12.02.2023 | 10 Thoughts on Tape Deck Heart

Fangirling | On Thursday, when I couldn’t be in London for the 10 years anniversary show for Tape Deck Heart, I listened to the whole album on the way to work and back. I thought about doing “10 things about Tape Deck Heart”, but then couldn’t really make up my mind if I should do it here or on my Insta Stories and then the moment passed. Not completely though, so here a few random thoughts on this album. From the top of my head.

  • Almost ten years in and I still don’t know and even less can sing all the words to “Recovery”
  • “as I’ve reached that shore, I’m not sure how to feel”. This “shore – sure” must have been one of the first times I thought “Hah, that’s neat, phonetically!” and I might even have emailed Frank about it.
  • “The Way I Tend To Be” and “Polaroid Picture” contains quite a few meaningful (to me at least) lyrics, which I probably have over-used as titles to blog posts here in the past.
  • I can’t NOT drum along to the big drum part at the start of the bridge in “Plain Sailing Weather”. On my legs, my steering wheel or my favourite of course on top of the barrier at a gig
  • The whole “When I thought that suffering was something profound…” bit in “Tell Tale Signs” was one of the first times I realized that Frank might be just as messed up as me. What a revelation. What a comfort!
  • It’s the rule to sing “Oh so low” in the lowest voice possible wherever you are when you hear the Four Simple Words, right?
  • “More than just a pair of sinking ships” (Anymore) might be the most heartbreaking sea-related metaphor he ever used

Not quite ten for ten, but it’ll have to do. And that’s all I have to say today, really. Like I said. Laaaaazy day.

29.01.2023 | “Draw a Line Underneath All of This Unhappiness”

Lyrics: “Get Better” ~ Frank Turner, 2015

Books | I’m buying and buying new ones and don’t even know when I’ll have the time to read them all. Or when I’ll be in the (right) mood for any of them. The novel I’m reading currently is dragging a bit and I’m tempted to either abandon it or skim through the second half. I’ve got quite a few interesting non-fiction books on my shelf, but as so often: I just can’t make up my mind, which to start with. There are also quite a few novels and the same dilemma. I might need to go back to reading the first few pages of a few and then decide. What a boring first world problem, I know.

Photography | It was still below 0 °C here all morning and I thought I might find some interesting winter / frozen over / anything nature or locations to snap photos of. I drove a few minutes to the next town, because I feel like I’ve seen enough of my own. And to be honest, I wanted to avoid running into people I know and having to explain why I was out with the camera. Yes, I’m feeling fine, but still suffer from lack of self-esteem in some regards. Anyway, I took some photos and dabbled around editing them, but didn’t got anything I considered worth sharing. Then I remembered I had already been shooting in RAW format last year on my vacation, so went back to two of those photos. I’m quite happy how they turned out.

Ameland Dunes – not edited
Ameland Dunes – edited
Ameland Beach – not edited
Ameland Beach – edited

10.12.2022 | “The Ocean Is Still Out There, Magnificent and Wide…”

Lyrics: “Sailor’s Boots” ~ Frank Turner, 2011

Magnificent and wide. And wild and stormy and foggy and still able to calm my soul.

I slept in, read some news and social media on my phone. Meditated. Had a coffee. Went to the beach around 11 and braced the cold and wind to walk up and down the shore for a while. Went back “home”. Had breakfast. Edited the morning photos. Read some more (newspaper, a bit on the phone, self-help). Went back to the beach in the dusk and braced to cold once more. Got home. Took a long hot shower. Edited some more photos. Had supper. Posted this. Will read some more. Go to bed early-ish to get another restful night of sleep, before I head back home to Germany tomorrow. Coming here to recharge was a good idea, I think….