Mixtape 02: The Glow of Nostalgia (Guest Post)

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.

____________________________________________________

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

____________________________________________________

'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.  

Freebie: Collecting Moments

Our hurried lives in the competitive world has painted what seems to be a mundane portrait of the universe. It appears to be an unpleasant piece, but in fact it's beauty lies in the acknowledgement that it is exquisitely abstract. Some see graceful light rays on the little corners of the canvas, carefully splayed, others see a mere stroke of paint. It's just like the little details in our lives.

People tend to think of life as nothing more than calendars after calendars - days, months, years. We fail to see that life is pleasantly punctuated with instances of joy. It's liberating to be in the realm of the setting sun, chirping birds in the morning or just being around smiles of loved ones. These are the little things in life meant to be relished. Let's appreciate that life consists of moments. For if we fail to see them, the daily struggles is what's left in our eyes. Perhaps this should be a mental note for writing the upcoming new year's resolutions. 

I wanted to make something special to motivate myself to commit more resiliently to any new resolutions. Since I had my eyes plastered to the computer screen more frequently to edit photographs and lettering this holiday, I decided to make a personal wallpaper with a reminder. I scrawled up some water colours and pens to the drawing board and set my mind to inspired-mode.

So, here's a little gift I'd like to share - a wallpaper for our gadgets to remind ourselves to enjoy the little things in life. I profess that my work may not be completely pleasant-looking because I'm really still learning lettering, but I'd just like to share it with others so that we can improve on ourselves together.

Phone (Android/iPhone) 1080 x 1920

Laptop 2880 x 1800

Desktop 2560 x 1600 / 1280 x 1024

Let's also note that enjoying the little things doesn't mean to sweep our slip ups under the rug either. We remember the good things that matter but that doesn't excuse us from forgetting our trying times, because it is these disasters and disappointments that admonish the pessimistic thoughts that lurk at the back of our minds and allow us to think - if we can make it through then, we can make it through now.

Until next time! ♥

Lettering by me, Watercolour Illustration by me

Wallpapers created by Dian from The Happy Candle. For personal use only. Not for distribution or resale. Please link back to original post if shared. Thank you.

Awaiting The Aftertaste

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