May 2020 – that lemon life

New Music Friday

Hola everyone.

How are you all doing today? All enjoying the beautiful weather we’ve been blessed with the past days? Because I definitely have. Actually, I’ve caught myself thinking I’m already on my summer break more than once, which just shows how 1. long I’ve been at home already and 2. how good the weather has been. And I’m not sure whether I like that or not, because, you know, climate change and all that. I guess all of us staying at home is probably the best thing that could’ve happened to the environment right now. I hope once this virus crisis is finally over, everyone’s going to try and fight climate change just as aggressively as we’re all currently fighting this asshat Corona. Our beautiful planet deserves it.

I know, I just made a huge detour and got completely off-topic. I haven’t even presented today’s post and what it’s going to be all about yet. But I guess you all saw the title of the post, so here’s the probably weirdest way of announcing another fantastic edition of “New Music Friday”. In a nutshell, all of these songs have been with me during this hell of a crazy time and have kept me on the bright side of things. They’ve pulled me up when I was feeling down on another “what festival got canceled today”-day. They put a smile on my face when it seemed like everything was going more than wrong. And they gave a normal, plain day that little extra to become a highlight. So I’m more than excited to share all of these with you. I hope you love them just as much as me. Please enjoy.

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OK – Wallows

Well, who would’ve thought I’d ever get this addicted to this band and get to call them one of my favourite bands right now? Definitely not me when I first heard ‘Pictures Of Girls’ two years ago. But here I am now, deep down in an intense obsession with Wallow’s newest track called ‘OK’, which couldn’t be any more perfect to listen to while the world outside is literally getting turned on its head – which has basically been happening the past two months. So, in a nutshell, it’s definitely the most perfect song for quarantine and if you haven’t listened to it yet, you should definitely check it out ASAP. Also, Dylan’s blue hair looks amazing and I’m kinda jealous that he can actually pull it off.

Feels So Nice – The Wrecks

I mean, I’ve already dedicated a whole post to the new album of this super amazing indie-rock group from the US, but here we are again because sharing The Wrecks’ new stuff with you all once just isn’t enough (see the first post here). ‘Feels So Nice’ right here has been an absolute favourite of mine ever since it got released and so far I haven’t been able to get it out of my head, so here you have it too, so we’re all in this boat together. Please give it a listen, it’s phenomenal.

Level Of Concern – Twenty One Pilots

I think you and me both know that I don’t really have to introduce this band nor to explain why their newest hit ‘Level of Concern’ is part of this list (see the original post about the song right here). My boys went and created the number one song for quarantine and nobody can tell me otherwise. Also, Ro is in the video, so it can’t really be beaten by any other music video out there. And, because I only just heard the news today – huge congrats to Josh and Debby for getting married when we all knew they did. I’m honestly super happy for them. If you give the video a shot, try to spot Josh’s ring. Another huge giveaway.

The Key to Life on Earth – Declan McKenna

I’m going to be honest, whenever I put this song on at home, my parents look at me as if I had just started to play some cringy Austrian folk music or something on that level of crappy. And, to be real, I still don’t get how they’re not overly in love with this song. Declan has always been an important part of my ‘favourite songs’-playlist and I’m super happy to share this new record with all of you. Not only because the track is more than great, but also because the video can only be described as art in itself – I mean, just look at it. Go on.

Black Licorice – Peach Pit

Do you know those days when you just feel like everything’s going all wrong and you’re just not meant to be in a certain place? Moments when you feel like you’re not really wanted or needed? A bit like black licorice? Well, if yes, then this song right here is perfect for you, because it’s about those exact moments, but instead of pulling you down, it’s a beautiful piece of music that can be enjoyed not just when you feel a bit down, but also when you feel like anything but black licorice. That’s how magnificent the song is right here. I applaud you, Peach Pit.

Is Everybody Going Crazy? – Nothing But Thieves

I’m not going to lie, I couldn’t describe the past two months in any better words than the title of this song does even if I wanted to. Because that’s just how it’s been and somehow Nothing But Thieves managed to write a song way way way before the actual crisis which couldn’t fit it any better. Imagine that? You write a song a year before an event that makes it seem like you just wrote that same song for that exact moment. And then on top of that, the song turns out to be freaking awesome. How cool is that?

I Don’t Think I Can Do This Again – Mura Masa ft. Clairo

I think every good music playlist needs a nice EDM-ish song in the midst of it, so here is mine for this month. This time, happily presented to you by the amazing Mura Masa featuring Clairo. To cut it short, the track is incredibly fun to listen to and always manages to pull me up and get me hyped whenever I need it the most and I hope it does the same for you.

Cinnamon – Hayley Williams

Last but certainly not least, here’s is once again my favourite female singer, the one and only Hayley Williams with my favourite song of her recently released solo album ‘Petals for Armor’. This song is literally the coolest womanhood anthem I’ve ever heard and it makes me feel at peace with myself and connected to my feminity in such a cool way that my appreciation for this track hasn’t found its end yet. Also, the music video for it is absolutely baffling and I still have a lot of questions. Well freaking done, Hayley.

And there it is, guys, this is it for this month’s ‘New Music Friday’. I hope you enjoyed/enjoy listening to the songs as much as I enjoy sharing them with you. I’d really love to hear your opinions and thoughts, so please don’t hesitate to leave them down below in the comment section. And until then, I wish you all a super lovely weekend, hope you’re doing well and, as always, thanks for reading. x

There’s Nothing Like Film

Hola everyone.

