adventures in tech

Stuck In My Head – Pissed Jeans

Posted on May 22, 2013May 22, 2013 by bekswhoknits

I’ve been a CD buyer for a while now. I’m a collector by nature and always a music lover so it’s a natural fit.

My latest CD haul all arrived at once which is a surprise as usually I place am order and they just trickle in. I love getting presents in the mail. Particularly if I’ve bought them myself and I know I’m going to like them.

So judge me as you see fit!

But apart from the two soundtracks (Buffy and Smash [very disappointed Smash was recently cancelled]), the album that’s getting the most air time is Pissed Jeans.

Sub Pop is one of the few record labels that I pay attention to. They’ve had some really good signings over the years and so whenever they sign a new band I hop on the band wagon pretty quick.

Stuck In My Head – Timothy Nelson & The Infidels

Posted on April 24, 2013April 24, 2013 by bekswhoknits

I’m interrupting Knitting and Crochet Blog Week to continue with my usual Wednesday blog series, Stuck In My Head.

I’ve been blogging for as long as I can remember, and in every one there was always music. Music is such a constant in my life. CDs take up more space in my house than yarn (true fact), and its very rare for my ticket wallet to be empty.

So my Stuck In My Head project started as a way to try out my music journalist skills (turns out I have none), and has developed into choosing a song (or two) to represent each week of the year.
At the end of the year I have a nostalgic playlist which takes me down memory lane revisiting bands I’ve seen, conversations I’ve had, or what mood I was in that week.

If you follow me on twitter you’ll know that Sunday was In The Pines, Perth’s local music festival. Set at the gorgeous Somerville Auditorium, this year celebrated 20 years of In The Pines with a great lineup looking back on the past 20 years of Perth’s local music scene.
The line up included some bands who reformed just for the occasion as well as some new favourites. I walked away with 2 CDs which is always a good sign.
Our local community radio station RTRfm puts on the event, which I went to for the first time last year and had a blast.

So Timothy Nelson & The Infidels were one of the bands where, as soon as this song played I had that ‘aha’ moment. It seems like this song had been following me around for 2 weeks before In The Pines and now I finally know who it’s by.
It certainly tested my ability to knit and dance at the same time.

The full playlist can be found here

stuck in my head – cults

Posted on March 28, 2013 by bekswhoknits

Earlier this week I was chosen as the Dance Track Queen.
It’s a competition on my favourite talk back station 720 Perth, where you get to pick a song that makes you want to dance, and people SMS in to vote whether or not you get to stick around.

I was voted out on my first day, but the song they played has been stuck in my head ever since.

It’s makes me want to dance around in my kitchen in colourful tights and pajamas and sing into a spatula. But the majority didn’t agree with me.

Here were the other two choices that the 720 audience didn’t get to hear.

Ps. Don’t forget to enter my giveaway!

Stuck In My Head – Elk Bell

Posted on March 20, 2013March 20, 2013 by bekswhoknits

Sometimes the best music is sititng undiscovered in your own city.

How I haven’t heard Elk Bell before is a mystery. But this is why community and local radio is so important.
I don’t listen often enough (mostly because it ends up costing me a fortune in buying new music), but every time I do I hear something different.

Elk Bell is one of those enchanting voices, which I haven’t been able to forget.

Tim Rogers and The Bamboos

Posted on February 25, 2013March 12, 2013 by bekswhoknits

The last few weeks my city has become alive. Perth Festival and Fringe World transform my city from dullsville (which is a popular name), into a hive of activity with three new bars in the city, outside entertainment, and mermaids!

Every year I say that I should get out and explore Perth Festival more, and this year I actually did.

Of course I forgot my camera for the first 4 shows I went to.
In all fairness, one of them was Laneway and I wasn’t really keen on taking my camera, and I haven’t got the photos off my Blokes camera yet.

So I only have crappy iPhone photos of Laneway Festival, Stars, Father John Misty, and Sleepy Suns.
But I do have some awesome pics from Tim Rogers to show you.

Tim Rogers is an Australian rock and roll icon. His band You Am I shaped the lives of countless Aussie teenagers with break-up songs, party songs, drinking songs, and everything in between. Being one of these Aussie teens it’s surprising that it was my first time seeing Tim Rogers. So I was pretty chuffed when he put on a good show.
He’s the quintessential showman although, some nights it’s ‘I’ve just drunk a bottle of red wine- lets do this!’, others it’s ‘I’ve just drunk a bottle of red wine- do I really have to go on stage??’.
We got him on a good night, and boy did he put on a show.

