This is so random.

Wanna know what some of my favourite Horror songs are? No? Well too bad, you're getting three from each record.

Gloves is my favourite song from Strange House without a doubt. It actually is my ring tone; you know the bit where Faris is like, "and I couldn't take it anymore!..." yeah well from there. It’s so awesome. Draw Japan was my first song I heard all those five(?) years ago, and I still love it sick. I think my last one for Strange House would be She Is The New Thing solely on the basis that it has no released demo version so don't have to think if I like the demo or album version better. Ha.

Now for Primary Colours, seeing as it's my favourite Horror record (I ordered it on vinyl the other day, yewww!) it would be so hard to pick a favourite track. It's actually not because Scarlet Fields is possibly one of the most amazing songs in the history of this whole world. I also adore Mirrors Image and Sea Within A Sea because they have amazing lyrics that accompany the brilliance of the music. I actually wrote some lyrics from those three tracks on the back of a practice maths test because I was bored and had no idea how to work out the question.

Skying is probably the hardest. Well Endless Blue is genius and from the first listen (in the car with dad) I’ve loved it. Moving Further Away because it’s 8 minutes and 35 seconds of sweet synthy goodness. For the last position I’m going to have to say Oceans Burning. The Horrors have this amazing capability of being able to make these songs that (I’m trying to think of how to explain this with out using a pun) just elevate into a tempo that is different to what you’ve been listening to for the past five minutes and just reach amazing heights. Oh and uh, if I died tomorrow, it would be at my funeral.

But yeah, all Horror songs are amazing; there aren’t any songs that I just think “what is this shit?!” while listening to them. These are just the best.

Why are they so brilliant?

I’m never going to get over The Horrors.

It has been one month and three days since I saw The Horrors, did you know that? I’ve taken my time to write about it eh? Well doesn’t matter, I’’m writing now.  I’m currently watching, listening really, to a video of this song that I may or may not like called Scarlet Fields live. Yeah, no big deal.

My god. I can’t actually believe that I have seen the Horrors, let alone be in the same room, breathe the same air and be a few meters away from them, it’s too crazy, but it actually happened. None the less it was the best experience of my whole entire life!! I can even say it in Italian – Vedere The Horrors è stata la migliore esperienze della mia intera vita.

If you read a post from a whole back, I said I would cry, but I actually didn’t at all! I think I was too engrossed in the moment and so excited every time a certain song came on I just didn’t have time to cry. They went for an hour and a half but it felt like it went for ten minutes. There are two times, I must mention, in which I welted up.

One was when one of the support groups (Allbrook/Avery, of which I will talk of later) were playing and I could see Faris in the wings. I get butterflies even thinking about it. I had to try so hard not to not to flail about like I would have normally done in a secluded area. The second time was when Josh came in with that screeching guitar sound of Scarlett Fields…..my word. I think I must have been pretty close though because I get still get emotional watching the video, or even thinking about it. It’s just the best song in the whole entire world. I think I would actually punch someone if they said this song was shit. Yeah ok, I’ll stop now before I go on for millions of years.

I am so fortunate that they played at the Forum, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to go. I caught the train down to Melbourne and my cousin Krys was going to be my ‘guardian’ for the night. Oh I have to tell you of the security guard story of when we were entering -

Security Guard: (To me) I.D Please.
Me: I’m underage, so she’s my guardian.
Krys: Yes, I’m the chaperone for tonight.
Guard: How are you related?
Krys: We’re cousins.
At this point my hearts beating out of my chest because I think I might not get in and he’s staring us down. I’m half Filipino so I’ve got olive skin and Krys is my cousin on my dad’s side so she’s white. He looked like was going to say something, about our race difference but stopped himself and…
Guard: Come through.

Afterwards Krys and I had a laugh about it and she said he was racially profiling us haha.

It was actually cool after the guard indicient, I had to get this wrist band and another guard, a lady this time, was putting it on me said that my Pandora (a charm bracelet if you don’t know) was pretty. That put me in a brilliant mood. Kindness from a stranger is the best!

There were two support acts – Jack Ladder and Allbrook/Avery. Jack Ladder was alright and there is no doubt he is talented, but he was so boring. Thank the lord that the Forum is such a cool venue as it has these booths with tables (like the ones in old school diners) and we just sat in there while he played.

