Saturday 29 March 2008

Song Of The Week XVI

I can't remember when I first heard this, but it must have been several years ago. I do remember that I loved it from the very first time I heard it and was desperate to be able to have my own copy of it.

I'd seen Martha Wainwright supporting Loudon some years ago and not enjoyed her set at all, so when I heard this and loved it I was surprised. I've seen her live since then and she's just excellent. I don't know what happened or what changed but it's definitely for the better and she's starting to get the recognition she deserves.

It was hard to find a good video of this, but I probably just didn't look properly, so this has two of her songs on. How lucky we are!

Martha Wainwright - Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole:

13 comments:

Domster1974 said...

I think you should become the Wainwright's official roadie.

Is there a wainwright you do not like?

Flibbertigibbet said...

I'm afraid I don't really enjoy Rufus... I know that's not a popular choice, but his voice doesn't do it for me!

Domster1974 said...

I don't think anyone would choose the word Enjoy with Rufus, I think the say they like him because its the expected thing lol

Domster1974 said...

And don't be afraid, its ok ;op

Flibbertigibbet said...

It is cool to like Rufus isn't it. And I've never been cool!

Domster1974 said...

I think he is one of those guys who people say they like, but they don't really, its cool by association.

Who knows the world is a crazy place.

Saying that, its not cool to be a sheep, its cool to be different and unique ;op

Anonymous said...

Hello, old chum!

Is that the title of the song, or an evaluation of the artist?

Didn't Harry Secombe do a cover of that?

I daren't listen.

You do like all these youtube musical video's don't you?

I'm actually on a couple myself, you know.

Anyway, how on earth are you, my dear?

Regards,
Mr Insister

Flibbertigibbet said...

Bonjour!

That is very definitely the song title, and a great song it is too. Honest!
Although I always feel a little traitorous saying that seeing as it's about Loudon, whom I have a deep, deep love for.

I love music me. And most of it never hits the mainstream... so you know, my little corner of the internet is there for some musical education. Or something.

Which videos are you on Sir? I should see... it's the right thing to do! What are you doing worthy of videoing?
The only time I feature I'm standing in a queue or in a crowd.

Anyway, despite my usual misadventures, I'm really quite splendid!
I see we're still in March though, is this as near to time travelling as one can get?

Have you been tremendously busy as always? Have you read Harry Potter? I quite fancy one of those time turner devices.
And an invisibility cloak.

An update Sir, I demand an update!

Au revoir!
xxx

Anonymous said...

Allo, allo.

Sorry - that's all the French I know. Actually, it's not. I bought a book of French vocabulary for a small child a few years back. It was a typical picture-book affair. I remember being most entertained by the fact that the first page featured a picture of a rather unkempt looking chap named 'Anatole'. Beneath his picture was the sentence: 'Anatole is a tramp', in French, funnily enough. Ever since then I have ensured that the word 'clochard' has remained engraved on the table of my memory - mainly by directing it at so many unsuspecting friends and acquaintances in the intervening years.

I am going to France soon, however. I've managed to time my trip to coincide with the beginning of the academic year, which wasn't popular, but still. I'm flying to the Pyrenees on September 10th and will be in Lourdes from the 11th - 17th. It's the 150th anniversary of Our Lady appearing to St Bernadette this year, so the Pope is going to be making a pilgrimage to Lourdes from 13th-15th. I thought I'd join him there. Can't wait! I went to Mass with John Paul II a couple of times, but have never been to Mass with Benedict. I've been a great fan of his for years, as a theologian, and was really hoping that he'd be next Pope when John Paul went to his reward. I think he's already been the best Pope since Pius XII died in 1958.

I have been tremendously busy, yes. I have been researching and writing a million and one different pieces since teaching ended in June. Also, I have been asked to teach a new course for the next two years at the only level I've never taught before - A Level! Yes, I've taught primary and secondary aged children as a private tutor, undergraduates and post-graduates, but never before have I had the dubious honour of teaching at A Level (which is now being called 'GCE', which sounds much worse in my opinion).
This will be two evenings per-week, so I'll be even busier now come September. It's a very specialist subject with very few takers, as you might have guessed. You want to know the subject? I could get you to guess, but you would never guess it in a billion years. In fact, I was only asked to do it two weeks ago, and before that I didn't even know it was possible to study this subject at A Level. Are you ready for this? You sure...? Biblical Hebrew. Yes, Biblical Hebrew at A Level. Amazing, isn't it? In the olden days you couldn't get anywhere near Biblical Hebrew below undergrad level. Anyway, enough about tramps and Hebrew - that's Anatole, by the way, not me.

