For the past four years I've been a student, and that has heavily involved one of the key student activities - not waking up particularly early. It's been great and I've had some excellent lie-ins. Sadly, that had to end and I've now got a job again, working 9-5 (5.30, in fact). I've adjusted to mornings begrudgingly but mostly because I know that there aren't any more degrees I can realistically do to avoid them any longer.
I had an office job four years ago and, in that time, 7" record were my best friends; I would wake up, shower and have enough time to play a 7" while I got dressed. Every morning I'd flick through my 7"s to find some tunes to set me up for the day. As a student with no real need to leave the house, I'd play an LP and catch up on the world's activities on the internet instead. This past week, 7"s have become my friends again and I foresee an increase in 7" purchases since I'll no longer have so much time to listen to LPs.
This record was one of the first that I rediscovered this week and it's one I'm very fond of, but the main reason for that is the b-side, a cover of A Praise Chorus. I consider myself a casual fan of Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly and of Jimmy Eat World. I've seen and enjoyed both, but only have a scattering of records by each. That said, of the Jimmy songs I know, my favourite was always A Praise Chorus. I heard it on a Kerrang! sampler back in 2001 and thought it was great (I had mixed feelings about the other singles from Bleed American - I enjoyed the title-track but didn't like The Middle at all) and when I saw this 7" with Sam covering it, I figured it was worth a shot. For £1, I've got a lot of enjoyment out of it. It's slower and more reflective than the original, but it works.
The a-side is pretty nice too, and very fitting with this blog post - since I'm clearly struggling to Find the Time (apologies) to write about my records alongside an eight hour day and a two hour round trip commute (my first ever commute too, which at 28 is quite the achievement). In fact, being out of the house for ten hours a day really cuts into my record listening time, which sucks. Maybe once I've got a more regular routine figured out I'll update this more regularly. For now you'll have to make do with the records I can find the time to play.
Format: 7", gatefold sleeve
Tracks: 2
Cost: £1 new
Bought: HMV Cardiff
When: 09/03/08
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
