Andrew Bird.

So I know I missed last week's post but I was kidnapped (by myself) and forced (not really) to watch (binge on) a few episodes (seasons) of New Girl. Don't judge me. It wasn't my fault (it really was). But anywhoosies, today's Music Wednesday is going to be about Andrew Bird. You know in 2014, I've discovered more new musicians than any other year. I'm so glad I made the effort to push myself out of the comfort zone of my music library. I'm normally content (and lazy) when it comes to my library. I'd only add a handful of songs to it each year. But as I've mentioned before something about studying for my final year at uni really drove me into albums and musicians I'd never heard of or listened to, and this whole journey of musical discovery kept me sane through coursework and exams but also made me fall in love over and over again.

It was late winter/early spring when I first heard an Andrew Bird song/album. I can't remember which album of his it was that I listened to first but it hooked me enough that I went and listened to his whole discography. The reason why I love Bird is because he marries two of my favourite things: Instrumentation/musicianship and folk music/storytelling. In fact he reminds me a bit of a super super folk version of Sufjan Stevens. See when I say I love music, I'm not really talking about a vocal over a beat. I mean that's great and all but my love really stems for a deep seated appreciation for the craft and art of music and musicianship. That's why I love classical music so much. Or even artists like Bird and Stevens. I'm the type of person that can get lost in a 20 minute song and not feel a second of that time pass. Then I listen to it again to get completely caught up in whatever story is being told or I visualise the colours that the different notes sound like and behind my closed eyes I can see this masterpiece painted by the instruments, filled with texture and layers and themes and dynamics and...

I don't know. I just love music lol. In ways I can't describe. And so I thought I'd share this song with you.

Until next time x

Naked As The Day I Was Born by Rella J

So this happened...

Musings: 21 Up New Generation

Today is Wednesday which means Blogday at Without the 'Ay' headquarters, aka my room. Today's post is going to be about something called 21 Up New Generation. I've been trying to get my head around how to write about this for exactly nine days and have come up with nada. Zilch. Naught. Diddly-squat. You get my drift. It's been a whole lot of nothingness each time I've reached towards my keyboard in an attempt to communicate my thoughts. So I'm just going to try and capture parts of what's going on in my head and hope that somehow you get it.

Here goes.

Thoguhts:

So 21 Up New Generation was on the other night. Exactly nine days ago. On BBC One. I was on it.
Not only was I on this one, but I was on the last one 7 years back. Oh and I was on the one before that. And I'm probably going to be on the next one 7 years from now. And so on. And so forth. For some reason I now have that guy from 'The King and I' in my head going "Etceteraaa Etcerteraaa". But I digress.

For some reason being a part of the show is completely natural and normal to me. What isn't normal to me is people knowing I'm on the show. Why is that so strange to me? Every time a new episode of the series airs, people that know me but don't know me always ask why I didn't tell them that I was on it before, I'm like why would I? I've been a part of this spectacular thing now for longer than I haven't. I see it as both a big deal and not a big deal at all. Every seven years a handful of people, some that I know and some that I dont, come and hang out with me for a couple of days. We joke around, we're serious, we talk about life, love, education, religion, successes, failures, expectations, disappointments, hopes dreams, realities, difficulties, and everything else that Julian can think of. And then they're gone. A year later the rest of the world/ anybody who tunes into BBC One when it airs, are provided a glimpse into those conversations and then six years later it all happens again.

But see the reason I don't wear my Up-ness on a t-shirt is because between each show, life happens. A whole lot of life happens. And while that life is happening, I don't sit around and ponder my Up-ness, I'm taking part in life. Every now and again, maybe once or twice a year i'll think about the series. I'll be walking down the street and randomly stop and marvel at the fact that there are these people that I am connected to. This makeshift, circumstantial family, with the 'Uppers' being the siblings and Mel and Julian (the producer and director respectively) being the parents. Then I continue walking down the street. And up till now, that was my experience being part of the show.

Something was different this time round though. Because this time round there was the internet. Sure, the internet was around when 14 Up aired, but not like this. It wasn't this living breathing intrinsic part of life that it is now. And that changed things for me a bit. This time round I was able to read people's reactions on Twitter. There were people who have watched all of the installments, people who are discovering the series for the first time. And I got to see it all. So it's like my experience changed from just me, the other 'Uppers' and the team that ties us all together, to us and well- the internet lol. See, logically, in previous shows I knew that people watched it, but this time it was more tangible, which made my participation in 21 Up feel more tangible as well.

