well it’s coming to that time of year again, that i’m pretty sure everyone loves even though some won’t admit it. That’s right, in the infamous words of Noddy Holder

IT’S CHRRIIIIIIISSTMAAAASSSS!!!!

now this time of year is a amazing time of year for everyone, for many different reason, but there are somethings about it that I don’t like. OK maybe “don’t like” is a bit strong, but Christmas is always times for get-togethers, and especially with old friends, school friends. Now I enjoyed school, i had some amazing friends, but when people tend to come home from uni at holiday time there are always get-togethers that I’m invited to, and yes some of my close mates are there, but the place always tends to be full of people i didn’t really talk to at school, i never really hung out with and i always feel really awkward. I usually end up sitting in the corner with 1 or 2 close mates just chatting with them and not really taking notice of the rest of the people there.

This is how things have been, and unless I change drastically this is how i can see things continuing.

That is where things change. This year will be different. Already I have been to a few things and have tried to talk more, be more outgoing to people i maybe don’t know as well. I’ll admit that at times this hasn’t gone well, but as we get further into the Christmas season and I already have been invited to different things, I am going to try harder. It will be awkward, it will be weird, but I’m going to make an effort. So if your reading this and i’m hanging out at any parties or anything that you are at and I’m seeming very antisocial, then you have permission to tell me to get off my ass and be social…

ok so myself and my housemates went to Tesco on tuesday night, and got ourselves a christmas tree for our house. While decorating i videoed it and was going to edit it later.

After i had made the video I uploaded it to Youtube and Facebook, but both took it down because of ‘copyright infringement’ just because of the music in the background. So i uploaded it to Daily Motion, where it will hopefully stay up

So enjoy

Sometimes the best way to deal with a break-up is to write a batch of great songs about it, turn up the amplifiers and just rock out.

Think of enduring classics – from Liz Phair’s Exile In Guyville to Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine to Beck’s Sea Change – and how they achieved musical catharsis from the crumbling walls and crossbeams of a relationship gone bad.

On their latest release, Forget And Not Slow Down, Relient K carry the break-up album into the 21st century, tweaking it with clear-eyed songwriting and a four-to-the-floor optimism that is positively refreshing. Yes, there’s sweet sorrow in “If You Believe Me.” And yes, there’s lingering nostalgia in “Part Of It” and “Savannah.” There’s even the occasional recrimination, as in the bitter sting of “I Don’t Need A Soul” and “Over It.” But when it comes to regret, lead singer and songwriter Matt Thiessen is not one to wallow.

As he sings on the rousing title track, “I’d rather forget and not slow down than gather regret for the things I can’t change now.”

Not that it doesn’t take some effort of will. As Thiessen says, “It’s hard to forget and move on emotionally, but sometimes it’s better for you. You have to keep the bigger picture in mind. If you’re feeling sorry for yourself or reflecting on things that aren’t good, you’re not being productive. So to move forward is to concentrate on ‘What can I do better?’ That’s the whole idea of the record.” The band’s guitarist Matt Hoopes agrees. “It’s about learning from mistakes and not just focusing on all the things you wished you would’ve done differently. Everyone has those things. What’s important is the knowledge that when you make a mistake, your life is not over.”

To gather material from these forward-thinking convictions, Thiessen made like Thoreau, retreating to a remote lake house in Winchester, Tennessee. “I was by myself for about two or three months, in total isolation,” he says. “It was awesome. You could think about something, and keep thinking about it, and no one would interrupt you for six or seven hours. You could keep your brain on one train of thought. I’ll never want to write another record any other way.”

For Thiessen, the solitary creative process was a lot like prayer. “Songwriting and praying are kind of synonymous for me,” he says. “You’re using your heart, you’re using your brain, you’re collecting your thoughts, inner emotions, and putting them all together, and you’re saying, ‘Where does this all fit into my life?’”

During his sojourn, Thiessen stayed in constant contact with Hoopes and the rest of the band – drummer Ethan Luck, bassist John Warne and guitarist Jon Schneck – sharing song ideas and mapping out a direction for the album. One guiding principle soon emerged: this record should rock. Reteaming with longtime producer Mark Townsend (“We’ve got an almost telepathic relationship,” Hoopes says. “He’s family”), the band brought the spontaneity and revved-up spirit of their live performances into the studio. On such standout songs as “Therapy,” “Candlelight” and “This Is The End,” their trademark blend of sweet melodicism and caffeinated pop-punk has never sounded as urgent and powerful.

