Still Not Figured It Out

Its weird you know?

You can survive all sorts of major and minor upsets, knockbacks, fuck-ups and general shit in your life.

But every now and then something, that at first appears completely innocuous and insignificant, really hits home.

Strange, definitely somewhat annoying, but unfortunately, inevitably, and irrefutably true.

Life’s a bastard eh?

Lates.

Matt.

Christmas CD

So. This is my Christmas CD for this year:

Here is the whys:

1. Beautiful Days - Venus
This song is on the soundtrack for a beautifully shot but rather strange film called Immortal. It was one of those songs that fit so well into the film, it reminded me of the cover of Coldplay's Scientist in Wicker Park. Beautiful Days is an awesome song, and I love the fact that as it is song by a group who do not speak English as their first language they have rhymed some very strange words. 'Days' and 'place' rhyme lovely as do 'made' and 'fake' Brilliant!
This song sounds great played really, really loud.

2. All These Things That I've Done - The Killers
I have always liked this, as silly as some of the lyrics are, but it was after seeing Southland Falls, where Justin Timberlake enjoys a drug induced episode with this song that I really loved it. Check it out: You Tube
Best bit of the whole film.

3. You Can't Count On Me - Counting Crows.
I realised, after burning the CD that this song is on last years CD too. I'm pretty sure that that says more about me than it does about the song, but its still pretty good.

4. Wisdom Teeth - Frank Turner.
I love Frank Turner. So many of his songs seemed to be about my life. But I'd have to say that this song pretty much sums me up to perfection. Sad, but true.

5. When You Find Me - Joshua Radin
Joshua Radin is amazing. A couple of my best ever memories are accompanied by his songs. This is a relatively new one that I found and it is excellent.

6. I Will Follow You Into The Dark - Death Cab For Cutie.
An incredibly depressing song on one hand, and an amazing declaration on the other. You decide which is more apt.

7. Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova.
I first heard this song at New Ash Green Open Mike and instantly loved it. It wasn't till I got home I realised it was sung by the lead singer of The Frames(not at open mike you understand, but originally), a band I've loved for over ten years. It is on the sound track to a bloody brilliant film called 'Once' that I could not more strongly recommend.

8. Let It Be Me - Ray LaMontagne.
A sentiment that I'm sure we have all felt at one time in our lives. Great tune.

9. I Am John - Lonely, Dear.
This was an i-Tunes single of the week that I downloaded and never got round to listening to for ages. When I finally did listen to it, I found it incredibly catchy and even though half the time you can't understand what they guy is saying I still thought it was great. So listen to it and enjoy, even if you have no idea what its about.

10. District Sleeps Alone Tonight - Frank Turner.
Another Frank Turner tune, although this is a cover of a Postal Service song. It reminds me of a time in October 2008 in fact, but fuck it, I thought it deserved to be on my CD as I've listened to it a shit load this year, so there you go.

11. Reason Why - Rachael Yamagata.
This is a great song. And I have fond memories of singing it with a brilliant friend at the end of a very alcohol fuelled night. It will always remind me of that night and them.

12. Anyone Else But You - Michael Cera & Ellen Page.
This is from a great film called Juno. It is sung by the two main characters. I love the raw, slightly shit quality of it as it goes so well with the honesty of the words. You can't take life to the studio and clean it up to make it better.

13. Samson - Regina Spektor.
Heard her at Glastonbury. Brilliant. I love this track for the first line alone - 'You are my sweetest downfall.' Cracking line full of so much emotion and it transports me somewhere I'll keep to myself thank you.

14. The Universal - Blur.
Saw them for the second time at Glastonbury this year and they were Fucking amazing. So much energy and emotion for a band that rode the Brit Pop revolution to the top when I was trying to become a grown up 13 years ago. This song was one of many I could have chosen. Can't really say why this one, but I do love it.

15. The Road - Frank Turner.
Shit, I didn't realise I'd put three Frank Turner songs on here till just now! This is a cracking song, and the fact that it says 'To the south' (which anyone who knows me, knows is a favourite phrase of mine) makes it even better.

16. I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor - Arctic Monkeys.
Well, I bet you do, don't you?

17. Dance, Dance - Fall Out Boy.
I remember two of my friends dancing to this in my living room. A memory that makes me smile.

18. Killing In The Name Of - Rage Against The Machine.
I have always loved this song. It is part of my youth. I remember dancing to it 16 years ago in a French campsite bar in my combat boots, pissing off a lot of French kids in flip flops. I remember that when this came on in the Indie Club in Gillingham, we all knew that there was gonna be one hell of a mosh pit / fight. I love the fact that it was chosen to go up against X-Factor by some random guy, and I love that it won. It made my Christmas.

So there is my Christmas CD line up. I hope you like it, or to be honest I don't really mind if you do or not. I like it and as far as I'm concerned that's all that really matters!

