Ultimate make out songs

(this photo is cute + romantic and it's from someone's twitter)

Everyone has (or has had) (or is going to have) that someone who they think about constantly, who is never out of your mind, who makes your heart tingle whenever you think of them. It happens. You also can't go thinking about someone without thinking what it's like to make out with them. And even if you are a One Direction fan, you don't want to be making out with someone whilst 'Best Song Ever' echoes in the background, so make out songs are very important. To everyone.

Blush // Wolf Alice

Taken from Wolf Alice's latest EP, this song starts softly and makes you believe that it will stay this way. In the soft moments of the song, you can imagine everything around you being silent and you can only see that one person. You walk towards them slowly but as soon as the heavy drums come in, you race to them and the rest....well that's for you to decide.

She Changes the Weather // Swim Deep 

Seeing this song live was stunning as everyone stood still for the introduction, just waiting for that moment. Even to a non-Swim Deep fan, this song would sound utterly beautiful. The intro is an echo of Austin William's voice accompanied by a soft piano and guitar. Then the repetitive (but lovely) piano part comes in, complete with sounds of Swim Deep talking in the background. This song reminds me of someone chasing the person that they love and not giving up (as cheesy as it sounds). Like the first song, it seems like a song where you ignore everything around you and your mind is just focused on that one person. I think the video says just that and as a whole, it's very moving. 

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out // The Smiths

Every fan of The Smiths adores this song and I am sure it is very familiar to non-fans too. Just by listening to the lyrics, you know that it is a love song. "To die by your side, well the pleasure, the privilege is mine". Morrissey sings about doing anything for your loved one. Morrissey was (and still is) obviously a very poetic man but deciphering his lyrics is not hard. You can also dance away to this song which makes everything better. 

Warpaint // Baby

A lovely soft, calm song from Warpaint. You can imagine slow dancing to this after a wedding or sitting in the garden after a big party whilst feeling sorry for yourself. To me, this song is also about being maybe too protective of someone. "Don't you call anybody else baby" could have various meanings but I think we should stick to the romantic side of it.

Baby Blue // King Krule

All King Krule songs are absolutely beautiful and could all potentially be wonderful make out songs. Baby Blue is so slow and sweet and I would love to be listening to it whilst sitting under a tree, watching the sun (oh summer I miss you) and just thinking about people and love etc.

Teenage Riot // Sonic Youth

Undoubtedly one of my favourite Sonic Youth songs. This is definitely a song you have to dance to and it's up to you when you decide to stop dancing and make out with that someone. It would preferably be great if you and that someone were both teenagers but it really doesn't effect how great the song is.

My Kind of Woman // Mac Demarco

Mac Demarco makes me feel very lovey dovey and all over the place sometimes. He's a very silly but romantic person. I've walked during a beautiful orange sunset whilst listening to this song and it was such a wonderful experience. This song doesn't have the best rhythm to walk to but you can fool around and dance about instead. 

This is the Last Time // The National

This song was actually only introduced to me a week ago by one of my closest friends and I have absolutely fallen in love with it. The song title itself seems very romantic, but also very tragic, as if someone has had enough. The lyrics "I won't be vacant anymore" also justifies the unwanted feelings in the song.

Youth // Daughter

This is the single version of Youth which I prefer massively compared to the album version. Everyone fell in love with this song when they first heard it. The lyrics put across a sense of braveness but also sadness. "Setting fire to our insides for fun" sounds like something you would write on a protest banner but also something you would write on a goodbye letter. You can choose which way to interpret it. 

"The key to a kiss is a good song"

(Quote by me)

Amy x

             

Murder ballads: 10 fantastic songs about homicide

Murder is something portrayed very frequently in the arts, although probably in literature more often than any of the others. So as you’d imagine, a multitude of artists (generally angst-fuelled alternative rock bands) have written songs about killing and slaying and a whole manner of that sort of thing. For this week’s post, I’ve picked out my favourite songs about the unlawful killing of a person.

Sonic Youth sung about controversial themes regularly in their music.

The Curse of Millhaven – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

A large amount of Nick Cave’s work documents homicide and the like. In fact, the Aussie once released an album on the topic- 1996’s Murder Ballads. The Curse of Millhaven is Cave’s 7 minute long account of the tale of Loretta- a fourteen year old serial killer living in Millhaven, who kills the rich men, the poor men and even the professor’s terrier. Often cited as one of Cave’s finest and most sadistic tracks, The Curse Of Millhaven is a fast paced, yet slightly catchy ballad that cannot be overlooked by anyone.