 I don't know what else to say, I mean I have a whole bunch of thoughts but they're completely unintelligible, even to me. But I mean, despite being used to the Up Series. It's still a brilliant thing to be a part of. Well, it's a brilliant thing period.

So yeah, until next Blogday,

Rella x

The Evita Soundtrack

You know, I had been planning to write about Feist today. I've been meaning to for weeks, I even mentioned it in the Kings of Convenience post. But earlier today I was watching a marathon of a random 1 season American cop drama and out of nowhere, I started singing Don't Cry For Me Argentina, beginning to end, word for word at the top of my lungs. I turned to my sister and said, "You know Evita is my favourite musical right?". To which she replied, "Duh!" And then, I thought to myself: 'nobody would know that'. Seriously, very very few people know that Evita is my favourite musical. Ever. And it is largely because the soundtrack is freaking awesome. And I watched it when I was really young, and have watched it a dozen times since, so it's literally embedded in my existence. So since today is #musicwednesdays I'm here to discuss four of my favourite songs off the movie soundtrack.

1. Another Suitcase, Another Hall

This song traumatised me as a child. "So what happens now, where am I going to?" was like the most heartbreaking thing I'd ever heard and Eva seemed so despondent and helpless, it just crushed me. And since then, if I see something particularly heartbreaking or sad in a movie or show, my head will automatically sing "So what happens now, where am I going to?"

2. A New Argentina

Because this song is awesome. Because one day a few years back, I was working at my old job and this randomly came on the work iPod, and my manager and I randomly broke into song and dance. Because of the "Don't think I don't think like you, I often get those nightmares too, they often take some, swallowing" section which is just musically brilliant. 

3. I'd Be Surprisingly Good For You

I think as a kid I didn't love this song. I only began to appreciate it when I was rediscovering the movie and soundtrack as a teenager. And now it's one of my favourites. 

4. Eva's Final Broadcast/Don't Cry For Me Argentina

Again with the sadness, and again with perfectly portraying that sadness in that song. Because of "Have I said too much? There's nothing more I can think of to say to you". For years, I've found myself randomly singing that line while pretending I'm on that balcony, cracking my voice in all the right places to make me seem both strong and breaking at the same time lol. "I'm Argentina and always will be".

Honorable mention: Eva and Magaldi. Because again- awesomeness. Because of the rhythm of the lyrics.

Have you watched Evita? If so what are your favourite songs? Do you have a favourite musical that is unexpected to those that know you?

Kings Of Convenience, chocolate cake and serendipity

I've been keeping secrets from you...

It wasn't on purpose, and my intent wasn't malicious, so while my chocolate cake bakes in the oven I'm going to come clean.

A few months ago, I believe it was March, I was working in the library of my University. I was on the second floor using the computers by the windows to write an essay on antibiotics. I had about a million tabs open on Chrome but while the majority of them held research papers, one solitary tab was designated for the one thing able to get me through the hours spent in that library. This tab, that will now be known as Lifesaver, was open to YouTube and sweet joy-giving music was travelling from Lifesaver, through my headphones, and into my ears to deliver the sustenance that only music can provide.

I fail to remember what I was listening to at the time, but it had come to an end. I was at a loss as to what to listen to next because I had grown a bit tired of my music library. But randomly I clicked on one of the YouTube suggestions listed and found something I didn't even know I was looking for. Kings Of Convenience. I listened to Declaration of Dependence from beginning to end and fell in love. It just filled a void for kind of up(ish)beat music that was still kinda quiet and beautiful and didn't kill my brain cells.

It's funny that though Declaration of Dependence was the album that hooked me, it's not my favourite of theirs. After listening to DoD about 27 times front to back, I went and listened to their whole history of music. As is my habit with musicians that I love. So here goes, in no particular order, my 5 most favourite songs of Kings of Convenience.

1. The Build Up
Because it is awesome. And beautiful. And has Feist in it (who deserves a post on her own). And because it has that quiet brilliance that I love so much. And is slightly sad in feel which I also love. And because I have listened to it over a hundred times and it still manages to make me stop and pay attention.

2. The Passenger
Because it is also awesome. Because of that guitar riff at the end. Because of the entire guitar part that is so familiar and comforting to me. Because of the simplicity of the melody that manages to be so effective. Because the album was on and I was playing cards on my phone when I first heard this, and I paused the game to go to my music player to make sure I remembered the name of the track because it just spoke to me. Again, because of that riff at the end; I could feel every strum in my aural heart.

