Science Museum Lates - Booze, Nostalgia and Childish Glee

Well, hello again.  I realise it’s been a very long time since my last post.  I'd love to tell you that my lengthy absence was a result of imprisonment in some far off exotic paradise due to an over-zealous attempt to reclaim a mystical artefact, but in reality I've been engaged in far more mundane activities; moving house, job hunting and watching an excessive amount of Indiana Jones films.  As a result I feel I have rather neglected this project.

I have however, become much better at estimating weights.

Like the long abandoned model painting kits and other short lived hobby flings that simmer resentfully in a corner cupboard, emanating waves of low level guilt any time anyone comes near, this blog has haunted my browser for too long. So I hereby make a new commitment to keep this regularly updated, and to not let it fall by the wayside, like so many other projects.  Who knows, if this works I might go back and finally complete my Euro ’96 sticker album. What a day that will be for us all.

I would at this point like to make it clear that there were other adventures during my lengthy online absence.  It didn't take me all summer to move some boxes and watch three films (we don't talk about the fourth), but we’ll save those for another day.  Like a fine wine they’ll get better with age, I’ll have forgotten the boring parts and be forced to spice the whole thing up with fist fights and nudity. 

Right now, the big, and indeed good, news is that I've made the move back to the big smoke.  Although possibly not the greatest move financially (I’ve yet to see much evidence of the whole ‘streets are paved with gold’ deal.  I did find 35p on the tube though, so we’re close), it’s great to be back in the city of a thousand adventures.  There’s such a wealth of events going on every day that I really have no excuse for not making the most of it, and saying YES to more things.

With this renewed vigour I set off for South Kensington for an evening at Science Museum Lates – when the venerable institution keeps its door open into the night for an evening of adults-only science. Before you reach for your private browser I should warn you it’s not that type of adult – it merely means that it’s for the over 18s only. 

Adult-only bubbles

For those of you who have never braved a major London family hotspot on a weekend afternoon, it will be difficult to describe the overwhelming joy of not being surrounded by a screaming whirlwind of sticky limbs and stressed out parents, and the intoxicating sense of freedom granted by being able to stride around without worrying about accidentally kneeing a wee one in the face.  (For someone of my height, this is a very real and persistent fear.)

The absence of blockading school groups and wailing infants would probably make this a worthwhile event in and of itself - the freedom of the Science Museum late in the evening is something to be treasured.  You can spend as long as you’d like reading each and every information plaque on each and every exhibit if you so please, absorbing every last bit of mind-blowing information without peering over someone’s shoulder or being pushed aside.  You can amble through the Agriculture department, sprint headlong through Space, or simply find a quiet spot in Materials and have a little nap.  There are other people present, lots of them, but such is the difference in density that some areas felt a little like the opening of 28 Days Later, thankfully without the crushing sense of dread/zombies.

Not pictured: Zombies

But all that pales into insignificance when you realise that finally, after years out in the non-interactive wilderness, staring glumly at the stationary exhibits and reading words written on dull, colourless paper, you can and will press ALL the buttons.  No longer do you have to step aside to let the children have all the fun, no longer will you feel ashamed of being entranced by the bright lights and shapes of the magic touch screen displays.  Instead, you can plunge head-first into the brave new world of interactive learning, and marvel as dusty neural pathways are re-ignited.  Long forgotten facts bubble up to the surface, ideas and equations burst forth from their intellectual slumber and you stun your fellow guests with the revelation that you do in fact know what the three types of rock are. (For those struggling, answers are at the bottom of the post.)  It really is quite pleasant to realise that those years spent cramming the periodic table or the basics of plant reproduction into your unwilling cranium weren't entirely wasted.  An hour spent playing with the exhibits in the museum is enough to reassure that you aren't a totally useless by-product of modern society and that you could probably teach someone something in the event of an apocalypse or freak time travelling incident.  If, however, it turns out you have forgotten everything that Ms. Jeffries tried so hard to teach you, have no fear.  The soothing cartoons will guide you back onto the right path and ensure that you leave with a small child’s understanding of the solar system, which is really about as much as anyone other than an astronaut needs.

