They say that New Year’s Eve is all about ‘out with the old, in with the new’, but here’s a bit of old and new, with new music from one of my favourite bands from my younger years (not too much younger, I’m not that old!).
Lacuna Coil’s vocalist Cristina Scabbia has to be one of the best female singers in rock music (sorry Amy Lee / Hayley Williams etc) and these Italians have always had a really distinguishable style from the rest of the metal pack.
Here’s their beautiful new video for ‘End Of Time’.
The band have just announced a US tour this February with Atlanta metalers Sevendust. Check the dates on their website www.lacunacoil.it.
I love headbands, but the best ones are always really expensive. A while ago I realised how easy it is to make your own, and I’ve never gone back! Here’s a quick step-by-step guide to make a cute little bow headband in a few easy steps.
You will need:
* Thin elastic, about 20 – 30 ”
* Lace (the same colour and as your elastic), about 11″
* Thread (again, same colour you want to use)
* Needle
* Scissors
* Tape measure
* A lighter (optional)
1. Measure your head (judging by how tight you want the headband)
2. Cut the elastic to your head size. Test this out once you’ve cut it, because you might want it a bit tighter.
3. (Optional) Carefully melt the edge of the elastic to stop it from fraying.
4. Sew the edges of the elastic together, so you have the basic headband.
5. Cut an inch off the lace and put this aside.
6. Fold the remaining lace in half, from top to bottom (so its still the same length)
7. Tie the lace in a bow, without knotting it first. This may take some practice (just pretend you already have the knot in the middle and it should work). Try to make sure both sides are even.
8. Take the piece you cut off earlier and fold it in half, lengthways. Wrap it round the middle of the bow and sew it in place. Cut off any extra material from it.
9. Sew the bow on to the headband, preferably over the join so its hidden.
Anyone else looking for some last minute plans for New Year’s Eve? If you don’t like the idea of standing in the freezing crowds, trying to catch a glimpse of the lights on the South Bank, maybe have a quick read of these and see if one takes your fancy? (Again, I’m sorry, this is very London-centric).
The Underworld Camden
CLUB SILVER NEW YEARS EVE EXTRAVAGANZA
9pm, £12, Entry: 14+. Under 16s MUST be accompanied by an adult
(Apparently) Camden’s best alternative NYE party! Mostly indie and alternative music, with a bit of cheese too. Tickets here.
The Old Queens Head, Islington
THE OLD QUEENS HEAD NYE PARTY
8pm, £20
Party tunes and a fancy dress theme – come as your childhood ambition.
DJs on the night: Cat Lovers DJs, Bad Sex DJs, Wolf Club DJs, Fin Munro, DJ Risco, Mohare. Tickets here.
The Social, London W1
THE LINE OF BEST FIT
8pm, £16
Indie tunes downstairs with The Line Of Best Fit and Double Denim Records, with Rockfeedback & Transgressive Records upstairs for a heavier vibe. With some live music and guest DJs thrown in, you’ve got yourself a party there. Tickets here.
Hootananny, Brixton,
THE CORRESPONDENTS
9pm, £22.50, Over 21s
Vintage inspired electro jazz from the London twosome. Plus swinging Balkan folk mayhem with Sheelanagig and beats from the Soul Jazz Soundsystem. Details here.
The Old Blue Last, Shoreditch
PINK MIST NEW YEARS EVE HOUSEPARTY!
8pm, £10
Sadly upstairs with Tubelord is sold out, but downstairs, ‘Whatever Happened To P-Rock’ will be playing punk rock tunes through the night with a bit of help from Team Wolf (Gallows), Beez (Last Resort / Scuzz TV) and more surprise guests. More info here.
If you’re not in London, or fancy a quiet night in, try a house party watching The Exorcist. (Always a good time)
This has to be one of my favourite songs of all time. Essex four piece We Are The Ocean have been blending melodic verses and screaming choruses since before it was cool. This piece of rocking goodness is from their self-titled debut album, which came out in 2008.
What are they up to now?
The band have just released their fourth album ‘Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow’ and are on tour in the UK from January. Check the dates on their facebook page.
If you haven’t spent all your Christmas money yet (and why not, if you read my pick of the sales yesterday?), you may want to hold onto that as I’ve got a list of some of the best music coming your way in 2013. Carefully researched (read: I googled the bands I like), here’s some new albums that are worth waiting for.
Is anyone’s wallet feeling a bit heavy after yesterday? Don’t worry, I’ve trawled through the best sites, to find the sales you’ll definitely want to get in on (while there’s still some decent things left!).
Shoes
– Schuh have quite a lot of discounted converse and vans. Plus its free delivery. Nice.
Music
– Play.com have a price crash, with cds going for around £4.99.. Anyone fancy the new Gaslight Anthem album?
I’m aware this has been done a lot, but I thought I’d join the bandwagon and come up with my own Christmas mixtape. It’s got some of the classics, with a few newer ones to rock out to as well (plus a slow one to remind you of those awkward school discos when you have no-one to dance with. Or was that just me?).
Happy Christmas guys (and girls) RC xx
P.S. Unfortunately, it doesn’t embed properly, so you’ll have to click the link to listen to it, but don’t let that put you off!
I’ve never been a fan of the standard cheesy Christmas films (especially the rom-coms..), but there’s a few festive(ish) movies that I wouldn’t mind watching. Here’s my pick of the best alternative Christmas films on offer.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
I’ve never been quite sure whether this is a Christmas film, or a Halloween one (to be honest, I watch it on both). Still, it had to be in this list as its a spooky-but-sweet tale from the amazing Tim Burton.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
A really chilling Finnish film, set in the Korvatunturi mountains, Lapland. Days before Christmas, some diggers discover a body, encased in ice under the mountain. As they dig it out, the reindeer disappear and only a little boy seems to guess what’s going on. Definitely one to watch if you want a different perspective on Santa..
Die Hard
I don’t think I need to explain the plot, or the fact that its clearly not a traditional Christmas film. It is set as the festive time though.
The Hogfather
I’m a huge Terry Pratchett fan, so am always interested when there are adaptations of his books. This cheery one follows ‘Death’ as he observes the people of Ankh Morpork during their celebration of Hogswatch, but something is very wrong.
For anyone (including myself) who’s ever tried to wrap presents at the last minute, then realised they don’t have any wrapping paper, here’s a few quick ideas for you!
1. Crepe Paper
Crepe paper works amazingly well as wrapping paper. You need to double it up because it’ll tear really easily though. Luckily, lots of presents might actually turn up (if you’ve ordered them online) already wrapped in it. In which case, find some ribbon and tie them up with it for a finishing touch. If you can’t find ribbon, have a look at some of your clothes. A lot will actually have pieces for hanging up, which you’ll probably not need.
2. In the box it arrived in
Decorate the outside with paint / tinsel / glitter / anything else you can find. I try to save some boxes because they make a great way to package lots of little gifts, if that’s what you’re into. Fill the box with cut out pieces of bubble wrap, screwed up newspaper or those polystyrene things you get and then mix the presents in. Its fun to watch people digging around in the box to find their presents!
3. Scarves / Fabric
If you have an old scarf or some fabric lying around (some of us used to study textiles..) you can wrap the presents up with this. Bonus is that it doesn’t need selotape, if you’ve run out of that too. For a quick how-to, watch this video from Lush.
The Rock Chic 