Collecting "stuff"

I had one of those late night epiphanies in the wee small hours of this morning about stuff... and in particular, the stuff I consider to be precious. It was a crazy thought that somehow substantiated itself the more I considered it:

I can recall the origin of everything or mostly everything I hold dear.

Now when I say "origin" I mean the where & the who... I don't always remember the when... and the how & the why are irrelevant, in my opinion. My focus is on the where... where I obtained an item... and/or the who (if appropriate)... who gave me an item.

The Levi's I am wearing came from a Shelter Charityshop in Hamilton.
The blue Vans slip-ons were purchased in the reduced-to-clear section of TKMaxx at the Fort in Glasgow.
My flannel shirt was bought half-price in ASDA in Hamilton with Olly there to help me choose.
My stripy socks were a gift from Olly.
My Paul Frank vinyl wallet was purchased whilst on holiday with my family in Lido di Jesolo, Northern Italy;
My iPad was another gift from Olly with a case purchased with an award from my work.
The iPhone 3GS I am writing this post on was originally owned by Olly who gave it to me when she upgraded.
The Griffin case that protects it was purchased reduced-to-clear in Tesco in Bellshill.

You get the gist.

The point of this post is not for me to show off... either my stuff or my nerdism... but to say that the way to combat rampant and blatantly mindless materialism is to attribute meaning to what we have & take time to remember what that meaning is... to contemplate the significance that has been allocated to the item... the value placed on the "thing" I hold dear.

It's a form of awareness... a sense of being in the moment... and it is far from mindless.

I don't need more because I have what I have now. That's not to say I won't collect more but collecting is different from consuming... collecting is about appreciation... it's about the thing... its about stewardship... whereas consumption is about the act of consuming... it's not about the 'thing' but the act of getting... of obtaining. These are two different acts.

As long as I can remember the origin story for each item I treasure then I, in my opinion, remain a collector & not a consumer.

Tx

DJ Shadow's "Scale It Back" by Ewan Jones Morris

DJ Shadow "Scale It Back" from Ewan Jones Morris on Vimeo.


I found this video fascinating when I watched it earlier. It presents a great song from DJ Shadow's new album.

Enjoy

Tx

(Thanks to the fox is black for the heads-up)

Christmas music (part 2 of 2)

In my ongoing quest to find awesome Christmas music... I thought I'd share with you these albums, all of which help to make my Advent a joyous time.

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I consider the five EPs that Sufjan Stevens wrote as "songs for Christmas" to be very precious indeed... they really make for a folky, homely and low-key Christmas where participation is more important that what you bring. I like that ideal, expressed through the songs, and recommend this collection to anyone who hasn't already got it.

$12 from Bandcamp

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Jethro Tull are a pretty new discovery for me... and their Christmas album is a wonderful addition to my collection. It is a vibrant and joyously merry affair with plenty of prog-tastic flutes and folky instrumentation. It makes me happy and fills me with cheer.

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"Silent Night" by Timbre is another recent discovery for me. Her vocals and minimal harp playing is simply breathtaking. There is a haunting, ethereal quality to this recording that brings to mind a sense of the timeless magic and wonder of Christmas.

Pay what you want from Bandcamp

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"A very She & Him Christmas" is a wonderfully kitschy collection of popular Christmas songs. Zooey Deschanel's vocals and M.Ward's instrumentation just work perfectly with these songs... to create something really festive and fun. They are my Rat Pack crooners this year.

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Blackmore's Night are a folky / prog rock duo - Ritchie Blackmore on guitar and Candice Night on vocals and instrumentation - whose album "Winder Carols" is truly are great find. They sing carols with gusto... and bring a traditional element to their presentation. This is one of my essential albums during Advent... especially their version of "O Come Emmanuel".

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Caleb and the Carolling Caravan have two Christmas albums out on Bandcamp which I recently discovered and have soaked up ever since. Their sound is very similar to Sufjan Stevens... very folky and low-key... and it is, as such, a welcome addition to my collection. Their version of "as the deer", for example, is so heartfelt and meaningful and takes a simple hymn and makes it fit for Christmas. I like that.

Pay what you want from Bandcamp

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Continuing in a progressive rock theme comes the trilogy of Christmas albums from Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Whilst not to everyone's taste... I find their rock-operas fascinating and comical in almost equal measure. They fill me with cheer and that's a good thing.

