It was Christmas, eh

w00 Boxing Day YEEEAH

My mum lied – turned out she DID get that big duvet for me, and surprised me with it, throwing me off the trail with LIES. So I slept in it and it’s very cosy <3

We had a big roast, watched The Incredibles and Doctor Who on BBC1 (the episode was mostly setup, but WHAT AN ENDING) – my mum didn’t know it was a two-part episode, so she’d braced herself for Tennant’s regeneration, and it was an even bigger cliffhanger for her when that didn’t happen xD

I also got (among other things) this book of puzzles and riddles from Becky, so we spent the evening reading them to each other in silly voices and then trying to solve them.

I played all the new songs I’ve written for The World Is Mine to Becky for her thoughts, which so far is eight finished songs and two half-finished ones. And I read lots of Don’t Look Back comments, including one saying I’m ‘trying too hard to sound like Lily Allen’. It’s not my fault we’re both from London xD Someone brought up that I didn’t sound like that in the past, implying that I’d intentionally changed my singing style in an attempt to sound more commercial or whatever, and that’s not true at all – I just grew out of singing in an American accent and started using my own voice. If anything, it was a move designed for me to be more true to myself.

I’ll stop going on about it in a bit, but I just wanna gush again about how proud I am of the Don’t Look Back video xD I’ve watched it so many times. And I really like that some people on YouTube don’t like it. Maybe I’ve been hanging out with Tom too much, but people who say that they wish the video had matched the music better, or that I should have used a tripod, or that I accidentally left some of the sound in … all these moves were made completely intentionally, and I did everything to get across the feel that the song has to me and what it means in my eyes. It makes me feel glad that people don’t just like whatever I do because it’s me, and that the people who understand the feelings of loneliness and self-destruction in Don’t Look Back will see that the playful video is a perfect counterpart.

This is starting to sound a bit Nietzschian so I’m gonna leave it there.

x

  • nethra
    I LUUUUV ur Converse in the Don't look back Video... SO COOOOOL!
  • Jessica
    You liked the ending of Doctor Who!? It's completely wrong! The time lords can't be alive! because... well... they just can't xD There all dead ¬¬ lol.
    And i just wanted to mention that i really loved your video. I watched it a couple of times and it grew on me :) I have to admit though that the sound of the fountain suddenly appearing annoyed me a bit, but i love all the different cuts, and the fact you had your glove on while playing the uke :) lol.
    I liked it so much i posted a video response of a christmas song i wrote, and can safely say alot of people watch the video because i got 100 views in a day, i was in utter shock. :L so err thanks :) x
  • rachelmckenzie
    the doctor who ending was amaaaaazing. looking forward to the new years episode.
    btw, your mum is cute. :)

    and um, this is nothing at all to do with anything you've said in this entry, but i miss you on dailybooth. i'd like it alot if you came back. that is all.

    xx
  • Nethra
    ur hilerious...
    i LUv ur accent!
    i actually have friends who aspire to be like u... famous and all...
    personally i think ur one of a kind!
    DONT CHANGE!
    merry Christmas and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    :) :) :)

    P.S - my friends and i were goofin around and tried to talk to our teachers with british accents and stuff... they got reeeeeaaally FREEAAKED! how do u guys talk like that??
    ok i know ur like born with it... god i'm becoming like Charlieissocoollike
    k i'll just go now... BYEEE!!
  • martabagniuk
    by the way, just trying to help out, when you have the time, read 'Nightlight- a twilight parody' it is hilarious!! you can get them in HMV by now its like the oppsite of twilight, bella's name is Belle Goose (instead of Bella Swan) and different wierd things like that it is actually pretty funny :)
  • Kristen
    Hey Alex, this is random, but today my friend Emily and i managed to get Holding On to play simultaneously on our two separate computers, and because we're a bit strange it made our day and she insisted I tell you. Yeah......
    Nerdfighters!
    :D
  • Lexie (>")>
    Hi i was just surfing facebook (grrr i know you don't like that) when i came across a group with the title
    "NERIMON FOR THE NEXT DOCTOR WHO" or something like that and decided i should join cause that would be extremely cool. Haha that would make my day you as doctor who. I don't think you sound at all like Lilly Allen. I am trying to get my friend to make a youtube show with me but she claims she isnt funny..neither am i but thats the fun of it! you must have some advice to give me to make her do it!...after all you have like what 80,000 subscribers :O which is unbelivable! :O don't you get nervous!? before recording?! aren't you like i have 80,000 people watching me :O ahhh i would be like ahhh! maybe doing a youtube show ain't the best idea for me then. :-). Can't wait till Doctor Who on Friday :-). I'm sleepy so i'm off to bed see you Alex
    <3 Lexie
    xxx
  • Jasmine
    Merry Christmas from Sweden
    And you're a great musician by the way. Looking forward to when I get your album in the mail.

