Where did the spontaneity in music disappear to?

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Can it be said that certain things in life have lost their spontaneity? Some things (by which I mean of the music kind specifically) have become so in demand that to stand any chance of getting that lucrative ticket you have to set alarms and be poised at your PC/iPad/mobile/other device to hit refresh on repeat at 9am months before said event takes place. Who likes to plan that far ahead these days? In truth no one but it seems to be the norm now.

To be honest, I’ve only recently witnessed this myself as a couple of weeks ago I happened to overhear that the Stone Roses were doing three shows next year with tickets going on sale that Friday morning. Knowing competition was going to be ridiculous, particularly as I read that the last time Stone Roses tickets went on sale they got sold in a speedy 10 seconds flat! Therefore, on that Friday morning my husband and I had all our devices at the ready and by some miracle, we got tickets! I’ve now adopted this as the norm, even for what I perceive to be less in demand gigs, I’m still at my PC for 9am frantically refreshing the page until I am successful.

I have never to been to Glastonbury Festival and I am unlikely ever to,

1. Because it’s so expensive

2. while I don’t dislike camping, that kind of place would leave me too anxious to sleep or even be comfortable sitting at my tent, and that’s not even taking into consideration the enormous crowds.

But some years ago when I was in my mid-teens, it was somewhere I always thought I would go.

According to my husband, buying tickets for the main summer festivals back then was as simple as working out what you wanted to see a month or maybe even a few weeks so in advance, and then going down to your local HMV to purchase tickets. Now it’s pre-registration and that whole 9am, multiple devices and teams of friends and family kind of scenario, with the many thousands of tickets available selling out in mere minutes; it’s just too crazy for words.

Sum 41 and music spontaneity

God love disposable cameras back in the day! Here is a photo I took of Deryck Whibley/Sum 41 back in February 2003!

With this lack of spontaneity in life now, aside from having to be totally on it to stand any chance of going to these events, it’s also the added pressure to enjoy yourself when you get there. Once upon a time when I lived at home in Plymouth, I went to see most of the bands that came down to the Pavilions to perform because it was affordable and I was one of those people that took the opportunity to see multiple bands, even if I wasn’t a huge fan or that familiar with them.

Sophie Ellis-Bexter, Sum 41, The Flaming Lips, Chris De Burgh, Lemar, Blondie, Stereophonics, Athlete, Travis, and Keane to name just a few of my favourites.

Music for teenagers is such an important thing and for me, it’s how I identified myself and so often what I clung to; ages ago I wrote about my love for Avril Lavigne as she particularly was someone I strongly gravitated to, and in many ways I still do. But with such a competitive edge for tickets now, how can teenagers, or anyone really, have that freedom to find themselves in music outside of the confines of ITunes and Spotify?

I worry for my future children because I wonder if they will be able to enjoy that live gig experience I grew up with, and the pressure as a parent to get your children to see their favourite artists and bands –I mean we’ve all seen the videos on YouTube of teens going into meltdown on Christmas Day when they find Justin Bieber tickets in their stocking, ha!

What do you guys think? Has music lost its spontaneity?

Until next time x

Having it all: women, careers and parenting

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On Thursday evening I caught the first episode of Anne Robinson’s Britain on BBC1 and this episode focused on parenting. I was watching fairly unconsciously until Editor-in-Chief of Elle Magazine UK, Lorraine Candy got featured and suddenly I took an interest.

Long-term readers of ClaireySweetie will know how much I admire Lorraine and was lucky enough to meet her a couple of years ago at an event and properly fan-girled (here)!

Careers, parenting and what it means to have it all

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MTV The Hills: Five things I learnt that shaped my twenties

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I don’t know about you, but if you’re anything like me I can almost guarantee that you were obsessed with MTV The Hills! I just couldn’t get enough and to this day if I manage to catch re runs on TV, I am still completely absorbed.

Regardless of all the controversy that came out after the show ended, when it was revealed the show was pretty much entirely scripted (which to be honest, we all knew didn’t we!?), there was still a lot to love and a lot to learn as we watched Lauren and the gang forge their careers and life in LA.

Here are my top five lessons I took from MTV The Hills:

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The EU Referendum & social media exposing manipulative people

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I don’t know about you, but recently social media has turned into a pretty vile place and I’m not talking about trolls, I am talking about the everyday people I follow or are ‘friends’ with who don’t just share their opinions, but force them and make judgements about others who think differently.

I’m talking about the EU Referendum and today is the day that after months of savage campaigning, we decide today which way we’ll go. Fundamentally, both campaigns fighting for us to leave and remain in the EU have been totally flawed.

Neither side were able to properly outline and convey what leaving or staying would mean for the UK. Instead, remain campaigners just told us we would be better together, and those who sided with leaving were clearly racists because that can be the only reason why we would be voting against staying. The fact of the matter is that we do not know, we don’t fully know what will happen if we stay, and we can’t be sure of what will happen if we leave, we just don’t.

Voters have without a doubt been left stranded between the two. But all that aside, what has disgusted me the most is how openly political people have gotten.

Last night on Facebook, I finally posted my disgust at my connections on the site for pushing their opinions so bluntly, and for judging their friends and family in such a way that they could be considered bullies because there are some who might consider voting the other way. In response to my own post (pictured below) which was well received, my aunt commented saying how those of her generation were brought up to not openly discuss race, religion or politics and she too, has been pretty disgusted with what she has seen.

EU Referendum social media

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Sometimes it’s Okay to admit that you’re Lonely

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Hey Sweeties,

Social media is just one big highlight reel, we know this. On a weekend, Instagram particularly is full of avocado mash on toast; cups of tea; and people’s pajama bottoms on white bed sheets.

Lonely

I’m lonely, I’m real fucking lonely.

I have friends, of course I do, but I’ve moved around so much I don’t live near any of them.

I’m too old to be hitting the clubs with the teens but inside, I know I still have this unspent energy to go wild in Ibiza; but I’ll never get that opportunity because life. It’ll also get to like 1AM and I’ll probably want my bed.

There’s a difference between living and being alive. I love life but the last time I really felt alive and had this amazing energy pulse through me was last October in Las Vegas. We were out on the strip and it was one of those rare moments where great company, a great location and being away from your real life just synced together and it was incredible.

Sometimes I can forget being lonely and have an amazing day out with myself because fortunately I am my own best friend and I like me. But sometimes I just need somebody else there too. “But you’re married?” I hear you shout; yes I am and my husband is my best friend and my rock in life, but life means he often works late and at weekends. So yeah, you can be married and lonely.

So what’s the solution?

Well sometimes it’s okay to just be like, you know what? today I just don’t care. Sit at home on the sofa and watch Disney. Other times, you make yourself go out because often I need little to enjoy myself and once I’m out, I can easily find enjoyment in the everyday. But it’s okay to be sad.

Tomorrow I won’t be lonely, today I am and that’s why I have written this post and in a minute, I might go out for a long walk, or I might continue just sitting. It’s just life and sometimes we forget to be honest with everyone, always hiding behind a handful of highlight reels that give a false illusion of perfection. Not everyone even likes avocado.

Until next time x

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