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August Soundtrack

It's the August Soundtrack, with songs from Empara Mi, The Killers and Gabrielle Aplin.

May '17 Soundtrack

The monthly soundtrack is back with 10 tracks to get you through the day, including Lorde, HAUS, and Ravyn Lenae. 

Adele '25' Review

Hello. It's me, I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to read... my review of ADELE'S NEW ALBUM. YES YES YES!

'Hello' is, of course, the best known track from the album, but in the context of the album's narrative it's an intense and moving introduction to the next stage of Adele's life and musical career. It sets the theme, this being reflection on relationships and the past in general, yet successfully re-establishes place in the music industry. The track itself is truly emotive and powerful, although the opening lines are tender and careful which provides a nice contrast when that develops into the aforementioned emotional power of the song. I do believe that 'Hello' will remain one of Adele's most popular songs for years to come, and rightly so, as it's a brilliant song. 

'Send My Love (To Your New Lover)' manages to combine sass and strength in the best possible way. Upon first hearing the track, I wasn't too sure if it worked. After a few more listens, I warmed to it. I was surprised at the musical direction, the initial indecisiveness being that I was expecting ballad after ballad on this album, yet 'Send My Love' is upbeat and fresh. This works in the songs favour, while it could have easily been a ballad, it seems Adele wanted to show strength in this song, and does so successfully by adding some funk and sass. It's a great song, and could very easily be successful, however I feel it may take a few listeners some time to warm to it. 

'I Miss You' also surprised me, in a sense that it's sultriness was completely unexpected. I genuinely thought I had somehow started listening to a Beyoncé song instead of Adele until the vocals kicked in. Yet, again, Adele manages to give an abundance of emotion and sense of connection in this song, or perhaps a desire for connection in the case of this song.

Check that high note though, because 'When We Were Young' is one of the most touching and magnificent songs Adele has released. Adele has a way of intriguing you with a simple 5 seconds of introduction, and with this song especially you know that it's going to be that Adele song that makes you tear up. This is the epitome of reflection in this album, focusing on the glamorisation of young relationships, when actually, it's broken and painful to experience. Adele's vocals are at an all time high in this song, and it's easy to disregard the emotion she puts into this song. Take some time to listen to the lyrics, listen to her voice. It's awe-inspiring.

When I first heard 'Remedy', this was the song that got to me the most. The story Adele tells in the song is heart-breaking, it resonates with everyone. "When the pain cuts you deep, when the night keeps you from sleeping, just look and you will see I will be your remedy". How vulnerable are those lyrics? She's giving her time to help somebody, she wants to 'cure them'. It's something we all experience. The song itself is wonderfully produced, a simple piano, no backing vocals, a stripped-back Adele song that still manages to be poignant and contemplative. Adele really hits the mark with this song.

'Water Under The Bridge' is my favourite song from '25'. I went for a walk earlier (writing this on the day of release) and had this song on repeat for the entire 40 minutes. The song is epic, production-wise, lyrically, vocally, it's simply epic. The lyrics are sincerly heart-breaking - "don't pretend that you don't want me" being a prime example. The production on 'Water Under The Bridge' is deceptive, disguising the sadness of the song behind a fun and hip stylised song. Dare I say it, but this is in fact my favourite Adele song of all time, and easily has potential to become my favourite song in general if I don't overplay it due to loving it so much. Would it be weird to say that I'm actually thankful for this song, because it really is stunning. 

'River Lea' is slightly gospel-like which works in the songs favour, because it makes the song much more easy and comforting to listen to. It's a fun song, 'River Lea' manages to be empowering and defining for Adele in her new artistic direction. It's definitely a song not to be missed.

Similar to 'When We Were Young' and 'Remedy', my first impression of this song was that it was going to be a heartbreaking song. Perhaps this song has the potential to be ignored when placed against songs such as 'Water Under The Bridge' and 'Remedy', but it does deserve recognition for remnants to Adele's past music.

'Million Years Ago' is another stripped-back track on the album, with Adele's vocals being tender and almost considerate. Similar to 'Love In The Dark', my initial thoughts were that this song could be pushed aside for the 'bigger' songs on the album, but the reaction to 'Million Years Ago' on social media, Twitter especially, has glorified the song, which I found interesting. Perhaps a song doesn't need huge production to be a hit with the listeners, sometimes it's nice to sit back and listen to a stripped-back song (it'll still make you cry though).

While 'All I Ask' is another stripped-back song, it stands out on the album because of it's story. One last night with her lover - "what if I never love again", perhaps something that resonates strongly with listeners. I wouldn't know, personally, yet it still gets to me. The heartbreak heard so clearly in Adele's vocals have a huge impact on the song. 

