Connolly’s Corner

Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘾𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮 – 𝙅𝙤𝙚 𝙌𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙮

Charles wishes to make one thing clear…

As the world seemingly loses its collective mind, I continue the progressively difficult task of keeping a grip on mine. Just like it is a New Year of some sort most days of the year, it would seem like it is April 1st most days too. I base this mainly on my daily perusal of The Times. I think by now, most of you know I am a Times reader. The main two reasons used to be because the news was vaguely unbiased, and each article was relatively well written and “newsworthy”. I say “used to be” for a reason. Things have changed. The world has changed. People have changed. The only options are, to go with it and accept what is apparently reality, or to absorb said information, chuckle a little, and move on. Actually, there is a third option. To duck under the covers (being sure not to leave one’s wits on the outside), to tightly close one’s eyes, and keep hold of one’s sanity. Deny, deny, deny. Or maybe a little of all three…? Retain a sense of balance. As said by a young Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1951 classic – based on the 1843 classic – (please excuse the unseasonal reference): “I think the world is becoming a very hard and cruel place, Mr. Marley. One must steel oneself to survive it. Not to be crushed under with the weak and the infirm”. Now, although I don’t wholly agree with this statement, I very much do feel its resonance in the modern day. A more contemporary approach would be to HELP the weak and infirm…

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘾𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝘼𝙩𝙡𝙖𝙨 (𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙩. 𝘽𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙇𝙞𝙚𝙨𝙠𝙚) – 𝙇𝙪𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙖 𝙉𝙤𝙫𝙖, 𝙍𝙞𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙖

Charles goes beyond the clouds…

A few weeks ago I wrote about the “unusuals” of the world. Well, it turns out I am obsessed with the unusuals. They are exactly what excites me. A change. Something different. Something new. The freaks are the rare ones. And I don’t mean that derogatorily; quite the opposite. Mediocrity is quite normal. Usual, even. And mediocrity doesn’t excite me. I can’t imagine it excites anyone. Life is quite dull if everything is predictable. Most people go with the flow, which makes for a predictable outcome. While we understand this, and it can be somewhat comforting, it is something else that makes us pay attention. But also, perhaps most people would find this difference inaccessible, because it might not be relatable; which I understand. For me, however, it’s what I like. What with me being a traditionalist of sorts, it might surprise some to learn that I crave newness and invention, but that’s the funny thing about me. With certain things, I like the old, trodden way. With others, I want to be refreshed. Architecture, for example, I like to stay traditional. But that isn’t because I don’t like change; it’s because I don’t like any of the change since, say, the 1930s. All the architecture since then may be new, but I simply don’t like it. I won’t automatically like something new and original just because it’s new and original. If, for example, it was decided that all roads in Britain were to be painted shocking pink, it would be unique. It would never have been done before. But is that to say it would excite me? It would not. It would make me cringe and wonder “what on Earth this world is coming to”, like an old fogey. Basically, newness does not always equal goodness.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙙 (𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙩. 𝙑𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙖’𝙚 𝙉𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚) – 𝙊𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣 𝘾𝙧𝙭𝙨𝙨

Tentatively, Charles opens up.

My corner. My messy little corner strewn with toys, glitter, hats and sweets. I live it. YOU know it; you come here every week! But do you REALLY know it…? I mean, many of you may feel you know me quite well through my weekly musings and my odd appearance elsewhere, not to mention my own music. But is this it? Is there perhaps more to this singular chap than meets the eye? I am always more than happy to speak about what I have done, observed and created, but do I ever speak about the future? My future? What I am working on, for example? No. Never. I am a private soul who doesn’t like to show or tell until something is complete and ready for the general public (apologies for generalising – with a bit of luck, you all simultaneously took offence). You may be familiar with at least some of my music, but you are never to know what is coming next. I never divulge. Partly because I might not know myself, but also because I simply don’t want to. So! People may have decided they know my style of music, both in taste and in creation – there’s pop, indie, maybe a bit of orchestral thrown in. People seem to note the happy, upbeat style through my music. I have personally never seen it that way. People also know I am never going to come out with a hip-hop track in collaboration with another artist. People have maybe seen the lack of hip-hop and rap in my reviews – “he obviously just doesn’t like hip-hop and rap, and doesn’t do collaborations”. When examining this seemingly innocent little corner of mine, there seems to be a small hidden door. It says ‘PUSH’ – doesn’t open. Pulling, however seems to have done the trick (sneaky chap, this Connolly). Oh Christ, we’re in his mind. MY mind. The ‘TO DO’ pile is hitting the roof. The ‘DONE’ pile is thin and dusty. Ah, here we are: ‘WORK IN PROGRESS’. That’s pretty damned tall too! Bugger, and now it’s all over the floor. Wait, what’s this? A hip-hop track? Rap? Collaboration?? “But he… But it… No, but he can’t…” – Ah, but I CAN, you see, and so I will.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙚 – 𝘿𝙚𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙖

Charles hits the wall and bounces off…

YouTube is a thing. A thing we all use for one thing or another. Or maybe both one thing AND another. In fact, it is the second most viewed website in the world, with a figure that is slightly staggering. Utterly staggering, really: around 5 billion views… PER DAY!!! And that’s just me and Adele! Nah, just kidding. Adele doesn’t get those kinds of figures. So what are we all watching? What is it that glues us to that screen? Are you more of a “pot luck” kind of person? Do you just dip in occasionally to see what YouTube has pushed you this time? Maybe “pot luck” of a different sort. Maybe you like videos on decorating pots. Making pots? Collecting pots, perhaps? Rare Roman pots unearthed? Or maybe you like videos on different strains of pot and how best to grow it? Whatever you feel like viewing (within reason…), it is there. It has become the video version of Google. You will never find “Your search did not match any videos”. My personal YouTube obsession is using it for education. It schools me and helps me to find better ways of mixing. All for no pennies. Utterly free! Who’da thunk it?? So this is what I do. Whether I am looking for a specific technique when attempting to compress a bass guitar, or maybe more information on “different kinds of saturation”, there will always be many videos to help me along my journey to perfection. Sometimes I just browse and think “that looks interesting” – only to find it wasn’t. But I’m nevertheless eager to learn. Dedicated to the core, to my profession. Of course, REAL one-to-one tuition would be far superior and more helpful, but it comes at a price. A price I cannot afford right now.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 – 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙖𝙛𝙚𝙩𝙮 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙙

Charles makes it clear…

You remember when people used to use Facebook to document their entire life in public? Sorry: you remember when people used to use Facebook? It was rather ahead of its time. And believe it or not, it still exists today! I know, impossible but it’s true. Still sitting there with its dated blue and white F logo. This logo is regularly redesigned for millions of dollars, but as with most redesigns, no one notices. Because no one cares. Because people don’t use it anymore. But in the noughties, oh MY it was popular. Went on a bit of a bender last night? Stick the embarrassing photos up on Facebook in the morning, for the world to see! Or even direct from the drinking hole itself! I’ll tag myself with my exact location right now so that everyone can stalk me – a splendid idea and a wise use of technology. Playing “Words With Friends” (poor man’s Scrabble) on Facebook with someone on the other side of the world who you met once at a party – bafflingly brilliant. Status: “feelin groggy heres a pic of my puppy she looks so warm i wish i was that fluffy”. We actually wrote this guff, as if anyone would care. But hey, it was new! It was the beginning of the modern era. I believe some even still do this – God help them. The problems started arising when they introduced something called Relationship Status… What a dangerous little info box this was. In a relationship. Single. Engaged. Marred. Sorry, Married. And then there was the classic: “It’s complicated”. This screwed with everyone. It was so clever, yet so detrimental to so many. Lover’s tiff? “I’m changing my relationship status” – NOOOOOOO!!!! – said the partner. “It is NOT complicated, I beg you! It is oh so simple. I love you and you love me! How is that complicated??”… But the thing is, this little info box was a feast for the gossipmongers. “Ooh, did you see Lucy’s changed her status to It’s complicated. I know! I thought they were going to be together forever!”. Suddenly something so private was there for the world to see. Well, the mini world that cared at all. It only made things far more complicated than they already were (probably not complicated at all). A live real-life soap opera.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙙 – 𝙎𝙖𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝘽𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙤

Charles begs you to look back.

I’ve spoken about age once or twice quite recently. I can’t remember when exactly, for this is what happens with age. Not that I’m old… I spoke about how people over the age of 23 are made to feel middle-aged these days, or even past it by the age of 25. Well let’s go back way before that so you can REALLY feel old. Cast your mind back to a different era (or a not-so different era, depending how old you are). I ask you one question: What were you like when you were 13? What were you doing when you were 13? How did you feel when you were 13? Okay, so 3 questions. When I was 13, I had more hair, but it never did what I wanted it to do. I wanted it to look like Paul McCartney’s (circa 1965), but frankly it looked more like a blonde mushroom on my noggin. I was really into music, but only in the sense of listening to it. I was not remotely into sport – not a lot has changed there. Of course, I wanted to be a rock star – or pop star – but I had no real talents. Sure, I could play the drums and the guitar a little, and my voice was fine, but there were many others of my age – and of course, older – who could do the same. I was lazy and didn’t bother to push myself in music, but even if I had been a little more ”pro-active”, I wouldn’t have seen the point at such a young age. Who would have taken me seriously? Coming back to the point, though – I had no real talents to show. 13 is a funny age. It can be very unfunny too. Maybe I mean a peculiar age. Truly in limbo. Should one be playing with toys? Should one be hanging out with the older kids, coughing one’s first smoke? Toys are safer, but then again they “may contain small parts”. Should a 13 year old be interested in a member of the opposite sex? Should a 13 year old be interested in a member of the same sex? Should a 13 year old be interested in anything at all? These are just some of the questions you can feel free to answer in the comments below. My point is that one does not expect anything much from a 13 year old, except perhaps for them to turn 14.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 – 𝘼𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙘

Charles makes matters more difficult…

In the words of the late, great Bowie, “It Ain’t Easy”. I mean, it REALLY ain’t. Oh, and by the way, yet another week passed with no message from the artist I reviewed. Just speechless. Unfortunately literally speechless, but I meant me. You remember a few weeks ago when I wrote a whole initial paragraph about how so many artists don’t thank me for having spent hours writing about them? Well, even that week, that artist said nothing. Not a single word. Good old Kele did, though. Or as some commenters decided to call her: Kyle(!!). Such a lovely lady she is. So yeah, Bowie was right. It ain’t easy. But we truck on. Don’t we? Well, we try to. Lord, we try. Of course, it doesn’t help that I’ve got a rotten, stinking cold right now, but I’m only writing that for context. Please don’t write any pity comments. It’s a cold; it will pass. Meh. Anyway. It really is hard to pick a blinder of a song while at the same time know that the artist is deserving of the praise, attention and effort. The thing is, I never know until it is already published. Automatically too late. So, a while ago, I decided to simply base it on the music. Not be biased about the artist in any way. I still have to have my HAL (A.I.) antenna on at all times, but aside from that, I just let the music itself be my guide. Otherwise it’s just too complicated.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣 – 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝘼𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙤𝙢

Charles meets his alter ego…

So the legend goes, we are all apparently born with morals. So they say. The obvious, clear differentiation between good and bad. A young baby – as opposed to an old one – is as innocent as the bright blue sky. It knows what to do and what not to do. Admittedly it doesn’t really know HOW to do it, hence the green mush all down its front. But at least it TRIED to get said mush in its pie-hole. As a baby, it simply wants to be content and happy. There is no gain in doing something “wrong”. Everything is there for them. Food, warmth, fun silly colourful plastic things to poke in to anywhere they’re not supposed to go. This in itself could be construed as “doing a bad thing”, but this young bundle of joy is really just being inquisitive. Finding things out. All innocent enough. When toddlerdom comes along however, it discovers a cheeky side. It realises that doing something “wrong” can make them giggle. And who doesn’t like giggling?? Or – a wondrous phrase my girlfriend came up with – “I wasn’t laughing, I was just smiling out loud”. Inspired! Back to our toddling friend. It is only when it sees gain, and ways of gaining said gain, that things start to change. It is by now, a young child. It can reach the cupboards and the fridge. It has had dinner. It knows it is not supposed to eat something straight afterwards. Not due to an uber-trendy vegan diet, but simply because it shouldn’t turn into a fat pig too early on. This naughty young thing is still craving a certain sweetness. To get said sweetness, it is to be anything but sweet. It knows that if it asks for the sweet treat, the answer will predictably be “No”. Not because the mother is Lois from Malcolm in the Middle, but because this little person has had this treat five times within the week, and so she feels she has to lay down some rules. No one wants a spoilt chubba-bubba – as cute as it is to squeeze Sweet Cheeks’ sweet cheeks.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝘾𝙧𝙮? – 𝙍𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣

Charles sees beauty in sadness…

Shit happens. Americans eloquently spout this wisdom so often, that it has seeped into the vernacular of so many nations. But as simple as it sounds, it somehow manages to sum up every part of the feeling when something bad occurs. When things are out of our control and take a downturn, predictably or not. It is a phrase not usually used for the abominable sinkholes that life so generously donates, but more for the little nuisances. The pains. Les petits bastards. These things tend to simply make one swear, before muddling through and sorting out the problem. Say for example, if you drop a hammer on your toe whilst working in the outhouse, you will most likely not shed a tear, but tear the shed to pieces in revenge. Stupid revenge, because it was not the fault of the shed. But basically, it is fine. This minor pooey occurrence will be relatively brief and inconsequential. Shit, does indeed happen. However there are times when this mandatory colloquial utterance will not suffice. Say, for example if one experiences years or even decades of the deepest, darkest depression. Or if someone close to you dies unexpectedly. This is not the same as your phone not turning on. This is serious stuff. There will be no swearing. There will rarely be any initial anger. There will be no “sorting out” of the problem, because it will seem like there is no answer. But there will be tears. And plenty of them. The feeling is so deep and complicated that our brain can barely cope. We are not in control. And so the emotional side takes over the rational.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘿𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙚 – 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙠 𝘼𝙝𝙡𝙢

Charles is all caught up…

The following piece is simply my views and my views only. It says nothing about the New Artist Spotlight and its views (of which it has none). I promised myself I wouldn’t talk about the war. But since it was only a promise to myself, I don’t feel too guilty for breaking it.

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