Lazy musician ramblings

Three things rock my world more than anything: music sport and amazing people...

[carlywarrior]

Manchester -  My Heart Breaks For You

Watching as events unfolded last night broke my heart. There should never be a situation when you go for a night out and never come home. Music is a joy - it is something that many of us use as an escape from the heartache and struggles of everyday life. I have had some of the best moments of my life at gigs and to think that in a moment of bliss, your life can be taken away is truly heart breaking. 

For too many years, we have had to mourn the loss of innocent people through acts of cowardice like we witnessed last night. But time and time again, through these atrocities, the best in humanity shines through. Within minutes of the explosion at the MEN, strangers were offering out their homes, their cars, their blood. 

Unfortunately, alongside the kindness and warmth, there has been new-found hatred. “Muslims are evil./ Deport all Muslims./ Islam is evil.” Although they appear to be hiding behind their religion when they carry out these attacks, if you honestly believe these people are holy men, you are sadly mistaken. There are millions of Muslims amongst us who are mourning in equal measure this morning. Doctors, nurses, police officers, firefighters of all religions and ethnicity put themselves in danger last night to help the victims. Are you telling me that these people are evil because of the God they worship?

Back in the 80s and 90s, there was another religion killing innocent people - Christianity. When a new IRA terrorist attack occurred, were there headlines stating “All Catholics are murderers. Christianity is evil”? What is the difference?

I’ve seen many people on social media bashing the “lefties” for sticking their heads in the sand over this extremism that is affecting so many. We’re not sticking our heads in the sand - we all know there is a problem. But what is wrong with trying to find hope in these bleak situations instead of inciting hatred and scorn. 

I truly believe that defiance is the best way of showing these evil men and women that they won’t win. So I am going to carry on going to gigs - you will find me and my fellow music lovers in the middle of the crowd, dancing like loons and singing our hearts out. Because as I’ve said before; music is a joy, a release, a light in this dark world.

You won’t win. Hatred will not win.

[adulthoodisokay]

[carlywarrior]

#NowPlaying Kick the arse out of Monday mixtape by Carly Goodman

[carlywarrior]

Black Sabbath and Papa Goodman - the end of a musical relationship: 1977-2017

Saturday 4th February: the day the rock world said goodbye to one of the greatest bands in history. This was also the day that my dad would say goodbye to the band that had shaped his whole musical journey. They were the first band he’d ever seen live (Technical Ecstasy tour at Stafford Bingley Hall) and the first band he truly fell in love with. He cannot remember the number of times he has seen Sabbath (he estimates at about 30) but knows, like the rest of us, that February 4th, 2017 would be the last time.

I have to be honest and say that my love for Black Sabbath was not as quick as my father’s. As a child, they scared me. When Dad would put them on, I thought I was listening to the soundtrack of a horror movie. Luckily, I grew up to realise that Black Sabbath were so much more than a scary metal band. Rock, blues, even folk run through Sabbath’s back catalogue and the musicianship is some of the best you will hear. It may have taken me more years than it should have, but by the time I was 16 (which was Papa Goodman’s age when he first saw them), I was hooked.

Saturday’s gig would be the 3rd time I was able to see this wonderful band and as usual, they did not disappoint. Musically, it was a masterclass. Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler were as raucous as ever, delivering riff after riff like only they can. People talk about Led Zeppelin being the masters of the riff, and whilst they are incredible, I believe there is no band that could ever rival the Sabs in that regard. 

Then we come to the main man, Ozzy Osbourne. There are those that look at Ozzy as a joke, and vocally, he is no Pavarotti. But watching Ozzy on stage Saturday night reaffirmed to me that he is one of the greatest front-men that has ever taken to the stage. What he lacks in singing, he more than makes up for in charm and stage presence. He didn’t miss a beat all night and he had the Genting Arena in the palm of his hand till the end.

The only thing that could have made this night perfect would have been the appearance of Bill Ward. Unfortunately, (but as expected) there would be no final reunion. But they had a very worthy replacement in Tommy Clufetos, who was flawless throughout.

The set-list was a wonderful journey through their greatest hits, being book-ended by the haunting Black Sabbath and their most popular hit, Paranoid. In between, fans sung along to the likes of Fairies Wear Boots (my personal favourite), N.I.B. (with the bass solos to end all bass solos!) and War Pigs. I kept looking at my dad throughout the gig and I could see how much this band had meant to him. It was as if he was 16 again and we’d transported back to 1977 at Stafford Bingley Hall. Looking around the arena, I could see that Dad was not alone in his emotions. There were men and women of all ages that clearly had such a deep connection with this band. When the final song had been sung and the balloons came falling down, the 3 rock gods; Ozzy, Tony and Geezer took their final bow. It was the end of an era. An era that had brought about the birth of metal. And also the era that had started Papa Goodman’s love affair with rock.