3. I'd Rather Dance With You
Because it is the song responsible for ridding me of all negative feelings towards anything of a pop-ish nature. Because this became my soundtrack for the last few weeks of uni. Because I would dance to this when I had to go to the lab at six o'clock in the morning. Because I would dance to this when I left the lab twelve hours later and it would make me feel happy and alive.

4. Scars on Land
Because it is the last song on DoD and every time I hear it, my heart is reminded of the feeling I had when I first listened to the album beginning to end. Profound sadness that it was over, deep gratitude for having discovered it, and a brilliant joy because I could press play and hear it all over again. Because it was such an awesome end to the album.

5. Know How
Because of the outro. Because this is another example of when an outro makes me love the song more that I normally would. Because it has Feist in it- are you recognising a pattern here? Seriously, it's all because of Feist and the outro. And Kings of Convenience of course, but mainly the outro. And Feist.

So there it is. I found Kings of Convenience by pure serendipity and fell in love. Since my chocolate cake is almost done, I'm going to leave it there. See you next Wednesday.

Rella x

Timeless by Dwele and Tina Marie

You know it's funny, I was planning on writing about something completely different today. But see, I was watching some YouTube videos this morning and somebody in the video mentioned the word 'timeless' in passing. That made me think of this song, Timeless by Dwele and Tina Marie, and how I haven't heard it in ages, and how much it just... It's like my musical resting heart beat. Like what my heart beat would sound like, when I'm completely calm, if it was music.

I remember I had this song on repeat for a whole fortnight last November. And it's a perfect example of why I love Dwele. Next to Musiq Soulchild, he's my favourite male R&B artist. His groove, tone and overall vibe and approach just resonate with me. I pretty much spent six months, when I was seventeen, engrossed in his discography. I love him. But I don't think I'll ever forgive him for teasing me with the greatness found in these one and a half minutes of aural heaven. How you gonna do that Dwele? So yeah, this post is as short as the song but I just wanted to share.

Until next time.
And by next time, I mean next Wednesday.
So really...until next Wednesday

Rella x

P!nk- Waiting For Love

I first heard this song a few months ago. During the time I spent studying for exams, I took the time to listen to a tonne of random albums. Whatever/whoever crossed my mind, I'd go and listen to it/them. One day in the middle of a study session I was like "I've never listened to a P!nk album before" so off I went and pulled up Try This on Grooveshark. See the thing is I love P!nk's voice, but I'm not the biggest fan of pop music. But since I was expanding my listening parameters during this study period, I pressed play and got back to studying.

So the album starts and I'm enjoying it because as I said, I love her voice. But nothing really made me pause and then this song starts. I don't think I was paying that close attention at first. About forty seconds in though, I pull up my Grooveshark tab so I can make note of the song and then go back to studying. And then the chorus happens and my head starts rocking and then my musical brain is whispering for me to indulge but my studying brain was maintaining dominance.

But see three minutes and thirty seconds ish starts to build up and then a minute later it calms right and then P!nk just rips the whole song up with her vocal so by this point my books are thrown across the room (metaphorically of course) and P!nk's got my full attention, and that song goes on repeat. After seven listens back to back, my musical brain was somewhat satiated, my studying brain was finally able to gain back some ground and thus back to studying I went.

x

Outro, How I Love Thee...

I woke up hours ago.
Like as in before the sun rose. I got up and did stuff, so it wasn't fake awake, it was real: I'm-about-to-start-my-day awake. So you could imagine my surprise when a few minutes ago I found myself reopening my eyes! I feel groggy as heck, but I'm committed to blogging again now that uni is over (YAYYY!!!), and thus here I am with heavy eyelids, listening to Feist-The Reminder and devouring a frozen kiwi and pineapple smoothie in an effort to feel more awake.

I feels good to be back in this delicious musical space that was kept quiet while uni was controlling my life. Not as strange or foreign as I thought it might feel but that might have something to do with the soundtrack. Anywhosies before I get onto the topic at hand I just thought you'd like to know that every Wednesday, or every other Wednesday, you can expect a post from me. It all depends on which side of me, the procrastinating or the committed, is stronger/louder that day.

Ok outros. I have a special place in my heart for outros that are distinct from the rest of the song. This automatically increases the play-on-repeatability of the song which makes that obsessive habit that I have with a lot of music, much less boring.