The Science Museum has always had this brilliant regressive effect on me (that’s why my parents never let me go when I was very young – a toddler can only regress so far, and it’s not pretty) – it reminds you of those moments when you were fascinated and enthralled by the little details, when science was by far and away the coolest thing there was, before it got bogged down by ‘Rules’, ‘Laws’ and ionic bonding valencies. Although not everyone was a 9 year old boy, who split his time between devouring facts about space and facts about dinosaurs, at some point they will still have had their moments of wonder, when a fact properly digested makes their mind fizz and hum, like a dose of popping candy to the brain.  It’s something that happens far too rarely for my liking these days, and so to be surrounded by so many potential boggle moments, each capable of blowing your mundane daily concerns away and reminding you that our world and our society, even our very existence, is something rare and wonderful, is frankly brilliant.

I should at this point make it clear that one of the other perks of the adults only evening is that you can drink. Lots, if you so choose.  There are numerous bars set up throughout the museum selling wine, beers and spirits, and although it’s not the cheapest place to drink at £4 a bottle/glass, it’s far better than many other places in London.  And it’s important to bear in mind that this event is completely free, like the museum is day in, day out.  Therefore each drink bought means more money for a landmark charitable institution – it would be churlish not to, really.

Pictured here: the opposite of churl

Let's run through that again - science museum, after dark, with booze. No longer is drinking in museums indicative of a severe but highly cultured problem – in fact, it’s actively encouraged.

Whilst booze is a regular feature of the Lates events, this particular evening also featured a whole host of talks, exhibits and workshops devoted to the science of alcohol – how it’s made, how it works and what its effects are.  These ranged from gin history and tasting sessions to interactive lectures focussing on the science of intoxication and mixing the perfect Martini – there was even a pub quiz, although we didn't get there early enough to take part in it.  For those looking for love, or at least a musically induced approximation of it, there was also speed dating and a silent disco, the latter taking place in SPACE.

In space, no one can hear you boogie.

I haven’t even got to the best part yet – you don’t just get child free access to the various exhibitions and departments, but also the shiny palace of joy that is LauchPad.  Again, this probably means a lot more to those who were raised on regular weekend visits to the museum, but suffice to say that it is easily the greatest science themed playground, ever.  (For those who were fed on a steady diet of science toys, they've renovated and relocated it, and it’s better than our 6 year old selves could ever have imagined.) There are machines and gadgets which let you play with reflections, light, colour, sound, magnets, electricity, levers, temperature – in short, if it’s science, you can play with it.  You can spend hours watching dry ice skitter around on the surface of water, experience songs through your teeth, make metal fly with magnets, build your own circuits, power hair-dryers with your feet, bend light with your hands and much, much more.  It appears things designed to be entrancing to the under 10s have a very similar effect on slightly tipsy adults.

All of this was made even better by the fact that, like most communal spaces in the museum, there was a DJ playing.  The majority of it went unnoticed, but at one point he started playing reggae dub versions of Radiohead tracks.  There I was, hanging out in one of my favourite childhood spots, drinking beer, listening to reggae covers of one of my favourite bands, and it was great.

Sadly, we had to leave at some point, but as they ushered us out we passed a bunch of people dressed in corsets, doing the horse dance from Gangnam Style, surrounded by landmark artefacts of the industrial revolution.  Really, what more could you possibly want from a night out?

SM Lates take place on the last Wednesday of every month, and there are tons of other Lates events throughout the capital. I heartily recommend you go.

P.S. It's igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary, in case you were wondering.

A Motivational Playlist

As I’m sure you’re all aware, motivation is a tricksy beast at the best of times.  You can skip the 5^th straight episode of the Big Bang Theory, hit the hay and get up nice and early with a bulging to-do list feeling ready to put the world to rights.  But, as soon as you hit that desk chair, something happens.  Your work ethic deflates, and you flop around aimlessly like that sad wrinkly balloon found round the back of the sofa 2 weeks after a party.  This can be disastrous, as there’s nothing worse in the 21^st century than someone aimless with a connection to the internet.  Before you know it, you’re reading the archives of blogs and webcomics that you don’t even like, and playing endless glorified spot the difference games until your eyes are tired enough you can sleep.  Aaand the same thing happens the next day.  It’s not pretty, and it’s a particularly potent problem during exam season.  Or indeed most days if you’re an underemployed arts graduate…

So, in order to help myself as much as others, I’ve compiled a playlist of ‘motivational’ music to help you power through the apathy.  This is not your early morning GMTV parachute pant wearing type of motivation (does anyone else really miss that guy?) but more of your inspiring indie/punk rock ‘get up and do stuff’ motivation.  I’ve aimed for some variation in genre, so I hope there’s something here for everyone.  

