Where the Wild Things Are

I went to collect my SEXTACULAR (I love making up words) new tent from Argos in Southside shopping centre yesterday. I am always amazed at how many screaming kids there are in there at any given time of the day. There was one particular little darling when I was waiting for the tent to come out of the storeroom (AKA Aladdin’s Cave) who was rolling on the floor screaming as if she was being sacrificed to some kind of heathen god. Of course her teenage mother was in no way interested, she was too busy perusing the “stylish” bling on sale. What I want to know is what could possibly be so wrong in your life at 3 that leads to such wailing. Someone else dresses you, feeds you, bathes you and entertains you. You have no bills, no dodgy exes, no fears of being left on the shelf, no concerns that you are wasting your talent in a job that doesn’t fulfil you. You’d think it would be a pretty satisfying existence. I do wonder about the mother’s commitment to her job. As my mum, who is basically the child whisperer, always says, a child who is having a fit of some sort just needs a distraction.

I know I have mentioned this before… but I have the best friends in the entire world. Josh came around last night to collect the tent (which I have named Tentacle Moo) and I managed to convince him to cook. How do you like that… invite someone around for dinner who is doing you a massive favour and then get them to make their own food! Josh makes the most incredible pesto pasta from scratch. It is literally in my top five things to eat so I couldn’t resist. Luckily Josh is such a good sport.

We decided to pitch Tentacle Moo in the lounge to see if she was in good working order. Since we both have the mental age of 3, we climbed inside and sat there. She’s a lot bigger than I expected. I am so enamoured that I am considering just pitching her in the backyard and living out there from now on. Gigantic hugs to Josh who came all the way to Earlsfield to collect Tentacle Moo so he can drag her all the way to Reading tomorrow on his own and pitch her in preparation for my arrival on Friday morning. Dude… you RAWK!

Excitement level on a scale of 1 – 10?… where 1 is just before your own execution and 10 is just before you finally go on a date with the person you’ve been crushing on for a year… 12!!!!!!

Today’s band to love is Metallica. I have to warn you that I am not a long-term obsessive dedicated Metallica fan so I may not do this the justice that a worshipful lifetime fan might do… but I do count them in my list of rock love so I’m doing this anyway. Formed in California in 1981 by drummer, Lars Ulrich, these thrash metal legends have had an illustrious career. Despite a bit of line-up jiggling and occasional band infighting (original lead guitarist, Dave Mustaine, was booted and went on to form rivals Megadeth, bassist, Cliff Burton was tragically killed and subsequent long-term bassist, Jason Newstead was also booted) they have released 8 studio albums, 2 live albums, 2 EPs and 40 singles. Front man James Hetfield’s voice is unmistakable and their grinding screaming guitars and frenetic drums make them the perfect band to leap around like an idiot to while playing air guitar (or is it just me that does that). After deviating somewhat from their metal roots in the mid-90’s there have been claims that Metallica have sold out (although I loved Load) and most recent offerings have been greeted with scepticism (mine included), however it is impossible to deny the sheer power of some of their past hits. The new album is just around the corner and I continue to hold out hope.

Must-have album: Metallica (also known as the Black Album) and also S&M which is a live double album recorded when they performed with the San Francisco Philharmonic Orchestra… it is one of the most intense and beautiful things I have ever heard

My favourite song: Ugh, how to pick, I can’t choose one… One, Nothing Else Matters and Hero Of The Day

For fans of: Avenged Sevenfold, Trivium, Bullet For My Valentine

http://www.myspace.com/metallica

Kelly returned triumphant and in one piece from V festival yesterday with tales of straw fights, mud, solo missions, vodka overloads and strange encounters of the random kind. Of course this has spurred on my excitement for Reading which is now just two and a half days away.

This is my first Reading, which adds to the giddiness… plus the line-up is SICK. It includes: Rage Against The Machine, Metallica, Queens Of The Stone Age, The Killers, Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet For My Valentine, Elliot Minor, Kids In Glass Houses, The King Blues, Biffy Clyro, Taking Back Sunday, The Raconteurs, Tenacious D, Slipknot, Pendulum, Plain White T’s, Alexisonfire, Mindless Self Indulgence, Vampire Weekened, MGMT, Foals, Less Than Jake, The Audition, All Time Low, You Me At Six and Black Kids.

