Under These Waves Tonight

The other day, I finished watching Greetings from Tim Buckley and it reignited my love for Jeff Buckley. In my opinion, Penn Badgley did an incredible job of imitating, but not massacring, Jeff's voice as I would have expected him to do, and his characteristics were exactly how I had always imagined Jeff's to be. However, the movie was definitely not as good as I would have liked it to be. I was excited for it for so long and to be honest, it let me down a little bit. But how could I pass up the chance to watch a film about one of my favourite ever musicians? 

So, let me back-track a little bit. When I first listened to Jeff Buckley, years ago, I was enamoured, absolutely in love. I researched a lot and read a lot about him and one of the first things I discovered was that he died, drowning in Wolf River, on my first birthday. I think that on the day that I found out, I nearly cried. Just knowing that I may have spent that exact second that he was dying enjoying my first birthday, in the absolute ecstasy that a birthday is to you when you are young, broke my heart. It still breaks my heart. Every birthday I make sure to listen to a few songs, if not the full albums and a cut-out from a magazine calendar sits on my wall of the date with his name and a little coffin drawn on it. 

For so long, I felt like because of this we had an affinity, a connection by fate. I felt like this coincidence, minute as it was, joined us together. I remember once, as an idiotic fourteen-year-old, saying to my friend, "Hey, imagine if when he died, his soul passed on to me... if I was Jeff reincarnated." Then I realised that I was already born when he died so that was dumb of me. Can we just ignore the idiocy of my younger self please? Okay let's. Now, I just see his music as absolutely stunning. I listen to his voice and I sometimes feel tears welling up in my eyes, hearing that haunting falsetto and stunning guitar work. I can't really explain it, but I just find his music so touching, so torturously beautiful. His music made me fall in love with him.

So here are my top three Jeff Buckley songs, for your listening pleasure:

Vancouver

From the album: Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk (1999)

This song is Buckley's voice at its most versatile, meandering elegantly from the deep, almost hoarse vocals of the verse to the mellow high notes of the chorus. And the broken chords of the riff have this magical way of actually turning knots in my stomach. Simply amazing.

Nightmares By The Sea

From the album: Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk (1999)

There is really something special about this song. One time I listened to this for a full six hours in a Frankfurt hotel reception, but I wanted to listen to it forever. The guitar riff is absolutely haunting, in the most beautiful of ways. The idea of "coral graves" and the line "stay with me under these waves, tonight" is strange; it all seems so scarily prophetic. 

Lover, You Should've Come Over

From the album: Grace (1994)

This one is a new love of mine. It has slowly grown on me over the past few months. My favourite lyric from this is, "I feel too young to hold on, and I'm much too old to break free and run" because that is probably the place that I'm at right now with most everything. Honestly though, his lyrics are poetry and this song is heart-achingly beautiful. 

Although Jeff is dead, I do believe that he is one of those artists whose spirit truly lives on through their music. In Grace, he sings, "drink a bit of wine, we both might go tomorrow". He knew it, and I believe he lived his life as if he might, at any moment, suddenly be gone. If there is one thing we can all learn from him, it is to live as if tonight is our last night and to do what makes us truly happy, never afraid to die... 

After-Party

Well...

The after-party was intended to be a fashion post but as my laptop and memory card are refusing to cooperate, unfortunately, that will have to be arranged for another time.

I feel a bit lost now... Time to improvise, I guess.

*****

One of my favourite stores and online communities, Lomography, have made a new Kickstarter project - one of the most exciting I've ever seen, if I'm honest. The aim is to recreate the legendary Petzval lens for use on modern cameras, both digital and analog (the lens works with any Canon EF or Nikon F mount camera). The effects that the lens provides are absolutely stunning, and so similar to the original.

Using the original 19th-century Petzval lens

Using the first prototype of Lomography's new Petzval Portrait Lens

Using the first prototype of Lomography's new Petzval Portrait Lens

I'm simply astounded by the blurred bokeh effect it creates and am so excited to see the photos produced by the people who buy it! Sadly, I do not have the $500 required to support the project and get the special edition black lens that I have fallen in love with so I will have to make do with living vicariously with the photographers through Flickr. Luckily though, the amazing Lomography community have already funded the project - in fact they are currently at over $600,000, $500,000 over their goal. So if you, like me, cannot afford to pledge in the next 28 days, the lenses should be on sale by February 2014 on the Lomography shop for you to buy, retailing at $499.

Until then, I would suggest having a look at the site if you're interested in analog photography. Their range of products and services, such as the Lomography Smartphone Scanner and the Lomo Lubitel 166+, definitely will not disappoint!

Inauguration Day

I read an interesting article yesterday, written by the wonderful Stephen King, which spoke of the importance of first lines. Much like first impressions for people, they make or break a novel (or article or indeed, blog post) and either draw the reader in, or make them feel they cannot spend a second further reading. I wholly agree and that is why I intend on making this first post the best I possibly can. A blog must begin on as good a start as any novel, especially if it is to be taken seriously (and this blog is determined to be taken seriously).

It starts from here.

My aim from here on is to describe myself, leaving very few obvious remnants of me in writing this. It has always seemed to me rather a difficult task, how to tell someone who you are without telling them who you are. But I shall make my attempt.

I know very little of life and love, living in my own mind and imaginary worlds, choosing them over the place where I was born, the people I meet. The only attraction to the life I lead in this desolate house is that of the nature, surrounding and encompassing me; not too close that I feel swallowed up and insignificant, yet not too far that I struggle to find the time to be within it. And death resides not far from my abode, locked within the gates but occasionally slithering through the cracks to lay its hands on another poor soul, destined to leave this world... Art is my love: music, fashion, photography, writing. Yet I do not love them enough to depend on them; I want to change lives through the law. I want to make it available and usable for the people who need it for their own wellbeing, not for those who use it to make money and to hurt others. The law could be an incredible power for good if we would only let it be... I love to be in new places, but not with new people. I wish to see the world and everything beautiful in it and hopefully, if all goes to plan, in a year I shall make my start, in America... My dreams are few and far between but what I desire most in this world is happiness, and I will go to the ends of the earth in order to find it. 

I think that sums me up.

Is that good enough?

I hope so.

So welcome to the blog. The inauguration is complete. The blog will now take a dance with its gender-neutral significant other, and hope that their first term in office is successful, filled with happy memories and dreams come true, and that they can live to survive another.  

Thank you for attending.

P.S. There will be an after-party.