To those of you that don’t know Black Sabbath much past Paranoid and Iron Man, and like I first thought, you think they are just 4 scary-looking dark metal-heads, I urge you to seek them out. You may be too late to experience the magic of a live performance, but it’s never too late for these Brummie rock gods to win your affections. 

Good night Black Sabbath - you will be sorely missed.

[favoritelittlelyrics]

Prince, “Let’s Go Crazy”

[wreckitjj]

[carlywarrior]

Sooooo accurate!

[carlywarrior]

Damn right I want to remove this album! And if you ever try and place another abysmal album onto my iTunes, we are going to seriously fall out Apple! God, I hate U2! #shitband #shitalbum #u2areshitatlife

[carlywarrior]

Grief

These past 2 weeks has seen 2 of my closest friends have their lives totally ripped apart by the loss of a loved one.One has lost their teenage sister and the other has lost their Dad, both to cancer. 

Although the grief and sadness they must be feeling is unimaginable, the strength they have both shown is incredible. I can only hope to be that brave whenever the time comes.

However,in stark contrast, I witnessed a man completely disgrace himself whilst remembering a lost loved one. When I walked into my local pub last night, I noticed a man sat outside who was clearly too drunk to function. As I walked through the door, I was told immediately by his wife that he had buried his mother that day. Little did I know that those words were to be an excuse for some of the worst behaviour I've witnessed in a pub.

As the night wore on, the man floated from hilarity to despair remembering his mother. But it was quite clear that he needed to go home. Unfortunately when he was told this, he reacted shamefully. Screaming at his wife, he then proceeded to hit her in front of all of us. On storming through the bar, he then knocked over the landlady, who throughout all of this had been supportive and extremely lenient to him. The people who were still in the pub had to create a barricade to prevent him getting back in the pub. This standoff lasted for about half an hour before him and his long-suffering wife stumbled back to their home. Lord only knows what happened when they got home; I can only hope that he didn't carry on his violent behaviour when he was in his own home.

Though I cannot imagine what he must be going through and it must have been one of the worst days of his life, there is absolutely no excuse for raising a hand to someone else, let alone your wife. My two wonderful friends have been nothing short of amazing, providing a support to others as well as dealing with their own grief. Yet this man decided to lash out at anyone and everyone who tried to help him.

Grief affects people in different ways but I can't help but feeling that he was simply using his grief as an excuse for doing whatever he wanted. I just hope he will come to realise that he should be trying to make his mother proud rather than disgracing himself and the family name. 

[bilodoherty]

[carlywarrior]

This band make all the shit times a little bit better...

[carlywarrior]

"I got 2 tickets to Iron Maiden baby...."

Last night I stepped back in time. Back to the days of headbanging, double denim and dandruff. Or at least that's how it felt at Birmingham NIA! It was like something out of the 1980s, men with longer hair than me competing with each other to see who had the most vintage concert t-shirt on and others trying to prove a point by wearing leather trousers that were too small for them 20 years ago. These amazingly unique sights were all here for one band: the glorious Iron Maiden. I had been to heavy rock concerts before, so I thought I knew what to expect. But I wasn't prepared at all for the Iron Maiden experience.

One thing that impressed me from the start was the band's energy. Bands half their age wouldn't be able to replicate the dynamic performance they gave and some would argue that they wouldn't want to as it would be seen as uncool to dance around like a man possessed. But that's what is so refreshing about Bruce Dickinson and co. Their eagerness to give the most spirited performance for their fans as well as themselves is one of the reasons they are still one of the most popular bands on the planet.

The stage set-up was as theatrical as you would expect from Maiden, depicting a scene from the Final Frontier which alludes to their current album. After each song came a new backdrop, usually featuring the band's beloved mascot, Eddie. The appearance of giant Eddies towards the end of the show proved that there was no expense spared which again affirms the band's desire to fully captivate their fans.

Musically, there are very few that can better Iron Maiden. A flawless rhythm section and a trio of virtuoso guitarists led by the never-aging showman, Dickinson, gave a brilliant performance. The best bit about their performance was that you never got the feeling that they were going through the motions (and with it being the 61st leg of the tour, you may have allowed a lapse in enthusiasm). All night, the band had the audience in the palm of their hands.