There are clashes. Some big ones… so there is no way I get to see everyone I want so I have devised a hierarchy based on abject adoration (as in there is no way I will miss TBS… it wouldn’t matter if Frank Iero was playing naked on one of the side stages at the same time), bands I have already seen (sorry to QOTSA but I am missing half your set for Vampire Weekend) and bands I am soon to see (hence missing Pendulum for Slipknot). Of course all of this is dependent on me not getting too drunk to find my way from one stage to the next but I normally get too absorbed in the show to actually drink that much. At the moment my greatest anticipation is for TBS, MSI, Metallica, RATM and A7X (Abbi likes abbreviations).

Tonight I am off to collect this little beauty of a tent which I will hand over to Josh, who is going down on Thursday and will be pitching it for me so I have a guaranteed space when I arrive early Friday morning. The big tent is too much for one person to drag all the way down there and pitch unassisted. We will be joined by Matthew and I am going to meet up with Colin and Nat. I predict chaos… I cannot wait!

Today’s band to love is Forgive Durden. Named after Tyler Durden, a character from the book and film, Fight Club, this Fuelled By Ramen band had a burst of success in 2006, touring with Panic At The Disco. With their dramatic often trumpet infused sound, they are very intense. Their debut album Wonderland was an explosion of oddly named songs protesting against a capitalist consumerist society. It all looked very good… and then the wheels fell off. Vocalist, Thomas Dutton had a few Axl Rose-esque moments of authoritarianism which pissed off the rest of the band so much that they left. He appears to be very sorry about this now and is working on new material with his brother and Gatsby’s American Dream drummer, Rudy Gajadhar. Time will tell if anything materialises but Wonderland is gold so go get.

Must-have album: Wonderland

My favourite song: Beware The Jubjub Bird And Shun The Frumious Bandersnatch (cookie for anyone who knows where that name comes from)

For fans of: Gatsby’s American Dream, Taking Back Sunday, Monty Are I

http://www.myspace.com/forgivedurden

Does anyone else get that thing where some of your drunk memories only appear a day or two later? I was gathering up my clothes to do some washing this morning and I found a grey Quicksilver beanie behind my bedside table. This suddenly reminded me that when we left the Puzzle I had been talking to some boys outside (not sure if they were boys I knew or not) and one of them was wearing a beanie. I decided I wanted to wear it and of course snatched it off his head and put it on. If I was still wearing it when I got home, clearly I never gave it back. Once again Abbi commits clothing theft while drunk. Bad, bad, bad! If anyone reading this is the owner of, or knows the owner of the beanie, please let me know and I will return it.

I am also wondering if anyone else experiences odd dreams if they make themselves go back to sleep in the morning? I find the more times I go back to sleep the odder the dreams get. This morning I woke up at 6.30 and thought screw this and forced myself back to sleep. In between 6.30 and waking up again at 7.45, I had a dream involving an old mansion, a terrorist plot that my mother had inadvertently gotten mixed up in and having to put together a rescue plan that somehow involved an Eastern European woman trapped inside a giant chocolate rabbit. Theories on what that one means are most welcome.

In other news The Academy Is… release their new album Fast Times At Barrington High tomorrow. Because I am cool (or more likely because Jen is cool), I already have a copy of this little powerpop gem. I’ve got to say it is a total return to form for young Bill Beckett and his band of long-legged, skinny-jeaned nutters (they are completely deranged… just watch TAI TV). I never thought their second album, Santi, measured up to debut, Almost Here but Fast Times is GOLD. Go out and get!

Today’s artist to love is Anthony Green. Anthony is a very busy young man. Having started and left Saosin, he moved onto Circa Survive where is still providing vocal duties. While all of this was on the go he also did stints with Zolof The Rock ‘n Roll Destroyer (who sound nothing like Lordi, which is what the name instantly conjures up for me) and The Sound Of Animals Fighting. It’s not surprisingly that he has been lending his talents to so many projects since his vocal range is breathtaking, rivalled only by the incredible Craig Owens. 2008 has brought us a solo project and it is gorgeous. With meandering, wistful indie-folk songs powered by Anthony’s crystal clear flawless vocals this one of the most soothing things I have ever listened to.

Must-have album: Avalon

My favourite song: She Loves Me So

Hot or not: With those eyes? Totally hot!

For fans of: Jack’s Mannequin, Something Corporate, The Format

http://www.myspace.com/anthonygreen