"Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow"

There's something really surreal about the world when it's been snowing. Everything seems to go oddly quiet, you suddenly understand what it means for the air to be "crisp", the sky turns white with tinges of this glassy grey, pink and purple, and everything's covered in this white blanket that makes it hard to remember what things normally look like - there's a Noah and the Whale lyric which says something along the lines of, "when the wild was all covered in snow, I forgot the colours that the grass tends to glow". It probably wasn't meant for deep contemplation, but I do find it really difficult to remember the exact shade of green the grass is in my garden when it's all blanketed white. I like the word "blanket" when it comes to snow, I don't really know why.

Although in terms of getting anywhere it's a bit annoying, I do love the snow. It looks really beautiful, and it paints the landscape in this way that you never normally see it. So yes. I am liking the snow days.

Weird, sleepy babbling post over.

"the trouble with dreams, they're not what they seem, cos when you awake they fall through your fingers in flakes"

MP3: 'Flakes' (Mystery Jets Cover) - Florence + The Machine (thanks to Tastes Like Caramel for the mp3)

Buy both of the Mystery Jets' albums here, they're easily among my favourite of the last decade.

Photo credit: Oblivion Head

Things I Liked This Decade: M.I.A. and Bat For Lashes

Maya Arulpragasm and Natasha Khan are both from southern Asia, but grew up in Britain. They’re both amongst my favourite female solo artists this decade, and have both inspired me through their making of some very powerful music (yes, this post might just be cheese-fest ’09). They're both strong women who aren't afraid to take liberties with the music they make or, indeed, the clothes they wear.

Musically, however, they’re both very, very different

.

M.I.A. is probably just as famous for her politics and odd dress-sense as her fantastic fusions of just about every type of music; perhaps most notably the electronica, hip-hop and world genres, and her lyrics visit both the upbeat world of relationships and grittier subject matter such as war, drugs and immigration.

Conversely, Bat For Lashes almost lives in a dream world, with strange but wonderful songs about inner-conflict, love and wizards; the songs seem hard to place chronologically as the instruments vary from harpsichords and musical saws to synths and drum kits. In a world where there are so many problems, Khan’s fantastical songs are perhaps just as relevant as M.I.A.'s - escapism through music is just as important, if not moreso, than making some sort of statement.

They didn’t have to do scantily-clad dance routines or win a reality TV show to get an audience, they just made relevant music and stuck by their convictions. I have much respect and love for these two.

MP3 - Bat For Lashes - 'A Forest (cover of The Cure)'

MP3 - Buraka Som Sistema ft. M.I.A. -'Sounds of Kudura'

Or go to the HMV website or something and buy their stuff.

Things I Liked in 2009: The Drums

Sorry it's been so long, and sorry for the lack of end of year/decade lists - although in fairness, I never do the whole end of year list thing as I find it exceedingly difficult to rank things.

That said, if you want to see my top 3 British albums of the decade, along with lots of other British bloggers' thoughts (not to mention a top 10 list Saam worked out from all of our choices) head over to Faded Glamour.

Over the next couple of days I'll just be posting up random tracks/videos/thoughts on all things I've liked musically from this decade, this year, and things that I'm looking forward to next year. It may sound overwhelmingly complex but it really won't be.

So I'll start off with what I thought was an incredible track from this year, solely because it's what I happen to be listening to at this very moment:

When a track can make me this inexplicably happy it is definitely one of my favourites of the year. It's contagiously catchy, bursting full of energy and ultimately it's just so, so much fun.

I implore you to go and buy some of their music, here.

Oh. my. gosh.

So, this morning I'm listening to the local radio station on the way into school and they're saying they're about to get on the phone to John Giddings - organiser of the Isle of Wight Festival - to find out the Saturday night headliner of the 2010 festival.

I'm not having high hopes at this point - I'm sure it'll be a nice enough line-up (I mean, last year alone I saw some amazing sets - Black Lips, Basement Jaxx, Pixies, Neil Young, ...Will Young) and it'll be an incredible time because pretty much everyone here goes. Except maybe not next year, as the festival may be in the middle of the A-level exams. So maybe it's for the best that the line-up won't be as great as it could be, as there's that possibility I won't end up going.

Anyway, Giddings gets on the line and opens with some typical lines about being really excited about the act, and to be honest I'm not all too giddy in anticipation - he said something similar about Stereophonics last year (who are decent, but kinda boring?).

