The October mix-tape

This post is a bit late - so sorry, I have been majorly slacking on the blogging front with this sudden influx of uni work and *attempting* to be sociable, but I am hoping to get back into the swing of things. Anyway, here are the songs I've been listening to non-stop for October.

Love Me - The 1975
I'm a big fan of the 1975, I think their music is completely different to anything else in the charts. Although half the time I can't tell what Matt Healy is saying, I still really love their catchy melodies. This song to me feels a little bit 80s and it's probably become one of my favourite songs by them in a very short space of time.

Hotline Bling - Drake
I kept on seeing everyone on Twitter and Tumblr talking about this song and quoting it, and it's hella groovy and chilled and catchy. Plus, I love Drake's dancing in the video.

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? - Amy Winehouse
Not a new song by any means but one I've only just really discovered. I know Amy's version is a cover, so please don't get all pretentious with me about it I know this. I heard about this song because I read an article in the NME about Amy's top 10 songs and I hadn't heard her version of this song (which is odd because it's used in the second Bridget Jones film which I have seen more times than I can count), and it was the only song on that list I hadn't heard before so as a big Amy fan I gave it a listen. I love the instrumentation of this song (I think I've said this before, but the way to my heart is with a bit of brass) and I love the rawness of Amy's voice, it's just a really lovely song.

Anticipation - Esper Scout
Epser Scout are a band I had never heard of until recently, and in fact I only discovered them because one of my Facebook friends (actually, my childhood friend's older sister) has recently become their drummer so she's going on tour with them and tingz. They recently released an EP which has this song on it (which is the B side) and another one called In Foreign, which I also really like but I've probably listened to this one more.

When We Was Fab - George Harrison
Not a new song, but since George Harrison's solo stuff has been added to Spotify I've been listening to it loads and this song I really like partially for the references to The Beatles (I also love the video because it's one of those 'what the heck is Ringo doing?' sort of situations - check out his selfies on Twitter and you'll have the same sensation) but it's also really catchy with some really rad instrumentation and some nice harmonies.

What have you been listening to this month?

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The September mix-tape

This post is going up a little late because I've been busy at University and socialising and having to allocate more time to buying adult things like fruit and pasta sauce rather than sitting down and doing a blog post, but despite that, I have found some time to tell you about the music I've been listening to. As per usual, it's a bit of an odd mix.

1. Bite - Troye Sivan
I loved Troye's first album and when I found out he was coming out with another one I knew I was going to love it, I think the whole album is really good but this is probably the song I've been listening to most on the album. It's got a somewhat ambient, chilled feel to it but it's also quite catchy with a good beat - basically, Troye is super talented and I think he deserves all of the credit he gets for his music. I think it's great that his album is good in its own right rather than it just being popular solely because he did YouTube already.

2. Cry Baby - Melanie Martinez
My friend Antoinette got me into Melanie Martinez, she recommended Pity Party to me a while ago and I really liked that, but then she told me to listen to the rest of the album and I did and this is probably the song I've been singing the most from it. It's really catchy and I think Melanie Martinez has a really interesting and unique style of music.

3. Young Volcanoes - Fall Out Boy
In all honesty I've never been too much of a Fall Out Boy fan, I've liked a few songs from them before and I can see why people do like them but they just don't really click with me for the mostpart. However, I watched Evan Edinger and Dodie Clark's cover of this song recently (I don't know why I hadn't seen it before given that I've basically seen all of Evan and Dodie's videos) and I've had the song stuck in my head the whole month, it's a really fun one to sing along to.

