Introoo
04 Nov 2008, 11:33 pm (C1MMENT)

Since I talk about them a lot, I thought I'd introduce them. Them being my favourite band, McFly.

I did this a few weeks ago on my livejournal, so the majority of this is copied from there.

Okay, because I'm lazy, I'm going to link to two band primers by different people. The most recent one is here, and it also has fic recommendations. The other is on mcflyslash, and is therefore slashy, but two years old. That's here. The comm is locked, but if you want to read the slash too, you may as well join? 8D; There's also wiki~

If you're too lazy to read through those, here's a very brief introduction: McFly are Tom (vocals/guitar), Danny (vocals/guitar), Dougie (bass/vocals) and Harry (drums). They formed in 2003 through their current management team and Island Records.

Um, Tom wanted to be in a band, so he auditioned for Busted, but didn't get in. The management liked him anyway so kept him around to sort of do work experience type stuff. He was working at the V auditions, which Danny turned up for. He brought his guitar thinking he was auditioning for a Busted sort of band, rather than the conventional singing/dancing type of boyband (he refused to dance XD). Tom fell in love and asked if he could write with him~ They still needed bass and drums, so Dougie and Harry were recruited through an ad in NME magazine. They got talking at the McFly audition, found they had loads in common and therefore fell in love. (I ship Tom/Danny and Dougie/Harry if you hadn't guessed :3) So yeah, McFly (named after Marty McFly from Back to the Future)!

They were labeled as a boyband, and still are mostly. They're certainly not ashamed of being a pop band, however I'd like to point out that they don't have dance routines or matching suits (well, I don't know, they probably do have matching suits actually). They're all pretty and do lots of gay photoshoots and silly posing for the cameras. They were aimed at 12-18 year olds through the magazines and tv shows they appeared on, although this is slowly changing. As their fans are a similar age to them, both the fanbase and the material grow with the band. I admire them for being mainly 'kid friendly' (appearing on children's shows, mags etc) and therefore getting kids interested in real, decent music.

They've always been known to be a guilty pleasure band, but hopefully that'll change soon too. Their music is nothing to be ashamed of! It's fun guitar pop/rock, basically. It's probably their live shows that convince most people they're not a 'boyband'. They're amazing live, and they seem to dedicate a lot of time to their live shows as it's what they love most.

They went independent at the start of this year. They created their own record label, Super Records. It's going to take time for them to earn the respect they deserve as most people probably don't even know/care that they're independent now, but I think after a while people will start to admit to liking them.


Young!'fly: Danny, Tom, Dougie, Harry.


Current 'fly: Harry, Tom, Dougie, Danny.

Okay I did TRY to keep that short! XD It's shorter than the other posts that I linked too.

I'm not going to share their music. That would be silly, seeing as their my favourite band and all. It's not hard to buy a download anyway. Instead, here's some videos to convince you:


Do Ya (latest single)


POV (track from latest album)

McFly single!
31 Oct 2008, 05:02 pm (C2MMENT)

Thought I'd post about something fandom related, because the only other recent things worth reading are my latest LJ entries, and they're not even my latest entries since half of them are f-locked. I'm not sure whether I should leave them at the top of my blog or not. I wanted people to know that I do update somewhere pretty frequently.. ^^;

ANYWAY. Fandom: McFly

Their new single is a double A-side; Do Ya/Stay With Me. Do Ya is from Radio:active. It's one of my favourite tracks (well, there's only three that I wouldn't consider favourites) from the album and I think it's a great single choice. It's easily likeable, easy to listen to and it easily gets stuck in your head. And you can sing along just from hearing the first part of the song :D I could go on in a fangirly sort of way about the way Tom and Danny sing together and stuff but I wanted to keep this short.

Stay With Me is a Rod Stewart cover. I'm really excited about this! I don't like Rod Stewart, but I like a few of his songs and this happens to be one of them. I'm looking forward to seeing how they rearrange it.

It's also the official Children In Need single, which makes me ridiculously happy for some reason.

