D of E, birthdays and Lio and Jacky

 Hello, my dear blog readers!

 I have just completed my final Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Award expedition! It was an amazing experience. I was in a lovely group of four, and we became very close over the four days of walking and camping.

 We were in the Lake District and we saw some beautiful scenery, stunning views, quaint little towns and all sorts of wildlife and livestock, including llamas!

 It was such a challenge, and I felt such a sense of achievement when we had got through the four days - never had I been so pleased to see the Keswick Pencil Museum (our finishing point)!

 It was very hard work, but so enjoyable, especially in the evenings on the campsites when we would sit around as a group eating, chatting and getting to know one another.

 It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I almost wish I could do it all over again! Hopefully I can do more camping expeditions in the future.

 This week has been a week of birthdays for me - about seven people I know have had birthdays in the last three days. If you're reading this and it's been your birthday recently, or it will be soon, then I wish you a very happy birthday! I hope you have a wonderful year ahead of you, full of joy and love and happiness ♥

 Now that I have finished my D of E expeditions, I feel as though the summer holidays have started for me, and I can now relax and enjoy myself for the next few weeks! I will try to update this blog as often as possible.

 I've been listening to some French 80s music, and one of my favourites has to be Tétéou by Lio and Jacky.

 This was one of many brilliant French 80s songs I discovered through the Platine 45 compilation CD which my brother and I have been listening to for years.

 Jacky was the presenter of the 80s French music show Platine 45, which gives its name to the CD. Lio was a huge star of French 80s music - I am a fan of hers, and will probably do a full post about her soon. 

 The unlikely pair teamed up for this bit of 80s madness, which I just love - the dancing especially! The video was supposedly filmed in someone's loft! I just love this song and video. It defines what 80s music was all about.

 Au revoir pour le moment

 Thanks for reading

 Liz x

 If you enjoyed this post I recommend: Bonjour!, ♥ Martika ♥, Eurovision 2012 Countdown: The "Divine" France, Sign of the Times, ♥ I've Been in Love Before ♥ and Zumba and Stooshe.

Song: Tétéou - Lio and Jacky - Sometime in the 80s! Can't find the actual year anywhere.

Mountains and memories: Nanci Griffith and Tina Turner

 Hello!

 I am very sorry that I haven't blogged for a while, but I was away on a Duke of Edinburgh's Award expedition at the weekend, and since then I have been completely exhausted.

 However, I had an amazing time! I was very homesick at first, as I often am on these things, but I soon got used to being away from home and I began to really appreciate the sheer beauty of some of the places we visited.

 We were up in the Lake District and we saw mountains, tarns, waterfalls, many sheep, some cows and all sorts of wildlife from rabbits and deer (I didn't personally see the deer, but other people in my group did) to swallows and spiders. 

 It was a brilliant and unforgettable experience. Not least because I was part of a wonderful group - we all really got to know each other over the weekend and became good friends. There are four of us, and we all worked together to achieve what we wanted to achieve. I will be doing another expedition next week with the same group, and I am really looking forward to it ♥ ☺

 A song which kept coming back into my head was These Days In An Open Book by Nanci Griffith.

 When I have more time and am less tired I will definitely do a long blog post all about this woman because I think she is amazing ♥ 

 I was brought up listening to her music because my parents are fans, and I came to really love her myself. It was my dream to see her live in concert, and that dream came true in March this year when I got to go and see her perform at Salford Quays as a treat for my eighteenth birthday. 

Needless to say, I was very, very happy. She was phenomenal. She sung as beautifully as ever, and she told little stories to introduce all of the songs. Some of these stories I hadn't heard before, and they really helped me to understand the songs better.

 I find These Days In An Open Book so upbeat and positive and this particular performance which I have embedded is brilliant; she just seems so happy and you can tell the song and its lyrics mean so much to her and she takes so much pleasure in singing them.

 Another song which stuck in my head over the weekend was We Don't Need Another Hero by Tina Turner. I can't really find a decent video to embed, but there are various versions on YouTube. I like it; not enormously, but I do like it. 

 I had listened to a lot of Eighties songs including this one on the way up to the Lake District; including many that I like more than this one. However, for some reason this song really stuck in my head when we were climbing one of the mountains and it was drizzling and I kept having to spur myself on to keep going, and I felt like crying out, "Is this all or nothing?!" like she shouts in the song. Silly, I know, but I couldn't get that bit out of my head!