I am currently compiling an Album Of The Decade(In CAPITALS no less!) I have asked a number of people to give me their song of the decade and I will put them all together in one album. So far I have five, which to be fair is a bit shit. So if you have a song of the decade, send it to me and I'll wack it on there.

Take it easy and I'll see you around, or asquare, depending on your feelings on the matter.

Lates.

Or Earlies.

Depending where you are I guess.

Matt

So there you go.

I really don't know what to say.

So tomorrow I will give you the playlist for my Christmas CD.

It contains 18 tunes that I have enjoyed during the last 12 months.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that these songs are the best tunes of 2009, just that I like them, so fuck you, I've put them on a CD for people to hear or not.

If I'm being honest, I don't really give a shit either way.

Lates.

Matt.

How Your Life Is Lived

So. This is my first post since the new year.

Its been snowing like crazy and I've been working full time this week, which is cool, cos I've been paid a fair wack.

Ignoring this, today I bought a sausage roll, and this reminded me of a guy I used to teach 7 years ago. Every time we went to the bakers he would always demand a sausage roll.

He was one of my favourite people ever. He had issues like we all do. He caused a lot of people some issues but fuck that, I could always chill him out and I could always get him to do what he needed to do.

Anyway a couple of years after I taught him he went to a residential school which was cool. Unfortunately he died there about two years ago. Apparently they didn’t actually give a shit about him, so there you go.

So this post is for him. He was a lovely bloke and I loved having him in my class.

Whatever you are doing now Simon, I hope you are loving it.


Lates.

Love.

Matt.

Fun And Games

Sometimes people….

No that's not right, ….At all times people….,

And I’m not being funny but I know its not their fault, but this is how it is.

Mine is mine and I know, as its truly mine, to be fair, I will treat it like I want to.

But I can't accept others treating it the same.

And I’m sort of sorry because no matter what I think, and no matter how I treat it, others should treat it like its brand new, like it’s a china shop minus the bull, and like they have just wandered into Shangri-La. That’s just how I feel, so therefore that's like it is.

Indeed.

La La La La

I am talking a load of shit tonight, because, to be fair, who else will if not I?

There is a lot that needs to be said, and I can't say it all myself, but I can at least start it off, I hope.

Everyone who is self aware, must, by now, realise that this world is going to shit.

And it doesn't matter what your religious (or Otherwise) beliefs are, people must realise that something must be done.

So come on. I'm not being funny, but seriously get your arse in gear.

x

So This Is Christmas. And what have you done?

This is the first two lines from a cracking Christmas song by John Lennon a little while before he got shot by a nutter.

And to be fair, who really gives a shit these days?

Everyone is so emotionally non-committal that to be honest, if it happened now, I fear that everyone would pretty much just pretend they hadn't noticed.

And I can already hear you all pretesting that you, personally, would be really shocked, but I'm sorry, I just don't really believe you.

Anyway, the point here is to state that we are all so desensitised to what happens in the world, and that my fear is that eventually we really wont give a shit about anything at all.

I really don't wont to be proved right. But I'm not sure I wont be.

Today.

I am sitting at my composter, and I'm looking at everyone in my house.

And they are great. Because whether I really know them, or actually care about them at all, it doesn't matter, cos these people are the people who end up at my house every time I have people back. And I've gotta see them as the people who are my people.

And that, at one instant fills me with dread, but at the same instant fills me with hope.

So Fuck everything, and everyone.

I am here and I KNOW that is true.

Lates.

x

This is what you think it will be.

So there you go.

Chrsitmas came and it went.

And that's how I like it, to be fair.

In a bit I will give you the first half of my Christmas Compact Disk

Its pretty cool if I do say so myself.

Its full of songs that have shaped my year.

But I have to say, there is one song that isn't on it that I've listen to alot.

That song is something I'll talk about sometime soon.

Love who I love.

Lates.

xx

Four your Sake OR Killing In The Name Of!

You know, I've got to a point in my life where it takes me more than 24 hours to recover from an alcohol fuelled evening.

If I get totally plastered one night, I'm still hammered the next day. I can not function with any real sense of normality.

This is a serious problem really. I now, not only can't remember what happened the night before, I also can't actually operate the next day.

Shit.

Anyway. As we draw nearer to Christmas and the end of the year I tend to get more both intro and retro spective. I tend to evaluate the past year, and to be fair, I'm never very impressed with what I see.

I always see a wasted year. Options that I should have taken and decisions I should have made.

It always puts me in a negative frame of mind. So that everything I think about during this time tends to have a negative slant on it.

This is a real pain in the arse, cos seriously, who needs that kind of extra negativity in their life.

But that is how it is.

Frenk it.

Anyway. Spurs won on Saturday, Forest and Newcastle won today, so its all good.

Also I hate the Arse-nil.

Live for today. Learn from mistakes you have made in the past, and use this knowledge to live your life like you should.

Four what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has nought
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way

That's there and that is how it goes.

So there you go.

Lates.

Matt.



P.S: Killing In The Name Of is Christmas Number One!

That is fucking AWESOME!

Ha Ha.