Those familiar with Laura Marling probably know that she did a gig in "The Grand Eagle Hotel" last year. This is a video that is on her website which shows the kind of things she was up to and I wish, wish, wish I had been there!
Showing posts with label Laura Marling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Laura Marling. Show all posts
Tuesday, 20 May 2014
Five women I am in awe of.
As a teenager who has been brought up on the internet, I've been surrounded by millions of voices trying to be heard and some of them have rubbed off on me. I'm at that radical phase in my life where I have something to say about anything and want to know everything and I don't think that will change. As two years ago I was introduced to the idea of Marxism, I have been plunged into the world of Feminism this year (in particular campaigns such as No More Page 3). With my growing love of women's rights, I have found myself becoming more and more influenced by the actions of women and their stories. Although I have a very long list of women who I find absolutely amazing this is my top 5:
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| Lauren Mayberry |
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| Piper Kerman |
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| Karen Gillan |
Karen Gillan - Again, she is a fellow Scot, but oh my God... she is awesome. Never has there been a Doctor's companion as feisty and scary as Amelia Pond. I loved Amy, when she died - I cried like she was my best friend and maybe that makes me a sad little Whovian but I did and that is it. Last year she shaved her head for a role and kept it, only now is she beginning to let it grow back. She has been able to join the long list of Doctor Who companions and not become sexualised and keep her identity outside of it. Although I think there is a lot of Karen in Amy, Karen Gillan has been able to walk away from Doctor Who, like many before her, but then go on to much bigger things.
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| Laura Marling |
Laura Marling - At the tender age of 24, Laura Marling already has four albums to her name (all of which have been nominated for the Mercury Prize) as well as a fifth on the way. As someone who loves sombre lyrics and beautiful guitar playing, Marling is like a Goddess to me. She writes what should be in poetry books and plays like it is the last time she'll ever do so. When I listen to Laura Marling, I get lost for hours at a time. As sombre in tone as her music is, it never fails to make me smile as it is so easy to relate to. She was heartbroken by Marcus Mumford and carried on making more and more beauty every time she plays. One of my favourite things to do of a warm evening is to just stare into the distance and reflect on "the life that I have led" and who I am and really clear my head. She is one of the finest treasures of modern music.
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| Laurie Penny |
Laurie Penny - If you're aware of female politics you probably know her very well and either love her or hate her. Penny is a journalist and editor of the New Statesman as well as being an avid socialist and feminist. In my exploration into feminism Penny is the person who stands out to me the most because she stands for so much of what I believe in. She is constantly hounded by trolls who terrorise her for her appearance and views yet she comes across as unphased. Having being hospitalised with anorexia in her teenage years as well as being a victim of rape and sexual abuse through out her career as a journalist, I find it truely amazing that she is still the powerful figure she is. Here is a video of her discussing feminism at Oxford University (also take note of the misogyny in the comments "because she is a woman"):
Of course, there are so many more amazing women who I could have written about and maybe this time next week it will be different. Over the past year I have realised that women are amazing and that we live in a society where misogyny is accepted - which needs to change. These women have liberated me in such ways that I am looking forward to womanhood and fighting for the rights of women across the world because it is what we deserve.
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Sunday, 6 October 2013
Laura Marling Gig Review.
So then, here we are, my first review in 6 months. GASP!If you don't know already, Laura Marling is one of the U.K's most talented and renowned folk musicians. On her fourth album, the 23 year old is on tour in the U.K again with just her guitar for company.
This is a gig I was very excited about. I'm a bit of a Marling newbee as I have only admired her for about a year but honestly, she is one of the best musicians I have ever had the pleasure of listening to and needed to see her live.
And so, I booked two tickets for the Birmingham Symphony Hall.
I was incredibly lucky as the day of the concert coincided with the NUT strike and so my school was closed. It was nice to have a chilled build up to the concert with Josh and not feel that stressed feeling you get when you go to a concert after school whilst your homework sits on your desk.
So my mother drove us up and whilst we went to the gig, she watched that film about Princess Diana (which she says was crap, like I wouldn't have guessed!).