The album was mixed by ace engineer Andy Wallace (Nirvana, Jeff Buckley, Sheryl Crow), who ups the ante even further by imbuing the songs with widescreen grandeur and crunching clarity. “We definitely wanted to make a rock record,’” Thiessen confirms. “We wanted it to be uptempo and energetic. As far as the sonic aspect, we wanted to make it less modern sounding, with classic rock textures – Counting Crows, Foo Fighters, those kind of ‘90s albums. That was a good time for rock ‘n’ roll.”

It was also a time before computers took up permanent residency in recording studios. Thiessen says, “A lot of bands use MIDI and synthesizers – fake instruments. We have too. But on this record, everything you hear is really played. It’s organic. I know a lot of bands do that now. But for us, it was really the first time we made it the real thing.”

That humble claim aside, Relient K has been making the real thing since 1997, when Thiessen and Hoopes formed the band in high school. In the decade since, they’ve released five full-length albums (three are certified Gold), five EPs and a Christmas record, toured the globe, and racked up several hit singles, a Grammy nomination, two Dove Awards and performances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O’ Brien and Jimmy Kimmel Live. The Los Angeles Times has praised Relient K for “its smart blend of punk pop and power pop, weaving together influences as diverse as the Beach Boys, Blink-182 and Fountains of Wayne” while Spin noted, “Few bands play punk-influenced modern rock as proficiently.”

With anticipation high from fans the world over and upcoming tour dates, the band’s hopes for Forget And Not Slow Down – the first release on their new Mono vs. Stereo label – are simple. “The songs that tend to be the fan favorites in the past are the ones about making mistakes but ultimately moving past them,” Hoopes says. “And this record has a lot of that feeling. No matter what trials and tribulations you encounter in your life, it doesn’t have to be the end of your story. You can move on and be happy and experience joy.”

Thiessen adds, “We always hope our listeners understand the resolution and positivity that the songs are alluding to. All these songs are written out of a good state of mind, and that’s what the songs are encouraging people to do – find that in their own lives. If you’re going through turmoil, you can find your way through it.”

taken from Relient K’s myspace

So yea, i love this band, there is just something about them that they blend pop-punk and melody together so well. I am very excited about the new album. Below is their new single, and title track of the new album “Forget and Not Slow Down.” Someday i will see this band live, if i have to get on a plane and go to a different country i will.

a few nights a go i was on msn as usual, chatting away to a friend of mine, when she asked me, after reading my last post, had i ever been alone in a crowed room, and what i meant by it. Then she said she felt like an indepth conversation, unless i didn’t want one. To be honest i was really tired at this point and when she said this i cringed and really couldn’t be bothered, sorry if your reading this lol, but i chatted away anyway, and i’m very glad i did. To describe what i meant by “ever been alone..” i said basically your surrounded by friends, but yet somehow you feel alone, like there is no one there who would even realise if you left, yes some of them may be good friends, but you just feel that you dont belong, that your not part of it…

“but you seem like a people person?”

“Exactly, ’seem’ like.” Yes, true friends never really declare themselves as that to you, but there is always that doubt in the back of your mind of who really know you. Being honest very very few of my ‘friends’ know me completely, there is a lot of stuff about me people don’t know. Then when you think that someone is a true friend you start telling them these things, bearing your soul, becoming vulnerable, and you suddenly realise that maybe they aren’t as good a friend as you previously thought when either they don’t care about you, or think your weird/a freak/etc and scarper cause your not what they thought you were.

It is crap that that is one of the few ways nowadays to fond who truly cares for you and is there for you. But very few people do this, have deep serious conversations with their friends about their lives. This one was the first one i had had in a long time. It all goes back to being scared of people seeing the real you and not being able to cope or not wanting anything to do with you.

People need to be more like children, say what is on their mind and just not care about any repercussions it could cause. Yes in some ways it could be bad, but it would get out in the open anything that needed to be said, or what you were really feeling, or even just showing the real you. That way you can see who are your friends.

