Hi! I'm Gretchen, a 21-year-old Scotchophile from Pittsburgh, PA, studying abroad at the University of Stirling in Scotland in the spring of 2013. This is where I will recount my experiences and thoughts throughout the semester.
I've decided to do some more research that is actually relevant to my study abroad preparations, and I thought it might be important to know a little about the place I will be coming home to over the next few months. Since I'll be living in a single in what is considered a fresher dorm (they call freshmen "freshers," which sounds to me like a drink you have in the middle of a stressful day), I'm expecting the room to be rather small and cell-like. But the fact that it's a single is nice, since freshmen in the U.S. almost always have one or two roommates. Hopefully the fact that I'm living with freshmen and other people studying abroad will mean that they're not all cliqued up already, so I can actually make some friends. Supposedly there are game rooms and TV rooms and common area type places to meet people in too. And I get access to a fairly large kitchen with my own locked cabinet, which will be great, since I don't have a meal plan and would like to make most of my own food.
Anyway, when I was trying to find pictures of what the dorm rooms look like, I came across this dude, who I totally thought was Bill Wyman for about three seconds.
The picture is from Stirling's archives, but it'd be great if I could find a hip-dressing guy like this when I'm there.
Here is one of the residence buildings. I'm not sure which one it is, but I'll figure it out.
I think that's Airthrey Loch at the bottom. It looks lovely.
Here is a video about accommodations. Not lookin' too bad.
They send people to help you clean your room once a week?? Bless their souls! Compared to my freshman housing, this place is starting to look like a hotel.
Helpful lady made a nice, basic advice video about studying abroad at Stirling.
And here is an intro to fun stuff on campus:
I'm really excited to find fun stuff to do and fun people to do it with. Although I know I'm mainly going to Stirling to be a student, I hope there will still be lots of time left over for exploring.
Since I am a huge music fan, I've decided to make a list of my favorite Scottish bands and musicians. Does this have any real bearing on preparing for my trip? Not at all! Let's get started.
(Note that these are not in order of preference, just in order of "came to mind")
Big Country
I actually don't know a ton about this band, but they gave my blog its title with their song "In A Big Country" (1983), so I feel I need to talk about them a bit. Big Country was formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981, and one cool thing they did was tweak electric guitars to imitate traditional Scottish instruments, like bagpipes and fiddles. Although apparently, none of them were actually born in Scotland.
They also did "Fields of Fire" (1983) and this song, "One Great Thing" (1986), which I rather like:
Average White Band
It seems to me that many people don't realize that this popular 70s funk band was actually Scottish. As a pretty big funk music fan, I really love these guys and, unlike Big Country, I never would have guessed their nationality from listening to their music. Formed in Dundee in 1972, they're best known for "Pick Up the Pieces" and "Cut the Cake" (1974). Here is one of my favorites, "School Boy Crush," as performed on Soul Train.
Bay City Rollers
I had a rather significant BCR phase when I was like 14, which definitely helped feed my interest in Scotland. Although BCR were formed in Edinburgh and started out in 1966 as The Saxons, they decided to rename themselves by throwing a dart at a U.S. map which landed near Bay City, Michigan. They tend to get written off as a dumb boy band, but I think they succeeded in making some really solid 70s pop. Their only American hit "Saturday Night" (1975) was what turned me onto them, but my favorites are still "Rock and Roll Love Letter" (1976) and "Turn On the Radio" (1979).
Nazareth
This group was formed in Dunfermline in 1968, but didn't become internationally famous until 1975 when they released their cover of "Love Hurts," which is the song that pretty much everyone associates them with. However, most of their songs don't sound much like "Love Hurts," so I will provide "Hair of the Dog" (from the same album) here as a point of contrast. If you like this, you should also check out their cut of Joni Mitchell's "This Flight Tonight" as well as "Broken Down Angel" (1973). They're a pretty hard rockin' group.
The Proclaimers
The Proclaimers are rather well known for their hit "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", which does a fabulous job of showcasing their accents, and their hometown is even in the album's title Sunshine on Leith (1988). So I really hope you already knew that these guys were Scottish.
What I like best about the Proclaimers is that many of their love songs, including "Spend My Life With You" and their cover of "Whole Wide World" (2007), seem so heartfelt. I would recommend digging into their discography, because they have some really good stuff.