The venue was beautiful and I felt that we had amazing seats, right at the top. Although we were just about as far back as you could get, I really loved being able to look down on the person who has become one of my biggest idols.
Nick Mulvay was the support and he was brilliant. I can only describe him as Alt-J if they were just guitar and vocals and one guy. I don't think I've been so relaxed whilst listening to something before, I do think that he is one to watch in the future.
And so she began with the songs from "When the Bird was Saved" ("Take the Night Off", "I Was An Eagle", "You Know" and "Breathe"), her short film released just before the album as a preview, which were awesome but nothing compared to "Master Hunter" which followed it. Obviously, the song was so good that the guitar decided it had done it's work for the night as whilst she was tuning for her next song (which I think was "Ghosts") a string snapped. As a guitarist, I felt her pain and it was nice to see her frustration as it made me feel that even though she is one of my most loved and highly respected musicians, things still went wrong for her.
It wasn't the end of the world though because she had her old guitar on hand which she described as being a "grumpy old man" because she didn't really play it any more. A lot of people have described her as being shy because of comments like this but I put it down to not feeling too above her audience. In terms of stage presence, I would say she is one of the best I have seen because of it as although an amazing talent, there is also a lot of modesty there which I think is one of the reasons she doesn't do encores, though there may believe that that proves the opposite. Are people expecting her to prance around the stage like Mick Jagger?
So as I was saying, "Ghosts". She did a lot more of the old stuff than I thought she would (only doing about six songs off the new album) but I liked it because I had forgotten how good some of the old stuff was as I had focussed so much on the new album. From what I can remember, she performed: "Alas I Cannot Swim", "I Speak Because I Can", "Rambling Man" and "What He Wrote" from previous albums which was a nice contrast to the newer, darker stuff.
I do believe that even though it was just her and her guitar, this gig was amongst the best concerts I've ever seen because she still captured the audience just as much as a full band could. It was also wonderful to see such a diverse audience, from about 8-80, as it was nice to see in practice how music brings people together. I honestly didn't realise how popular Laura Marling was amongst all age groups. Truly wonderful.
Monday, 10 June 2013
Top 10 Albums Of The Year So Far
This year has been a pretty good year for music so far. This is my top ten of the best albums released this year.10. "Exile" - Hurts. I waited a long time for this album to come out and I was worried that it wouldn't when the duo said they'd forgotten how to write music but obviously, it wasn't true. This album is a great follow up to their debut, "Happiness", continuing the moodiness that they captured so well the first time round. Listen to Hurts on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Exile-Hurts/dp/B00AO2T9VU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370856703&sr=8-1&keywords=hurts.
9. "I Love You" - The Neighbourhood. I saw this album on my download site and clicked on the link purely because of the album artwork and it was one of my finds of the year. It is nice and dark which I like but was a bit more more synthy than I'd been used to. I think from the the opening bars to the first song I was a little bit in love with this album. Listen to The Neighbourhood on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/I-Love-You-The-Neighbourhood/dp/B00C2KCM0M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370857103&sr=8-1&keywords=the+neighbourhood.
8. "Random Access Memories" - Daft Punk. Oooh controversial! I put Daft Punk here because although I think the album is great, the genre isn't 100% my thing and so I feel there where albums that I would listen to more often than this one and enjoy more. Daft Punk have taken the world by storm with this album. Practically everyone was singing "Get Lucky" a month ago or so and it is definitely my favourite chart topper of the year. The album is full of other great tunes to get you dancing and will definitely be one of those albums that goes down in history as one of the best. Listen to Daft Punk on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Random-Access-Memories-Daft-Punk/dp/B00C061I3K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1370857591&sr=8-3&keywords=daft+punk.
7. "Wish to Scream" - Tribes. This is the follow up to the band's successful debut, which was loved by all and hailed one of 2011's albums of the year by many, but didn't get the same standing ovation when it was release last month. Yes there was a lot of new ideas and yes it wasn't necessarily the bangy crashy Tribes of late 2011 but it was still an amazing album. Listen to Tribes on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wish-To-Scream-Tribes/dp/B00BLDHQ5W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370857989&sr=8-1&keywords=tribes+wish+to+scream.