Harry Potter: I certainly have read the Potter books, yes. In fact, I began when the first one was published - I read it to some small children in the family and they were hooked. So, I just carried on and on. I read them the second, third, fourth and fifth, by which time they had begun to grow up quite a bit. When the sixth came out, I took them to WH Smith at midnight to get their copies, which they enjoyed immensely, and so, last July, I took them at midnight again to get the last one. Want to know how old they all were by the time we went to get the last one? Ok. Last July I stood in a queue outside WH Smith with all six children I had been reading Harry Potter to from the beginning. Four girls and two boys. The girls were aged 14, 17, 19 and 21, and the boys, 16 and 22! That's how long I've been reading Harry Potter. And do you know what? After spending all those years reading the first six to them, they'd all decided that they wanted to read the last book for themselves - I was redundant - that's right, I didn't get to read the very last one to them!! Whenever I talk to them I always tell them they must let me just read this last one to them to finish off, but they're not having it! I had to read it to myself. Anyway, they're most enjoyable. (I'm really, really, really rambling today, aren't I???)

If I could have just one thing from the Harry Potter books it would be a pensieve I reckon. Either that or a cackling stump. I have no idea why.

Ooo, the youtube videos. Haha! Well, I think I shall make this a quest a la Deathly Hallows! You must follow the clues and solve the mystery to find me on youtube.

Here's your first clue:

Peter goes to a capital defender from south America to be tortured by a medieval device.

Sounds like The Times crossword, doesn't it?

Shalom.
x x x

Flibbertigibbet said...

Bonjour!

I can speak more French than I can write and I can understand more than I can speak. Language is strange like that.
Apparently, as a child, I had an obsession with the French word Quincaillerie. I don't remember but I guess I liked the way it sounded. It means a hardware shop so it didn't have an exciting meaning...I was (and still am) so weird.
Now I just love the word tegulated.
Which isn't French at all, but feels nice on the tongue. Weird. I know.

This is probably a really foolish question but will Lourdes be hugely populated while the Pope is there? It's a different world to me, as we've discussed, because I've never had a faith it's really interesting to me. How many people are expected to visit?

After reading your message I rang my friend to ask her opinion on the Biblical Hebrew and without prompting she concurred with my (until then) unspoken opinion. There is something enormously attractive about the teaching of such a subject. We can't explain why it is, but it's safe to say that teaching science wouldn't be nearly as attractive. But that might be down to my remaining fear of my physics teacher in school.

I think it's a bit mean they wouldn't let you read the last one to them! They may be pretty much grown, but still! I read all of the books this year. I have no idea why, but I had this idea I wasn't going to get sucked in, that I'd be the exception and I wouldn't enjoy them. I was wrong. Very wrong. Now I'm demanding my friends read them.

You make really hard clues. Although I'm really tired after a 4am start yesterday so maybe when the dark circles under my eyes aren't obscuring my vision it will be easier... but probably not.
Is it against the rules to ask for help? I've got random words written down in front of me where I'm trying to put the different parts of the clue together whilst feeling like it should have come to me already.

Hey, did you brave Martha's song from this entry?

I'm contemplating a jaunt across the border next month. I've been invited to a friends birthday party and they've moved to Wales. It'll be my first time over the border. I'm an adventurer.

Au revoir,
Stephanie
xxx

Anonymous said...

Shalom!

As you know, I studied Old Icelandic for 3yrs as an Undergraduate. The ancient Norse tongue has a tremendously amusing and interesting vocabulary. Did you know, for instance, that our modern English word 'husband' is derived from the Old Norse term 'hus bond' which, literally, means house slave? (Dobby?) My favourite was the Old Icelandic for errand: 'sendifor'. Excellent, eh? (On reflection, I should have opened this greeting, 'Hwaet!' or 'Ahoy').