How do you end an album about reflection and heartbreak? With 'Sweetest Devotion' of course, a song about the present. Adele's found happiness, and you can really hear that in this song. She's found her sweetest devotion, what Adele says is "the one that I belong to". 'Sweetest Devotion' is a fantastic way to end the album, and a reassuring confirmation from Adele that one can actually find happiness, three albums later. 

To summarise, '25' does well with reflecting on the past, the narrative of the album is set clearly from the offset which is pleasant. While some songs can be lost due to the strength of others, when put together the album is powerful and exceeds the high expectations it has had for two long years. Standout songs include 'Water Under The Bridge', 'When We Were Young' and 'Remedy'. Welcome back, Adele. 

5 stars

That's all for now.

Bye!

Totally Culture

Curtis

My July Soundtrack

Hello! Happy August! This post is a monthly feature on this blog, where I list 10 songs (and a few honorary ones) that I've been obsessed with the past month. Now that it's August, and the summer is here, I feel like this month is going to be good, I'm seeing a bunch of my friends this month for the last time before they all head off to University and I start my gap year (which so far has consisted of binge watching Arrow, Shrek, Harry Potter and Modern Family). Anyway, let's get started, July was a fairly 'chill' month, with a few parties in between including MY 18TH which was a tonne of fun. The music for July is fairly similar, with a relative 'summer' feel, but a bit more subdued, especially towards the end of July where it's just been raining non-stop.

1.Weathered - Jack Garratt

2. Gold Dust - Galantis

3. Glitterball - Sigma feat. Ella Henderson

4. Delilah - Florence + The Machine

5. Gold - Years & Years

6. Body Talk - Foxes

7. Revolution - Catey Shaw

8. Papercut - Zedd feat. Troye Sivan

9. Hideaway - KYKO

10. Tonight - Chasing Grace

Honorary Mentions

Running Wild - Prides

I Want To Love - Years & Years

Wings (Acoustic) - Birdy

The Hills - The Weeknd

These songs are great, they're either feel good or thought provoking, yet they're both fulfilling at the same time.

See you next time for a Doctor Who post!

BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

TotallyCulture

MY DREAM MUSICAL COLLABORATIONS

We've experienced many collaborations in musical past and present, from the likes of Charli XCX/Marina and the Diamonds' Just Desserts to Florence + the Machine/Dizzee Rascal's You've Got The Dirtee Love, as well as Elton John/Kiki Dee's Don't Go Breaking My Heart and Diana Ross/Lionel Richie's Endless Love. 

Yet, there are some collaborations we still don't have, and well, these next 5 hypothetical collaborations are what I'd like to see, no matter how likely or unlikely they are. 

1. Marina and the Diamonds/Florence + the Machine 

Florence and Marina are two hard-hitting musicians, and despite their slight difference in genre despite mostly maintaining an 'indie' vibe, I feel their collaboration would lead to great things. Heck, I'd even want a full album from the two together. If you have a quick browse on YouTube, there are many great fan-made 'mashups' of their songs. This is one I've been obsessed with for a while, however it's since been moved onto soundcloud, it works really well and their voices truly compliment each other. 

2. James Bay/Ed Sheeran

Just imagine all the soul and sheer emotion coming from a James Bay and Ed Sheeran collab. Oh THE FEELS I CAN'T EVEN. Sorry for going all tumblr fangirl on you, I truly am sorry. Anyway, James' album is probably one of my favourite albums of 2015, Ed Sheeran manages to release a hit after hit. This collaboration would do wonders. 

3. Taylor Swift/HAIM

Apparently they're friends? I don't know, they're never seen together at all (sarcasm intended). Imagine a song combining the likes of Taylor Swift's Bad Blood and HAIM's My Song 5, some hardcore rant-pop right there. Heck, I wouldn't mind if they collaborated, with either an intense track like Bad Blood/My Song 5 or perhaps an explosion of pop and disco with Shake It Off/If I Could Change Your Mind, ooh I can see myself dancing already. 

4. CHVRCHES/Years & Years

Imagine all that electro pop gold sparkling down onto your ears and BAMN instant fun and instant dancing (what did I just say). Here I imagine a track combining CHVRCHES' The Mother We Share with Years & Years' Shine. Oh how satisfying to imagine. Please, please, please let this happen. Now. I demand it. Give it to me. NOW. But seriously, I could see perhaps a 'VS' collaboration, similar to Bastille VS HAIM's Bite Down. The best of CHVRCHES VS the best of Years & Years. I'm already dancing thinking about it. 