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There is something about Christmas that brings out the kitsch in me... and "Christmas Harmonies" by the Beach Boys fits that bill nicely. Their presentation of very 'pop' Christmas songs is first class... and simply pure festive fun. Recommended if carols aren't your thing and your sick of the Rat Pack.

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"Christmas Praise" by Olly's band - the Bellshill Salvation Army Band - is a lovely, heartwarming collection of carols and festive music with a wee vocal solo from Olly herself thrown in for good measure. Well recommended if brass music is either your passion or you want something completely different.

£10 + £2 p&p direct from the Band

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"Advent Songs" by Sojourn is a powerful collection of carols and songs for Advent in an alt-rock setting. The instrumentation really brings some familiar songs into a new light... and I love this album for that. Well recommended.

$10 from Bandcamp

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That's me for another year... I haven't had a chance to check out the recommendations that were sent through when I posted the first part of this brief series. I will.

Anyway... please check out the artists above and support great music where you can (especially the independent artists).

Tx

Tunnock's

I think I am obsessed with the goodies that come from Uddingston bearing the name of Thomas Tunnock... but then I am not the only one.



Both Pippin and I would be happy to endorse Tunnock's confectionary... and yes, I know this is meant to be an "ad-free blog".

Tunnock's is a local, family-run business who do a tremendous amount for their local community... and they make awesomeness and wrap it in shiny wrappers.

I am happy to "advertise" them for that. Tx

My thoughts on "for every hour" by Fields of Ypres

I am a person of who holds the Christian faith who is disillusioned with industry that has grown up "in His name". Whilst I hold some Gospel music close... I let the rest pass me by.

For me... the songs of Johnny Cash or U2 mean something to me because they aren't within this industry. They don't sing about Jesus being their boyfriend or have some sort of default emotional setting... they sing because they have been given a song to sing. I like that.

I consider "Fields of Ypres" aka Graeme Phillips to come from a similar mould... someone seeking to express themselves and their faith but without the predetermined preset musical expectations that I, maybe cynically, see in the "Christian" music industry.

I jumped at the chance to listen to Phillip's EP "for every hour". I really liked what I had heard in demos and YouTube videos and wanted to hear the end result. All in, I wasn't disappointed.

"Captive" is the first of four tracks and has the most wonderful instrumentation... an almost post-rock drone underpins acoustic guitar and delicate vocals from Phillips. It's a beautiful song with some tremendous lyrics... "fighting fire with a watering can"... I like that.

"Grandfather Clock" was the track I was most eager to hear after loving the version on YouTube. I wasn't disappointed... there is a wonderful wall-of-sound feel to it with the strings and a trumpet adding a real depth to Phillips' guitar and vocals. I found this track uplifting... again through some elegant lyricism.

"Wait for me" has an acoustic Americana feel to it... with Phillips' guitar and vocals intertwined with subtle electric guitar and the sparsest of percussion. The downbeat nature of this track is very "late night"... very chilled in a less-is-more manner than I feel demonstrates a maturity in Phillips' musicianship.

Last up we have "Psalm 139" which has a wonderful wall-of-sound production with strings and a percussive snare underpinning Phillips' guitar and vocals. This is the one track that I needed multiple listens to "get". I feel there are almost too many words for the instrumentation... as if Phillips has to really try to get them all in. It becomes less evident upon repeated listens but it seemed to jump out at me when I first listened to it.

That said, it's a minor point in what is a very promising EP. We need more folks like Graeme Phillips. They bring hope to folks like me.

"For every hour" is available for £4 from Bandcamp and has been physically released on Commercially Inviable Records. Have a wee listen below and, if it's your thing, do your bit to support independent music.

Tx

My thoughts on "Jupiter protects you" by the Northern Hemisphere

I have two budgies in my house. Olly and I made a conscious decision when were married to keep budgies and we have had a succession of feathery friends for the 14+ years we've been hitched. We love them to look at and we love their chatter... their cheeps and peeps bring a nice ambience to our house. It's never really quiet and I like that.

What does this have to do with the upcoming release from The Northern Hemisphere, I hear you ask...

