Listen! To Me. To These, and To Each Other

Don't question the blog title please, I've had four cans of red bull in the last ten minutes. This is not an exaggeration.

I've decided to do another one of these "ten songs I like". Because, well, quite frankly, because I want to.

#10: Starstrukk (ft. Katy Perry) - 3OH!3
from the album: yet to be released

I love this song. It's fun and jumpy and a bit flirty, and exactly what you'd expect from 3OH!3 Plus, Katy Perry's vocals are incredible, and made me smile! After seeing these guys live in February, I'm seriously loving them!

#9: Lose You: Pete Yorn
from the album: musicforthemorningafter

I heard this song played in an episode of 'House' and thought it was just beautiful. It's powerful and emotional, and I guess it will always have that with me, because of the association of the incredibly sad scene it went hand in hand with. This song has a simple quality to it, that I love!

#8: Check Yes Juliet: We The Kings
from the album: We The Kings

A friend of mine sent me this song a few days ago, and I absolutely love it! I can't really explain why, it just has a really good sound, and everything flows, and fits perfectly! I'd also suggest you listen to the Hey Monday cover, which is also brilliant.

#7: We Are Broken - Paramore
from the album: Riot!

I'm going to say right here, that I've said in the past that I don't like Paramore, and have recently realised just how wrong I was. Hayley Williams has an incredible voice, and this song is just beautiful, and Hayley really shines on it.

#6: Edge Of Seventeen - Stevie Nicks
from the album: Bella Donna

I love everything about this song. I love the opening riff, I love Stevie Nicks' voice, and I love what it represents! I also love the story behind the title (it's all accent related, google it!) I also love that it reminds me of one of my favourite scenes in School of Rock!

#5: First Train Home - Imogen Heap
from the album: Ellipse

I actually want to recommend this entire album, because it's completely incredible! I've been waiting for Ellipse for a while, and was not disappointed! I'd have to say this is my favourite song from the album, at the moment! I like all the different sections, and I just love Imogen's voice!

#4: Candles - Hey Monday
from the album: Hold On Tight

Hey Monday have very quickly become one of my favourite bands, to the extent of buying tickets to see them only a week after first hearing them. Cassadee has such an incredible voice, and that's so clear on this song! I'd also suggest you find her acoustic version on Youtube!

#3: Cup of Coffee - Katy Perry
from the album: unreleased

This is one of the Katy Perry songs I have that is not on her 'One Of The Boys' album, or on any album, but is incredible. I absolutely love song, and the way the lyrics and music are completely opposite, yet they gel. I love the story the song tells, and just... everything about it!

#2: Dance With Me - Uh Huh Her
from the album: Common Reaction

Uh Huh Her's album is finally out in the UK, people! Of course, I've had it for a year, but it's finally out! So I'm putting this song on my list to celebrate! This is my favourite song from the album. I love the lyrics, and that they make much more sense on your second listen. I love Camila's voice, and I love how much they love what they do!

#1: Run Baby Run - Garbage
from the album: Bleed Like Me

I genuinely sat here for ten minutes trying to think of which Garbage song to suggest this week! If I could be bothered, I would tell you why I love each and every one of the 98 Garbage songs I have on my iTunes. (Not to mention solo Shirley!) I eventually went with this one, because I absolutely love everything about it. The vocals are perfect, the music is perfect, the lyrics are perfect, and the video is one of their best (Google Sophie Muller, she's a genius.) So listen to it, watch the video, and love it!


Until the next time, be safe, be cool, listen to good music, and if you have any recommendations for me, let me know!

An actual Love of the Week, after all this time!

More like 'Love of my Life' actually, but I guess that limiting it to a week will have to do.

It wont have all the usual categories, because I can't be bothered to write them, but I'm just going to tell you all why I absolutely adore the wonderful and talented and perfect, Ms Shirley Ann Manson. More importantly, I'm going to make you realise why you should as well. At least, that's the goal.

If you don't know, then Shirley Manson is a singer, probably best known as the lead vocalist for the rock group Garbage. Before Garbage, Shirley was in the band Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie, and their side project Angelfish (I truly adore Angelfish). She also made her acting debut as a T100-1 in the show Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles which, unfortunately (and stupidly) was cancelled in April of this year.

Shirley is quite frankly, one of my favourite people in the universe, and I honestly think that if I ever met her, I would literally be speechless.

I'm listening to Garbage as I write this, and every time I hear anything by this band, it's like a new reminder as to why their music means so much to me. It's so clear how much these four care about the quality of music they produce. They want to enjoy it and be proud of it, and they want their fans to enjoy it.
My favourite thing about the band, and about Shirley herself, is that nothing is done for the media. Nothing is done to please other people. If you don't like Garbage's music, they're not going to lose any sleep about it. If you don't like Shirley, she knows that there are plenty of people who do.

One thing that really drew me to Garbage is the heart. The lyrics quite clearly come from somewhere deep. These are feelings, emotions and memories that can finally be shared through the medium of music. These are the kind of truths that people just don't share. These are things that people wish they could say, and Garbage have basically just thought "well, we want to say it, so fuck it, let's say it".
After a while, you start to realise that when you hear this emotion and this "wow" factor, the heart is not metaphorial. These lyrics come from the actual, beating, pumping heart of Shirley Manson. These emotions are hers, the painful memories and the emotional (and physical) scars are all hers. This, is why I truly admire her.

I realise that it sounds like Shirley Manson is the most depressing person on the planet, but she's not. This is the balance that makes her so brilliant. She's an incredibly free person, who likes to write songs about sex and has been known to wear clothing showing cartoon pictures of men masturbating.


