Innuendo Bingo Favourites

Hello there - I thought it's about time to talk to you about another one of my favourite silly and funny radio/TV features. I already showed you my Carpool Karaoke favourites some months ago and today it's time for Innuendo Bingo.

For everyone who doesn't know it already: It's part of Scott Mills' and Chris Stark's weekdays BBC Radio 1 show and in Innuendo Bingo season on once a week. They collect funny innuendo audio clips from TV or radio shows and play them whilst to people have water in their mouth trying not to laugh (or trying to make the other person as wet as possible, I'm never sure).

Sounds weird? It is. And it is super funny and you can even play along if you want to make a mess or your floor needs cleaning anyway.

Songs of the Week [19]

Radiohead are back, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are back and also Justin Timberlake has finally released new music - what a week, let's dive into the music right away.

The first song on this week's playlist is Justin Timberlake's new song which is called Can't Stop The Feeling. It is part of the soundtrack from the upcoming animation movie Trolls and it might become the summerhit of the year. It's happy and makes you bop your head or even dance.

Hotter Then Hell is the next single by my favourite new singer-songwriter of the year 2016 - Dua Lipa. I really enjoy her vocals on every track and this song is particularly sexy and catchy, it's great.

After five years of silence there's new music by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The first single release of their upcoming album The Getaway is called Dark Necessities. It is funky and cool and reminds of some of their older songs from ten years ago.

Private School is by Canadian rock band Arkells. The lyrics are a bit weird, but the music is funky and cool.


Young the Giant is an American indie rock band who are releasing their third album Home Of The Strange in August. The new single which is the second to be released from the upcoming record is called Something To Believe In. Its haunting lyrics and great guitar chords make it a great choice for a single release.

And the last song is the highlight of the week: Radiohead's new single Burn the Witch. They have surprised everyone with their album release yesterday. The new record is called A Moon Shaped Pool and is great! Burn the Witch is the first official single release and it is really good. It sounds ambient, a bit experimental and emotional.

That's it already. Do you like this week's songs? Which one is your favourite? I would love to hear from you.

If you are in need of even more music, feel free to listen to the whole Songs of 2016 (Spotify // Apple Music) playlist or my Currently Listening list (Spotify // Apple Music).

Captain America: Civil War

Twelve superheroes getting into a conflict that ultimately makes them fight each other.

Wow - Captain America: Civil War is 147 minutes of thrilling storytelling. I would say it is the best film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet. It is dramatic, witty and thrilling.

It's really good that there isn't one big really bad guy they have to fight (there is someone, but he's not the main problem) all the superheroes are fighting against and that instead they are up against each other. It is an opportunity to get to know our heroes a bit better, what their characters are like as well as how they think and Marvel has taken this opportunity very well. You get to know more about the relationships between them which is brilliant - it adds more emotions to the action-packed film.

Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, Falcon, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Hawkeye, Black Panther, Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, Spider-Man - it's a bit of work to understand everything going on with all the characters, but it's definitely worth it. If you make sure you're up to date with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (at least with the films) it will be a bit easier to keep up.

The fight scenes are beautifully choreographed and fun to watch. The introduction of the new characters Black Panther and Spider-Man is very well done and the actors very well picked. Especially Tom Holland as Spider-Man is turning the superheroe alliance on its ear. He might be a bit naive but he is so cute and witty at the same time. It is going to be exciting to see the new heroes in their own movies.

All in all, Civil War has a great balance of action scenes like fights and chases and emotional scenes with encounters of the characters either funny, sad or angry. It feels like it's the most thoughtful and mature film in the anthology. Watch it!

If you have seen it already, let me know your opinions in the comment section, I would love to hear them.

Songs of the Week [18]

Looks like the whole Beyoncé album has entered the charts everywhere. And the rest of the charts are several Prince songs - with good reason.

But that's not all there is. I have picked some great new songs for this weeks playlist.

This is what you came for, right? Lot's of new songs. And guess what...

This Is What You Came For is the first song on this weeks list. It is the newest collaboration of dream team Calvin Harris and Rihanna (We Found Love). It's good but not as good as his predecessor.
I have been watching Calvin Harris' Snapchat stories in which he is producing songs for weeks now and was already wondering when the first single is going to be released and here it is.

Shakespeare Live!

Last Saturday (or maybe next Saturday, the historians aren't too sure about it) 400 years ago one of the greatest writers of all time died - William Shakespeare.

His plays are brilliant, he has changed the English language and he has inspired so many people. If you want to know more about his life visit William Shakespeare: The life and legacy of England's bard by the BBC, it's very well made and interesting.

In course of the celebrations of the anniversary of his death there are many tributes, stories and events. One of these was Shakespeare Live! From The Royal Shakespeare Company.

The show which was broadcasted live from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon was a celebration of the all his plays and his influence on music, dance, opera and theatre today.

David Tennant and Catherine Tate (yes, the Doctor and Donna or - as we're talking about Shakespeare - Beatrice and Benedick) presented the star-studded show.

Songs of the Week [17]

The past days have been full of music news, bad and good.