Bruce stated during the gig that even though the tour was called the Final Frontier, it definitely did not mean that this was the end of the band. And thank the lord for that! Because until we find a band that has the class and zest for life of Iron Maiden, I'm afraid they're simply not allowed to go anywhere!

Long live Iron Maiden!

[carlywarrior]

No Surprises....

So Haye lost to Klitschko last night and Murray lost to Nadal on Friday....am I the only one who isn't remotely surprised or moved by it?

I've received a lot of stick from people this week when I've stated that I wanted neither British man to win. But let's look at both of these British sportsmen shall we? Mr Murray has about as much personality as a dishcloth and when you have the classiness of Federer and the fire of Nadal (not to mention the dynamic Djokovic), why would you be in Murray's camp? There is no denying that Murray is a good player; he wouldn't be number 4 in the world if he wasn't. But there's just something about him that I can't warm to. 

I also love the media's treatment of Murray every time Wimbledon comes around (or any Grand Slam in fact). In the build-up to the tournament, most journalists were spouting out lines such as, "this is Murray's year", "he's going to go all the way". As soon as Murray lost to Nadal on Friday, those same journalists were saying "I don't think he's ever going to win a major tournament". With such fickleness coming from the so-called experts of the game, how are the spectators meant to be convinced to follow our brightest hope in tennis? But never fear Mr Murray, I'm sure the media circus will be in your corner come the next tournament and you never know; you might actually win one.

And now I come to David Haye. Where I'm not reallty a huge fan of tennis, I do love boxing. And I love big personalities in the world of boxing. Therefore, I should really be a fan of David Haye shouldn't I? But I also like big personalities who let their fighting do the talking when it comes to the crunch. Also the way in which Haye conducted himself pre-fight was nothing short of embarrassing.

Watching the pre-fight banter between Haye and Klitschko, I was shocked to think that young people wishing to the get into the world of boxing would be taking inspiration from Haye's acid tongue. With Hitler-based windups and tshirts with the Klitschko brothers' severed heads used to try and wind up his opponent, what kind of message is he sending out to his young fans? That's not the type of sportsmen I want to throw my support to.

So, secretly cheering for the Ukranian, I headed down to the pub last night to watch the fight. Even on the night, Haye was being every bit the wind-up merchant. Keeping everyone waiting for his arrival stank of a last-ditch attempt to intimidate his opponent. But I am pretty sure that Wladimir wasn't the least bit stirred as the fight was to prove.

The fight itself must have been quite embarrassing for the Haye supporters. It was clear from the start that Haye's intense pre-match wind-up campaign had been a smoke shield for a lack of faith in his own boxing. He never looked as formidable as he'd professed to be and there was never a moment in the 12 rounds when you thought he would gain the knockout he had promised his fans. In all honesty, I never thought Haye would win. With such a size and reach difference, Klitschko was always going to be able to dictate proceedings. I know Haye has beaten a 'giant' before but the difference this time is he was facing a giant who could actually fight.

The post-match proceedings just added to the folly of Haye's behaviour. I suspected an excuse was going to come out as to why he gave such a disappointing performance but it still irked me when the excused begun to unravel. So he had a broken toe prior to the fight. Having watched the entire fight, I never saw him limp once. Also, if there was a lot of pain and strain on his feet, why did he insist on falling to the ground at every opportunity? Surely that couldn't have helped his poor toe. It is hard to have sympathy for Haye's injury as there have been boxers that have fought with broken hands before and have not used it as an excuse for a lacklustre performance and have even gone on to win (eg. Kris Hughes won the Scottish featherweight title in May this year, going eight rounds with a broken hand).

So yet again, after all the build up by the media (and in Haye's case, himself), two British sportsmen have failed to deliver. But don't feel too sorry for them - they're still a few million pounds richer. So sometimes in sports, its okay to be a loser...

[carlywarrior]

Glasto cont.

Oh and by the way I failed to mention two of my favourite bands Radiohead and Pulp for the simple reason that I was too annoyed and jealous... *cries to self again*

[carlywarrior]

Armchair opinion on Glastonbury 2011

This year I made a huge mistake. Having struggled for the best part of a day to lay down a deposit for Glastonbury, I then decided to request my deposit back, my reasons being that the headliners didn't fill me with much optimism and I wanted to save my pennies for other summery exploits. 

But as soon as Wednesday 22nd June came around, I was questioning my actions from the previous months and I resigned myself to watching the BBC coverage and torturing myself with Twitter updates on the magic of Glasto.

