A bell just rang in my head to remind me of this album and I threw myself into it immediately. Of course, I got immediately transported back to late 2016. Now pondering about how my life is in an opposite stage as it was back then, but at the same time it's the same. Back then I was starting my path in Hong Kong, and now (goodness willing) I am entering the final stage of it, ready to step into something new soon (the first step into vs the last step before getting out of). I was (not that) innocent back then, I already felt like an adult but I the experiences I've gone through in the past 4 years make me look back to that older me as "still a kid" (I am still innocent, as much as Britney). I was at the "beginning" of something then as I am now, with similar dreams and plans, but there is a world of difference in me and in the situations (young adult vs hair-losing adult). I wanted to find something stable back then as I do now, but I knew well that the stability I'd find back then would be temporary, while the one I look for now could be "forever" (unstable stability vs stable stability). The people I had in my life back then are still here as before, even if dynamics change; many others have come in the life rollercoaster, even if dynamics are often similar (same difference vs different sameness). Life happenings are similar now and then, but I feel like I was doing everything with much more passion back then, stronger feelings, more excitement, whereas now I appreciate routine more than ever (not that I didn't before) and I sometimes wonder where did most of the passion go. Maybe this stay-at-home 2020 has taken more life out of life than I realised. Hopefully it will teach me/us to appreciate the little things more, to get excited about nothing, to find passion in the routine (routine passion vs passionate routine). It feels like I was becoming an adult back then, and now I am in the process of becoming an adult again, just a next stage adult (again, young vs hair-losing). Weird feelings. Weird thoughts. Maturity is such a relative concept, when looking at the present vs the past. But songs that make me feel nostalgic always send me back to younger days. And I realise that in the end, even if everything is different, some things haven't changed much: I was not 2 shy to say it back then, I guess I am not now either.
When I started these last (and first) five posts of end-of-2018, I already had in mind the five songs I planned to post. And here I am, on the second day, already posting something I hadn't planned to. Well, this seems like a good example of how life seldom goes the way we plan, and how it's important to be able to adapt to the flow sometimes. It's been a few years since Florence released a new album until 'High as hope' came out this summer. It took me a while to appreciate the new music, but I ended up being sold on it. As it often happens with F+tM's music, it ended up growing on me and I listened to some of the songs more and more in the later months of this year. This is one of them, one that I held particularly dear around the end of summer, when I was going through my own end of love, my problematic New York summer (indirectly), my ghosting and my (figurative) jump off the balcony (please don't jump from the balcony for real!). As usual, Florence speaks my life better than I can, even before events unfold. Can't wait to see her again live next March, hoping that after the end of love that came with 2018, new love will sparkle in 2019!
I have been silent for a long time, but don't worry, the blog is not dead, not yet at least! My life is apparently getting busier and busier, and while this is most probably a good thing, as it means that I have a lot of things going on and good ways to spend my time, I can't help feeling a little disappointed that I barely ever find the time and energies to post here, especially given the amount of great music that is being released this year!! But here I am, after a very very busy period, I am trying to get a breath for a few days before diving again into work. I need to share with you the latest song shared by London Grammar off their upcoming album 'Truth is a beautiful thing', out in a few weeks, as it's probably my favourite among the four they released so far! I hope you enjoy it too and have a great week!!
You got the love (remix live) - The XX feat. Florence Welch
The first encounter I've had with The XX was in 2010 or 2011 when I approached their remix of one of my favourite songs ever, i.e. 'You got the love' by Florence + the Machine, and I was disgusted by that. That kept me far from them for a couple more years, when in 2013 I finally got close to them thanks to some friends' suggestions, and of course I could only regret letting so much time pass by without their music! Still, that 'You got the love' never met my taste, and I couldn't but be amazed about how two of my favourite bands could get together and create something that I found so hateful. The same feeling transferred through to my viewing of their live remix during the recent Night + Day event The XX organised in Brixton. Still, for how much the song didn't please me, their collaboration on the stage was magic, especially how Florence could remix her voice live even better than a DJ could do in a studio...! And that drew me to listen to the song again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And, well... I guess you understood by now what happened afterwards!