The Fratellis
I first heard the Fratellis when "Chelsea Dagger" became the Chicago Blackhawks' goal song, and I liked it so much that I decided to buy the whole album, Costello Music (2006). The band was formed in Glasgow in 2005, and I dug them because they had so much raw energy and didn't seem to take themselves overly seriously like a lot of punk bands do. They just had a ton of fun with their music, and it shows through the silly, pub song lyrics and the catchy riffs. I was a little disappointed by their second album Here We Stand (2008), which I felt lacked a lot of the fun and energy of the first album, but I highly recommend Costello Music. I'm also super pumped for their recently announced reunion, which I hope produces some more great songs like this one:
Simple Minds
Formed in Glasgow in 1977, Simple Minds had a string of hits in the UK before finally gaining success in the U.S. with "Don't You (Forget About Me)" and "Alive and Kicking" (1985). They also did a cool reworking of the Irish folk song "She Moved Through the Fair" called "Belfast Child" (1989), which was a somewhat controversial release with the issues going on in Northern Ireland at the time. But it reached #1 in the UK. They have a pretty substantial catalog, (ie. "Waterfront" (1988)) and if you're into their brand of 80s electronic rock, definitely check them out.
Lulu
I first encountered Lulu's music when I saw To Sir, with Love, in which she both stars and sings the movie's theme of the same name. She was actually born as Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie in Lennoxtown, Glasgow. "To Sir, with Love" (1967) is the song she's mainly known for, but she also sang "The Man With the Golden Gun" for the 1974 James Bond movie and produced some good covers of popular songs in the 60s, like "Day Tripper." "Stealing My Love" is my favorite tune of hers, and is actually featured in a scene of To Sir, With Love.
AC/DC
YES, I AM VERY AWARE THAT AC/DC IS AN AUSTRALIAN BAND, and I'm not saying they aren't. But I have to dignify the heritage of core members Bon Scott, Malcolm and Angus Young (and their Very Scottish names). It's hard not to notice Bon's bagpipes on "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll)" (1975), which helps make it one of my favorite AC/DC songs. But their coolest display of Scottishness is Angus's electric rendition of "The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond," known as "Bonny" or "Fling Thing":
Franz Ferdinand
I think most people know this band, but if you don't, well basically, they were formed in Glasgow in 2002 and I guess you would call them alternative rock. Some of my favorite songs of theirs are "This Fire" (2004) and "No You Girls" (2009), and their fourth album is scheduled to come out sometime this year. Here's one of their lesser known songs that I really enjoy, "L. Wells" (2006):
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
Someone introduced me to this group when I said that I wish more rock songs had bagpipes. Thus, I heard the 1974 single "Anthem" (bagpipes come in at about the 5:00 mark). Alex Harvey was born in Glasgow and formed his Sensational band in 1972. He was probably somewhat insane, but he made some awesome, if a little strange, music that spanned genres, including "Framed" (1972), "Faith Healer" and "Next" (1973). Look up some of his performances on Youtube because you really need to see Alex's face (and his band!) when he sings. It's something else.
Orange Juice
This post-punk band was formed in Glasgow (wasn't everyone, it seems?) in 1979. I find their sound difficult to adequately describe, but they were influenced by 60s rock, soul, disco, and punk. It's an interesting mix, though it does sound very much like something you'd hear in the early 80s. I'd suggest that you investigate them for yourself and see what you think. This is probably their most well-known song, "Rip It Up" (1982). I'd also recommend "Bridge" (1984) and "Moscow" (1980) which has more of a 60s surf vibe.
The Incredible String Band
I used to think these guys were Irish (I'm not sure where I heard that), but a friend set me straight, telling me that many of their songs were influenced by traditional Scottish folk songs. Formed in 1966, they have a decidedly unique sound which what you'd call psychedelic folk, and it can take some getting used to if you're not into either of those two genres. But I really dig their stuff, and some of my favorite songs are "First Girl I Loved," "The Hedgehog's Song" and "Painting Box."
Donovan
I can't believe I almost forgot him! I absolutely love both of Donovan's phases: his folk phase and his psychedelic one. There is just something about his music that I find magical and fairytale-like, and I think his unique voice fits his songs very well. I have too many favorites to list, but some of them include "Barabajagal" (1969), "Hurdy Gurdy Man" (1968), "Sunny Goodge Street" and "Catch the Wind" (1965). My current ringtone is actually the opening of "Sunshine Superman" (1966). I pretty much like everything Donovan does, but my absolute favorite tune is "Turquoise" (1965). And yes, like everyone else on this list, he is from Glasgow.
