An Emeli Sande Song I Can Get Behind: The Great Gatsby.

Emeli Sande, I am sorry. I just haven't been feeling it thus far. Yes, your music is good and beautifully written but I haven't had that 'I must listen to this on repeat for a week' feeling with any of your songs so far, UNTIL THIS MOMENT. Yesterday my friends and I were discussing the upcoming Great Gatsby soundtrack, one of them mentioned that they had heard a brilliant 20s jazz version of 'Crazy In Love' by Beyonce. Now if you have read this blog before you will know that I am a big Beyonce fan but I went into listening to this song with an open mind, which wasn't helped I must admit when Sande's name flashed up with the song title on Youtube. Here we go I thought, it's going to be like the Olympic Closing Ceremony all over again. How wrong I was. From the opening muted trumpet notes I was hooked. I thought no one could ever top Beyonce's 2003 booty-busting anthem but this has. Who wouldn't want to Charleston to Crazy in Love? That's my question. Admittedly I think it may have been better with someone else singing, this song has made Sande grow on me but I'm not at full adoration stage yet. It's the roaring twenties band behind it that makes it and if this offering along with Florence's and Del Rey's is anything to go by this soundtrack may be one of the best ever. 

The 'Power Pose'

I love a song in which there are many chances to stand in the 'power pose' you know the one, Beyonce does it all the time, generally just after being shot out of a cannon or through a trapdoor in the floor, that kind of thing that happens to everyone all the time. 

Here is Beyonce demonstrating the 'Power Pose',
gold leggings and leotard are optional. 

You can imagine my joy then when last night at 1.01am I found this incredible, extended, orchestral version of 'The Look of Love' by ABC. I bloody love this song, and I have now found my new favourite version. Everything is great about it. The bongo solo, the string accompaniement, there is a point where they make about 30 seconds out of that woman saying 'goodbye' in her deadpan and a door slamming. Anyway here is the song, I urge you to stick in a power pose where you feel appropriate. 

My Love Letter To: Beyonce

Dearest Beyonce,

You were incredible, I didn't think anything could beat Janet Jackson's boob-tacular or MIA's middle finger last year in Madonna's show but you did it right. After all of the mean words leading up to it I think you pulled it off completely. (I always knew you would sing live). You had me from the moment the extended version of "Run The World" boomed out across the Superdome. As soon as a massive flaming outline of you sparked into life I was practically on the floor and as soon as I heard the immortal words "Kelly, can you handle this?" I realised that I certainly couldn't and would probably need resuscitating by the end. Thankfully for both myself and your legal team your show didn't kill me and I am probably going to risk my life again by coming to see you live in London.
I loved it so much that I watched it another 10 times before going to bed at 3 in the morning. I don't think anyone else can carry off the slutty yet chic schoolgirl knee high socks and leather combination quite as well as you (although Kelly and Michelle had quite a good stab at it). I would also like to thank you for reminding me what Michelle looks like. She had fallen off my radar quite a bit and it is good to see that she is still alive and as ever adding the " I bought them" line quite spectacularly in "Independent Women". I also greatly enjoyed you then asking them to sing your biggest hit with you before kicking them off the stage, reminding them that you own the show.
The only trouble with your performance is that ever since I have been trying to copy it move for move. I think I got caught by my cleaner this morning doing the "Beyonce Super Bowl Strut" a move that will go down in history as iconic as the "Single Ladies Shuffle".
So thank you Beyonce for reminding everyone that leather is certainly back in, that flames are soooo on trend and most importantly for being so kick-ass that they thought everyone in the Superdome needed a few more minutes to contemplate what they had just seen: cue blackout. I think Jay-Z cut a wire or something, that's why he wasn't in the performance, wasn't it? I know you far too well Beyonce. To finish: in your words "uh oh oh oh oh oh oh uh oh oh woah uh oh". So profound.

Myspace in, HMV out.