The sleeve for Death Valley 69

Death Valley ’69 – Sonic Youth

Thurston Moore is a man of many interesting interests and fascinating fascinations, one of which being Charles Manson, and the Manson family. In Sonic Youth’s ’85 debut single, Moore writes about the Manson family’s brutal murder of Sharon Tate, wife of Roman Polanski. As well as Moore’s vicious snarls, the song features Lydia Lunch on backing vocals, whose blood curdling hollering creates a really sinister atmosphere. Although Death Valley ’69 is primitive compared to the group’s later work, it’s a must hear for anyone.

Sister Ray – The Velvet Underground

Although the earlier two songs are an account of unlawful death, the Velvets’ Sister Ray is a stunning depiction of the aftermath of a murder. Lou Reed once described Sister Ray as a story set at a New York house which stars eight different characters. In this, someone is murdered and no one does anything about it because everyone is off their face on smack and/or crack. The song is completely improvised and goes on for a visceral seventeen minutes- each second very necessary.

Rusholme Ruffians - The Smiths
The Smiths have never been afraid to sing about the darker aspects of miserable Manchester, and Rusholme Ruffians. This song is about a stabbing at a county fayre, according to Moz "only adds to the excitement". It's best heard on the Rank live LP, where it's featured in a medley with a cover of Presley's His Latest Flame. The song is also notable for Rourke's fantastic bassline, and Marr's country-inspired guitar playing. Definitely the highlight of the band's second album, Meat Is Murder.

The original artwork for Headache EP; it was swiftly replaced

Grinder – Big Black

Big Black, like Nick Cave, have written a large amount of songs about murder and other aspects of the darker side of American culture (listen to Jordan, Minnesota for more of that), so choosing a Big Black murder ballad was a bit of a toughie. In the end I went for Grinder, from the EP Headache (the EP itself has a mug shot of a shotgun suicide victim as its cover art, post-shooting). In Grinder, the character portrayed by Steve Albini’s snarling vocal is the murderer. Someone takes Albini’s tools, but fails to take his trusty grinder; this causes the murderer to pursue and kill the foolish thief in one of industrial-rock’s greatest songs. Elsewhere on the Headache EP, there are even more songs of a similar ilk, namely the brutal opener, My Disco; a song about a surgeon stamping his new-born to death. Genius.

Somebody Got Murdered – The Clash

An obvious choice, of course, but Somebody Got Murdered is one of the more overlooked Clash songs. Sandinista! was snuffed at by a large percentage of the music press upon release, because apparently 36 is a few too many songs for an album. Even though that might be slightly true, Sandanista! has some absolute crackers on it, namely Shepherd’s Delight, the Magnificent Seven and Somebody Got Murdered. Strummer wrote the latterly mentioned Somebody Got Murdered in disgust, after seeing the victim of a shooting’s carcass gracing the floor of a London car park. Strummer’s lyrics are incredibly powerful; especially “somebody’s dead forever” which once more proves his prowess as a songwriter. 

Maxwell’s Silver Hammer – The Beatles

Now, I’ll be the first person to admit that I’m not a huge fan of the Beatles. However, they did write some fantastic songs, and release some amazing albums. One of those fantastic songs is Maxwell’s Silver Hammer from the amazing Abbey Road. There is some debate over whether the silver hammer of Maxwell is about an actual murder, but personally I believe it is. Some say that it’s about sex, or drugs, or something of a similar ilk. But I believe that the incident in the song alludes to the murder of Joe Orton, the English playwright, who was beaten to death by his (male) lover with nine hammer blows to the head, which is quite the contrast to the upbeat sound of the song, don’t you think?

Let’s Lynch The Landlord – The Dead Kennedys

We’ve already had a song by the greatest punk band of all time on the countdown (The Clash), but the murder mixtape wouldn’t be complete without a song from the greatest post punk band of all time, would it? Let’s Lynch The Landlord is a track from the Dead Kennedys stunning debut album Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables which is much more humorous in joking about the homicide of Biafra’s bastard landlord than the aforementioned songs. Jello Biafra and co, with this song, have written another song about defying those that exploit the proletariats in the most extreme ways, and I have to say, it’s very catchy. Probably more catchy than it should be anyhow.

