Guest Post: On Gender Identity

A while ago I was approached by Siobhán with a piece she'd written: would I take a read of it and advise whether it was something she should publish? I thought - and I hope you do too - that her piece was ace but her instinct was that it felt too personal to post on her own blog. I was thrilled when she agreed to posting it here instead (and you can find the link to her blog up top in my Blogs I Love tab). So, without further ado, here she is talking about gender identity...

I am 16 and sat in a bland office with an equally bland looking counsellor. We shall call her Dr Beige.

Dr Beige has just questioned my gender identity. She has suggested I really want to be or am male. I cannot get my head around this or how what I have said so far has got us to this point.

So I sit and try to go over what I have said to see if I can explain it better.

Sure I have body issues. These mean I see my breasts and hips and bum and other “womanly curves” as just excess fat that needs to be removed.

Sure I was raped by my boyfriend just 9 months ago, I tried to kill myself about 5 months later. My relationship with my sexuality is more than a little fraught.

Sure I had an eating disorder and my periods stopped and I was happy with that. To be honest many women who identify as women do not like their periods.

Sure my sexuality pre-rape was a pretty fluid thing. Sexuality is not the same as gender identity.

Sure sometimes I wish I was a boy because life seems easier that way.

I try to articulate why I feel like a woman. I have the advantage of having been born into a body that matches my gender identity and I struggle to articulate why I am female.

Dr Beige probes me further.

I don’t feel like I am a woman in the way other women in my town seem to be. I don’t feel like I am a person in that way either. I am weird. I am an outsider but I am a woman. Or at least I have never questioned that.

I do not tell anyone about this conversation. I do not know how to tell anyone about this conversation.

Every now and then I come back to it. I still feel my gender is pretty fluid. I sometimes feel like I am actually a boy with body issues who REALLY likes dresses and hench guys and skinny guys and some really fit girls and a lot of people in between. But then I also feel a connection with my body as a female body which I really appreciate and enjoy. I’m good with those two things being true at the same time. I think it is fine. I even think it is probably fairly normal.

As time goes on I meet many people who are transgender or gender queer and discover the trouble they have trying to articulate their gender identity. I think back to that bland office and Dr Beige and how difficult it was to justify my own.

I never ask anyone else to do this. I hope I never will. For those who have never been questioned on it, or have never questioned it, it can seem very obvious, something that just is. Try to put that into words though and you see how hard it is to tell someone something that feels self-evident. This is a challenge so many people face before they are able to live as themselves.I am in no way saying my experience is the same as those of my trans friends and fellow humans. I had the body to match my identity (well apart from being bigger than my brain was happy with) but not everyone has that luxury.

If I was to sit down with Dr Beige now and she told me I wanted to be a man I'd still not have concrete answers. Sometimes I would love to be  a man for all kinds of reasons, but I feel my identity is fairly rooted in my female body. I don't feel a disconnect between my body and my identity on that level. I do not always feel like a "typical" woman but I do not feel I have to, and I do not think those born into male bodies have to either. The joy of life is in the variations between people and so I am happy to be where I am on the spectrum of femininity, wherever that may be.

Day 10: Top 10 non-fiction books

The prompt for Day 10 was to write something different, and I quite fancied doing an outfit post, but then The Boy went away for the weekend so I have no-one to take photographs of me.  I still want to try and do something different later in the week, but for today here's something very much NOT different: books!

 

I've written another guest post for Daire's Non Fic November: my top ten non-fiction books.  It was SO hard to narrow it down to just ten, and I'm already thinking of books I missed off: Elizabeth Wurtzel's Prozac Nation, Dreams Of My Father by Barack Obama, many wonderful books about South Africa (I think my favourites are Ways Of Staying by Kevin Bloom and Rian Malan's My Traitors Heart), and also all of the books about books that I love (Howard's End Is On The Landing by Susan Hill and Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman are my top picks). 

Day 5: Book review guest post

Not only is Daire, who blogs at Doing It The Open Way, doing #BEDN but she is also running her own month of special posts.  Non Fic November is Daire's attempt to widen her reading repertoire after she felt she was ignoring a rich seam of books in favour of reading fiction almost exclusively.  I, too, tend to rely on fiction for most of my reading, and my 'non-fiction to-read' shelf is much fuller than its novel counterpart, so I decided to get on board with Non Fic November and do a couple of guest posts for Daire.  The first one went up on Sunday and you can read it here: a review of Beth Ditto's marvellous memoir Coals To Diamonds.  If you've read it, I'd love to know what you think.

