Dark road - Annie Lennox

Dark road - Annie Lennox

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"

#sundayrevival A whiter shade of pale - Annie Lennox

A whiter shade of pale - Annie Lennox

My goodness, I thought I had posted a couple days ago instead... it was just last month! Time is flying by so fast in these days!! I have finally moved to my new apartment, which is (potentially) quite nice, though there are still a few things that need to be put in order (by the landlord)...! In the last couple of days (or even more than a couple, I can't even tell now) I have been strolling around the city to get stuff for the house, and I'm quite good as of now, just missing a few things in the kitchen (cutlery and dishes mostly) to be finally ready for a serious food shopping and to put an end to eating out (which has going on for... almost a month now)!! Can't wait to do that, but then tomorrow is Monday and lectures are starting for real, so it's gonna be even harder to find the time to do everything! I'm doing my best but I'm feeling a bit worn out now, I would need some rest, while it's gonna get even harder in the near future I guess! Again, I'll keep it up and give it my best! Forgive me if I'm not taking good care of the blog as of now, I hope I'll be able to create my routine soon and to find time for it with more regularity. In the meanwhile enjoy this great cover by Annie Lennox which describes perfectly the colour of the Hong Kong sky 90% of the time I've been here!

#yearinmusic A song or two per day - Best song of 2015

Happy new year, you all people who follow the Gregorian calendar! I hope this 2016 will bring you (and us all) joy, happy moments and even more great music than last year!

Best song 2015

Here I am once again giving the last look back at this beautiful 2015 in music, this time looking at singles / songs. And this time too, there has been no contest. This past year was the time when I reached 100 plays for the first and only of all the songs that I started listening to from 2012 on, i.e. The XX's 'Crystalized' (which I started listening to in 2013). A few days later I reached 100 plays for a song that was released in mid-2015. And that is my song o the year, without ANY doubt. I'm talking about Florence + the Machine of course, and the song is 'Delilah', a beautiful masterpiece off their new album. I have fallen in love with this song immediately after it's been released, a few days before the whole album came out last June. I have no words to describe just how strong the connection with this song is and how quickly it built up. I will just give it its well deserved 1st place and go on!

Runner-ups (Best song 2015)

I decided to make a ranking of the best 10 songs of 2015 because there have been soo many great
ones! Some of them were released in (late) 2014, but they are all pretty recent!


10 - Mountain at my gates (Foals)
9 - I put a spell on you (Annie Lennox)
8 - Failure (The Ting Tings)
7 - The blackest day (Lana del Rey)
6 - Queen of peace (Florence + the Machine)
5 - Dream (Imagine Dragons)
4 - How big, how blue, how beautiful (Florence + the Machine)
3 - I'm so sorry (Imagine Dragons)
2 - London thunder (Foals)
1 - Delilah (Florence + the Machine)

I hope you can somehow relate to this ranking, please comment with your personal favourites of this past year!! I'll be back soon!

#sundayrevival Thin line between love and hate - Annie Lennox

Thin line between love and hate -
Annie Lennox

My dear friend B., who I mentioned multiple times on the blog, is about to sing a song at an event with one of her singer friends and she wanted to sing something by Annie, so she asked me if I could suggest some song she could sing. In the end, I think she decided to cover something by the Beatles, but I ended up stuck with Annie for a few days anyway! And so, I am taking this chance to post yet another song out her (most beloved by me) cover album 'Medusa', which reminds me of my Easter 2012 in Toronto every time I listen to it. Can't wait to be back in that magic city (maybe not in winter!), for the time being I'll just cherish my memories and wish you a great end of the week!

Jackie and Wilson - Hozier

Jackie and Wilson - Hozier

Hozier + Annie Lennox @ Grammys... I mean, wow! Did you watch their performance? I was amazed, had to watch it two times to recover from the emotional blow but... wow! Crazy intense! Unfortunately I haven't found a decent quality video recording of it available on the web yet, but... wow! Really, after a few hours I still haven't recovered! I'm more and more sad that Annie isn't touring anymore because of problems with stressing her voice, I would have loved to see her live!! And Hozier, so peaceful but resolute, almost eaten out by Annie's power but working as a perfect and complementary element... almost like a bass in a band! Wow... I can't stop being amazed by the power of this performance!
I've actually been willing to listen to Hozier's album since this morning, when my wake up call (his song Angel of small death and the Codeine scene) rang... I'm doing it just now, but with a more special feeling in my heart! It's so peculiar that I've been listening to his album and Annie's latest practically together and then they've performed together at the Grammys! And what a performance!! What I'm sharing with you is a song I put in my current playlist, actually one that I am greatly enjoying these days, it's called Jackie and Wilson, I hope you enjoy!

