The music of 2019

This has been a really good year for us, musically. We have attended a great number of gigs and seen some bands that we never thought would be possible. Here’s a nutshell view of the gigs we’ve been to this year.

Post-Modern Jukebox

In February, we headed off to Oxford for an evening with the magnificent Post Modern Jukebox for an evening of classic remakes of modern songs, and they certainly did not disappoint.

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Laibach

In March, we spent an evening with long-time loves, Slovenian avant-garde group Laibach. I’ve have loved Laibach since my late teens, and spending the evening with them was a really special moment for me. The fist half of the evening, they shared their documentary Liberation Day about going to North Korea with us, and then performed a number of beloved songs from the Sound of Music and more.

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Dead Can Dance

Dead Can Dance is one of the first bands that the husband and I shared a love for, and their music has been a constant in our lives both before we met and since then. In May, we were fortunate enough to experience the magnificence of Dead Can Dance live. Lisa Gerrard’s voice transported us to many worlds, and certainly did not disappoint. Paired with Brendan Perry’s vocals, and a blend of magical sounds, this is probably one of the best gigs we’ve ever been to, and one we will remember for a long time. It was also one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences for us, as the band no longer plays gigs that regularly.

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Muse

In June, we headed off to the Olympic Park Stadium in London for an evening with Muse and friends. Muse is certainly worthy of such a big, magnificent venue and fills up the space with their sound and energy. Another great gig and night to remember.

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Nick Cave

Later in June, I spent an evening with Nick Cave for the very intimate Conversations with Nick Cave. It was an evening with just Nick Cave on stage with his piano and a microphone, answering questions from the audience, providing us with a glimpse into his mind and soul, and sharing the beauty of his music with us.

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Wacken Open Air

Going to Wacken has become a bit of an annual pilgrimage for us, returning to the Holy Metal land to watch as many bands as possible and being with the best community in the world, and this year was no exception. We saw a large number of bands as always, but for me the highlights were seeing The Sisters of Mercy, Brass Against, Facing the Gallows, Bloodywood, Hammerfall, Powerwolf and one of my new favourite bands, The Vintage Caravan.

Killswitch Engage

I joined the husband and some friends at the Killswitch Engage gig in London in October. They’re not typically my cup of tea, but it was a good night out and they certainly put on a good show.

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The Cult

Another favourite from my younger years is The Cult, and we were fortunate enough to catch their Sonic Temple tour in London in October. They were supported by The Last Internationale, which we’d never heard before but was absolutely phenomenal. Another bucket list band seen, and the support band has also made it into my regular playlist now.

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Opeth and The Vintage Caravan

October was a really busy month for us, as we also got to see Opeth, with The Vintage Caravan in support, towards the end of October. Opeth is one of my top 5 favourite bands at the moment, and seeing them live finally was a very special night for me.

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a-ha

a-ha was one of the first bands I ever loved, and the start of my musical love affair with the Nordic countries. Seeing them live at the Royal Albert Hall in November was truly special.

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Amon Amarth

Our last gig of the year was seeing Swedish greats Hypocrisy, Arch Enemy and Amon Amarth, at the end of November in London. Amon Amarth is another one of my current favourite bands, regularly featuring in my playlists, and seeing them live never disappoints. I’ve seen them a few times at Wacken, but this was the first time seeing them in a smaller setting – and it was still a spectacular event.

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Thank you to each of the bands we have seen, and every other band we listen to on a regular basis, for the music and the memories.

On Science Fiction

I have always loved stories, and have read widely since I could read, but few genres have captured me as much as Science Fiction, especially if it involves space.

The first Sci-Fi I remember capturing my attention was E.T. I was all of 8 years old, almost 9, when it was released, and I made my long-suffering family take me to the cinema several times to watch it. I know they took turns, and I ended up seeing it 9 times in the cinema. By the last time, I could just about recite every word, and started crying when the yellow flowers drooped.

