My Birthday Playlist

There are certain things I seem to enjoy planning about my Birthday. One of them is my make up (I'm thinking bronze) but no one wants to hear about that, so I'm going to do my birthday playlist. Admittedly, I'm just having a few friends over (thanks for asking) but I like to pick what songs I'm listening to that day. Or, this could be a "Sweet 16" plan if they finally decide to ring up my mam and dad. However, this seems unlikely, so let's get on to the playlist...

> Reflektor // Arcade Fire
I only recently discovered this beauty and it could be love.

> Unhappy Birthday // The Smiths
Despite the overwhelming message of having a terrible day because you're a horrible person, I think it could work...

> Suffragette City // David Bowie
Yeah this is turning into more of a list of my favourite songs

> Bloodshake // Peace
Guaranteed to wake up any swine and force them out of bed. IN THE FOREST OF ARDEN.

> Taken For A Fool // The Strokes
A guaranteed embarrassing dance will occur

> Johnny Bagga Donuts // Palma Violets
Oops more dancing....

> Introspection // MGMT
SO SWIRLY

> Rusholme Ruffians // The Smiths
Sweet rhythms...

> Morning Crumble // Holidays
Dreamy spaced out melodies for yo ears.

> Ode To Viceroy // Mac DeMarco
This song will make you fall over it's so swishy...

> Cornerstone // Arctic Monkeys
I have no words....

> Rock And Roll // The Velvet Underground
This song makes me insanely happy

> Music To Walk Home By // Tame Impala
THAT GUITAR RIFFF AT THE END MAN

> You Won't Be The Same // TOY
There seems to be a slightly psych theme today...

> Lydia, The Ink Will never Dry // Maximo  Park
Like syrup to the ears...

Leave me your song suggestions below because I'm having a crisis when it comes to new music.

Lots of love, Paige x x x

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.

Happy Valentines Day!

Forget Lionel Richie and Celine Dion, here are my picks of the best luuurrrrvvvee songs in music

Down by the Water - The Drums
I Can Change - LCD Soundsystem
Suicide Policeman - Yuck
Duet - Everything Everything
Just Like Heaven - The Cure
Baby - Warpaint
I Need My Girl - The National
Lover of Mine - Beach House
No One Like You - Best Coast
Pale Blue Eyes - Velvet Underground
Blue Blood - Foals
Fall In Love With Me - Iggy Pop
Heart Swells - Pacific Daylight Time - Los Campesinos!

Rohanie x 

January Jams

January was a busy month and I didn’t get a chance to write any blog posts, but hopefully February will be the month I get back into writing. I’ve also had no time to write up a proper post and therefore you will have to deal with this.

My January Jams!!!!!!!!!!!! (or, the songs that I liked listening to in January, aka the worst month ever)

These songs are just songs that I’ve been listening to a lot this month, not in any order or to do with anything.

Superfood - Superfood  

Joan Jett - I Wanna Be Your Dog 

Sonic Youth - Drunken Butterfly 

The Smiths - Shoplifters Of The World Unite

Drenge - Gun Crazy 

Splashh - All I Wanna Do 

David Bowie - Ashes To Ashes  

Bikini Kill - Rebel Girl

DIIV - Sometime

The Libertines -What Katie Did

- Charlotte

Februrary playlist

Ah February, you old swine. As much as I have a limited quantity of violent feelings towards this time of year, it always feels as though it is a rather confused month. Everyone seems to recognise January as being the worst month of the 12, despite the fact that some nice things actually happen (my dad's birthday, for example). Because February often feels neither here nor there, I am personally left feeling quite melancholic, for several reasons - first of all it is still freezing cold, furthermore, it is still spine-breakingly freezing cold (I rest my slightly frozen metaphorical case). Therefore, in my frankly "mmmm lists" centred brain, I have taken it upon myself to create a playlist in order to make you feel like you could take on the world (or even go outside for the first time all weekend!) Also, seeing as Andrew VanWyngarden's birthday was yesterday (frontman of MGMT, all round good-egg) there will be a few tracks of theirs rightfully featured.

