Sweet Clichés

I just want you back in my arms,

Talking about both of our days,

I really miss all of your charms,

Along with all our sweet clichés.

 

I don’t know what is going on,

But I know you can brave a smile,

I think you can keep yourself strong,

I will stick around for a while.

 

I feel better when you’re around,

So please can you not go away,

If only we could just lie down,

That is where I would want to stay.

 

Things will start to look up from here,

I can promise you that alright,

I guess I’m just living in fear,

Let’s hope we both choose what is right.

The River

Sitting by the river we watch it flow,

Watching the pebbles stumble by so slow,

The atmosphere is ever so tranquil,

But there is only moments left until

The sun goes down and the stars shine so bright,

The river seems calmer during the night,

Although you cannot see it in the dark,

I will never forget your last remark,

“The peaceful nights that I share with you here,

Mean the world to me, I promise you dear,

And you will be forever in my heart,

Honestly, you have been right from the start.”

If I had of known these were his last words,

To hold him is what I would have preferred,

But now that I have completely lost you,

I realise that I need you that is true…

I still go to the river on my own,

But it isn’t quite the same all alone,

It flows much slower than it did before,

Maybe because you’re not here anymore?

‘Ding dong the witch is dead?’

After being surprised about the death of one of the 1980’s most iconic figures, I must say what shocked me more were the opinions of young, uneducated people on social networking sites – mainly twitter who were sharing their thoughts about the woman as a person saying things like ‘Margaret Thatcher the evil cow has died’ and even nastier tweets were made about her death! The ironic thing is that the majority of people tweeting were not alive at the time Thatcher was serving.

Margaret Thatcher was not only the first and only woman Prime Minister to this day, she was also the longest serving Prime Minister of the 20^th century. Therefore I, along with many others I’d like to believe find her a woman to look up to because of how she handled her responsibilities. Although, I can’t deny the fact that Thatcher may have made various wrong decisions for our country and left a bit of a mess behind for the next Prime Minister.

I still believe it is wrong that people from around the country have made ‘Ding dong the witch is dead’ from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz got to number 2 in the music charts. The majority of BBC Radio 1’s target audience are younger people therefore, most people listening to the chart show are not going to fully understand why this song is there and a bad opinion on Margaret Thatcher is going to go viral and people who know absolutely nothing about her are going to form very negative opinions on her.

At the end of the day, Margaret Thatcher was a person, she had a life and a family. When she made those decisions she obviously thought they were right at the time. Everyone makes bad decisions once in a while but just because it affected our country badly it doesn’t mean that it is right to disrespect her. When she was alive, people weren’t calling her an evil cow all over social networking sites all day long but since she passed away, everyone’s opinions are stronger than ever and I personally think that is wrong and disrespectful to her family and friends.

BBC Radio One did the right thing when it reached the time to play the number 2 song in the weekly chart. They mentioned the song yet did not play it. She was just another person and deserves respect after her death. She didn’t murder anyone she just made decisions that she had the right to make. I understand if you were alive when she was serving and you were personally affected but if you are my age (teenage years) I don’t think you have the right to be disrespectful to her as it was in the past and our country has developed a lot since then.

Elephant in the room

There’s an elephant in the room,

I really wish that you would see.

If only life let you resume,

I’ve wondered about where we’d be.

 

But I can’t control the future,

As much as I wish that I could,

I don’t think that I had closure,

Thought the feelings were gone for good.

 

I cannot tell you what to do,

Or tell you what it is I need,

Just please make the right choice for you,

It’s time for you to take the lead.

 

I hope that you make the right choice,

The one that will make you smile more,

Don’t listen to anyone’s voice,

That is all I am asking for.

Interview with The Concetines 13/4/13

After a year and a half of being a young indie boy band from Leeds, I finally got the chance to have a chat with the boys from The Concetines. And needless to say, the interview was full of banter and sarcasm from each one of them. The band has recently begun to grow more and more successful grabbing an opportunity to share their wonderful music with the audience at Live at Leeds 2013 this summer.

Q: What is the name of your band? What is the origin of the name and hve you changed the band’s name before?
Danny: The Concetines.
Claydon: We have had different names such as Cast in Stone and The Strides.
Matt: We changed it because we didn’t like the other names.
Jamie: We got a new drummer and thought that we needed a new start.

Q: What are all of your names/age and respective instrument of each of you? Would you ever consider trying a different role in the band?
D: Danny, I’m 17 and I play lead guitar but no, I wouldn’t change roles because I’m happy with my instrument.
C: Claydon, 17 and I am the drummer but I personally think my vocal talents are being wasted on the drums!
M: Matt, 16, guitar. I enjoy what I do in the band but I wouldn’t mind playing drums.
J: Jamie, I’m 17 and play bass. I think changing instruments would not be an option for me.