Music memories

The final guest post for the week; here's Daire to introduce herself...

 

Hi! My name is Daire (pronounced Da-ra). I'm twenty-two years old, and currently juggling an English Literature degree, a full-time job and a slight blogging obsession. I started my blog a couple of years ago, as a way to chronicle my studies with the Open University... but since then it has morphed into a platform for me to talk about books, showcase my artistic experiments and occasionally just rant about life. Click to visit my BLOG / TWITTER / BLOGLOVIN

 

So there’s this thing that people do when they first meet you. They nod knowingly when you tell them what you do for a living and then they ask you the question that strikes fear in the heart of anyone who hears it…

 

What kind of music do you like?

 

The terror sets in. You mentally trawl through your iTunes. You frantically try to come up with an answer that’s original enough to be impressive, but not so off kilter that people start to back away slowly, with a grimace fixed on their faces. And what do you come out with?

 

Erm, all sorts.

 

Can you really summarise your taste in music into a line or two? I know I can’t.

 

Our lives are made up of hundreds or thousands of musical moments. The nursery rhymes you sang with Grandma. The theme tunes of TV shows you weren’t supposed to be watching. The hymns from assembly. Records your parents played after a class of wine or four. The Friday Night Disco. Those songs that describe the way you feel perfectly, when you can’t do it in your own words. The beats that help you cry then fight through a break up. The tunes you pound away to at the gym. The first dance at your wedding.

 

Nothing triggers a memory like the opening bars of a song. There’s something about music that can transport you to another time and place…every time I hear the first line of Love is All Around I’m three years old, doing my carefully choreographed dance on the stage we had in our living room. Yes, this may make me cringe (especially when certain family members bring it up in public…), but whether I like it or not, it’s part of me!

 

This may go without saying, but I’m known for my ‘terrible’taste in music. I’m never allowed to touch the playlist at a house party. People are constantly sending me links to ‘educate’ me. HOWEVER I’m kind of proud of my total randomness…

 

So today I’m going to share a sneak peek of the musical mayhem swirling around my brain. These are my top five most played songs of 2013. Apologies in advance:

 

Biloxi Parish by The Gaslight Anthem
 

 

Fast Car by Tracy Chapman (cover version by Boyce Avenue and Kina Grannis)
 

 

Girl all the Bad Guys Want by Bowling for Soup

 

I’ll Make a Man Out of You from Mulan

 

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together by Taylor Swift

 

All are somewhat guilty pleasures… but hey ho!
 

Now I have two questions for you:

a) What is the first song you can remember listening to? (And for your sake I hope it’s better than my Wet, Wet, Wet!)
 

b) What are your five most played songs of the year?

Who lives in a house like this?

Anyone else remember Through The Keyhole?  I always loved the chance to take a peek inside the homes of celebrities, oohing and aahing at their often terrible taste.  And now, one of my favourite kinds of blog posts to read are ones about other people's homes (although now I am more likely to be found oohing in admiration). 

 

E, who blogs at Make Do & Spend with B (from Monday's Q&A), very kindly offered to let us all have a nosey around her house for today's guest post...

 

Here are a few snaps from my little house in Leicester. Ok so I know I still haven't got around to getting the windows painted, much of the furniture has been begged and borrowed from family and friends (the sofa I've been intending to buy for a year and a half still remains in the shop window), and yes, the kitchen is in desperate need of an overhaul. Despite all this there is nowhere else I would rather have spent the last three years, much has happened during my time here. I joined a photography club where I made many new friends, one of whom was B who I started writing a blog with. I started a new job in a bakery and I met my Boyfriend C, who moved into the little house just before Christmas 2012, and we have recently had a little kitten called Truffle move in with us.

 

The house needed little decorating doing when I first moved in, C an I have attempted bits and bobs but really in terms of putting my own mark on the place this has come from the furnishings, collected pieces and of course the odd Ikea purchase!

 

My dressing table came from my grandmothers house, it looks out onto the street and now all the leaves have come out on the tree its a lovely calm place to sit in the morning to prepare for the day ahead.