Liddle Towers

The Murder of Liddle Towers – Angelic Upstarts

In the late seventies, punk bands were popping up here there and everywhere. This was especially the case in London, as the city yielded the Clash, Sham 69 and of course the Angelic Upstarts. The Murder of Liddle Towers is a song based on; you guessed it, the murder of Liddle Towers. Liddle Towers was an amateur boxing coach murdered under police custody the year before AU’s conception.

Wave of Mutilation – Pixies

The Pixies song that lends itself to the name of their greatest hits is also, arguably, the closest thing they ever wrote to a murder ballad. The song is, probably, about a phenomenon in Japan where businessmen would drive their cars into the sea, with their families present. Despite this, it sounds every bit as serene as Where is my Mind? and lacks the ferocity of any of the work that Pixies released prior to Doolittle.

That concludes my somewhat gruesome post, which I probably should have made at Halloween or something, but I thought it might be of some sort of interest to a few people. Also it’s something I’ve wanted to do ever since I joined FIBLAR. Anyway, please post anything I’ve missed out in the comments, because I’d be really interested to hear from everyone else.

(written by Calum Cashin)

The 10 Best Album Artworks

The 10 best album artworks (in my opinion)

10) The Velvet Underground & Nico (by The Velvet Underground and Nico) The debut album, released in march 1967, with the iconic Warhol banana on the cover is loved by many people and is memorable for everybody. It has appeared in the Rolling Stone Magazine list at number 13 out of 500. It features the songs 'All Tomorrows Parties' and 'Sunday Morning' and other great songs.




9) Goo (Sonic Youth) The sixth studio album by Sonic Youth released in June 1990, is an illustration of two witnesses of the Moors Murders driving. It is known for the hit 'Kool Thing', 'Dissapearer' and dirty boots. A song I would recommend to check out off this album would be 'Dissappearer'.







8) London Calling (The Clash) The third album released by The Clash in December 1979. The artwork is a picture of bassist Paul Simonon smashing his bass guitar against the side of the stage at the Palladium in NY after a live performance. The album contains the songs 'London Calling', 'Clampdown' and 'Train In Vain'. My favourite is 'Lost in the Supermarket' because it's the slowest song.





7) The Smiths (The Smiths) The debut album was released in February 1984, has a picture of  American actor Joe Dallesandro's torso- a still from the film Flesh by Andy Warhol. In my opinion, this is the best album by The smiths and it reached no. 2 on the UK album chart in 1984. It contains the songs 'Reel Around The Fountain', 'Pretty Girls Make Graves', 'Hand in Glove' and 'What Difference Does it Make'.






6) Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin) The debut album was released in january 1969. The artwork is an image of the burning hindenburg airship. It is quite an iconic picture and most people would be able to name the album. It contains the song 'Good Times Bad Times / Communication Breakdown, which was also released as a single. My personal favourite off the album is 'Dazed and Confused'

5) News Of The World (Queen) Queen's sixth album, it was released in October 1977 and contained the hits 'We Will Rock You', 'We Are the Champions' and 'Spread Your Wings'. The image used for the artwork is a giant robot holding the dead bodies of the band drawn by sci-fi artist Frank Kelly Freas. The album went 2x platinum in the uk. 'It's late' is also a personal favourite from this album, which was also released as a single.




4)  The Rise and Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (David Bowie) The album artwork for this album is Bowie stepping out of a nightclub as his alter ego 'ziggy stardust' who could communicate as a messenger for aliens. It was released in June 1972, reaching number 5 in the british album charts. The songs 'Stardust', 'Rock n Roll Suicide' and 'Suffragette City' are the most notable on the album.




3) Abbey Road (The Beatles) The album was released in september 1969. The artwork is the iconic picture of the beatles crossing Abbey Road on the 8th of August 1969 and has neither a name nor title on the sleeve. Thealbum contains the memorable songs 'Yellow Submarine' and 'Let It Be', a personal favourite is 'Come Together' (how typical of me.)







2) Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd)
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album, released in March 1973. The artwork is a spectrum of light passing through a prism and is designed by Hipgnosis, some people say the artwork reflects Syd Barrett's mental state. The album contains the songs 'Money' and 'Time / Us and Them' with my favourite being Breathe, which is slow paced and lush.




1) Nevermind (Nirvana) Nevermind was released in September 1991. The artwork is a baby boy, alone underwater with a US dollar bill on a fish-hook just out of his reach. The idea was conceived when Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl watched a documentary about water births. The album includes the songs 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', 'Lithium' and 'Come as You Are', with my favourite being 'In Bloom'. 


Thanks for reading- Lydia (@itslydiahall)