1)  Against Me! – New Wave

                ‘We can be the bands we want to hear / We can define our own generation’

Straight off the block with a bit of punk rock – this, like most of the songs of the album New Wave, rails against the status quo and apathy, and is generally all fired up with righteous rage.  Which, in an era dominated by insipid, anaemic 'pop' music, can only ever be a good thing.   Whilst the song may not be revolutionary in terms of structure or musicianship, it grabs the malingering, aimless graduate by the throat and rams home the idea that you can be the change you want to see and that you shouldn't just bemoan the lack of something, get out there and do it.  Much easier said than done, of course, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded every now and then, and said reminder is even more effective when delivered in the midst of one of their incandescent live sets.

Update – The lead singer, Tom Gabel, has recently announced that he has been dealing with gender dysphoria for years and will be undergoing treatment to live life as woman from now on.  It’s difficult to know what to say about this, other than it’s great that a prominent artist has been very open about it and it should offer hope and encouragement to anyone dealing with the same issues.  Really shows you can define yourself and don’t have to be held back by societal pressures: Guardian Article

2) Kubicheck! – Taxi

‘I'm looking for something more than / What's on offer when the lights go down at night / I'm looking for something more than / The agitation of the city centre’

The second of our three exclamation marked bands, the sadly short lived Kubicheck! were one of those bands who I listened to obsessively when I was getting into music, and will forever be associated with those suitably clichéd ‘difficult’ teenage years. This song in particular reminds me of countless walks and nightbuses through London and watching the people spilling out of various liquor selling establishments looking worse for wear, and it all seeming slightly tawdry and weird.  There's a fantastic blend of anger and optimism that runs through this song – the churning frustration at the current options, and the deeply held belief that there can, and indeed should, be more to enjoying life than 6 pints of Stella at Wetherspoons and then punching someone.*

*This may be because I’ve never punched someone. It might be rad.

3) The Clash – Remote Control 

I love The Clash so very much, and they had to appear in this list somewhere by virtue of the fact that they changed British music, and very probably British culture, forever and for the better.  One could write doctorate upon doctorate on the influence this band had on late 70s and early 80s music, fashion, art and so on, and they are a testament to the effect that a passion for change, welded to powerful and progressive music, can have.  I found it particularly remarkable that they were based for many years in West London, where I grew up, and hearing them sing about the (sadly defunct) Hammersmith Palais and the Westway whilst walking by them couldn't help but be a teensy bit inspiring.

Whilst not my favourite Clash track of all (and that's a lengthy debate for another time), I’m drawn to this one in particular because of the urgent opening riff, simplistic and punk to its core, and the snarling, desperate tone to Strummer and Jones' vocals. It drags you in and smothers you with the heady scent of borderline poverty, anger and passion that can be found in all the best early punk music. What astonishes me more is the fact that although it was written in 1976, it’s still as relevant today:

‘Big business it don't like you / It don't like the things you do / You got no money / So you got no power / They think you're useless / An' so you are - puuuuuuunnnnnk!’

But if The Clash can do it, and fight against the repressive system to make something meaningful and lasting in 1977, then surely we can too in 2012, right?

O, and the song also has Strummer talking about Daleks and doing a robot impression, so that gets them points too.

4) Bloc Party – The Pioneers 

 ‘If it can be broke then it can be fixed / If it can be fused then it can be split /It's all under control’

‘If it can be lost then it can be won / If it can be touched then it can be turned / All you need is time’

‘We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?’