Well, I didn't really want this to be a McNews blog or anything, so I guess I'll stop here. I'll review the single though, I guess. Even though I've already said how awesome Do Ya is. XD

Smirnoff ad
14 Oct 2008, 03:33 pm (C3MMENT)

I love this advert. Awesome imagery. It's part of the Sea campaign for Diageo, made by JWT. It must be successful because it's been around for over a year now.

McFly gig, again ♥
05 Aug 2008, 01:49 am (C0MMENT)

We went to see McFly in Cheshire on Saturday! It was absolutely amazing. The best gig I've ever been too. I've actually seen them twice since I updated here. :3 I saw them at Leeds Party In The Park the other week as well. I'll never get enough of them.

Firstly, the Cheshire gig, because I can't get it out of my head. I had so much fun~ There's more on my livejournal, as always.

We sat and waited for almost 4 hours before we were finally let into the park. Everyone ran up to the front. XD Crazy! We just kind of walked fast, since it wasn't going to make much of a difference whether we walked or ran, to be honest. We managed to get 4th row on Tom's side, which is where I wanted to be.

Then there was more waiting, although I think this time it was only for 30 minutes. The first band came on~! Sgt. Wolfbanger! We didn't take any pictures of them. Just didn't really enter my head to take any. :/ They were quite good, and they managed to get the crowd going.

The next band up were Reemer. I'd heard their stuff on myspace before, and thought it sounded catchy. They were amazing live! Really catchy tunes. I danced all the way through their set. XD; They seemed to really enjoy themselves~

Go:Audio were next up. They were better than they were at Leeds last week. ^^; And they played Forget About It. Ahh! Love that song. They made it a little rockier live too; got everyone jumping in between the choruses. Amazing!

They have a cute temporary guitarist called Nick, who I managed to get a smile out of more than once because I was pulling faces at him. XD So cute!

And then of course, McFly were next. Everyone started flying their flags~

Waited another 30 minutes after GA though! They like making their fans wait D: But oh god are they worth it. They were amazing. Best I've ever seen them, live and on DVD (although I may be biased because I was actually there). I'm still buzzing from it. I enjoyed it soso much. My legs, ears, arms and throat still hurt. xD; It was so much fun! I'm not sure if I say it enough; I love this band.

There were loads of slashy moments too! Quite a bit of Tom/Danny, Danny/Dougie and Tom/Dougie. :3 Harry doesn't really get a look in live, he's too far away. XD They were being all daft at the end running around the stage trying to catch Dougie, and Danny sort of caught him and then hugged him. *_* I wish I'd gotten a picture! It was so cute~~ Seems like no one managed to get a picture of it though. They would leave one of the cutest moments 'til everyones put their camera away. Pfft!

Anyway, the MUSIC. XD Apart from Tom messing up (shocker :O first time in 5 years apparently..), they were perfect. Okay, I'm obviously speechless. Just.. amazing. They did a proper encore this time, too. They normally just go off and come back on, but last night they told us if we wanted them to come back we had to chant/scream/shout about it. XD Hahaha. Lets see if I can remember the set list, although I can guarantee it won't be in order:

One For The Radio
Everybody Knows
Obviously
Star Girl I love it when I'm in a crowd of people singing, 'ooooh ooooh ooooh ooooooooh!'. Badly. XD
All About You
POV
Transylvania So happy they did this ;_; I love it so much~
Lies
That Girl
Falling in Love
Please, Please
Do Ya gimmie a do, gimmie a ya, what have you got? do ya! XDD
Room on the 3rd Floor oooh god I jumped and danced like mad to this
The Last Song and this..

Encore: 5 Colours and this

They didn't do Going Through The Motions, boo. But they did do Tranny, Lies, Star Girl and Falling in Love! Yay *__* Every single song was fantastic, but I've made the ones I was most impressed with bold.

We took a bunch of pictures, but the lighting was pretty rubbish from where we were stood. A good few turned out great though. I've uploaded all my favourites to myphotoalbum. Go take a look at McFly's awesomeness!



They were great at Leeds too, although they only had a short setlist. My pics from that are on myphotoalbum too. They're a lot clearer because they were shot in the daytime, in bright sunlight. It was so hot that day! o_o;

Their setlist that day was:

One For The Radio (best I've heard it live so far)
Obviously
Everybody Knows
All About You
Do Ya
Five Colours


Dougie smiling!