As my best friend said “cool is an overused word, but in every sense of the word Tim Rogers is cool”.
Maybe that quote is better when you actually hear it.
Tim Rogers does exude coolness, except when he took off his shirt. That was hot!

listen to the album

Stuck in my head – Stars

Posted on February 13, 2013February 13, 2013 by bekswhoknits

Mostly because I’m seeing them tonight!

This is the song that first drew me to them.

And this is their latest single.

listen to Theory Of Relativity on spotify

stuck in my head 2013

Hottest 100

Posted on January 16, 2013January 16, 2013 by bekswhoknits

Well it’s that time of the year again.

Time to decide what what my top 10 songs of the year were (that were played by Aus radio station Triple J, and were popular enough to be included on their shortlist of songs to vote for.)

Some songs which I loved last year didn’t make the triple j list, (Trail of Dead) but I’ve learnt that if its not on the list, then it’s not going to be in the top 100, and my vote isn’t worth much.

It’s for this reason that I don’t believe the hottest 100 is anything more than the top songs which have been recommended for us by Richard Kingsmill.
Still triple j’s hottest 100, is better than any of the commercial radio stations and an Australia Day tradition.

So within those constraints here is my top 10 and close contenders.

I’ll be hoping to hear these songs whilst enjoying a couple of cold beverages with my nearest and dearest (and a paddling pool for good measure) this Australia Day.

It’s live streamed if anyone cares to listen (jan 26), or you can check out my top 51 shortlist to fill your ears with rad tunes.

~~~
lets talk!
tweet me ~ ravelry me ~ email me

What were your top songs of 2012??

Embroidering things

Posted on November 9, 2012November 9, 2012 by bekswhoknits

I’ve been embroidering. I asked a question on A Sheepish Girl‘s (oh so lovely) blog about what stitch she uses for her text, I’ve been itching to try back stitch ever since.
It’s just like knitting but in lines. (In a kind of not really sort of way.) but a lot easier then stem stitch.

So I opened up phonto on my iPad and typed in a couple of quotes. (If you then set that image as the home screen it makes it easier to trace.)
So once it’s traced onto the fabric, I used back stitch to make the letters.
And things just clicked. More so than they did with stem stitch.

It is really relaxing. Not as much as knitting. It doesn’t have the same TV watching options (I don’t think you could ever embroider with your eyes closed, or during a really important scene), but it’s great for listening to music.

But quotes!!! And music lyrics! I have so many things to embroider on cushions and to put on walls and I can see a lot of decorating until my Bloke gets fed up with embroidery and I have to start decorating my BFF’s house (who reads this and can now request embroidered items. I promise I want embroider a doily for you!).

I digress! Here’s my embroidery attempts.
The quotes are from Silversun Pickups, Wolf Parades, and Parks And Recreation.

~~~
lets talk!
tweet me ~ ravelry me ~ email me

Stuck in my head – And you will know us by the trail of dead

Posted on October 31, 2012 by bekswhoknits

I always feel lazy choosing the first song from an album as my song of the week, or for my favourite song.
I feel like I haven’t done my due diligence, like people will judge me because I haven’t really listened to the whole album.
Of course this is absolutely silly.
Sometimes the albums first song is actually the strongest, the best, the one that I like the most, the one that sticks out, whatever subjective measurement I feel like using.

I have, of course, listened to the whole of this album. I think it’s a cracker.

And this is the first track.

spotify link

album link

stuck in my head – ms mr

Posted on October 10, 2012 by bekswhoknits

You know when the fates align, when even though it feels like all you’ve done for the last 2 weeks is, go to work, come home, look at the mess that surrounds you, decide that knitting is a better way to spend your time rather than cleaning or cooking or being an adult about things, get hungry, cook something uninspiring, knit some more, sleep, wake up tired, go to work, repeat, and somehow a song manages to find its way into your head and you wonder where it’s been all this time?

Well between this post by and the laneway lineup, the universe has told me to listen to this band.
[Sidenote – i’m so bummed that Of Monsters And Men are only playing the east coast. I blame living in the most isolated capital city in the world.]

Suddenly after not having heard this song before, I can sing almost every word and it is stuck in my head constantly.

spotify link