"You know it's real! I know, I know, You know it's real! Eh eh eh eh eh eh"
Lately been rediscovering some albums that have been in my iTunes for a long long time, and of which I had only devoted attention to one or a few songs. Annie's 'Songs of mass destruction' is one of those, and 'Dark road' has been indeed a favourite of mine since I was listening to it on the radio during my last high school years (10 years ago, jeez!!). It just felt right to share this now, even if at this time of my life I feel like finally I have been able to lead somebody through the dark road that leads to my house! Let's just say I worked hard to keep the door open all this time, and finally I've been repaid!
"It's a dark road
And a dark way that leads to my house
And the word says
You're never going to find me there
Oh no
I've got an open door
It didn't get there by itself It didn't get there by itself"
Hola my dear blog readers (if there's anybody of you left)!! I've been absent the longest time, and I am sorry about that, but my control over life is once again (and more and more) slipping through my fingers as more and more duties pile up on each other... My parents came to visit me in Hong Kong last week, their first time in East Asia, and it's been a pleasure to have them here, show them around and spend some time together, even if of course it's been challenging to try and keep up with school rhythm and everything too...! I have a couple big papers due by the end of the month and I have barely started working on them, as (school-related) housekeeping duties keep me busy week in and week out, and by devoting some time to the people who matter to me here in HK (a special one in particular) and to friends and family via Internet, eating, sleeping (poorly) and few more basic human needs, I keep on running out of time (and most of all of productivity). I keep needing a holiday, but I have to clench my teeth and keep it up until May at least!! Good thing is that this 2017 has been giving me a shitload of music satisfaction already, and I'm so sad I can't manage to share it all with you, but I'll give you as many little pills as I can! And apparently I gotta start from way back then, as I recently started listening to 'Bat for lashes' and I'm quite liking her! I think this song works perfectly for the working, semi-lazy, grey-sky Sunday I've just been spending! I hope it works well for the start of your new week too!! Hope to be back up here in a shorter time than last!
4 albums behind her, Amy's musical strength (and maybe also her weakness) is for sure coherence: her sound hasn't changed much in 10 years of career, and, I'll never get tired of repeating it, with the current state of the pop music industry, finding somebody who is true to her sound and didn't sell her music to "cheap beats" is always appreciable. Of course people might criticise her, as her songs sound similar to each other, and I don't think that's deniable, but it doesn't prevent me from appreciating all her work, including the newly released 'Under stars', out of which this is one of my first favourites!
Almost another week has gone by without me posting, and this time of my life is a really really busy one...! I will just spare a few minutes to share with you another song that London Grammar released (a while ago now) in anticipation of their forthcoming sophomore album. I must say I like 'Big picture' better than the previous "Rooting for you", and the video is also very beautiful! I hope you enjoy it and I also wish all of us a pleasant weekend!
Being obsessed with The XX today, I can't seem to stop listening to their new album's 2 bonus tracks ('Seasons run' & 'Naive') and to their absolute best 'Crystalised'. Given that I can't keep re-posting the same songs over and over again, I'll give you another gem off their debut album as for today's sundayrevival! A hellish rest of the month is about to being for me after a nice home-made sushi night with friends, so I don't know how often I'll have the time and energies to post here. I wish you the best second half of February before disappearing under the amount of work that is waiting for me!!!
Today has been a pretty cold day in Hong Kong according to the local weather forecast, but for how chilly and annoying a humid temperature of 12°C can be, I dare say that local people here don't know what real winter means. I can understand now why most of them hate the heat and the sunlight... Anyway, even if the day has actually been chilly, we didn't get down to have only 4 degrees (even if what Anohni refers to in her song is a change in world climate due to global warming). For how much I hate cold, global warming is a problem we should all pay attention to, so let's try to make an effort and be a little more respectful towards our planet and the future generations.
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)
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!!
2017 started with a musical boom, which took me almost a month to post, but finally here I am! London Grammar are about to release a new album in the coming weeks, and they previewed this song recorded live, which I also had the pleasure to listen to at Clockeflap a couple months ago. I still need to get into it completely, but I like the style, which is very London Grammar still, even more minimal if possible, so I'm very curious to listen to the rest of the new materials that are coming!!!
Now I'm getting ready for the next new year, which is gonna be in just a couple of days: Hong Kong and the whole of South East Asia are getting ready for the lunar new year, and so am I!