Not a particularly cheery song, and some might argue it’s more depressing than motivating.  But this song, and indeed the whole of Silent Alarm from which is is taken, does strange and wonderful things to me. (If you want to read in more detail about why, check out my post about the album on the Offbeat Blog) 

Similar in many ways to the Kubicheck! track, it’s full of an intoxicating blend of anger and hope – they’re not just breaking things, they’re also fixing them.  Whilst some would argue that having to repeat ‘it’s all under control’ three times betokens the complete opposite, I prefer to look at it as honesty.  They are not the first trying to change the world, and they don’t know if or how it’s going to work, but crucially, they know they won’t be the last to try.

5) Arcade Fire – Neighbourhood #2 (Laika)

'Come on Alex / You can do it / Come on Alex / There's nothing to it'

‘If you want something / Don’t ask for nothing’

Funeral, the album from which this little gem is taken, is one of the most breathtaking debuts of recent times, and I can't help but feel a little burst of joy when I regularly 'rediscover' it, lurking in the depths of my increasingly mammoth CD collection.  One of it's greatest strengths is, for me, its coherence.  Although concept albums get a bad press, and can often backfire spectacularly (see Muse's The Resistance for proof) the three Neighbourhood tracks, of which this is the second, give the album a backbone a brachiosaur would be proud of, and they set the elegiac but upllifting tone of the album perfectly.  The history of the album and the circumstances which led to its creation are well documented, and I don't feel qualified as such to delve into the meaning of the song - to be honest, I have no idea what the references to Laika (the Space Dog) mean here,despite several hundred listens.

But what does matter to me is the fact that this song is clearly about me. My name is, after all, Alexander. I am an older brother, and I do like adventures. (As far as I’m aware I have managed to avoid any vampire bites, but will keep you updated). The rest of the lyrics, about starting fights with fathers and crossing people out of photographs is a little bit off, but the fact remains that whenever they bellow ‘come on Alex, you can do it', it feels like the entire band is behind me, and that the world is my delicious lemon covered oyster.

6) Frank Turner - Reasons Not to Be An Idiot

‘So why are you sat at home? / You're not designed to be alone / You just got used to saying "no" / So get up and get down and get outside / Cos it's a lovely sunny day / But you hide yourself away / You've only got yourself to blame / Get up and get down and get outside’

I think one of Frank Turner's greatest strengths as a singer and songwriter is the relative simplicity of his material - very rarely is it based on complicated or extended metaphors, but is instead short, sharp and to the point.  Whilst his detractors may use that against him, I remain a big fan of his combination of everyday, everyman lyrics, easily memorised and taken to the heart, with a melody that can be picked up by anyone with an acoustic guitar.  Songs like this, taken from his second album Love, Ire and Song, have none of the pretence or wilful complexity of a lot of modern music, but are instead directed straight at the core of the matter.  And when you're buried under ever-thickening layers of stress or sadness that's exactly what you need, a depression-bunker busting ballad - not an intellectual, bread stroking think-piece, but a charged caffeine jolt to the soul.

As a side note, this is also one of those songs which was eternally improved by seeing it performed live, and will always invoke the memories and emotions of that moment.  Turner's accessibility, honesty and song-writing ability all combine to transform his shows into mass sing-alongs, and this song was a particular highlight of his visit to Birmingham last year.  That feeling of connection and community that live music can provide, arguably above any other art form, is intensely powerful throughout, when hundreds if not thousands of people fill their lungs with the same words that you've held dear and echo the same thoughts and feelings that are at once deeply personal and vastly communal.

P.S Apparently the line is ‘all wrapped up in her invisible armour’, not llama.  But I still sing llama, and I think you should too.  It’s just better.

7) Yeasayer – Ambling Alp

‘You must stick up for yourself son / Nevermind what anybody else done’

Motivation is never at a lower ebb than when filling in what feels like your 200th identi-kit job application, which asks you to enumerate your various personal strengths and provide pithy but extensive examples thereof.  Even writing that sentence made we want to bang my head against the desk repeatedly in frustration.  (Pro-tip: Not a recommended method of self-motivation) 

It's at times like that where I reach for a bit of Yeasayer, and their repeated instructions to 'stick up for yourself' is often the push needed to power through the agony of self evaluation and arrogant reflexive trumpet blowing.

It's also a great excuse to put the whole of Odd Blood on and get lost in their bizarre supra-techni-colour world for 40 minutes or so, before having to return to the crushingly mundane world of MS Word and its accusatory bullet points.