Now Allbrook/Avery is whole other story. We came down for this one so we - well mainly me - could get close to the stage, and we got a pretty damn fine spot too; two, including a security guard, from the front on the left. I’d gotten a few of A/A’s songs and I thought they were pretty good, but I was mostly excited to seem them as Nick Allbrook, the singer, is from Tame Impala! Well not only did I get to see Nick, but Dom from Tame Impala was there lending his bass skills! They were brilliant live, so much better than  the studio versions. They were more experimental and there was more distortion and I do love my distortion. I’m spewing that I didn’t buy their record when after the gig, but alas, I recently bought their record on iTunes (first time I’ve brought something digitally) and I encourage you check them out. 

When the Horrors finally came on I screamed so much – it was the only way to show my adoration alright! Yeah words cannot describe how amazing they were. Listening to their records wasn’t enough, I just made a playlist of the videos of the gig and listened to that over and over. I cannot stress how good they are live, and if ever you get the chance, please see them.

Now, I was right in front of Josh, just a few meters back, and he is that cute. He went crazy heaps of time and it was just the best. I had clear vision of Faris. Yes Faris, dear Faris… He is a billion times better looking in real life and yeah he’s a fucking babe. I couldn’t see Tom much, and I don’t recall seeing at all Joe; there was a thick veil of smoke machine smoke and if that cleared Josh was in the way. But I did catch a glimpse of Rhys and he was being cute dancing around with his bass. My cousin actually commented that she thought he was very cool the way he moved about and she said she could tell he was a garage fan, as she herself is a garage fan.

Ok so the setlist was…

Endless Blue

I Can See Through You

Changing The Rain

Scarlet Fields

Dive In

Mirrors Image

Sea Within A Sea

Still Life

Encore -

Who Can Say

Three Decades

Moving Further Away

I was actually surprised of the setlist as I had seen previous ones, but I liked it better as I didn’t know what song to expect next which was all the more exciting. Even though I enjoyed every single song they played, my favourites of the night were Moving Further Away, Mirrors Image, Sea Within A Sea, Still Life, Endless Blue, Three Decades and with Scarlet Fields coming in a number one, of course.

I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed Three Decades. It wasn’t one of my favourite tracks from Primary Colours, but after seeing live, it has now kindled a new found respect for the song.  Josh went mental, flipping his hair about and I don’t know, there was just a great vibe coming from the whole band that fed the crowd. It was just brilliant. They’re just brilliant.

Before I go and do my homework, I may as well mention Big Day Out. It was awesome. It’s always set to be a great day when it involves good music and good company.

I saw Bluejuice, Boy & Bear, The Vaccines, The Jezabels, Kimbra, Architecture in Helsinki, Kasabian, Foster The People, Art Vs Science and Kanye West. My favourite acts I saw were The Vaccines, Foster The People and Art Vs Science. And it was so cool for Art Vs Science, the two Marks of Foster joined them onstage for my favourite song, Hollywood. Here’s video footage of the event.

Oh and to read posts from polyvore (they’re very unrestrained and hyped up) straight after the events mentioned here – The Horrors and BDO.

Oh and garage fans, checkout my playlist.

A film called ‘The Fall’

Last night, after many long weeks eagerly searching for a copy, my brother and I finally were able to watch the film ‘The Fall.’

The Falls set in the 20’s hospital and bedridden man “entertains a curious little girl by telling her a fantastical story of exotic heroes and far off places which reflects his state of mind.”

Lee Pace who plays the character of Roy, the bedridden man, is brilliant, and he’s a bit of a sight for sore eyes. But the real show stopper for me is Catinca Untaru who plays the little girl Alexandria. I’m not sure if it was her accent, or her cuteness in general, but she just captivate me.

Now this is a truly beautifully film. The cinematography is absolutely stunning. A lot of the film takes place in the desert or in palaces which are things spectacular in themselves, but even the most simple things, for example in the hospital ward are just shot so wonderfully. Maybe I just have a weak spot for the nostalgia (being set in the 20’s) and palaces in the desert because this film is not without fault.

If the dialogue was improved just that much and it ran more coherently, this could easily could have been one of the most amazing things ever to be made. The basis for the plot is absolutely brilliant, so it’s a bit of a shame really. None less, I insist you watch because it’s too good to miss.

3rd of February: A day of Horrors.

