celebrating angsty raw teenage-ness

Much of the music produced nowadays is so totally over-manufactured, auto tuned, airbrushed, and basically made into a glossy representation of what a song should be. There's nothing wrong with some factory made pop music once in a while, but sometimes you need to just drift away, lie in your room for days on end and do nothing. You don't want Taylor Swift screaming 'I'M FEELING TWENTY-TWOOOO' in your face whilst you're trying to zone out, so this post is about dreamy yet distorted and raw tracks that will lead you by the hand to humid summers overflowing with hormones and still air.

teen suicide

1. Salvia Plath by Teen Suicide - a love ballad in it's own form. fuzzed out, dreary vocal lines over bleached riffs and a simple drum loop. Elements of the song don't really line up but still manage to fit together as though they were meant to be.
2. Inside You by Elvis Depressedly - A scuzzy guitar track with beautifully layered vocals.
3. Maybe by The Aquadolls - The aquadolls are a favourite of mine, and 'maybe' is one of their more downtoned, rough-around-the-edges songs.
4. Young Daisy by Boy Crush - echoing, quiet vocals accompany a single electric guitar. More poem-like and eerie than the other songs featured on this playlist.
5. Foreign Films by Mesita - a song that celebrates the high school rejects - the people who weren't born to be prom kings and queens.
6. When'd You Find Me by Arrange (Ricky Eat Acid Remix) - listen to this one surrounded by incense and fairy lights, or in a dark room at two in the morning. trust me.

why remixes rule (sometimes)

Remixes can be rough, generic and downright awful;  they can either completely fuck up your favourite song, or make you see it from an entirely different dynamic. Granted, the tumblr-esque images that form the still videos of thousands of youtube remixes do put me off, and often for good purpose (many of them just sound totally unoriginal). There are however, some gems hidden in the sea of grey, and I have picked out my top three (in no particular order).

1. HONEY // SWIM DEEP (OCEAAN REMIX)

Oceaan has the beautiful touch of a stoned angel - he adds a dreamy, light twist to what was a tacky (but loveable) boy band pop song. The remix resonates with oozing, enhanced vocals and reverb, with minimalistic hair-swishing beats laid underneath. Perfect for lazing languidly on your bed after a hard day at school.

2. OBLIVION // GRIMES (RYAN HEMSWORTH REMIX)

Another genius track - Hemsworth manages to weave in a rap song, ticking electronic drums, and crazy synths to grimes' haunting single in under four minutes twenty seconds.

3. HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN // DIIV (MOONS 美愛 REMIX)

I have saved the best till last. Despite sounding nothing at all like the original Diiv song and the fact I have no idea what the bits in Japanese mean, I think that this is probably one of my favourite remixes that I've ever found. It has elements of both the Ryan Hemsworth and Cceaan remixes, but combines them with a song completely unlike the other two. The result? A strange, whiney oriental sounding mess. And I mean that in the best way possible. Promise.

-written by avalon x x

Pussy Power

Avril Lavinge (as I remember her)

Ok so I have recently rekindled my love of terrible noughties and nineties girl pop - and we're talking Avril Lavigne and Taylor Swift. I am totally aware that none of these lovely ladies write their own music and are basically purely performers, but that doesn't mean I can't (if not slightly ironically), enjoy their music. I've recently realised that many of the bands and musicians I listen to regularly are male (like Peace, David Bowie, Tame Impala and The Smiths) and even though there are some killer girl bassists (Kim Gordon and Kim Deal amongst them) and singers (Haim, Ellie from Wolf Alice), there is a severe deficiency of badass girl pop in my musical diet.

Part of this love for Avril Lavigne is nostalgic - she was my first music obsession. At age eight, I'd sit in my room with her album 'Let Go' on repeat, and her songs soundtracked many sleepovers and family holidays. With her fingerless gloves, neon hair and skater boyfriends, she was literally my idol. I wanted to be her. My friends and I made dance routines to her songs and I even learnt one of them in Japanese. In retrospect it was embarrassing but sweet, a tween obsession.

However, I'm not totally lacking in girlzzz. Grimes is, basically, an electro-pop fairy. She is almost a mature version of Avril Lavigne, but instead of some old man writing her songs for her, she does literally everything herself. From the album artwork to the studio production, to co-producing and directing (whilst starring in) the music videos, she is just an all-round wonder woman.

- written by avalon x

Bedroom Walls

I am guessing that most teenagers of this day and age have bedroom walls covered in posters, gig tickets, photos and other precious memoirs; I am only assuming this though. I have discovered that here at FIBLAR, we have quite a varied range of bedroom walls which are all magnificent and need to be shared. 

Molly's Wall

It's kind of typical nowadays for a teenager's bedroom walls to be entirely dominated by pictures and posters of the things that they love. The wall behind my bed used to be just that; every inch covered in tiny little pictures cut from magazines, no order or pattern at all. Thankfully, that phase has ended and around a month ago, I decided I no longer liked how my wall looked. I took everything down and kept only the biggest things, arranging them in a new, minimalistic and almost symmetrical way, which I am immensely proud of. The wall includes Palma Violets, The Smiths, The Vaccines, JAWS and more, but taking centre stage is Biffy Clyro (I also have a poster of them on my ceiling) because really, I just love looking at Simon Neil.