8)  Tokyo Police Club – Your English is Good

 ‘You don’t need to change / The future is ours’

These next two songs weren’t chosen for their lyrical merit. To be blunt, this track makes stagerringly little sense  - who are we meant to be voting for, and why?  But that’s hardly the point, as this song sums up the passion and yearning of childhood, when things didn't make a lot of sense and didn't really have to.  It's a song, much like the name of the band itself, full of a sense of naivety and adventures that is so easily lost, or at best, misplaced, as we are forced to ‘grow up’ and involve ourselves in the 'real world.  

It’s a song about taking off your shoes and paddling in the fountain, about doing forward rolls (cartwheels if you’re fancy) through fields just for the hell of it.  Not to look cool or because you’re in some sort of feel good yoghurt advert, but because you can, because it’s liberating, and because it’s fun.  Its a song to inspire flailing on indie dancefloors and the promise to make more memories that’ll last, untouched by app filters and social media timelines.

9) This Many Boyfriends – Young Lovers Go Pop! 

'We'll be strapped for cash but not inspiration'

As Wendy Roby wrote in her excellent DiS singles review column: 

‘This Many Boyfriends is a marvellous band name, not least because it serves equally well as a Wish List item and an arms-wide gesture; it is the sort of thing you say at a sleepover at the age of 14 with like, utterly no comprehension of the romantihavoc ahead’.

That sense of adolescent optimism present in the band's name runs throughout this track, their first single and one of my favourite releases of the past year or so.  It earns its place in the playlist for many of the same reasons as 'Your English Is Good' – it’s a song about enjoying what you do.  Too often people get bogged down in the boring minutiae of a project or job and forget why we do these things in the first place: because we love them and they’re fun.  Hence why I enjoy this song so much - show me a better example of a band having fun with what they're doing and I’ll buy you a cupcake.

From the first hint of the chorus you’re physically compelled to bounce and sing along, and the whole thing is so evocative of those beautiful but rare moments when you and your friends are all together and at one, completely and utterly in the moment, when even those who don’t dance are throwing shapes all over the room. It's heart warming and life affirming and all that mushy marketing gubbins, but crucially it's a bloody good indie pop song that helps lift the mood and restart your spirit.

P.S. If you don't read Wendy Roby's column religiously every Monday then you're massively missing out:  DiS This Week's Singles

10) Dad Rocks! – Funemployment

'Let's do a rhyme / And make it our funemployment'

Occasionally you remember exactly when and where you first heard a particular band, but others seem to have been with you your whole life.  Dad Rocks!, the brainchild of Icelandic singer-songwriter Snævar Njáll Albertsson, is one of those bands.  The project's debut album, Mount Modern, was released in November last year and has since cemented its place as one of my go-to records - the soft acoustic harmonies are nothing particularly new to fans of the new folk revival, but its his voice and lyrics that push the band beyond their peers.  At once accessible and yet strangely withdrawn, they create an intriguing world of blended seriousness and irony that's difficult to escape from.  It's well worth a listen if you have a spare half hour.

This song in particular captured my attention, dealing as it does with the thorny issue of unemployment and the dangers of copious free time.  A perfect song for someone struggling to work out what they want to do post graduation, his list of ideas is as follows:

Start a waterballoon fight with some kids

Start a record label

Start a band and sing

Bask in the glow from the screen TV

Sign up for blogging about birds and trees

Start a charity

Write ‘dirt’ on your notepads and sell it

Or failing that, write the words down in a song about sex and sing

Start a family

OR

Apply at Burger King

It's difficult to express what it is particularly about this song that I enjoy so much.  It's not a rabble rousing call to arms like some of the previous selections, nor it is as philosophically thought provoking as others.  It's certainly less danceable than the Tokyo Police Club or This Many Boyfriends tracks.  I think it's mostly due to the jovial honesty and bluntness of the advice - he's not telling you what to do per-say, merely listing some options.  But the core message seems to be that you have to DO something, and I can't help but think that his way round the problem was to channel his unused creative energies into the band.  Whilst we're never told so explicitly, he makes it sound so easy and straightforward that it acts as a comforting but necessary kick up the backside.

11) The Flaming Lips - Do You Realize??  

