Weekly Musings

2017 - Week Eleven

'Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished'

(Lao Tzu)

I had just about recovered from the weekend's hen party on Monday, but still had a quiet few days at the start of this week. I went to watch Aum in his school concert on Tuesday evening which was very sweet, lots of super talented young boys there, two kids did James Arthur's 'Say You Won't Let Go' on guitar/ vocals and were really something. On Wednesday the sun was shining so I took the dog for a run around on the football fields behind my house and I got my latest Instagram poem up, read it here.

I am so thrilled Lana Del Rey is back with her single 'Love', I was originally going to post that for my track this week, but then I watched this again and my God, that opening monologue just kills me. For me she is the epitome of a babe - skating the line between vintage and modern, empowered and fragile, feminine and badass; I could go on but I'll spare you the fan-girling. I saw her out on a date in an Italian restaurant in East Village in New York a few years ago, she is just as stunning IRL. I read a comment on YouTube (unusually, there was only one negative comment out of over 100 I read) where someone had said 'I think the reason Lana is so loved is because she represents this freedom that we all want but yet this vulnerability of wanting to be loved and making mistakes.' Absolute word.

On Friday I booked a holiday with my friend Bex, for a week in Palmanova in Mallorca in June, so excited! I can't wait to have some sunshine and lie on a beach, and we got a great deal on an amazing looking hotel 5 minutes away from the centre so it should be lots of fun. After the positivity of the day it would have been rude not to continue it into the evening and partake in a drink or two to celebrate St Patrick's Day, so I headed to Chorlton to meet my friend Rosie. It seems a common theme when it is the two of us that we end up getting absolutely hammered, so sure enough 4 bottles of prosecco later (in Oddest, Chorlton Tap and Electrik) I found myself sleeping in her loft instead of taking the last train home; successful catching up!

Yesterday after a horrible early tram/ train ride back home (to be honest I think I was still steaming) I had a lazy, chilled day and then my mum came round in the afternoon with not one, but two different types of cake (carrot and lemon for anyone wondering), did the washing up and dyed my hair, what an absolute star. In the evening I met up with my friend Phil, known to our friends as MC, in Font Bar which is an old haunt where we all used to get very drunk on £2 cocktails when we were underage! I was driving so just had the one, a mudslide which was my signature choice back in the day. We then went to watch a band called Club Drive at Sound Control, which I was reviewing for Candid, you can read my article here.

Today after a much needed lie in, a decent breakfast and a hot bath, I finally felt a bit more alive. Benn came to mine to chill out for a bit in the afternoon, and we went to the cinema to see Get Out,a thriller/ horror that was actually much better than we both expected. After watching the trailer I thought all the best bits would have been shown, but I would recommend it, it was original and had a few surprises. 

This evening I went to Manchester Academy with Laura, where Little Comets were playing, again to review for Candid (article coming next week) it was a sold out event packed with people bopping away, which kept the energy high for a Sunday evening!

Weekly Musings

2015- Week 6

'Now my life is sweet like cinnamon, like a fucking dream I'm living in.'
(Lana Del Rey - Radio)

I've been replaying a bit of Lana this week, every now and then I get a real craving for her melancholy tones! This week has been far from melancholy though, despite crashing my car AGAIN on Tuesday, meaning I've gone from seven bump free years to two crashes in the past 12 months! 

That evening I ventured out on another date, but luckily this one didn't have the disastrous result of last time, in fact, it was pretty bloody good as first dates go! I was a little late due to unreliable trains, but we met at Deansgate and went to a place called Evuna for tapas - always a good cuisine option for striking up conversation and sharing food. Slight miscommunication meant we ended up with rose wine (I said it was the only type I wasn't fond of, he thought I'd said it was the only one I liked!) but I didn't have the heart to embarrass him, and fortunately it was actually decent tasting. Conversation was easy, we both had similar passions and taste in music, which is always a winner with me! He was genuinely interesting and had a great smile, dressed smart and it felt very relaxed - he got the bill as well which always helps!

Afterwards we moved on to Cloud 23 in the Hilton, quite a statement for a first meeting, but it didn't seem like it was done to show off, and I was actually really excited to go as I hadn't ever been. I had a gin and cherry cocktail and then moved on to just gin and lemonades, and we left after I realised I had missed my train and would have to get the metro home - definitely the sign of a successful date! I don't really know what I was expecting from it, but I think after last week it was reassuring to have met a normal guy who I wouldn't mind seeing again, and he was a cracking kisser too!

