a music blog
Yes it’s that time of year again when we all look back across a year in music to think about what songs we played to death, what songs stood out from the many heard and what songs really defined the moments of your life.
Find mine below. I have not had as much time to write this year so I have included some tracks which come from albums I have not had the chance to review. Let me know your favourites!
Continue reading “Songs of the Year 2022”
The holidays are fast approaching and I’m trying my best to get festive so I thought I’d round up some of the Christmas releases from this year and beyond in my weekly playlist. Read on to find out more about my three favourite new/old ones for this year.
Continue reading “Three Christmas Songs for 2022”
The end of the year is fast approaching, list season is here and we are already hearing some new songs from albums ready to be released in early 2023. Read on for some new songs and thoughts from this week in my music listening…
Continue reading “Three Songs and the Truth About List Season”
News broke this week that some Taylor Swift fans are actually suing Ticketmaster after their recent ticket buying trauma.
Some of the problems which occurred on that day have been brewing for a long time: buying tickets now involves navigating a confusing and complex system of presale codes and ticket sale opportunities, all of which allow bots to buy tickets and resell them for inflated prices. It’s wrong and it has to be stopped.
Continue reading “How to Solve The Ticketmaster Problem”
Recently when contemplating some issues around social media, and Twitter in particular, I was reminded of an old episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In the episode ‘Earshot’, Buffy is infected by a demon and wakes up with the ability to hear the thoughts of everyone she meets. At first her new power is exhilarating and exciting, a way to gain knowledge and insight. Soon, however, the gift becomes a curse. She can’t block out the constant noise of everyone’s internal chatter and eventually the horror, suffering, pain and violence inside other people’s heads overwhelms her. She ends up bedridden, unable to function, hovering on the edge of insanity.
Continue reading “The Trouble With Twitter”
In 2021 I have reviewed nearly forty albums and which have all connected with me on some personal level. Overall I have found this year tough as I have struggled to really love a lot of the albums released this year, compared with the last few years.
So for this end of year list I have tried to single out the fifteen albums which really stood out among the gloom, ones which have helped me in some way.
For the top spot I have gone with the criteria which I have used since I started this blog: most listened to solo female artist with the majority of songs on the album solo written. This choice has helped me single out the talent from a sea of quality offerings.
Please note that this list only includes albums I have reviewed so obviously I don’t include any male artists.
This list includes links to my original album reviews, rather than risk repeating myself. Happy new year and thanks for reading!
Well this has been the strangest year of my blogging life. The triple whammy of a pandemic, lack of live music and mid-life apathy has caused me to struggle to connect with new music. The less I blogged, the more I felt out of touch, the more writing became harder and social media became terrifying, until you wonder why you ever started in the first place.
In the end what brings me back here are the songs. There are so many amazing female artists whose music inspires me to write, helps me, entertains me, moves me and that will never change even if the world does.
If you’re reading this then thank you for bearing with my sporadic blogging schedule this year. Here are a list of songs that got me through, that kept me believing in something, anything, everything. I hope you find a kindred spirit & song in this post. Continue reading “Songs of the Year 2021”
What a long, strange year it’s been. The fact that we’re even having an almost normal 2022 Grammy ceremony is a miracle in itself, considering the pandemic has caused havoc to the music industry on so many different levels. Consequently it’s been a variable year in terms of quality releases, so I’m thankful to have these nominations to remind us of what good stuff deserves further attention. Continue reading “Thoughts on the 2022 Grammy Nominations”
Doesn’t everyone at some point dream of going back in time to their youth? Who wouldn’t want to experience life again without the crushing reality of adult human existence weighing us all down?
After the last eighteen months of coronavirus hell, I was craving such a moment. So when I saw the chance to get tickets to see two bands I had loved as a teenager – Britpop legends Sleeper and the Bluetones – it felt like a strange kind of serendipity. Restrictions had just been lifted in Scotland. I was double jagged and desperate to get some kind of normality back to my flatlined existence. Continue reading “Slight Return”
Highway Queens 