This is beautiful.

Attention Folk Fans

If you're not listening to Radio 1 then do so.

RIGHT NOW.

Mumford & Sons are doing a one off gig at seminal folk house Cecil Sharp House with other indie/low fi giants Laura Marling and Bombay Bicycle Club, showcasing some of the finest British talent on the scene right now. Oh, and The Maccabees will be there too.

If that sounds like it's right up your street then get to it now, you've already missed a beautiful rendition of Rambling Man.

Check it out: bbc.co.uk/radio1

If you missed out on the fun and frolics at Cecil Sharp House, here's a taster of what went on:

Folk? Capes? What's not to Like?

Evening chaps, I know it's been a while. Blame my ever increasing workload/revision schedule and idleness for the delay. I assure you normal service shall resume shortly..

Now then, forget about the Government palaver, (yes I know we're doomed but at least it gives us the chance to lose ourselves in The Smiths' back catalogue all over again, every cloud and all..) there's much more important things going on down in fair old Albion. One of which is the rise and resurgence of the Great British (and Irish) Folk Scene. There have been rumblings (albeit soft, twee ones) resounding from the nooks and crannies of the British Isles over the past couple of years or so, but it's been the past few months that have really shaken the foundations of the lo-fi music scene- Folk is the new Indie.

We've seen Laura Marling emerge from the shadows to produce a breathtaking second album, Mumford and Sons have captured the hearts of the nation with their debut in an everloving embrace and my favourite Dev, Mr Lightspeed Champion, has brought us a thoroughly interesting second solo album.

And don't even get me started on Frank Turner.

Indeed, we really have been spoiled for choice lately. Adding to this long list of luxurious lyricists (too much?) is Sam Taylor a.k.a Adelaide's Cape, a band that's certain to charm the metaphorical knickers off of you. You might have been lucky to catch Sam and the rest of Adelaide's Cape on tour, having supported both Alessi's Ark and Rachael Dodd in the past. If not then take a look at this, folk at its warmest:

I'm a sucker for an acoustic guitar, but this is just gorgeous isn't it? Perfect in its simplicity with an air of complete contentment, I can definitely picture myself swaying to this under a cloudless sky whilst genteelly sipping on Pimms with some pals.

If you'd like to share in the dream, Mr Taylor is supporting The Miserable Rich on tour this June, and will be hitting up The Secret Garden Party and Open House Festival later on in the year with some folktastic tunes yo.

Adelaide's Cape will also be playing a slot at the Bandstand in Bath on the 12th of June, (free entry) so if you're in that neck of the woods then check it out.

www.myspace.com/adelaidesCape

I really hope it snows this year; gives me the chance to play Laura Marling's new track, Goodbye England, to my heart's content.

I've never been a huge fan of Marling for some reason. As much as I tried, her debut album just didn't do it for me. I couldn't see what all of the fuss in the blogosphere was about. This song, however, has finally made me fall under her spell a little bit. It's poetic, wistful and just a touch Christmassy without even a hint of a sleighbell. I love it.
(The Powers that Be have declared I have to take down the track, sorry!)

These are a Few of my Favourite Things

I thought as we're nearing that oh so cliche festive period it might be nice to think about the events that have unfolded throughout the year, as well as some of my favourite things of 2008. However, as I am aware of the quantity of my posts, I will try and include as low an amount of writing as possible; my Christmas present to you is that I will stop rambling for one whole post, you lucky sods.

Disclaimer: I have not taken any of these photos (bar the MGMT one) or videos and if they happen to breach any copyright laws please let me know and I'll remove them.



Glastonbury 2008

The defining point of my year and when I truly discovered the beauty of a muddy field packed with 150,000 strangers. Nothing could compare to that feeling of freedom when you're ambling about the Green fields, seeing top notch bands and embracing the 'Glastonbury Spirit-' see you next year Mr Eavis.