Amelia's Wall

  This is above my desk. My stereo is blocking out a lovely picture of grimes and hidden behind my lamp is the poster of peace that came with In Love.

This is a close up of my main wall featuring some bunting and fairy lights. I think I stuck this up around the time In Love came out and every magazine was filled with Peace pictures as there seems to be an alarming amount. Having a slanted ceiling makes fitting stuff in a challenge but all the more rewarding when it ends up looking ok.








Laura's wall

 Filled with indie dreamboats, memories, tickets and whatever else is up there; my walls are the best part of my room. The photos of me and band members from gigs of the past are there such as Peace, Swim Deep and JAWS. Smaller sections are dedicated to various artists such as Everything Everything, Arctic Monkeys and Haim. Almost every band or artist that puts a smile on my face, they're all on there.




Sometimes I take a moment to step back while music hums in the background and look around my walls - reading what the Peace lads wrote on the back of the photo we got together in April, seeing photos of me and JAWS taken inside the Think tank and Swim Deep outside. Metro tickets with the dates of shows on them, reminding me of how good thise nights were and that limited edition poster of Mark Owen my friend got me last year when I thought I'd never get to meet him. Everyone on my walls, they're all there for a reason - because they mean something to me.


Paige's Wall

 I tend to hoard any music related 'stuff'. That stuff is usually posters, old tickets, ripped magazine articles. This is for a few very basic reasons which I shall list:

1. It makes my very dark room look very cool

2. I feel like I'm hanging out with a different rockstar every night - a thrilling idea!

3. It's a form of escapism for when I want to burn my school work






Rohanie's Wall

 I have 3 walls covered in various scraps of paper and magazine cuttings, but this is the wall by my bed and so is my favourite.
I moved on from the plastering my walls from top to bottom with posters when I was about 14, since then I've been blu tacking various gigs tickets, adverts, articles, photos and posters until I was almost back to my circa 2009 roots, this time without dodgy google images of mgmt and Jonny Pierce (of The Drums) printed from my more than temperamental printer. My favourite parts of this wall are my Horrors tickets signed by the band when I met them in 2011 and Felix of the Maccabees' plectrum I caught in a fantastically James Bond moment at their gig in Birmingham in January 2012. My room was once a hideous cerise colour (the paint was actually called "sexy pink" which made my 7 year old self feel so punk rock) but it got painted to a more ~mature~ pastel colour, that ended up acting as a canvas for the scraps of all sorts that ended up being stuck on the walls. Other highlights include the 7 pictures of Grimes, a limited edition print by artist Robert Ryan and a handwritten setlist by Gareth of lc!, handed into my very hand by the then bassist Ellen, a moment that I replayed in my head in the car journey over and over until I had near convinced myself it hadn't happened and was a materialisation of my dazed mind. 

As skin crawlingly embarrassing as it may appear, my walls feel like memories, scrapbooks of what's happened so far in my life, although the majority is gig tickets from the past 3 years, there's dodgy disposal camera photos from a school trip to Germany when I was 14, clothing tags from the first time I went to brick lane aged 12, a photo of me dressed as elvis Presley as part of my tap dancing classes aged 3, a Drums poster I took off a notice board from Birmingham city university social sciences department when waiting for my mum to finish work. The only regret I have is when I move away for uni in (hopefully) 2 years, and having to intricately prise everything off the walls, pack them away and reapply them to my prison cell of a halls room, nostalgically reminiscing of a time when I had pastel pink walls and enough floor space to ultimately unsuccessfully practise doing the splits for 8 years. (the bird paintings came when I was on a school trip to france and my mum got bored)

ps. the square shaped hole is where one if my mums paintings was before being used for an exhibition, I haven't found anything suitable to fill the geometric gap yet

Nina's wall

I wish I could say there's some really deep meaning behind the posters on my wall but really all that's behind them is blu tack. But at the same time I guess certain posters can bring back memories like songs can such as my Swim Deep tour poster which reminds me of where I met one of my now best friends.

Avalon's wall 

I have always enjoyed having posters on my walls - when I was ten, I had a slightly creepy obsession with the youtuber charlieissocoollike, so I built my own 'wall of stuff' to match his. This summer, I decided that the jumble of pictures on my walls was pointless, outdated and ugly. I spent two days tearing them down and painting the wall white. I listened exclusively to Splashh and Dog is Dead and wore only my bra and faded denim cutoffs. Starting from scratch I made a 'music wall' - basically a shrine to my favourite bands and musicians. The pictures are a combination of ebay and tour posters, cutouts from NME, and A4 sheets printed secretly from my school's art room. There are a bunch of gig tickets, and awkward photos with band members, and just things that make me happy - photos taken on broken disposable cameras at gigs, polaroids with friends, pages ripped from magazines, photobooth pictures. I add things to it everyday, and it is very much still a work in progress. I am not even sure that it will ever be done!

