Ben Howard, What A Beautiful Man.

I can't even remember how I stumbled across him, it was so long ago. But I do know that ever since then, I've been utterly obsessed with his sea like voice, it so velvety smooth with grains of salt in it and it's just pure heaven. I honestly think I've watched ever video he's ever been in on YouTube, from covers to acoustic sets. I watched him doing the festival circuit on my tv and I cried a bit at a few songs, probably a bit over the top but when I say obsessed I mean it.

His songs are pure brilliance, a little piece of heaven in my ears. No matter what mood I'm in, I pop in my earphones and get lost in a world filled with sunny days spent in the sea and summer nights spent sitting around a camp fire with an acoustic guitar. Some of his songs are my night time lullaby's and some of his songs are my inspiration on days when everything's a little bleak. He played The Olympia in Dublin last year and it broke my heart when I couldn't get a ticket, but hopefully when he gets back from his tour Stateside he'll come back.

Ben has an amazing technique of playing guitar which he uses in his songs Under The Same Sun and These Waters, when I first saw him play like this I was mesmerized, it's genius, intricate, beautiful if you will (as seen below.) The way he sings conveys so many emotions and memories. He deserves so much more recognition for his talent than he's given, but at the same time I want to keep him all to myself.

I think that's all I have to say about Ben, and if you haven't listened to him yet, I hope I've convinced you to give him a try, I promise you won't be disappointed. I'll leave you with a few of my favourite lyrics from his songs, hope you enjoyed this, bye :)

Les Misérables.

Last night, I went to see Les Misérables with most of the cast of West Side Story. I've never really looked into it before, so I didn't know the plot, just that it was set in Revolutionary France. I didn't have any expectations for it, as I had never seen the stage version and had nothing to compare it to, but even if I could of had expectations, they all would have been surpassed. Saying this film was amazing is an understatement, a diservice almost.

I love musicals, but this wasn't just a musical like Grease or Annie, this was a piece of art. Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway in Act One were just breathtaking, not only did they sing, and sing beautifully, they acted while doing it, putting all of their raw emotion into the film. It was quite moving really. I'm not going to get into the story too much just in case anyone reading this hasn't seen it yet, and if you haven't, you must, you really must.

The picture above has the lyrics of one of my favourite songs from the score, although, truth be told I loved every single one of them. I don't think I've ever been so moved watching a film, not even watching Forrest Gump. So many moments in the film broke my heart and a tip when going to see this would be to not wear much or any eye make up, it will be halfway down your face at the end I guarantee it. The end scene was just beautiful and that's all I have to say really, it was the first film I've seen in 2013 but I'm sure it'll be one of the best by far.