GCSE Results
Considering they're deemed as 'life changing exams' I rather enjoyed the GCSE'S though they were annoying at times. Still, 5 A's, 4 A*'s, a B and a C are definitely worth half a summer in silence.






(Amongst countless others, this year has definitely been a good one for seeing live acts.)

The Mighty Boosh

2008 was also the start of my obsession with this surrealist comedy troupe. If you haven't seen any of Series 1,2 or 3 of The Boosh, I'd strongly recommend you do so; with singing, dancing and bizarre magical characters it's got all the necessities for a good show. Plus their live stage show is AMAZING.

Heroes of 2008
It's been impossible not to have caught a glimpse at the mass of singer-songwriters about this year. James Morrison, Adele, and, errm, some others, have all been bombarding us with songs this year, prime examples being the lovely Laura Marling...

And the probably-equally-lovely-but-rather-annoying-Duffy.

Other high fliers of this year include:



(Black Kids, Florence and the Machine, Elbow and Vampire Weekend.)

Villains of the Year
Well, kind of. Over the course of the year my contempt for a certain right wing tabloid newspaper has grown tremendously, due to shoddy journalism and an appalling lack of decency in certain cases. However, the funniest thing they printed all year was what is now revered as 'Sachsgate.'


Yes I know it is like so 2 months ago and it's been done to death, but I resisted the urge to blog about this affair before now so that should be praised at least. In case you live in some remote tribe that haven't heard of either of these two guys, the one on the bottom is 'edgy' comedian Russell Brand (I swear to god if someone uses that word to describe comedy again I shall scream, it's not edgy if you call it edgy) and the one on the top is presenter and sometime comedian Jonathan Ross. And they done a bad thing. Well, it depends on what your take on it is, to be honest I found thing whole thing rather funny, which was the aim afterall. However, some two people decided to have a pop at the BBC for swearing and then 5 days later it all kicked off when the Daily Mail readers of Middle England decided it was time to be upset. People resigned, got suspended and all sorts, there was quite a big fuss, apparently (I'd hardly noticed).

Still, how can you stay mad at Wossy for that long? Just look at him..


New Loves
No I'm not going to start onning about the woes of a teenager's social life, I'm much more bothered about music.




The InDelicates- New Art for The People.mp3
This duo are utterly brilliant. I discovered them upon an evening's stroll down last.fm a little while ago and, I'm sad to say, I forgot about them until I saw that one of their tracks was a free download. I'm still unsure what their main focus is on; comically brilliant and enrapturing lyrics or just playing songs. Either way it's the perfect combination of the two. If you download it, do let me know what you think of them.

TV
WARNING: Further reading may result in the credibility of the writer plummeting to below sea level. You have been warned.

One of my new loves this year television wise has been Come Dine With Me.

See what I mean?
I'm crap at cooking. I managed to somehow set the toaster on fire not long ago, and nearly set the entire kitchen alight due to an overheated frying pan. So I don't know why I like this so much. It's a reality show in which 4 randomers (usually) have a week full of dinner parties in order to win some cash. How terribly middle class. Anyway, I think I may be hitting a mid-life crisis at the grand old age of 16, as I love this show. Aren't you glad my blog is usually music based?

The IT Crowd

I know this show isn't exactly new but I've only uncovered the awesomeness that is The IT Crowd as of this year. The casting is superb; Matt Berry plays a retarded Company Executive and Richard Aoyade and Chris O Dowd are two lonesome geeks based in the IT department, and both make as great a double act as they do when solo. Matt Berry is amazingly good at playing the fool and, FYI is also the chap from the Bring on the Trumpets! advert.

What have been your favourite aspects of this wondrous year?

The Mandatory 2008 Post

So, it's that time of year again when everybody gets a little gushy and retrospective about the year that has passed, and what a year it's been. The Recession, Obama's monumental victory and umm, well, Mugabe has meant that you couldn't call this year dull. Besides all the tedium of the political world, there's been some great stuff about in the musical side of things. Folk has seen a surprising comeback and it seems people are finally growing tired of the Libertine sound-a-like sea of indie bands out there, choosing a more unconventional style instead.