 Anyway, we had an amazing time ☺ And all the long, hard climbs were worth the effort for the views we got from the top, and for the sense of achievement at the end ♥

 Today I went to see the Shakespeare play A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester with a group from my college. It was enjoyable, but not as good as As You Like It, which I saw at the Royal Exchange last year. 

 However, the Royal Exchange is a unique and fantastic theatre; it is theatre "in the round"; the performance space is round and everyone sits in circles watching the action unfold in the middle, which gives it a more three-dimensional feel, I think. 

 I hope you enjoyed this blog and maybe have been inspired to try a Duke of Edinburgh's Award, or go to a quirky theatre... or maybe just sit back and listen to some amazing music ☺

 Anyway, thanks for reading ♥

 Liz x

 If you enjoyed this post I recommend: My songs of the summer: Part 2, D of E and the Cranberries, D of E, birthdays and Lio and Jacky, Ireland, the Olympics, Snowdonia and Nanci Griffith and Amazing news and the Kennedys ♥.

Songs: These Days In An Open Book - Nanci Griffith - 1993 (from the album Flyer)

We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) - Tina Turner - 1985

Sign of the Times

 Hello!

 Today was a lovely day for me personally - I went to college just to sort a few things out and I ended up helping film a project for Winstanley TV, my college's TV station.

 It was really brilliant; I love being part of Winstanley TV; filming, editing and producing programmes and films. And today's project was based in the languages department of college, and I love languages - I study French and Spanish and they are what I hope to study further in the future.

 So, today was a nice day for me ♥

 I want to talk about a song which I saw on TOTP2 a while back, and which I often find drifting into my head. It is Sign of the Times by the Belle Stars, a British female pop group from the 80s.

 It is a little bit generic 80s, but I can't help loving it - the beat is good and I love the lead singer Jennie Matthias - she gets so in to the song and you believe what she is singing because she sounds so sincere, as if she means every word. 

 The woman doing the talky bits I do find a bit scary, and she reminds me of the monologue bit in Human by the Human League. The talking is my favourite bit of Human but my least favourite bit of Sign of the Times! But I do appreciate that it adds to the song.

 I hope you're having a nice day too ♥

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Song: Sign of the Times - The Belle Stars - 1983

The Joys of June

 Hello!

 This is my final blog entry of June 2012, and I have to say; this has been an amazing month for me, and I only really realised when I was writing yesterday's blog entry and looking back on all that has happened in my life in the last thirty days.

 I have Domino by Jessie J stuck in my head at the minute - not the best song in the world but quite catchy and upbeat. I heard it on the radio at work today, which is probably why it is in my head! Also My Kind of Love by Emeli Sande - I really like this song and her voice is so incredible.

 I also discovered another song today; well, I say discovered but I think I had already heard snatches of it because parts of it sounded familiar. But today was the first time I heard the song through - in fact it was on the radio twice while I was at work - and I really like it. It turned out to be Brokenhearted by Karmin.

 I must admit that, while the name rang a distant bell, I knew practically nothing about this band (or, rather, duo). However, I now fully intend to listen to more of their music and see what other material they have, and then I can decide how far I think they can make it in the charts. Judging from this song, I have high hopes for them! It has such a good beat. 

 When I first heard it I was wracking my brains trying to think who it could be - Jessie J, Pixie Lott, Lady Gaga and even X-Factor winners Little Mix came to mind, but it didn't sound quite like any of them. I was pleased to see that it was a band I didn't know; I love discovering new talent.

 I realise that I have been blogging a lot recently about newer music that is currently in the charts. However, I still spend just as much time listening to the older stuff - music that never ages. One of my all-time favourites has to be A Letter to Elise by the Cure. 

 It is twenty years old this October; I never realised until I researched it for this blog entry. Happy birthday, song!

 When I was younger, my parents used to play the Cure a lot in the car when we were travelling. I liked this song, but I preferred the flashier, louder, more upbeat songs like In Between Days and Love Cats. While I still love both those songs, I have come to really appreciate the simple beauty and poignancy and sheer emotion in A Letter to Elise, and it is now among my favourite Cure songs. 

 It is certainly, for me, the most mood-versatile Cure song - many of their other songs I have to be in a certain mood to listen to, but A Letter to Elise I will happily listen to any time. It is so perfect as a song. Four-and-a-bit minutes of sheer beauty and emotion and sincerity.

