My mixtape, for you lovely people.

My work experience with Kerrang!Radio has reached it's mid-way "Hump" As KateLawler would say; I'm half way through and loving every second of it. 

One thing that the old 105.2 regularly asks of their Kerrang!utan fans is their favourite "tune of the year" I like this enough to take it a step further and collate a mixtape of, well, whatever the hell i wanted really.

This blog is all about sharing music, so here is a couple of tracks, both new and old, not always my favourite, just what i fancied today...so come and gettem' whilst they're hot off my iPod. 

 

(In no order)

Regina Spektor- Fidelity

I say no order, but there is a good reason this is top. It's not necessarily my favourite, nor is it  the best technically. It's not the best seller, and it's not the most famous. However, it's at the top of the list because i remember the second i heard this song-she was on some silly talk show- i fell in love, not just with the track but with the singer. You know how you look at someone's eyes-nothing else- and Bam you're in love? This song was the gateway into a love affair with every song she has ever written. Spektor breaks conventions whilst still creating music that is fantastic, quirky and brilliant.

Iggy Pop- I wanna be your dog
Iggy is Legend. Fact. This was one of the first songs i ever learned to play on my bass guitar when i was in my dad's cover band aged 13. Very much like my dad, Iggy point blank refuses to acknowledge he is no longer a teenager, and is therefore growing old disgracefully. I doubt this man even knows that there is in fact alternative trouser-wear out there, not just skinny drainpipes. (Thankfully, my dad does) Although he looks slightly like a melted candle, Iggy is going strong, and it's songs that stretch as far back as the 60s like this one does, that means he can act like a kid even if he is grandad age.
Vocal howls, tambourines, dirty dirty dirty guitars; this song is what is means to lose control and rock without a care in the world. Funnily enough, it started ife as a ballad about his girlfriend stroking his hair like a pet dog, but Iggy doesn't do soppy. No, that's not his style, this is as close to a love song as he gets. And my hat goes off to this guy for teaching us a valuable life lesson; Grow old with as little dignity and with as much noise as possible.

Rise against-Give it all

I went to see these guys at the little Civic in Wolvo, and they Blew. Me. Away. Listening to this track takes me back to that moment of pure energy when everyone was dancing and singing along in unison.  Screw redbull, Rise Against give you wings; they make your toes tingle with energy that pulsates through your earphones. 

Just don't play this song on the train, you can't help but headbang, and there's a very real risk you'll end up flicking the ticket man the middle finger just 'cause you're wound up.

Patrick wolf- childcatcher

Another strange one for you. This is music that sounds like it's crawled out of a child's storybook... but at midnight, and all the characters have pointy teeth.  "Gonna be your right of passage" This is the point at which the irony of using a childhood villain from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang  hits you; it's disturbing, it's uneasy listening... but it's morbidly brilliant. Then the rave-like bass and drum kicks in, and you don't know if you're still in the realms of metaphor, or a nightclub. The lyrics "I think you  enjoyed it" are contrasted with the chilling childish pipe-playing, and it's this that Wolf ends the track with, leaving you with goosepimples, but unable to resist listening to it again.

Muse- Unintended

Aaaand we're back in the realms of the soppy and ballady. I don't care, it's my mixtape. Plus this one's a korker.

The guitar is hauntingly soft, and it's Bellamy's voice that shoulders the weight of this song and carries it. "I'll be there as soon as i can." How HOW HOW can a man's voice be so delicate and damn beautiful as that?! "You could be my unintended choice" -Matt knows the genius of addressing the listener accordingly, you end up breaking your heart over a voice, thinking "what me? He's talking to me?"

It's not Muse's loudest or most technical song. I could rave about New Born, Plug In Baby, Showbiz, Hysteria, or Time is running out (which i'm sure i will in due course) but this is one of the under-rated gems that i think deserves a look-in.

And for the record, feel free to download those muse tracks above mentioned. Legally of course, don't be a t*t.

Damien Rice- Cannonball 

This song is 5.08 minutes of Escapists' paradise, sinking into Damien's typical breathy voice and signature folk guitar. 

My Chemical Romance- House Of Wolves

Okay, let's liven things up.

The intro is bold, ballsy and foot-stampingly catchy. The lyrics fit perfectly into the conceptual album "The Black Parade." And boy, isn't that just a brilliant album? Seriously, i'm a Huge fan. It's like their music matured enough to appeal across the board, but kept the dark rocky edge that their fans fell in love with years before. 

Shame they regressed about 20 years and released a dissappointingly awful fourth album.

Three Days Grace- I Hate Everything About You

The intro is dark, cool, edgy. You instantly feel yourself becoming more cynical about life with each passing second. It's not exactly uplifting, but it's got a brilliant chorus, and i guess it's good for letting off steam when you've had a bad day. Not to mention the booming, driving surge of the bass guitar thumping along to the drums, this song definitley deserves a spot in my mix tape.

Mumford&Sons-The Cave

 M&S get alot of stick from the music industry for being handed fame on a plate because they are 'wealthy'. Shame on you, Music industry, you would applaud a poor musician for breaking stereotypes, so why not these guys too? Is their music not infectious, inspiring and altogether brilliant?! I watched them on the telly at Glastonbury last year, and they took my breath away. They really know how to make folk-music commercial, but without making it overly-twee. Huzzah for Mumford and all his sons that there may be.

Dresden Dolls-Girl Anachronism

You are either going to love or hate this song, but being as it's my mixtape i'm hoping you're going to love it. It's about a girl with schizophrenia; the word 'anachronism' is defined as a "chronological misplacing of letters in spelling." this is reflected in the piano; practically bashed at a dizzying pace, combined with Amanda's squeals and shouts as she adopts different characters;

"It's just the way the medication makes her." "The attention just encourages her." 

"I might join your century but only on the rare occasion." 

In short, it's crazy, but it's intentionally so, as that's the story it's telling. As always, Dresen Dolls' Lyrics are razor sharp and delivered with edge and Amanda's characteristic caberet showiness.

Tracy Chapman -Revolution

This woman is legend. She's a Black, Gay, American Female Musician living through the pre 80s. Heavens, Chapman should be given awards just for making it through alive! The title of this song indicates her entire approach to life: The album is a plethora of political and social debate. Again, i've picked this song, not just for it's individual merit, but because it represents everything that Tracy is. She's not just inspiring, but taken at face value, her songs are catchy and fresh- enjoying plays on modern music stations today.

In fact, i paused this blog for 15 minutes so i could put this song on repeat for a while.

Arctic Monkeys- Brianstorm.
Alex Turner has a tongue like a knife. His lyrics aren't just good, they tell an entire story with wit and with more than a pinch of cheek. He oozes a coolness that rubs off onto his music; The Arctic Monkeys walk that fine line between the genres of uplifting indie and rock. They're respected as a rock band, but retain the melodic catchiness attributed to other indie bands such as the Kooks. They're my favourite band, and i think this song encapsulates the oomph they inject into all their albums.
Give them a listen, if -yanno- you're cool enough.