Tuesday Playlist

I hope you all love Disney because there is a buttload of Disney to come for the next couple of weeks! Today's playlist is a collection of Disney villain songs! Terrifying or sassy, when a villain gets their own song in a Disney film, its guaranteed to be a work of art! Enjoy!

The Secret Life of a Medicore Hoarder

I have a problem getting rid of sentimental stuff. I am the world's worst hoader, as too much clutter makes me itchy, but just the right amount makes me the happiest person in the world. One thing I have trouble throwing away are old gig tickets. This is just one pile I have dotted around various nooks in the house, but it's nice to have them. Sometimes you forget these memories without a keepsake!

I've got the tickets from my very first gig (Green Day 2002!), sodden festival tickets, cinema tickets from films I really liked... you name it, I've probably kept it. The arrival of e-tickets is a real problem for me! Give me that physical copy!

Five on Friday

Friday again already?! Taking a short break from gifs this week to bring you my five favourite songs where the demo is better than the released version! Controversial maybe? I'm pretty sure we can all agree on some of these though!

1. Lana Del Rey - National Anthem

 I cannot even explain to you how upset I was when this song was butchered beyond any recognition. The version released is devoid of any of the personality of the demo, I doubt the distortion was on purpose but it really adds to the dreamy "summer" feel of the song, not to mention Lana has never sounded as good as this on record, her voice is so contrived to fit in with her look rather than in the demo where she just sounds actually excited, lisping between a baby voice and that power chorus. I just really, really love it! 

2. Blur - Far Out

Cutie Alex James' ode to space is one of the odder songs on Parklife (come on, not that a lot of songs aren't odd on it)! The demo is much more jangly, much longer and has some wicked harmonies! Although I do love the album version I just feel this is much more punchy and sounds more like a legitimate song! Well done Alex, at least you tried.

3. Stone Roses - The Sun Still Shines

The Sun Still Shines never made it onto an actual Stone Roses album, but it is so catchy that it should have been! That chorus is lovely and uplifting and the guitar is so bubbly (these are all technical terms) that I'm sad it never got the release it should of!

4. Biffy Clyro - Help Me Become Captain

This is actually featured as the b-side to The Captain which is a really nice touch by the band I think! This was the original version of The Captain and its just a lovely, messy, distorted piece of rock. They sound drunk, its rawer than what The Captain turned into and I'm not a huge fan of the high production on Biffy songs.

Otis Redding - Sitting on the Dock of the Bay

This might be new information to you, but this classic song is unfinished! This is actually the demo version. Otis died before he completed probably the song he is most remembered for, which is incredibly sad. The whistling at the end is where he still had lyrics to write, amazing! The decision to release this posthumous was a great one as this song has touched so many hearts. No other version could be better than this one!

Tuesday Playlist

Today's playlist is all about really really great voices. The kind of performances that make your arm hair stand up and that. I've done this as an oldies one, with a more modern one to follow. There are some belters in here!

WANT!

I don't think I've ever coveted something so ridiculous so hard before. I feel like all my life problems will be sorted out if I own this. This is a special edition picture disc for the 2013 remake of Maniac, and it is beautiful. LOOK AT IT!

All I can think about is how awesome it will look next to my Maniac poster, how lovely the colour scheme is and how thankful I am that someone recognised that a limited edition picture disc fits the film so perfectly. Look at the art work! The colour scheme! I am totally smitten.

Have you heard the Maniac soundtrack? Its deep electro tones and understated tunes match the film so perfectly (which is a fantastic film, by the way). It's basically the best soundtrack since Drive. At the time of writing there are only nineteen left in stock! I really hope this holds out until my birthday (which is two weeks away as I'm writing this)! Fingers crossed for me please.

Tuesday Playlist

This is definitely my favourite playlist so far, and it is very very long. Fifty songs long, in fact. This playlist encompasses my entire teenage years and no matter how much I try and pretend to be an adult with cultured tastes, I'm still always listening to pop punk on my headphones on the bus.

There is some new, some old, some classics and some that will make you cringe. But most of all, it's all MEGA FUN.

Tuesday Playlist

Tuesdays on the blog are now host to sort of cohesive playlists I've put together on youtube for very specific moods! 