The following day I met Abi at Cafe Gourmand and of course filled her in on the gossip, and in the evening I went to watch Aum perform as Kaa the snake in his Jungle Book production, which was fantastic! MGS clearly pull out all the stops when it comes to school shows - the boys had amazing costumes, full hair and makeup, impressive lighting effects and microphones attached like popstars!


On Thursday I went to watch a band called Liu Bei at The Eagle Inn in Salford (great little venue) and have had a fairly quiet weekend: I babysat last night and went for a few drinks with family friends on Friday night, then have just had Mum, Dad and Jas round for Sunday dinner. I am now off to watch Interpol at the Albert Hall!

Candid Article 13

The American Way

The era of the 50s is synonymous with a seven letter word – glamour. With the rise of American stars such as Katy Perry, and more recently, Lana Del Rey, the days of slicked back hair, Cadillacs and milkshake bars has been given a whole new lease of life.

Some design houses were quite subtle with the trend, such as at Proenza Schouler, where hair was set in barrel curls and block colour t shirts were given the ever popular Peter Pan collars and paired with plastic coated skirts. Also featured were retro floral print knee length skirts worn with crop tops – showing just the tiniest slice of flesh around the smallest part of the waist. Elbow length black gloves and the use of animal print cemented 50s Americana as the inspiration behind the outfits. For the brands print advertisement shoots, model Natasha Poly was placed on 50s style chairs in classic pin up poses.

It is an era I am particularly fond of, having been a huge fan of Dita Von Teese since I was about 15, who is perhaps one of the most famous contemporary 50s style pin ups. In more recent decades, glamour is a quality that is so often overlooked in favour of appearing slimmer or being practical, so it was interesting to see such an injection of it on the current catwalks.

Sky blue gingham and ankle high school girl socks were used at Marc Jacobs, harking back to visions of Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz. The super high waisted skirts cropped up here as well, and head scarves were tied in a band around the head. Jil Sander took the use of gingham to a whole new level, making two piece suits out of the fabric for a more full-on effect.

Aside from headscarves, another piece of interesting head gear that was used was a bizarre contraption at Nina Ricci. Constructed out of straw, it sat on the back of the head like a hat, but from the front almost gave the impression of a tiara. It perfectly complemented the pretty printed blouses worn by the models.

Prada probably won in how literal they took the trend, creating leather skirts with appliqué cars on, and shoes that had rear car lights and flames shooting off the heel. Creative director Miuccia Prada chose cute pastel pinks and blues paired with a dark bottle green to add a sex kitten attitude.

Other designers to embrace 50s glamour were Bottega Veneta, Valentino and Rochas, who quiffed model’s hair into a Danny from Grease effect. And, of course, cat’s eye sunglasses were never far from the catwalk, a sure investment for when the sun comes out this summer!

Winter Sounds...

Lana Del Rey: Born To Die - 4 stars ****

I got this album as despite not being a huge fan of Del Rey's first single 'Video Games', I am totally in love with the second single 'Born To Die', and so thought I'd give it a go. The album has 16 tracks on it, and they vary from the melancholy 'Video Games' to urban tunes like 'Lolita' to uplifting choral numbers such as 'National Anthem'. It really shows her diversity as an artist, and her true musical talent, as nothing on the album sounds remotely manufactured. They are all quite personalised, with quirky lyrics, unusual compositions and also parts where rap-esque talking is laid over the backing music as in 'Born To Die'.

Million Dollar Man sounds like a 50s style musical track, you can almost see Lana walking through a gloomy American city singing the lyrics in pursuit of her lover. 'Radio' is quite humorous, as she uses love clichés in the lyrics, but they are filled with irony such as 'lick me up and take me like a vitamin 'cause my bodies sweet like sugar venom'. This occurs frequently and lets her personality shine through, which gives a cynical overtone to the album.

Despite Lana Del Rey having her own distinct style and voice, I couldn't help but think that certain songs sounded a lot like some other famous female vocalists. Without You is quite high pitched and dreamy, reminiscent of 80s Kate Bush tracks, and in Blue Jeans she sounds like Gwen Stefani - which, as she is one of my favourite artists ever, is a massive compliment!

Overall I would recommend this album to someone who wants a bit of a change from the usual girls that dominate the saccharine pop world, yet don't want to stray too far into unknown territory. Give it a go.