal the interview and/or camera than to participate nicely. In fact, they did here . Big Sixes made art and bought together a community of people who loved art like they did. It's fair to say everyone in "Club Omega" was chuffed when they were signed to a label, but the guys were always a little more than just an outfit who made music. They were the most brilliant collection of...

I wasn't sure if "eulogy" was the right word. I gave the definition a Google and feel it is. Just over four years ago, someone bought me a pair of shoes, and a few weeks ago they fell apart beyond repair. Didn't have me pegged as a person who would be moved by losing a pair of shoes from her wardrobe? Let me tell you that these weren't any old shoes. They cost £3, came from Primark, and were brown, lace-up wedge heels with a fabric, like, cuff, around the top. I don't know what it's called I never buy shoes. You're not reading the words of a shoe fanatic, you're reading the words of a practicality fanatic. At first they were just a pair of shoes that made me look about three inches taller, it took me until the following summer for me to realise they had super powers. Perhaps not super powers, but you've got to respect that fact that these were a pair of three quid Primark shoes that took a lot of wear and tear. Over the summer I we...

It's 8pm on a Saturday. I'm in bed watching TV and writing this and once again contemplating if I'm living my student life "right". If there is a "right". Perhaps that's not what I mean, more, I feel like I might be letting my "best" three years slip away. By the way, I'm in an Edinburgh hotel. So I might not be "wasting" my student life, but it certainly feels a little odd. Since Christmas, I've got into a bit of a habit of disappearing from uni each weekend. Mash for the over-5s. I didn't decide to write this till late in the first day, so mind that I've not included anything before then. A summary: Scotland is far away, I ate a meal in the form of mashed potato, I got stuck in the back room on a vinyl shop. I think part of the charm of the Scottish capital might be that it feels nothing like a capital. Ten minutes out of the city by train and you could be in the middle of the Highlands. Actually, I t...

Finally, after months of drafting and re-drafting this post, I can form it into something more than an nonintellectual babble with little articulation or purpose. On June 23rd, I'll be voting to stay in the EU. At first I believe this vote was merely dictated by my want of some level of security, but after a discussion yesterday, I've realised I can now support my argument, and I'm no longer in a position where I could be swayed. A "reformed" EU From what I've seen, a lot of people are voting to stay in the hope of a "reformed" EU. I don't know exactly what this vague term means to individual people, but I presume people are looking for a more democratic union. I won't quote statistics here, because I believe every figure I've thus far seen on any matter relating to the referendum has been challenged somewhere else, so there would be little point in doing so. It would deduct from the point. However, what I do know, wi...

The end is nigh (at last). Part three of three of my 31 desert island songs list. Normal blog posts shall soon resume. Postal Service -  District Sleeps Alone Tonight Last December I got into loads  of new music. Postal Service was one of the best I found, they're fantastic. Public Service Broadcasting -  The Other Side Another band I got into last year, during my Mercury Prize love phase. I found this in a list of artists that should have been nominated but weren't. The whole album, Race For Space, is brilliant, but this is particularly special. It's bizarrely motivational. Relient K -  Must've Done Something Right I saw the lyrics to this song on Tumblr. Googled the lyrics, loved them so much I got hooked on the song. I have a blog named after a line. They're so cute. Damien Rice -  The Blower's Daughter My favourite film (if you hadn't guessed) is Closer , and this is the song through the titles. This track got me into Damien's music, it's s...