Amy's Wall

I don't like my room. I never actually have. The first stages of my wall started in the summer of 2012 where I thought I was very cool having pictures of YouTubers and small, motivational yet cringey notes stuck up on every inch of my wall. I then started reading NME and a huge Jake Bugg obsession hit me like a swarm of flies; this urged me to have NME cutouts and front covers arranged on my wall in a messy fashion. My skin would be crawling if I had to re-live that wall and see the chaos of it. My next stage came quite recently, perhaps during summer this year, and is now the stage of my current wall. I decided that order and organisation satisfied me a lot so wanted to portray this on my wall. I built it around my Ben Howard poster which I bought at the Summer Stampede earlier this year. I have a small section dedicated to David Bowie as know that my obsession with Bowie will (fortunately) never leave. I bought The Beatles poster with no real reason at all; It just fitted in the gap that my wall once possessed. I only put the christmas lights up earlier this week but may have to keep them for the whole year until I need a new set. A few weeks ago, I decided that, yet again, I dislike my wall. I haven't tried to rearrange it as I simply do not have the effort. I plan to paint all my walls white so it feels minimalistic and clean; just how I want it. I probably won't change it for a while as I know my mind will surely return to the state that it were once in.

-Amy x

specific songs bring back certain memories

Songs are amazing memory triggers. They can bring back unwelcome flashbacks of tween phases, or take you back to music festivals and passing out at three in the morning inches away from your tent. I have chosen four of my favourite songs to get nostalgic to. 

1. 'Music When The Lights Go Out' by The Libertines

Last weekend, Nina and I saw Peace perform live at the Shepherds Bush Empire. It was the best night of my life, and not only because of the music - I met so many great people. My friend Alex and a guy I met called Mike spent most of the time that we were queueing singing this song - they had met literally half an hour before and bonded over a love of the Libertines. It was a pretty cool moment, and this song now brings back memories of the whole night. 

2. 'All I Wanna Do' by Splashh

I am the kind of person who discovers new music and then listens to it obsessively over and over again.  This summer I found Splashh through a routine search for new bands, and listened to nothing but this song whilst I repainted my room alone. The windows were flung open and this scuzzy psychedelic song was playing at full volume, and I was wearing nothing but denim shorts and my bra. It was possibly the most summery I have ever felt, and for me,  'All I Wanna Do' is now tainted with the smell of wet paint.

3. 'Corinne' by Metronomy

My friend and her family recently bought a very remote house in Devon - the car journey to it takes five hours, and it is at least a forty minute walk away from the nearest shop. It sits on the side of a huge cliff, with the sea crashing wildly beneath. My friend and I both love Metronomy, and this journey was very dominated by us singing along, very out of tune, to this track. Since Metronomy are from Devon, I felt that this was a very fitting song for our trip.

4. 'Tassleman' by Austin Williams and Ellie Rowsell

I saw both Swim Deep and Wolf Alice play live in London on the Where The Heaven Are We tour in September, and as an encore Austin and Ellie played this song - one that the couple wrote together about a year ago, after a couple of beers. During this song, there are some quite quiet breaks, where only the vocals are heard. I stupidly shouted 'YOU GUYS ARE SO CUTEEEE' at them, and I got a LOT of dirty looks from fans around me. Oops.

-written by avalon x

Ferreira and Drugs

Ferriera and Cole Smith's official mugshots

Sky Ferreira is beautiful in almost every way. Her bleached hair, her model body, her boyfriend (the lovely Zachary Cole Smith from the band Diiv, see Calum's post on them here), her dance pop eighties-esque music. She's almost a reincarnation of Avril Lavigne, but grown up; indier and more daring. I am, undoubtably, a huge fan of her and sometimes it feels as though she has a song for every one of my moods - from the dance orientated 'Everything is Embarrassing' to the swirly Taylor Swift vocals of 'Sad Dream', from the dark explosive tones of 'Lost in my Bedroom' to the uncomfortableness of the video for 'Red Lips' and the rolling vocals of 'Night time, my time'. She is friends with Petra Collins and Miley Cyrus and her Instagram is a multicoloured celebration of plastic pop and sharing cereal with her rockstar boyfriend. However, I often find that when I tell people that I'm a fan of her, they are quick to point out the drug arrest that took place early this year. This was in October, when her and Cole Smith were arrested and charged under possession of heroin and ecstasy, when their car was pulled over after reports of reckless driving. In my opinion, it's Cole Smith and Ferreira's choices to take those drugs, and that everybody should just let them be - it's their life.

My general attitude towards a lot of things in life is that it's cool if you do, and it's cool if you don't. The drugs, drink, skirt length, sexuality, what you call your boyfriend, hairstyles, whatever, don't generally affect your personality or who you actually are. They're your personal choices and it's your choice whether to keep them private or make a point of them. It's unfair that her personal choices should get in the way of whether people listen to or respect her and her music. Sure, she's skinny because of the drugs. Sure her music is probably influenced by them. Sure they aren't good for her. But I believe you should decide whether you like her music on the actual sound, not on the amount of heroin she has injected in the past few weeks. Taking drugs doesn't make her a bad person - in my opinion anyway. They don't make her a good person either. They don't change who she is and they shouldn't change what you think of her music. 

