Seasons run - The XX

After listening to the first few songs of the new XX album, I felt disappointed and a bit frustrated by the fact that they had sold themselves to the cheap, mainstream electronic beats, guided by Jamie and his experimentation. I missed the intimate atmospheres created by their former songs, and luckily I found them again starting from the middle of the album ('Performance' saved my opinion of it during the first listen, it dragged me out of the deep waters I had fallen into). Now I have made my peace with the whole of it and I am starting to appreciate it as a whole, but I still love more the tracks that carry a stronger "The XX" signature. This bonus track is one of them and is quickly becoming a new favourite of mine!! (PS: Click on the image caption for a link to the song)

Seasons run - The XX

Conductor - Florence + the Machine

Conductor - Florence + the Machine

After an almost sleepless night yesterday, last night I finally made it up with about 12 hours of sleep and I woke up in this new year of the rooster (or cock, as one wishes..!) and checking Facebook, I saw a post by a fanclub that left me with Third eye's lyrics in mind. It's been a while since I gave a proper listen to Florence, so I really am not minding this start of day big, blue and beautiful! Hoping she will give me the right energy to start this lunar new year in the best way possible, even if for now the feeling I get is the one of being out of place and far from home when everybody else is celebrating... gotta put myself to study before melancholia gets the best of me!!

The unknown - Imagine Dragons

The unknown - Imagine Dragons

When I recently purchased the deluxe CD version of 'Smoke + Mirrors' on Amazon, on it I found this song that I didn't know before. I guess that the concept of unknown applies quite fittingly to my present life. I'm ready to take my next leap of faith in less than a year (finally) and I can't wait any longer now! Even if I have greatly enjoyed these past months of me-time, it's time to jump into the unknown once more!

Fist-fighting a sandstorm - Sia

Fist-fighting a sandstorm - Sia

There happen to be many times in our lives when we just keep trying to do things we already know we can't do, and even if miracles exist, they don't happen often. Letting go of something that isn't working for you is sometimes hard, but when you finally realise that you need to cut it, when that switch clicks in your head, there's just one thing to do: stop trying to make it work and turn the page. Fist-fighting sandstorms... we all did and will do that at one point, so the lesson to learn is that you need to stop doing it as soon as you realise you ARE indeed trying to punch flying sand. Don't be afraid of change, as the feeling of getting rid of something that makes you feel bad is one of the best feelings in the world!

How big, how blue, how beautiful (demo) - Florence + the Machine

"Between a crucifix and a Hollywood sign we decided to get hurt..."

How big, how blue, how beautiful (demo) -
Florence + the Machine

As you might have noticed (or maybe not), I have been quite obsessed with Florence + the Machine in the past week (well, let's say for the in the last 5 years...!), meaning that I have practically only been listening to their new album HBHBHB, more in particular to two songs on it in repeat. One of them is Delilah, which I have already posted and which is likely going on to become my favourite song of the year. The other one is this beautiful (and big and blue) thing I'm posting, that is the demo version of the title track. Don't mistake me, I have been mumbling "how big, how blue, how beautiful..." since the first promo video came out in February, and I love the original/album version. Yet this demo has something in it that I can't describe but that helped me connect with it at a more immediately reachable (but not superficial) level. I don't know, maybe by being a demo it has that kind of raw and undefined strength that catches you at the beginning and (maybe) is not able to keep you caught for long. Well... I'm gonna enjoy it while it lasts! Anyway I have just one thing I wanna say about this album: How Big, How Blue, How BEAUTIFUL.

PS: The first lyric of this song is just genius, it kills me every time!