I remember the first time I fell in love with an outro. In my early secondary school years I was obsessed with the Coldplay album A Rush Of Blood to the Head. I would play it on repeat and never get bored, ever. This obvs was helped by the fact that the first song is very different to the last track. So would that make it like a Macro-outro? I dunno, I just woke up. But the real outro I'm talking about can be found in A Warning Sign, one of my favourite songs to this day. I remember hearing it, falling in love and then falling even deeper when the outro hit... "I'll crawl back into your open arms" And then a few days later when the buzz wore of and I stopped listening to it on repeat, I noticed the outro on the song Amsterdam (another favourite) that pretty much is responsible for the whole Macro-outro-ness that I mentioned earlier. Now, over ten years later, this outro is my favourite on the album. As well as one of my favourite lyrics "Stood on an edge, tied to a noose, you came along, and you cut me loose".

There are different kinds of outros though. When I say I love something, you should know by now that the attachment is multifaceted. See there are outros that should be their own song like the one in Don't look Back by Miguel. I FREAKING LOVE THAT OUTRO. Miguel how you gonna tease us like that? With those 30 odd seconds of awesomeness?? That's just mean. But then also there are outros like the one in From the Mouth of Gabriel by Sufjan Stevens. Oh my gosh, when I first heard that song, I couldn't stand it. My brain just couldn't process it. At. All. But then the outro happened, and I liked the outro. I liked it so much that I would listen to the whole song just to hear the outro and how it bleed into the next song The Owl and the Tanager (a song I love), and now I like the whole song. All because of the outro. Finally there are outros that take a good song and make it an experience. You know who's good at that, Musiq Soulchild. He never disappoints on the outro front. I remember I was on a twenty minute bus ride one day and You Be Alright came on on my iPod, it was the first time I'd heard it. I was enjoying it but then the outro started and just took the whole experience of the song miles above what it was before. And of course, that song was played on repeat for the whole journey.

So that's it. I loves me some outros. Now my question to you is, are there any outros that really stick out in your mind? If so, why? Let me know!

Until next time x

Scott Matthews, Sorbet and Rain

Click here to hear the song...

Its raining right now. It has been raining for days. I just finished a tub of raspberry sorbet so I can't feel my tongue. I should be doing a million things. I should be baking bread to freeze and writing about five essays. I was just writing one of those essays while eating the sorbet but in the background I had this song on repeat and all of a sudden I had to stop.

You should know by now, if you've been here for a while, that sometimes I hear something and it just makes me pause. This song perfectly matches the heartbeat of my day. The past few days actually. It pretty much embodies the tone of my mood and since it's kinda been my soundtrack as of late I thought I'd share.

I should tell you that the album, Elsewhere, is just frickin perfect. It hurts my feelings how perfect it is. This is the last song on the album and the first time I heard it, I played it all the way through. Start to finish. My heart broke a little when this song ended because it meant the album was over. And every time this song finishes my heart beats a bit faster in slight panic and so I have to hear it again and again and again. And it just sounds like home.

Hope you enjoy

Music Memories with Marvin

I'm sure I've mentioned this before. For some reason I get abit chuffed if I can pinpoint the exact moment when I heard a song that I love for the first time. Let me set the scene...

 

The flat was empty, silent.

 The sun stood still in the sky and a slight breeze teased the curtains of my open window.

 

Just kidding. It was the Easter hols of my first year at Uni. I was sitting in my dorm at my desk studying while listening to my iPod. Now I normally listen to the same cluster of songs but for some reason I had decided to put my entire library on shuffle. This meant that during this period of study I had discovered a chunk of music that I never even realised I had.

 

So there I was swivelling on my chair, trying to decipher the Russian Molecular Biology that was before me and this intro plays. My brain kind of acknowledges it but i'm still focussed on learning about Moscow cell signalling... and the intro was long so it was easy to kind of ignore. But see then something catches my attention. Marvin starts singing "I want you, the right way" and my focus is split. He continues "I want you, but I want you to want me too, I want you to want me baby, just like I want you". The my brain starts screaming "What is this???!!! How have I not heard you before??!!! Where have you been all my life???!!!!" And that was it, studying be damned! Marvin's smooth tone demanded all of my attention. So I gave it.

 

 

 

 

See i'd heard some Marvin Gaye songs before. I thought I knew what he was about, thought I was down with the Soul Man. WRONG. This was the song. This was the song that triggered a Marvin discography marathon. It started here, my love for Marvin started right here. I just couldn't get over the groove. The jam. It was so smooth, and his vocals? So effortless. I played it again, and then again and then just left it on repeat because it wasn't getting out of my system. It wasn't a song that I was going to get over soon. And I didn't. And two years later I still haven't. I still can't hear it once. If it comes up during shuffle it has to be played again. And again, and then once more just because.