So, the next time I'm seeing them is in November at Liverpool arena for their tour finale. I will catch a plectrum yet! >D

Radio:ACTIVE
20 Jul 2008, 12:18 pm (C0MMENT)

So today I got up early (for me) and drove out to my local garage to get the Mail on Sunday. I'm not exactly a regular reader, but today is different. McFly's new album!



It's awesome! I'm speechless. I can't wait to hear these songs live.

Tracklist:
Do Ya
Falling in Love
Everybody Knows
Smile
One For The Radio
POV
Corrupted
The Heart Never Lies
Going Through The Motions
The Last Song

I want to do an album review, but I'm crap at stuff like that. So I'll just babble about each song and what I like about them. Note: I really have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to music. I just enjoy it.

Do Ya
One of the b-sides of their latest single was an acoustic version of this, which I adore. I had it on repeat (until I heard the next track). After hearing the album version a few more times, I'm not sure which one I prefer. Acoustic songs always have their own charm, but the guitar melodies and drums really add to this version. I love the drums in the intro! I also love that it's the same set of lyrics over and over again, but each time it goes up a key (okay, so I got that from Tom >>;). The song sort of builds itself up; I love the part where Tom and Danny start to sing together. I love it! Should I rate each song? They'll all probably be 5/5 though. This one is. 5/5

Falling in Love
This was another acoustic b-side. I instantly loved it as soon as I heard it. I really, really love the acoustic version. I can't get enough of Danny's voice~ It's a little strange hearing the album version, especially with drums. I think the vocals keep the beat throughout the song and I kind of got used to it. By the second verse I've got used to the drums being there and I love it just as much. I love the part near the end where Danny's singing 'she said oooh' and Tom's singing 'sick of waiting, I can't take it, gotta tell ya'. Ugh see this is gonna be a crap review because I'm so bloody biased. 5/5

Everybody Knows
This blew me away when I first heard it. Amazing track. This is the track to broaden their fanbase. Why wasn't this the first single? Although I agree with the reasons for having OFTR as the first single, too. I can imagine this being fantastic live. Not my favourite off the album, but only because I'm a sucker for happy/cheesy songs. 4/5 (ah that hurt ._. It's a great song!)

Smile
Okay, I admit that I giggled when I heard the start of this. But in an endearing way! I love it! I want to know who's singing the low "bom ba bom" bits though. It's driving me mad because I can't place the voice with any of them, aha. 'Come on and show us your teeth and what you got underneath". Ahh love it! It's definately not what I expected (when I saw the title all I could think of was L'Arc〜en〜Ciel..) 5/5

One For The Radio
I have issues with the start of this song. I really don't like it. Once the verse starts it's great though. Really easy to listen to and sing along to. I especially like the bridge, where Danny's singing 'here's one for the radio'. I love the line ''cause we all look the same in the dark'. Wish more people thought like this. I can't wait to see this live, either. I want to sing 'we don't care'! 4/5

POV
This was the third acoustic b-side, so again I've heard the acoustic before the album version. I think I prefer this version to the acoustic. You can really feel the power of the chorus, and I think the vocals are slightly better. I love the strings~ It's very dramatic too. 5/5

Corrupted
I love this song. Tom sounds so evil, haha. Most of all I love the chorus; 'so good you've got to abuse it, so fast that sometimes you lose it'. Loving Danny's vocals! I think it's missing an epic guitar solo though. The rest of the song makes up for that, though! Absolutely awesome. Cannot wait for this live. 5/5

The Heart Never Lies
No idea why this is on their new album. I think Tom said it was because it was a favourite? It's not new though. Whatever. I still love it as much as I did when I bought it. 4/5

Going Through The Motions
I love this song so much. I love the speed of it. I've been dancing to it all morning. It sounds like I'm listening to McFly jam or something, which is awesome. Also: guitar solo! 5/5

The Last Song
This track really surprised me. I expected the title to have nothing to do with the song (or I was hoping so) but I was so wrong. 'If this is the last song I ever sing, I'm giving it everything'. I'm rubbish with lyrics, but I love the part where (I think) Danny sings, 'so bury me with my guitar and on my way to hell I'll play'. Oh, and it starts as a ballad, then just kind of explodes into a fantastic guitar driven McFly tune. I'm going to compare it to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody just because I can. Amazing~ 5/5

So overall, is that like an average of 6/5? Hehe. XD Truely an amazing album. I'm really pleased with it. I'll be listening to it all day. Even more love for my favourite band ETA: a better review that makes more sense.