    /Jasmine
  • I just thought I'd drop you a comment to say that Don't Look Back is one of my favourite songs off the album, and i think that the video compliments it perfectly :-) The other day someone accused me of trying to sound like Lily Allen when i talk. That's what you get from being a Londoner living in Liverpool :-|
    Also... Doctor Who was amazing! John Simm can do no wrong. Can't wait for the second part!
    Anyway have a great New Year, keep writing those amazing tunes, and don't give up on Twilight! You think Twilight's bad, try reading the sequel! *Shivers at the memory*
    Harriet x
  • Staceyyyyy
    the videos amazinggg i just downloaded your album too :)
  • Catherine
    I like how your evolving as an artist it shows your a true artist and I think you'd do a better lilly allen song than lilly allen lol.
  • Georgie
    Wooooah Dr who!
    Amazing :)
    Love the Video btw
  • martabagniuk
    well... i dont really know what to say because all of these people obviously know you and i dont.. :S but i think you're cool and i really enjoy your videos i really want you to finish the twilight ones because, honestly, they made me crack up !! :)) i think you have a nice life (that sounds a bit wierd) because, even thought i have never heard your songs on radio or telly i think you are doing a nice thing and by the looks of it you are enjoying it :PP i just want to say hi and i like the video and hope you have a nice new year :))

    bye bye :)) x
  • Emily
    DOCTOR WHO ROCKS <3 IT :-)

    Lilly Allen ?! i think you sound more like Lady Gaga :P (just kidding)

    People are just jealous of you and your amazing power to sing and entertain not many people can do that ya'know :-). The video was awesome :-)

    Wow i would really love lots of comments from strangers that say i'm awesome and so extremely cool i bet you feel loved. Nobody hates you :-) hate is a strong word.

    :D
  • I got parrot stories AND chameleon circuit for christmas ^__^ thank you alex for being so amazing and inspirational to me as I begin to write my own music! :) Josh
  • Your video makes me want to write and write but I need to sleep and then work in 4 hours!

    I really really enjoy the subtlety in the video. I've viewed it a few times and each time I watch I notice something new that enriches the entire mood and meaning for me. I feel like I want to stop and interpret each and every little segment. It is so full (In a wonderful way...one of my professors got me using that phrase when he would see an image that was loaded with elements to analyze)! You have tied the images and words you've created together in a beautiful delicate balance. I love the haunting sounds going along with both the water and the wind flowing through the fabric of the store front, the green light for "go", "love for the unknown" paired with the flashing digital advertisements, your utilization of text in a contemporary yet classic context/setting, Happy Christ, the bits of street sound escaping through the melody, Fast Track as you slowly walk away...and then the overall feeling of isolation in an environment that is commonly filled with people... the playfulness of smiles paired with the heartbreaking lyrics gets to me even more because it makes me think of times when I've felt horrible down yet forcing myself to smile or putting on a happy face around loved ones to hide the hurt. Or thinking of a memory that makes you happy and sad at the same time because you wish you could relive it or just freeze that moment in time. And for some reason footage out the window of a moving vehicle paired with gorgeous music always pulls at my heart strings ;)

    I've studied art criticism and theory so I am used to the process of formal critique (I don't know if you're familiar with the D.I.E.T method...describe, interpret, evaluate, & theorize) so the format in which opinions are expressed on public forums can be rather disappointing. Of course everything is subjective so there are always going to be a difference in opinion among large communities, but I think that if you are going to give a critique, there should be some reasoning behind the evaluation to make it constructive and valid.

    I think that people are just so used to getting information force fed to them through the media and mainstream entertainment that they take everything for face value. They want it all written out for them in plain english and don't want to work for the answers or meaning. They may disregard it as "simple" or "boring" or think "it doesn't make any sense". These are usually the people that haven't bothered to take the time to look beyond the surface for something more. Music, art, and film that really makes people think is, in my opinion, the most successful. I enjoy work that appears ordinary, but has underlying political, cultural, or psychological references once examined further. Some people may watch your video and see nothing, but I guarantee you that there are others that will see something. Even if their interpretation is not your intent, you are moving people.