 

So yeah, thought I'd share, hope this finds you well

Rella x

Even more Sufjan...

So apparently it's been almost two years since my last Sufjan Stevens post which majorly sucks. Why? Well it's such a misrepresentation of us. Stevens and I. But I guess that's what I get for not blogging for nearly a year right?

It looks like we've got some catching up to do and Stevens is the best place to start. I love him. No joke, no lie. Not as a person, because I don't know him, but musically? The love runs deep. I think I can go as far as saying he's my favourite musician of all time. (What I really mean is he's my favourite non-european*, white male musician of all time LOL).

I found myself singing a line from this song today. I sing this line alot because it's one of those lines. I feel them in the base of my spine. Somehow a melody, lyric, tone and harmony combine and make me...stop. And feel. I'm sure i've mentioned the type before. It happens alot with Stevens. In fact the whole song is one of those. For me anyway.

"I still have the things you gave,

Four anointing oils the paper weight you made"

So I was feeling kinda sombre, but not overly so. Sang the line and the wave of love that I feel for all things Sufjan** washed over me and I just felt so complete. And serene and warm and understood and all of those things that I can't describe so I decided to share this vid.

I love you for reading this,
Rella x

P.S: No but really? "Did you cut your hands on me? Are my edges sharp? Am I a pest to feed?" Or even- "And if it pleases you to leave me, just go. Stopping you would stifle your enchanting ghost" Are you trying to make me love you more?? Well you succeeded Stevens. You succeeded!!

*That way I can still claim Damien Rice as well!
**excluding the Age of Adz album which I refuse to talk about.

Water Chestnuts? Why you so creepy? Yeah I'm talking to you!

This one is for you K, you're always asking when a new post will be up and I appreciate the love you have for my blog. It makes me feel all warm inside. Like a microwave :)

Oh a few nights ago those of you who are subscribed by email woulda been sent a post that wasn't finished. What had happened was, I was tired, was writing this post, as I continued it was making less and less sense and I couldn't be bothered to make it make any sense, especially because the whole thing seemed funnier in my head (as most things do) so I went to click save put instead clicked publish. *face palm*. Now I never knew that it even got sent out because I converted it into a draft but O told me she saw it so hence this here explanation...

Now onto todays post. It's a real one. I promise :)

Ok. So I've mentioned before that I may be kinda strange when it comes to food. It's not that I don't like food. I loves me some food. It's just that sometimes, on occasion, my overactive imagination interferes with my food experience.

I thought I had all the foods that I didn't like down to a T. WRONG. The list just gets longer and longer. A couple of days ago I got a takeaway. I loves me some Chinese right, so I'm sitting tucking in to these sweet chilli chicken noodles *drool* and all of a sudden I hear this CRUNCHHHH sound and i'm like "WHAT THE HECK???" I try not to freak out. I look up the ingredionies to this meal on the leaflet: Chicken (me likes), Noodles (me likes), blah blah blah, Crunchy Water Chestnuts (IT'S YOU!).

Now see, I've heard of water chestnuts before. One day I was googling my love (Chestnuts) and I kept on seeing 'not to be confused with water chestnuts which are completely different'. Completely different is an understatement. Water chestnuts are sooooo creepy. I don't know how else to describe them (and creepy is one of my new fav words lol).

It's not the crunch that makes it creepy. I like crunchy food. Heck I love Crunchy Nut. The problem is how it crunches. I tried to suck it up. Tried to be a grownup and not let these creepy veggies spoil my meal. So I take another bite. CRUNCHHHH!!!. I just couldn't do it. I once met somebody who was afraid of apples. Or to be more specific: the sound of somebody eating an apple. And I couldn't understand because I loves me some crunchy apples. But now I gets it. Imagine the sound of the crunchiest apple you've ever eaten and then cross breed that with the sound of nails against a chalkboard. That's what water chestnuts sound like. They're like the vegetable equivalent of polystyrene against polystyrene. In your mouth. Unaffected by your saliva. So damn creepy *shudders*

I hope this post finds you all well.
Rella x x

Untitled (Between You and Me)

There's poetry in...

the space between you and me...

When i'm far away and you draw me close

can you feel the spark in the midst of us?

And you place your lips beside my ear

and you whisper words for only me to hear

there is poetry... in the space between

There's poetry in...

the space between you and me...