Come on number one!

Music chatter
09 Jul 2008, 03:47 pm (C0MMENT)

I haven't really had much to update on since my last blog, so I thought I'd talk about some of the tunes I'm listening to at the moment.

01. Pendulum - Mutiny

I started listening to Pendulum after hearing their recent single Propane Nightmares on the radio. I've never really listened to drum and bass before, although to be honest this isn't the usual drum and bass sound. Anyway, I'm not really into music categories, so lets just call it really catchy awesome music.

02. Das Pop - Underground

I saw the video for this while I was surfing the music channels one night last week. Just think it's a nice pop song. It's got a nice retro feel to it (although I can't quite place it) and it's easy to listen to.

03. Justice - DNVO

I started listening Justice after seeing the video for D.A.N.C.E. somewhere. Again, they're not usually what I listen to but I can't resist catchy music. I should've noticed them before now; apparently they did a song with Das Pop, a song with Daft Punk, one of their songs was used in a Doctor Who trailer and the same song was used on a trailer for the Formula 1. No idea why I haven't listened to them before now..

04. Coldplay - Viva la Vida

I've never really liked Coldplay. I don't like the lead vocalist's voice (Chris Martin?). But I think this is a great song; really powerful. Or maybe I've just heard it so much I've grown to like it. I'm not sure.

05. Duffy - Warwick Avenue

Not actually a fan of her voice; I didn't like Mercy. I really like this song, though. I think maybe it's because of the lyrics and how the song tells a story.

06. John Mayer - Not Myself

I started listening to Mayer through Disney, haha. He's a great songwriter, and he has a really good voice. This song just happens to be one of my favourite tracks by him.

07. Weezer - Dreamin'

I've been a fan of Weezer since I can remember first listening to bands. This is from their latest album. I was slightly disappointed by the album, but I think maybe I was expecting too much. I'm not sure. I think the music's good, but not as good as their Green or Blue albums.

08. McFly - One For The Radio

This is their new single~ (video.)

09. McFly - Everybody Knows

This is a track of their new (bestest ever ever) album. They put an exclusive video of it on their myspace.

10. McFly - POV

Same with this, but on their bebo (I think!)

11. McFly - Do Ya (acoustic)

And this is the b-side to One For The Radio, which has apparently been released on iTunes everywhere but the UK. It's not due until the weekend. But whatever! I've already bought every single version of the album already anyway. Well, you know, pre-ordered. It's out Monday. I hope I can wait that long.

Oh, and my favourite 'Fly song out of these? I honestly think they're all absolutely fantastic, but I really love Do Ya. I currently have it on repeat. I love happy songs.


I think I'll try a little harder to update this more often. Even if future entries are solely related to McFly...

McFly gig
18 May 2008, 01:10 am (C0MMENT)

So, I saw McFly last night, for the second time, at Aintree racecourse. They were amazing, as usual. They looked and sounded great! It was also my first standing gig I've been to. It was a bit awkward though because I was wearing a dress and high heels! My feet were numb from standing/walking all afternoon around the races, then I stood waiting for them to come on stage for an hour and a half. Didn't want to sit on the floor since I was wearing a dress~ So yeah. Couldn't really jump, but I danced a lot! It was so much fun.