 

The bedroom is the only room to have been decorated so far, C and I wallpapered the wall behind the bed ourselves, which was quite stressful, I don't think we would attempt this again! The most expensive piece of furniture I have bought for the house so far is an enormous wardrobe with sliding mirror doors, Before I used to have just a clothes rail so this is a little bit of luxury!

 

I have a photo wall in my Dining room, Collected paintings and drawings from over the years and photos of family and friends. This is still evolving, I have a few pieces still to add.

 

 

For Christmas last year my Aunt gave us all bunting made from fabrics that used to belong in my Grandmothers house, which was sold after she passed away in 2009. Little pieces of upcycled curtains and table cloths that still smell faintly of my Grandmother's house.

 

I have a large oil painting of my grandfather which I love, though It's not been hung yet as I'm not too certain where to put it to do it justice!

 

The kitchen, though fully functional is the room I would most like to update, I have dreams of a Belfast sink under the window and drawers, the kitchen is currently lacking in drawers which has always been a frustration! I store my baking ingredients in glass jars on the shelves, its cluttered but everything is easily accessible.

Music Monday: Q&A with B

Today's guest post comes courtesy of B, who blogs at Make Do & Spend.  She very kindly volunteered to answer my music Q&A, and also included a fab photograph of her record player.

 

What’s the first record (single or album) that you bought?
I genuinely can't remember the first single I bought. Every Saturday I used to go into the town centre and spend my pocket money on my favourite chart song - on tape if possibly, so I could listen to it on my Walkman.

What I do remember is the first time I went into a record shop to buy an album after hearing one of the tracks on television and tracking it down. It was REM's Automatic For The People, and I remember being so pleased when the guy who served me acknowledged that I'd made a great choice.

What was the first gig you went to?
I'm going to discount the gig I went to with my best friend's church club, where the frontman of the support band did a stage dive... into empty space... ouch!

So it could have been Daniel Bedingfield in concert (that guy had energy!), it could've been Tom Jones (I was largely surrounded by women in their 60s, but he was incredible) or it might have been Supergrass (which would probably give me the most street cred).

What song reminds you of being a teenager?
Mr Brightside by The Killers. I clearly remember hearing it for the first time, aged 17, turned up loud in a car full of my friends from my A Level drama group. It became the anthem of that summer.

How would you sum up your music tastes, in terms of genre? Have your tastes changed over the years?
I'm not sure I can - I sort of just like what I like! My tastes have changed though, or developed at least.

When I was at primary school my favourite artists were Simon and Garfunkel. I just didn't get why the other girls were crazy for Take That (now I do - it's good pop!). I'd been brought up on a diet of pure vinyl. My dad is a passionate collector. I knew far more than the average 10 year old about 1960s prog rock labels. Which was obviously a hit in the playground.

Somewhere in high school I suddenly developed a taste for chart music, and later discovered live music and indie bands - helped along by new friends, radio shows and chance encounters. But I still definitely share a love of many artists with my dad, and this has only developed over time. I've even have my own (growing!) record collection now.

Like olives, wine and coffee, a taste for some music does develop with age. Dad loves to recount to people the time, as a child, I told him to turn Bob Dylan off because 'he can't sing'. And now, aged 26, I've not only seen him live twice, there's a picture of Dylan hanging on my living room wall!

Which songs will always get you on the dance floor?
Anything Beyonce has ever done. I wish I could move like her - I do my very best, but it's not a cool look. Aside from her music being incredibly catchy, she comes across as a really genuine person and I think she's a strong female role model.

I also can't help but leap onto the dance floor for The Rolling Stones' Paint It Black - I think that's more one from my indie club days. I was much less self-conscious dancing there. It largely involved jumping around and copying other peoples' comic moves.

What song makes you cry?
Abide With Me - it instantly takes me back to the funerals of my grandparents

What are your top five favourite albums or artists of all time?
A tough one! But off the top of my head...

Elbow - Leaders of the Free World
Paul Simon - Graceland
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

And a cheeky extra: Alt J

Do you have any guilty pleasures when it comes to music?
I think there's quite a few elements of my music collection that certain friends think I should be embarrassed by. But the only music I probably turn down in the car when I stop at the lights is musical soundtracks - but that's mainly because I can't help but sing along to them...!

If you could sum yourself up in one song or lyric, what would it be?
This is an incredibly good but difficult question!

So, after much thought, I'm going to act like a politician and slightly side-step what I'm actually being asked to tell you about my favourite lyricist. Guy Garvey, lead singer of Elbow.