Lourdes:
Well, your guess is as good as mine. I have no idea either how many are expected, nor how many will actually turn up. Lourdes is generally a very well visited place, and with this being the 150th anniversary year coupled with the presence of the Pope for 3 days I wouldn't be surprised if there were many thousands, if not tens of thousands, present. I was once in Rome for a Mass with John Paul II at which it was reported more than half a million had gathered. To be honest, I was in St Peter's Square and the crowd stretched out of Vatican City and way back into the streets of Rome as far as I could see.
You know, what with us talking about Harry Potter and your curiosity about 'faith' perhaps I should make a reading recommendation? I'm sure I don't have to point out the debt to you that Rowling owes to both CS Lewis and the Gospels as regards HP. I'm going to recommend that you now read Lewis's 'Mere Christianity' which I'm sure will give you a real feel and understanding of this strange 'faith' thingy that you've never had in your life.
You may even realise that you've had something there all along that you just couldn't put your finger on. Talking of which, did you know that I can't put my fingers on tennis balls without feeling the need to grit my teeth and scream simultaneously? It's like the thought of licking a carpet (or signing up to 'Facebook'). I'd rather sign for Bristol City.

You rang your friend to ask her opinion on teaching Biblical Hebrew? Haaaaaaaahahahaha!!! O, boy, you're such a wonderfully amusing nut at times! Hahaha! Serioulsy, you're incredibly entertaining - in a very nice and good way. Yes, you can't compare the study of a subject such as Biblical Hebrew with mere run-of-the-mill science. There's a rather well known story about a certain professor of theology who always began his lectures on Biblical Hebrew thus: 'Gentlemen, this is the language that God spoke!' I'm afraid that you just can't compare 'turn on your bunsen burners' or 'who knows what happens when you burn iron filings?' to that, now can you?

My clues aren't hard - it's staring you in the face.

I did have a quick listen to Martha, yes. I'm sorry - this folk stuff just isn't my thing. I must confess that I really couldn't care less whether 'Frog went a-courting' etc.

So, you're coming to Wales eh? Excellent. I love it here. Sadly, I'm spending huge amounts of time over your side in England at the mo and would love to be 'at home' more often. You'll have to let me know what you think of the place when you've had a poke around. Where exactly are you visiting?

Ciao,
xx xx xx

Anonymous said...

By the way...why was that frog so heavily armed?

xx xx xx

Flibbertigibbet said...

Bonjour!

I had a little sojourn to France myself. It was my mother's 60th and it was a surprise trip. It was almost a bigger surprise when I lost my passport on Friday (due to fly out on the Saturday). I now understand the definition of blind panic!

I actually have Mere Christianity in stock... I should remove it and read it. I did study R.E. to A Level and I reside in the opposite camp to you, but I think that's what I find most fascinating, you can't learn from people that think the same way as you.
Husband = house slave? Now this is something the modern world should definitely be more aware of. Maybe I actually might start to desire such a thing, although maybe not one that resembled Dobby. I don't think I could be attracted to something/someone who wore so many hats. All things in moderation. Apart from cake.

Feel free to roll your eyes, but I do indeed have a facebook account. And worse still, I like it! I like leaving random updates on my page, my favourite recently being "Stephanie is an autotonsorialist". I totally hacked loads of my hair off. I do that at random intervals when I feel like a change. But I digress, I like catching up with friends there. Until the application got removed I really loved playing scrabble there. It's good for the grey cells. Although I had to stop playing the boggle-esque Scramble - gave me RSI!

I AM a nut. It's part of my charm. Ahem.
I remember science. My physics teacher told me I reminded him of a faery. My chemistry teacher used to lodge with my grandmother, but that didn't stop him making me sit at his desk when I put entirely the wrong things on the tripod over the bunsen burner. And biology. Hmmm, I am impressively squeamish and vegetarian. It was never going to go well.

Of course your clues are easy to you! You invented them! I must know how many words I am seeking, for I have a variety of ideas in my head and I suspect they're all wrong!

Ah, folk music, it's a wild thing. I remember my old boss getting in my car and turning up my music, declaring it excellent. I pointed out it was folk music and he stared open mouthed. But when you hear old skool hardcore dance beats, you don't think folk. But overlaid with uillean pipes and fiddle, that's my own personal utopia.

I'm heading to a house out in the sticks somewhere called Pontdolgoch. I think. Heading at some point this month, we decided catching up at a busy birthday weekend wasn't the smartest of decisions.

As for the heavily armed Frog. All sorts of things flashed through my mind. From frogs defending themselves against having their legs taken for food. Whilst wearing berets. It's no wonder I have such weird dreams.
Then I went to the frog-a-courting Martha and the heavy use of profanity. That would be her basic opinion of her father.
As for where I went next. Some things really have to remain in my head.

Have a truly wonderful time in Lourdes, I'm sure it will be awe inspiring. Should that be hyphenated? Anyway, I must head out into the miserable Autumnal weather. Hurrah.

Stephanie
xxx