 From when I first listened to this as a child, my favourite lyrics have always been;

"Oh, Elise, it doesn't matter what you do, I know I'll never really get inside of you,

To make your eyes catch fire the way they should."

 There is so much love in that second line. I love this song. And, listening to the song more recently, I have come to really like the stanzas he speaks at the end, almost like a poem;

"Every time I try to pick it up like falling sand, 

As fast as I pick it up, it runs away from my clutching hands."

 It is such a strong image, and the narrator's sense of defeat at the end, "There's nothing else I can really do at all," is heartbreaking. 

 I love this song and I am so glad that I rediscovered it in all its beauty and brilliance. The Cure are amazing! And not remotely dreary and Gothic as some people seem to believe! Listen to some of their songs and you will see how varied their material is - they can do bouncy pop songs (Friday I'm in Love); arty, slightly bittersweet numbers like Boys Don't Cry and Close To Me; and beautiful, poetic love songs such as A Letter to Elise, Catch and Pictures of You.

 So, I will sign off for now, but I am challenging myself to write on this blog every day as is humanly possible during the month of July. There are some days where it just won't be possible because I will be away without Internet access, but whenever I can blog, I will! 

 Let July - and a very musical summer - begin!

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Songs: Brokenhearted - Karmin - 2012

A Letter to Elise - The Cure - 1992 

Eurovision 2012 Countdown: A short history of Spain (in Eurovision)

 ¡Hola!

 Spain has certainly had a colourful Eurovision history, from their stage invasion in 2010, to the unforgettable "Baila el Chiki-chiki" in 2008, to their 2011 entry "Que me quiten lo bailao," by Lucía Pérez which I love and which has to be one of the happiest, bounciest Eurovision songs ever ♥

 I personally think that in the last few years they have been one of the more consistent nations when it comes to entering if not amazing then certainly very good songs - songs that have potential, either to win or to become Eurovision legend - as in the case of Baile el Chiki-chike.

 When I think of Spain in Eurovision, one of the first songs that come to mind - after Lucía Pérez - is "I Love You Mi Vida," by D'NASH.

 When I first saw this and my Spanish wasn't as good as it is now, I genuinely thought they were saying they loved their life. In actually fact, "mi vida" is a term of endearment and means, "my dear" or "my darling." I kind of like it more now that I know it is a love song than I did when I thought it was just one of those typical shouty Eurovision party anthems (although it still isn't that far from being the latter!)

 I was surprised to see this was from 2007 - in my memory it was an earlier competition. But hey, I must be wrong. It is up there with Krisse Salminen as one of the things that made the 2007 competition great (although I still think Krisse MADE that Eurovision!).

 The next year, however, we were subjected to... Baile el Chike-chike. It was, let's say, an unusual song. But it kind of had its place in the competition, I felt. Sometimes you need something a bit different. (WARNING - strobe lighting in the video below)

 I do think the dancing arrangement is somewhat sexist, with the man ordering the women to do his dance moves, and then him seeming to inspect their performance, and the general lack of clothes on the women. That's one side of this song that I do not approve of.

 Otherwise... I think there's room for a few novelty songs each year; in fact I'd be disappointed if there weren't any.

 In 2010 - one of my favourite Eurovision years - there was the famous stage invasion during the performance of "Algo pequeñito" - "Something tiny."

 The first video is the performance uninterrupted; the second includes the stage invasion.

 The song was performed by Daniel Diges, with support from an array of toys/circus characters, I'm not sure which. Whatever they are, I personally find the song and performance a bit weird and almost scary... no me gusta mucho.

 I have to admit, disrespectful as it was to the performers, I did enjoy the stage invasion - especially as it looks at first as though he's supposed to be there! I didn't realise he was an intruder until security chased him off!

 Last year, in Düsseldorf, Spain's Eurovision offering was Lucía Pérez with what is quite possibly my favourite Eurovision song ever and certainly one of the happiest and most upbeat songs I have ever heard. This is "Que me quiten lo bailao." I will warn you that this version of the video - the only decent version Blogger will let me embed - has some rather psychedelic stuff going on with the graphics from about 0.08 to 0.14.