There have been many many stories since then, from Starman to Star Trek, Stargate and, of course, Star Wars. My love for everything with the word Star in it is no secret, really.

But even if there wasn’t Star in the name, if it was Science Fiction and set in space, you can pretty much guarantee that I watched it, and loved it quite a bit. I’m looking at you, Farscape, but not forgetting Andromeda, Battelstar Galactica, Lexx, and so many more.

Here is my confession. I have never really been big on reading SciFi. Sure, I read some of it – Dune mostly – but have, for the most part, not really included space operas in my reading, often because I steered clear of reading series of any kind, and preferred stand-alone stories.

Then, two years ago, I discovered The Expanse. A colleague told me about the books, but I had a fair bit going on in my life at the time (like planning moving my family to a new continent) that I didn’t quite pay attention. When the series was released on Netflix, I thought I would give a go. And I was hooked. In the two weeks that I was alone in the UK waiting for my family to arrive, I watched season 1 another two times through, and when season 2 was made available on Netflix, I devoured it (and rewatched). And then broke down and started buying the books, which just cemented my love for this series.

I woke up on Friday morning to the news that SyFy has decided effectively cancel the TV series. My heart has been broken since. But we, the fans, have been campaigning Amazon and Netflix since then to pick up the show, and maybe, just maybe, there is hope for future seasons.

On Snow and other Marvels

I have been avoiding the news for the past week again, because I am feeling a bit of outrage fatigue again. But, if unless you have been living under a rock, you may have noticed that the UK had a little snow storm this week.

I was lucky enough to be working with a customer in London on Tuesday when the snow started, and found myself constantly distracted. Growing up in the Southern Hemisphere, my exposure to the white stuff has been very limited, and I have never really experienced a full blown snow storm.

We woke up on Wednesday morning to a scene from Narnia.

I travelled up north for a customer visit on Wednesday evening, much against advice from others and common sense. And while I was a little worried about being stranded in the middle of nowhere, I really enjoyed the adventure of travelling against the odds. The journey felt like one of those going home for x holiday movies, and I did provide me with the opportunity to take some more great photos

By Friday, it had been snowing for a few days and our housing estate was an absolute wonderland with enough snow for a little snowball fight.

We really enjoyed playing the snow, but were grateful when the snow stopped falling and melted away by Saturday afternoon. It has been a great distraction from everything else at the right time for me.

I’ve made a point of watching each of the Marvel movies in the cinemas as they were released, but unfortunately missed Thor: Ragnarok last year. Which is a pity, because it was directed by one of my favourites, Taika Waititi, who was responsible for one of my favourite movies, What We Do in the Shadows (if you haven’t watched it yet, what’re you waiting for – it is absolute gold!).

The latest installment in the Thor series was nothing short of magnificent. I loved the relationship between Thor and Hulk, and all the Loki karma. And well, Jeff Goldblum.

We’ve also been working our way through Marvel: Agents of SHIELD recently, as I discovered we can watch it on Amazon, and it has been really good to get immersed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially with Avengers: Infinity Wars just around the corner. And it has really cemented me as a Marvel fangirl.

On revolutions

“I do not think, sir, you have any right to command me, merely because you are older than I, or because you have seen more of the world than I have; your claim to superiority depends on the use you have made of your time and experience.”
― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

There is a revolution happening. An awakening of sorts, and our young people appear to have decided that they have had enough of the bullshit passed down to them by older generations. And I am so proud of this young generation, standing up to those who believe the youth should blindly follow them simply because they are older. A revolution is starting, and it will bring about much needed change.

You watched a generation grow up on a diet of Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and Marvel movies, you stripped away their hope, their jobs, their futures, and then backed the most cartoonish super-villain in history for President, and you're shocked the children are fighting back?