4. The Blackest Day - Lana Del Rey
LANA'S NEW ALBUM - CAN WE TAKE A MOMENT???? Okay, I love Lana so much, I think her style of music is different to all of other popular music that's out right now and I've been looking forward to the Honeymoon album since it was announced. I think I might like the Honeymoon album more than Ultraviolence (although, as generic as it is, Born to Die is probably my favourite album). This is such a chilled song with a good beat and it's probably my favourite on the album, although I also like Art Deco and Religion - basically, Lana is amazing and I love her unconditionally (okay, maybe not unconditionally because she does some problematic things but I like her a lot)

5. Isolation - Joy Division
This month I watched Control for the first time and it got me back into Joy Division pretty massively. I've liked them for quite a while but I tend to skip them when they come up on my Spotify (except for Love Will Tear Us Apart Again because that's one of my favourite songs ever and probably, however cliched it is, probably my favourite song by Joy Division) but after listening to the songs in the film I decided to listen to them again and I've rekindled my love for them, I think Ian Curtis' lyrics are literally like poetry, they're just so beautifully written and it's just generally enjoyable to listen to Joy Division songs - like they're beautiful but sad, so it's enjoyable but in a sad way . . . if you feel me . . .

What have you been listening to this month?

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Music of the month - May

I haven't discovered a lot of new music this month (hence why there are a few rediscoveries in here) but there's a strange mix, so read below to see what I've been listening to!

1. Lonesome Street - Blur

I feel like I could put the entire of the new Blur album on here, but I think this is my favourite one. It sounds a little bit like Modern Life is Rubbish era and it's really catchy with some nice harmonies, plus even Liam Gallagher has said it's the best song of 2015.. if an ex-Oasis member is calling a Blur song the best song of 2015, you know it's good.

2. Martha My Dear - The Beatles

This isn't a new song to me but it's one that I always ignored a bit. The White album is an album that I've always thought to be hit and miss, there are some amazing tracks on there and some really crap ones on there (Piggies, for example..) so when I initially ripped songs from the White album to my computer a few years ago, I only ripped the ones I knew really well and Martha My Dear wasn't one of them. However, since then I've gotten a new laptop and a new phone so I had to rip all my music again and I have been listening to the tracks on the White album I ignored before, and Martha My Dear is one of them. The strings, the brass the piano, and the voice of Paul McCartney is just such a beautiful combination and I've been singing this song non-stop for the past month.

3. Feelin Myself - Nicki Minaj ft. Beyonce

Again, not a new song to me, but one I've been listening to constantly with all of the hype of the new video. Nicki Minaj deserves so much more recognition for what she does, she's a POC woman dominating the rap field at the moment (let's not forget Kanye West nearly took her part out of Monster because he thought she'd show everyone else did, then he didn't, and she did) and she does it in a theatrical way, and I think that aspect is lost on a lot of people. Also, need I get started on Beyonce? Me and my friend Isabella (who you may have seen in the various vlogs on my YouTube channel) have been singing this non-stop in the car journeys on the way to school, it's just pretty darn good.

4. One Great Song and I Can Change the World - Swim Deep

Swim Deep are a group who I only got into about a year ago, but I loooove some of their songs, and this new release is no different. It's just super groovy and catchy, it's a bit more upbeat than some of their other songs which are pretty chilled out.

5. Keep You - Wild Belle

I haven't the faintest idea how I came across this song, but I love it so much. It's got that reggae feel about it, I hate to use the word 'vibes' because it sounds so frigging pretentious but it's got those really chilled out summery vibes in it.

What music have you been liking this month?

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I'ma let you finish but Ben Folds Five are one of the greatest bands of all time

I was considering doing an entire post dedicated to music that isn't so well known but is really good and well worth a listen, the focus being on the band Ben Folds Five, but then I realised that I love them too much to dedicate just a fifth of a post to them. My favourite bands are The Beatles and The Smiths, but Ben Folds Five are way up there and sometimes they're equal to The Beatles to me, which is a sweeping statement to make but that's how good they are, seriously.

I first listened to Ben Folds Five when I was about five years old and I think the song that stuck with me most at that age was Jackson Cannery, although I didn't know it was called that for years, I just called it the 'stop the bus' song because the first line of the song is 'stop the bus'. I majorly got into Ben Folds Five (opposed to just knowing a few songs) when I was about ten or eleven years old, and when I was sixteen I was lucky enough to see Ben Folds Five live as they reunited for a tour and a new album.