He is the most incredible wordsmith - his lyrics are just magical. Here's just a sample...

"And we made the moon our mirrorball
The streets, an empty stage
The city sirens violins
Everything has changed

When out of a doorway the tentacles stretch
Of a song that I know and the world moves in slow-mo
Straight to my head like the first cigarette of the day."

Guest posts wanted!

And it's that time of year again.  In a couple of weeks I'm off to sunny (I hope) Exmouth for a school residential with year 8. Living in a field for a week with 140 13 year olds - oh joy. 

I'd love to have some guest posts scheduled for that week, ideally on one of the following topics:

 

1. Who lives in a house like this? Because I'm incurably nosy, I'd like a few 'Through the Keyhole'-style posts about your favourite room or space in your house.

2. Best recent reads.

3. Music Q&A or music memories: tell us about a song that means a lot to you, and why it does.

3. Summer festival memories or festival guide to upcoming events.

 

Last year my guest posters were Laura, who showed us around the convent she calls home (spoiler alert: she's not a nun); Sarah, who mused on selling houses (and funnily enough, is now trying to sell hers), and Jenny, who took us round her Cape Town garden: who will it be this year?

 

Deadline for submissions is Sunday 16th June, as I'll be packing my bags first thing on Monday 17th. 

 

Send ideas/posts/pictures to jbistheinitial@gmail.com and include a link to your own blog, if you have one. I look forward to reading them!

Film Q&A

I'm really struggling with a flu bug this week and have spent most of the last three days in bed.  I'd been feeling guilty about not blogging, but then Louise came to my rescue today by posting a Q&A I'd done for her.

You may remember Louise from her recent guest post here for Music Monday; well, I returned the favour and answered her film questions.  I had so much fun rifling through my DVD collection and reflecting on the ones I love.  Have a read of the interview over at Nekomentsu and let me know what your favourite poorly-day films are: I'm running out of ideas!

Music Monday: Q&A with Adam

Today's Q&A is brought to you by Adam of the Willoughby Book Club, a rather brilliant subscription service that I wrote about here.  Even better, they currently have a Christmas shopping discount: before 24th December, enter HOHOHO at the checkout to receive 10% off your order.  I'm fairly sure we must have danced next to each other at Mosh some time.

What’s the first record (single or album) that you bought?

The first record I remember buying was Avenging Angels by Space, on cassette in 1997. In hindsight, it seems unlikely I would have been allowed to by a single with a B-side entitled Bastard me Bastard you aged 12…but apparently so.

There have been some pretty disastrous purchases since that fateful day, but thankfully some pretty great ones too.

What was the first gig you went to?

The first gig I went to was The Stereophonics at Donington Park in 2001. They were supported by The Black Crowes, Ash and Proud Mary, and as we were camping, it was my first experience of ‘festival’ life…

The last gig I went to was with my wife Chloe to see Emmy The Great at The Soundhouse in Leicester earlier this year. She’s an unbelievably talented folk pop artist, and if they haven’t already, we’d urge your readers to look her up.

What song reminds you of being a teenager?

Dreaming of You by The Coral will always remind me of (fairly hazy) evenings at the newly opened Mosh nightclub in Leicester city centre. It was a regular haunt of ours for a few years, and could always be relied on for a great evening. This track was played without fail every Saturday, and probably still is today.

How would you sum up your music tastes, in terms of genre?  Have your tastes changed over the years?

I’d say I have fairly eclectic taste, but with a strong steer towards indie. I’m happy to explore any genre, and I’m a firm believer that there’s something to be gained from listening to most types of music. It’s sometimes really great to move out of your musical comfort zone and listen to some records that wouldn’t ordinarily have been on your radar.

Which songs will always get you on the dance floor?

It doesn’t take much to get me on the dancefloor…but I’d say that I throw my best shapes* to Going Underground by The Jam, New Life by Depeche Mode and Born To Run by The Boss.

* My ‘best’ shapes are undeniably awful.

What song makes you cry?

Cat Power’s cover of Sea of Love without doubt. It was the song that my beautiful wife decided to walk up the aisle to, at our wedding at New Walk museum a little earlier this year.

Following that, I’d say Goodnight by The Beatles. I sometimes wish Ringo was there to tuck me in at night…is that weird? It is isn’t it? Oh well.

What are your top five favourite albums or artists of all time?