And then he says it. And I figure I'm dreaming, cos it's quite early and I'm not fully awake yet and maybe I'm still asleep/I heard what I wanted to hear. There's no way this band are coming to the Isle of Wight. One of my favourite bands, ever, who I've never had the chance to see live actually coming to the obscure island on which I live.

But unless this is some cruel joke, it's really true. Making their UK Festival comeback in their first live show announced since 2006 (I think), The Strokes will be playing the 2010 Isle of Wight Festival.

Add to this Jay Z, Blondie and Pink among others, plus many, many more acts yet to be announced, I can safely say that it's going to be an AMAZING weekend. And having checked out the provisional exam timetable I might only have one exam afterwards, and if I don't camp and only go see the acts I want to see then I'm thinking this could work.

Thank you, John Giddings. Thank you.

MP3: The Strokes - Alone Together (Live at Eurockéennes)

Now to work on some master plan to get backstage...

The Isle of Wight Festival is taking place from Friday 11th - Sunday 13th of June. Tickets are on sale from this Friday (4th December), go on the website to find out more. I am so excited. Maybe see you there!

Lawrence Arabia, not New Zealand

I love how everything I like/am aware of from New Zealand seems to link-up somehow. I loved Lord of the Rings, which I recently found out included a small acting role from Bret McKenzie, one half of everyone's favourite comedy-folk duo, Flight of the Conchords (and to make another link, one of the two gap year students I know from NZ saw them live back down under). The other half of the musical duo is Jemaine Clement, who was also in 'Eagle vs. Shark', a pretty funny understated-humour kind of film(think Napoleon Dynamite) which also hails from NZ. Some of the really good soundtrack for the film was produced by one James Milne, who's solo outfit is called LAWRENCE ARABIA.

...I wish I'd actually found out about him through that epic chain instead of just getting an email about him, and figuring out all those crazy links afterwards. Still, we can pretend.

Lawrence Arabia makes beautifully old-fashioned-style psychedelic folk music, kind of like The Beatles at their dreamiest, with Beach Boys-esque harmonies. The songs have a lazy, tropical feel; think a modern take on '60s group, Love.

Download 'Beautiful Young Crew' - Lawrence Arabia or watch the music video here

His new album, 'Chant Darling' is out on January 4th on Bella Union, and you can pre-order it HERE.

Photo credits: Top: Amelia Handscomb, Bottom: Michael On

Amazing Acoustics: Nick Drake

Nick Drake was an absolutely phenomenal songwriter. His folk-tinged songs are haunting, mesmerising, and utterly beautiful - his vocals are pure and untainted, while his ornate, delicate guitar playing is meticulously perfect yet somehow natural at the same time. It's like the music effortlessly pours out of him, and that makes it so amazing to listen to. His lyrics are like poetry, invoking images of the natural world - often autumnal - to convey mixed feelings of love, loss and detachment; he was pretty much a modern-day Romantic, and has come to represent so, so much to his avid listeners.

This is the last track from his last album:

At some point during this night - the 24th/25th of November - some 35 years ago when he was aged 26, Nick Drake died of an overdose of anti-depressants. When he was alive he was more or less completely unknown in the musical world, probably not helped by the fact that he was ridiculously shy and didn't like live performances (hence the complete lack of any live footage of him, guttingly). Depressingly, in 2000 after 'Pink Moon' was featured in a Volkswagen advert, Nick Drake sold more records than he had within the past 30 years. But maybe that's not depressing. It's about time he was fully recognised and embraced as one of the great singer/songwriters in recent history, and if that's what it took to bring him to the public eye then so be it.

Download: 'From the Morning' - Nick Drake (thanks to I Hope Your Ears Bleed for the mp3)

Buy his albums. 'Pink Moon' is my favourite as it's his last album, and it's the only one that's really stripped-down and sparse, but I know some people would dispute this and champion 'Five Leaves Left' or 'Bryter Layter'. Plus there are some great demos and unreleased tracks on the post-humous compilations. Doesn't matter. Point is, his acoustic prowess probably goes beyond just "amazing", and so I guess this post is just my little way of saying "thank you" for the music he made and showing just how timeless it really is.

Mumford & Sons - Winter Winds

Am I just going to keep sporadically posting up music videos and not really write very much?

Why, yes; yes I am.

Mumford & Sons (who are touring in India later this year, bizarrely - this would be the winter I'm not there for) release their new single, ‘Winter Winds’ through Gentlemen Of The Road / Island Records on the 7th December 2009 - you can pre-order it HERE. It is taken from the band’s really lovely and critically acclaimed debut album, ‘Sigh No More’ which you can buy HERE.