I thought I'd add to the endless list of bloggers doing this and compile my very own list of 2008. However, this post will be spaced out over a number of days, 20/20 hindsight has told me that it is an ickle bit too long for just one post. So, enjoy!

10. Ladyhawke-Ladyhawke

In case you haven't yet noticed, 2008 has been the year of the synth. It's been unavoidable as of late, so much so that I wanted to get one and break it into teeny tiny pieces. However, Ladyhawke's self-titled debut is definitely the exception to the rule. This is an album full of potential singles, not a filler in sight. For someone who describes herself as being an introvert, you certainly can't tell listening to this. Pip's vocals ooze confidence and her songs have the perfect blend of synth and guitar that combine to make a damn catchy album. I'm already looking forward to her follow up, get to it Pip!






9. Robots in Disguise-We're in the Music Biz

Ok, so I know this album wasn't exactly ground breaking stuff, but this was the album that made me fall in love with this edgy electro duo. My friends and I saw Sue Denim and Dee Plume play songs from this album the night before its release, and they were as adrenaline fuelled and chaotic as they are on the album. This record proves that not only can the girls make tracks fit for dancing like no-one's watching but they also have a good sense of humour; giving us a more realistic view of the rock'n'roll lifestyle in Can't Stop Getting Wasted and unleashing a tongue in cheek tirade against conformity in Don't Copy Me. This is a much rougher album than their previous in terms of style, but it's the edginess that makes this well worth a listen.

8. Frank Turner-Love Ire & Song

2008 has really been Frank's year. He's spent much of the year touring bloody everywhere and yet still had time to release a refreshing and witty album. What a nice bloke. Mr. Turner is one of my favourite finds of the year. Pals with fellow folkster (see what I did there?) Chris T-T, Frank writes music that not only makes you think but allows you to actually enjoy his clever lyrics. Charity single 'Long Live the Queen' is a testament to this, as on first listen it's a catchy song but if you dig deeper and listen to the lyrics, you hear the story of a young women dying in hospital for breast cancer, the charity in which the single's revenue goes towards. This is the most underground artist on my list, and I really hope that by this time next year I will be able to gloat that I introduced this chap to you when he's one of the UK's most successful debut singer-songwriters.



















7.Ladytron-Velocifero
For me personally, 2008 has seen my musical tastes expand into the unfamiliar field of electro. Having grown up with the likes of Placebo, New Order and Echo and the Bunnymen shoved down my throat, I thought it would be nice to see what all of the fuss was about regarding this strange mesh of electronic sounds. Listening to this album is almost like being hypnotised and punched in the face simultaneously. The edgy beats and angst ridden synths create a definite groove that makes it all the more addictive to hear. Although some of the songs on here do make this album lose a touch of its charm, (Predict the Day's jaunty rhythm is more nauseating than exciting) others simply thrill me (see Versus' dangerously catchy refrain and bizarre kitten lyrics), making this album a firm favourite of mine for dancing about pathetically when getting ready to go out if nothing else.




















6. Laura Marling
Now at this point I'm going to say that I don't intend to market this album rundown as the most unconventional thing to do at the end of the year, lets face it Joe and Jane Bloggs have and are going to write posts along the same vein as this here thing. I can bet you 3 packets of Jellytots that this young lady will feature heavily. Laura Marling is the brilliantly talented songstress who's managed to take the alternative music scene by storm and is a staple of 6Music's playlist. Aaand she's only 18, lest we forget. This album is a true testament to her talent, with her warm raspy vocals leaving you wanting more and her brilliantly dark yet witty lyrics. It's been said before but it's hard to believe from hearing this album that she is only just an adult, a mature and rather graceful air seems to resonate from this record. How this girl did not get the Mercury Prize is beyond me. The only question I'm left asking after hearing this is where can she go from here?
What have been your favourite records of 2008? Comment me and let me know, and look out for the next installment of my album roundup.