You Probably Couldn't See for the Lights but You Were Staring Straight at Me

Listening to: Radio 1

...at least I hope so, Alex! (or should that be ____?!)

Oh. My. Goodness. So Shorty and I are standing in the crowd, waiting for it all to kick off. I tell her about a rumour I'd read on the Arctic Monkeys website about who the support act might be, and we giggle about how amazing it'd be if the rumour were true. Yeah as if, right? But then the lights dim, the spotlights brighten, and who walks on stage? It's only flippin' DAVE GROHL!!! Followed by John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) and Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age). OK I'll admit I didn't recognise the others (yes you may hurl insults at me now :P ), but I had heard about the supergroup Them Crooked Vultures being formed...I get points for that, right?


They were a-meh-zinggg. Maybe it was just the fact that we didn't know the songs (the band has been performing publicly for less than a month), but it felt like we were spying on a private jam session. An absolutely phenomenal jam session. I can see these guys rocking well into their nineties. Two non-music related observations: I lost track of how many times Josh Homme switched guitars, and now I know why Dave Grohl has long hair :D

Then it was the Arctic Monkeys' turn to wow us. And oh boy did they?! I have a sneaky suspicion that Alex Turner had downed many a bevvy before coming on stage, but his performance (and that of the whole band in general) was spectacular. The new material was awesome (I ♥ 'Cornerstone'!), and the old favourites were extra-special. The crowd reaction to 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor' was electric, to put it really really mildly. As was the reaction to 'Still Take You Home'. It was an indication that the crowd was full of proper Arctic Monkeys fans...which is always nice.

Oooh purple!

It was definitely the most energetic gig I've been to, and the aches and pains I'm suffering from today are proof. An excellent evening, and I'm still struggling to believe my luck. To whoever performs at the next gig I go to, I say: good luck at topping this.

Welcome home!

Listening to: Test Match Special

The Urn is back. Andrew Strauss and the boys have won the 2009 Ashes 2-1 with a massive victory at the Oval.

We can talk till we're blue in the face about the role of the umpires and the pitch, but the collective eyesight of cricketing umpires has been on a steady decline for many years now, and further incorporation of Hawk-Eye is something the ICC should seriously consider. The fact remains that England played well when they needed to, and Australia came up (marginally) short.

In addition, Freddie Flintoff has retired from the longer version of the game and England has bid farewell to one of its most inspirational test cricketers in recent times.

As I said on Twitter -

I feel so British right now! :D

Oh. Em. Actual Gee.

Listening to: 'Feeling Good' by Muse [Origin of Symmetry]

First, there was Matchbox Twenty. Then there was John Mayer. Most recently there was Snow Patrol (see here to see how excited I was about that), with Diana Krall, Ladyhawke and Black Kids along the way. And now...

I'm going to see Arctic Monkeys live at the Brixton Academy NEXT WEEK!!!

Yeah you read right: next week. I got an email from the Arctic Monkeys website a few days back, saying registration was open for pre-sale tickets for a special concert next Wednesday. So I figured what the hell...at worst I wouldn't get an email back, and at best I'd get the opportunity to see them live. I wasn't actually expecting to get picked, but I did! Imagine that (well there goes my quota of good luck for the next 5 years :P). Anyway, after a mini scheduling crisis, managed to confirm that Shorty would be able to get off work in time...so we're off!

It hasn't done wonders for my budget, but who cares :D. I kinda wish it had been when Alex Turner had a better hairstyle, but hey, can't be too picky no? :D

So yeah. I think I'll work half-day on Saturday (my usual 'off' day) to compensate for the fact that I'll be leaving early on Wednesday. Work is horrendous at the moment so this'll be a good mid-week break I bet. And then it's back to London the following weekend for a wedding! Oh the life I lead :P

The Cover Session #6

Listening to: 'Ain't No Rest for the Wicked' by Cage the Elephant [Cage the Elephant]

Back in February, there was a comment on one of my posts; a proposal of sorts. I wasn't sure if it was meant seriously or not, but I decided to assume that it was. If it wasn't...oops, too late! :P.

Anyway, six months and a few emails and mp3s later, here we are! Yes, PseudoRandom has actually recorded a duet with the mighty Darkside! It was his song choice, and considering how much of a Snow Patrol fan I am, I guess it's no surprise that I was more than willing. My contribution kinda took a back seat due to the PhD, moving house etc., but thankfully things settled down and I managed to find time. And I won't deny that I may have been a bit 'keen' to get this done before he becomes famous and all ;-).