But on that topic we talked about ‘best’ friends. I said how personally i don’t think i have ever been called a best friend, and i’m glad i haven’t, i think its puts too much pressure on you. I don’t really believe in best friends, just friends who to some you are closer to than others, and the others are there waiting for you to get closer.

The phrase ‘best friend’ has, I feel, lost it’s real meaning in today’s society

However to have a deep conversation about life, love, everything, you really just need it to be with someone special, who you know wont run away, who wont judge you, who will listen and try to understand, you just need to find that person. It’s a very spontaneous random thing though, you can’t say to someone “today we’re going to have a deep conversation,” just need to find that moment and not let it slip past without taking advantage of it.

We need to just be ourselves, stop hiding our true selves, speak our minds, and yes we may lose friends because of it, but the ones we keep will be the only ones you really need in your life, ’cause they will care for you and help you with anything your going through.

Over the coming days, weeks, months i plan to try and be more like this. To freely speak my mind, to get closer to my friends, and not let any opportunities pass me by. I may seem like a completely different person, but all i’m going to do is be the real me…

whenever i lie in bed at night and my ipod battery is flat or i’m not in the mood to watch a dvd, i find myself thinking, and to that extent thinking far too much and in far too much detail about things that really aren’t necessary.

When you think about how you’ve used your time in the years you have been alive. In school i wasted time, i didn’t get to know my friends enough, this past year at uni i haven’t gotten to know people in as much depth as i wish i had, and i have greatly neglected certain friends. However over the summer i have rekindled certain friendships, grown closer to people, and it’s been amazing. But i’m scared. This time last year i was feeling the same, spending pretty much all summer with the same few groups of people makes you realise the brilliant friendships you have and just how much they mean to you.

Over this next year things are going to be different. I’m not saying that i am going to try and change, i’m saying that i AM going to change. I am going to be more social and go out more with friends

Did you ever notice that no matter what it is, whether it is exam revision, assignment deadlines, or even just something your friend asked you to do, you always find something to do other than what you are supposed to be doing. That was the very reason why i made this blog to be honest. It’s almost a year since i started this blog, and it was started to distract me from A-level revision. Unfortunately i haven’t updated this blog in quite a while. but now that i have things that i should be doing, mainly revising for uni exams and photoshopping my band’s EP cover, i find myself blogging again. Unfortunately i have also sunk to a level that i promised myself i would never sink to, just to have something else to do other than revise, and that is Twitter

I never really saw the point of Twitter if I’m honest, i just saw it as a glorified “Facebook status” but now that i actually have it i think i could get used to it. It really is just a glorified facebook status but its good to see what others are up to in real time. If you wanna find me I’ll put a link on this page, also just search for Craig McCullough you should find me, my username is juneaucraig

Apart from that there hasn’t been a lot going on with me, just waiting for exams to start and finish so that the summer is here. Hopefully the plan this summer will be CYIA again, ’cause it was awesome last year, and both Good News Camp and Inters Camp, see here for a post about last summer’s camps. However although i would love to all this I’m not sure if it will be possible as i hope to get a job, since a have 4 months off uni for the summer, but we shall see what happens. Getting a job at the moment isn’t the easiest of things, but i shall keep you all updated.

well this will prob be my last post for a while, i realise that i never did a post about my holiday to france but to be honest i can’t be bothered, and there are bigger things at the moment. The reason that this will be my last post for a while is that this afternoon i am leaving to go on Queens CU Pre-term, and when it finishes on Wednesday my family will have moved house to Ballyroney (about half way between banbridge and castlewellan)

and we haven’t sorted out internet or anything at the house down there yet so don’t know when ill get posting again. It’s going to be weird not living in Ballymena anymore, going to miss a lot of people a lot, but i plan to be in Ballymena a lot still every few weekends, ’cause i need to see people. So farewell house, has been a good 7 years…

well i am now home from France, don’t have much time at the moment to write a lot but will post later hopefully with photos

in the mean time i just set up a skype account, so if you have skype feel free to add me

name is craigmccullough90

update properly soon

in another wee restaurant/pub

more free internet

awesome here

photos soon