So that's my list! I know there are a lot of bands I missed, either because I don't listen to them, don't know much about their music, or don't know that they're Scottish. But I'm sure I'll discover more cool Scottish musicians when I'm in Scotland, and maybe even get to see some of them perform.
Anyway, I hope that I've introduced you to some artists you might like, and that now you know a little more about Scotland's contributions to the music world. :)
Because I don't think anyone much cares to hear about my packing process for Scotland (and because I haven't done much of the packing yet anyway), I've decided to share a bit of my research with you instead. As a history buff, I've been looking up documentaries about Scotland's history in preparation for my trip.
THIS is an entire youtube playlist of Scottish documentaries (sadly, many of them have been deleted).
Here is the BBC documentary A History of Scotland, which is one of the first ones that came up when I started searching:
And here is one that was mentioned on Hark! A Vagrant! about the Glencoe Massacre:
This one is cool if you're into castles as I am. I am definitely going to visit as many of these as I can.
I would also recommend this one on Edinburgh narrated by Sean Connery, mostly because it is narrated by Sean Connery. And it's kind of cute to hear him talk fondly about his hometown.
I've been trying to locate a good documentary about the true story behind William Wallace and the events in Braveheart (one of my favorite movies), but this clip from the Smithsonian Channel is the best I could find.
It talks about how the real William Wallace was way different than the fictional one in Braveheart, but who is honestly surprised by that? Apparently, kilts weren't even in vogue during the time period the movie takes place in. But who cares? It's still a great fantasy film.
Speaking of addressing the troops on a horse, I should also note that Clydesdales are my favorite breed of horse, and since Scotland is home of the Clydesdale, I am totally going to find some. They are such beautiful animals.
(Please appreciate the hotel lobby soundtrack of this video)
Anyway, that's all for this post! The next one will be about my favorite Scottish bands. Because you need to now.
These guys aren't on it, but they're still pretty far out.
So there have been a lot of things going on lately that have made me forget about the fact that I am headed off to study abroad in Stirling, Scotland, at the beginning of next month. This isn't to say that I'm not excited, because I definitely am whenever people ask me about it and remind me that I am indeed going, but with Christmas and New Year's and vacations and family stuff, I haven't been able to focus on preparing for my trip. Right now, I'm just waiting for it all to finally hit me so I can fully realize, YES THIS IS HAPPENING!
I've been to the UK once before, when I visited my aunt, uncle, and cousins while they were living in Surrey during the summer of 2010. But this is the first time I will have been to Scotland. I'm not afraid of flying internationally, having done a lot of flying on my own before, and I'm not even that worried about finding my way around and looking for things to do. What I'm most concerned about is making good friends, finding a good church, and most of all, taking my classes, because I know there are going to be differences between Denison and Stirling. For one thing, Stirling is a bigger school with about 5,000 more undergrads, plus 2,000 postgrads, and classes will probably be taught more general lecture style than my largely discussion-based classes at Denison. I've heard that many people do better abroad though, and my grades won't count towards my GPA anyway, so I should become less nervous once I get into the swing of things.
I chose to go to a Scottish University, as opposed to an American one based in the UK, because I wanted to get that different experience and to meet, not just other Americans studying abroad, but people who are actually from the UK and Europe. And it's probably good that I'm a little nervous because that means I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and exposing myself to new experiences.
I've wanted to go to Scotland since I was 14, so I've compiled all of my aspirations in a comprehensive list of everything (in no particular order) that I want to do while I'm in Scotland. I'll probably come back to this post later and add more things as I think of them.
1) Visit my friend Zee in London and bring her some plain M&M's and graham crackers (which apparently they don't have in the UK, for shame!)
2) Make a friend at Stirling who knows their way around and will show me all the cool stuff
3) Attend an Elite hockey league game, preferably an Edinburgh Capitals game so I can say I saw the Caps in Scotland and confuse Washington fans
4) Buy some kind of apparel with an Elite league team's logo on it
5) See a rugby game, hopefully a pro one
6) Find and photograph all of the Braveheart related things that Stirling/Scotland has to offer
7) Visit as many castles as I can
8) Go to an event that involves traditional Scottish music and dancing
9) Go hiking in the highlands
10) Find a cool record store
11) Locate a Scottish Highland cow and pet it
12) Locate a Scottish deerhound and pet it
13) Visit Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen
My main goal is to make friends, and I really hope I meet some cool people whom I can at least remain good Facebook buddies with when I go back home.
Also, in case you're wondering about the meaning of the title of my blog, it's a relatively obscure 80s music reference. Of course.
