10 Songs or Albums That Got Me Through the End of My Degree
I graduated yesterday.
OH MY GOD.
I bloody hate clichés, but I am actually in awe of how quickly the past three years have gone. Don't get me wrong, I'm not like crying over it - I think I'm ready to leave. But I can't help feeling nostalgic and cliché-y. It certainly has been the best time of my life. I've grown hugely as a person, and I can only thank the people I've met for that.
Before I start crying and you start vomming, let's crack on. The last six months have been THE MOST stressful. EVER. Not only was I scrabbling around trying to finish my own degree, but I was also responsible for a class of about 25 first years starting out on their own degree. Only one module, before you get the wrong idea, but by 'eck it's a tough one. Especially at 9am every single day. And it's not one where you can sit at the back and snooze, coz you're at the front. On top of this, there was a final project. I created a website aiming to help people find local musicians in their area. It's got interviews with the artists and a list of their gigs. You can check it out here.
These songs and albums kept me sane, inspired, calm, energised. Because music does have the power to do that (Cliché 5).
Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks
This song was on an advert around November time of last year. It was for some kind of Sky box equivalent, and it took me ages to find it. I'm still not bored of it, which is a miracle.
The singer, Ed Droste, has a very unique voice - it sounds soft and he sings quite quietly throughout, but there's a lot of power behind it, and it's pretty perfect in terms of pitching. The drums are really interesting as well, and I'm always a fan of any band who can integrate piano into their music without it sounding out of place. Kudos, fellas.
July Child - C O O L [Le Youth Cover]
After hearing the original, which in itself is samples previously unheard of Cassie Ventura's "Me & U", this cover then started appearing throughout the internet. It's very lovely.
It's a much more stripped back version of the cover, but it picks up towards the end and get a little more jazzy (not actual jazz though). They've got a nice vibe on this track, but unfortunately I couldn't find anything else I like on their page as much. OH and it's a free download from Soundcloud!
MISUN - Travel With Me
I hate to say it fellas, but this is another Made In Chelsea find. Actually, I don't hate to say it - the music on there is just amazing! All thanks to Andrea Madden; if you're interested, her Twitter is @missyamkm.
This track has what is sometimes call an Arch form. What I mean by this is that, instead of going 'verse - bridge - chorus - verse - bridge - chorus - middle 8 - chorus' as a lot of songs do, this one is in a different way. It goes 'part A - part A - part B - part B - middle 8 - part B - part B - part A - end'. A typical Arch form goes ABCBA, so this one is only lightly different. I hope you're not yawning.
What I really love about this song is the lyrics, and also the kind of Oriental thing it's got going on. The lyrics are wistful and sad:
Part A
"We were so close, whatever happened?
If you give up, nothing will happen
People will change, let's lie to ourselves
This song will keep playing and I will be changing"
Part B
"Well, you travelled with me close to your chest
Breaking the boundaries, often there is no rest
Travel with me, you were put to the test
Come on, get out of this mess"
Now, I don't entirely get what I've called Part B, but once you get to the end of the song and you're back on the last Part A, she just sings it so emotionally and if you can relate to the lyrics, that bit might really getcha.
This was a real earworm, I had it on repeat.
BANKS - My playlist
I've blogged about BANKS before, so I won't go into too much detail. But her calm overtones and aggressive undertones were the perfect combination to get me through this stressful time. Check out my faves of hers:
Bombay Bicycle Club - Luna
You've almost definitely heard this before, but the happy, upbeat nature of this song pulled me out of countless funks. It's fantastic!
Paolo Nutini - Candy
Although I am a HUGE Paolo fan, there are only a few songs that I truly love of his. 'New Shoes', 'Alloway Grove' and 'Coming Up Easy' are AMAZING. But 'Pencil Full of Lead' and others like that I just can't get excited about. After being introduced to this song for the first time, I couldn't get it out my head. Despite the obvious sexual lyrics, I think it's really lovely and has an incredibly calming backdrop.
Muse
This is another playlist I made. It's made up of Muse songs (obviously) that are really good when you need something thrashy in your ears but that still has a good melody to it.
The Feeling - Sewn
I love me a bit of Keane, and I think that the end of 'We Might As Well Be Strangers' is absolutely beautiful. So when I tweeted about this back in April, the fellas in the band Still In Motion [@STILLinMOTIONuk] reminded me of this fabulous track. It starts off nice and soft and chilled as you like, but slowly builds up to this huge amazing firework at the end. It's also got a weird as feck video.
"Call it magic
Call it true
Call it magic
When I'm with you
And I just got broken
Broken into two
Still, I call it magic
When I'm next to you
And I don't, and I don't and I don't, and I don't
No, I don't - it's true
I don't, no, I don't, no, I don't, no, I don't want anybody else but you
Call it magic
Cut me into two
And with all your magic
I disappear from view
OH MY GOD.
I bloody hate clichés, but I am actually in awe of how quickly the past three years have gone. Don't get me wrong, I'm not like crying over it - I think I'm ready to leave. But I can't help feeling nostalgic and cliché-y. It certainly has been the best time of my life. I've grown hugely as a person, and I can only thank the people I've met for that.
 |
| Here's me looking all smug in my grad gear |
Before I start crying and you start vomming, let's crack on. The last six months have been THE MOST stressful. EVER. Not only was I scrabbling around trying to finish my own degree, but I was also responsible for a class of about 25 first years starting out on their own degree. Only one module, before you get the wrong idea, but by 'eck it's a tough one. Especially at 9am every single day. And it's not one where you can sit at the back and snooze, coz you're at the front. On top of this, there was a final project. I created a website aiming to help people find local musicians in their area. It's got interviews with the artists and a list of their gigs. You can check it out here.