> Brian Eno // MGMT
It wouldn't be a Sunday playlist without this gem of psychedelic wonder. An ode to the synth master himself, it's quirky and energetic, with a strong beat and the odd twinkling synth to keep your desire for beautiful melodies satisfied for approx 4 minutes 32 seconds (NB: Times depend on the frequency of you replaying the last minute)

> Colours To Life // Temples
Another suitably uplifting and trippy wonder from Kettering golden boys, this track contains enough lo-fi whirring noises and spaced-out moments of glittering guitars that should at least guarantee you'll get out of bed on a Monday morning...

> Get off Of My Cloud // The Rolling Stones
"HEY HEY YOU YOU GET OFF OF MY CLOUD!" enough said.

> Best friend // The Drums
Admittedly, this isn't the most gladdening of songs for a supposedly 'cheery' playlist. Complete with tale of lost friends and a moping Johnny Pierce in full brooding mode, it seems unlikely that it would enliven even the most optimistic soul. However, the music behind the dark lyrics is quite the opposite; a jangly rhythm that pushes the song along with the aid of an angular bass line that somehow makes the emotional wreck that is my mind-set  experience a temporary window of happiness.

> Morning Crumble // Holidays
Gently whirling guitars and a strong bass line with softly delivered lyrics makes you feel like you're on 'holiday' (wow appropriate) and engaging in some romance not to dissimilar to those badly acted out in rom coms. A clear winner for making you want to get up and "do stuff" (#lifelessons).

> Kooks // David Bowie
Reportedly written for his son, 'Kooks' for me, is essentially an ode to childhood belonging and feeling like your parents could do anything and everything for you, until the crushing moment when you realise that they're only human, and they can't hit your ex-boyfriend in the face for you. The score has just the right tempo for a bit of head-bobbing-and-old-man-foot-tapping to occur. "IF YOU STAY WITH US YOU'RE GONNA BE PRETTY KOOKY TOO."

> Your Life Is A Lie // MGMT
It would initially seem that this song is telling you that everything in your life is done with utter distaste, but on closer inspection, it feels like an ode to getting out of a boring life. It's a bit of a self esteem booster, as though you're being told to leave your boring house in a boring street and go and do something half interesting. Deal with it, folks.

> Can't Buy Me Love // The Beatles
What could a supposedly 'happy' playlist be without the 1964 classic?

> Dreamin // Mac DeMarco
Cymbals have managed to make this song so very 60's it seems like the 60's couldn't have created this track. Although it's slow and wandering qualities give it a feeling of desolation at times, it has enough contrasting moments of light to make you feel like a hip New Yorker when you walk around school.

> Ask // The smiths
"SHYNESS CAN STOP YOU FROM DOING ALL THE THINGS IN LIFE YOU'D LIKE TO" Anything I write about this would ruin it for myself and everyone else, it is simply too pretty for human words.

> Surf Bitches // Best Friends
"I WANNA BUILD A PEPPERMINT ISLAND" Lo-Fi vocals and guitar riffs are delivered in the style of FIDLAR, while a stronger driving force behind the music to give it a pacier feel remains. A New favourite.

I hope that some of these songs will help you face February and beyond. What are your favourite tracks for this time of year?

Lots of love, Paige x x x

A motorway playlist

Christmas is known as a time full of festivities with friends and family, yet the inevitable travelling that such festivities require is often neglected of thought. Soon, if you're anything like my family, you find yourself stuck in the car for five hours with nothing but fleetwood mac's 'rumours' on a scratched CD. I love a bit of fleetwood as much as the next person but there is, contrary to belief, a limit to the number of times you can listen to 'the chain' and still be full of enthusiasm and excitement. This is not ideal as enthusiasm and excitement seem to be the two key emotions expected permanently in the month of December. As the holiday season begins to crawl to a close here is a playlist to get you through the last of those awful motorway journeys back home. 