Right then, since last week's playlist turned out a bit miserable (I mean Death of a Party?! Come on!) this weeks is meant to make you feel HAPPY! It will only do this if you're somewhat into electronic beeping, but give it a go anyway because it made me feel mega! Fair warning: if you (for some insane reason) hate Bieber he will be on here!

Tuesday Playlist

Tuesdays on the blog are now host to sort of cohesive playlists I've put together on youtube for very specific moods!

Although this post is going out on Tuesday I have complied it on Saturday just gone, which is in fact the hottest day so far, a record breaking 31C in London! Naturally, with heat on the brain I had to make a summer playlist. Not the kind for a BBQ or a picnic, more the kind of tunes you put on to just squat in your own sweat as the oppressive heat takes away any normal humanly functioning you may otherwise have. Maybe to play at the end of a particularly messy party, you know, if your friends ever let you choose the music. Enjoy!

Recent Loves

So what have I been obsessing over recently? As a lady of many obsessions, it's weird I never made something like this a regular feature. Here is a collage of what I've been loving these past few weeks...

Disney World

I am so excited for my trip to Florida! It's not until the end of September but I wish it was nowwww. This snow in March is really messing with my inner peace and I just need some fucking WARMTH. We're going to be staying in Coronado Springs and partying like its 1992 (pretty sure that was the year I last went to Florida!).

Howl's Moving Castle

I've been reading a whole bunch recently. I go through stages of never ever reading and then consuming books for a few weeks. I got an amazon voucher from work so I bought a whole lot of books and since then I just keep buying! I'm really into the idea of having a bookshelf full of books I can pick up and reread at any moment. Since the start of this year I've been reading: Howls Moving Castle, Coraline, Traci Lords: Underneath It All, Perks of Being A Wallflower and a bunch I haven't started yet! I'll be doing a book review post soon.

Les Miserables

The thing about Les Miserables is it is the best fandom to be a part of. Because Les Mis is so fucking depressing that whole fandom is just SILLY. and there is SO MUCH to be silly about. Javert's willy hat is just the tip of the iceberg.

These Sunglasses

I'm starting a collection of sunglasses for my Disney holiday (I already have like ten pairs of sunglasses) because now that I wear contacts I can totally actually wear sunglasses. I really like these ones from BooHoo at the moment.

Maniac

I feel like I waited FOREVER for Maniac to come out. I finally got to see it on Sunday night and it was better than I could ever even imagine! Here is a review I did of it. It's not for everyone, but despite (or in bonus counting on your tastes) the gore it is also brilliantly filmed and man, it has a killer soundtrack! Have a listen:

Does it sound like The Running Man soundtrack to anyone else?!

Workaholics

I'm kicking myself for not watching this show sooner! I LOVE IT. It is super funny and kind of like what I wanted Office Space to be when I watched that. I loved the episode where they ate the mushrooms!

Juno Temple

If something has Juno Temple in it, you can guarantee I've watched it or will watch it as soon as its come out. I love her so much, she chooses perfect films and I don't think I've seen her in anything bad yet! Jack and Diane, Dirty Girl, Killer Joe... Perfection! I'm really excited for her future projects and of course pretty proud that she's British! I just think she's so so talented!

Spring Breakers

There are SO MANY films coming out that I am so excited for! Spring Breakers is the main one as I'm convinced its going to change my life, and then I'm also eagerly anticipating The Bling Ring, Carrie, Afternoon Delight, Lovelace, oh man too many to even mention! Here's a list I made of most of the stuff I hope to see this year!

LYMPIX!

I am on such a high after the amazing opening ceremony for the Olympics last night, I'm not sure if you need to be British to enjoy it but I think everyone can agree it was something different! Like most Brits, I don't really ever feel "proud to be British", I feel like a lot of us walk around apologetically for being British after what we did to a lot of the world, but last night I felt so glad to be part of a country that has the balls to celebrate the NHS when our Prime Minster is so hell-bent on destroying it. Also, to be part of a mental country that celebrates ROWAN ATKINSON, FART SOUNDS, VOLDEMORT AND THE QUEEN. The whole thing was perfect from start to finish, I was weeping openly most of the way through it!

To keep the love going, I've been listening to Rudimental most of the day, I think its one of my ultimate feel-good songs. Enjoy!

The queen thanks you for your time!