Ben Folds Five are by far one of the best bands of all time, Ben Folds' solo work is pretty awesome too. Ben Folds Five set out to prove you don't need a guitar for rock music and so the piano is the focus in their music, for a pianist obviously this is a selling point, but their songs are genuinely so so good. If you keep on reading, I'll give y'all a breakdown of my favourites (for which reasons) because I love all of their songs, they're one of the few groups who don't have any rubbish songs, it's really quite a strange thing.

I know Rockin' the Suburbs isn't a Ben Folds Five album, but I couldn't leave it out as it's probably one of my all-time favourite albums and it's still Ben Folds so y'know it's not a completely artist.

THE SAD SONGS:

1. Boxing
2. Brick
3. Smoke
4. Missing the War
5. Evaporated
6. Mess
7. Thank You for Breaking My Heart

THE 'I'M DOING ME SO P*SS OFF' SONGS:

1. Philosophy
2. Underground
3. One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces*
4. Draw a Crowd
5. Do It Anyway

THE SING IT OUT LOUD SONGS:

1. Jackson Cannery
2. Philosophy (again, seriously amazing amazing song)
3. Where's Summer B?
4. Underground (another repeat, versatile band man)
5. Sports & Wine
6. Uncle Walter
7. Best Imitation of Myself**
8. Video
9. The Last Polka
10. One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solem Faces
11. Song for the Dumped
12. Kate
13. Battle of Who Could Care Less
14. Army
15. Erase Me
16. Michael Praytor, Five Years Later
17. The Sound of the Life of the Mind
18. Draw a Crowd
19. Do It Anyway

I could pretty easily do the same thing for Ben Folds' solo work, but I think Ben Folds Five are marginally better at least for me and I wouldn't want to overwhelm you with good music.

Who's your favourite band/artist?

*If I ever became famous this would be the song I'd sing to my high school buddies
**Fun fact, my Tumblr username came from this song - see if you can spot it

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Music of the month - December 2014

Here it is, the last 'music of the month' post...

until next year.

I tried not to make this month's edition completely Christmas songs although that is 98% of what I've been listening to.

1. Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars

I have a feeling that this has been everyone's favourite song this month. I have a friend who has been a fan of Bruno Mars since he first hit the charts and she suggested this song to me, and I was hooked from the first time I listened to it. It's so upbeat and fun, I like Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars but I honestly didn't expect this song to be that good and I was genuinely impressed.

2. Black Ballerina - Ariel Pink

I can't remember how I came across Ariel Pink, and I don't think you'll like his music if you're not into more alternative, quirky music. This is a very random song but I really like it and I've listened to it a lot.

3. Blank Space - Taylor Swift

When I heard that Taylor Swift had removed her music from Spotify, I was a bit annoyed and I refused to listen to her new songs to make some sort of protest, but I gave in and listened to Blank Space when the video came out and it's such a good pop song. I've heard a few other songs from the album (I haven't bought it yet though, yeah I know a bit late..) and I'm quite blown away. I loved Taylor Swift when she came out with Love Story when I was about 12 (I distinctly remember making a dance for it with some of my friends.. yeah that happened) but I slowly went off her as her music became a bit too samey for me, but this album is genuinely a good'un from what I've heard.

4. Runs in the Family - Amanda Palmer

What initially introduced my to Amanda Palmer was the fact that she had worked with Ben Folds before, Ben Folds has a permanent space in my favourite all-time artists (and bands if you include Ben Folds Five), and she does sound very Ben Folds-esque with the heavy piano.

5. The Passenger - Siouxsie and the Banshees

I think I had heard of Siouxsie and the Banshees through Tumblr but I hadn't ever really listened to them, but I decided to give them a go so I went to Spotify and listened to their top track which was this, and I think the instrumentation is great, and it sounds a little bit like The Smiths. Coincidentally, Siouxsie featured on a Morrissey song so I listened to that too and I think that made me love Siouxsie Sioux that much more.

I also have to give credit to Fairytale of New York by The Pogues because that has been my top Christmas song this year.

What music have you been listening to this month?

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