    I love that you are incorporating the "duality" throughout the work for this album. I hope that you keep at this idea because I find the complexity of the theme so engaging and I think if successfully executed (which it already seems to be) it will be deeply relatable for the people that can grasp the concept. I was wondering if you have been studying postmodernism at all recently because of how the movement frequently deals with dual roles or contradicting aspects marrying together to create a thought-provoking tension. I really think that the video embodies that idea.

    So that was my 6am rant. I hope any of it made sense :)
  • TheLunarFire
    Its hard to give constructive criticism without flaming, but if you're taking it all with a grain of salt so you can learn from mistakes, then you're doing the right thing. Though, at the end of the day, all that matters is whether or not YOU like your music, Alex. You might play it for us (your fans), but if you don't write it for you then it will always lack something. Music must come from the heart.
  • meganmilsom
    Alex! The worst has happened!!
    I cannot see your Dont Look Back music video!
    AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH *dies*
    It just wont let me.
    Not on your blog, not on youtube, nowere!
    im close to tears and i need a hug.
  • Alison
    go onto youtube and watch it in high quality (HQ) that's the only way i could get it to work as well
  • I watched The Incredibles and Doctor Who too :)
    tbh i don't want Matt Smith to take over from David but it might turn out that Matt is as good as David. However, i have read that the new doctor will be wearing a tweed jacket, i prefer David's suit and converse :/ ... I cant wait till the New Year one though.
    I loved your music video and the song as soon as the cd is on DFTBA i will be buying it! I already have Parrot Stories and Chameleon Circuit and i was given Painfully Mainstream for my christmas - chuffed of what? :)
    Happy new year for when it comes Alex, and i wish you all the best.
    x
  • ravisse
    I loved the video and the song. I love all your songs and I think your voice is amazing.
  • Jessie
    The video seems very Alex. And OSHIT - it's the return of the sexy tortoiseshell glasses. I like it :)
    Be yourself Alex, because you're doing pretty damn well doing things like that as it is.
  • This blog and Youtube make it very interesting to be a musician. You made the music video the way you wanted it, but just because some people didn't like aspects of it, they thought they had the right to tell you to change it. It's one thing to not like something an artist does, but to attempt to have them change it is another. Just thought I'd give an observation about this strange interconnected world we live in today.
  • I completely agree. Everyone feels like they have an opinion - the transparency and ease of communication through things like Twitter are a huge cause of this kind of arrogance. I've learned that saying "here's my new song!" elicits a different response than "here's my new song - it's a work-in-progress/what do you think?" The former allows people to accept it as it is where the latter makes them actively LOOK for faults. Eventually you just have to learn to make decisions yourself - not everything can (or should) be a democracy.
  • Which incidentally is why I'm not posting draft lyrics or demo song recordings of stuff off the new album - I'll just post up the finished tracks once they're done :)
  • I like to see how you work your music. It was very interesting to read how songs came about and "morphed" into something beautiful. Having seen the construction of the songs also made me feel the mood of the songs better. Maybe there could be a section here about songs under construction. I am not trying to tell you what to do only making a suggestion.
  • Yeah, it's your music, and you should make it the way you like it. That's when you know that an audience will like it, because out of the nearly 7 billion people in the world, somebody is bound to like it too!

    I liked the video and the whole album. Keep making music, and a merry belated Christmas.
  • Bri :D
    Why do people sing in american accents? It kills me! I intentionally seek out british musicians only to get exactly what I was avoiding in the first place. I love your accent. Don't ever change.
  • accidentally leaving some of the sound in was done intentionally? really?
  • It wasn't 'accidentally', that's the point. I did it on purpose at moments where I thought it would have a strong effect, either to be bold or to be subtle. If it was accidental, you would have heard loud windy noises through the whole song because there would have been no distinction. And really, would I be that idiotic not to watch my videos through before I upload them? I watch them before and after the upload, just to check everything's as I want it.
  • Have you ever used editing software to replace the natural sound recorded by a camera with a pre-recorded music track? The live camera sound doesn't pop back in by accident. Really.
  • Mmm, I noticed that too when I was looking through some of the comments. It's really awesome that you don't let it get to you, Alex. It's like people have nothing better to do than hate on people.
  • Lexi
    what is boxing day???
  • Alison
    the day after Christmas!!
    please don't take offence but how can you not know that?
  • Lexi
    haha no offence taken at all :) umm would being american count as an excuse?? Cause if not im just a really oblivious person:D
  • Alison
    didnt know that you didnt have boxing day. you guys dont have hogmanay either do you (new year's eve) but i think thats just a Scottish thing
  • Lexi
    haha nopee no hogmanay day... thats a really cool name for a holiday
  • Katherine
    One of my friends got me 'How to be your own best friend' for Christmas. My life cannot be complete until it's signed by you, Alex.
  • *runs to read Nietzsche so as to be able to understand Alex Day* (odds of being distracted before completion are astronomical. "I'll never be your Friedrich.")
  • ugh! whenever you talk about your detractors i'm just like, "oh! idiots! OBVIOUSLY he left the sound in! how could you think that was a mess up?!"
    but then i've been watching your vids and reading your blogs for a while now, so i know you wouldn't do something that stupid! XD
    the end of Dr Who was awesome, wasn't it?! oh, and the scene in the coffee shop! that was the best! i can't WAIT for New Years!
    which reminds me, keep us posted on ChamCirc progress, yeah?
  • Haha, I appreciate the vote of confidence :D These are the same people who thought I genuinely didn't know that Jacob was a werewolf and that I'd accidentally said something hilarious.

