A collection of scrawling's about anything and everything from the opinion of the 'lowly university student'.
An article I wrote for The Collective: New Year? Same Shit 
The excited build up; the glorification of upcoming events from friends and media, tonight is the night of myths and legends. However more often than not it usually ends the same way cold damp sticky and disappointed. Although this could explain many a night in the life of a student, I am…
via thecollectiveblog
Today I learnt that next time I stare at the computer screen wondering why I can’t seem to get any good ideas, to go for walk on the hill nearby and sit on ‘Pat Perry’s’ bench. (‘She loved this view’). Computers kill every little idea inside your brain and make you feel like shit.
Thanks Pat Perry.
via idratherbeintokyo
New Samiran video. Filmed in Hyde Park and the first of six EP teasers…
ENJOY
U2 Glastonbury Review 2011: The Sweetest Thing
Below is a gushing review/list of U2’s set last night. It is okay I think, and I tried to avoid all the U2 lyric/song title puns (sorry about the title) but it is a minefield, It could have been, lets ‘Rejoice’ in the ‘One’ ‘Magnificent’ ‘Glastonbury’ performance which was ‘Even Better Than The Real Thing’ that made me feel ‘Numb’ in ‘Mysterious ways’ but ‘Please’ ‘Get on Your Boots’ and don’t ‘Stare at the Sun’ because we are doing this ‘With or Without you’
At 10.00pm last night U2 lit the torch paper and not even the rain or anti U2 brigade could stop the explosion that was about to be unleashed at Worthy Farm. After first being asked to do Glastonbury in 1982, the additional years wait from 2010’s festival does not seem that much, however over the last year and a half there has been a building anticipation and as always with U2 not all of it positive.
But last night Glastonbury and the world tuned back into ZOO TV and backed by brilliantly by a Damien Hurst video the band lifted the spirits of the ‘City in the rain’ with Even Better Than The Real Thing, a track that epitomises the post modern era of the 1990’s. Up next was the fantastically abrasive guitar riffs of The Fly, Bono plays the crowd and the role of an indulgent rock star brilliantly. A few Bono esque groans and the band were still firmly in the 90’s with a perfect rendition of Mysterious Ways with Bono snippeting Beyonce’s Independent Woman as a nod to Sundays Headliner. After a lively performance of Until the End of the World featuring the usual Bono and Edge sparring, the band was in full flow and the audience were in the most hated man in Rock and Roll’s palm. So with a buzzing and hooked crowd, Bono picks up the Getsch, smells the blood and prepares to reel them in. ‘It may be the lay lines, it may be the jet lag but it is a special feeling being here’ Bono charmingly thanks the audience the riff of One is greeted as expected, with Bono guiding them in with the verse the crowd serenades the band with the chorus, this is now a U2 crowd.
Bono is in his element switching from the Achtung Baby’s indulgent egotistical rock star persona to the spiritual humanitarian. An acapella version of Jerusalem, paying homage to the spiritual significance of Glastonbury is followed by the haunting guitars leading into Where the Streets Have No Names. The riff of I Will Follow from their debut album Boy rips the crowd back into a pump fisting frenzy.
With Bono thanking the crowd and the Eavis family the band shifts dynamic to what you could maybe called the ballads of U2, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For has the entire crowd singing and clapping along with Bono inserting a Primal Scream (who were headlining The Other Stage) snippet in ‘Moving on up’. The band in what could be considered a brave move strip back to an acoustic version of Stay, arguably the bands most beautiful love song. One vocal and guitar with 50,000 people can be a risk in front of your own crowd let alone a festival, but at this point Bono brilliantly portrays the emotion and hurt of the lyrics and in the space of a few minutes has turned this expansive field into an intimate gig as only a few can do. After these slower paced songs it is time to pick things up again, and with a live link to an out of space astronaut to introduce Beautiful Day the band slides into a collection of upbeat ‘safe’ hits from the last three albums. Beautiful Day is swiftly followed by the sing along Elevation a song that is buoyantly received. The surprise inclusion of Get On Your Boots, a poor selling single but a good song live follows, now it was time for ‘some Spanish lessons with an Irish accent, some usual and unusual algebra’ of course it is Vertigo. The possible momentum or sing along factor lost by Get On Your Boots is regained by the 50,000 strong screaming Hello Hello like the possessed, and as Bono announces ‘All of this can be yours…’ you cannot help but think all of this is already theirs.
