SONG 7: A SONG THAT REMINDS YOU OF THE PAST SUMMER
Bucky Done Gone - M.I.A
I don't know why but there was a lot of Arular going on last summer. It was the album I listened to on my iPod on coaches, planes, trains & car journeys & for some reason it sort of captured everything. That album is honestly like the best thing in any situation to put me in a good mood. I can scream along to it, dance to it or smile along to it. & I also converted hardcore metal fan Jay to the stylings of Mrs MIA. Mainly just because she's so amazing it's hard not to admire her.
SONG 8: A SONG THAT REMINDS YOU OF YOUR FIRST LOVE
Cupid's Chokehold - Gym Class Heroes
Make Your Smile - +44
This is the same person as for the ex boyfriend, but I decided to do positive songs instead. Because first love is positive! Anyway, these were like *our songs* way before Cupid's Chokehold was um, choked out of all it's beauty & meaning by being overplayed on radio one constantly. The best bit is the "She's got eyes comparable to sunrise..." which literally makes my heart stop every time I hear it thinking about the person it makes me think about. I've tried to not include one band more than once so hopefully +44 don't count even though they're made up of most of Blink 182, anyway this song is stunning. One weekend me & first love went to see both Gym Class Heroes & +44, one night & then the other, one was in Birmingham & the other somewhere else, I forget. But we drove to see them both live because we'd wanted too for a year or so. Then we spent these two songs forehead to forehead singing to each other. Guess we could've done that at home... Oh well, these are the good memories!
SONG 9: A SONG THAT MAKES YOU HOPEFUL
Oh! You Pretty thing - David Bowie
Blister In The Sun - Violent Femmes
Whenever I listen to David Bowie I think, why don't I listen to this more? It's usually about end of exam/almost summer time & makes me want to have all these adventures. & of course, I had to include Violent Femmes & this is their classic. I think I could be in the darkest most suicidal mood & hear either of these 2 songs & be able to smile. Hopefully doing 2 songs isn't cheating too much, it's too hard to choose otherwise!
SONG 10: A SONG BY YOUR FAVORITE BAND
You Probably Couldn't See From The Lights But I Was Staring Right At You - Arctic Monkeys
They were my favorite band, & possibly the only band I've ever called my favorite, but since Alexa Chung got her claws into Alex Turner & moved him out to New York it hasn't been the same. To say I resent her would be an understatement. But to say it mars their first 2 albums for me wouldn't be fair to how fucking amazing those songs are. If I hear this particular one, anywhere, I will start an impromptu mosh pit (as far as you can if you're on your own) I actually did when it came on at my school prom, in full evening wear with all the popular people looking at me like I was on something... I also like to scream out Matt Helders parts. Are you him or Turner when you sing along?
SONG 11: A SONG ON THE SOUNDTRACK OF YOUR FAVORITE FILM
Gaston - Jesse Corti & Richard White
Who the hell knew there was a Beauty & The Beast soundtrack album? Now listening to it on my spotify. Fucking. Awesome. I was looking for songs from A Bout De Souffle which is my other favorite film, but none of them really struck, so back to the good old days. Yes Beauty & The Beast is my favorite film. When I was little I used to watch it & only it for weeks on end. A family friend from the time says she can't watch it after having to so much when she looked after me. This is obviously the best song, "I use antlers in all of my decorating" is a personal favorite of mine & I suggest if you haven't seen it in a while watch it, SOON, or your favorite disney film, they're still good. Although, there's new scenes & shit on the remastered ones. BOO. Also, from the intro, "For who could ever learn to love a beast?" is a phrase that has been firmly in my might-get-this-tattooed-onto-my-body-forever cupboard in my brain.
SONG 12: THE LAST SONG YOU HEARD
Love Your Shotgun - Be Your Own Pet
I love this band, I have absolutely no idea why they would ever decide to break up as they did after just 2 wonderful albums. But this is the last song I heard because I listened to this album on my walk home from college as I have for the last three days because for some reason this song popped into my head & I thought, man I love this band, I should listen to them again. I'll let the lyrics/song talk for itself...
READ SONG 1-6 HERE.
All images from weheartit.
Music is my boyfriend.
