Clare O'Brien
www.myspace.com/clareobrienwrightis catching up with herself.Mood: contemplative
Posted at 5:04 PM Oct 22 view more
Clare O'Brien
- North-west Highlands, Scotland, UK
- Last Login: 11/15/2009
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113573452|51|11111|http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/23/m_223f9ff0588348418b86a5ca51c8da8d.jpg
Music Player
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Interests
General
My husband and children. Books, music, movies, the environment. Long walks in all weathers. Swimming in the sea.Music
New Stuff: Chris Cornell - Augie March - Radiohead - Martin Grech/Meatsuit - Scott Walker - Goldfrapp - Bonnie Prince Billy - PJ Harvey - Ben Christophers - Rufus Wainwright - Rose Kemp - Eliza Carthy - Peter Shoulder - Chris Wood
Old Stuff: Jeff Buckley - Audioslave - Soundgarden - Led Zeppelin - Joni Mitchell - Kate Bush - early Genesis/Peter Gabriel - Siouxsie & the Banshees - early Pink Floyd - certain David Bowie albums - Fairport Convention
Classical Stuff: Mahler - Wagner - Mozart - Bach - Tavener - Rautavaara - Ravel - Debussy - Vaughan Williams - Grieg
Superunknown (Soundgarden) Because it's a stark, uncompromising piece of work, full of tortured melody, strange rhythmic geometry and oblique lyrical puzzles. It doesn’t give up its secrets easily. OK Computer (Radiohead) Because it's the most complete portrait of alienation I've ever heard, yet still manages somehow to be redemptive and uplifting. Grace (Jeff Buckley) Many people's "perfect" album. It's not perfect, simply one of the most beautiful things you will ever hear. It is also very, very addictive. Ignore the romantic myths that grew up around his death and the cash-cow posthumous releases, and enjoy the purity of what he left behind. Euphoria Morning (Chris Cornell) For the most part dark as bitter chocolate, the songs on Euphoria Morning also sometimes crackle with menace. Like Joni Mitchell’s classic "Blue", this album is perfect therapy for a certain kind of broken heart. Sometimes almost unbearably sad, it shares Radiohead's talent for redemption. Cornell survived, and part of that hope for the future is encapsulated here. Hounds of Love (Kate Bush) Insanely beautiful and completely original, "Hounds of Love" stands as Kate Bush's masterpiece. The songs are sublime, the performances courageous and utterly individual. There's still never been anything else like this album. 
Movies
The English Patient (Anthony Minghella) A heartbreaking look at memory and desire. If anything, it improves on Michael Ondaatje's stunning book. The script is superb, and Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott-Thomas and Juliette Binoche are perfectly cast. American Beauty (Sam Mendes) Another perfect script and a great performance not only from star Kevin Spacey but also supporting actor Wes Bentley. The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (Peter Jackson) My favourite part of the trilogy - although it only really makes sense in the extended uncut edition. An incredible achievement from Peter Jackson and all concerned in bringing an "unfilmable" classic to the screen. Girl with a Pearl Earring (Peter Webber) Scarlet Johannssen has never been better than she is in this 17th century drama about the relationship between an artist and his muse. Beautifully shot and photographed with wonderful, low-key support from Colin Firth as the artist Vermeer. Apocalypse Now Redux (Francis Ford Coppola) Now restored to its full glory, this is another film that makes much better sense uncut. The French plantation scenes are among the best in this complex, mythic and disturbing film. Television
Life on Mars - Twin Peaks - Dr Who - Torchwood - M*A*S*H - Clangers - Sea Of Souls - Star Trek - The Prisoner - The Avengers (with Diana Rigg) - Bagpuss - Two Stupid Dogs - Camberwick Green - TrumptonBooks
Poets: Ted Hughes - Seamus Heaney - Michael Symmons Roberts - R.S Thomas - Rumi - William Stafford - John Donne - Henry Vaughan - John Keats - William Blake - Rainer Maria Rilke - Dylan Thomas - Federico Garcia Lorca - Sorley Maclean - really old English and Gaelic poetry
Novelists: Peter Ackroyd - Christopher Priest - Emily Bronte - Charlotte Bronte - Oliver Onions - Ian McEwan - J.R.R. Tolkien - Muriel Spark - John Dickson Carter - Paul Auster - Angela Carter - Michael Cunningham - M.R. James - Philip Pullman - Mervyn Peake
Playwrights/Screenwriters William Shakespeare, Kit Marlowe, Charles Wood, David Lynch, Anthony Minghella, Peter Schaffer, M. Night Shyamalan.