When you call me just to hear my voice

there is beauty in the depth of your love

and you share yourself

and give me a piece

there is music in our intimacy

there is poetry...

in the space between you and me.

I write alot of 'sad' songs. Wait. I don't like that. I don't think they're sad. I write alot of songs when i'm sad. That's better. All of my songs are real, real feelings, real people it's all real. See, because I write alot of my songs when I'm sad you guys- the listeners- only see/hear one part of a story. Mainly the end. Or the argument. Or the disappointment.

A couple months ago I was lying in bed watching a tv show. Two people were on a first date: empty restaraunt, flowing conversation. They start talking about dancing, the guy brings out his iPod and starts playing some slow waltzy-type music. He stands up, offers his hand, pulls her in and they dance. Close. 

It sounds cheesy, but really it wasn't. So i'm watching them dance and I think about how nice it is to be that close to someone. Not just anyone but Someone. 

The day before this I had been thinking it's a shame that all my songs about Someone are so sad because alot of our relationship was really something special. So yeah, these two people are dancing and I start thinking about Someone and how close we were, and how much we wanted to be close to each other and how beautiful wanting to be close to somebody is. 

But how do you describe that? How do you sing that? I didn't want to say being close to you is beautiful because, well that's cheese galore. Same goes with 'magic'... I had this image of us standing together, no space between us, and I was trying to describe it, how much I loved that, and then I thought of poetry. "There's poetry in the space between you and me". I'm saying I love being close to you. It's beautiful to me.

"When I'm far away, and you draw me close, can you feel the spark, in the midst of us"

"And you place your lips beside my ear, and you whisper words for only me to hear..."

I don't know what to say about this song. I'm staring at my screen trying to find the words. I can't. I guess it's all there in the lyrics. I don't know what else I can say.

"There is music in our intimacy"

I'm glad I finally got to write a love song. Now you get to see another part of the story...

Rella x

Ego

I wanted to know you,

but you wouldn't let me in.

I told myself for preservation

Stop, stop trying.

You're no good for my ego.

You're no good for my ego.

But you intrigue me,

I want to be close to you

Just to see what our closeness would do

But it seems like you have no desire to

I wont force myself on you

I can't force myself on you

You're no good for my ego

You're no good for my ego

You're no good for my ego

I said, you're no good for my ego.

I'm a songwriter, but I don't see myself as one. See, I write for myself. I've said it over and over but I really mean it. I'm selfish when it comes to my music. I don't think of anybody else, "will people like it?", none of that comes to mind. I write because I have something on my mind and I need a way of expressing it.

That said, it's not always easy. You don't always get it right. Imagine an artist painting a portrait. They're trying to get the image before them down on the canvas as accurately as possible, but it's hard. Sometimes the eyes don't quite match, the nose is too broad, the colouring is off. It's the same with music. Sometimes I can't accurately portray what i'm feeling, or I don't know what i'm feeling accurately enough to portray it. And it's frustrating as heck. But every now and again you get a picasso moment. This was one of those times.

I'm in love with this song guys. It is such a perfect portrayal of everything I was feeling. I wasn't even in a writing mood when this came about. It was a few days ago, I was tidying up my room and randomly thought about the person this song is about. I wrote down the first few lines, frustrated with our 'relationship' and what it was doing to me. I thought about why I wanted to know them better, why anybody wants to know anybody better. It all came out on the page. And I thought that would be it. Usually when I write the lyrics first for a song; I can't get the guitar to fit. Normally it has to happen at the same time. But I pick up Dave, the music comes, the melody writes itself, and in a matter of minutes I have before me a perfect portrait. A melodic picture of my thoughts and my emotions.

It's times like these that makes me love being a musician.
With all the love in the world my dears,

Rella x

About Me: Mutant Food

You aint fooling nobody brownie!

I have certain erm... idiosyncrasies when it comes to food that are erm... very idiosyncratic? For those of you who don't know; I love cereal. As in LOVE. As in two years ago I asked for cereal as a birthday present and each member of my band brought me a box or two. It was awesome. I lined the boxes along my wall and was in cereal heaven. It's that serious.

Yesterday I was tucking into my second bowl of the day: Cookie Crisp. Everything was going swimmingly (haha)(see that's funny because the cereal swim in the milk)(so it was a pun)(get it hahaha)(just kidding)(about explaining the joke not about it not being a joke)(because it was)(I'll stop now) but then all of a sudden something caught my eye. There amongst all the cookies with dark chips was an anomaly, a cookie with light brown chips. It was so weird. I tensed up and I could feel my idiosyncratic ways start to kick in. I wanted to ignore it. I tried to tell myself "Rella, there is nothing wrong with the brownie, it's just cereal", I tried to be rational but what I really thought was "MUTANTTTTTTT!!!" 