These songs and albums kept me sane, inspired, calm, energised. Because music does have the power to do that (Cliché 5).
Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks
This song was on an advert around November time of last year. It was for some kind of Sky box equivalent, and it took me ages to find it. I'm still not bored of it, which is a miracle.
The singer, Ed Droste, has a very unique voice - it sounds soft and he sings quite quietly throughout, but there's a lot of power behind it, and it's pretty perfect in terms of pitching. The drums are really interesting as well, and I'm always a fan of any band who can integrate piano into their music without it sounding out of place. Kudos, fellas.
July Child - C O O L [Le Youth Cover]
After hearing the original, which in itself is samples previously unheard of Cassie Ventura's "Me & U", this cover then started appearing throughout the internet. It's very lovely.
It's a much more stripped back version of the cover, but it picks up towards the end and get a little more jazzy (not actual jazz though). They've got a nice vibe on this track, but unfortunately I couldn't find anything else I like on their page as much. OH and it's a free download from Soundcloud!
MISUN - Travel With Me
I hate to say it fellas, but this is another Made In Chelsea find. Actually, I don't hate to say it - the music on there is just amazing! All thanks to Andrea Madden; if you're interested, her Twitter is @missyamkm.
This track has what is sometimes call an Arch form. What I mean by this is that, instead of going 'verse - bridge - chorus - verse - bridge - chorus - middle 8 - chorus' as a lot of songs do, this one is in a different way. It goes 'part A - part A - part B - part B - middle 8 - part B - part B - part A - end'. A typical Arch form goes ABCBA, so this one is only lightly different. I hope you're not yawning.
What I really love about this song is the lyrics, and also the kind of Oriental thing it's got going on. The lyrics are wistful and sad:
Part A
"We were so close, whatever happened?
If you give up, nothing will happen
People will change, let's lie to ourselves
This song will keep playing and I will be changing"
Part B
"Well, you travelled with me close to your chest
Breaking the boundaries, often there is no rest
Travel with me, you were put to the test
Come on, get out of this mess"
Now, I don't entirely get what I've called Part B, but once you get to the end of the song and you're back on the last Part A, she just sings it so emotionally and if you can relate to the lyrics, that bit might really getcha.
This was a real earworm, I had it on repeat.
I've blogged about BANKS before, so I won't go into too much detail. But her calm overtones and aggressive undertones were the perfect combination to get me through this stressful time. Check out my faves of hers:
Bombay Bicycle Club - Luna
You've almost definitely heard this before, but the happy, upbeat nature of this song pulled me out of countless funks. It's fantastic!
Although I am a HUGE Paolo fan, there are only a few songs that I truly love of his. 'New Shoes', 'Alloway Grove' and 'Coming Up Easy' are AMAZING. But 'Pencil Full of Lead' and others like that I just can't get excited about. After being introduced to this song for the first time, I couldn't get it out my head. Despite the obvious sexual lyrics, I think it's really lovely and has an incredibly calming backdrop.
Muse
This is another playlist I made. It's made up of Muse songs (obviously) that are really good when you need something thrashy in your ears but that still has a good melody to it.
The Feeling - Sewn
I love me a bit of Keane, and I think that the end of 'We Might As Well Be Strangers' is absolutely beautiful. So when I tweeted about this back in April, the fellas in the band Still In Motion [@STILLinMOTIONuk] reminded me of this fabulous track. It starts off nice and soft and chilled as you like, but slowly builds up to this huge amazing firework at the end. It's also got a weird as feck video.
HAIM - If I Could Change Your Mind
Again, I've blogged about them before, but this song from debut 'Days Are Gone' was just so chirpy and happy, and could immediately put me in a good mood.
Coldplay - Magic
And finally. We come to possibly my favourite band [a hard thing to say]. After seeing them on their 2012 tour (the one with the wristbands), I didn't know how they could possibly top their efforts.
So when I first heard 'Midnight', I was hugely disappointed. To be fair, I was listening to it on crappy laptop speakers, but I was still just like WHAT ON EARTH AM I HEARING. Remembering that I disliked a lot of Mylo Xyloto when I first heard it, I gave it a couple of weeks then listened again on my headphones. AND WOW. Brilliant. Yes, it's not what you're used to with Coldplay, but it's beautiful. And they use a LASER HARP FOR GOD'S SAKE.
'Magic' is another single from album 'Ghost Stories', and I loved it instantly. The lyrics are lovely:
"Call it magic
Call it true
Call it magic
When I'm with you
And I just got broken
Broken into two
Still, I call it magic
When I'm next to you
And I don't, and I don't and I don't, and I don't
No, I don't - it's true
I don't, no, I don't, no, I don't, no, I don't want anybody else but you
Call it magic
Cut me into two
And with all your magic
I disappear from view
And I can't get over
Can't get over you
Still I call it magic
You're such a precious jewel
Wanna fall
I fall so far
I wanna fall
I fall so hard
Can't get over you
Still I call it magic
You're such a precious jewel
Wanna fall
I fall so far
I wanna fall
I fall so hard
And I call it magic
And I call it true
I call it magic
And if you were to ask me
After all that we've been through
Still believe in magic?
Oh yes I do
Oh yes I do
Yes I do
Oh yes I do
Of course I do"
And I call it true
I call it magic
And if you were to ask me
After all that we've been through
Still believe in magic?
Oh yes I do
Oh yes I do
Yes I do
Oh yes I do
Of course I do"
Although Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow have now broken up, I think this song is a lovely message to say that, although they've been through some crap, he still thinks she's great. And he still has hope for the future. Aww.
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