(This post very much intertwines with two other posts, written by Connor (read his here) and Charl (read her's here) )

- written by avalon x x

Mindless Songs

Still from the video for Blood Bank 

In the middle of winter, I am prone to sudden swings of sadness - something about frost on windowpanes and the heavy clouds and the afterglow of Christmas just gets me down. I however, love feeling like this - lying on my bed, gazing at the ceiling for days on end while everything else in the outside world goes on as normal, quietly unaware of my teenage angst. It gives me space to think about everything in life that is usually lost amongst everyday chaos. So I have made a playlist for these days. Days where you have no energy and just want to stare into space and think meaningless thoughts. However, I've also included seven songs to bring some summer to cloud-stained days - to lift your spirits (after you've been down in the dumps). I feel slightly like morrissey writing this post; If you don't appreciate these playlists, I at least know that he would.

Blood Bank by Bon Iver - Beautiful, shivering lyrics and purposely detuned guitar is a surprisingly chilled combination.
Shiver by Lucy Rose - Lucy Rose has the most beautiful sugar sweet voice, but this song has an eerie edge.
Last Call by Elliott Smith  - One of the most haunting songs that I have ever heard. Smith sings quietly yet intensely about suicide - 'I wanted her to tell me that she would never wake me / while I'm lying here waiting for sleep to overtake me' has to be some of my favourite lyrics ever written.
White Leather by Wolf Alice - Wolf Alice are my favourite band at the moment - There are no words to describe my love for this b-side.
Glass in the Park by Alex Turner - I personally think that Alex Turner has turned into a massive prick, but the Submarine OST is one of the most perfect movie soundtracks of all time.
When'd You Find Me by Arrange (Ricky Eat Acid remix) - A friend sent this song to me whilst I was going through a rough time - this sounds so cheesy but this song really did help me overcome it.
Sunset by The XX - Minimalist beats and lazy vocals.

Honey by Swim Deep - With electric riffs and a catchy chorus, I discovered this band last January and fell in love instantly. This song helped me through dark mornings and late night school revision, and succeeded in driving my friends insANE.
Nosedive by Wolf Alice - Ellie Rowsell's lyrics swoop and glide, diving amongst fiery baselines and guitar riffs.
Dancing Anymore by Is Tropical - Bubbly vocals and electro beats make a change for this normally generic indie rock band.
The Suburbs by Arcade Fire - This is a four minute, concentrated blast of carefree summer.
No Waves by FIDLAR  - One of my favourite songs from this Californian stoner/skater band - It's sun drenched and thrashy and the band is the namesake of this blog!
Come Save Me by Jagwar Ma - Funky fifties drum beats and psychedelic vocals. Nina and I once sung this to a man at a record stall in a bid to get a free signed copy of 'Howlin', Jagwar Ma's debut album. Needless to say, it did not work.
All I Wanna Do by Splashh - This song is my favourite summer get away tune - with scuzzy riffs, wavering guitar pedals and I-can't-be-bothered vocals, this transports me to long hazy summer evenings spent on Hampstead Heath in an instant.

-written by avalon x x x

Soundtrack of your Childhood

Memories are odd things. They can resurface at any time, with anything acting a trigger, a smell, a jacket, a place, a name, a taste. But perhaps most poignant is music - nostalgic moments entering your mind of walks in the park on Sunday afternoons, going to various relatives' houses, rainy Saturday mornings, walking home from school, that tv program your household drop anything for and watch religiously. The most embarrassing songs from childhood I find are the best. Documenting moments in your life that were so significant and important at one point that now serve as nothing more than laughable memories, like a tattoo encapsulating the person you once were, but now desperately try to suppress. The great thing about those 4 minutes of audio is that whenever, wherever you are, whomever you are with - when those opening bars are played, when the signature voice of that singer you once idolised is heard, you're instantly brought back, you're instantly the 5 year old on a drive with your dad again, you're instantly the 8 year old in your bedroom dancing to a pop party compilation cd again, you're instantly the 10 year old watching the youtube video over and over again mesmerised by what you're watching. as hard as you try, those songs cannot be suppressed.

Avalon~

Most of my childhood memories are of America, where I have spent almost every summer of my life. 'Suspicious Minds' by Elvis Presley, 'Rattled By The Rush' by Pavement, and 'Where is My Mind' by Pixies. The songs remind me of unjaded summers spent dancing in the kitchen of our tiny house in Maine, while morning sun crept in through backdoors left swung open. They remind me of ice-cream sandwiches eaten on the beach, of bonfires and sunsets, thunderstorms and drive-in movies. Of woods near my grandparent's house in Vermont, sandy swimsuits and bike rides to the store. Of family singalongs and falling asleep on the plane on the way back to England. These songs were the soundtrack to the summers of my youth, repeated endlessly on cheap record players, tinny radios of cars, and walkmans with complementary British Airways headphones
Tyler~
Growing up, I didn't really relate to the music my parents would play; Neil Diamond and The Eagles dominated my Sunday mornings courtesy of my father, whilst Westlife and Ronan Keating would resonate through the walls of our house whilst my mum cleaned. I don't feel nostalgic about this music, though: all I really remember are the songs I would play on my Walkman to drown out the noise my parents were playing.

