October Roundup

Guess what - It's roundup time again!

I'll start right away without babbling, but please read the question at the end, I really need your help....

October is over - here we go:

Oh Wonder - Oh Wonder

It's time for another brand new debut album: Oh Wonder by - guess who - Oh Wonder.

What is it with these self-titled albums lately? It seems like every band can't decide on a name for their album and then go "Well, at least we were able to decide for a band name, so let's just use that".

Anyway. The name isn't too important, what counts is the music.

Oh Wonder are a duo from London, consisting of Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West. They both are very talented as they not only write all these beautiful songs but also play lots of instruments and sing. Watch them perform one of their songs called Drive below.

Inside Out

I should stop telling people that I'm not a fan of animated films as they seem to be the only ones I've been to see in the cinema lately. The last visit to the cinema was me watching the Minions and this time it was Disney's and Pixars' newest adventure Inside Out.

In the film we get to know young Riley and her emotions Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust. Riley's family moves to San Francisco and so Riley and therefore the emotions who are operating in the control centre of Riley's head have to face all the troubles that come with moving to a foreign place: new city, different house, new school and new people. Joy tries to rescue the happiness of Riley but there's a lot of struggles the little creatures in Riley's head have to go through on the way.

The trailer of the film was very funny and the emotions are so cute, I thought it would be a great idea to see the film. But seeing the whole film, I was a bit bored from time to time...

Nothing But Thieves - Nothing But Thieves

It's a confusing blog title today, isn't it? That's the thing when bands do self-titled albums...

Nothing But Thieves are an English alternative rock band, who just released their debut album with the same name. And this is the record I want to tell you a bit about today.

Nothing But Thieves was released last Friday (16.10.2015) and stormed the UK charts instantly with reaching Number 4 on the chart update last Monday. Very deserved if you ask me.

The songs of the album show the musical range of the band. All of them are full of emotions, well written lyrics and a brilliant use of guitars.

My Top 5 romantic films for autumn evenings

It's this time of the year again. The days are getting shorter and colder and greyer. All you want to do now is sit on your couch, drink tea, eat chocolate and watch a good romantic film to cuddle with your blanket (or another person ;) )?

I think I've got just the right ones to watch for you. I've been looking through my DVDs and picked my top 5 cute, entertaining and moving films about love.

And here they are:

Imagine Dragons - Smoke + Mirrors Tour 2015 (Mannheim)

The confetti was so cool, I had to take some with me.

It finally was concert day again! Imagine Dragons time.

Monday has been a bad day and I wasn't even excited about the gig, but the moment the band entered the stage I forgot about everything and just enjoyed the music.

And this is exactly why I love going to concerts so much. It's already great to turn up your music in your headphones or on your stereo and shut off the world for a while. But seeing the band perform, have fun on stage and all the people around you enjoying the music as much as you do is just brilliant.

Dream a Little Dream by Giovanna Fletcher

Sarah's doing just fine... Sure, she's been single for the last two years, and has to spend an uncomfortable amount of time around her ex-boyfriend, his perfect new girlfriend and all their mutual friends. And yes, her job as a PA to one of the most disgusting men in London is mind-numbingly tedious and her career is a constant disappointment to her mother. But it's really okay. She's happy(ish).

So it's not surprising that when Sarah starts dreaming about a handsome stranger, she begins to look forward to falling asleep every night. Reality isn't nearly as exciting.

Or is it?

I've got to stop writing down the blurb right there, if you haven't got the book yet, try to not read the blurb to the end. I regretted it, because it takes a bit of the surprise out of the book. I hate spoilers in the summary... But I didn't hate the book at all.

The 5 earworms of the last weeks

Whilst I've been on holiday there were five songs that I just couldn't get out of my mind. I'm still working on some reviews and am a bit short on time at the moment, so I thought I might as well present you a little part of my weird mind. Especially because most of the songs are surely worth a listen. At least said weird mind thinks that.

There's also some good reasons why it's been exactly these five songs:

Panorama City by Antoine Wilson

Today it's all about one of the books I've read whilst on holiday in Italy for the last 10 days.

This book is one of the most wonderful and inspiring books I've read in quite a while. Seriously. Actually I can't even remember when I was amazed by a book so much.

I received the book by the publisher (Suhrkamp/Insel) in exchange for an honest review and I couldn't have wished for a better one. So thank you for this opportunity!

Panorama City (German title: Ein Mann von Welt) is the story of Oppen Porter - told by himself. Literally. It's a transcript of tapes he's recorded for his son, because he's going to die. You can find more information on the book and the author here or on Goodreads.

Oppen Porter is a simple man who has gone to the big city to become a man of the world. He has to change is lifestyle to live there, he gets a job and he meets new people. He learns a lot. Not just about himself, also about life. And I reckon that's why he wants to pass everything on to his son, so that he doesn't have to struggle to find that knowledge as well. 

September Roundup

Time flies! September is over and summer as well. Bring on those sunny autumn days with it's light breezes and colourful leaves. Welcome October!

But first let's relive my September in things I've heard, watched or read. It's less films, series and books this month, because I had to write a seminar paper for uni and was quite busydue to that and now I'm on holiday. Nevertheless I discovered a lot of new music which was entertaining and making work easier.

And it has been a month of firsts. I received my first reading copy from a publishing company, which is my current read, which you'll hear about in October. And you might have read my review of the Brass Phantoms single, which was a first as well as I never got asked by a band to review their music before.