Hello! Aren't you all excited, it's just under four days till Santa comes. Personally I'm flippin' out because I just love the whole excitement of giving and receiving gifts. I also like wrapping presents almost as much as I do unwrapping.
Now the main reason for posting this little blog is something very exciting. It's to do with a band. Can you guess who? I'll give you a clue, look at the title. Yes, well done it is to do with The Horrors. Aren't you a little smartie. Ok, so we've established it's to do with The Horrors, but what is so exciting about it huh? I'm going to see them live, that's what!!
On the 3rd of February, five days after Big Day Out, and 11 days before my birthday I am going to see Tom, Rhys, Joe, Josh and Faris!!!! I'm going to breathe the same air as them! Shit, I'm flipping out. I know I'm going to cry, it's just a matter of how many. Maybe I'll have to ask my cousin, who is taking me, to keep a tally. Hopefully it's five times, because then they'll 'count in fives'... see what I did there, ow chicka chickaaa (the Mighty Boosh anyone?)

Ok, I should stop now before this gets out of control, and before I make a joke of The Horrors being on The Mighty Boosh.
Alright, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones and eat too much ham and pudding, and get prepared for hopefully some album reviews.
Much love Sarah.

Here’s to Wolfmother.

I began writing this aaaaaages ago, and I just remembered this a few moments ago as I am in fact listening to Wolfmother.

Wolfmother are my favourite band without being my favourite band. Does that makes sense? No? Well The Horrors are probably my actual favourite band, but then I can’t help but feel bad for Wolfmother and.. yeah I’m a strange person. So back to the point, I have been a fan of Wolfmother since I was ten. Though they were on commercial radio at that point, they were the first band that I liked that wasn’t a pop artist.

Minds Eye was the first ever Wolfmother song I heard, and it still is one of my favourite songs, ever. I remember in the days when they used to show Video Hits over here instead of stupid Hitlist TV, I used to watch music shows in the morning. Now, this was when I was still in primary school and every Saturday morning I used to do the vacuuming (I was such a good little girl back then), and every weekend I would Mind’s Eye by Wolfmother (what is this monstrosity! They don’t have the official video up, damn it!)would be on. I would rock out to it, using the neck (?) of the vacuum as guitar, as you would, and dropping everything when the organ bit came on and pretending to play it.

Their self titled debut was the first ever album I ever owned. Previous to that the only CD’s I owned were Barbie compilation CD’s and shit like that. It still sits at the top of my CD rack and is one of the best, if not the best, albums I own.

Wolfmother were not only the first ‘different’ band I listened to, they made me learn to appreciate live music. In the years after their debut, we, the die hard fans, there was no official information of new material. Then finally in mid 2008 the drought had finally broke. They played a gig and we finally got new tracks. I’d listen to them over and over and it was like as if those tracks were studio recorded. Before that time however, I used to think that live music was stupid and that if a band didn’t sound exactly like they did on a CD, they were the worst band ever.I especially hated when they had extra distortion or feedback, well actually I just hated that generally. That just shows how much my taste has changed seeing as I’m obsessed with shoegaze and Sonic Youth at the moment.

When I saw them at Big Day Out on the 30th of January 2011, it was one of the best moments of my life. I almost got teary, but I soon got over it and started moshing as such. My next goal is to see them live properly; not at a festival and to get Wolfmother on vinyl.

I guess without Wolfmother I wouldn’t be the same person I am today. So I just want to say thanks Wolfmother, past and present, for… being. ♥

If only I was a Horror.

Bonjour! I just though I’d write a little something about this band that I am utterly obsessed with at this moment. Who may you ask is this band? They’re the Horrors of course!

Now who are the Horrors? Well they are a British band, consisting of five. Faris Badwan is the singer (and my future husband), Joshua Hayward is the most amazing guitarist (don’t take my word for it he was voted the greatest guitarist of all time by NME readers), Joseph Spurgeon is the                (L-R Faris, Josh, Rhys, Tom & Joe)drummer, Rhys Webb is the bassist (and he once was the keyboardist) and last but not least is Tom Cowan who is the keyboardist (and he was the bassist, but he and Rhys swapped.) Now what do the Horrors sound like exactly? Well each of their three albums are different, so it’s best to take you through each of them individually.