My top 5 albums of all time (in no particular order) are…

1. Joanna Newsom - Ys

2. Arcade Fire - Funeral

3. The Smiths – Strangeways, Here We Come

4. Bob Dylan – Bringing It All Back Home

5. The Beatles – White Album

Do you have any guilty pleasures when it comes to music?

Everyone loves Madonna, right? “Borderline…feels like I’m going to lose my mind” No? No? Oh…ok.

If you could sum yourself up in one song or lyric, what would it be?

“I want to live and I want to love. I want to catch something I might be ashamed of”

(The Smiths – Frankly Mr Shankly)

 

Music Monday: Q&A with Louise

Louise, whose fab blog, Nekomentsu, I discovered recently after she commented here, is my guest today.  I loved her teenage escapades as a King Adora fan, and her description of The Smashing Pumpkins sums up Billy Corgan's music better than anything else I've ever read!  Anyway, over to Louise...

What was the first gig you went to?
This is the second time I’m having to make this confession this month…it was Peter Andre…and my local ice arena…he was supported by Steps. My relatives bought me tickets for my 14^th birthday after being reliably informed by their children that all young girls loved Peter Andre.  Except I didn’t. I loved Nirvana, and Guns n’ Roses. And Peter Andre was pretty much my worst nightmare.

So I spent the entire concert sulking and facing the back of the room, and not looking at Peter Andre even once.

What song reminds you of being a teenager?

King Adora songs remind me of being a late teenager. I was completely obsessed with the band, and followed them around constantly with my friend, we became really friendly with them and would always join them backstage where we would get up to all sorts of antics (not the sexy kind, more like fire extinguisher fights, smoking and drinking 20/20), although I did snog Robbie (which was massively disappointing, he was a horrible kisser) and was then deeply offended that I a) wouldn’t share my lambrini with him and b) go back to his van…

What song will always get you on the dance floor?
I love dancing to anything really. I’m a bit of a stupid dancer, which did lead to a bonding session during freshers week at uni as I met kindred spirits to chicken dance with. I think my favourite thing to dance to has to be The Cure – The Love Cats, which in the past has led to some comparisons to Angela’s dancing in Green Wing – “she dances like a wolf”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kQL2rQ6NI4

What song makes you cry?
Beck’s cover of Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime from Eternal Sunshine leaves me wobbly-lipped every time. The Beautiful South’s Blackbird on the Wire has such personal connections for me that I can barely listen to it, because every time I do it leads to such uncontrollable floods of tears.

What are your top five favourite bands/artists of all time?

In no particular order...

1. The Smashing Pumpkins. I’ve been in love with their music since hearing Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness. I think the thing I love the most about them is just how juvenile their music is, it’s the equivalent of stomping up to your room in a huff and then hugging your knees for 4 hours wondering when you can go back downstairs. It’s self-indulgent, occasionally a bit whiney and magnificent.

2. PJ Harvey. I admire everything about this woman. I absolute abhore the term ‘girl crush’ because it’s so often used by straight women to describe a women that they admire, and I think it’s a shame that women feel the need to sexualise their feelings of admiration. So, when my friend told me she had a ‘girl crush’ on PJ Harvey I wanted to simultaneously high-five her, and slap her. I find it incredibly weird that such a frivolous term can be used alongside a women full of passion, and with the guts to sing freely about feminism, politics and the unpretty, fierce side of love. But, all the same I was pleased my boyband-loving friend had finally developed a better taste in music.

3. Goldfrapp. I’ve been a fan of Goldfrapp since the day of Felt Mountain, and I’ve followed them ever since. I love the way that their music progresses, grows and changes with each album drifting from ethereal wailing to disco-pop. I think Alison Goldfrapp is the quintessential front woman, with strong vocals, a great sense of style (especially during the Black Cherry era) and a real enigmatic star quality. The Oompa Radar song still freaks me out though (weird phobia of fairground music….don’t ask).

4. Nina Simone. Nina Simone is an odd addition to my iTunes, and I often skip past her songs when using shuffle, because they just don’t fit in with any of the other music on there. But there’s something so,so magical about her. The gorgeous, creamy voice and the jazzy accompaniment. Sinnerman is a wonderful song, all 10 minutes of it. There’s something luxurious about putting her music on, lighting a cigarette and igniting your inner diva.

