Dido Q & A: Christmas Edition

What was the first instrument you learnt to play?

Dido replies: The first one was the recorder. That was when I was about 4. Then I started playing the violin and piano when I was about 9. I absolutely loved the recorder as a kid, though. I would carry it around everywhere, playing all the time. The recorder I play on Grafton Street is the same one I had when I was a child.

The songs that you write have to do with your real life. But do you really not believe in love?

Dido replies: I absolutely believe in love! That's what the song is about. How life is
better with love.

What's your favourite time of the day? :-) I'm a big fan of, um, 9.27pm.

Dido replies: That's the sort of question I love and the sort I ask people. :-) Basically it's different in different cities. About 6am in Los Angeles when the air is clear and the sky is totally beautiful, and in London I wake up every day (without fail) at 7.20am. Even if I go to bed at 5am! It turns out that was the time of day I was born. I wonder whether that has anything to do with it? I just love watching the sun rise.

Where am I?

Hey everyone, you might be wondering where I am? Believe it or not. I am in the US. So over the past few days I had been very busy getting my exams over with and then just leaving Dubai.
So on Friday morning me, my mom and my little brother got on the plane and headed to London. When we arrived, we decided to stay in London for 1 day. And we did that.
Then yesterday at 11:30AM (London time), the plane to go to the US was delayed TILL 1:30PM.
After that, I had arrived to the US (at last) and omg was it such a long trip. So When I was at passport control. Those Americans told me that I had to go to section C and I was like wtf? so I went there and they had moved ALL the Arabs aside (literally speaking) and then some Africans as well. WTF? so I waited in line then when they called me they asked me questions like "whats ur occupation?" "How long were u away since u last travelled?" and stuff like that....
Then I finally arrived to my apartment and Now I am just chillin like hell!

Etisalat acts EXTREMELY Gay:

How nice, everything is running just fine and the bills have been paid but look at what Etisalat has done!

Yes, it's true. Etisalat has officially started to act gay. No this is serious. Just look at the internet connection around Dubai. The picture above explains the whole story. Like the saying goes "A Picture can tell a 1000 words"!

I can see that there's a closet case going on with that Etisalat Company.
Note: If Etisalat blocks my blog. A new one will be opened, so don't worry folks!

HAPPY DAYS

I am so HAPPY TODDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY!

I FINISHED MY EXAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This calls for a celebration!

WOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Final Exams = Stress

This is how the typical student is nowadays :P

This book is meant for everyone who is stressed out!

My Final Exams have just started and I am so nervous. With all this stress around here, what am I suppose to do? I try to ignore it but it's hard. I want to procrastinate but I can't because these f***ing exams are in the middle of the way. Also to make things worse, one of my best friends just had surgery - Don't ask. And I have to go see him but I can't see him today because of my stupid exams. So far I just finished one exam and my next exam is at 3:30PM. I will now be posting my exam schedule on my blog.


Sunday 14th of December:

No Exams

Monday 15th of December:

English Exam from 10AM - 12PM,

Arabic Exam from 3:30PM - 6:30PM

Tuesday 16th of December:

No Exams

Wednesday 17th of December:

Psychology Exam from 10Am - 12PM,

Application of Computer Software Exam from 4PM - 6PM

Thursday 18th of December:

Islamic Education from 4PM - 6PM



After all of these exams are over I will be leaving Dubai for a short vacation. More Updates Soon!

Your Choice for the next Single?

"Safe Trip Home has been out for a little while now, giving you plenty of time to dissect and digest it. So, we were wondering, which song would you choose as the next single if it was up to you?"
This is what was written on Dido's site. lol OK people it's time to choose what song you want on Dido's next single. Please vote for your Favorite Song on this link
http://www.didomusic.com/gb/news_and_diary/news/your_choice_for_the_next_single/

All comments must be made on that link. You MUST be a registered member. It's free to join.

Commenting on this post have been disabled

Announcement:

Dear Guests,
I would like to inform you that starting from December 13, there will be NO updates till the 20th of December. Since my final exams will begin on the 14th and they will end on the 18th. But as soon as my exams are finished, I'm going to be going on a short vacation to the U.S.
Also when I'm in the U.S expect a lot of updates from then. I'm really sorry for the inconvenience.

From

Retrotrut

EID MUBARAK!

EID MUBARAK EVERYONE FROM RETROTRUT & XTR!

The person who gets Dido's Songs on TV

Tomorrow night at 8pm, Dido's song Quiet Times will feature on the new episode of Ghost Whisperer on CBS in the US. We caught up with Lindsay Wolfington of Lone Wolf Music Supervision, to find out how the song made it onto the show.

