Showing posts with label mixtape. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mixtape. Show all posts

Tuesday, 30 December 2014

Mixtape 02: The Glow of Nostalgia (Guest Post)

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This is a guest post written by my twin sister, 'Amira. She will be compiling a mixtape that features the best songs of 2014, ranging from indie, alternative to the amusingly fun bubble-gum pop.
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It doesn't hurt to look back. There's a funny thing about nostalgia - as much as we think it's a sense of longing for whatever's in the past, it ends off a strong note of gratification. And that's what makes it so...endearing.

This 2014 we have seen history being made time and again in music, with U2 releasing their latest cut Songs of Innocence to all iTunes users for free, Taylor Swift’s pop package 1989 selling more than a million in its opening week and the boys of One Direction making their fourth number one album on the Billboard. But these are just the headliners – we mustn't forget the some fresh faces in the industry as well as some gems in the trending indie music scene. After all, it’s the diversity that makes music a universal instrument. Let’s dive into our best 2014 list of songs.

25. The Hanging Tree – James Newton Howard ft. Jennifer Lawrence
24. News – Freddie Dickson
23. Let It Go – James Bay
22. The Mother We Share – CHVRCHES
21. The Heart Wants What It Wants – Selena Gomez
20. Fool’s Gold – One Direction
19. Yours – Ella Henderson
18. King of the World – Young Rising Sons
17. All About That Bass – Meghan Trainor
16. I Won’t Let You Down – OK Go
15. Compass – Zella Day
14. You Are In Love – Taylor Swift
13. Medicine – The 1975
12. We’re Not Alone – Echosmith
11. In Time – Kris Allen
10. Broken Frame – Alex & Sierra 
09. Budapest – George Ezra 
08. The People – Nina Nesbitt 
07. Rollercoaster – Bleachers 
06. Thinking Out Loud – Ed Sheeran
05. Bridges – Broods 
04. Geronimo – Sheppard
03. Yellow Flicker Beat – Lorde
02. Iris (Hold Me Close) – U2
01. Ink – Coldplay

♪ Spotify  ♪ YT

So there you have it - the best of 2014. We seem to be engineered to move forward all the time. Now hopefully some music will change that because in the blur of everything, we can't deny that there'll always be that looming glow of nostalgia. Just embrace it, before it evansces with the climb of the sun.

Peace out,
'A

Photo by 'A
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'A is a contributor to Wattpad, where she publishes her books 'Storms and Other Short Poems' and 'Speculum' online, with over 4000 reads since October 2014 and more than 500 votes. She enjoys reading, writing and videography.

Wattpad is a world of free stories - a writing community which users are able to post articles, stories and poems about anything. The content includes work by undiscovered and published writers.

Check out a snippet of her first book 'Storms and Other Short Poems' here.  

Tuesday, 16 December 2014

Awaiting The Aftertaste

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Have you ever tasted the best candy ever, or maybe just any of your favourite foods, and you love it so much that you chew it, so slowly, sucking the little bits of it, so that it takes just a little longer to be digested in your mouth - just because you want the taste to last forever? And it just gives you such sorrow that regardless of how slow you intend to digest it to let the moment last, that tasty treat will inevitably dissolve into millions of tiny bits that enter your digestive tract, gone. Just after a few seconds, the zest dissipated almost delibrately, and what's left is just your empty mouth. It was merely a temporary sapidity.

Nothing lasts forever, not even the strongest taste, and this December seems to be just like that. Perhaps a little like the ampersand - "&".

After my unproductive post-prandial lament with my twin about finishing the last spoonful of ice cream, I scoured The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows to identify the perfect description of this feeling - the feeling of enjoying the last essence of a taste, something like savouring the small bit of ice cream but finally losing it again.

So after scrolling and browsing through countless of words and descriptions of irrelevant desires and moments, I finally found the perfect word.

kairosclerosis n. the moment you realise that you're currently happy - consciously trying to savour the feeling - which prompts your intellect to identify it, pick it apart and put it in context, where it will slowly dissolve until it's a little more than an after taste.

I was doubtful that I could ever find a word, and in fact the word I found puts my situation in a more complex manner than I initially thought. It's not just about savouring the last bit of food/drink - it's about the savouring the satisfaction/happiness that comes with it.

December is a month celebration, whether it is due to the ever-so comforting abatement of examinations or just looking forward to the year-end holidays to spend with loved ones. It's a month of reflection and deliberate self-blandishment - to comfort the soul that what you did this year was right and that everything happened for a reason. We look past regrets because we accept that it is too late to return and we move on to celebrate the good times left.

Apologies for this lengthy post.  I just wanted to say that the mixtape was actually about savouring the last (hundred) hours of the year.

Until next time! 

Lettering by me, Photo by me 

Monday, 15 December 2014

Mixtape 01: Savour The Hour

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I finally decided to come up with a mixtape just for fun for the last few days of December. It's just a compilation of hearty songs, because the mix is all about taking the time to enjoy the remnants and the last sweet delights of the year. It consists of upbeat tunes and pleasant warbles to take a journey through the festive month that will come to an end swiftly. Ranging from happy tunes to solemn vibes, this mixtape is perfect for a ruminative + festive December. 

01. Must Land Running - Stepdad
02. A New Feeling - Alphabet Botanical
03. All of the People - Panama Wedding
04. Say It Just Say It - The Mowgli's
05. Send Me On My Way - Rusted Root
06. Last Forever - Fenech-Soner
07. Paris - Magic Man
08. O - Coldplay
09. To Build A Home - The Cinematic Orchestra
10. Every Breaking Wave - U2

♪ Spotify  ♪ YT

And before each petal finds its way floating to the ground, let's enjoy the beauty of this rose while it lasts. 15 days of 2014 left, 16 more to go. I'll probably keep more of the mixtape details in the next post to keep this more concise.

Until next time! 

Photo by me