I have to say I'm really proud of this; when I started this blog, I never imagined I'd be using it to showcase my own singing, let alone a duet with a blogger two continents away! As Shorty said,

Amazing thing no...technology??

Profound, I know. Anyway, enough chat. Here it is: 'Set the Fire to the Third Bar' - originally by Snow Patrol featuring Martha Wainwright, from their album Eyes Open. Piano and male vocals by Gehan, female vocals by moi (duh). Enjoy!

If you want to listen to it offline, you can download it here. And for those of you who live to see Gehan's headless videos *cough*Jerry*cough*, there's a video version up on his blog :-).

After Juliet

Listening to: 'Saints and Sailors' by Dashboard Confessional [The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most]

Poster nicked off their Facebook event page; tv ad here (login required)

A week from now. At the Lionel Wendt in Colombo. Go see it if you're around.

How many artists can Mika get sued by?

Listening to: Radio 1

How many of you have come across Mika's new single "We Are Golden"? I have to admit I'm not a fan of the song (and an even lesser fan of the video), but here it is (bad quality but no copyright issues, so you should be able to see it wherever you are) -

Exhibitionist much?

There are quite a few "omg this sounds like..."s floating around the internet, and the major players are Belinda Carlisle's Heaven is a Place on Earth and Annie Lennox's Walking on Broken Glass. For me, this blast from the past popped into my mind as soon as I heard Mika's track -

Can you believe I wanted to marry the guy? When I was 8, of course.

Compare Mika's track from 1:06 to Jason Donovan's track from 0:54. See what I mean? No? Oh well, just me then.

I love you, Archchi

Listening to: Radio 1

Fourteen years ago today, I sat at my grandmother's bedside and chanted stanzas from the Book of Protection while she breathed her last. She was my nanny, my friend, my 'toy'...she used to feed me when my mother wasn't looking, I used to tell her about my day at school, and I used to 'experiment' with her hearing aid (much to her annoyance, naturally). She was a wonderful woman; maternal, jovial, strong. She is long gone but people still sing her praises. I am proud of her.

I was 12 when she died. She didn't live to see me grow up into the woman I am today. I'm not yet fully maternal, jovial and strong, but I like to think I will be, eventually. I hope she will be proud of me.

4 Chords

Listening to: Radio 1

So I'm listening to Scott Mills on Radio 1 at the moment, and he's broadcasting from the Edinburgh Fringe. There's just been a live performance by Axis of Awesome, and I just had to share the recording of their song '4 Chords'. Enjoy!

Tweet tag

Listening to: Radio 1

So there's been a request from St. Fallen for me to publish a Wordle of my most tweeted words. Here it is -

Wordle of my tweets via http://wordle.net

Not über exciting, as you can see. But then, that's hardly surprising.

Tagging WhacksteR and Chavie. Because.

I should be working, but...

Listening to: Radio 1

It just struck me that I haven't blogged in a while, so this is supposed to be an update of sorts. Not that there's much to update. I've been working, and that's about it. Went to my first 'British' wedding...'twas very nice, and the bride seemed totally relaxed and actually happy, which is a far cry from the Sri Lankan weddings I'm used to! I regret not taking part in the ceilidh, but I guess tripping on my sari and falling flat on my face while attempting the Flying Scotsman probably wouldn't have been the ideal wedding present for my friends. Note to self: to the next suddha (i.e. 'white person') wedding, wear a dress.

Aaaand...erm yeah. Went to the Grantchester Orchard yesterday with friends, and have possibly got an allergic reaction to something there...I was seriously rocking the 'Angelina Jolie hamburger lips' look last night :-|. Antihistamine seems to be working, thankfully.

I'm at work now and feeling rather hormonal and work-shy, so instead of doing one of my 22hr thingies, I'm (supposedly) preparing stuff to show my supervisor. It's time for me to start thinking about getting more funding, so hopefully he's in a good mood!

Just before I disappear back into the world of quantitative NMR, I'd like to draw attention to the 'See All My Photos' link on the sidebar, which used to link to my photostream on Flickr. It still does, but via a funky new site developed by my friend haelio (his lovely photos are here). My Flickr account hasn't been updated in a while, but I have taken a few new photos that need to go up there. I should get my home internet sorted out this week, so hopefully those photos and the somewhat dubious cover I'm currently attempting should find their way online soon.

OK, back to work...*sigh*