Anyone feel like the months are just happening to them at the moment? I feel like August went by before I even realised what was happening and now September is gone too! I always find the months after the mid year break pretty difficult. Starting a new semester is like starting a new year but you don’t have the same energy as you did after a whopping 3 months off, it’s like having to find a new gear halfway through the year. I always struggle to rev back up again so I feel like I’m only just starting to get back the momentum I had before the break and thank god for that because I’ve got just over a month left to go (and a birthday in there too!) Sometimes I have to work really hard to make sure the days don’t just pass me by. That’s why I’ve really been enjoying chronicling my music loves the past few months because it’s helping me to realise my little shifts and changes throughout the month, like an audio diary. I love how I can be obsessed with something one week and forget about it the next and some things I’ll listen to every single day. I’ve had so much music I’ve been loving, I’ve also got some pics of some of my favourite September bits and pieces too.
ok so the Laneway lineup is out…
and heap of my favourite artists are playing! I’ve been listening to some of my favourites this month like Aldous Harding, Mac Demarco, Father John Misty, Bonobo, Conan Mockasin and Wolf Alice. Laneway always introduces me to new artists as well which I love so can’t wait to discover more over the next few months. Generally I’m not a massive festival goer, I’m pretty claustrophobic so I’ve learnt not to force myself into big crowds when I know I won’t be even able to enjoy the gig but Laneway is awesome because it’s all outside in an area that’s familiar to me, you can roam around and go in and out of crowds as you want. There’s also so many people that go as well that you’re always bound to find a friendly face to keep an eye on you. Now to cobble together the finances!
Marcel – Her’s
This band was recommended to me after last months In My Ears post and I’ve fallen in love! I’ve put this one on the playlist because it’s my favourite but I’ve been loving their whole album. There is something very easy breezy about it, almost romantic and definitely hints at more days in the sun to come. I’ve been loving this while I’m hanging about the house during the week or tidying up the kitchen on a Sunday. It’s perfect for pottering about.
Dancing in the Moonlight – alt -J
suuuuuuch a good cover of Dancing in the Moonlight, not even kidding when I say I’ve listened to this like 50 times this month.
Listening For The Weather – Bic Runga
You know that feeling when all of a sudden you just really need to listen to Bic Runga? Yea same.
Stop – Spice Girls
It was the Cabaret Festival recently in Auckland and some mates and I went along to our friends ‘Andy and Hadley’s Great New Zealand Cabaret Roadtrip Singalong’. It was one of the most fun shows I’ve ever been to which I can only describe as curated karaoke (name me a better concept…I’ll wait). They threw up some absolute gems and we belted our hearts out. It honestly felt like exercise and I actually lost my voice the next day. Apparently they are going to make it a regular thing so fingers crossed. It also unearthed one of my all time favourite songs which I’d kind of forgotten about and now CANNOT stop listening to/dancing about in my bedroom to. I still remember listening to this on my portable cassette player during our annual Christmas roadtrip to Lake Taupo when I was about 7 and thinking it was the absolute cats pyjamas. The Spice Girls will ALWAYS have my heart.
Happy Days
It’s been a good month for happy songs. Songs good for dancing while you get ready or for putting a pep in your step during the walk to uni. I definitely think music can change my mood. Listening to music that actual forces a smile is my favourite kind.
Marco Polo – Boyscott
Give Me Love – George Harrison
Tripping On the Thought Of You – Honey Moon
Sunbleached Girl – Shag Rock
… have been some of my favs!
Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright – Bob Dylan
He’s a staple, no matter what day or what mood there will always be some Bob in the background. It’s funny how much our parents can influence our music tastes or at the very least music memories, I can vividly remember my Dad’s copy of Infidels at in our CD rack and thinking the cover was really cool. It’s hard to pick a favourite Bob Dylan song because different songs remind me of different times in my life and that changes how I feel about them but certainly one that’s right up there is Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright. It’s so comforting and can either make me fully ugly cry or fill me with a lovely soft calm feeling. I’m sure many people love him for that reason, everyone has a story or a memory with a Dylan song attached.
This cover…
I am a huge Coldplay fan. A fact which has often had my musical tastes and overall integrity called into question and at great personal risk to myself I have continued to be a fan of them and all they do. I also bloody love Paul Simon and so of course my heart is so full after I listened to this amazing cover of one of my favourite ever Paul Simon songs. You have to watch the video too though because they are just genuinely all having such a good time with each other I can’t even deal.
I hope October is good friends, Spring is here! We’re growing strawberries and beans in our back yard now so I shall be watching them carefully (I’m a known plant murderer so treading lightly), we’ve got degrees to be getting on with and plenty to be excited about. I can feel that this series is evolving into a little monthly catch up, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing so I’ll be back next month, officially one year older and here’s hoping wiser but we’ll have to wait and see.
Check out the playlist
liv-actually.com 