Summer Vacation: Traveling at Long Last

So how is everyone doing? I hope all of you are enjoying your summer vacations, wherever you are. So I am now getting ready to travel, just getting some final things done before I leave. Such as getting my suitcase packed, make sure I get my cats some food before I leave (at least they wouldn't starve while I'm gone) and the list goes on. 

As of now, after this post, I will not be posting anything new at until I get to my destination. I will post one or two updates but that's about it. Also I would like to mention that as of August 1, I will add an update for the Holy Month Of Ramadan and of course I will also change the layout of my blog.

I hope everyone has a great summer vacation :D :D :D :D 

See You Soon :)

Q Magazine Article on Dido: July 2011

So I went to the bookstore and got a copy of the magazine and now I'm going to add the entire article that was posted from Q Magazine 300th Anniversary July 2011:



She's Cracked It!
Dido Florian Cloud De Bounevialle Armstrong left home at 15, reckons she's "worth 15 billion pounds", guzzles painkillers and measures hotel swimming pools before she checks in. "I'm just a normal North London girl", she insists to Adrian Deevoy

Dido

Slightly Crap On The Guitar

-How were you in 2001? In control, it seemed
Dido: Not dissimilar to how I am now. I didn't know what was going on then and I don't know now, but I've never stopped and looked at the bigger picture., I've not questioned things. Then and now, I see the world through songs and that excites me as much as ever.

-Were you happy?
Dido: Yes, because I'd discovered that music was utterly limitless and it would entertain me for the rest of my life. If they invented a drug that would make us live forever, I'd never get bored of music. Whatever happens, whatever comes my way, music is a rock of certainty. Whenever I'm on a plane and things get turbulent, I start humming for comfort. It really freaks people out.

-Did you enjoy being super famous?
Dido: I got the balance right. I don't feel people need to know me. I feel the same about other singers. I love Adele. She transports me somewhere special but I don't want to know anything about her. It would spoil things.

-Were you scared of playing Live?
Dido: At first definitely. I had such bad panic attacks - which isn't entirely a bad thing - but when I was up there I'd lose myself in it. I really don't like miming. I did it once on Italian Television for "Hunter". I had no idea how to do it. Never Again.
................................................................................................................................................................

"IF THEY INVENTED A DRUG THAT MADE US LIVE FOREVER I'D NEVER GET BORED."

.................................................................................................................................................................

-What happened with "Safe Trip Home": Artistic triumph but commercial disappointment?
Dido: Who knows? Maybe it was timing, maybe people didn't hear it. I love that record, it was a labor of love and I ripped my heart out on songs such as "Grafton Street". I feel it was there for the taking - I didn't want to ram it down anyone's throat - and people chose not to take it. After a few gigs, I realized these songs were too dark and emotional to bounce around on stage. It was the wrong album to tour heavily, so I didn't.

-And the new album?
Dido: Half is some stuff I did when I went around America with a keyboard (portable piano). I'd sing the vocals in my hotel room the moment I'd finished writing the song, with the microphone propped up on a pile of books. The other half is a big electronic extravaganza. Everything I love's there including my brother Rollo. I've massively over-written.


-How's the rest of 2011 looking?
Dido: I'll finish the record. Then I'll have a baby. After that, I might be quite busy and tired, so the album won't appear until I'm ready. Then I want to go back on the road. I'm overjoyed to be pregnant, but I've really missed playing live. I'm always shell-shocked to discover people out there wanting to listen.

-Any regrets?
Dido: Not being better at the guitar. There's no excuse, but in a way it's better being slightly crap, because when I learn a new chord, I go off and write 5 songs to celebrate.

-What would the Dido of 2011 say to the Dido of 2001? Would she like her?
Dido: We'd definitely get on, seeing as we're the same person. I'd say "you're going to love this because it's going to be so great. Don't think about it, Enjoy it!!!"

Thanks to John Aizlewood from Q Magazine for doing this interview.


**For those of you wondering which page number it's from. It's on page 060 of Q Magazine. It's the July 2011 issue. There is a picture of Adele on it and I forgot to mention that it's Q Magazine's 300th Issue.**

Dido Update:

Dido-France had recently found an article on Dido. The magazine's name is Q Music Magazine. and this is what they had to say:
"...Dido finally gives us some new and it is through the magazine Q that we find. Thank you to Amber Bytheway (@ bythe95 on Twitter ) for providing the scan. Even if it lets out a few words on the edges, we get to read the basics.

At the beginning of the interview, the interviewer asks how she felt Dido in 2001 and if she was happy. Dido says it's not so different today. At the time, she discovered the music and she knew that she wanted to do in life.