The only slightly bad thing was the crowd. The atmosphere was a bit weird. There was lots of bitching going on, and it sounds like the front row got a bit violent. I was about 8 people away from the front. Not too bad, although I did get pushed back a few times. I was nearer the front about two hours before it started, but got pushed back by parents with little kids (fair enough) and a group of girls that wouldn't shut up about not being able to see past my friend. To shut them up, I let them in front, but I really regret it. I couldn't see past them once they were in front, plus I missed out on some chocolates Tom threw our way. The girl right in front of me got one.. :P

I can't remember the order of the set list, but I'm pretty sure I remembered all the songs:

That Girl
Friday Night (I honestly can't remember this but I have video footage of it. Buh?)
Star Girl
Transylvania
I'll Be OK
Please Please
Ultraviolet
Obviously
The Heart Never Lies
I Wanna Hold You
Don't Stop Me Now
Sorry's Not Good Enough
Room On The 3rd Floor
All About You
Five Colours

The ones in bold were my favourites. I realise that's most of them.. I think the highlights were Tranny, Room on the 3rd floor, Don't stop me now and Sorry's. I wish I could've done more jumping/dancing/spazzing but my feet hurt way too much (too scared to take my shoes off!) I made sure I sung as loud as I could though. My throat hurt this morning from shouting/whooing. Um, I don't really do screaming.

It's the closest I've been to the stage. Last time I saw them was at the MEN arena, and I was basically sat on the roof I was so far away. But this time, because the Aintree 'arena' is so small, I guess everyone gets pretty close to the stage. I was in the middle, so opposite Danny, but I had someone's huge head in front of me for the majority of the time, so I couldn't see straight ahead! There was a gap (short people..) to the left of the person in front of me, so I could see Tom for most of the gig. There must've been loads of tall people over Dougie's side or something because I couldn't see him at all either. I could see Harry because he was higher than the others (drummer). But I could see the big screen through all of it so yay~ XD; Although the camera seemed a bit dodgy since it kept going on and off..

My favourite parts were basically just watching Tom most of the time. Took some good videos! But the pictures aren't that good. And I wish I'd taken more. Time went by so fast while they were on and I just kept thinking, 'I'll take more pictures in the next song' and never did~ There's a few pictures on my LJ. I won't be posting my videos though unless I suddenly decide I want a youtube account or something. There's some pro shots here.

I've learnt my lesson anyway! Take lots of pictures constantly and puuush to nearer the front. Can't wait to see them again in August! I'll be standing again, and it'll be a whole new set list. So excited!

Super excited about the new album too. It's coming out around the end of July. And the first single is being played on the radio at the start of June, I think. Squee~! I love this band so much.

Now I've bored you with my ramblings, I'll leave you with a video from last night. Not mine, obviously. Transylvania:

Quote~
12 May 2008, 01:13 pm (C2MMENT)

I think coursework and exam pressure has driven me insane, because this made me laugh way more than it should've:

Alex: I propose, that given your reaction to the gender balance of the gang, that this is their first job.
Gene Hunt: What, New Kids On The Block?
Alex: Now that's a good name for a boy band!
Gene Hunt: Chris, Take That! It's the dodgy second hand car dealers. East 17!
Chris: Alright, Backstreet Boys.
Ray: Yeah, let’s get 'em Busted!
Alex: Ooh God! I'm gonna scream!

It's from Ashes to Ashes, by the way.

Okay! Final exam tomorrow and coursework deadline on Wednesday! Then it will all be over and I can be freee to do whatever I want. Of course, until I have to go to work. D:

McFly in 4 days! Squeeee!

Eddie
08 May 2008, 05:14 pm (C0MMENT)

I'm in the middle of my exams and I have a coursework deadline soon, but I just wanted to post a picture of my puppy, Eddie! There's more to look at too - been wanting to start an online photo collection for ages. Hopefully will add more after exams and whatnot.

Music and things
22 Apr 2008, 06:24 pm (C4MMENT)

So, I've been listening to Weezer's new single, Pork and Beans. I didn't like it at first hearing, but now I have it on repeat. It's really catchy. Can't wait for the new album!

This summer's great for new music (for me, at least!). McFly, Weezer and Gackt all have upcoming albums. It's so exciting~

And while I'm on about music, I'm seeing McFly in three weeks (and a few days). I can't wait! It's the same week all my exams end, and the final coursework deadline. Really looking forward to it.

In fact, I just wish the uni year was over now. I'm so fed up of the modules this semester. Not what I'm interested in and not what I want a career in. Waste of time, to be honest. Next year looks better though.

Anyway, as I have four (yes, 4 ) exams to revise for, I should really get off the Internet. It's a real break from studying, especially webdesign; which I find really relaxing. But, alas, revision needs to be done..