Steadily over the last few years I've been losing my faith in magazines. I used to be dedicated reader of Elle, but then I realised that they started using the same articles and so I started looking for something more arty. I-D being the most available was a favourite for a few months but it's so expensive & well...a little stuck up. So I settled on Dazed and Confused as the least wanky & most generally interesting magazine I could actually get hold of every month. But, fashion magazines have always wooed me back, started with the flick through just to look at the main spreads, then I got some money & bought everything (Elle, Vogue, Dazed & I-D) all in one & gradually started buying Vogue occasionally until it lapsed at Christmas with a horrible girl from Harry Potter cheese fest. But on the train home this weekend there was no Grazia & I'd already bought Dazed so there it was Kate Winslet staring back at me.
Holy shit, the articles were more interesting. The fashion tit bits were actively interesting & the interviews with designers behind Jil Sander, D&G & Rodarte were genuinely insightful. Not only that but the repetitive, boring fashion pictures at the back were newly shot through with creativity. From the topTim Walker shooting Kirsi Pyrhonen and Lindsey Wixson, Javier Vallhonat shooting Guinevere van Seenus, Alasdair McLellan with Lindsey Wixson (again), Josh Olins shooting Arizona Muse and Barbara Palvin shot by Glen Luchford. Plus amazing adverts too, looks like the brands are back after being scared off by the recession. If you've been disaffected recently by overpriced under-inspiring magazines, I highly recommend Vogue UK April as a starting point for hopefully a better year all round!
Birthday presents!
Top - Bottom: Crystal ball so that I can see my future from The Guys (AKA Chris, Andy, Callum, Matt, Johnny, Dan), incense & incense holder from Darcy because I lost mine & never replaced it, not I can play with smoke again! Mix CD from Jesus. First photo is the cover of the two shiny things I kept from seeing Arctic Monkeys in Cardiff (or was it Birmingham...?) when they were surprisingly not heart stopping, he stole them from the pocket in my bag where they've been for years & scanned them in. The second photo is the CD which is an edited photo of um...Alexa Chung. I think he went a little too far with the lettering but hey, she ruined one of the greatest song writers of my generation & I hate her so... It's a CD of obscure Arctic Monkey's tracks, he is a fucking legend.
The 2 sweet little books are from Max & Cat, of hipster triangles & lovely things. Silvia Plath poetry from Eve, must stop unloading all my depressive shit on her, but it's a lovely lovely edition. Sketch moleskin from Heidi, to quote "empty my brain into". Sasek New York book that I've wanted for ages, mainly because since I went there I've been plotting more permanent roots back ever since. It also has the most gorgeous illustrations ever. & finally a bracelet from my boyfriend, melted copper, with the words "Yellow Bird" stamped into them. Bright Eyes, yes.
I've saved the best one from my mum for another post. & my sister bought me a ticket to the amazing Gabriel Orozco exhibition at the Tate. The skull & prints of obituary headlines are hauntingly beautiful. Possibly one of my best birthday's with a trip to London at the weekend & a day with pancakes, burgers, surprise people, surprise gifts & parties & an adventure to Weston.
Perfect.
So guess how old I am today?This is a magically timed post (check out the time) so I'll be eating burgers with my lovely friends, pretending it's not my last birthday with us all living in the same city, or country for that matter. Anyway. 19 is such an odd number, a prime number, a stop gap between 18 & 21. It's the number of angels guarding hell in the Qur'an. I can also now buy tobacco in Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey, Utah & New York, buy alcohol in Canada & get married in Nebraska. Gotta love Wikipedia.Things I will miss about being 18:- Having a routine with college (however vague)- Not having to think about the future- Being able to turn up at work only on a Saturday & not have to completely care or take an interest in what I'm doing- What a nice round, even number 18 is & how much I used to want to be this old when I was younger- Not many responsibilities- It being socially acceptable to still be living with my lovely motherThings I look forward to about being 19:- Free time- Being able to do creative things for myself- Hopefully eventually figuring out what I want to do- Being able to pick up & go & see the people I love, wherever they may be- Maybe getting a job that I actually want to do- Telling little kids how old I am & then looking at me like I'm ancient (ok I can do that now, but I remember when 19 used to sound so old, now it sounds so, so very young)- Getting more tattoos & maybe buying alcohol in Canada?Almost 2 decades of life!