Hello my dears, I am back from a 2-day trip to Guangzhou/Canton with friends, first time to Mainland China, super tiring but worth it! After a Sunday of morning rest, afternoon work and dinner out, I am ready to start a new week (am I?)! The year of cock, so let's also get ready for this Chinese New Year!! I'll leave you with a perfect tune for a chill end of the week, with vocals by Sia. Hope you enjoy!
After a disappointing 2016, 2017 kicked off with a good start already. One of the reasons is Amy, who is coming out with a new album this year. Maybe over the years she failed to remain relevant to the international/European pop/rock scene, especially by failing to keep up with her huge debut 'This is the life', but one thing I really appreciate about her is that she hasn't changed her music recipe much over her first 10 years of career, remaining loyal to her folk-rock classic ballad style. One could say that her songs all sound alike, and I could buy that argument. I wouldn't go as far as saying this is a bad thing though, especially at a time like this when pop has become very much "electronified" and synthesised, with a lot of singers (and songs) sounding exactly like each other because of auto-tuning and heavy production. I am always happy when I realise that artists I like keep on doing what made me like them. Go on like this Amy!
Moonlight shadow - Mike Oldfield feat. Maggie Reilly
I'm gonna kick off sundayrevival 2017 with an 80s favourite of many of you out there, a song that I suppose most of you will know and many of you would have no problem in singing at a karaoke night, rather...! Even if it's almost 10 years older than I am, I know it quite well too and have known it for quite a long time, even if I only re-discovered it very recently. It's the oldest addition to my first 2017 playlist, so I thought you might wanna go back in time a little too! Enjoy!
I didn't start this 2017 much better than I left off 2016 on the blog, so I will try to make it up at least today! The new year kicked off being social and lazy for me, both things not being beneficial either to my studies or to any other commitments I might have taken, including the blog... so today, mostly out of guilt, I tried to put my down and read some papers, trying to turn things around. It's been going quite ok, also thanks to the fact that my nth sore throat + fever is getting better and so, being forced at home with a relatively clear mind, I took advantage of the good chance I had to work. And to write on the blog too, of course! It's hard to feel these days as winter days, with temperatures outside constantly over 20°C, but I found myself in a winter mood this afternoon and put on some Dido, so I'm going to share with you one of my favourites out of her latest studio album!
Some interesting new music has already been released in these few days of 2017 so stay tuned and be patient, I'll get to share it with you soon!!
Hey my dears, I have been away from the blog for the longest time (again), my life has taken me on a rollercoaster once again! A very intense final week in Hong Kong, enjoying time there and taking exams, then a super long flight back to Italy, a trip to Milan and here I am back home...! Since Singapore 10 days went by literally in the blink of an eye, but I guess I can't complain, also as I have been running on home and enjoying all the Italian things I had missed! 2016 has been a full year, the fullest I can remember probably, and with all the highs and lows, I really can't complain about how it went by, even if it kept me away from the blog as never before. I'll be back soon with the wrap-up of this year in music, another daunting task!!
Here I am, back to my beloved blog after one week of absence! Well, half of this absence has been justified by the breaking down of the modem at home, which left me with no comfortable Wi-Fi access, but I have also been relatively busy, partly planning for this weekend's getaway! I am finally taking my ass out of Hong Kong for the first time since I came here, and it was about time, right before going back home for xmas! My life is of course still relatively messy (and interesting), but filled with indecision, as usual. I hope I'll figure out things over the change of year, as if that could bring fresh air into one person's life...!
Toughest day, wasn't it today? Super tough, loads of rain pouring down form the sky with more or less strength but with absolutely no break whatsoever! Welcome to Hong Kong, the Britain of Asia! Pairs of wet socks at the end of the day: 4. Pairs of wet shoes at the end of the day: 2. New pairs of socks: 3. New pairs of shoes: 1. Soaked bones: 206. Was it worth it? Well... yes. Jose Gonzalez in the afternoon has been great!! London Grammar at night has been good but not as much, mostly "thanks to" drunk & high British teenagers everywhere and the multitude of umbrellas between my eyes and the set. All in all, tough day. Worth it? Yes. Would do it again? Well... the last of the festival is tomorrow!