Welcome back to my blog. I’m so sorry for being gone for so long, but I’ve buried myself in uni work the past two weeks and only just now had a chance to finally peek my head out a bit again. How are you guys doing? I hope you’ve had a great two weeks and are feeling well, despite this way too real horror scenario we’re still stuck in. I’m going to be honest, I’m still locked into my shitty emotional rollercoaster. One day I’m feeling super happy and calm and truly believe that everything’s going to be perfectly fine again, and the next day I feel like a piece of my soul got ripped apart and all I want to do is throw myself off a cliff. I know, this might sound a bit dramatic, but I’ve always lived in extremes and this quarantine has only enforced that even more.

Anyways, thanks to various new hobbies, I’ve been able to stick to the better, more fun side of the rollercoaster for most of the time. And one of those hobbies is something I’ve been wanting to get into for a pretty long time – film photography. I mean, you all know how deeply in love I am with photography in general, whether with my phone or my camera. So getting obsessed with film photography was just a natural consequence. And finally, for my birthday this year, I gave myself the greatest gift ever to give in to the obsession – a film camera, to be exact, an Olympus XA2, that I got from Depop.

So far, I’ve used up one roll of film, which I recently got developed and am super happy to share with you today. Obviously, not all the pictures are worthy enough to be hung up on a wall for everyone to see, but some of them are and to be honest, I’m really proud of that. Especially for my first try. Thankfully, actually photographing with the camera is just as much fun as seeing the results. I know that some people don’t like film, because opposed to digital cameras, you aren’t able to see the photo straight after taking it. You can’t check whether the lighting is nice or everything is in focus. Every single picture is a surprise. And yes, it might make it all a bit more stressful, because the chance of some of the pics being throwaways is pretty high, but it is also way more exciting that way. I love how you capture moments and then they’re locked into the camera until you finally get to see them weeks afterward. I think that’s actually what gives the pictures their certain nostalgic and romantic touch. I really really really love it. And so, without further ado, here are some of my favourite pictures that I took during the past weeks while being stuck in quarantine. If any of you are curious, I took all of them on a Kodak Gold film with an ISO of 200. I hope you like them just as much as I do. So, please enjoy.

And there you go guys, this is it for today’s post. I hope you enjoyed the pictures and are excited for more to come. I’ve already ordered six more rolls of film – 3x Kodak Color Plus 200 and 3x Fujicolor C200 – and I can’t wait to shoot them all and fill them with fantastic memories and beautiful moments. And then to share them with all of you. And until then, I hope you like these here. As always, please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. And also recommendations and tips for the camera. I’m just at the start of the film photography learning curve and would be grateful for every tip. Besides that, I wish you all a lovely week and hope you’re doing well. And, of course, thanks for reading. x

Infinitely Ordinary

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to another Friday and another end of the week. How are you guys? I hope you’ve had a good week, despite the current circumstances, and that you’re looking forward to the weekend. Also, guess what guys? I went outside today… without any reason. I know, what a shocker. And you know why? Because the quarantine here in Austria is officially over and I’m finally free to leave the house whenever I want. Weheeeeeee. I can’t believe it. It makes me so incredibly happy that we’ve already reached that point here, but also sad because the UK is still doing so bad and I have no idea when I’ll be able to fly back. I remember after I had left London, I told my mum that we should immediately fly to the first country that was doing well again, where life had gone back to normal. And now we already are in that country. Oh, the irony. But oh well, I’m glad I’m home, no matter what.

Thankfully, music has kept me calm and collected throughout this madness and has brought me a lot of highlights and happiness. Just like today. Because today, after what felt like an eternity, The Wrecks finally released their debut album and I can’t even put into words how happy I am that it’s finally in this world.

I’m not going to lie, I might be a bit biased when it comes to this band. Their song Favorite Liar was my most listened track of 2017 and even other years included it’s still high on top. So when I heard that they were about to release an album, I could only just about contain my excitement. And a debut album as well. I don’t know why, but I feel like debuts always have this unique touch of excitement and newness. There’s nothing like a first album, the first time a band really gets to show and present its talent in its full colours. And today is the day The Wrecks finally get to show us who they are. And I swear, they didn’t disappoint. Very much the opposite, to be honest. Because Infinitely Ordinary is even better than I had imagined.

First of all, the probably most unique aspect of the album is that every song sounds different. I’m not gonna go into much detail, because I’m a strong believer that you can spoil an album just as much as you can spoil a movie and I definitely don’t want to spoil this fun rollercoaster of an album for anyone. So I’m going to keep the overall tracks and what they sound like a secret. All I’m gonna say is that they all sound phenomenal and that the debut couldn’t have been a better one. It’s an album that lights up the rainy day when you’re stuck inside with nowhere to go. It’s an album that makes you think of Californian beaches and the ease that comes with being young and free. And it’s album that reminds you that there’s always something to look forward to, even if it’s just a nice piece of music.

I know that a lot of bands have decided to postpone their albums due to the current situation, which I totally understand. Still, I’m insanely happy that The Wrecks decided against that and went on to release their album as planned. Because the world might not be able to go to music stores now and get physical copies of songs and albums, but I think especially now we’ve got even more time on our hands to listen to some good music. And Infinitely Ordinary is no exception to that. It was definitely worth the wait and I already can see myself playing this over and over again. Naturally, this also means that I can’t recommend it enough to you guys. I swear you won’t regret giving it a listen. These boys really deserve all the attention they are receiving and I can’t wait to watch them grow bigger and bigger in the upcoming months. And hopefully come to Europe so I can finally see them live. I sure damn will be standing in the front row, waiting to hear this masterpiece of an album live. And until then it will stay as a staple of my quarantine playlist and hopefully of yours as well.

And there you go, guys. This is today’s music recommendation from yours truly. I hope you enjoy the album just as much as me. And if you want to find out more about the guys, here are their Spotify and Instagram accounts. If you give them a listen, I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch. And until then I wish you all a lovely weekend and hope that you’re doing good. And, as always, I’m sending you the tightest hugs and thanks for reading. x