Kate Bush's 'Babooshka' is definitely the first song that springs to mind; I remember seeing her for the first time on some kind of Greatest Hits countdown on the TV singing this song. Naturally, I didn't understand it at all back then: I was oblivious to her role as a musical pioneer and her lyrical content completely escaped me, but 'Babooshka' is a fun word for a seven year old to sing as he gallops around his bedroom. I dare say it's just as enjoyable for an eighteen-year-old. Unfortunately, Ms. Bush is the only example of taste I displayed as a child. Another glaringly obvious song from the soundtrack of my youth would have to be AllSaint's 'Rock Steady'. I think this was the first single I ever owned; it was either this, or the 'Cha Cha Slide'. I remember how amazed I was when I put the disc into my computer and saw the music video, in which the girls are clad in latex and use whips to rob a bank. Brilliant. It's difficult to pick a third song, but I think I'm going to choose Lily Allen's 'Smile'. That song, however crass, was my gateway drug into music. It was the first song that pushed me to buy (or rather, ask mum and dad for) the album. Of course, I wasn't old enough for 'Alright, Still', But I loved it nonetheless. And now, here we are.

Amelia~

My dad is a big led zeppelin fan and one of my favourites is 'Going to California'. It reminds me of the childhood feeling of having had a really great day playing in the sunshine, and also of the excitement of actually going to California when I was little.
My dad is also a massive Bob Dylan fan. By massive I mean he owns pretty much everything he's ever released on vinyl and has seen him live loads. 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' in particular reminds me of my childhood - my dad would always try and slip the lyrics into conversation wherever he could, sort of like an elaborate dad-style version of name that tune. It's a classic Dylan song that always makes me nostalgic for my childhood. My mum is a huge Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks enthusiast, and I've been lucky enough to inherit such a gene. 'Edge of seventeen' by Stevie Nicks is so brilliant to dance around to - an important factor when selecting a favourite childhood song. It's also on the soundtrack to the film School of Rock which was one of my favourite films as a kid. Amy~
Sunday Morning // Maroon 5 Judge me if you must but I love this song. It's one of those songs which does actually remind me of my childhood, not just a song from that time. Now I'm not looking for sympathy here, but when my dad died in 2009, I had Sunday Morning on repeat constantly as he loved it and we made up dance moves to all the words and danced round on (supposedly) sunday mornings. It's a very warm song, you could say, and has very inviting lyrics which I love. 

Don't You Want Me // Human League

My mum loves the Human League and I guess this is their most famous song so I would be genuinely shocked if anyone had not heard it before. When it was just me and my mum living in a flat about 8 years ago, this song would be sung at the top of our lungs. We would dance around the small hallways and into the rooms singing. This something that, now I am older, I miss. It's also just a massive #tune. (sorry for hashtag-it just seemed appropriate). Lastly is Fire Coming out of a Monkey's Head // Gorillaz - Me being a huge Blur fan, it probably wouldn't be surprising if a Gorillaz or Blur song popped up somewhere. I think my step dad introduced me to Gorillaz in about 2007 and I used to steal his iPod and listen to this song when he was out. This song tells a story as well as it being a song which I think is genius. It wasn't until about 2 years after discovering Gorillaz, that I found out they and Blur were connected. I think knowing this has made me love both bands more as they sound so different! I also love all of Jamie Hewlett's artwork and damn that bassline!
Molly~
Floating Away (In The Bathtub) // Toploader My dad always used to play this in the car when I was younger and I didn't know what it was (I had to ask my brother what 'that song about bubbles that dad used to play' was for this) but I always sang along to the first verse. After that it got too heavy for my young, innocent ears and I pleaded with dad to turn it off. Being the loving father that he is, he did just that. By The Way // Red Hot Chili Peppers Another of my dad's favourites (mum didn't tend to listen to much music), we had lovely family singalongs on our journeys to this song, although the STEAK KNIFE bit wasn't really to my taste. Oh how things have changed. Air Hostess // Busted I have the most fond memories of this band; me and my brother would spend hours listening to our Busted's greatest hits CD on repeat whilst playing Mariokart on our Nintendo 64, until mum sold it at a carboot. I don't think we forgave her for months afterwards. Rohanie~
When I was 11 my dad discovered youtube. Then followed prolonged evenings, turning into the early hours of him hunched at the computer systematically watching live footage of every single single he'd bought when he was a teenager, Johnny Appleseed was perhaps his most played. "Just listen those drums", of course none of us were interested, at 11 I was just at the end of my faux punk Avril Lavigne phase. But the more I listen to this song, the more I appreciate it, the more I realise how beautiful it really is, and how pertinent it was to my childhood. One of the best films I've ever seen was School of Rock, I remember the cinema trip with such detail. The last scene of the film features the cast playing It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll) // AC/DC, which I fell in love with. We walked to Fopp and my dad put on the original on those cute headphones attached to this big machine they don't seem to have in music shops anymore and I listened and I fell in love further. That christmas i got AC/DC's discography and I've continued to be in love ever since. The last song I feel really grasps my childhood in a song is Sweetest Thing // U2. Yes U2 is a slightly embarrassing choice, but the lyrics "Blue-eyed boy meets a brown-eyes girl" might has well have been written for/about my parents. There's a weird warm sense of nostalgia surrounding this song when I listen to it, it's one of those tracks that was played in long car journeys, when everyone was fed up of feeling sick and of each other - yet this song managed to perfectly cut through put a subtle smile on everyone's faces. Laura~
Weird Al Yankovic // White and Nerdy