*sigh* I couldn't bring myself to eat it. Once my brain has spotted a food abnormality it completely rejects it and sees it as a hazard to my health. 

This one time, I was in my room at uni and I had just eaten some yogurt, pasta and I was in the process of eating a banana. All of a sudden I realised they were all the same colour and then I started to feel nauseous. No lie. I couldn't finish the banana. I think that's the weirdest food quirk that has ever come up. Eating three same coloured foods in a row made me nauseous. It hasn't happened since but at the same time I haven't tried that combo again. I have a feeling though that this new quirk is only for specific colours of food because I can't see myself being ill after eating chocolate, chicken and then toast or apples, stew and some other red food. Maybe it was too much cream coloured food at one time. I dunno *shrugs shoulders*. 

But yeah, I have some serious quirks when it comes food and I thought i'd share lol.

Hope this post finds you well dearies,

Rella x

The Meaning of Without the 'Ay'

I originally started this blog so that people who like my music can get to know me a bit better.
It was important to me that people who like my music get to know me better because in knowing me better, I feel that said people would understand my music a bit more.
See, my music is me. It is a direct representation of me and my thoughts... I also wanted to share some of the music that I listen to or love... I wanted to do a lot of things. However I didn't write as much as I wanted to or could because things would get in the way, or I would get in the way.
For example: one day I was sitting in a lecture and the prof was talking about cell cultures and how when you take a cell from the body and grow it in culture it cannot replicate indefinitely because it is impossible to reproduce its ideal conditions as we don't know what they are. Obviously if there was a mutation that allowed for adaptation things would be different. But yeah, I was sitting in that lecture, feeling like a cell taken from its natural environment, asked to thrive in a foreign, clinical land. I started to think I should write a post about this, but then I thought to myself nobody wants to read about me feeling like a cell.

*sigh* Ish like that happens all the time. But then if i'm always thinking nobody wants to know my thoughts and so I don't post my thoughts, how the heck are you supposed to understand me?? I'm that person. The type of person that sympathises with cells and writes about helium balloons. I can't just post the more normal thoughts because those aren't all I have. And well, to me, my thoughts on helium balloons are normal. Sure it was more of a joke post but that's how the scene played out in my head...

So from now on i'm blogging like nobody's reading the same way I write (songs) like nobody's listening.

With love like you can''t imagine,
Rella x

Childhood Memories: Helium Balloons

I'm not even going to mention the fact that I have been absent for a shameful amount of time. And yes I realise that mentioning that I'm not going to mention something is the exact same thing as mentioning something but that's not important. 
But hey, I've seen the error of my ways and here I am!

On to todays post.
I have become alarmed and saddened by the increasing number of people that I meet that haven't 'done' helium.
It is every child's rite of passage and I have very vivid memories of it.

Picture this:
Little Rella was forced to be at a party she didn't want to go to, surrounded by a bunch of 'cousins'; 'aunts' or 'uncles' of no real relation. Seated on one of the chairs that lined the wall she took in her surroundings and like a hawk zeroing in on it's prey she spotted it. There. Floating, peacefully. Blissfully unaware of the capture and utter destruction that awaited it; a helium balloon.

Now if you cannot relate to this I don't know what to tell you, or how to sympathise with the childhood that was stolen from you... But perhaps it's not too late. For you. 

Little Rella was reluctant to announce her interest in the balloon. See competition was everywhere and a helium balloon with the amount of height that this one had was a gem, a prized commodity, so she waited. Monitored. Sure she moved around, worked the room as any ten year old would do but no matter where she was or who she was talking to she knew where the balloon was. 

At this point you should be realising how serious this is and rushing out to get a helium balloon to reclaim your obviously unfulfilled infant years (hehe) or at least on the phone to your parents demanding to know why it went down like that "Mum, was I allergic? Is that what it was??"

It was time to leave. To Little Rella this meant the cards that had been held so close to her chest all evening were about to get played. Sure she was tired but she couldn't afford to let her guard down. Suddenly her spine stiffened and the hairs at the back of her neck stood up. Somebody had noticed it. The tell tale signs were written all over his face, the widening eyes and beaming smile. Amateur. She swooped in, grabbed the balloon string and before he knew it the balloon had been tied around Little Rella's wrist declaring ownership. His smile vanished. His eyes traced the balloon string from the balloon all the way down to Little Rella's wrist and then made their way to her face, watering and weepy. She tried not to be too smug about her victory, he was young afterall, he didn't know the rules of ballooning. She gave him a small smile, to sympathise or gloat she didnt know, turned, and left the party; head held high with the balloon dancing behind her.