— Patrick S. Tomlinson (@stealthygeek) February 21, 2018

This revolution has really become visible after last week’s school shooting, and young people like Emma Gonzales has risen up and made their voices heard in a way that we haven’t seen in a long time. I am so proud of them, and so excited for the future because of them. It feels like there is hope again.

“The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.”
― Joe Klaas, Twelve Steps to Happiness

We finally got round to watching Black Panther last night, and I am so happy that the movie was made. While it is first and foremost a comic book movie and an origin story for a super hero, it also told a story that is incredibly relevant at this time.

In a time where racial tensions are running high and are being fueled by political leaders, a story with strong POC characters that defy stereotypes is incredibly important. And the movie not only provides strong POC characters, but also strong female characters that are well written and simply fabulous. And I can only hope that Princess Shuri can be a rolemodel to girls of all colours to attract more girls into STEM.

On Anger, Change and moments

“Granny Weatherwax was often angry. She considered it one of her strong points. Genuine anger was one of the world's greatest creative forces. But you had to learn how to control it. That didn't mean you let it trickle away. It meant you dammed it, carefully, let it develop a working head, let it drown whole valleys of the mind and then, just when the whole structure was about to collapse, opened a tiny pipeline at the base and let the iron-hard stream of wrath power the turbines of revenge.”

― Terry Pratchett, Wyrd Sisters

I have always been angry, in varying degrees. As a teenager, I was a ball of undirected anger that rebelled against pretty much anything I could without even thinking. And, while the anger is still there like a warm comforting ball in my stomach, I have managed to tame it a little, and use it, much like Granny Weatherwax and her creator, the great Pterry. Recently, I have been angry about politics again, especially US politics. And I have not been sure why a South African expat living in the UK would be so angry about US politics…

When learning about the Nazi regime in Germany, the question is often how did it happen? Surely not all Germans were complicit? Surely not all Germans believed in the concentration camps, and death camps? And we must remember that it didn’t start with death camps and firing squads. It started with right wing rhetoric and little liberties removed. And as much as we, as a human race, say never again, we are watching the same shit unfold in the US.

And the rising violence in the US is scaring me and making me angry at the same time. School shootings are a particular horror that I am not sure how to deal with. One of the reasons we left our home country behind was to try and give our child a safer, better future, but I never ever had to worry about my child having to face that kind of ordeal at school. No parent should ever have to face that fear or bury their child because of senseless violence. I do not want to imagine what it much be like to be a parent in the US, and my heart aches for every parent that has had to deal with this loss.

And there have been a lot of them. There have been 7 school shootings and 18 gun-related incidents at schools this year alone and it is only mid-February. And yet politicians make statements like guns are not the problem, and some even recommend putting more guns into schools by having armed security guards on school grounds. As if more guns will solve the problem of gun violence. But are we surprised, considering Cruella DeVille is the Secretary of Education. Her who won’t create safe spaces for transgendered students. or any students, really, for that matter.

A friend on Facebook shared this slam poetry video, and I thought it was really appropriate to share again now, as he is far more eloquent on this topic and says everything I want to say but cannot get out in a coherent sentence because of the anger and fear wrapped so tightly around my heart.

In other news, Jacob Zuma left office in South Africa this week, much against his own will but the country will be better off without him in the driving seat. I have always had some concerns about Cyril Ramaphosa, but I do believe that his background in both trade union work and as a successful business person makes him a far better candidate than the man who sold out our beautiful country. The king is dead, long live the king.

I spent most of this week away from home travelling to customers, visiting first Knutsford and then Leeds. While it is always hard being away from my family, I do enjoy the opportunities to see different parts of the country (and the world) and capturing moments with my camera.

On Leviathans and Small Treks

It has been three months and 4 days since my last cigarette.I started smoking not long after my 13th birthday, and smoked pretty much consistently since then. And I have pretended to try and quit before, each time a roaring failure because the love for smoking was stronger than the will to quit. But our new life has meant a big reduction in stress, and so, finally, the will to quit has grown stronger than the love for smoking. I still miss the action of smoking, taking a long drag on a cigarette, inhaling the smoke deep into my lungs and then feeling like a dragon as I exhale – but not as frequently as I used to. I now only think about having a smoke once every few days. I am sure as the months go on, the frequency will reduce even more until I no longer think about it at all.