Weird Al Yankovic's parodies were played constantly through my late primary school years. In year 6 when it was raining and we couldn't go out onto the yard our teacher used to let us run the classroom and use the whiteboard to listen to music and watch videos S Club Juniors // Automatic High As a youngling I loved nothing more than singing S Club songs in the car, the Juniors being my favourite. This song was often played on repeat and I used to sit in the back, wind the window down and sing along - it must've drove my parents mad! Take That // Shine As many of you will know I'm a HUGE Take That fan. In year 6 when we ran the class on rainy break times I always requested this song, I don't know why - I wasn't a fan at the time but it was riding high in the charts and loved by the full class

Georgie~
I guess the songs that provided the soundtrack to my childhood are pretty much the same ones that are sound tracking it now. My parents were a big influence on the music I listened to and they bought me up on Nirvana, The Cure and various bands from the eighties. So my first song is In Bloom by Nirvana. I put it on my mp3 player and thought I was the coolest thing going. The next is Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus. This is such a great song. Words cannot describe the love I have for this song. I remember listening to it and thinking how awesome it would be to be this moody teenager. Now I’m 19 and this real life teenage dirtbag and l still listen to it all the time. I’ve saved the best till last because this song, no matter how cheesey you find it, still remains to be my all time favourite song. This song is like, my anthem or something. It’s so feel-good and amazing and is just the best. It’s the classic- Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper. Nina~
Yellow Submarine // The Beatles I've always been brought up around the Beatles when I was younger I remember me and my dads endless sing a longs on our way to the football to yellow submarine. I often changed the words to 'we all live in a yellow submarine we didn't like the colour so we painted it green a shark came along and now were all dead I found out it was a hammer head.' But it still has a sentimental feeling to me of innocence and a sense of homeliness about it (is that even a word) Sexbomb // Tom Jones The one artist that really made up the soundtrack of my childhood was Tom Jones. I have a fond memory of being in my extremely uncomfortable car seat singing sexbomb or as i remember it 'stinkbomb'. When i was around 5 my mum took me to my first concert which was to see Tom Jones the only strong memory I have from this is seeing lots of older ladies throwing their bras on stage and me asking my mum if i could throw my knickers on stage obviously the answer was no. Viva Las Vegas // Elvis Presley - I've always been brought up listening to Elvis he was even my first crush but this song used to really stand out for me. On my first visit to Las Vegas at the age of 4 we had this song blasting as we were driving down the strip my mum even recalls me saying 'is this what movie stars feel like'. Every time I listen to that i get memories of not only sunny Las Vegas but driving to the equally as glamorous Sutton listening to the best of Elvis. Calum~
When asked to think of three songs that soundtracked my childhood, a number sprang immediately to mind. I've grown up shrouded in music, as my parents and lodger are all mad about it. So here is three songs that I think were very "instrumental" in my upbringing. Downtown Train // Tom Waits Tom Waits is one of my favourite singers, to this day even. But when I was growing up, my dad used to constantly play his music in the evenings, which was brilliant. As a really young child, I was obsessed with trains so Downtown Train was my favourite of Waits’. I love this song particularly because of the upbeat guitar and Waits’ vocal delivery as well as the mention of the word “train”. Rock Me Amadeus – Falco
Falco’s one hit wonder Rock Me Amadeus was the first song I ever had an obsession with (and it wasn’t the last). It is mainly in German and when it was my favourite song I knew all the words to it, despite not speaking a word of the language. It is incredibly catchy and Falco is a very cool guy. I Bet That You Look Good On the Dancefloor – Arctic Monkeys When I was about 8, The Arctics came on Top of The Pops to play their debut single. As a young boy, this song mesmerised me- I loved it to bits. Then a couple of years later I saw the Arctic Monkeys headline Glastonbury (2007) as a 10 year old and it was one of the best performances I've ever witnessed. They were my first favourite band.

Metronomy - I'm Aquarius

8/10

We've heard hardly anything from electronic band Metronomy since early 2011, when their album 'The English Riviera' was released. NME occasionally hinted at an upcoming album, but nothing more was revealed until last week, when 'I'm Aquarius' was posted to the band's soundcloud. A more minimalistic, dance orientated track (compared to earlier songs such as 'Everything Goes My Way' and 'The Look'), but still obviously Metronomy, it reflects artists such as The xx and Ricky Eat Acid - relaxed dance-pop. Beautifully simple, with synthesisers ringing in the background, this is a masterpiece; Mount's careless vocals intertwined with slow, delicate electro-beats creates a track that is nothing short of lush.  The only thing that scores it down is the lack of other band members - what happened to Olugbenga's fizzing bass lines? Apart from this, 'I'm Aquarius' definitely exceeded my expectations, and I wait with nervous anticipation for the album to be released.
I'm Aquarius is the first single from Love Letters, released in March 2014
-written by avalon x x x

tribes breakup

Tribes were the sort of band that remind you of endless summer days, of teenage late nights and falling asleep during double physics the next grey morning. Their songs burned with hazy guitar lines reminiscent of mid-nineties Oasis, combined with almost Ryan Jarman-esque vocals. They were the essential laid-back dreary summer soundtrack; dripping with laziness, messy hair and simple scrubby guitar riffs. Distorted vocals accompany some of their later songs, touching towards a more Tame Impala branch of the alternative rock spectrum. 