5. Foxes/Bastille

Two of my favourites, Foxes, a singer, and Bastille, a band (Dan Smith, the lead singer pictured above), create these songs that are not only fun (for the most part, check out Count The Saints by Foxes and Oblivion by Bastille for some serious stuff) but also genuinely GOOD. It's not often we get music that is both nice to listen to and fun to dance to. Here, I would perhaps imagine a line between Foxes' Glorious and Bastille's Laura Palmer, to make a song that has a huge impact on young people and kind of have those 'hipster' vibes. Foxes also supported Bastille on tour, so you know, it could almost definitely happen. 

Anyway. That's all for now. Perhaps another time I will post another set of dream collaborations. Be sure to follow me on BlogLovin', Twitter, like my Facebook page or even subscribe to get email notifications every time I post a new blog post. A new blog post will be going up later in the week, be sure to check it out when it arrives!

TotallyCulture

TOP 10 INDIE SONGS #1

Hello! I thought I'd write about some songs that I've been listening to a lot recently. Some may not traditionally be classed as 'INDIE' but I've placed them in my indie playlist on Spotify because they have the same elements about them. I mostly found these songs from a wonderful YouTube music showcase channel called 'MorIndie'. 

MorIndie

oooh how tumblr

Anyway, here are 10 Indie/Alternative/Baroque songs that I'm currently in love with. 

1. Heartbeat - Satellite Stories 

2. Back To The Ordinary - Kid Astray

3. Holy Water - Laurel

4. Emily - San Fermin

5. Bones - Cash+David

6. Crusoe - Halcyon Drive

7. Human - Aquilo

8. Never Ends - Joel Ansett

9. Harps - Max and the Moon

10. Sunglassey - AKIINE

That's all

Bye for now

Geek Culture and Me

Curtis

MY THROWBACK PLAYLIST

HELLO

I'm feeling nostalgic today, so I thought I'd write a list of songs that are huge throwbacks. Some of these songs are even from 2010, but can we just consider that 2010 was 5 years ago, despite the fact it doesn't feel like it. In my terms, I'm 17 now, I was 12/13 in 2010. That's a hell of a throwback for me. Although, I guess it isn't really a throwback, how do you define throwback? I don't know. These are just songs that I remember vividly from my childhood.
Anyway, I'll include a link to a Spotify playlist I made with a whole lot more songs.

1. American Boy - Estelle feat. Kanye West

2. Beautiful Girls - Sean Kingston

3. Don't Stop The Music - Rihanna

4. I Gotta Feeling - The Black Eyed Peas

5. Breakaway - Kelly Clarkson

6. Low - Flo Ride feat. T-Pain

7. Reach - S Club 7

P.S.

8. Crazy - Gnarls Barkley

9. Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne

10. Hey Ya! - OutKast

Honorary Mentions

Fire Burning - Sean Kingston

Umbrella - Rihanna

Pure 'n' Simple - Hear'Say

Bye Bye Bye - NSync

Spotify Throwback Playlist
I'll add some more songs in due time.

That's all.

Bye for now.

Geek Culture and Me
Curtis

"You've forgiven my failures"

My January Soundtrack

Hello! 

So, I thought I'd do a monthly feature where I tell you the top 8 songs I've been listening to in the past month, as it's February, I'll be talking about January, and so forth. These songs weren't strictly released in January, but just what I'd been listening to.

Without further ado...

1. Ellie Goulding - Explosions

I adore this song, so very much. In fact, my final piece for my gcse art exam two years ago was based on this very song. I don't talk about that though, as it wasn't very good. It was an eye with flames inside, just throwing it out there.

2. Calvin Harris ft. HAIM - Pray To God

HAIM HAIM HAIM HAIM

3. Hillsong Young and Free - Pursue

4. Marina and the Diamonds - Happy

Progressive melancholy tone subduing slightly uplifting and motivational lyrics 

"I believe in possibility"

5. James Bay - Hold Back The River

6. Hozier - Take Me To Church

Of course. Who hasn't been listening to this song?

No, that was a serious question. Seriously, who hasn't? Confess.

7. Sia - Fire Meet Gasoline

9. Lykke Li - No Rest For The Wicked (Klangkarussel Remix)

Fair enough, the original is great, but I'm obsessed with this remix!

10. Matt Corby - Brother

This stripped back version of the song is everything good with the world. I adore it. 

Songs that didn't quite make the cut but I still listened to quite a bit

David Guetta ft. Emilé Sande - What I Did For Love

RY X - Berlin

Bring Me The Horizon - Drown

Laura Doggett - Old Faces

Kele - Doubt

Belle and Sebastian - The Party Line

Bastille VS HAIM - Bite Down

Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do

That's all.

Bye for now.

Geek Culture and Me

Curtis