Saturday 5 January 2013

On the 12th Day of Christmas...


...this blog gave to thee...
...twelve drummers drumming...
...eleven bits of jewellery...
...ten striking structures...
...eight resolutions ladies...
...seven shoes to choose from...
...six party dresses...
...five gold rings!..
...four little shorts...
...three tasty treats...
...two fancy stamps...
...and a Cathedral made of seeds.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, as is traditional we have drummers drumming and some of the songs I've really liked this year.

Now, last year I embedded twelve YouTube clips, which is great visually, but actually made my blog load ridiculously slowly until the point where the clips were off the front page. So, this year I have embedded a Spotify Playlist, which is useless if you don't have Spotify, so to those reader I apologise. But here are my twelve songs:




1. Angels by The xx

I admit, I'm not the biggest xx fan, but I love this song, particularly the live in Tokyo version which iTunes kindly gave away this Christmas as part of their 12 Days app. It's just wonderfully simple and pretty and I like that.

2. Breezeblocks by alt-J

I know you're probably sick of me going on about this song now, but I am still unashamedly obsessed by it. Just count yourselves lucky I haven't included any James Blake who after two years of listening to the same album/EP I am still not bored by it!

3. Lost & Found by Lianne La Havas

Now I was going to add Lianne La Havas's Is your love big enough? which is the title song from her debut album. It's a song I love and made me listen to her album, however, I heard her sing this song live on Jo Whiley's Sessions on BBC Radio2 and just fell in love with it after one listening, it's beautiful. This girl is really good live.

4. Little Talks by Of Monsters And Men

Another song I've posted for you this year and slowly but surely it's starting to worm its way only TV and film soundtracks. Another début album and I'm pretty sure this song will be everywhere at least for the first few months of 2013.

5. Bangarang feat. Sirah by Skrillex

Anyone remember the film Hook from growing up? Robin Williams as Peter Pan? Yeah, well in 1991 it was a favourite and one of the lost boys catchphrases was to scream 'bangarang!'...and thus twenty one years later Skrillex took it and shouted to all the slight older lost boys, bangarang!

6. Call Me Maybe by Ben Howard

Okay, no, I haven't gone insane and no this isn't on the Spotify Playlist, instead Only Love is, which is my choice of album track, however, if you are willing to indulge me, I will explain why the Carly Rae Travesty is gracing my list...it's all Ben Howards fault! On the Radio 1 Live Lounge this year he covered Call Me Maybe, (a song I really, genuinely hate but always end up singing along too), and some how, between his lovely cheeky grin and the fact that he looks vaguely embarrassed, Ben Howard's covered it so well I've played it over and over and over again since I heard it and began to like it. Don't hate me for it, just watch it...


7. Hometown Glory by James Arthur

So, for the second year running I'm including an X-Factor contestant as part of my 12 days play list, am I ashamed? No, I love his voice and this cover and I hope that this time next year I can be listening to a good X-Factor winners first album! If the record companies muck around with this guy, I will be pissed.


8. Honesty by Fink

Fink is a musician my little sister introduced me too, and while I loved a few songs from the album she made me listen too, it was the sort of album I would expect Zach Braff to pillage for one of his films. However, my dad gave me Perfect Darkness his 2011 album during the summer and I think it's wonderful. It has the sound I liked by it's lost the ever so slightly saccharin overtones. Give this album a try, if you don't like it I won't hold it against you. 

9. Medicine by Daughter

I need this London based band to bring out an album! Or at least a few more EPs, Elena Tonra has a beautiful voice.

10. Figure8 by Ellie Goulding

I'd lost my love of Ellie Goulding until this year, I'd basically just gotten bored of hearing the same three songs played to death, which I'm sure will happy with this song too, but, actually I'm quite liking her again. 

11. Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey

Still gets stuck in my head after all these months.

12. Sweet Nothing feat. Florence Welch by Calvin Harris

Calvin Harris and Florence, 'nough said. Sold. Epic.

And that's it, I will have forgotten an absolute tonne of great songs, which no doubt I will end up thinking about hours after I've posted this, but these were the ones I got off the top of my head.

Sadly that's the end of the twelve days, I know some will have gone out out of sync, especially these last few, I blame going back to work and it taking me a full day to take all the decorations down and the depression of no more fairy lights cheering the house up. It's weird, Christmas snuck up on me this year and I didn't feel particularly festive, until it was right on top of us, but my least favourite day of the year is the fifth, when we have to take all the decorations down and put away all the lovely glittery baubles and lights. And now there's just a Christmas tree sitting outside waiting to be recycled and a few decorations which didn't get put up into the loft straight away. 

It's back to normal life now.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and I really hope that 2013 will be a good, lucky and productive year for everybody.

Em x
..................................................................................
Listening: Sweet Nothing feat. Florence Welch - Calvin Harris

4 comments:

Louise Boyd said...

I feel i got dissed there for Fink!

Damn good playlist though Emmers, make make make me one?

Emily Boyd said...

Will do twinkle pie, and I wasn't dissing you, I loved that first album and you agreed with me that it did have slightly saccharin overtones...in fact I seem to remember that's the reason you stopped listening too it.

Plus if anyone got dissed I think it was Zach Braff.

Anyway, shall make you an extra special Louisey Peasy playlist! xxx

PS: I forgot Gotye on there! And I love that song!

Louise Boyd said...

You spangle, quite possibly the catchiest and actually bloody superb song of 2012 and you forgot it?!

I reiterate, spangle.

:)

Playlist me!

Emily Boyd said...

I know, total spangle...techically Jake Bugg was 2012 too, but I didn't hear it until New Years Day (on the Hootennany) so does that mean I can save it until my 2013 play list?

My blog, I make the rules and perhaps by then I will have worked them out.

Yes, yes, I'll make you a playlist, start being a harpy. x

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