Category: London life

Internation subway jam

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This past week, after one of the four days of Frankfurt’s music fair, Musikmesse, magic happened.

As I was browsing Facebook this Saturday morning, I came across a video of two girls playing music on a train that looked incredibly familiar and the caption said something about the guy who joined them…and so he did 2 minutes in.

You know what? Let’s get to the point! If you haven’t stumbled upon this, congrats! – you have a really great life offscreen!

While the Facebook version of this video had about 4 million views in the morning, by the end of the day it had reached 19m+! Not to mention the gazillion articles popping up all across Europe!

Mystery was solved: lady on guitar + vocals is Hamburg native, Anna Guder, a.k.a Kiddo Kat, on cajon we’ve got Londoner, Heidi Joubert and the surprise appearance is Maltese Ozzy Lino.

This MADE MY LIFE! Ok ok, my weekend…there wasn’t a person who crossed my path who wasn’t forced to hear about it and watch the video. But better yet, there wasn’t one who didn’t get as excited as yours truly!

It’s moments like this that I live for! A couple of years ago I was coming back from an incredible Pearl Jam pjmkconcert in a packed train from Milton Keynes to London and these two dudes started chatting to me about the gig and asking if I liked it and all…they began asking me what my favourite bands were and, for each one, they sang a song (and really well!). It got to a point that the whole carriage joined in and sang along (minus voice-less me) and, at the end, as a joke (but not really), I said “Backstreet Boys“. Yep. They sang that too. With all of their hearts. Spjmk2adly, both my camera and phone batteries had long died…(for a good cause!).

 

Garbage @ Brixton Academy, London 08.11.15

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So, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of my beloved Garbage‘s debut album, Queer, they put together the 20 Years Queer Tour which I was beyond happy/honoured/lucky to attend!

20 Years Queer Tour @ Brixton Academy 2015
20 Years Queer Tour @ Brixton Academy 2015

The set list was, obviously, pretty much the whole album (the new deluxe version with loads of B-sides!) + a couple of surprises during the encore.

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I still cannot believe they ditched some of the classics for said encore and, instead, played two of my all-time favourites: Automatic Systematic Habit (instaclip) and my true favourite, WHEN I GROW UP!! (of which I made a little video as well but was way too excited to get any decent footage…as well as my shitty iPhone photos.)

They’re recording a new album and I CANNOT WAIT for the next tour!!!

Garbage @ Brixton Academy 2015
Garbage @ Brixton Academy 2015

Legendary Troubadour for sale. *RANT*

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So the Troubadour in Earls Court is up for sale following neighbours’ “noise” complaints…

Unbelievable. People really are assholes. Way to go, guys, you did it again! At this rate, very soon we’ll be living in a sad, boring, robotic world with a 7pm curfew where live music will be found in an outlaw, underground alternate universe. Unless, that is, you have sold your sold to the devil like Katy Perry & co. and are brainwashing little kids into paying millions of dollars to a handful of music industry sharks. Then it’s ok.

I’m not usually a pessimist and only last night I was annoyed with a friend commenting on how music is dead illustrating it with Nicki Minaj’s “Stupid Hoe”‘s lyrics and I thought he was overreacting as there’s plenty of good stuff out there but, at this rate, all said “good stuff” soon won’t have a place in the sun. Maybe it’s time to start rethinking pirate radio…

 

*UPDATE*

Alright, people, calm the f*ck down. It’s only a change of ownership, nothing is closing down…

Pearl Jam + Robert Plant = too much love!

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There’s been so much going on in the music management life, so much in the music industry and the world in general that I’ve been meaning to mention on here but there’s also been very little time. So I come just for some quick sharing.

Tomorrow I turn 30 and, although I’m not one of those freaked out people as these things don’t really faze me, after trying to answer friends’ questions about the plan for the day and being unable to come up with one (mostly because I didn’t want to), I have decided to spend the day with myself doing all my favourite things after about a month of full on, non-stop work and constantly being surrounded by people.

It started the moment I set foot at home tonight and it led me to this “discovery” (I can’t believe I hadn’t seen this before!): my favourite band playing my favourite Led Zeppelin song with Robert Plant

London, London…happy anniversary.

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Eight years since I arrived in this town at the tender age of 21 with an open heart ready for whatever this city had in stores for me…the heart is still pretty much open although much, MUCH more cautious.

It’s been a real roller coaster and I’m sure it will continue to be until the very end, but it sure has been fun!

london waterloo intl

Advice of the day:

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I haven’t posted anything in a million years even if I’ve written about various things happening in the music industry, in London, in life. Just mentally.

The one thought that’s been with me every single day for a long time now is: whatever you do, wherever you work, make sure you understand at least a bit of everything else that’s of someone else’s responsibility, especially – but not exclusively – if it affects your job. Because people suck and don’t do what they have to do, when they have to do.

Now it’s a Thursday night baby and I’m alive. (Thanks, Lena Dunham, we can just use that phrase forever for any day of the week.) And by alive I mean “Scandal” is finally back.

You know, these show breaks used to be just for Thanksgiving and Christmas. There was none of this long break business back in the days!

And you can tell everybody this is your song…

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ysp_fb

Stuck for ideas for V-day? How about a song? No, I don’t mean Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”,cheap sparkling and rose petals on the bed, get a grip! Let’s step up the game here.

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The boys from Panic Island are giving away personalised songs. Yep, that’s right. For FREE you can have your own song! Just send them your story and they’ll not only turn it into a song, but they’ll also shoot a video for it!

Just head to www.yoursongproject.co.uk, check out the rules and fill in the form. Give as many details as you can to make your song unique!

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 Boys press

 

How to write a hit song in 2013

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So, I went to H&M today and, upon getting to the cashier, The Wanted‘s “Walks Like Rihanna” started playing…

– That’s got to be one of the worst songs ever, said I
– Ugh, I was just thinking exactly the same!, said the cashier after a sigh of relief

First there’s Britney & will.i.am making millions out of a song that pretty much has ONE verse. Now these dudes making slightly less but still ridiculously more than they should with this:

“She can’t sing, she can’t dance
But who cares – she walks like Rihanna”

Why, God? Whyyyyyyy??????

Actually, when did will.i.am get “rebranded” as the yank Mark Ronson? How the hell did he acquire such status while his fellow band mates do whatever they’re doing that’s not making them the yank-anything?