21 June 2005 @ 07:28 pm
 
My other journal, the one I use for posting icons and the like, is subtitled 'easily distracted'. Never was something so aptly named.

I signed up to write another essay for [livejournal.com profile] with_character (Xander character profile, season four). Not a problem, I signed up for it in something like March (or myabe even earlier than that) and thought I had loads of time to do it.

I did have tonnes of time to do it, honest, only problem is - I didn't start it. I got distracted. It's due tomorrow and I'm so not in the mood for writing an essay tonight. Especially not on a season I haven't watched for ages! I'm sitting here with the transcripts open and I'm scribbling notes, all well and good, but I cannot be bothered stringing my thoughts into a cohesive essay...

I want to be writing fiction I think, or maybe iconing. I really want to enter [livejournal.com profile] zeppo_stillness this week since I haven't managed it the past couple of times. Deadline for that's tomorrow. (Which reminds me, I need to post a reminder for that!)

Still haven't managed to figure out what it is I've forgotten to do at work, again I got through a full day's work by mid-morning. I need out of that place now. At least when my days were full I didn't feel my brain atrophying away as I sat there RPGing.

Bought an album on impulse yesterday, I'd heard one track played a couple of times on the radio and I saw it advertised on the TV as being a 'unique sound'. I'm blown away by this album, it's just incredible.

The album is Back to Bedlam - James Blunt He has an odd voice, it's just on the verge of being annoyingly nasal but somehow he manages to stay on the 'not annoying' side. Technically he's not that great a musician, he's not bad by any measure, but he's not great either.

His lyrics, though. The man is a gorram poet. Final track on the album is my favourite right now.

No Bravery

There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
Tears drying on their face.
He has been here.
Brothers lie in shallow graves.
Fathers lost without a trace.
A nation blind to their disgrace,
Since he's been here.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.

Houses burnt beyond repair.
The smell of death is in the air.
A woman weeping in despair says,
He has been here.
Tracer lighting up the sky.
It's another families' turn to die.
A child afraid to even cry out says,
He has been here.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.

There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
But no one asks the question why,
He has been here.
Old men kneel and accept their fate.
Wives and daughters cut and raped.
A generation drenched in hate.
Yes, he has been here.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.


Right, I should get back to not writing this damn essay then...
 
 
Current Mood: impressed
Current Music: Goodbye My Lover - James Blunt
 
 
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[identity profile] dimlondeiel.livejournal.com on June 21st, 2005 11:54 am (UTC)
I only heard of James Blunt yesterday but haven't heard any of his music yet. It's probably not surprising though since I've only been tuning into Radio 1's most punk programmes over the last week or so.
[identity profile] whiskyinmind.livejournal.com on June 21st, 2005 12:09 pm (UTC)
He's pretty cool, not Radio 1 playlist really - although they have played the single 'You're Beautiful' a little bit - he doesn't really fit their demographic. Not really sure what station's demographic he fits really!

(I've edited the post to include a download of No Bravery by the way)
[identity profile] rileysaplank.livejournal.com on June 21st, 2005 02:36 pm (UTC)
I've heard of that but stayed away from it because of the 'unique sound' tag because invariably when an ad says that, it isn't. Might have to give him a try now then.
[identity profile] whiskyinmind.livejournal.com on June 22nd, 2005 12:11 am (UTC)
I think part of the 'uniqueness' is that they're not sure how to classify him. He's got vaguely folk rock parts, vaguely ballad-like songs, vaguely lots of things to be honest.

His voice is unusual, or rather his method of singing is. He sings at the top end of his range and deliberately breaks between head and chest voice a lot. I get how that could be annoying to a lot of people but in this case it only helps underscore the emotional content of the songs. I tend to look at songs from a lyrical point of view rather than a musical one. His lyrics are astounding.