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.

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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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.

𝘿𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙚 𝙄𝙨𝙨𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙣 𝘿𝙖𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙪𝙥 – 𝘼𝙡𝙫𝙖𝙧𝙤 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙖́𝙣

Charles talks science – and art…

We’re so often reading about “The Science” in the papers. The news seems to speak of it like this impossibly unreachable superpower that only the special people will be able to comprehend. Or like it is a filthy rag that no one wants anything to do with. “The Science”: there’s always this slight pause before those two words are delivered. As if it were to be a warning to brace yourself, or to pinch your nose tightly. It also seems as though this pause is for comical effect, as if those two innocent words were to make us corpse in hysterical laughter once uttered. But aside from all this polite observation of mine, it is really just an easy save these days in politics. “Our team of experts has looked at ‘The Science’, and the facts are indisputable”. Huh. Handy get-out clause. Noyce. Blame “The Science”. It is easy because most of us DON’T understand it, so we simply can’t argue. Facts are facts, right…?

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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.

𝘾𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮 – 𝘽𝙡𝙪𝙚 𝙎𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙧, 𝘼𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙡 𝙋𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚

Charles undresses the truth…

Dear costumer,

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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.

𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 – 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙡𝙞𝙣 & 𝘽𝙚𝙡𝙡

Charles’ writing is 𝘰̶𝘷̶𝘦̶𝑹-𝑹𝑨𝑻𝑬𝑫…

What day is it? Well, it’s Tuesday, course. Is there anything special in that? I mean, yesterday was Monday. What’s your point? Was there anything special in it being Monday? It’s just a day. Ah, but you’re wrong! Would you say that December 25th was just a day? Oh, but that’s different! Why so? What about the people who don’t celebrate Christmas? Then it IS just a day. So we should have more celebration days! I mean the big ones are Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s, and various other big ones depending on your nation or religion (various Independence Days, Chinese New Year etc.). But don’t you think Valentine’s Day is a funny one? It’s not religious, it’s not to commemorate a certain day in history. It is simply an arbitrary day for Hallmark and Interflora to make a mint. The one day of the year we are supposed to show our affection for our loved ones – or seek one out (if allowed these days). Isn’t that a funny concept? Should we not love and show our love all year round? What about Mother’s Day? That’s also a very old tradition. Does your mother not matter the other 364 days of the year? I’ve always thought it a bit funny. Not haha funny. But there you go. It is what it is.

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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.

𝘾𝙧𝙖𝙯𝙮 𝙐 – 𝙍𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣

Charles quotes Nina Simone: “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day…”

A couple of days ago, April predictably dropped its blossom and went into hibernation for the usual 11 months. Unpredictably however, it brought some rather beautiful weather, at least in London. Which was nice. As one month goes on sabbatical, another yawns, stretches and leaps out of bed. May Day was upon us. The day has many meanings in various places and eras. A bank holiday in general. Labour Day: a day for labourers to kick off their work boots and have a well deserved laze. In London it is known for the May Day Riots… Oh what joy. To some, May Day is the beginning of summer. Which of course, it isn’t. There are other things one can celebrate on this day, but for me personally, I just liked that this year it fell on a Sunday. The day of laze. The day we traditionally don’t get up until the crack of noon, when getting up is just about the most exertion of the day. Sunday is the end of the week. Day 7, not Day 1 – as we used to say, for some reason. No work, no rush, NO POWER TOOLS! Sorry, I have a thing about people using power tools on a Sunday – drives me up the wall. Why use a petrol-driven leaf blower, when man invented the humble, silent rake…? It’s a stick with a comb, and it works. Anyway…!

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