A song to widen your musical tastes...

some incredible country music...

Two of my favourite musicians...

The incredible Johnny Flynn and the most awesome Marcus Mumford :)

This band are something else...

Got to love a bit of gypsy punk..

30/3/2010 playlist

With the excitement of getting Reading tickets slowly subsiding, I of course have created a Reading 2010 playlist to get me ready for the awesome that is ahead:

Mumford & Sons: Little Lion Man
Frank Turner: The Road
NOFX - The Seperation Of Church And Skate
Gaslight Anthem - The 59 Sound
The Libertines - Don't Look Back Into The Sun
The Maccabees - Lego
Crystal Castles - Alice Practice
Pendulum - Propane Nightmares
Weezer - Buddy Holly
Gogol Borderllo - Wonderlust King
Blink 182 - Anthem pt.2

more to follow...

Peace, Love, Respect, Unity



-- Tom RDD

Reading 2010 (part 2)

Bands you will have to be some sort of Greek god to stop me from seeing at Reading: Mumford & Sons, NOFX, Frank Turner, Crystal Castles, Pendulum, Gaslight Anthem, The Maccabees, The Libertines, Weezer and BLINK 182! Not to mention the lock up stage hasn't been anounced! Roll on August 2010



-- Tom RDD

As I sit here thinking hard of something meaningful to say I'm plugging my playlist (which can be found below) thinking of all the things I have learnt from my second year at Worcester Uni (or my 3rd year in general). So far this year has gone incredibly fast. It really doesn't feel like the year is almost over. So much has happened, so many faces have come and gone. I've grown apart from some good friends that this time last year meant the world to me but I have also solidified old friendships and made new ones with people I never imagined I would have a real conversation with let alone become close friends with. My course renewed my passion for drama and acting just as quickly as it snatched it away again, my passion for music has taken over and has given me strength, escape, a place to write and sing my heart out and even a place to cry. Like many people I've been through hard times at Uni and this year has probably been the hardest for me but if it wasn't for those closest to me literally pulling me through I would probably not have made it this far. Sometimes things are easier when we walk away, I know this from first hand experience as I'm sure many people do.

So this leads me on the the overall theme of the post. Choice. It is always there, sometimes we are denied choice. Sometimes the choices we make we regret, other times we regret not making those choices. I've never been one for regret, our successes and mistakes make us who we are and I've always been happy with who I am regardless. As of late I may not have dealt with things the way some people think I should have but the truth is I don't regret the way I've dealt with my problems because everyone deals with things differently. Some like to cry and some like to laugh. I am somewhere in the middle. One positive thing that has come out of this is that I have started appreciating the here and now.


"Live like there's no tomorrow because there isn't one"

Peace, love, respect, unity





-- Tom RDD

This mornings playlist...

I think this is merely becoming an excuse to write on here. Either way enjoy my music choice of today...

+44 - When Your Heart Stops Beating, 155
Laura Marling - Blackberry Stone
William Elliot Whitmore - Dry
Johnny Flynn - Eyeless In Holloway
Mumford & Sons - The Cave, Winter Winds
The Shins - Turn On Me
The Real Tuesday Weld - Last Words
Angels & Airwaves - The Adventure (acoustic)
Joshua Radin - Winter
Zero 7 - Waiting Line
Two Gallants - The Hand That Held Me Down
Bright Eyes - Lua
Bon Iver - Skinny Love
Fyfe Dangerfield - Livewire
City and Colour - Sleeping Sickness
The Low Anthem - Ohio

I love these guys, can't wait until their UK tour

I LOVE the London folk scene

Reading 2010

Reading tickets go on sale tomorow and I can't wait. I've never been to Reading festival before and with the added bonus of possibly going to see two of my favourite bands (assuming the rumours of Blink 182 and Mumford & Sons playing are true) I am very VERY excited. So I started thinking of my perfect reading line up. I can't really be bothered with days or what stage so it's just going to be bands:

Blink 182
Angels & Airwavs
+ 44
this epic threesome would happen on the same stage one after the other :)


Mumford & Sons
Rancid
New Found Glory
Home Grown
Less Than Jake
Capdown
Lightyear (one can dream)
Mad Caddies
Big D and The Kids Table
The Shins
The Maccabees
The Killers
Vampire Weekend

and more but I can't think at the moment because I'm too excited. Roll on 6:45 tomorow evening!

peace, love, respect, unity

-- Tom RDD

Acting Normal Means Acting Like Everyone Else

This mornings playlist:

Less Than Jake - Robots 1, Humans 0
Home Grown - You're Not Alone
Yellowcard - Ocean Avenue
AFI - Girls Not Grey
+44 - Cliff Diving
Laura Marling - Ghosts
First Aid Kit - You're Not Coming Home
The Meow Meows - Ravioli Lips

Then shuffle is turned on...

New Found Glory - 47
The Slackers - Dead or Alive
The Chinkees - Another Angry Man Goes To War
The Bouncing Souls - True Believers
Rude Bones - Work Like Machine
The Maccabees - About Your Dress
King Apparatus - Hearless
Angels & Airwaves - Start The Machine
Barry White (lol) - Can't Get Enough Of Your Love
Mustard Plug - Hit Me, Hit Me
MxPx - Tightly Wound
The Aquabats - Tiger Rider vs. Time Sprinkler

shuffle is turned off...

The Aquabats - Fashion Zombies

Ok then...

The Science Of Selling Yourself Short

This mornings playlist...