Q: What genre of music do you consider your work to be and who are your major influences and why?
D: I personally think we are indie rock and my major influences include Arctic Monkeys and The 1975.
C: I’d say Indie probably. And I would say my influences are Sound of Guns and The Killers.
M: I think we are alternative rock and my influences include Stone Roses and The Libertines!
J: We’re indie rock. Stone Roses and Foals influence me I think.

Q: Ah, so you all seem to have different opinions on your genre of music! Where have you performed?
D: We have performed all around Leeds.
Q: What is each of your favourite and worst venues? Do you have any upcoming gigs?
D: My favourite venues are The Cockpit and The Well. The worst we have played at in my opinion is Empire. Yeah we do, I’m really excited to be playing at Live at Leeds and I’m looking forward to seeing Peace, The 1975, The Crookes and The Pigeon Detectives. My favourite gig was when we supported The 1975 and also Various Cruelties – both at The Cockpit.
C: Yeah, my favourite venue has got to be The Cockpit because they always put a good spread there. We have a few shows coming up, the biggest is Live at Leeds which is going to be awesome.
M: My favourite venue is The Cockpit as well. My worst is when we performed in my back garden… I really can’t wait for Live at Leeds especially as we’re playing amongst some great bands and artists! My favourite gig so far would definitely be supporting The 1975 – that was cracking!
J: And like everyone else, my favourite venue is also The Cockpit, my worst is Empire. Live at Leeds will be our biggest gig yet so that should be great. My favourite gig yet is when we supported The 1975.

Q: Who writes your songs and what inspires you? Do you have to be in a certain mind set to write a song or does it just come naturally? Have all of you tried writing one?
D: Matt is the lyricist in the band, we don’t really write about anything in particular, I have tried writing lyrics but it never really works, I just stick to writing sick guitar parts!
C: We all have input about what we think sounds good and what doesn’t.
M: We do tend to write the music parts all together and then I will go and write the lyrics by myself. I don’t particularly have much life experience to write about so half the songs are just made up stories. Sometimes I can’t think of anything so I’ll leave it and come back to it the following day.
J: We write our own parts for the majority of the songs. It depends really, usually if we don’t plan to write a song that usually produces the best outcome. If we jam together we usually come up with something half decent.

Q: How do your rehearsals usually go? Do you have a set time each week or are you more spontaneous? Do you get easily distracted or put your heads down and get things done?
D: They usually go well but we end up swapping instruments by the end and just having a big mash up.  But when we have a gig coming up we run through the set and go through the ones we need to work on most
C: We’re fairly organised in when we rehears e which is once or twice a week. We do always end up messing about though.
M: At the end, we go through the ones that didn’t sound as tight.
J: We go over rough edges and discuss ways of making songs sound better.

Q: What are each your favourite songs by what band/artist and why?
D: I couldn’t tell you what my all-time favourite song was but I am listening to a lot of Kings Of Leon at the moment and I’d have to say my favourite song at this moment in time is Red Morning Light. Also Sex by The 1975 is another I’m listening to a lot. I just really like the ambient sound vibes that are racing around the room.
C: My favourite song is Losing Touch by The Killers but I’m listening to a lot of The 1975 at the moment.
M: I don’t really have a favourite song but at the moment I am listening to Tribes – Baby and Peace – In Love
J: My favourite song of all-time is Fools Gold by The Stone Roses because there are so many elements to it and it has a very chilled out riff.

Q: What is your ultimate direction for the band? Do you wish to get signed eventually? Is music a possible career choice for you? If not, what career paths are you all thinking of going down?
D: My dream is to be in a well-known band when I’m older, so it would be amazing to get signed but if I’m not performing I would like a career in architecture or graphic design.
C: I would love for the band to make it on a big scale. Getting paid for doing something you love would be ideal and having people sing along to your songs really is the best feeling.
M: In the future I would love to make I t big with the band, if I could tour it would be sweet. If not, I want to study maths at university.
J: I’d love to get signed, eventually we plan to travel as a band which I am really looking forward to.

Q: What advice do you have for people who are thinking of forming their own band?
D: Do it. Unless you can’t play an instrument…
C: Make sure you’ve practised and got a good set before you start doing lots of gigs, and just keep practising and playing. I’d definitely recommend it though.
M: Do it! It’s a right laugh and you get bare birds
J. Don’t cover coldplay.

Q: If you could describe the band in 3 words what would they be?
D: Four best friends
C: Sexy, hench, fit.
M: A musical band…
J: Cool as f**k

Q: How can your fans gain access to your music?
D: Just like us on facebook and you’ll find everything there!
M: Facebook is the best way and we have a twitter account. Youtube, Bandcamp and Spotify! And you can also buy our single ‘Pilot’ on iTunes!
J: Buy the songs off iTunes… That way we get bare dollar.

