mixtape monday #3: 2010 playlist (part one)

Mixtape Mondays is an idea thought up by my friend Aaron over at his blog. I just stole it.

So, on the way home from work the other day, taking a different tube line from normal so that I could ride aboveground for most of it, I looked out over dirty grey decrepit London, and felt this huge swell of love, for my adopted city, for my life, for everything. And I thought about how mow much had happened in a year, and how much had and hadn't changed, and how I wanted, needed to write about it. And then I decided that I should make a playlist for 2010. Here's what I scribbled in my notebook on that train ride:

"It would have to have Kanye on it, of course - starting with "All of the Lights," I think, because blogging is telling a personal story and it's got that duality to it, of an excercise in honesty, but also "look at me. pay attention to me." And Janelle Monae, because I've listened to her so much this year I couldn't not. The Clash and The Libertines for London, and the student protestors. Something for Cornwall... Seth Lakeman. And The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" and U2's "Desire" because there's a moment to fit those basically every year (even if I don't always act on the latter). Bowie's "John, I'm Only Dancing" because I was and I will be and it's been so long, since... never, really, that I was comfortable enough in my own skin to dance. Lady Gaga for the same reason, plus my fascination with her. W/IFS both for leaving and for drinking in London. But what about at the beginning...? Okkervil River, Nick Cave, Laura Marling. The National's "England," of course. And ending... ending with The Weepies, and then John and Paul's Christmas songs."

So here's what came out of that. Even though I had some tough times this year, there's not very many sad songs on here. Because even when I was crying every day and phoning home and completely unsure of what to do I was never sad, not really. Not like I have been. But there's lots of wailing, loud, defiant stuff, because that's what I blared in my headphones job hunting - because fuck you, I wasn't gonna give up this for anything - or what I listen to on the Tube to block out fellow commuters. That's enough introspection for this post, I think. There's a bit of a general story arc of the year to the way I've arranged the songs, but some of them really are just songs I listened to a lot. An exercise in self-indulgence (certain lyrics from each song) is behind the cut.

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inglorious comeback

Hello. It has been a while.

First I was sick, then really busy with Nikki visiting for two weeks. Then busy with work, and unsure what I wanted to say.

Then I decided to reorganize my internet presence a bit. From now on, this blog will be for travel and day-to-day journal type entries only. For those of you who started following my blog to keep up with me while I'm abroad, here's the place to be.

The other type of entries I was making, along with all other thoughts and cool things I want to share, are moving over to my Tumblr. That's for two reasons: so people who are only interested in one or the other don't have to skim, and because Tumblr seems to me to me a more organic, hodge-podge style of blogging, rather like 'zines of the eighties and nineties. Which meshes well with my mix of writing about music or politics or personal thoughts or quotes or culture or my own poetry/fiction writing or... you get the picture. I'm trying out having just the two blogs for a while first, and if I find that I need a place seperate from Tumblr (which lends itself more to short snippets) to post my longer, text-heavy pieces, I'll reorganize again.

It's here, if you're interested: http://sea-change.tumblr.com

Sorry for being absent for so long. I should have more posts up here soon.

xx