Early parts of Friday's coverage confirmed that I'd fooked up royally by not keeping my ticket. Mumford and Sons sounded and looked too beautiful for words and had me replaying the set at every opportunity. The Vaccines also rocked my world and made me dance around my living room as if I was in a muddy field! Biffy Clyro proved that their anthems are made for the pyramid stage and Bubbles was a personal highlight for me. Of course I cannot go any further without mentioning the mighty Wu Tang Clan! When they were announced, that was the confirmation that I wanted my ticket back as Method Man and co. reminded me of all my favourite people from my uni days. Their swagger and freestyling skills kept a permanent smile on my face! Other daytime highlights included The Wombats, Fleet Foxes and of course the mighty B.B. King but now it was time for the headliners slot.

Had I been there, I would have headed straight to the front of the Other Stage for my beloved Primal Scream. And as far as the coverage was concerned, I was naive enough to think that they would have ample highlights from 'the Scream' alongside those annoying Irish 'rockstars' U2. Sadly, I was wrong. I sat through what seemed like days of Bono trying to prove he was a man of the people when we all knew that he was an arrogant, tax-dodging sap who had somehow enjoyed ridiculous success with a band who only had one or two decent songs. ***Rant over*** When Bono finally did one, the immortal words "and now for some Primal Scream highlights" rang out. But all I got was 2 poxy songs. Those 2 songs were amazing, in particular Loaded but I felt very cheated.

A new day dawned and a new day of resentment grew. Thankfully a night out prevented me from torturing myself to the same degrees as the previous day but I still wished I'd been standing at the front for the likes of Elbow who always manage to give me a warm fuzzy feeling inside, especially when they govern a singalong to One Day Like This (I think I sang so loud that Worthy Farm might have actually heard me!). I'd heard that Coldplay had killed it so I decided to check their highlight reel. Having previously been a big fan (well I loved Parachutes), my excitement for them had dampened during the years but I had to admit, listening to them play Shiver and Politik filled me with the same excitement I'd experienced all those years ago and prompted me to dig out my dusty copy of Parachutes. If I had been there though, Coldplay wouldn't have featured on my agenda as Glasvegas were doing their stuff on the Other Stage. And they sounded b-e-a-utiful! People may not get the Glasvegas thing on CD, but they will definitely get them live. Haunting and anthemic, James and co. were sublime.

Sunday arrived and my last day of torture! The West Holts Stage provided a highlight with Bellowhead. I fell a little bit in love with them and their folky loveliness. Other highlights were Bombay Bicycle Club who were as brilliant on the Other Stage as they had been 2 years ago in the Guardian Tent when I discovered them for the first time. One of the best moments of the weekend was my girly crush Laura Marling on the Pyramid Stage. Beautiful perfection pretty much sums up her set. Following that, another highlight - Paul Simon. A masterful performance from an absolute legend. Plan B and Kaiser Chiefs both had me dancing round like a nutter but then arrived the real stars of the day - Beyonce and Queens of the Stone Age. Both acts were awesome in completely different ways. Beyonce was flawless in both the singing stakes and the glamour whilst QOTSA were wonderfully dirty and dark. This went some of the way to justify my actions to not go as I would have been at a loss as to who to go and see.

So all in all, another excellent Glasto. I just wish I'd been there.

So next time I think about turning down a ticket to the best place on Earth, stop me. 

Bring on 2013!

[carlywarrior]

Slow on the uptake much....

I know this is extremely outdated as they have been everyone's favourite band for almost a year now but I have to profess my love for Mumford and Sons. Lord only knows why its taken me this long to realise how beautiful they are but at least I finally found the light. Having watched their gorgeous performance at Glastonbury on the tellybox, I finally got around to downloading their album. 

Sigh No More is as delightful as I expected it to be. Singles such as The Cave and Little Lion Man sound just as fresh in an album format and the other tracks prove how talented the band are as songwriters. In all honesty, the Mumford boys could have released any of the songs as singles and enjoyed the same success.

Highlights on the album include Roll Away Your Stone, where you have to stop yourself bouncing around like you're at a barn dance, and Awake My Soul which highlights the band's gift for creating lush harmonies that can set your heart alight.

Not a single song on the album can be regarded as a 'filler', so in many respects Sigh No More can arguably be deemed a perfect album. I wouldn't go this far as I would like to think there is more to come from these folky lovelies.

So just incase there are people, even slower than me, here's a link for you! :)

http://www.mumfordandsons.com/