You'll Be My American Boy

Happy 4th July to all my American friends and readers! To mark the day, I have made an EXCELLENT playlist with some of my favourite songs to do with America. I hope you all enjoy your fireworks, football, cake, I don't know how you celebrate it beause I've never experienced one before! Hopefully there will be no need to call Jeff Goldblum in to save the world and look hot in a boiler suit again, but that doesn't mean we can't relive the memories...

OKAY, OKAY. Onto the playlist!

Pogo Playlist!

For all you lucky ones who might be going out partying this weekend, I have made you a 'getting ready' playlist! I call it my 'pogo playlist' because every song on it makes me want to pogo around my bedroom. AN EXCELLENT WORK OUT, ONE MIGHT SAY. Anyways, it's here and here's the tracklisting:

1. I Am The Avalanche - This One's On Me
2. Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards - To Have and Have Not
3. Slick Shoes - Friday Night
4. Goldfinger - Superman
5. Man Overboard - Rare
6. 4ft Fingers - Last Man Standing
7. Tuuli - It's Over
8. Hot Action Cop - Fever For The Flava
9. Brand New - Shower Scene
10. Lawrence Arms - Alert The Audience
11. The Wonder Years - My Last Semester
12. The Distillers - L.A Girl
13. Lit - My Own Worst Enemy
14. Dillinger Four - Like Eye Contact in an Elevator
15. Lagwagon - May 16
16. Tsunami Bomb - Take The Reigns
17. NOFX - Linoleum
18. Fenix TX - Threesome
19. Pinhead Gunpowder - I Am An Elephant
20. Less Than Jake - Gainseville Rock City

Yay! Enjoy, I hope you have EXTRA POGO-Y WEEKENDS BOOS :-*

Goodbye Adam Yauch

 

 

A true talent and inspiring human being.

Have You Heard: Aiden Grimshaw's New Single!

Do you remember little Aiden Grimshaw? He was on that year of X-Factor that was most hilarious because of his little bromance with Matt Cardle and you know, that tiny band erm... One Direction? Yeah, what are they doing now? ;) Anyway, Aiden was blates the best on X-Factor because he was INCREDIBLY AWKWARD with a death stare but the voice of an angel. I was well obsessed with him for most of that year! Well turns out he was actually quite busy after X-Factor finished and here's his new single!

Ooooo! I like it! It reminds me so much of Will Young, perhaps his voice? But I like that its a bit different, like he might have had more of a say in the process of making it or at least, it's marketed cleverly to look that way. His voice sounds good on it and its a bit synthy, over all I would not be annoyed if it came on the radio Well done Grimey! I reckon you're onto a winner.

For a more funny article about Aiden's single, head over to Popjustice, who always know what they're talking about!

How To Not Be 'That Asshole' At A Gig

I am a lover of live music and a seasoned gig-goer, it seems. Despite the fact that I am largely antisocial, anxious in dark, crowded places and generally a huge grumpy mess, I can never resist the call of seeing a band I like live. Only now I'm starting to find the whole ordeal completely overwhelming, and I wonder if getting to see a band I love is really worth all the assholism that comes along with it. I don't really like to talk about stuff that makes me angry, but hopefully I can inject some well placed humour into this post to make it worth reading?! Anyway, over the span of Wednesday and Thursday I saw Motion City Soundtrack play ALL their albums, basically their entire catalogue, and even though it was obviously AMAZING, I was also really sick and compiling a list of gig etiquette in my head, rather than vomitting on people who were annoying me. So I came up with ten rules that I think everyone should abide by so we can all get along when thrust into dank spaces to be deafened for two hours.