Shakespeare: The Complete Works (William Shakespeare) The greatest literature ever written, anywhere. Hans Christian Andersen's Fairytales (Hans Christian Andersen) Endlessly resonant tales which have so much to tell us about our own dreams and our own history. Collected Poems (Ted Hughes) Unfairly maligned by the prejudiced, Ted Hughes was one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, with a profound understanding of the natural world. The Lord of the Rings (J R R Tolkien) Because I've loved it almost all my life, ever since I first discovered it aged 14 on a seaside holiday with my parents. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) I think it's the best of the 19th century novels - utterly original and hugely disturbing. Heroes
Chris Cornell - Ted Hughes - Viggo Mortensen - M Night Shyamalan - Roger Federer - Tim Berners Lee - Peter Jackson - Russell T Davies - Chris Wood - Oliver Postgate - Guillermo Del Toro
Video Player
Details
- Status: Married
- Here for: Networking, Friends
- Orientation: Straight
- Body type: 5' 11" / Average
- Ethnicity: White / Caucasian
- Zodiac Sign: Aries
- Children: Proud parent
- Education: Post grad
Latest Blog Entries
- Nov 11, 2009 6:00 PM Imagine No Possessions...
- Oct 7, 2009 4:06 PM Pearl Jam - Hunger Strike w/ Chris Cornell - Gibson Amphitheater - Unive...
- Mar 11, 2009 2:56 AM Review: "Scream" by Chris Cornell
- Dec 15, 2008 7:53 PM That’s Entertainment...or is it Art?
- Jul 30, 2008 1:58 AM Fanning the Flames: Slavery, "Misery" and Chris Cornell
Blurbs
About me:
I'm a pro writer, musician, arts administrator, crofter's wife and mother of two based in the Scottish Highlands. Pleased to meet you.As a feature-writer and reviewer, I've published many hundreds of feature articles, interview and reviews. However - I'm really happier writing fiction, PR copy and biography. I'm currently in the final stages of editing a book of short stories provisionally titled Thin Places: Modern Slipstream Fiction From The Highlands and I've already published a non-fiction book about my old home town of London, as well as various short stories and poetry in small-press magazines and anthologies.
Some of the people I've interviewed in the press include ex-Soundgarden and Audioslave singer Chris Cornell, writer and activist Ariel Dorfman, movie producer Peter Lord of Aardman Animations, ex-Pearl Jam drummer Jack Irons, producer Steve Lillywhite, literary novelists Jeanette Winterson and Peter Carey, punk frontman Hugh Cornwell of The Stranglers, guitar virtuoso Gary Lucas and young British artist Martin Grech, Latin/metal crossover band Ill Nino, fantasy writer China Mieville, soul legend Sam Moore and many more.
To see a selection of my published work, or to explore my writer's website, go here - or read some of my reviews at Amazon. You can also read an expanded, unedited version of my MySpace blog (with more fiction and poetry!) at my Blogger site, Breathing Out Becomes White And Snowfall.
I'm also a part-time musician. I started off with classical flute and various youth choirs and orchestras, and I still have a strong interest in classical music - back when I lived in England, I worked as assistant to Stephen Cleobury, the Director of Music at King's College, Cambridge, handling the admin and PR work surrounding the world-famous choir. In the 80s and 90s I sang & played keyboards in a rock band with an indie deal and played flute in a world music outfit playing middle eastern rap/crossover music.
These days I'm part of Scotland-based music collective Species 8472. I'm also currently singing in Black Cherry, a live covers band which mixes and reinvents jazz standards and folksong using voice, piano, harp and flute.
Writing and music aren't the best-paid of occupations unless your last name is Rowling or Ciccone. However, the beauty of modern communications technology (thanks to Mr Berners-Lee and his elves....) means I can live in a remote area like this and still work for a range of clients around the globe, including music retail chain HMV's house magazine HMV Choice, the abovementioned American singer, songwriter and musical icon Chris Cornell and various clients within the hospitality and tourism sector. On a less virtual level, together with my husband and sons I help run our own tourism and organic horticulture business at Coille Bheag.
We also help run West Coast Arts, which puts on touring theatre and concerts of all kinds in the western Highlands.
Comments
Oct 14 2009 6:52 PM
Poem 162 of 230, WalkaboutsVerse
(please see my blog):
TEES TO TYNE: FIRST IMPRESSIONS - SUMMER 2001
Where traditions are not so rare;
Sea, country and works scent the air;
A multitude of monuments,
Planted tubs and patterned pavements.
The longish pedestrian malls;
The remnants of defensive walls;
Historic buildings are a gauge
Of the respect for heritage.
Wheat, rape and pines in the fields;
Estuaries guarded by shields;
Long sandy beaches and wide scenes;
Romantic-ruin go-betweens.
Rivers in parts licked by trees,
Or fringed by boat clubs, wharfs, gantries,
And crossed by practical delights -
Varied spans, forming pleasing sights.
