Song of Moment

This young lady is incredible.

Lissie - Everywhere I Go

Youtube Link - Apologies I can't find an official video
Spotify Link - For those of you in the UK
itunes Link - Because everyone should own this song

And i fall on my knees
Tell me how's the way to be
Tell me how's the way to go
Tell me all that i should know

And i fall on my knees
Tell me how's the way to go
Tell me how's the way to be
To evoke some empathy

Danger will follow me now
Everywhere i go
Angels will call on me
And take me to my home
Well this tired mind
Just wants to be lead home

And i fall on my knees
Tell me how's the way to go
Tell me how's the way to see
Show me all that i could be

And i fall on my knees
Tell me how's the way to be yeah
Tell me how's the way to go
Tell me why i feel so low

Angels will follow me now
Everywhere i go
Angels will call on me
And take me to my home
Well these tired eyes
Just want to remain closed

I don't see clearly can't feel nothing no
Can't you hear me?

And i fall on my knees
And angels will call on me
Now everywhere i go
Angels will call on me
And take me to my home

And angel will fall on me
Everywhere i walk
Angels will call on me
And take me to my home

And angels will call on me
Now everywhere i go
Angels will follow me
Now lead me to my home

Caught in the middle

You know when you hear songs that seem to sum you up perfectly?

I'm just a little bit caught in the middle
Life is a maze and love is a riddle
I don't know where to go I can't do it alone I've tried
And I don't know why

I'm just a little girl lost in the moment
I'm so scared but I don't show it
I can't figure it out
It's bringing me down I know
I've got to let it go
And just enjoy the show

When Women Rule the World

“Sure God created man before woman, but then again you always make a rough draft before creating the final masterpiece.”

Is it just me, or are women seriously kicking ass in the music industry? Here are 10 amazing women that I'm loving right now.

1. Jesca Hoop
2. Speech Debelle
3. St Vincent
4. Emiliana Torrini
5. Lady Hawke
6. Terry Lynn
7. Lykke Li
8. Little Boots
9. Anya Marina
10. Blue Roses

I am pleased to say that I will have the privilege of working with 4 of the above in about 5 weeks. I am ridiculously excited.

“When in doubt, don't.” Benjamin Franklin

I meant to write a blog entry last week when I was elated. I am sure it is not just me that gets tired of being negative. I much prefer being a positive 'happy-go-lucky' kind of person. Especially when so much is going well.

Is it just human nature that tell us when the majority of things are going well, we should focus on the few things that are going badly?

Anyway, I got sidetracked with philosophy!

Here is what happened last week:

In work as part of staff development we have annual reviews. I received mine on Friday the 27th and it went far better than I expected. I was told that I would be a 'great asset to any company' and that when dealing with a major crisis in the industry I worked with maturity and organisation beyond my years, and made life easier for the companies we work with. When someone hears this about themselves it is an amazing feeling. It's a boost, a sign that you're on the right track, a sign that your hard work is really paying off. I was immensely flattered.

Only a few days before that we had a committee meeting regarding one our annual events, a huge celebration of our sector. (I am learning to write very little about my profession as I'm aware that newspapers are currently scouring any site that mentions it to look for good stories and exclusives on events... sad? Yes. A pain in the backside? Most definitely.) It is a big deal and will hopefully be featuring some extremely high profile names.

“If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.” Anon

In just over a month we will be employing an outside event manager to look after everything but in the mean time, they have given that job to me! I could not believe my luck. It is back to live music, back to what I know and adore. Back to what I am passionate about. However one week later... Ouch.

I am completely aware I'm punching well above my weight... I'm no longer dealing with acts on the Scottish circuit, but instead, internationally renowned acts. Acts which sell millions of albums and play the major festivals and are featured in Billboard, Q and Mojo. The acts that used to be stuck on my bedroom walls. I used to save up all of my pocket money to buy the latest release from these amazing human beings and now... I have no clue what I'm doing.

“Discouragement is not the absence of adequacy but the absence of courage.”

When I calm down and rationally consider that task, it does seem possible. It's not massively dissimilar to my own gigs. Instead of a £2000 budget, it is £20,000. Instead of paying the acts £500, its more like £10,000. Booking the acts doesn't really phase me, it's approaching the labels. I feel like a phony. I've blagged this. I'm a meer graduate coordinating a huge event. How is this even possible?

“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt” William Shakespeare

I just have to get my head down and get on with it.

Everyone doubts themselves. I know that. I have to grow up and learn that this is how things are. If I want to succeed I have to stop waiting for people to tell me I'm doing a good job and just get on with it

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” Andre Gide

“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul” Plato

So when I came back down from Manchester, I was sent with a great book in my hand. High Fidelity. I'd seen the film and i'd read the first part of the book and loved both. Paul was shocked and horrified that I hadn't read the whole book and decided to lend me his copy.

When I told him I had finished it, kindly volunteered to send me one... For fun and also for politeness I said I would send something back to him and decided on a compilation CD. Then I recalled the following quote...

"The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules." Nick Horby - High Fidelity

I have no idea what to put on the mix. Do I put the music I truly love? or do I put the music he will truly appreciate?

Music says so much about who we are, and about how we feel and I certainly do not want to give the wrong messages, or really too many of the right messages. Uh oh. I'm at a bit of a loss here.

We discuss music a lot and while our tastes both centre around the same music, we go off in completely different directions in the more 'alternative' (man, I hate that word) genres.

“Music does bring people together. It allows us to experience the same emotions. People everywhere are the same in heart and spirit.”

I want to make this mix a good one...

Action point for Melanie - Any ideas for tracks? You always seem to be good at this kind of thing.

“If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies” Anon

I feel like I should move onto another subject rather than just lack of social network a more positive part of my life - my career.

To sum up the past few years:

• I love live music,
• I started running gigs,
• I started running tours,
• I left uni and took my lovely little business seriously
• It didn’t work out – I worked in the pharmacy (while still running the gigs)
• I applied for a music business job and was offered it.
• In 3 very short weeks I quit my job, left my company and got my ass to London.

Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights. ~Pauline R. Kezer

Since working for this fantastic company, I have received more experience than I could have imagined and have been given far more responsibility than I wanted !

Since being here, my career aspirations have changed. I now want to work for a political organisation.

As a very politically minded person anyway and completely aware of how politics affects our everyday lives, I feel that I want to get right in there, and help ‘fix’ the music biz in some small, most likely pathetic kind of way!

I love my job, I love this company and I love it ‘style’. Yes, this company does definitely have style. I’m so proud to be a part of the company and I’m lucky in the respect that I am being given more responsibility every week.

I have went from working in Scottish live music scene to working in the UK recorded sector assisting in dealing with International and Legal. I am also CEO’s personal assistant that is far better than I could have imagined.

Alison (the CEO) is the person who provides the company with style. There is never any b*llsh*t with her, she never shows off, she really doesn’t care what people think of her or the company, but she genuinely cares about the independent music business and effortlessly deals with a massive work load and the pressure of her position as one of the very few high standing female experts in the sector. To top it all off, she a is truly lovely woman!

My job is great. No doubt about it. I am learning more everyday and gradually getting to grips with politics and the music business on a national and European level, which will hopefully assist me in getting another job in 8 months time when my contract here is finished.

Fingers crossed!!!