Less Than Jake - The Sciene Of Selling Yourself Short
The Maccabees - Good Old Bill + X Ray
Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More + The Cave
The Shins - Caring Is Creepy + New Slang
Bishop Allen - Middle Management
Vampire Weekend - Ottoman
Less Than Jake - Dope Man
Home Grown - Tomorrow + Give It Up + Kiss Me, Diss Me
Choking Victim - 500 Channels
Jay Z - Forever Young
Lost Prophets - Rooftops
New Found Glory - Truth Of My Youth

...it was a good morning

This one is for you...

I would be willing to bet that you will never read this. It's 2 years late, but better late than never. Thank you.

Tom RDD's song of the week

I've decided to start doing a weekly song suggestion. Why? Because it gives me an excuse to write on here and also just because music is the main passion in my life. So here we go, this weeks Tom RDD song suggestion is...

Bishop Allen - Middle Management




Not usually my cup of tea. But I'm always pleasantly surprised when something comes out of a genre I don't much care for that makes me want to listen again and again. The song is featured in the film "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist", which is fast becoming one of my favourite films.

Hope you enjoy.

Peace, love and respect. as always.

-- Tom RDD

A thought...

They say the world is broken into pieces and everyone has to find them and put them back together. But maybe we don't have to find them. Maybe we are the pieces.

Overrated (Everything Is)

I'm pretty sure I've posted the video the this song before but the lyrics are really true to how I feel. I know it's a bit of a cop-out when the 2 people that actually bother reading what I have to say see that I've used someone elses words to describe how I feel. Well these lyrics are pretty spot on. So take a read to see how and what I think/ feel at the moment...

Maybe I'm jaded and bored
Always looking for more
Wait around for the next big fix
I know I'm a wreck, I'm a mess
But I couldn't care less
Don't know what it would take to change me

Everybody's so afraid to be different
Please excuse me now if I don't get it

I think sex is overrated
So is always getting wasted
Designer drugs and dead end jobs
And classic rock is so outdated
I'm so sick of therapy
And all the things it's done to me
How can I be satisfied?
When everything is overrated

Maybe the problem is me
But I won't make believe
And I can't take this mediocrity
What if this is a test?
And I deserve what I get?
Will I wake up with all the answers?

Everybody's too afraid to be different
Please excuse me now if I don't listen

I think sex is overrated
So is always getting wasted
Designer drugs and dead end jobs
And classic rock is so outdated
I'm so sick of therapy
And all the things it's done to me
How can I be satisfied?
When everything is overrated

Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah
When everything is overrated.
Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah
When everything is overrated.

Can't stand the normal
Can't stand the ordinary
Find me anything that's extraordinary
Show me something
Show me anything
Am I the only one?
Am I the only one?

I think sex is overrated
So is always getting wasted
All my friends and family
They make my life so complicated
I'm so sick of apathy and TV show reality
How can I be satisfied?
When everything is overrated.

Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah
When everything is overrated.
Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah
When everything is overrated.

And I LOVE this song

Some lyrics that really speak to me at the moment...

If I hold on to what I've got
Make the best of everything
Even if that means that I'm not left with anything...
At least I'll have some sort of peace of mind,
Left it all behind me now,
Watched it change just to break me free

My eyes have seen better days
I wish I knew what was in store
My eyes have seen better days,
all is quiet in my heart when all I want to do is make some noise

If I just turn the key and open up the door
maybe things will be the same
Can't you see that I'm crying out for a real change?
If I hold on to what I've got,
I'll be floating on my borrowed time,
Not too long before the ocean let's me sink
To the floor

My eyes have seen better days
I wish I knew what was in store
My eyes have seen better days
All is quiet in my heart when all I want to do is make some noise

Forever Young...

A friend of mine today said something a lot of people often say but it made me think about the way things are going in my life at the moment. What he said was simply "Live for today". I've never been good at truly living for the moment. I always think about the consequences and what can and probably will happen. At the moment my head is so messed up and I feel like I have no true direction in my life. All I know is that I don't want to get caught up in the rat race of life. The 9 - 5 life is not the life for me and something I will never go into unless I truly have to. The moral of the story is that I (and we as people) should start living for the now and stop living for tomorrow. It's hard considering my current mind set but not impossible. I have a short time left at Uni and I don't want to look back and regret not making the most of my time here. It has been a fantastic journey. I have been blissfully happy and I have seen the dark side of depression. But it's an adventure, an adventure I need to start enjoying while it's happening.

"I wanna be forever young"

-- Tom RDD

turn you back and run

I've been going through a pretty rough time as of late. My mind has literally been a minefield. I've been dealing with apathy, anxiety, self doubt, self deprecation and some other pretty bad things which apparently all point to one thing. What triggered this? I have my theories but nothing I can pin point and say "THAT is the reason I'm feeling like this".

For those of you who haven't experienced apathy before just be glad you haven't. Over the last few months my apathy has grown from simply not being enthused about anything to literally being void of emotion. I put a smile on and pretend everything is fine but beneath I feel far from OK. Feeling worthless and that you're insignificant is something almost everyone will go through but that coupled with no regard for your own well being is a dangerous combination. Today, however has been a good day. The sun has been shining and for the first time in a long time I was up quite early and not feeling like shit. I spent most of my day hanging out with my best friend just messing around (he started drinking at 10, what a soldier). Going outside refreshed me and helped put things into perspective. I still feel a lot of apathy towards almost every aspect of my life, but something about the sun shining put me in as good as mood you can be in when you don't really feel emotion. I just have to hope that it gets better from here on out.

Apologies for the vent but sometimes writing things down just helps clear my head.

Peace, love and harmony.

-- Tom RDD

show me something, show me anything

I am so sick of this apathy and all the things it's doing to me