On his latest album - Jupiter Protects You - Drew Miller has brought together elements of ambient and dissonant electronica with electroacoustic flavours to create an impressive collection of very creative tracks.

The more dissonant tracks, whilst not to my current personal taste, work on two levels... foreground where the ideas presented spark and fly off in tangents to inspire and delight... and background where they act as chatter... bringing the silence vitally alive with their sounds... like my precious budgies.

The ambient tracks, which are more to my current taste, are stunning slices of ambient electronica. Less dissonant and more soothing, they are engaging and immersive... gloriously serene in their apparent stillness and yet containing sufficient movement to enthral and captivate.

All in, this is an ambitious and very creative expression from Drew. I simply adore tracks like "Celestial"... "Sunshade"... "Galaxies and Milky Ways"... "All Around the World"... they click with me. Yes, there are tracks that I do not quite get at the moment but that's just me and maybe, just maybe that's the point... maybe I haven't yet caught up to the presentation of his ideas... maybe I'm not "there" yet... maybe they need time.

Music, in my opinion, should not just comfort the soul but stir it too... this stirring can be, at times, initially painful but is ultimately rewarding... just consider the work of Aphex Twin. I don't get all of his work but I don't need to to celebrate his creative vision. Similarly with The Northern Hemisphere.

As such, I would recommend that you give the album a few listens from start to finish before deciding if it works for you! Time will tell and I, for one, am prepared to take my time until this album becomes fully known to me... I believe Miller's music and creativity to be worthy of that kind of investment.

Jupiter Protects You will be released in early January on Bandcamp. A physical self-release will be available also. I am grateful to Drew for giving me a pre-release copy of the album but please note I have ordered a digital copy of the album.

Tx

Motherwell in the snow... some photos from 5th December 2011

Here are some photos I took after the first snows of this winter. I am really loving my 55-200mm lens for my Nikon and am delighted with these shots.

Tx

Some birds in my garden

I love seeing birds in my garden... and placing fat balls just outside the livingroom window isn't solely an exercise in aviary altruism... it lets me get shots like these. You may recognise the robin... he is the posterboy for December's calendar / wallpaper.

Tx

Christmas music (part 1 of 2)

I hate the same old pap that's brought out as muzak at Christmas time... Slade... Wizard... Mariah Carey... all have been done to death, IMHO.

So it is around this time of year that I go hunting for meaningful or new-to-me Christmas music. So far I've found some good recordings to complement those already in my collection... and wanted to share them with you:

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The Lower Lights :: "Come let us adore him"

Christmas carols and songs in their trademark folky sound. Their awesome harmonies, for example, save "White Christmas" from the mundane... and their instrumentation differentiates "little drummer boy" and makes it their own. I love this band and eagerly welcome this album.

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So Elated :: "Bewildering Light"

Christmas isn't Christmas for me without this album. Ben Thomas and gang created an album full of mystery, hope and searching that is simply timeless. A welcome addition to any collection, imho.

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Vince Guaraldi :: "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (pictured at the top)

Nothing puts a smile faster on my face than this album... it has a real sense of fun and movement to it, and I love it. Haven't seen the show in ages but the jazzy instrumentation and expressive rhythms on this soundtrack sound as fresh as ever.

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Low :: "Christmas"

I find this EP dark and downcast but filled with heartfelt meaning... real emotion can be found among the wall-of-sound distortion fuzz and slow acoustic moments. The EP is a fab mix of the playful and the poignant... they even have Christmas bells in the opening song... which is fun.

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Sleeping at last :: Christmas Collection

Picked up this album recently from noisetrade and have really enjoyed their folky acoustic soundscapes. Their version of "what child is this" is breathtaking in its scope and grandeur. I feel this album will become part of Christmas for me like the others above.

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I'll share more soon... hunting for these will keep you busy for a wee while.

Tx

December's calendar / wallpaper

Nothing says Winter like Little Robin Redbreast... so I've created a couple of wallpapers that feature a recent garden visitor.



Usual flavours included... enjoy.

Tx

1024x768
1280x800
1680x1050
1920x1080
iPhone with calendar
iPad
PSP
Kindle3
980x800 (no calendar) for my pal Andrew


*U*P*D*A*T*E*
iPhone (no calendar) for my pal Aileen