My November Soundtrack

Hello! Welcome to ‘My November Soundtrack’, a monthly feature on Totally Culture where I list 10 songs I’d been listening to that month, some old, some new. Let’s get started. I think this might be my favourite soundtrack so far, particular favourites being Zibra, Andrew McMahon and Billie Marten.

I don’t really recall how I came across this song, I heard it before the album came out and thought it was epic, in a tender yet powerful way. Basically, Ellie Goulding-style. Powerful enough to evoke emotion but tender enough to listen in any situation. 

I first heard this on Radio 1 (it’s actually a good source for music, the majority of this playlist comes from the radio station). While I have no idea what Fetty Wap is saying (seriously, it’s just inaudible to me), the chorus is catchy and seriously feel-good. It’s just a fun song to listen to, the video is insanely good too!

Again, I discovered this on Radio One. I’ve quickly become a huge Billie Marten fan, and this song is the perfect reason why. It’s incredibly moving and gentle, and Billie’s vocals are on point. I love the story behind it, and the video itself is visually stunning, and just as moving as the song itself. It reminds me of Virginia Woolf, my favourite author, which makes my love for the song a lot stronger.

To put it simply, Avicii simply makes good music. It’s infectious, once you hear one of his songs you have to listen to more. I love the revised sound on this, going back to his country/dance blend in the best possible way. 

Guess where I discovered this song… Radio One, yes. I used to be obsessed with Eliza and The Bear’s song ‘Friends’, but I hadn’t heard ‘Lion’s Heart’ yet, so upon hearing this I quickly became just as obsessed. It makes me feel slightly nostalgic, reminding me of 2013 for some reason. It’s just a nice, feel-good song, Eliza and The Bear always manage to make fantastic music. 

You may be surprised to know I didn’t discover this from Radio One, because, of course, it’s the song from that John Lewis advert. Aurora was previously on my October soundtrack, with ‘Murder Song (5,4,3,2,1)’, and it’s nice to have some consistency. Aurora’s cover of the Oasis song is nice and gentle, and when combined with the John Lewis advert it’s very moving. 

I discovered this song while watching Supergirl (it’s a really good show, by the way), as soon as I heard the song I paused the show and started searching for it. It’s a really fun and uplifting song, and it’s quickly become a solid favourite for November. It makes me feel very nostalgic, circa-2012/2013, reminding me of my friends and all the outings we’d have back then before we all grew up and went seperate ways. This song is my new obsession, it makes me very happy.

Jamie Lawson is signed to Ed Sheeran’s label, and you can definitely tell that the two are connected from simply listening to the song. It’s brilliant. Guess where I first heard it? Radio One. Thanks Clara Amfo. It’s a solid debut, and the video is heartbreaking.

I’m just going to say it… Radio One. This is an epic song, similar to the Andrew McMahon song as it reminds me of 2012/2013 and my pals. It’s a fun and quirky song, it’s my favourite type of music, and the lyrics are great. Fab stuff. The video is so good, it makes me very happy. 

This was difficult because, of course, Adele’s album only just came out. This has quickly become one of my favourite songs from Adele, and it’s unexplainable because it’s so moving yet so uplifting at the same time. It’s slightly deceptive, but it’s brilliant. 

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That’s all for now. It’s December, so expect to see some Christmas-themed posts, as well as the usual throughout the month as we head into the new year.

See you soon!

Bye!

Totally Culture

Curtis

My October Soundtrack

Welcome to my monthly soundtrack, featuring 10 songs I’ve been listening to during those 30/31 days. Dare I say it’s been a slightly slow-paced month for music, although it would be fair to say it’s been a rather slow year for the music industry (how much Justin Bieber can we take, seriously? Pls Justin just stop). However, mid-October to late October had some really good music. You might have heard of this person called Adele? Yeah, she came back, with a fantastic song. Let’s get started. 

1. Hello – Adele (of course)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/YQHsXMglC9A?feature=player_embedded

This is truly a masterpiece, I first came across that snippet of the single on Twitter and instantly fell in love. As Adele has stated, her upcoming album is a ‘make-up’ album, and we truly get a sense of that in this song. It reflects on the idea of what happens after the breakup, how they’re mending and reflecting on what could’ve been. Simply wanting to say ‘hello’, simply wanting to say ‘sorry’. The sombre tone and real lyrics are what makes this track one of the best of, not only October, but the year. 