Hanging On The Telephone - Blondie

Sometimes the best thing to do on a motorway is pretend you're not actually on your way to an elderly relatives to eat yet more brussels sprouts but in fact are part of an 80s teen movie. Shake your hair (unless you are driving, in which case please don't) and imagine you're going on an exciting road trip instead. Bonus: mums tend to love a bit of Blondie. 

Here Comes The Night Time - Arcade Fire

As darkness descends on the lengthier car journeys this fits perfectly. 

Reptilia - The Strokes

Thundering down a motorway an listening to the scuzzy guitars and crashing drums of The Strokes complement eachother very well. 

Red Lights Indicate Doors Are Secured - Arctic Monkeys

The title's reference to a taxi aside, the song's crescendo is sure to alleviate motorway boredom slightly. 

The Chain - Fleetwood Mac

Ok, so maybe it's ok just the once... Although it is nowhere near my list of Favourite Ever Fleetwood Mac Songs the fact it's synonymous with formula one racing makes it ever so exciting whilst driving down a motorway. 

Feels Like We Only Go Backwards - Tame Impala

When stuck in the most infuriating patch of traffic it does sometimes feel as though the mile gauge is actually rotating in reverse. Vent such a feeling with a shimmering, psychedelic track from Tame Impala, equipped with an infectious riff that's bound to make you feel better. 

Doused - DIIV

This could just be me, but this song is what getting shit done sounds like - perfect for when you're running a little late. It's urging bassline and swirling guitars are a real treat too. 

Chevy Thunder - Spector

There's nothing like storming down a motorway with this on full blast screaming the lyrics "Drive! Drive! Drive!" - fact. It's times like this I wish my car was a convertible. And a Chevrolet.

Also brilliant for car journeys:

Moving Further Away - The Horrors

Xanman - Pond

Beetlebum - Blur

Beginning To See The Light - The Velvet Underground 

Countdown - The Black Keys

By Amelia Holloway

@ameliazsz

New Year's Eve playlist

It's that time of year again; when everyon descends into someone's living room to countdown the end of one year and the beginning of another. There are many motives for people going to a new Years Eve party - potential boyfriends/girlfriends, alcohol, bad dancing, party poppers, dressing up and all that jazz. In order to get you in the mood for the potentially awkward nature of festive gatherings, here is a playlist full of 'feel good' (to an extent...) music, not the usual chart bollocks, to get you in the mood for a full on do or a one-person rave in your bedroom...

> Trying To Be cool // Phoenix
Strut past your ex whilst this is playing. Thank me later.

> Who Needs You // The Orwells
The angsty Chicago rockers give you a perfect drum beat to go mental too.

> Undercover Of Darkness // The Strokes
Effortless

> Brian Eno // MGMT
This ode to ultimate synth god provides a tonne of weird noises to get down to.

> Dr. Greenthumb // Cypress Hill
Hip Hop legends. THE BASS, SERIOUSLY MAN IT COULDN'T BE ANY MORE WONDERFUL.

> No.1 Party Anthem // Arctic Monkeys
Nice and sleazy

> Golden Years // David Bowie
"I'LL STICK WITH YOU BABY FOR A THOUSAND YEARS"

> Johnny Bagga Donuts // Palma Violets
The end is perfect for a good ol' singalong

> Roxette // Dr. Feelgood
You go up to that girl/boy you like, go on....

> Expectation // Tame Impala
Bringing a bit off psychedelic fuzz into proceedings

> Mystery Man // The Strypes
Gives you another chance to get dancing near the object of your secret affections.

> This Must Be The Place Naive Melody // Talking Heads
Sing this in someone's face and you're guaranteed to get their number (maybe... depends on how cool they are).

> Brianstorm // Arctic Monkeys
*Everyone goes a bit mental*

> Welcome To The Terrordome // Public Enemy
Gets everyone moving

> Precious // The Jam
A slowed down beauty to get a bit of awkward dancing going on

Now all that's left to do put on your nicest item of clothing (perhaps do something jazzy to your hair?) and enjoy yourself, you cat.

Lots of love and happy 2014
Paige x x x