Monday Music : I’ve come to test the timber of my heart…

I first saw Joe Pug in December 2010, supporting Josh Ritter at the Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin. M and I didn’t know him but as he set up M shouted ‘Go on Joe!’ and Joe tried to look straight at him (he couldn’t see with the lights) and he said ‘Thank YOU, man.’ He reminded us of our very good friend Regular John. We liked him.

One night recently when I was despairing of life, (nothing is wrong per se, I just despair sometimes. A lot.) M put Joe Pug on and it just filled me with a sense of drama and poignancy. He just understood me, you know? *sniffs*

I can’t stop listening to this song. Every word strikes home, and a few lines make me fill up if I’m concentrating enough. On the bus, say. It’s pure beauty. Perfect lyrics. The way to my heart!

I’ve come here to ignore your cries and heartache, I’ve come to closely listen to you sing…

I’ve come here to insist that I leave here with a kiss, I’ve come to say exactly what I mean. And I mean so many things…

I have the urge to type all the lyrics, but just you listen to it. Word of mouth is really important to Joe and for a long time he gave away his music for free. You just emailed him and asked for it. He once sent me a very nice email saying they had run out of CDs but he sent me the tracks anyway. He just asked that we share them. The video is slightly silly but his voice is brilliant, deep with a slight lisp, and the lyrics are worth it. Here’s his website :  http://www.joepugmusic.com/

We survived Monday, everyone. Well done.

Leaning on the Lyrics

I have been neglecting my Lemoncakers again! (Can I call you that? It sounds a bit wrong.) I’m just not feeling very creative at the moment. I can’t even make a dent in my to-be-read pile of books that I was so looking forward to reading! At the minute I’m a few pages into ‘Maya’ by Jostein Gaarder but I can’t seem to get into it or make the time for it. I’m spending a lot of time working (but the hours are not going to last) and a lot of time staring slack-jawed at the internets. Also there are some cinema trips (I really enjoyed Batman: The Dark Knight Rises) and watching Breaking Bad season 2 under a blanket in M’s new house. So it’s not all bad.

I have been seeking solace in songs. I’m a real sucker for it’s-all-going-to-be-ok lyrics when I’m feeling like it’s not ok. I think that is why I am loving Newton Faulkner’s new, no.1 if I’m not mistaken, album ‘Write it on Your Skin.’ (Isn’t the title itself lovely?)

 

Newton first came to my attention at the Peace One Day concert in Derry last month. My wee sister Clare loves him, but I hadn’t really listened before. I watched his videos with her on the nights before it, told Jacob Newton was her boyfriend, and despaired at the fact that he went to a local haunt Sandinos the night before the concert. We could have easily been there! I loved his set, and listened to him a lot after it. I brought a CD out to M’s car one day and he shouted what he intended to be ‘FAULK OFF!’ to me. I didn’t see the funny side straight away. Clare pre-ordered the album and I couldn’t get enough of it. Especially the title track ‘Write it on Your Skin.’ I’m a bit like that with songs I love, I will listen to them endlessly over and over until I get sick of them. I’m trying not to do that with this one! I’m sorry if you’ve read me raving about it on Twitter. I bought it for my friend for her birthday and text apt lyrics to another friend when I was on the bus. So maybe I’m not going the right way about it. It’s worth it though, I really do recommend it.

Take everything you know,

And write it on your skin,

Then you can carry on,

And forget everything….

You should have a listen. Prepare for it to get into your head and, pardon the pun, under your skin. There’s an official video and then there was a call for fan photos of lines from the lyrics written on skin (Such a good idea!) Clare and I seriously considered it but couldn’t come up with a good idea! ( Or bother shaving our legs/ putting on make-up!) You can watch the outcome here: I obviously am just an acoustic sort of girl. It’s not cool at parties to put on Josh Ritter or Newton Faulkner, but I will persevere because I want to share it so much! The whole album is a build-you-up (brick by brick?) glass-half-full affair of great guitar playing, gorgeous lyrics and a happy voice. It’s what I need right now, food for my soul.

My best laid plans are washed away,

No time to make ‘em all again,

Sometimes life gets in the way,

You’ve got to keep on breathing. – Brick by Brick

The First Giveaway !

Hello! First of all, I’m sure it was hard to tell, but I had a great ‘Blogaversary’ last week, so thank you to all who contributed to that and for supporting my blog in general for the last year! As promised, I want to do a competition to further mark the occasion.

I tried to get some prizes that reflect life, lyrics and lemoncake…so without further ado:

• So we have the Josh Ritter album (Hello Starling – 2003) that originally melted my heart with the LYRICS.
• The yummiest shower gel ever, makes you feel/smell like you are in a LEMON CAKE.
• Autobiography of the funniest lady ever… LIZ LEMON…Tina Fey. (I haven’t read this but super want to.)
• And a wee pineapple writing set, because here at Life, Lyrics and Lemoncake we love our snail mail.

What do I have to do to win these lovely prizes?

Well, it’s simple. Leave a comment below: I want to hear your favourite lyric/lyrics! Keep it to a 3 line minimum, and if you have several (like me), just choose ONE of your favourites. If you really want me to hear the song, I think you can post a link to/youtube video in your comment also.

I will keep the competition open until this Sunday 5th February. The winner will be chosen from a hat and hopefully announced on Monday.  Friends are allowed to enter as sometimes you were my sole supporters. I will be fair about it. You know me.

To start you off, one of my favourite lyrics ever, Josh Ritter of course. From a beautiful story song called ‘Another New World.’

We talked of the other worlds we’d discover
as she gave up her body to me
And as I chopped up her mainsail for timber
I told her of all that we still had to see.

It’s about the ship the Annabelle Lee… and the captain. It’s like a love story, it’s heartbreakingly beautiful and will probably make you cry.

So… get thinking. And spread the word far and wide! I’m very excited about this. And can’t wait to discover new lyrics.  Goodluck!

P.s If you haven’t visited before, hi! Have a look around, and comments are my favourite.

P.p.s What do you think of my new banner? I <3 it. And I can’t stop thinking about those cupcakes STILL.