Hi Lindsay. We hear you've requested Quiet Times for two TV placements. Of all the songs at your disposal, what is it about that song that lent itself to use on the shows?
It's emotional, quiet enough to stay under dialogue and has movement, which keeps the episode moving along. It worked well for "One Tree Hill" because we needed a song that could tie together three different scenes and had a little suspense - a sense of "what's going to happen?" We always need songs like that. It also just happened that the lyric "I miss you" played under Peyton and Lucas on the phone with each other, and they almost said "I miss you" to each other along with Dido! As for the Ghost Whisperer use of Quiet Times, I can't say exactly because the episode doesn't air until Dec. 5th! Let's just say the mood is right and the lyrics hit perfectly - the song expresses what the characters cannot. Tune in to see what I mean. CBS, Fridays at 8pm. Hey, I'm not afraid of a shameless plug!

When placing music, do you choose a song because its lyrics connect with the storyline or because the music itself is suited for the mood of the scene?
As you can probably tell from my answer above, both lyrics and music are important factors in picking a song for a scene. Sometimes you pick a song more for the mood because you don't want to hit the viewers over the head with a lyric, but sometimes the lyrics say what the characters don't, and that is why the song works. When both of these combine, that's the best possible scenario.

Would you say that Dido's music is "cinematic"?
Dido's music definitely fits pictures nicely. Each album is different, but I think she works well for TV and film because her vocals are soft - they don't get in the way of dialogue, which is important because dialogue is telling the story and is the first priority if a producer or director. She also has that "girl with a heartache" thing going for her. Music Supervisors always need those emotional songs on hand for the next sad or longing moment. Interestingly, I don't think Quiet Times is a typical sad ballad - it works because it has pace and momentum, but still has heart and emotion. It's hard to find a song that moves along but can still make you want to cry.

Did your educational background prepare you for a career as a Music Supervisor?
I took one class called "Soundtracks" in college, but it wasn't really about Music Supervision. It was literally the study of all sounds in film - foley footsteps, sound effects, score. There was nothing about picking songs for scenes and then learning how to license them. I worked in radio for four years and that definitely gave me a good base for working in the music industry. But moving to LA and working for two Music Supervisors was where I really learned how to do the job. Nowadays, there are many more classes about Music Supervision/Licensing/Business, but I still think the best way to learn it and get into this world is by working for a Music Supervisor. I get tons of young people who email me via MySpace wondering what classes they should take in high school and what they should major in college, and I want to say "Enjoy school while you can! Take the classes you like, and if they involve the music business, great. But you have to work in the field to really learn it, make connections and prove yourself."

Finally, what's your favorite Dido song?
I'm going to cheat and name two, because they are so different. I loved Dido's first album, No Angel, during my senior year in college -
before it became a best seller. It was my little secret and I got all my girlfriends to fall in love with it too. And then I remember hearing Thank You on Dawson's Creek and thinking "The world has found Dido!" But I digress... Hunter was my favorite track on that album. There were a couple "kickass girl" songs on it, and that was mine. And now with the new album, I love The Day Before The Day. It is so genuinely beautiful, simple and sad. I've always had a soft spot for sad songs. It's amazing to think how different No Angel and Safe Trip Home are, yet they both have some real gems on them!

(Big thanks to Lindsay for taking the time to answer our questions)

Note: All of this was taken from Dido's site and I highly recommend all of you watch Ghost Whisperer on TV tomorrow!

Announcement:

Dear Guests,
There will be slow updates during the next few days. Sorry for the inconvenience. But you have to be patient during the next few days. The main reason for this is because my exams are coming up and I don't have much time to blog nowadays and also National Day & Eid Holidays are coming up as well :D
So have a Happy National Day and a Happy Eid Everyone!

From

Retrotrut

Rainy Season hits the U.A.E.

"...The morning rain clouds up my window and I can't see it at all, & even if I could it will all be great butt your picture on my wall, it reminds me that it's not so bad, it's not bad..."
Quoted from Dido - Thank You

Hello rain clouds, nice to see you :)

:O are those clouds? Yes it is :D

OMG it's true. It has been ages since it last rained in Dubai. Last April it had rained so much that the ministry of education had to "evacuate" ALL SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES. Since the weather last year was terrible.
Now forget about last year and let's talk about this year. Man, now it has been about a week and the weather in Dubai has been going crazy. I blame global Warming because of these crazy weather conditions. For the past few days the temperature in Dubai has dropped. Literally speaking. It went from 57.2 degrees (that was during the summer) to 21.5 degrees. But it hasn't stopped dropping yet.
Now look at the lovely weather, it's cold (at last) and rainy. Last week it rained on Wednesday and there was thunder and lightning around the Emirates. Then on Saturday it rained all morning and flooded Fujairah and half of Dubai. Now it has been exactly a week and it had rained a lot today (minus the thunder and lightning for today Thank God:P ).
Most of Dubai is flooded and the rain is quite heavy. Plus the weather is really cold (seriously but it's not snowing).