The ride home was a long one. When she finally arrived she ran up to her room, shed her jacket and shoes and untied the balloon string. It all came down to this. The constant vigilance and competition was all for this. With a pair of scissors she squeezed the neck of the balloon tight and cut off the end. She placed the neck to her mouth, inhaled deeply and with an augmented voice declared: "This my dears, this sounds like victory hehehehehe"

LOL! I hope this put a smile on your face.
With all the love in the world,
Rella x

Another reason why I love Corinne Bailey Rae

Hey Guys!

I've been meaning to write this for a long time but something always came up. I was being lazy, I didn't have time or it wasn't sunny enough. But today I have no excuses. Enough time has passed since wanting to share this vid for me to feel guilty for not sharing and the sun is shining :D

I once gave you a few reasons why I love Corinne Bailey Rae and here's another.

Now i'm generally a very happy person. Like you know those people who seem like they have rainbows for breakfast? Yep, that's me. Rainbows. Looking at my collection of music you wouldn't know it. I normally listen to sad, sombre and sedate music. The way I see it, it's a balance, it calms me down. But every once in a while i'll hear something like this and break into dance. I LOVE this song. I love what CB Rae does to it, it's just one of those one's that makes me happy.

Seriously whenever I hear this outside I have to restrain myself and remind myself that I have nothing choreographed. "Rella, the passers by don't know the moves". Otherwise i'd have a serious t-mobile moment. *sigh* One day...

So since i'm all about spreading the love I thought i'd share it and hope it makes you happy too.

With rainbow fuelled love,
Rella x

We'll be together again soon...

You know, I've missed you guys.

Whoever you guys are. Mostly O and the odd S or K.. I don't know who reads this here blog but i've missed you, writing, feeling connected to my 'Rella J-ness'. 

I've been really stressed recently, uni has sort've taken over my life and when I get stressed I can't write hence my absence. 

I'm not fully back yet, I'm still stressed, well my version of stressed because I don't stress easily- so in reality when I say stressed it's only like 5% of what a normal stressed out person feels. I digress. I just wanted to come here and say something...

Some songs stick with you. I'm not talking about a song that you love, i'm talking about... I dunno. I've always been fascinated with my relationships with songs and kind of obsessed with remembering why I know them. Which brings me back to why I'm here. One day I was in France, we were on holiday a tonne of years back, and I don't remember much about that holiday but I do remember standing in my hotel room and turning on the tv. I was flicking through, seeing what French tv had to offer and then this music video came on, I just stopped and watched it from start to finish. But it was more than just watched, I...paid attention?

I don't know... it takes alot for me to pay attention to something, or rather- for something to hold my attention- especially when it's not my usual cup of tea. Wait. I don't drink tea. Anyways every now and again i'll sing the chorus of this song and because it is directly linked to a memory that I have of myself this song means more to me than it should.

Or maybe none of that even happened. Maybe I made it up in my head and I really heard it on the radio in Hackney. Either way I miss you.

With love,

Rella x x

I'm a sucker for a good falsetto...

I'm in a sharing mood today so I'm going to show some musical love and post this vid.
I was recording a video-y acoustic session type thing when the girl/ lady type person shooting it got to talking about music with me, and she made me listen to this song.

At first I was surprised by the voice that came out of this dude, esp cos he reminded me of this guy that shoots these yt spoof videos that my little sis used to play to me all the time- they were hiLARIOUS. Anyways, It played, I was loving the groove, it got me rocking and stuff. He had a nice tone, smooth, cool and all that good stuff. I wasn't even really listening to what he was singing about- it's a political song- esp cos "You say that you care, I was unaware" is such a good basis for a achy breaky heart type song lol. But anyway, I was enjoying it and then he attacks me.

Some call it an Achilles heel or even kryptonite, I call it falsetto. Oh Em Gee. Freaking heck, Like for real??? Is he singing that?? I MELT. I don't know what it is about a male singer falsettoing. Yes I know thats not a word but seriously, shivers. I. Get. Shivers. All of a sudden the song became so much more than it was and I'm left wanting to have his musical babies hehe.

So yeah- hope you enjoy it
and more importantly, I hope this here post finds you well.
Rella x