The band formed in 2010, rising out of the smog and cheap takeaways of Camden Town. In the four short years they were together, they released two studio albums and multiple singles. For me, they were a collection of all the things to look forward to in life - music for the future, not for the past. These are not songs made to cry over lovers, or to mourn lost friendships - they're songs for coming summers, for laughing and enjoying the life that you are living now. 

But this band was never going to be for eternity. All good things must come to an end - and last week Tribes made this very clear. On the 7th of November, the official Tribes twitter page tweeted 'We are sad to announce that we will no longer be writing and performing together as Tribes.' followed by 'Thank you to everyone who supported us along the way. We are proud of what we achieved together.', 'You gave us the best four years of our lives so far.', and a youtube link to 'We Were Children', their first bittersweet single.

- written by avalon x x

Inside Harrison Koisser's Wardrobe

Harrison Koisser is a legend in the world of alternative rock. He is also one of my favourite fashion icons at the moment; In his own words, he 'vibes so hard'. He owns a scary amount of fur coats, sequin embellished shirts and funky guitar straps, and he rocks the chin length hair like there's no tomorrow. This is an analysis of the front man of Peace's wardrobe.

The sparkly green shirt : This is a personal favourite of mine. It's practically genius - a long sleeved green jersey completely covered in emerald sequins. It almost reminds me of something a very groovy man from 'The Wizard of Oz' would wear.

The fur coat : A classic. It's brown and furry and warm and the kind of thing I would love him to hug me in.

genius or idiot - you decide. 

A collection of all the turtle-necks : Harry owns a multitude of turtle-neck pullovers; stripy ones, knitted ones, and even a leather/suede one! Magical. Just magical. However, the combination of his mid-length hair and the high sweater does make him look slightly like a lady in a sexy black and white French movie.


The earring : One hoop is enough for Harrison.

The slogan shirt : 'I Love Emma Watson So Bad'. I wonder if Emma Watson herself has an opinion on this one?

The shoes : Harry generally wears dirty shoes - be it dirty white doc martens, dirty sneakers, or huge dirty boots. He's obviously not a part of the Swim Deep 'Converse Club' - he probably got boycotted because he doesn't have the right smile.

The leather jacket : Another original piece, but slightly wannabe American - especially when paired with his stars and stripes shirt, as shown in this photo. But let's just remind ourselves that Harry has the power to dress how he wants to.

The stripy pants : There's a strange trend of stripy trousers going on in the world of band members - Austin from Swim Deep has his matching trousers and guitar, Zachary from Diiv has the legendary blue and white striped shorts, and now even Harry has his own funky pants.

The unforgettable matching outfits : Harry and Billie are the only couple that could ever try on matching suits, take selfies wearing them together, and create an internet storm. Here is a very small collage of my favourite of their matching outfits - others include patterned jogging bottoms and yet more turtle-necks.

This is just a small section of the wonder that is Harry Koisser's wardrobe - let's just hope that Harrison continues to set trends and make waves next year.

~ written by avalon xx

FIBLAR's Lou Reed Tribute

Last week, the music world received the hard-hitting news that Lou Reed, frontman of The Velvet Underground, had passed away. Lou was an inspiration to so many people, and the entirety of the music world was all swift to pay tribute to the late, great Lou Reed.

The FIBLAR team were, of course, no exception…

To me, Lou Reed was the frontman of one of the most influential, and one of my favourite bands of all time, The Velvet Underground. I’ve always loved the Velvets, as my mum had Pale Blue Eyes and Stephanie Says on her driving playlist. Then, about ten months ago I purchased the LP of The Velvet Underground and Nico and was very blown away by it. In Particular, the song Heroin (Track 1, Side 2) spoke to me like no song I had ever listened to previously, and to this day is one of my favourite songs of all time. Since then, I’ve played the record over and over, and it never fails to make amaze me. In addition, Lou’s music (both solo and with the Velvets) has directly influenced many of my favourite bands, making it even more special than it already is. Ziggy-era Bowie and Joy Division both cite the Velvets as a favourite band, and countless bands have covered their music. It is for these reasons, and many besides those, that Lou’s death is a tragedy, Rest in Peace Lou.

Here’s what the rest of the FIBLAR team said about Lou.

