I’m listening to Blur’s “Parklife” again. When I was about 20, the period when I had started listening to foreign music, I met this one. At that time I could not understand how British tastes were, therefore I couldn’t understand what was the true trials they wanted to do (the reason they emphasized British tastes as if they got into the nationalism might be they tried to answer to Grunge as Nirvana?), but I liked this one so have listened to any time. And now, still, this album is fresh and brilliant.
When I had an older friend, he criticized the music I had liked and even recommended as “their technique must be poor” or “They aren’t new” and I thought I should be embarrassed. I can remember it. Indeed, I never think that “Parklife” must be the greatest album in the world. For me, Blur is not great as the Beatles and XTC. But whatever they say, the band that drew the line that never vanishes on my mind was not the Beatles but Blur. That was the real fact and I will respect Damon Albern, and I will keep on listening to Blur.
I can’t read Anthony DeCurtis’s biography of Lou Reed “Lou Reed” rapidly. All I can make progress is 3 pages per day. It is after a long time that I try to read English paperback, so I feel embarrassed that I can’t read fastly more and more. But this is from my laziness of me that I have not kept on reading in English, so I thought I should try with patience. I had started writing this journal in Japanese and English but what could happen to me? At least, I might be able to input English more. But the quality of outputting English like this has been changed? Tell me your honest opinion, please…
As I wrote before, there must be so many people who use better English than me. I won’t compare myself with that kind of ‘great’ English speaker. I have never studied English abroad and also never did any TOEIC exams. It is easy to understand that I am poor at speaking English. I compare myself with the past. Once I had many troubles with my English exams or homework, and also the periods I could speak nothing easily, and made English teachers ashamed. Every day, I keep making certain progress. I face my poor skill and admit my progress. The peace of mind in me might come from such a state of mind, the fact I can do that comparison.