‘Do you realize / that everyone you know someday will die / And instead of saying all of your goodbyes / let them know you realize that life goes fast / it's hard to make the good things last / You realize the sun don'-go down / It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round’

I love these weirdos and all their odd little things – E.Ps inside gummy skulls, vinyl with collaborator’s blood spun in it, a 24 hour long song and so on.  But I mostly wish they would go back to writing heartbreakingly wonderful songs like this. 

It's a grand, operatic, bombastic but fundamentally human song that forces you to think about how precarious our existence is and how precious every second of it is.  Life isn’t just about degree classifications and landing the perfect internship, it’s about friendship and love and all that wonderful nonsense.  It sweeps the rug from out underneath your feet - not to make you fall over, but to show you the intricate beauty of what you were standing on.

What’s really amazing about this is that they manage to fit such a potentially clichéd and saccharine message into a song that gets me every single time. The fact that Wayne Coyne can’t sing all that well makes it so much more approachable - less like an Evangelical lifestyle preacher, more like an eccentric uncle with good advice.  Stuck inside a giant hamster ball.

The above video should give you show idea of how wonderful a moment this song is when performed live.  If you are ever in a position to see them live, I strongly, fiercely, even savagely recommend you go.  It redefines what live music can be.

N.B. I would like to say for the record that I would like this song played at my funeral / wake / embalming / cannon firing / whatever the hot new thing in the future is.

12) David Bowie – Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide

‘Just turn on with me and you're not alone / Let's turn on with me and you're not alone (wonderful)’

What is there left to say about Bowie?  A mercurial talent who has inspired generations to throw off the shackles of apathy and grey dullness and embrace rock and roll, he was perhaps never more the embodiment of change and inspiration than as Ziggy Stardust, the persona he adopted for the 1972 album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust.  I'm sure the majority of you have heard the titular track 'Ziggy Stardust' and quite probably 'Suffragette City', but the whole album is a masterpiece from start to this, its glorious and triumphant finish.

Starting very delicately, the song slowly builds into a fantastic wall of guitars, backing vocals and strident declarations, and yet, despite its grand stadium-rock sound, it feels throughout as if Ziggy is talking directly to you, his personal admissions are intended solely for you, and his offer to take his hand is aimed just at you.  Listening to this song, I can’t help but think of all the confused, lonely and scared youths of the 70s, ostracised due to gender, sexuality and so on, who found this bizarre, glittering, extra-terrestrial star singing about them, for them and with them.  The sense of hope and freedom that this song represents can't help but be inspiring, and when Ziggy's got your back, there's not a lot you can't accomplish.

So there you have it, 12 songs that I use to rile myself up and to motivate myself to GET. THINGS. DONE.  I hope you enjoyed at least some of them, and if you have any thoughts/responses or any particular go-to songs that I’ve missed I’d love to hear them.

Intro

Well, I’ve taken the plunge and joined the blogging hordes - the less scary but more opinionated modern version of the Mongols. There are a number of reasons for this blog to exist: I want to stretch some recently underused writing muscles, I want to encourage myself to do more adventures (so I can have more stuff to write about), and also because I demand attention.  So there’s that.

It’s difficult to say what this might contain until I actually knuckle down and write some content, but the over-riding emphasis is going to be on saying YES to more things – those nights you don’t really want to go out, those events which look unusual or scary and those bands or dishes which aren’t really to your taste.  It should be about seizing those little moments when you could try something new instead of falling back on something safe, which applies to pretty much every aspect of life, be it people, events, food, music, art, whatever.  

I guess it’s a way of life I’ve been encouraging for a while, but please don’t get me wrong and think I’m some sort of evangelist life style preacher – this blog is mostly for my own benefit.  Like a Jiminy Cricket Web 2.0 style conscience I hope when I’m offered a YES situation a little voice will crop up: ‘This would be perfect for a blog update’ and BAM, it’s adventure time.  I hope so, anyway.

In the future I hope to write about some of the times that I’ve followed my own advice (very rare occasions, I’m sure you’ll agree) and the book that, for want of a better word, inspired this blog, but for now, I’m going to ignore that above paragraph and play it safe by writing my first real post about what I know. Music.