 I love her voice, her joyful, bubbly persona in the video and the song itself, as well as the chance to get a glimpse of the Carnival celebrations in Sitges, Catalonia. It looks like an amazing fiesta!

 Whenever I hear this song, I just want to dance. It's brilliant ♥

 ¡Gracias por una canción maravillosa!

 Thanks for reading.

 Liz x

Songs: I Love You Mi Vida - D'NASH - 2007

Baila el Chike-chike - Rodolfo Chikilicuatre - 2008

Algo pequeñito - Daniel Diges - 2010

Que me quiten lo bailao - Lucía Pérez - 2011

Eurovision 2012 Countdown: In A Moment Like This

 Hello! Hej! Velkommen!

 Today I thought I would share with you the Danish entry in the 2010 contest; In A Moment Like This by Chanée and N'evergreen. I think it is a lovely, upbeat song - although admittedly, it does sound very like Every Breath You Take!

 He even looks like Sting! (In my humble opinion anyway.)

 I think that both of these artists are very talented, and they perform the song so well, and they work brilliantly as a duo. I also think Chanée is very beautiful, and she reminds me so much of somebody, but I just can't place who it is! 

 This was one of my favourite songs that year, along with It's For You and Butterflies - however, I felt that there were many great songs that year. I believe that without doubt Eurovision 2010 in Oslo was one of the best contests we've had in recent years.

 This song should have been last in the running order; however Spain's song suffered a stage invasion, so they got the chance to perform again at the end so theirs became the last song. I didn't mind Spain's song, but I would have preferred for In A Moment Like This to have been last - it would have been the perfect note to end on; bouncy and positive and upbeat.

 I am very grateful to Chanée and N'evergreen for this lovely song ♥

 I will be back with more Eurovision moments tomorrow.

 Thanks for reading.

 Liz x

Song: In A Moment Like This - Chanée and N'evergreen - 2010

Hope and Céline Dion

 Hi

 I love this song by Céline Dion; it is such a message of hope; not just in love,which seems to be the main focus of the song, but in life generally. It's a song which tells us not to give up, never to give up. Plus it's a nice song musically too!

 Because Dion does a lot of covers, I thought before hearing this song that it would be a cover of The Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby and the Range (which I like), yet it is a completely different song. A very nice song, too.

I quite like how basic and minimalist the video is; in fact I generally approve of Céline Dion videos more than those of similar artists whose videos are often over-the-top and not worthy of the song they are supposed to be showcasing. Yet Céline's videos tend to be sensible and show the song in it's best light - they let the song do the talking instead of distracting from it.

 I love Céline Dion's voice. It is simply amazing. So beautiful and distinctive. She deserves a lot of the credit as she must have spent so long training it and taking care of it, yet to have a voice so unique I believe is something you have to be blessed with. And some people just are: Cyndi Lauper, Stevie Nicks and Marie Fredriksson from Roxette to name a few.

 Anyway, I will sign off for now, and remember, never give up hope.

 Liz x

 Song: That's the Way It Is - Céline Dion (1999)

One of my other favourite songs!

With just about every music video I see, I think, "If I was directing this, here are the things which I would do differently..."

Yet this video is actually just about perfect. The way such a huge story - the story of a man's life and love - is portrayed so clearly in just four and a half minutes, and all in the same setting. I love it!

Also, the lyrics of the song are lovely and the melody has such an upbeat and hopeful tone to it, that it can really cheer me up if I am unhappy. 

It is also a great song to sing along to - it is so catchy! And it is so tempting to get up and dance!

I love this song; in my opinion it is one of the best songs ever written.

"Don't you dare give up... love changes everything."

Liz x 

Song: Love Changes (Everything) - Climie Fisher

Probably my all-time favourite song!

I love this song!

I first heard someone singing it on Stars In Their Eyes, and I liked the song but could only ever remember the chorus as I had only heard the song that once.

A long time passed and I forgot about it, then I heard it on the radio and I loved it and I looked it up and found the video on YouTube.

And what a lovely video! I adore seeing musicians enjoying themselves in music videos; just having a laugh and making you, the viewer and listener, smile with them.

And it goes without saying that Alison's voice is just sensational.

A lovely song, an adorable singer and a band who look like they are a great lot to hang around with, judging from the video.

Long live Alison Moyet! She is just amazing.

I hope that you enjoy this song as much as I always have done.

Liz x

Song: Is This Love? - Alison Moyet