Fine churches headed at Durham;
Football kits ad infinitum;
Kept castles - one for study;
Masonry behind masonry.
And, with moulding-works out that way,
It’s somewhere for a longer stay..?
(C) David Franks 2003
Sep 30 2009 2:25 AM
Hi Clare, nice site! Thanks so much for the friendship! We are from Hollywood, California, we have some flavors of Lacuna Coil, Rammstien and Evanescence. Lyrics are available on the Music Player as well… P.S.... If you get a chance and feel like leaving a comment, please do!.. even on our pics...=) Thanks and hope you are having an amazing evening!! Take care, T.S.
Sep 7 2009 1:44 PM
Jul 4 2009 4:54 PM
After you've finished here, you may like to hear this poem sung on myspace...
Poem 2 of 230, WalkaboutsVerse
(please see my blog):
WALKABOUT WITH MY PEN
Once drove an old sedan, up north,
From a place in Sydney to Cairns;
Then to Kuranda I went forth,
By train, to look without set plans.
I browsed through the trendy market,
With fresh fruits of tropical kind;
Walked to the creek through lush thicket -
Nature’s hand giving peace of mind.
I dined in a scenic cafe;
Then, outside, as I wrote for yen,
Some passing Kooris called-out: “Hey,
You go walkabout with your pen.”
Request or question, I don’t know -
Assured voices, elderly men.
That’s now several years ago,
And I’ve seen the world - with my pen.
(C) David Franks 2003
May 31 2009 2:06 AM
May 6 2009 12:40 AM
Apr 20 2009 5:25 PM
After you've finished here, you may like to hear this poem sung on myspace...
Poem 2 of 230, WalkaboutsVerse
(please see my blog):
WALKABOUT WITH MY PEN
Once drove an old sedan, up north,
From a place in Sydney to Cairns;
Then to Kuranda I went forth,
By train, to look without set plans.
I browsed through the trendy market,
With fresh fruits of tropical kind;
Walked to the creek through lush thicket -
Nature’s hand giving peace of mind.
I dined in a scenic cafe;
Then, outside, as I wrote for yen,
Some passing Kooris called-out: “Hey,
You go walkabout with your pen.”
Request or question, I don’t know -
Assured voices, elderly men.
That’s now several years ago,
And I’ve seen the world - with my pen.
(C) David Franks 2003
Mar 26 2009 2:27 PM
Mar 25 2009 6:15 PM
Mar 25 2009 10:03 AM
I hope you have a great day!
Mar 25 2009 3:20 AM
Mar 20 2009 7:53 PM
D D E D G F#, D D E D A G, D D D' B G F# E, C' C' B G A G
Mar 11 2009 3:16 AM
I just noticed Chris Cornell gave a shout out to you on his CD cover booklet. That is so cool! I love the new CD I can't stop playing it. Hope all is well!! Have a great week!! xo
Mar 6 2009 1:41 PM
Will take a further listen . . . and check out your writing. My ancestors, yeah, I'm still working on that . . . somewhere in the Highlands via Northern Ireland, but a few centuries ago. The further I go back, the more ideas I get for a novel!
Hope you enjoyed my tunes too.
All the best Leigh.
Mar 6 2009 12:11 PM
Thanks for the add and the friendship. I'll never hear Mark Lanegan the same way . . . some very sensual vocals. And from the Highlands - I can even hear my ancestors calling.
Best wishes, Leigh
Melbourne, Australia
Mar 4 2009 7:03 PM
Just wanted to drop in on a rainy day and say hi to you. I hope everything is great with you. We are excited, D.B. Pacini's youth/YA fantasy novel, THE LOOSE END OF THE RAINBOW, is being published in one week. Actually, she’s so excited that she is driving me a little nuts. She is donating some books and 10% of the proceeds to a charitable organization that helps Native American youth.
I also wanted to tell you about our free Starry Night Creative Artists Community. We started it last summer and it is growing like a weed, becoming international. It is open to creative artists of all mediums and we showcase organizations and individuals that help others. It is a cool community. I hope you’ll check it out. Just click on this link and then scroll down to: Starry Night Creative Artists Community: www. astarrynightproductions. com
Wags & Ruffs,
Tangee Dog
(AKA: Gorgeous Girl)
Feb 25 2009 10:29 PM
Jan 29 2009 9:27 AM
Unwanted and Intrusive Comments
Jan 27 2009 1:27 AM
Dec 31 2008 7:58 PM
Dec 30 2008 9:39 PM
x
Dec 24 2008 9:47 PM
Kenny
Dec 23 2008 7:58 PM
peter
Dec 23 2008 2:48 AM
Nov 15 2008 2:48 AM
Trousers