I have decided to start doing ‘dry runs’ (um…less dodgy than it sounds I hope!) for when I do proper gigs. At the mo my voice is a bit sore so I can’t push it too much but hey…
What I plan to do is divide my songs into four song groups or ‘Get Frank setlists’. I also need to get used to my lovely new guitar!
This setlist involves one of my new songs (numero uno) followed by three ‘ole warhorses’
1. Cautionary Tale (apologies for my awful singing on this one…)
2. Disappointed in Me
3. Untitled
4. Whoops
On reflection….it is fairly obvious to myself that I should not have consumed wine before playing…therefore consume wine before watching!
This is the first full trailer for teen focused drama, Skins.
The third series will focus on former lead character Tony’s sister Effie, and her friends. I’m looking forward to a casting change as I felt that the former characters lacked something (um…realism?)
Skins is one of those marmite programmes. I personally find it irritating, completely unrealistic, often poorly scripted, (the line “whoa nice swearing!” haunts my dreams…) and yet still utterly compelling.
The very first trailer for Skins a couple of years ago mixed semi naked revellers, sexual activity and lots of booze. The new trailer, as above, is oddly full of violence and more of the expected ‘aren’t we cool’ posing.
In the original series Effie, who at first appeared to be a dedicated privately educated school girl (but actually spent her evenings out partying) was involved in one of the more interesting plot twists concerning her adventure filled evenings out and her brother’s part in her double life.
This advert is probably nothing to do with the series, bearing in mind that the characters are just sixteen (!) It reminds me somewhat of the scene in Trainspotting when Begbie throws a glass over a balcony just because he feels like fighting. That however is not a scene that takes place with 6 posh teenagers in a Bristonian pub!
The second series took advantage of the fact that most of its cast had turned 18 and were legally allowed to flash more than before…one of the production team even wrote about having to film certain scenes late on in the schedule because they were waiting for a cast member to come of age. If they couldn’t shock with the partying, booze and drugs of the previous series they could fill it with sex and they did, usually with one sex scene per episode- Skins therefore telling teenagers not only how to party but how to ‘do it’ as well…
…what ‘how to’ will series three give us? How to draw blood without displacing elaborate hair?
There’s one thing about christmas that has certainly lost it’s magic…
With the annual predictability of the number one made complete by ITV talent shows there is no excitement in that once all important battle for the xmas top spot.
This year Alexandra Burke, winner of the 2008 X Factor has broken records and shot to number one with her cover of Lenoard Cohen’s Hallelujah (+ Gospel Choir arrangement.)
The issue with Hallelujah is that the X Factor version is just a big fat showboat for it’s performer. Alex has an incredibly powerful voice for her 20 years but clearly has little life experience with which to fuel the emotion of the song. Hallelujah is not the song of a joyful winner and this is why I believe her version doesn’t work.
The production of the track is far too clean and detached: Karaoke with better backing vocals. The backing was not rerecorded for each X Factor finalist which means that any hope of ‘style’ that the acts might have cultivated for themselves would be buried beneath a non negociable tempo.
The ITV talent show has taken away the necessity of Xmas TOTP. How long before it removes the necessity for the Xmas chart full stop?
Frank. x
P.s- as I have been talking charts…
Got to no. 16 on the most watched uk musician youtube chart (day)
P.P.S
So far am no.67 on the most watched uk muso chart (this week)
Get Frank 