Melody Gardot - Currency of Man (a Review)

Good evening! I'd like to share the album I have been listening to every evening for a fortnight with you.
(Is that a proper sentence? I'm dead tired. Sorry if it isn't).

Melody Gardot caught my attention a couple of years ago, when she brought out the album "My One and Only Thrill" with that wonderful song "Who Will Comfort Me".
I heard it on the radio and I remember I stopped ironing to be able to listen properly. (Now, anything to be able to stop ironing, but that's besides the point) I adored it, and rushed to the radio to catch the name of the singer. They didn't tell it, so I had to wait for weeks to find out who sang this great song.
That album disappointed me at first; I thought it too sugar-coated, and the scatting in almost every song annoyed me. But listening to it a couple of more times made me change my mind somewhat. It is very well-crafted.

Then Ms Gardot placed a message on her Facebook page; she was looking for people to sing along to a new song of hers, "preacher man", and I uploaded my version. (I'm not good with computers, so these 60 seconds took me hours! But I had great fun.)
Needless to say I kept an eye and ear out for this song. And finally, some weeks ago, the album was released.
While I was waiting for it to arrive to my home I looked at every recent YouTube video of Melody I could find; and to my amazement there are many versions of preacher man. Watching her perform live, my respect for her grew more and more. She is not just a pretty face (although she does have a very pretty face!); she actually is a very talented performer, who has many versions of each and every song she has written.

Currency of Man is much more dark than her last two albums. First of all she sings in a deeper and rawer voice. And the light love songs have disappeared. She sings of pain, of homeless people, of murder, of lost love, of revenge, of heartache (in fact, of all those huge emotions I am experiencing right now - bar murder). But also of compassion.
Those songs are little gems.
Look her up, do! I'm interested in what you think.

Aaahhhhhh....November...

Hi there, good evening from The Wetlands.
I hope you are feeling fine?
Myself...I've had the most frustrating day ever (won't go into details, but life was not a barrel of laughs today), and then it is my habit to cheer myself up with 'happy blogging'.
(Do you do that? Does it work for you?) In other words, I look for that silver lining.

And, as usual, I have managed to find it. Look at that! Isn't it absolutely gorgeous?

My Japanese Maple is lovely too, and the Ghost Birch is turning yellow.

I adore cycling through the lanes and streets of my town at the moment, as they are so pretty and everything smells spicy. 

We were lucky with the weather as well, crispy and hardly any wind. When it rains all those fallen leaves are another story entirely...

November is a 'waiting' month, I feel. We are waiting for the first proper gale force storm, waiting for the first real frost, waiting for the first snowflakes to fall.

(Some people are already waiting for the Christmas holidays ;-)

I am waiting for my life to take a turn for the better...

Today I visited all estate agents again (yet again), to see if there was light at the end of my particular tunnel. But no...

I'll hide myself in my cozy room and I'll read a good book. What else can you do, in November, eh?

Have a nice evening!

Viggo's Blog: Why Halloween is Bad for Black Cats

Hi fans, Viggo here.

Do you like the picture? Found it on the internet - wonderful thing, the internet, not in the least because it gives me a platform to talk to you.
And today I want to talk to you about the image of us, Black Cats.

We have a terrible image. And that is so unfair! Just look at me (below).

Is that the Face of Fear? That face which Halloween stories tell you to watch with horror?

Am I so awfully scary to behold?

Is it truly necessary to cross the road when you spot me doing my rounds (to protect my woman and house, I'd like to add, for crying out loud!) Do you actually believe you will have bad luck when you see me (you silly human, you)? Do you really fear I have ESP and the power to influence your thoughts so that you will crash your car? Do you think that women with black cats are witches? Do you secretly think all women are witches? (You have a problem, mate, if you do!)

I want to break a lance for us, black cats.

We are sensitive (as well as gorgeous in my case), loyal, reliable, and good mousers on the whole. (I catch at least one a week). We keep our fur clean and shiny (just look at mine, why don't you?). We purr loudly when happy. We keep out other cats and I keep out other dogs as well (my old Gina can't do that herself anymore, the old fart). We neatly bury our poop (unlike you, huh?).

So, I'd like to put it to you, that if you have a problem with accepting black cats, you are simply a racist.

There. I've said it. Chew on that for a minute.

I'm going to have a little snooze while you hide your head with shame.

See you next time, tar rah!