5. I’m cheating this one a little bit – sorry. It’s not so much a band or artist, but a collaboration. It has to be Sparklehorse, Danger Mouse, David Lynch and others’ work on Dark Night of the Soul. It’s just the perfect album, it has guest artists such as Gruff Rhys, Iggy Pop, Justin Lytle and Suzanne Vega, and is something of a concept album. Each song is wonderful by itself, but it’s such a powerful piece of work when you listen to the album in context. I honestly believe everyone should hear this.

Do you have any guilty pleasures when it comes to music?

I love JPop. I do, very much. It’s not my usual sort of thing at all. I haven’t listened to pop in many years, and the sugary sweetness of JPop would normally leave me cold. But, there’s just something so happy about it, you just can’t help but like it. I’m a particular fan of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, a singer-turned model who makes the barmiest videos I’ve ever seen and the rockier Anna Tsuchiya.

If you could sum yourself up in one song or lyric, what would it be?
It HAS to be The Smiths – Big Mouth Strikes Again.

“Bigmouth strikes again
And I've got no right to take my place
With the human race”

 

Music Monday: Q&A with Helen

This week's Music Monday post comes courtesy of the lovely Helen, who blogs at Using My Loaf.  We worked out a while ago that we have very similar music taste - her memories of The Bends are exactly the same as mine!

 

What’s the first record (single or album) that you bought?

I cannot remember the first record I bought. I can kind of remember asking my parents to buy me a Boy George single when I was little. It was The War Song from 1984 (thanks Wikipiedia!) In the early nineties I spent most of my pocket money on tapes, some good, some bad. What I can remember is the first ever CD I bought – Portishead’s Glorybox single in 1995.

 

What was the first gig you went to?

I am going to come clean and admit it was Take That at Wembley Arena. Janet's answer made me laugh, mine is practically the same!

 

What song reminds you of being a teenager?

Pretty much any Britpop era song. Radiohead's The Bends album takes me right back to the awkward/shy/DM wearing/raiding my parents booze/piercing my own ears/hours of listening to music in my bedroom years.

 

How would you sum up your music tastes, in terms of genre? Have your tastes changed over the years?

I would like to think I have a pretty open mind when it comes to music. When I was younger (see above) I announced boldly to my uninterested classmates that I only listen to music that has guitars in it, anything else is inferior. But I opened my mind to dance music in my late teens and never looked back. I like most genres of music now including some D'n'B, dubstep, and hiphop. What I don't like is most mainstream pop chart stuff like that X Factor rubbish. And Coldplay. I hate Coldplay.

 

Which songs will always get you on the dance floor?

Pretty much anything if I am drunk enough. I do not go clubbing anymore nor have I done so since my mid-twenties. My friends and I have had many a discussion in the pub in recent years about how we have bowed out gracefully and dancing in public is a young persons’ game. Now that we are all getting a little older, fatter and slower when we dance it just does not look right. We are in danger of entering the "embarrassing dad dancing" territory! While I agree whole heartedly with my pals’ wisdom, all this goes out the window after a few drinks! After not dancing in public for a good 6 odd years, this year I have danced on my own like a loon at weddings, made a twat of myself dancing in wellies to 90's tracks at indie tracks festival and danced to the birdy song drunk in a field in broad daylight. Yup, I have no shame, I am that drunk person I’m afraid to say. Hey at least I am enjoying myself I suppose!

 

What song makes you cry?

Hoppipolla by Sigur Rós. It came out in 2005 when I lost my grandad and takes me back to those sad times.

 

What are your top five favourite albums or artists of all time?

Hard question, I have so many to chose from! In no particular order

1. Leftfield - Leftism

2. Nirvana - Nevermind

3. Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream

4. Now I cannot think of anymore timeless (to me) albums - Lets switch to artists, I have loved the Chemical Brothers and Orbital for years

5. Erm recent faves are Friendly Fires and Foals.

 

Do you have any guilty pleasures when it comes to music?

I love Robyn, Roisin Murphy and St Etienne. But I don't feel guilty about it. I also like Gangnam Style!

 

If you could sum yourself up in one song or lyric, what would it be?

In reference to an earlier question....Maybe Murder on the Dance Floor - by Sophie Ellis Bexter!

Bookworm interview

Hannah very kindly let me do her bookworm interview a few weeks ago, and it's up on her blog today!  Isn't it always the way though; now I'm reading it back, I keep thinking, "oh, why didn't I mention that".  Ah well, it is what it is, and I - of course - loved writing about books!  Do go on over and check it out.