    Cham Circ isn't any further than that one song we did called Don't Drink The Water - we'll just write when we're inspired, until we have enough songs. :)
  • magicmarkers
    Happy boxing day Alex (:
    Sounds like you got some great presents, so yay for you, hope you had a great day! <3
    Would love to hear more of what you thought of Dr Who - personally I felt it was a bit messy, I'll have to wait til the second part but I feel like the Ood involvement, weird cacti people and random TV woman are a bit uneccesary, they made the whole thing feel slightly messy. But perhaps it will all get tied up in the end and all make sense and be wonderful. Lets hope so :D And I'm glad Mrs saxon wasn't in it for long, that was some awful acting. But the Master was amazing, quite frankly. Loved it =D

    The video for Don't Look Back was really good, I've just watched it. It would have been perfect had there been snow in London, but I guess we'll all just have to donate money so you can buy a fake snow machine for next time ;P
  • Well I don't really have more to say about the episode than I did already - that I thought it was a good build-up to what will definitely be a cracking New Years part two, but not really more than that.
  • Beth
    the video is great - really cool idea :) i particularly enjoyed the stepping stones bit, it reminded me of myself!

    quick question: holding on has been going round my head all day, and i wondered if you were willing to share the meaning of the lyrics 'i'll never be your leo'?...the di caprio vs. star sign war rages on in my head.

    <3
  • haha - I wrote an old blog about it, actually, so you should dive through and you'll find it in there somewhere :)
  • Beth
    thanks fan girl and alex, found it! my mind is at rest :D
  • he already explained that in this blog: http://alexdaymusic.com/13/

    creepy fangirl power FTW! XD
  • ginaarrrrx
    Merry Christmas!! I hope you enjoy your Duvet and puzzle books!! I think the Don't Look Back video is awesome and i thought that shooting it around London while it was quiet was a great idea :D
    Dr Who was awesome and i can't wait for new years day to see part 2!!!
    YoU aRe AWesOmE, dON't EveR cHAnGe!!! :D
  • Mel
    Love the fact that you do your own thing and you're not afraid to say you're proud of what you've done. Some may call it big-headed; I call it charming. ;)

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Alex! x
  • I don't think it's big-headed at all, no. It's good to know your strengths :)
  • SSB1
    Sometimes it does come across as big headed and pompous to me. A little bit like: "Look at this amazing video I made! Now everyone comment and tell me its amazing and then I'll tell your that you're amazing so you continue doing this." Using positive reinforcement to the max.

    It is understandable that you do get big headed when lots of people tell you EVERYTHING you do is awesome and funny but people reading your blog are obviously going to say that cos they wouldn't read it if they thought you were rubbish.

    It's like writing a shit essay at school and your favourite teacher always gives you an A and you can go home and stick in on your fridge and show your parents your grades. Then your friends come round your house and see the essay on the fridge that you have been boasting about but its shit so they feel slightly sorry for you.
  • But I also know my faults, so I don't end up thinking I'm BRILLIANT or anything xD
  • Mel
    you ARE brilliant so no worries <3 so is your video!!! :D how long did it take you from start to finish? also, what editing software do you use because i'm thinking of starting videos (for the hell of it). Are you Mac or PC?
  • grr! i'm on at the same time. and apparently Disqus has issues with two people being on at a time! :/ stupid tech fails!
  • Haha, 'trying to solve them' - 'trying' being the operative word. :p

    Doctor Who was so good. omgomgomg aaahhhhh.
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