How To Not Be An Asshole At A Gig

1. If you have paid money for a ticket, and everyone around you has paid money for a ticket, please don't try and conduct a conversation with your friends for the entire gig, complete with having to shout over the music, because the people directly in front of you actually can't hear the band.
2. If you're not front and centre-stage please don't jump around wildly crashing into people. I'm pretty sure its an unwritten rule that people stood farther back are not into moshing and don't appreciate you stamping on their feet.
3. Pogoing with your full cup of beer in one hand and spilling it onto everyone's heads is never appreciated, even if it is the less disgusting of the 'golden showers'. I once saw a guy get punched in the face over repeatedly spilling beer onto a dude's head.
4. Chuck your empty cup on the floor, not further into the crowd. Things get pretty sticky that way.
5. If there is a 'no crowd-surfing' rule, it's probably for a reason. Like the ceiling is too low and you're giving everyone concussion.
6. Never. NEVER. Never ever repeatedly shout out a song you want played between songs/shout out songs from previous bands that the members happened to be in/think everyone thinks your cool for shouting out b-sides.
7. Okay, so people cannot help being tall and it's not fair to expect them to stay at the back just for the shorties, but once the band have started playing and everyone has got into it, it's not cool to suddenly decide you want to go stand in front of that group of short people because you can see better. We were all stood there for a reason, but now your shoulders are blocking the sun.
8. Are you seriously going to record and document this entire experience on your phone? The pictures all come out like blurry shapes and the sound quality is awful. Plus when you upload your super unique videos to youtube it clogs up any live vids that might have actually had decent sound.
9. WHOA WHOA WHOA. WHY ARE YOU ON FACEBOOK ON YOUR PHONE RIGHT NOW?
10. Always let the band start the clap clap clapping. They know where it sounds best.

Oh gosh, do you all hate me now? I mean, a little bit of politeness goes a long way in making gigs so nice I mean, sometimes I'm moved to tears by having incredible experiences with live music, but most of the time you have to wade through a sea of shitheads just to get to that point. Do you have anything to add? Am I being a grumpy old lady? I think those points are pretty fair. Of course, it also depends on the kind of band you're going to see. If I was going to see a hardcore punk band the barging and beer spilling would be a given. Don't even get me started on festivals either! To end this, I'll leave you with Adam and Joe, because THEY UNDERSTAND.

Summer Playlist

Oh man! I haven't done a playlist for ages, does anyone actually listen to them? Like baking a cake for someone, I get no greater please than someone enjoying a playlist I made. To go with the gorgeous weather we've having at the moment, I have compiled a playlist of twenty songs that have deep memories of Summer for me to share with you! For instance, back in 2005 we spent a lot of time cruising around in a beat up old car listening to the new(!) Kings of Leon and Hot Hot Heat albums. Stuff like that, you know? Songs have a way of transporting me back to a place and making me feel like a kid again. SO ANYWAYS, here is my Summer playlist!

(Click the amazing Summer picture to be taken to it. As always, it is on youtube!)

Tracklisting 

1. Sum 41 - Summer
2. Remi Nicole - Rock N Roll
3. Doping Panda - Crazy
4. The Beatles - Please Please Me
5. The Jackson Five - The Love You Save
6. Kings of Leon - The Bucket
7. Jasmine Kara - Try My Love Again
8. Mad Capsule Markets - Happy Ride
9. Ben Kweller - Wasted and Ready
10. The Go! Team - We Just Wont Be Defeated
11. 11. The Clash - Bankrobber
12. Cocknbullkid - Cocknbullkid
13. Beck - Devil's Haircut
14. New Edition - Candy Girl
15. Hot Hot Heat - Running Out Of Time
16. Cobra Starship - Pop Punk Is Sooo '05
17. The Undertones - Here Comes The Summer
18. Andrew WK - We Want Fun
19. Ramones - I Can't Make It On Time
20. Kid Cudi, Vampire Weekend &  Best Coast - All Summer

Wow, that's a lot of songs! I hope you enjoy it, if you listen. It's a bit of a mismatch and I could have probably gone on for thirty songs, perhaps Vol.2 is on the way! HAPPY SUMMERTIME FUN!

My New Favourite Band

Have you guys seen that cute Renault advert where the couple are like going through all different stages of their life and at the end there is that baby doing the best WTF face at them? Well the song that plays throughout is really great, and I finally remembered to look it up! The song is You Wish You Were Red by Trailer Trash Tracys.

Pretty cool, huh? They remind me of Jesus And The Mary Chain and also this song reminds me soooo much of the theme tune to Twin Peaks! Both those things combined are like crack for me, I'm really into sort of dream-pop sounds where I imagine I've been out dancing all night and it gets to six in the morning and there's only a few of you left on the dancefloor and someone puts on something like this and you all do slow motion dancing. Gosh, does that make sense? Does it make me sound like a crazy person?! 

So anyway, I thought I'd check out some more of their stuff and it turns out they are a super duper fancy pants band with a bunch of amazing songs! I always get stoked when I discover a new band to listen to, I can't wait to buy the album! Do you want to hear more of their stuff? Because I took the liberty of finding some more for you! Yoooour welcome.

You can buy the album here!

I Spy Jupiter!