Music Monday: Smells like middle-age reminiscence

My first guest post in the Music Monday slot is from Graham.  This is his first foray into blogging but as soon as Leanne had the idea for inviting other people to write for Music Monday, I thought of him.  Graham was the DJ at the indie/rock club I worked in from 1997 to 1999 and his choice of music was always impeccable; moving seamlessly from Soul Coughing to Britney to Nine Inch Nails.  We've actually not seen each other for years (although I keep trying to make it to some of the gigs his workplace - Leicester Central Library - put on, something always comes up), but the wonder of Facebook means that we have many a dialogue about music and books.  He very kindly agreed to write something, and has chosen Smells Like Teen Spirit.

It was the first anniversary of my Mam’s death when I heard that Kurt Cobain had died. We’d put the news on to find out the result of the Grand National (my brother-in-law had put bets on for us, even though I didn’t really approve of the race). Not everyone that afternoon at my house even knew who Kurt Cobain was; I did. I’d also been following the grim events & media circus of the previous months every Wednesday in the NME.  I wasn’t a massive fan. I didn’t have any T-shirts or posters, and never saw them live, though I did once see an Australian tribute band called Teen Spirit.

In 1991 I went to the Reading Festival on the Saturday/Sunday, mainly to see James, Carter USM, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, & the Sisters of Mercy. I didn’t even consider going on the Friday, but looking back at the line-up I really should have. Plus, there’s a chance I would’ve watched this new band from Seattle, on in the afternoon sandwiched between Chapterhouse and Silverfish.

I might not have been a massive fan, but I liked them a hell of a lot. I remember first seeing them on ‘The Word’, blowing me away with my first hearing of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, but at the same time being convinced that it was a Pixies cover.

The news item didn’t send shockwaves that far among my family; they looked at me slightly oddly, not really getting why it had had an impact on me. After all, we were there feeling real grief for someone that we’d all known and loved; not some rock star junkie joining the sad and infamous ‘27 Club’.

Twenty years on, it still amazes me. It’s been over-played, over-analysed, ripped off and covered. But, just stop for a moment, put the boredom or familiarity aside, and listen to it; just listen to it.

My favourite space

My aunt Jenny lives in Cape Town and blogs at Jenny Just Stuff.  She's written about her favourite place in her house...

A guest post for Janet - I am honoured - and on a topic that did not require much thought on my part.  My favourite space in my house?  My kitchen and courtyard!

When Michael and I bought our new home, nearly six years ago, we did the opposite of what parents usually do.  Usually your children leave home, move overseas or buy their own homes and you carry on living in your established, now childless home.  Not this time.  We had two established homes and children who were still studying or did not look like leaving home.  So we found a new home and fled the nests ourselves. 

The house needed attention but fortunately it was solid and well built, and besides building a double garage, putting in a few extra doors and moving a few windows, most of the work was cosmetic.

We did have a budget (we had not sold our other homes) and there were a couple of small things that needed some serious negotiating.  Michael did not mind living with stippled walls but there was absolutely no way that I could.  Replastering the entire interior of the house was costly but I wanted smooth walls so badly that I was prepared to forfeit the budget for the kitchen to have the beautiful, smooth cretestone walls. 

It was a 50s house that had not not had any work done to it for years.  It had no garden, only a couple of trees and some dead grass, wall to wall mottled beige carpets which, when lifted covered the most beautiful blond narrow stripped flooring.  So there were surprises along the way.  Michael was not convinced that the existing kichen could be transformed. It was a shocker. 

The kitchen, pre-makeover

I found a painter who would paint the existing cupboards for me (he was not either convinced) and I sourced new hinges and knobs.  Granite or wooden counter tops would have broken the bank so our builder built me a concrete counter which tied in with the concrete bench he had just built for me in the courtyard.

Jenny's lovely, plant-filled courtyard

Michael had a dresser in his office, which also had a facelift and - much to his mother's horror - the dark wood was also painted "Duncan Green".  The newly painted dresser was the perfect piece to house my tin collection (and our glasses and crockery).

  

The gorgeous painted dresser, with vintage tin collection

I am no interior decorator and some of the units do not fit in perfectly but I am very proud of my budget kitchen.  It is the room in my home where I am most happy.