It's been an odd week for music, first of all we heard of the demise of HMV, yet another institution to leave our high street. To see it leave will be a great shame. Ironically in the same week that HMV, blaming digital music, has gone in to administration Myspace has relaunched. As someone who missed out on Myspace the first time round, (let's face it who would have wanted to see me listening to B*Witched online?) I was keen to give it a go and my verdict is that it is what my life has been lacking. These days the majority of my Facebook posts and comments end up being about music. I share videos I like, sum up my day with links to YouTube music videos and debate with friends over whether the new Destiny's Child song is actually any good. Now I can do this in a place where people aren't likely to get annoyed by my constant music posts and for that I am eternally grateful. Anyway onwards to the music of 2013. This is by no means the be all and end all for 2013. It is purely what I think I will be listening to in 2013 and what I think you should listen to too. 

∆ (ALT-J)

Yes, they were around last year but 2013 is going to be the year for them. Coming off the back of winning the Mercury Music Prize last year. Apparently their official title of  "∆"  has something to do with a shortcut on an Apple Mac, neither owning a Mac or really caring about their name when it's pronounced Alt-J anyway that doesn't really matter, I just know that I really, really, really like their music. 

LILY ALLEN

Is 2013 going to be the year that Lily Allen returns to music? We've had all those teasers on Twitter 'in the studio' so we know something is brewing but is it just a single track for a film or are the rumours about a full album to be believed? I certainly hope she'll be back. I want more music to run around East London to on a sunny Sunday.

HAIM

Finally a girl band that will hopefully fulfill the promises of the Veronicas from a few years ago (remember them?!) Haim are 3 sisters from California but don't expect daisy dukes bikinis on top a la K Perry. These girls mean business. They play guitars, kick ass and ride motorbikes. Shove that in your pipe and smoke it Katy, these are real California Girls. 

LANA DEL REY

If you have read this blog before then you will know I love Lana Del Rey, and that love hasn't waned in 2013. There seems to be a new Del Rey song appearing on YouTube virtually every week and for that I love her. In this age of instagramming I think Lana is a musicgrammer. It is like she makes a song and then has an app on her phone (which is probably made to look like it's from the 70's) which applies a filter to her recording like 'Nashville' or just plain old 'Sutro'. If anyone has captured the whole vintage craze it's Lana. Still my favourite song of hers is National Anthem. I want more in 2013. 

ST VINCENT

I first saw St Vincent on Later With Jools Holland and she was insanely good. This video wins the award for weirdest. It's amazing though, don't get me wrong. St Vincent comes from America, you know the one. Stars And Stripes, cool president, land of the free and not so free healthcare. The video is apparently about sex objectification, I just like the music and her hair.  

That's the end of part 1. More about 2013's music soon. 

      

Club Tropicana And Cat Night

Living in London has been absolutely incredible. The only downside is not watching X Factor live and being able to tweet along. I miss tweeting about what shade of blue Louis Walsh's hair is that week or about whether Tulisa looks more like a chav or a duck. Anyway, since being here I have met Samantha Cameron in a shoe shop, fallen off my chair when I thought I saw Myleene Klass in a cowboy-themed Turkish shop, (it wasn't her) and got my Caribbean funk on in a place we have lovingly christened 'Club Tropicana'. Left is a picture of our new friend Jerome who we met there. He is a beautiful human being.

Next is cat night. The most amazing invention ever. People draw cat faces on their faces and dance all night to Beyonce, 90s rap and Whitney Houston. MY KIND OF NIGHT.
Thanks to my new friend Lauren, the majority of the university think I am called Roy after an encounter with a magician in Soho, I have got my own back by introducing her as Karen. Such fun.

The actual lectures are very interesting, but lets be honest, I spend more time thinking about when I am next going to get to draw a cat face on my face.

My Mum and little brother came to see me this weekend before driving me home and we spent Saturday watching the Harrods Christmas Parade, cycling in Hyde Park and shopping in Selfridges. So now I am back home in Sleaford, although I keep referring to London as 'home' much to my Mum's annoyance. I am a little unsettled at how quiet it is. Usually on one night living in East London I can expect to hear 50 Tubes, 400 buses, 30 sirens and 2 noises that I am pretty sure are people getting stabbed and I find that reassuring.

Stay East London royal fam.