Nina:

“I remember that when I was younger, and my dad used to play to me Walk on the Wild Side and I remember my parents talking about the Velvet Underground. When I was that young i had no idea who they were, but when I was 12 the Velvet Underground’s Heroin came up in my suggested videos on YouTube and since then I’ve been hooked. The Velvet Underground have changed my perception of music and they were one of the first artists that made me feel something- as cringey as that sounds.”

Avalon:

Lou pictured with the mighty David Bowie and Iggy Pop.

"Nina was actually the reason I started listening to The Velvet Underground. We were in Camden a few weeks ago, and we were just walking around aimlessly chatting, when she mentioned that she had started listening to them. I had previously seen people tweeting about Lou Reed, and I knew my parents liked The Velvet Underground, but I'd never properly listened to them. On the same day, we visited Urban Outfitters - and they had iPads that you could listen to music on. Most of the albums on them were terrible, but they surprisingly had “The Velvet Underground and Nico”. I put the headphones on and chose the song “Sunday Morning”. I instantly knew that it was one of the most, relaxed, beautiful songs that I'd ever heard. I can't explain it any other way - the song felt like it put what I had been feeling that day into words that I could never have dreamed of.”

James:

“To me, Lou Reed was an inspiration. Walk on the Wild Side was the first song that made me want to pick up a bass guitar, and it was one of the first things I learnt to play. From a different angle, the overdose scene in Trainspotting when Renton sinks into the carpet is one of my favourite scenes from a film ever. It's accompanied by Perfect Day, which indeed makes it perfect. I was on the M1 with my family when I found out he'd died via Twitter. I read it out to them, and the rest of the journey was spent in near silence, the mood reflected by the freezing, pissing-it-down darkness outside. Rest in peace, the godfather of pop music.”

Amelia:
"The Velvet Underground & Nico is one of my favourite albums ever; when I was little we’d listen to it in the car sometimes whilst driving home in the dark. When I first got into collecting records and hauled my dad’s vinyl collection out of the loft I rediscovered it - I truly fell in love with the album and daresay appreciated it far more than my sleepy six year old self ever could. Lou Reed has also been the inspiration behind so many of my other favourite bands and artists too, and for that I am eternally grateful."

Amy:

“So, Lou Reed’s death. I’m quite sad that another legend has gone. I guess because I would never call myself a Lou Reed ‘fan’ that I found it more shocking than sad. My step dad is a huge fan of Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground so I stroked his hand when a Lou Reed montage was displayed on BBC news as I could see he was trying to hold a tear back. My step dad once went to see Lou live and has a tour shirt with all the tour dates and everything. All the images on it are rubbing off so he preserves it at the back of his wardrobe under a mound of ties he never wears. I’ve also found some Lou Reed song books among our hundreds of books. Lou’s lyrics were actually pretty meaningful, I mean you won’t find ‘No matter what I did, it never seemed enough’ coming out of Harry Styles’ mouth. Another favourite lyric from Lou is “I’ve got to bring home the bacon; someone’s got to bring home the roast”. I’m not entirely sure what it means but I like it anyway.”

Rohanie:

“Growing up I had a very prominent soundtrack to my house, influenced by both my father's Catholic Northern Irish upbringing, and my mother's South American heritage, and the scenes and fads the two went through in their own upbringing. A key participant in the score of my childhood was Lou Reed, specifically with the Velvet Underground and Nico (particularly as it was originally released in 1967 on my birthday, which is something I held as a bit of a claim to fame as a 9 year old). "I'll Be Your Mirror" became intrinsic to our house, almost a lullaby. The Velvet Underground soundtracked Sunday mornings in the bath, sitting in the kitchen having wet hair combed methodically with a nit comb just on the off chance, drives on drizzly afternoons through mounds of sludgy leaves and mud. The iconic banana cover is an image etched into my youth- with Heroin and I'm Waiting For the Man, smoothly skipped without me noticing, and Femme Fatale and All Tomorrow's Parties blared as loudly as the speakers could handle in the marble green machine of a car we owned. The slick, fluid and somewhat effeminate vocals Lou provided glossing through the stagnant air of long car journeys and endless 2am nights during the Christmas holidays. Lou Reed's passing has left a gaping hole in our house, and rest assured he remains immortal on our CD shelf.”

Aisha:
“Lou Reed made so many people who didn't feel like a part of anything feel as if they weren't worthless and that they did belong. He made it against all odds and was subject to revolting ignorance but he got through it, a true hero and inspiration. Rest in Peace, beautiful angel. In the words of Carl Barat, you gave me my strength and helped me in my weakness, thank you for everything”

I find it really quite beautiful that even now, over 46 years after the release of The Velvet Underground and Nico, people still find the music of Lou Reed a source of comfort, joy and inspiration. It’s very apparent that Lou’s had a profound effect on many people of my generation, as well as those of his own generation. I think that ten, twenty, or even a hundred years from now people will look back at Lou’s music and find it sensational. Generations to come will marvel at the works of the Velvets, much like they’ll look back at the Beatles, or the Smiths, and be inspired to make rock ‘n’ roll music. So whilst Lou may have passed away, he’ll be immortalised in our iTunes libraries, our vinyl collections and our CD shelves. R.I.P Lou Reed.

(by Calum Cashin and the rest of the FIBLAR team)