To top it all off, she loves the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, is friends with Gwen Stefani, Debbie Harry and Chrissie Hynde, has appeared on Chelsea Lately, where she made fun of the Jonas Brothers, her voice has the ability to make me cry, she is completely honest about herself, and refuses to hold back her feelings, which she often shares in blogs on her Facebook page, and she is absolutely drop dead gorgeous. Oh, and her dog's name is a Harry Potter reference! Like there wasn't enough reasons to love her!

Rumour has it that Garbage are working on new material, and if they are, it will honestly be the highlight of my life so far. Fans will know that Shirley's record label decided not to release her solo album on account of it being 'too noir'. The demo that she posted on Facebook, quite simply makes me want more! She's done a few small collaborations over the past few years, including providing the 'sultry vocals' on Queens of the Stone Age song, "You Got A Killer Scene There, Man". She also appeared with No Doubt on their recent tour, coming on stage to sing their cover of Adam & The Ant's "Stand and Deliver".

I hope you actually watched that, because I promise you that when I found it, it made a brilliant day even better.

Right, I'm rambling now, so I'll stop, but basically, Shirley is an incredible vocalist, and is just generally an incredible person. I really hope to see more of her, musically, soon! The 98 Garbage, and 2 solo songs that I have, just don't seem to be enough for me anymore.



Recommended Garbage songs: Can't Cry These Tears (has a really incredible 50s/60s feel to it), Vow, Betcha, Sex Is Not The Enemy, All The Good In This Life, Get Busy With The Fizzy and Thirteen (a cover, but beautiful).

Until next week, I'll leave you with that. Oh, and her demo In The Snow can be found on YouTube, or on her official Facebook page. I love it, it's worth a listen just for that.

A BRAND NEW BLOG!

It's been forever!

This week, I'm going to share with you, my 10 favourite songs of the week!

That makes it seem like they're all newly released songs, which I can promise you that they're not... necessarily.

#10 Stolen - Dashboard Confessional
I am completely in love with this song. I want to point out right now, that I am talking about the original version, not the version where they dueted with that girl (I can't remember her name). Love songs have much more meaning from one perspective, in my opinion. Adding in a 'I sing, you sing' routine adds nothing but cheesiness.
This song is full of so much feeling, and the music and lyrics are equally perfect. I absolutely love it!

#9 So Far We Are - The French Kicks
This one just has a really original sound, and the lead singer's voice is my new found love. I don't know if it possible to be in love with a voice, but I think I am. Somehow, when I listen to this song, I can just hear that these guys care about their music, and care about their lyrics, and that adds a whole new level to this song.

#8 Mr Brightside - Tommy Reilly
I absolutely love the original version of this song, but his version brought a new meaning, a new level and a new understanding for me. He actually brought Alex James to tears when he performed this, and I just think he's an genius.

#7 I Am Not A Robot - Marina And The Diamonds
The unplugged version if you can get it.
There are a lot of female artists around at the moment, and they all have a similar feel. I'm not going to tell you that Marina's really different, because honestly, she's not. I love this song though, and the unplugged is even better, because somehow it makes me actually listen to the lyrics, and appreciate them.

#6 Tiffany Blews - Fall Out Boy
I really tried to convince myself that I didn't like Fall Out Boy's new album. It worked too, until I heard this song, and I instantly thought it was awesome. When I really think about it, I can't pinpoint why I love it. Maybe it's the slightly odd lyrics, maybe it's the typically Fall Out Boy music, or maybe it's because I have a unhealthy love for Patrick Stump. All I know is that I love it, and it has some brilliant lines!

#5 Nowhere With You - Joel Plaskett
Where do I even start with this song? I've loved it for so long now that I can't even remember how I discovered it. Oh wait... I just did. Ah well. Basically, I think this song and I think it's really cute! There's not a lot more to say to that!

#4 I'm Still Breathing - Katy Perry
I had so much difficulty picking a Katy Perry song! I love them all, literally. This one I like because it's very different to everything else on her album, it's slow, and kind of sad, and packs so much emotion! I think this song may have literally saved my life last year, no matter how pathetic or "emo" that makes me sound.

#3 Hot Mess - Cobra Starship
It's no secret that I would happily marry any member of Cobra Starship in a second, if they were to ask me. I doubt it would happen, but keep your fingers crossed for me! I couldn't decide which song to pick because they're all so fucking brilliant, but I picked this one because it makes me smile a whole lot. It's the title track off the new album (which is coming very soon!) and I absolutely love everything about it.

#2 In The Snow - Shirley Manson
I've been listening to this non-stop since she posted it on her facebook page a few months ago. It's just a writing demo, but it's exactly what I was hoping I would get from her solo stuff. If you don't know, Shirley's the lead singer of Garbage, who just happen to be my favourite band ever, and when they went on hiatus, Shirley worked on this demo with her friend. The lyrics and music don't seem like they should fit, and a lot of people have complained about that, but honestly, I love every little thing about this song.

#1 I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
This wont surprise anyone who's spent time with me in the past week or two. I am absolutely obsessed with this song. It was on twice at a party I went to on Friday, and the first time I gasped, and the second, I very loudly shouted every word. It's repetitive and ridiculous, yes, but absolutely awesome. Plus, I can't even talk about how I feel about Will.i.am, I have actual emotional problems when it comes to how much I love that man!

So there you go, the songs I'm listening to a lot this week. No doubt they'll be the same next week, only with a few more thrown in.
Next week's blog will be better than this one, I promise. At least, I half promise.

Extra recommendations: Holly Miranda, Jenny Owen Youngs & Ida Maria