Loving: Shura

It's a rare occurrence when I find a musician I really like. I don't mean for that to sound ostentatious, because it's my own fault really – I'm not very good at seeking out music, I don't really get it, I just want someone to show me where all the good stuff is hiding. So when I do discover music I like, it's music I really like, and recently I have been loving one particular new(ish) artist.

Shura.

I almost ran to my car after work. It was dark and the whirring sound of the stand alone flood light filled the desolate building site with a harsh whiteness. When I was inside I was ok, and I put the radio on, even though it's rubbish after 6. None of us like working lates, and I only had... twelve hours til work again.

Still, at least the roads were quiet. Such an old person thing to be happy about. I'm an old person now. I'm a grown up, driving home from work.

It was some southern accent talking 'like' and 'um' on someone's show on Radio 1. I don't remember who. But they began describing a song they had picked to play. It was described as like seeing an ex boyfriend or girlfriend after a long time, and feeling that forgotten, familiar pang of... something, like it had never really gone away, only hidden, and back in your face again it was there – as raw as it was when you said goodbye.

Then they played the song. The song was Touch by Shura, and everything that was said was true, and I fell in love with the song, not because it made me think of my own experiences, but because it was a beautiful song on its own – I forgot all about the initial memories that came to mind when the lyrics came out of the speakers for the first time. I drove home repeating the words Shura, Touch, Shura, Touch, Shura Touch, to make sure I didn't forget. But I couldn't. It made its way into the cove of my mind where few songs rarely reach – where only the best songs go, the ones that really touch me.

Loving: Tegan and Sara

Source

Good old Myspace; remember the days when the number of picture comments (pc4pc???) determined how popular and, essentially, add-worthy you were? Yep, side fringes that were a seemingly timeless hairstyle and selfies (before they were named selfies) all originated from us Myspace kids. It really was a place for friends, and relationship statuses that were just as important back in 2006 as they are today...

Now that Facebook has well and truly established its ruling over all the social media sites, Myspace has kind of fizzled into an embarrassing record that's been playing a bit too long, and a big part of me wishes it would just give up already and accept defeat. However, I still maintain that it was the one and only back in the days of angsty teenage romances. I used to love designing my layout and learning HTML, posting those quizzes via the bulletin board that no one ever read, and logging in to find I had new messages, comments, picture comments AND friend requests.

But I digress. The reason why I am reflecting on my teenage years which were for a large part, admittedly, spent on such social networking sites, is because Myspace is where I discovered Tegan and Sara, my favourite musical artists.

It was through a girl's profile song that I found the band that captured and held my attention for the next six years. The sound of Nineteen was like nothing I had ever heard before, and every time I listen to it, it feels like the first time.

I was fifteen and had recently been diagnosed with Crohn's disease. There was something about this song. Something about Tegan and Sara; I had to listen to more, so I downloaded as much of their music as I could find and popped it onto my iPod. My mum and I were driving to Birmingham that weekend to pick up my sister for the Christmas holidays, and for the hour and a half car journey I listened to about twenty different tracks, loving every single one of them.

My taste in music has changed a fair bit over the years, but my love for Tegan and Sara has remained constant. They have always been number one for me. I can't put my finger on what it is that doesn't get tired. Perhaps it is their somewhat nonsensical but refreshingly honest lyrics and unique melodies, but as they have recently changed to suit a wider, more varied audience, their music has become a little more generic and plain which I do find disappointing. I definitely prefer their older work, but people change and develop and they will go where they will go.

Last year, when I found out that Tegan and Sara would be supporting The Killers on their UK tour, I had to get tickets. I was ecstatic when I did. I played their music every day before I went to see them, and even tracked down the set list they would be playing so I could listen to each song in order, imagining seeing them live for the first time. A few weeks later, I found out they were doing their own tour - and of course I had to get tickets for that too. My then boyfriend accompanied me on both trips and took all of the photos above while I stood and stared at the two best female artists of all time.

When something you have dreamed about for so long actually happens, you don't know how to react. Everything was brilliant. I nearly cried when they played Nineteen - the song that had started this love back in 2007. Five years on and I was listening to and watching two of the most talented female artists perform for me. It was surreal.

Even though T&S cannot be seen in this photo, I love the memory of how excited I was.