Thanks for chatting with me guys! You can like their facebook and twitter page here:
http://www.facebook.com/TheConcetines?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/TheConcetines
and listen to their single here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-oBQgXnFnY

Lone by the shore

I walked across an empty beach

Watching as the waves kissed the tide

The sun was just about to rise

I just needed to clear my mind

 

Seagulls soaring around my head

My feet sinking in the warm sand

I put my earphones in my ear

And listened to my favourite band

 

I felt so calm and relaxed too

This was such a perfect moment

One thing could make it better though

And that would be his hand in mine.

The Past

There is nothing stronger,
than the feelings from your past,
It may take you longer,
but you’ll forget them at last,
I know that it is sad,
to block out what happened then,
But that is what you had,
and you don’t want that again,
If you can, brave a smile,
even if it is pretend,
It will be hard for a while,
but this is not the end,
You deserve to be happy,
with somebody you love,
Although you may get snappy,
remember you’re free of,
Crying ‘til you fall asleep,
and dreading the next day,
Walking away was a leap,
so try living in today.

Unheralded Danger

Ever since the haunting night when I tragically lost Emily, nothing was the same. Weekly traditions were broken and I felt lonely at least 3 times a day. But I braved a smile as often as I could and managed to continue with my daily routine despite how difficult it was to do so.

Months had now passed but I still missed her every day. Her deep blue eyes and her adorable freckles that multiplied in the sun… I would do anything to hold her in my arms again, to kiss her rosy cheeks and I would certainly kill to tell her how much she meant to me once more. I felt myself sinking into my past with her and I was losing control so I shook myself off and headed out of the cemetery with my signature false smile spread right across my face. New York was an incredibly busy city, even at night. There were people everywhere I looked. So why did I feel so isolated and alone?

I walked down a quiet alley close to my flat but before turning left towards my home, I couldn’t help but glimpse over at the little traditional Chinese take-out with the florescent waving cat sign. Emily and I used to get dinner from here every Friday night without fail. I sighed. Was I ready to go back in there or would it leave me feeling nostalgic? I had to get a grip; it’s just a take-out. I slowly made my way over to the entrance, but I eventually made it in and was greeted politely. I remembered what I was missing out on over the past 5 months and it made me sad, the staff were all so friendly still and unlike mine, their smiles were real. It made me feel warm inside and as if I belonged here.

I picked up a menu after about 5 minutes and decided to order a Chicken Chow Mein with Singapore fried rice, they gave me a selection of fortune cookies but only Emily was into that kind of thing yet I decided to keep one and handed the rest to a shivering homeless man a couple of feet away from the take-out. I arrived back home and sat down on my sofa, about to begin my meal before remembering that Emily and I used to open our fortune cookies before eating and discuss the message. Naturally, I smiled thinking about it and opened the cookie for old time’s sake. My smile suddenly dropped along with my stomach. My hands began to shake and I felt a shiver slowly crawl down each section of my spine. I read the message over and over again in my head until eventually the words just stumbled out of my mouth: ‘Your life is in danger, say nothing to anyone. You must leave the city immediately and never return. Say nothing’

Leaving the city didn’t sound too bad, I think I deserved a holiday… Bora Bora or Fiji… I could really do with that but fantasising was the last thing I should be doing. Or am I being ridiculous? It’s a fortune cookie; messages like this are printed in all of them. I laughed it off and tucked into my meal, it was just as delicious as I remembered. All of a sudden I heard a knock on my door, I never had visitors… I opened my door and nothing was there, I looked down and noticed a note on the doormat so I picked it up and turned it over. ‘Leave’ was all it read. I felt my stomach turn a little but I ignored this note too.

As I lay in bed all I could think about were these signs, it would be so different if Emily was here, we would make a joke out of it. As stupid as it sounds, I was genuinely quite frightened. I turned over to kiss the photo of Emily and I on my bedside table but to my shock, Emily had disappeared from the photo and instead, my arm was around a black figure. My heart began to beat exceedingly fast and I felt like I was living a nightmare. I packed as many bags as I could, jumped into my car and drove until sunrise. I was heading towards California where my parents and little sister lived.

The next day arrived and I woke up to a giant black cloud surrounding my car. The weather was never like this in California. I panicked and tried to carry on driving but my engine wasn’t switching on, I tried to open the windows, they wouldn’t budge. And then I noticed something in my mirror, someone was sat in the backseat of my car, and it wasn’t just anyone, it was Emily. I turned around and felt a tear roll down my cheek as she reached her hand out. Nothing else mattered now, I was about to feel her soft skin against mine again. I reached my hand out to touch hers but as soon as our hands met, something strange happened, the giant cloud began to get tighter and tighter and Emily’s face began to turn grey until all that was left was a black shadow… I stared down at my hand which was interlocked with hers seconds ago and mine was also turning grey. I was confused, scared and anxious. I shouted for help but nobody could hear me. I had a flashback of all the spooky happenings from the previous night and I stared through the back of my car in epiphany, watching as everything around me disappeared into nothing.