As we approach the final songs of the set the Glastonbury crowd get what back in 1985 Live Aid didn’t, the holy trinity of Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bad and Pride (In the Name of Love). On a personal note I was incredibly pleased that Bad was played, and with the crowd chanting the lyrics of the final verse it acted as a brilliant link into Pride. By this point it was impossible to notice the band were not playing to their own audience, the eager and inspired Glastonbury crowds sang and chanted the lyrics as the band left to rapturous applause.
Time for the encore, as the disco ball from the 360 tour descended and lit the stage Bono dedicated With or Without You to his wife, standing stage side. If I have to be critical it was not the best performance from Bono but the song still had the standard core elements that make it such a brilliant live song. It was time to turn out the lights, and create the ‘Galaxy’ seen so often on the 360 tour, with Bono singing a snippet of Yellow by Coldplay, a touching yet incredibly daunting tribute to the Saturday headliners who are big U2 fans. The Coldplay snippet acted as a link into Moments of Surrender, the tour closer and as the crowds cheered the end of a magnificent set there was one more surprise and one more song. Out of Control the bands first single written on Bono’s 18th birthday and after 32 years it still sounded fresh and was a brilliant upbeat way to finish the evening.
A clever opening combination of the upbeat rocky songs from Achtung Baby created the frenzy party atmosphere which won over a sceptical crowd and laid the foundations for U2 to fire off the stadium hits. All in all it was a stripped back performance of music and the band showed their vulnerability which helped win over the crowd, it was about the songs not the band members. The inclusion of tracks such as I Will Follow, Out of Control and Bad were brilliant for the fans with the big hits keeping the neutrals included too. The only weaknesses in the set was Get on Your Boots, which maybe should have been replaced by Magnificent or New Years Day. Hopefully U2 proved themselves to a lot of people, including the British Music Press and other big British bands that have always been a little snobby towards them. I know it is cool to not like the band and to hate Bono but yesterday proved why they are currently on the world’s highest grossing tour (selling 7million tickets worldwide). Last night the world got to see the two sides of Bono all U2 fans already knew existed, firstly the egotistical peacock of a front man he is but his humble and grounded side was there for all to see especially during the final number during the breakdown Bono thanked the crowd for the life they had been given and humbly admitted that tonight had been the pinnacle of their career. As they brought the song and the set to an end it was smiles all round, looks of boyish wonder and a feeling of Job done.
The only thing I am annoyed at the band for is that they could have done this last year when I went to the festival.
Josh Roberts
U2 Glastonbury set (Reposted)
In June, my favourite band will finally play the greatest festival in the world. As I have lots of Uni work to do, I decided to waste some time predicting the bands set list for their Friday night headline slot. There are soooo many songs I wanted to put in this, but I went for solid back to back hits from all U2’s different era’s. Although its missing bigs hits like City of Blinding Lights, Hold me Thrill me Kiss me Kill, Staring at the sun, Walk On it would still be a great set. I did want to include tracks like Lemon, Mofo, Until the end of the World but I ran out of room. Enjoy… Vertigo Encore Where the Streets Have No Names This is also available as a playlist on Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/user/joshroberts18/playlist/3yDu20Q7FJrYxwt02QhiJk Josh Roberts
Elevation
I Will Follow
New Years Day
Magnificent
Beautiful Day
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
Bad
The Unforgettable Fire
Even Better Than The Real Thing
The Fly
Discotheque
Mysterious Ways
Desire
Angel of Harlem
When Love comes to Town
Pride (In the name of Love)
Sunday Bloody Sunday
One
Moment of Surrender
With or Without You
Top cover of some classic Bruce as a tribute to Clarence Clemons, listen and spread around (Y)
Video 4: 1989 the legend that is BB King plays the blues with Bono and the boys. BB is playing Glastonbury this year, U2 are at Glastonbury wouldn’t be a bad bet that this may be in the set list?
Video 3: Just to offset the dabble into my favourite U2 era here is a classic live cover of Helter Skelter from Rattle and Hum for those old school purists
Video 2: Time for some U2 do Eurotrance haha The opening two songs from the PopMart tour. Video shows how great U2 are live and also their musical diversity