6. "In Love" - Peace. This is a gorgeous laid back album that will be played more and more as the summer goes on. It's another indie record that I like quite a lot. Peace where one of those bands we were told to look out for at the start of the year and they didn't disappoint. Listen to Peace on Spotify or buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/In-Love-Peace/dp/B00B9608R4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370859322&sr=8-1&keywords=in+love+peace
5. "Modern Vampires of the City" - Vampire Weekend. Their 4th studio album kicked off the summer with the release of "Diane Young" and "Step" rattling around indie fans heads throughout April and May. "Step" proved to be a triumph using Pachabel's Canon as a foundation which can be risky but they pulled it off to make one of my favourite tracks of the year. Listen to Vampire Weekend on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Modern-Vampires-City-Vampire-Weekend/dp/B00BB22GQM/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1370859820&sr=1-1&keywords=vampire+weekend.
4. "The Messenger" - Johnny Marr. Ah rejoice, he's back! When my Dad and I found out Johnny was coming back we went into a little hype for a few months. It is full of excellent tracks that reach out to the old Smiths fan everywhere. My Dad still plays back the videos we filmed when we went to see him live in Birmingham. Listen to Johnny Marr on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Messenger-Johnny-Marr/dp/B00AG22JHY/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1370860256&sr=1-1&keywords=johnny+marr.
3. "180" - Palma Violets. This is definitely the indie album of the year, Palma Violets are a revolution! I wasn't sure on them at first but they have become one of my favourite bands. The album is just pure fun to listen to you can tell that the boys are enjoying the moment whilst it's definitely there. It's a great album for the summer. Listen to Palma Violets on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/180-Palma-Violets/dp/B00AE1VXD8/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1370860805&sr=1-1&keywords=palma+violets.
2. "Opposites" - Biffy Clyro. So far this has been the rock album of the year. The band had everyone waiting for near enough 5 years for the release of their 6th studio album and from the fans perspective, they didn't disappoint. The album consisted of 20 tracks which made up for their absence and had some great stadium anthems on their too. It really is amazing. Listen to Biffy Clyro on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opposites-2CD-DVD-Biffy-Clyro/dp/B009AWRF9I/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1370861111&sr=1-2&keywords=opposites+biffy+clyro.
1. "I Once Was An Eagle" - Laura Marling. At the start of the year I didn't think anyone would beat Biffy to the top album wise but last month they were smashed by Laura Marling's beautiful 4th album. The songs are like poetry and the Indian influences throughout the album blew me away the first time I listened to it - it was a magical moment. Listen to Laura Marling on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Once-Was-Eagle-Laura-Marling/dp/B00BQWR9BO/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1370861471&sr=1-1&keywords=laura+marling+once+i+was+an+eagle.Follow me on Twitter and don't hesitate to leave a comment or share to other people if you liked. Your feedback is appreciated a lot!
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
Idol Page - Laura Marling.
Ever since I was a little girl driving up to Oben in the car, I have listen to and been interested in folk music. I let it slip a lot until I got to my current school and saw my friends folk band on stage in year 10. I joined and dug out the old Waterboys CDs that I'd listened to as a little girl and sang. I have since learned the mandolin for the band and I am still singing in it but in the process I discovered something beautiful - Laura Marling.
She not only had an amazing voice and was talented on the guitar (understatement) but was 23 and had release three albums with success with her 4th one coming later in the year (today). She was really what I wanted to be if I could choose one thing to do for the rest of my life.
Since listening to "Devil's Spoke" for the first time I have gained a lot more confidence in playing and singing at the same time and now do it most of the time for the band with the occasional solo here and there.
I will be reviewing her latest album very soon (maybe when Iomoio let me download it?) but until then listen to her if you haven't already - she is just awesome!
Listen to "Devil's Spoke" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QirL0HXnyS4 (the first song I heard.)
Listen to "Master Hunter" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO2gm29rI7E (latest single.)