He then asked if he likes being famous. As fans of Dido, you already know the answer but here it is anyway: "I do not think that people need to know more about me. I feel the same about other singers. I love Adele, for example. Her voice transports me but it does not mean I want to know more about it. It would only spoil things. "

If someone invented a product to live forever, I think I would not find time to get bored

Then the question: "Are you afraid to play live? " , Dido meets at the beginning, it really frightened her but she loves it. She was a little lost the first time she found herself alone on stage, she did not know where to go, how to move.

The reporter then engages in mixed commercial success of Safe Trip Home (while the press has praised).British singer does not know why the album took so little enthusiasm, but says she has really revealed through this album with songs like Grafton Street for example. After a few Live, she realized that the songs were too dark for the scene.

Safe Trip Home was not the right album to tour.

We learn (or rather relearned) then the songs from the new album are all written long ago. For 2011, Dido has plans to finish this album and take care of her baby. "After all that, I'm probably very busy and tired, the album will come out so that when I'm ready. Then I want to go back on the road. I am very happy to be pregnant but I really miss the stage. I'm pretty impressed to see all these people waiting for my return. "

The last lines of the article are a bit difficult to read but you learn that among the regrets of Dido, it would wish to have a higher level on the guitar.

So much for those few new ones. We learn in the end, not much except that the album will come out when Dido will be ready to leave. One can imagine an output for 2012 after the baby is born, the time Dido care a bit about him (or her). It will therefore almost certainly a tour as the scene is seriously lacking in the open.

..."

What's With UAE's Radio Station Advertisements?

I don't know if anyone has noticed but nowadays it seems that most of the radio stations in the U.A.E. seem to be putting a lot of advertisements based  on Alcohol. I can't understand what's going on with those crazy advertisements. What's all this commotion about having to advertise alcohol in a Muslim Country?
Sometimes this really pisses me off, especially when they put most of those annoying advertisements during the Prayers.
I feel that the radio stations in the U.A.E. need to quit putting ads on "Sports Bars" or certain types of lounges.
I heard an ad the other day about "Clair's Lounge" or "The Al Barsha Sports Bar" and they keep adding other information about buy one alcoholic drink and get God knows how many free. I just can't believe what I've been hearing on the radio stations.
You know sometimes I wish the U.A.E. would just follow most of Saudi Arabia's rules, especially what they put on the radio. In Saudi Arabia, they have a strict policy on alcohol. Now if Dubai could just add that rule here and make it happen, it would be perfect.
If Dubai ever does that, I think most of the people would leave town. Well good for them!

If they just want to go and drink, just go back to your own country and drink over there and leave your sick disgusting drinking habits out of Dubai and the rest of the U.A.E. Also now that the Holy Month Of Ramadan is coming up, the U.A.E. should just hurry up and close up all those crazy clubs and bars. Now there are just too many cases relating to alcoholism. Hell, they even have Alcoholic's Anonymous here, which is quite odd but then again if you read the news, there is an increase in alcohol related crimes.

I believe if the U.A.E. doesn't do anything, sooner or later, the situation might get really bad. Thank God that it's illegal to drink in public places like outside homes and hotels and clubs, there is a 0 Tolerance policy on that and there is a 0 Tolerance policy on drunk driving. Foreigners, who do that might have to pay a hefty fine($$$$$), go to jail and then get deported out of the U.A.E.

The News In General:

So it has been quite sometime since I last updated my blog, and as you all know I have been doing an internship at the bank for the past couple of weeks. Now my internship is coming to an end and very soon I will post some more stuff on what else is going on.
XTR has also graduated recently from the university. He is an official graduate with his Bachelor's Degree (at Last ). I'm so proud of my best friend who has just graduated :D :D :D :D

In other news, Dido's website has been down for the past couple of days and there is a message on her site:
"...

System Offline

We're moving stuff. Back before too long.

...".
It looks as if Dido HQ is updating her site and it should be up and running soon. I have a feeling that they will be uploading some new info about Dido's new album soon and also add some news on her family along with the baby :)


Also The Sims 3: Generations has been Delayed in the U.A.E. For no obvious reasons. The whole world has their copy of the game except for us locals living in the U.A.E. I just hope they would just hurry up and get the game and also that they would quit their bitching about blocking cover art....I'm very disappointed with the U.A.E. and they're crazy "laws" :(

The Sims 3 has also announced a new Stuff Pack called "The Sims 3: Town Life", which would be released in late July and they have also announced another expansion pack called "The Sims 3: Pets". You should be able to find more info on these at Snooty Sims, Simprograms and The Sims 3

Other than that I will also be travelling soon for the summer vacation but I should be back on the end of July. I will add a Ramadan Update to my blog followed by changing the look of it soon.

Until next time, this is Retrotrut signing out :)

Congratulations XTR:

Congratulations XTR for finishing University :D :D :D :D