2. Alive – Sia

https://www.youtube.com/embed/fhshMjRNhs0?feature=player_embedded

Funnily enough, this song was meant for Adele’s upcoming album 25, but it didn’t make the cut. You can definitely hear Adele’s impact on the song, with her being a co-writer on the track. This is a nice departure from Sia’s 1000 Forms of Fear, yet still manages to stay very Sia. Those high notes though, unachievable for any ordinary human being. Sia proves yet again that you don’t have to twerk and sing about drugs to make a killer song.

3. Love Me – The 1975

https://www.youtube.com/embed/TJ5bZuUlftI?feature=player_embedded

Can I make you all hate me by saying that I didn’t really ‘get’ The 1975 the first time round, but their first single from their second album suddenly appealed to me. Love Me of course sounds like it was created to bring back the attention of the fans, but it also got my attention (not being a fan of the first album bar one of two select songs) because it’s slightly different, it’s fun and it’s quirky, it has a really infectious ‘youthful’ feel to it. I think it’s safe to say I’m now a fan. 

4. Rollercoaster – Bleachers (and Charli XCX)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/VlL8g-XusDQ?feature=player_embedded

This song makes me feel nostalgic for the 80s, despite me being born in 1997. I’m not entirely sure how that even works, but it’s a thing apparently. This is simply a really, really nice song to listen to. Yet, it makes me want to run around an American high school in a montage set in the 80s. 

5. Wings – Hurts

https://www.youtube.com/embed/PP4y92c0xV4?feature=player_embedded

This is possibly one of my favourite songs from 2015, already, and with Hurts’ newly released album Surrender I found myself having the majority of this list being songs from that album, I refrained and decided to have my absolute favourite from the album on here. For reference; two others that I really like are ‘Rolling Stone’ and ‘Nothing Will Be Bigger Than Us’. Wings is a truly beautiful song, the chorus itself is a ‘raise your hands dramatically in the air and sing your heart out’ moment. It’s just a very much cooler and better version of a Westlife song and I definitely appreciate that. The story of the song is another thing, it’s moving yet so very touching, reflective yet makes you want to go outside and hug everyone you see. 

6. Shine A Light – BANNERS

https://www.youtube.com/embed/uaLblVmnNL4?feature=player_embedded

BANNERS’ Shine A Light is a feel-good, starting off slowly and quietly, quickly becoming a lively yet tender song. First hearing the song, I admired the blend of tender lyrics with the feel-good, anthem-like sound. You could definitely imagine this being sung at Glastonbury on the main stage at night, everybody singing along to the chorus. It’s simply a really great song. 

7. Fashion – The Royal Concept

https://www.youtube.com/embed/gJJjv8sYsiE?feature=player_embedded

I’m only now realising the potential context of this song, I should really listen properly sometimes. But, heck, it’s a good upbeat song. Take this scenario, you’re walking down the street in the early 90’s with your group of friends and you’re being all cool and ‘hip’ (perhaps use My Mad Fat Diary as a reference for this) and this song plays. It’s the ultimate ‘cool kids’ music, right?

8. Murder Song (5,4,3,2,1) – Aurora

https://www.youtube.com/embed/jTwdGRHl5Mw?feature=player_embedded

This is a really, really dark song with a flowy, nice and airy sound to it. I first heard it played by Clara Amfo on BBC Radio 1 and loved it, I looked into the song and read the lyrics and found it to be the perfect contradiction. It’s a beautiful sounding song, but the lyrics are so haunting and, perhaps even scary, that it combines to make a surprising song that’s both tender and heavy. Ever since hearing Aurora, I’ve become slightly obsessed with her work. I’d definitely recommend checking her out. 

9. Seventeen – Sjowgren

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tz_iUQQ2hI4?feature=player_embedded

This is a really cool song, it makes me feel nostalgic and chilled. You know, like, driving down the coast in a super cool convertible with your friends (not like that Friday video by Rebecca Black, imagine it a bit more cooler), hands up in the air, so much excitement and fun. This song makes me feel good about life. 

10. Beat of My Drum – Powers

https://www.youtube.com/embed/N8vq5hmkBEg?feature=player_embedded

This is simply just a feel-good song. I want to shimmy and do all the cool dance stuff when I listen to it. It’s fun, it’s energetic, it’s about doing your own thing (hence the title, beat of my drum). This is truly just a fantastic song that I’ve really enjoyed listening to, heck it was the first of these songs to make it onto my iTunes, usually I listen to music on Spotify unless I really want to commit to a song. Thus, this is a fab song.

 

P.s. there’s a really good remix of this song (The White Panda Remix), which makes me want to dance and shimmy even more than the original (which I thought wasn’t even possible). Check it out below:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/eCCNFMhYbPo?feature=player_embedded

That’s all for now. 

See you soon!

Byeeeee

Totally Culture

Curtis