I still look back on the two nights that I saw Tegan and Sara perform live with a great happiness and excitement. Live music is always invigorating, inspiring and uplifting, but when it's from a band you have admired for so long and for such personal reasons, it touches something much deeper within you. I still listen to their songs, enjoying the things I know from the past and the new things I am learning. They are like a jigsaw puzzle that may never be complete, and that is what I love about them the most.

Loving: Lorde

Source

"Don't you think that it's boring how people talk?"

Lorde: aesthetic melodies and mesmerising lyrics that engage, instill and uplift. 

Spotify recommended Lorde to me a couple months ago, and for once, I am grateful for their ad-infused service. I have been listening to her EP The Love Club and album Pure Heroine pretty much every day since they were released and I don't think I'll stop anytime soon.

My sister says that I listen to depressing music. I thought about this for a while. I like what I like, and Lorde does not depress me. If a song makes you sad, chances are it's making you think too much about current or past experiences, and what makes good music, for me, is music that transports you to a new place entirely. This is what Lorde's music does.

Source

"There's nothing more I want, except to be alone." 

Favourites: Team, The Love Club, Ribs, A World Alone.

I love Lorde not just for her music, but because she seems wise beyond her years. I have read and watched interviews in which she discusses her general outlook on life, and she is the kind of person I would love to meet just to talk to about life because a lot of what she says I'm just like, YES. 

Source

"Maybe the internet raised us, or maybe people are jerks."

I am so glad that someone as intelligent and refreshing like her is growing in the limelight and I hope she is not tainted by anything that may be thrown her way. However, at sixteen, she appears to have her head properly screwed on and if you haven't listened to her music already, I suggest you do it right now. You can listen for free on SoundCloud or Spotify, or purchase on iTunes or Amazon.

How to: The Fishtail Braid

Is the fishtail braid still a thing? I don't know that much about hair trends but I've been loving this style since I first saw it on Daisy from S Club Juniors back in 2002. Yep.

Fortunately, my pigtail days are behind me and now I tend to stick to a low, loose and messy fishtail braid. I often get asked how I style my hair like this so I thought I'd film a video and show exactly how I do it. Your hair needs to be fairly long but it can work on shorter hair. If you have a lot of layers you might find it a little more difficult to achieve. I don't bother with hairspray or any other styling products, but obviously it will hold and last a lot longer if you do.

It's probably my favourite way to style my hair - when I can be bothered ;) Hope you like it!

Bird of the Summer

 

Day 5: Inspired by your favourite song – Bird of the Summer by A Fine Frenzy.

We met at the end of the summer actually, but it was still warm enough to wear shorts and cropped tops. I still think of you every time I hear this song, but it’s not really about you. I just like the tune. I like the sound of Alison’s voice, and the melody, and I don’t care that you told me it was ‘gay.' Well, you were right – it makes me very happy. 

Once we were sat in Pret and it came on while we were eating our sandwiches and I couldn’t quite believe it. 

“This is my favourite song,” I said.

You laughed. I continued to eat my sandwich and sang along in my head.

A couple of months later I left our flat to walk to work. It was August but it was windy and I wore a black jacket because it was cold and everyone was complaining about British summers these days but it was such a boring thing to talk about. Anyway, this song came on my iPod as I walked the ten minutes to the café where I served sloppy meals to customers. I admired the flowers that had been arranged into the Union Jack flag on the side of the wide road and the tall fat trees lining the pavement. It was the year we had the Olympics in London and the Queen's diamond jubilee. There were leaves everywhere and the wind whipped my ponytail into my face as Alison sang to me. It made the walk to work enjoyable - the thought of six hours not at home with you more bearable.  When I think about it now, I shouldn’t have had to keep these thoughts and moments and appreciations of the beauty of the world, and of you, to myself.

I am one of those annoying people who prefer Autumn and Winter to Summer. I love the start of school, new uniform, new stationery, new books and diaries and plans and lists and goals, and the countdown to Christmas. I love the smell of Autumn. The crispy brown leaves scuttling along the ground in the wind, the firework display and us laughing at people taking photographs. The colours. Burgundy and bottle green and black boots. Hot water bottles and hot chocolates. The Christmas market in town and spending money just because we could.

You might be gone but I still have this song, and these memories of a town and a time that we shared. And Autumn and Winter will remain my favourite seasons, and this song will continue to mark the start and the end of something – I’m not sure what – but it will, for me, forever, probably.