What I don’t miss is struggling to breathe and smelling like a nightclub and coughing and having to find an ashtray and the constant constant constant craving and burning money. And this will motivate me to remain quit, even when I dream about smoking all night long.

[source]

It is probably no secret by now that I am currently a tiny little bit obsessed with The Expanse series, both TV and books. I fell in love mid-way through the first episode of Season 1, but reading the books really cemented the obsession for me. I am only ⅔ through the third book now, but I had this epiphany last night about why I love the series so much – other than the fact that it is an absolutely brilliant space opera, of course.

Each book, so far, starts with a number of different stories seemingly unrelated on completely different tracks, and things apparently spin out of control and then the stories start intertwining until they end in one beautiful point, and it reminds me of spiral galaxies or tropical storms or star aloes.

(images not my own, found on bing search)

I travelled to Leicester for work this week, which gave me a good opportunity to try out the camera on my new phone.

While I missing having a camera button on the phone, I am getting used to having to take a couple of extra steps to take a photo, and I am quite happy with the quality of the pictures.

Music in 2013

There have been a couple of changes in my listening habits this year, so while I have scrobbled some music to Last.fm, it doesn’t quite reflect all the music I have been listening to. I discovered the joys of Nokia Music earlier this year, which has brought me endless hours of listening pleasure, but it unfortunately does not integrate with Last.fm in anyway, so my Last.fm scrobbles only reflect a portion of what I listened to.

Since I switched over to the Nokia Lumia 925 a couple months ago, I have stopped storing music on my phone, and have pretty much used Nokia Music exclusively for listening to music while at work and out and about. The service allows you to create a personalised playlist by selecting between one and three artists, and it will then dynamically build the playlist based on your musical taste. You can upvote songs/bands, which will update the playlist to bring in more of that band, or more songs like that song. And, as always, with all the Windows Mobile apps, it is really, really pretty.

Last FM stats

This is probably the last year I post stats from Last.fm, unless I can find a way to scrobble my listening from Nokia Music.

Ensiferum still on top

I am surprised to see the Dark Moor track at the top, as I can’t really remember listening to it all that much. But then again, Nokia Music.

Current favourites

There are always earworms. Some stick around for longer than others. Here are some of those that stuck around

Opeth – Harvest. I think this is one of the most beautiful pieces of music written in the past 100 years.

Corvus Corax performing Amon Amarth’s Twilight of the Thundergod at Wacken 2013. This one is special for so many reasons, one of them that I was there.

Ensiferum – Lai Lai Hei. My love for Ensiferum is no secret, and this is my current favourite track.

New musical discoveries

Katzenjammer

One of my absolute favourite new discoveries is Katzenjammer from Norway. I asked Nokia Music for music like Kaizers Orchestra and The Beatles, and it gave me Katzenjammer. 30 seconds into Demon Kitty Rag, I bought the song. I have never done that before, so that says something. I think it is rare to find a band where every single member of the band is immensely talented, but Katzenjammer is one of those bands. Each song is unique, and each member plays a range of instruments, and they are all excellent vocalists too. And listening to them makes me indescribably happy. Go, give them a listen.

On the future

Since my current ponder is on what the world will be like in 30 years time, the following videos provide much inspiration:

What is your vision for the future?

A Mysterious Letter

Wacken

We spent 4 days in Wacken for the Wacken Open Air festival, during which time we listened to a lot of music, sang at the top of our lungs to some of our favourite songs, did a bit of moshing, slept in tents, got covered in mud, met lots of amazing and interesting people, drank some beer and had an all round good time. We did switch off our electronics for most of the time, so not many pictures available.