asleep on a sunbeam

There was a time in my life about seven years ago when the reply to ‘what sort of music do you like?’ was just ‘belle and sebastian’. Not indie, twee, rock, pop, whatever, just ‘belle and sebastian’. Days would go by and I would play their cds one after the other and they were the soundtrack of my life. Well, I would still listen to the radio since the radio hadn’t turned completely shitty back then and I would listen to other bands too but most of the time it would be just belle and sebastian. The first gig was in Birmingham in the summer of 2001 and then it was that magical night on a rainy day in September in Athens. There were also some b&s parties at decadence, a few rather unsuccessful fan meet-ups and all sorts of t-shirts, badges, posters, mugs... And then the whole thing started fading away… I don’t know if it was them or me, I loved the ‘fans only’ dvd but I haven’t been able to adore a whole cd after ‘fold your hands…’ At first I tried really hard but it wouldn’t work, magic was just lost, there were scattered songs of course, a couple from each of the latest albums, songs to give you on_a_sunbeam nicknames and break your heart – but only a few. And you can be sad or angry and disappointed and long for the old times or you can just smile and be happy and grateful for the moments you’ve had and the joy they’ve given you. And I chose the latter. And from time to time I still play my personal b&s best of and I sing along, and I still want to start to dance and clap my hands in a crammed pop whenever the dj plays them for me. And I don’t even know why I’m writing all these, it’s just that after a year Stuart has started updating his diary again and that has made me really happy, foolishly happy and I wanted to tell the world. I never had a crash on Stu, hard to believe but true, however, I do love him in that strange way that you can love strangers you will never meet and even his saddest diary entries have this really soothing, comforting quality and just make me smile. And because no matter what, I still do love b&s even if some the magic has been forever lost.

...Think about a new destination

If you think you need inspiration

Roll out the map and mark it with a pin

I will follow every direction

Just lace up your shoes while

I'm fetching a sleeping bag, a tent

Another summer's passing by

All I need is somewhere I feel the grass beneath my feet

A walk on sand, a fire I can warm my hands

My joy will be complete...

weekends away

“Dear diary

what is wrong with me?

cos I'm fine between the lines…”

Dear diary,

I know I haven’t been into a blogging mood lately and I’m not sure when it will come back to me. Anyhow, elections were a good excuse for a final escape- the last long weekend, a farewell to summer. A five-hour bus ride with lots of catching up with my best friend who had just arrived out of the blue from the UK for a wedding, lying on an almost empty beach shivering from the cold sea and watching the planes land on the nearby airport, sulking in the backseat of the car, headphones on, after yet another argument with my parents as if I was 16 again, watching the sun set from one of the most beautiful hills of the island and playing with my baby cats were just some of the weekend’s snapshots.

Other than that my laptop is dying a slow death and I have to figure out what to do soon! The problem is that I made the mistake of falling in love with a macbook which is pricey but so beautifullll!! What shall I do?? Phew, decisions, decisions, I'm tired of decisions dear diary...

weekends away

southermost

make believe

another fave from the past : )

BOKOMOLECH

Ιούνης του ’96, η πρώτη χρονιά στην Αθήνα, το πρώτο indie free, ο πρώτος επιδειξίας στο Πεδίον του Άρεως, το πρώτο cd bokomolech και η πρώτη φορά που τους είδα live. Ακολούθησαν πολλές συναυλίες, πάρτι στην Πολυτεχνειούπολη, ξάνα σε indie free και εμείς στις πρώτες σειρές να παρακολουθούμε το τρελαμένο βλέμμα του Δημήτρη και τα ξεσπάσματα του πάνω στη σκηνή. Μεγάλο κόλλημα τα πρώτα χρόνια με τους bokomolech, το zero και το insect’s song είχαν λιώσει στο πικάπ, μετά κάπου ξεκόλλησα, ακόμα θεωρώ βέβαια το zero το καλύτερο αγγλόφωνο ντεμπούτο από ελληνικό συγκρότημα. Και πέτυχα τόσα χρόνια αργότερα τη σελίδα τους στο myspace και αυτό το βιντεάκι για να μου ’ρθει χαστούκι το φλασμπακ.

idyllwild

A song on the radio
Makes you shiver
And want to curl into a ball
Makes you want to be
Seventeen
And forget the future’s shrinking
Life was so open then
Now it’s closing in
Life was wide open then
Now it’s closing in
One by one
We’ve watched our dreams
Disappearing
Two girls against the world
Summer nights warm and long
Sleeping all day
So many songs
The shadow cast by long ago
Puts a lump within your throat
A girl whose favourite thing is snow
Snow and being alone
The ocean between us can’t
Take away the past
The ocean between us won’t
Take away the past
There’s a place all we shared
Shines unimpaired
Time flies
Swift as an arrow
The dagger of never trodden paths
Photographs they break my heart
Ambushed by the thought-”I don’t recognize her”
I miss you! I miss her!
Life was so open then
Now it’s closing in
Life was wide open then
Now it’s closing in
One by one
We’ve watched our dreams
Disappearing
But the ocean between us can’t
Take away the past
The ocean between us won’t
Take away the past
There’s a place all we shared
Shines unimpaired