I put a spell on you - Annie Lennox

I put a spell on you - Annie Lennox

Uff, this morning's been tough, I woke up like 5 or 6 times with my throat and mouth totally dry, never happened to me! After this harsh beginning things got better and I ended up feeling kinda better than yesterday, even if my nose and head are totally blocked! Really, I've never had anything like that, not that I can remember! It really feels like somebody put a spell on me... not the kind that Annie Lennox is singing about I guess!

I can dream, can't I? - Annie Lennox

I can dream, can't I? - Annie Lennox

It's so very hard to find good songs to post during the holiday break, I'm doing my best! I started listening to Annie's latest work, Nostalgia, just before xmas and I found it pleasing and enjoyable for now, with no particular emotional peaks, but still pleasing. Besides eating like a pig, lately I have been playing around with my new smartphone that I got as a graduation gift. I downloaded a few apps and among them a couple of dating apps. I'll tell you that my experience with those things in the past has been far from satisfying and enjoyable, as it seems that asking to meet somebody face to face before taking any further step is not a very popular way of behaving... anyway, after bitter disappointments every time, I get a long break and then usually try again, especially when I have quite a bit of free time in my hands, such as now. So I'll keep dreaming that some day I'm gonna be able to finally meet somebody for real, can't I?

Train in vain - Annie Lennox

Train in vain - Annie Lennox

This morning I drove down to Milan with my mum, I had to come down today and she needed to be here in the morning to sign her contract as a school director, so I woke up early to make the trip together. It's always hard picking music when some relatives are in the car, but last night the Annie Lennox idea came to my mind and it seemed a good one, it indeed worked! I am also training myself on a new song with the harmonica, Eurythmics' There must be an angel, so that is probably how I got the inspiration and the Lennox-mood! I think my favourite album of her solo career is Medusa, which is actually a collection of covers. Funny fact is that I ended up knowing many of the songs as sung by the original artists in other ways! Still love Annie's versions better most of the time!

Take me to the river - Annie Lennox

Take me to the river - Annie Lennox

Hello guys and girls! Our Dubrovnik holiday has finally completely set off and we started enjoying the local beauties and perks: yesterday we had a walk in the area close to our apartment towards the sea and I took a short bath in the sea, while today we had a small cruise to three small islands close to the city, the best of which is called Lopud. We enjoyed our time in one of the few sandy beaches of Croatia there and I bathed again. One issue of the whole trip is being the weather: after a sunny and exceedingly hot day yesterday, today we got quite crappy weather, which was ok in terms of survival but not best in terms of beauty... After a mixed start of the trip, rain started to pour down in small (and then bigger) drops, up to the point when we stopped enjoying the whole exploring thing. The worst part of it all is that according to the forecast we're gonna have 3 more crappy days from tomorrow to the end of our journey here, so no good news... let's hope that things are gonna turn for the best! We're not letting our spirits down anyway, we just came back from a very nice pizzeria where we ate very well and, while there, we got this song on the radio, which makes it a great occasion for me to post it here too! It's one of my favourites out her covers album Medusa, I'm sure you'll enjoy!

Don't let it bring you down - Neil Young + Annie Lennox

Don't let it bring you down -
Annie Lennox

Don't let it bring you down -
Annie Lennox

In this stormy thursday I'm starting to post a song outside from my playlist. Last night, after a weird day, I was having a bit of a sad moment and I went back to listen to some of my best songs of last year's playlists and I got (Neil Young's original version of) the song after a couple of others and it made perfect sense, especially regarding the thoughts that were crossing my mind.

Don't let it bring you down, it's only castles burning,

Just find someone who's turning and you will come around.

It made so much sense that I decided already I would post it and here it is! This morning I started listening to it again and then I reverted to Annie Lennox's cover and I ended up listening to her whole album Medusa. Thus I didn't know which version to post and, well... I'm posting them both! Choose the one you prefer or, even better, listen to them both!

#sundayrevival : Little bird - Annie Lennox

Hey guys, second sunday with a #sundayrevival themed post! The song of today has been ready in my mind for at least a couple of days! While taking a shower I played an April 2012 playlist that I used to listen to (also) when I was in Toronto on Easter of that year. In particular there are a couple of songs on that playlist that instantly bring me back memories of that awesome trip and one of them is of course this. I remember vividly walking down Church street from my hotel to the lakefront listening to Annie Lennox. Awesome.

There must be an angel (playing with my heart) - Eurythmics

Today's inspiration came from under the shower: I was listening to the playlist of a CD I burned a a few Xmases ago for my friends (I know, November's just begun, but it's never too early for Xmas!). And suddenly, as soon as I started going da-da-bee-doo-be-da-boo-da aaaah aaah, I realised it was a good pick for my blog. I don't think I have to introduce you to one of the greatest rock voices of the late 20th century, Ms. Annie Lennox, nor to one of the Eurythmics' best-known successes, so enjoy your sunday night!