I can’t properly account for this album because I don’t actually own the whole thing, I only have a few songs from it (mind you, I am going to buy it once JB Hi-Fi opens in my town, excited much!) Strange House was released in, if memory serves, 2007. It’s style is quite hard to describe, I like to call it zombie rock, but I’m not too good with genres. It’s pretty crazy; sorta like their hair. I’ll just stop trying to describe the genre, and let you have a listen for your self. Draw Japan is the first ever Horror song that I heard, and it still is today one of my favourites.

Primary Colours was released in 2009. This album is one of the best albums that I have ever bought, so if you are a fan of good music, go out and buy it, and if you don’t like it, fell free to write a massive hate letter to me. The style is different to Strange House, but on a few songs, there is just a hint of guitar that you can connect to the ol’ Strange House. If I could, I would totally just link every single song on the album, but I have to choose the best to show you, and then afterwards you will go out and buy it. So I can’t recommend this album without including a link to my favourite song which is Scarlet Fields.

Skying was released on the 11th of July this year. Again their style has changed, but between Skying and Primary Colours, you can  see similarities, however between it and Strange House, it’s had to believe they’re the same band. This album is much more.. psychedelic? It’s a very chill L.P with symphonic sounds and such. “It’s about being taken to a removed state of mind by music,” I think that quote said by Rhys sums up the album very well. It’s a great album, but it can’t beat Primary Colours (have you taken the hint yet, buy it!) Still Life is one of my favourite tracks and it just so happens to also be the first single of the album. So not only do you get a lovely song, there is a pretty video for you to watch. Yay! 

Oh and while we’re on the music front, I just want to mention that I am going to see the Wombats in October which I am so pumped for. I’d also like to call attention to a song that I simply adore. It’s a cover by Mr Little Jeans The Suburbs by The Arcade Fire. It’s an incredible cover of an incredible song.

Ok peace and love, Sarah xx.

School, musicians and vampires.

Hi there. Just another, you know, one of those update blogs trying to make up for never posting. So, where should I start? Maybe the thing that has taken most of my spare time.

I had started writing a pretty, for lack of a better word, deep discussion about how lucky I am that I go to school in Australia, but I thought that it might be a good thing for a competition thing (yes I'm full of competitions aren't I?) so in time I will give you the link to that when I get around to posting it. So back to the topic - the thing that has taken most of my spare time is in fact my schooling.

It is just under two weeks till it is exam week, and for the last four weeks, I have had at least one SAC (School Assessment Criteria - I'm not really sure why it's criteria, it should be task) a week. So I haven't had as much time to do my normal activities, such as doing nothing. It's funny because in between every sentence or so I'm looking back to my Italian homework that is resting on my knee. But do you know what, my time hasn't actually all been full of revising, I've actually been reading about vampires.

Yeah, roll you eyes, throw you shoes at the screen, but if you just heard me out, maybe you can reconsider. I think I should first say that I like vampires, I actually don't mind Twilight, the movies are alright, but I don't have any motivation to read the books. Secondly, I was into vampires before they became commercial and thirdly I have read Dracula which is essentially the beginning of vampires. Ok, so enough about that, what novel have I been reading exactly? Well technically it's not a novel, it's a thing called a manga.

If you don't know, a manga is pretty much a Japanese comic. They're about the size of a normal novel of around 150-200 pages. But you know what the coolest thing is? They're backwards - as in they read from right to left. When I say backwards, I mean for Australian books. Now this manga is called Vampire Knight. Yeah, that's where the vampire comes from. It is set in a high school called Cross Academy. There are two classes at Cross Academy, the day class - normal students - and the night class- vampires! The story follows Yuki Cross, 15, and Zero Kiryu, 17, who are guardians of the school, and it's their "duty to protect the secret of the night class." Another character I should mention is Kaname Kuran, 18. He is the president of the night class, and well lets just say he's a main character. It sounds really stupid and boring, but actually it's very dramatic, I just don't want to give too much away. If you don't feel like reading, maybe you should check out the anime (cartoon TV show) besides, it's what me hooked in the first place.

And for the last topic mentioned in the title; musicians. I am so very excited for Patrick Wolf's new album Lupercalia. What has made me even more excited is the release of a new video for House. Oh and I've decided that I'm going to marry Faris of the Horrors, and Cat's Eyes. Sarah Badwan has a nice ring to it don't you think?