The moon was out pretty early last night and it looked so fancy I had to snap some pictures! I assumed the little twinkle next to it was a satellite because you don't see many stars in Cheltenham, but it turns out it was Jupiter! Hello Jupiter, nice to meet you!

Of course, no post about space would be complete without a little contribution by Alex James! Take it away, Alex!

Hey K.Flay!

Ohhh that title is pure cheese and I totally don't care. My blog has been pretty music heavy recently, but that's okay. Everyone needs a few new tunes in their life at some point. I JUST WRITE WHAT I KNOW. And I totally know that I love K.Flay. Yep. I'm positive that if you listened to her you would love her too, which is why I'm giving you a heads up on her new EP 'Eyes Wide Shut' (which you can download for free here, if you want. Though you can also buy it, which will make you feel goooooooooood inside.)

I first heard K.Fly on Tumblr when someone posted CRAZYtown, which I mistakenly thought might be a medley of that "come come my lady" group's greatest hits or something and turned out to be MUCH, MUCH BETTER. I was instantly hooked on her voice. It's so smooth and her lyrics are smart and funny. She's basically the coolest person in the world? Yeah, pretty much. Her songs make me nostalgic for growing up in America, which I never did by the way, but the lyrics about minivans and stuff make me wish I did. Man. All we had was a Vauxhall Nova when I was growing up!

So K.Flay's new EP dropped about a month ago now and it's ace! My favourite song on it is Sunburn which has a killer chorus. And all the different layers of instruments and all of it does funny things to me and I always, ALWAYS end up fist pumping by the end, and only one other song does that to me (shhh, it's Selena Gomez). But the rest of the tracks are great too. NOT ONLY THAT, but she always makes good videos, and you guys should know how much I appreciate a good music video! I MEAN COME ON, We Hate Everyone has a) puppets and b) smashing things. THIS IS PRETTY MUCH ALL I LIKE IN LIFE. Okay, getting a little sidetracked, but I guess what I'm saying is K.Flay is doing something different and she's really cool so I think you should give her a listen. You wont regret it!

Avalanche United

Last week was full of treats for me. I saw Chronicle at the cinema for the second time. I won a Tom Felton action figure from one of those ace egg machines. I watched The Room at the cinema and beaned someone on the head with a plastic spoon. I saw Nada Surf live at the nicest venue in London (Koko). Oh yeah, and I totally saw Brand New on Sunday with support from one of the best, hard working bands in ~the biz~, I Am The Avalanche.

Have you heard of IATA? Frontman Vinnie Caruana used to be in The Movielife who were an insanely great band with probably one of the most perfect EPs of all time. IATA doesn't disappoint, they have a similar sound but they sound a lot tighter, Vinnie's voice has matured into one of the best in rock for sure. They are just a perfect band! Every song is catchy and has lyrics that are perfect to yell back at them. They even have a bunch of songs with GROUP VOCALS. I'll let you in on a secret, group vocals are one of my favourite things to ever happen in music. I couldn't tell you why!

Anyway, I've had the pleasure (is it just me or do you always want to write pleasure in italics?) of seeing IATA twice recently! I saw them last year in December at their own show and I saw them just this Sunday. Their live show just blows me away, so much energy! I reckon Vinnie has special springs in his shoes that help him keep bouncing around all night. He told us on Sunday that he was recovering from playing THREE SHOWS IN ONE DAY. How insane is that? And they are so full of love for everyone, the crowd, for Brand New. Mannn going to their show is like going to a lovefest. It warms my heart so much to hear people shouting "Avalanche united" at them, especially when they are the support band. 

When I was at the show on Sunday it suddenly hit me how weird and wonderful music is. This kind of small band (certainly in the UK) has made an impact and not just on me but pockets of people in the crowd who were just as stoked to see them as we were. Isn't that kind of magical? Not to sound like a pussy or anything, shows just make me super emotional I guess.You should probably pick up some IATA if you can afford it. It's hard to find good bouncy punk bands these days when everyone is leaning towards ukuleles or synths. Which is fine and all, except sometimes I just wanna pogo on the spot for a couple of hours, you know? Or at least give these youtube vids a listen! All these songs are off the new album, which is incredible and they are my favourite ones I've seen them perform live. Gratitude especially is electric live! I would also recommend giving 'I Took A Beating' from the first record a listen, though its not on youtube!