Firstly, the tragic news on Thursday that another icon has left this world way too soon - Prince. 2016 really hasn't been easy on the celebrity world so far. Prince was an inspiration to so many people especially musicians. If you don't know a lot about him, go to my Facebook page, I shared some tributes to him on there.

Secondly, there's a new Beyoncé album and that is certainly good news for her fans. Lemonade was premiered on HBO in America on the weekend and is so far only available on Tidal - her husband Jay-Z's streaming service, but you can watch the hour-long stream here.

And for those who have already filled their weekend with Beyoncé's and Prince's music, here's my Songs of the Week for even more great music.

Spring Randomness

Hello my dear readers,

Blogger thought it's cool to be mean to me and didn't save the post about 30 Rock I wrote last night and as there is beautiful weather outside today, I really don't want to rewrite it tonight.

But as it's spring I decided to share a few photos with you I took in the past days and I hope you like them.

We've got the most wonderful cherry tree in our garden and every spring I fall in love with it again. Also, I used to enjoy climbing on it as a child to read or just to sit there and watch the world go by.

And because I adore cherry blossoms, here's two other one's from our little sour cherry tree.

What is your favourite thing about spring? Let me know.

If you enjoy my photos, you can also follow me on Instagram.

I will be back on Monday with the brand new Songs of the Week. If you haven't checked out this week's songs yet, click here.

Have a lovely weekend!

Songs of the Week [16]

To be honest, it has not been easy to find songs for this week's list - it has been a weak New Music Friday...

But I have found some good company for the two new releases on this Songs of the Week list. These are this week's songs:

Home by producer Topic and singer-songwriter Nico Santos came on the radio when I was in the car last week and I really enjoyed it, hence I thought it's a good choice for this week's list. It is a great calm electronic pop song.

P!nk is back and has recorded a song for the new Alice Through the Looking Glass movie, which is called Just Like Fire.

Cinema Anticipation

After all the new trailer releases in the past week I thought it would be nice to share the films with you that I am really looking forward to during the rest of this year.

There's some amazing movies coming up and I am already very excited. It's a great mixture of drama, comedy thrillers and science fiction and I hope you enjoy a little trailer parade.

I can't wait to watch all of these films - here are the ten most anticipated ones (in order of release date).

Songs of the Week [15]

Music Monday time! I've been on the search for new tracks again and in this post I will present you with the results aka six great new tracks to expand your music collection.

But first some breaking news for all fellow Bastille fans out there. They have played another new song at a festival last week and it sounds pretty good and really exciting - watch the video when they performed The Currents live for the first time here. I'm so ready for LP2, hopefully we won't have to wait too much longer.

Back to why we are here - the Songs of the week. It's somehow a special week because I have put a song with German lyrics on the list for the first time ever.

Here are this week's songs:

The Liebster Award

Remember Katherine? She was the one adding a brilliant song to this old playlist.

She's running a great blog called "What Does The Katt Say?", which I enjoy reading a lot. Now, the lovely lady has nominated me for a Liebster Award (read her post about it here).

And I accept this award and am really thankful, it's great to know, that my blog is appreciated.

The award comes with 11 questions from Katherine, I have to answer and you can read this little interview below. Also, you will find ten random things about me and my nominees, who are running great blogs themselves, beneath the Q&A part. Enjoy reading!

Songs of the Week [14]

Hello again. To say it in the words of Sherlock's Moriarty: Did you miss me?

It's another Monday and it's time for yet another playlist. This week featuring the song that's been playing everyday at my home since it got released and the title track of a great new album which luckily didn't turn out to be an April's fool.

By the way, do you have any great April's fools stories? I'd love to hear them, so leave a comment.

Back to the music, that's what we're here for, isn't it?

Songs of the Week [13]

Happy Easter everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful long weekend with friends and family so far. And to make your Easter even better, I decided to post the Songs of the Week a day early, so that you can enjoy them during the rest of the long weekend.

If you need even more music, feel free to listen to the whole Songs of 2016 (Spotify // Apple Music) playlist or my Currently Listening list (Spotify // Apple Music).

This week's songs are a mixed bag of new releases and some songs which have been out for some weeks already. It's Easter - hunt for the oldest one.

Now, to say it with the title of the first song: Welcome to the show.

The Night Manager

Hello everyone!

Today, I will tell you a little bit about a new mini-series which is currently on BBC One and is an absolute must-watch, especially if you're into spy thrillers - and no it's not about James Bond, it's all about The Night Manager.

Jonathan Pine, a night manager from an hotel in Cairo is recruited by intelligence agents after he gets involved in events concerning the international arms dealer Richard Roper. He is meant to infiltrate Roper's network to uncover his trades.

The six-part series is nerve-wracking, thrilling and beautifully made. It is the best John Le Carré adaption I watched since Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy back in 2011, if not even better.

I love that John Le Carré's story is transferred into modern days, because the series gains relevance through this. Illegal arms trading is still a problem as we can see with all the horrible things happening in Syria and all over the world. The thiller is somehow eye opening and very upsetting - it's facing so many issues and is really addictive.

Songs of the Week [12]

It's officially spring, it's sunny outside and it feels a bit like summer is coming (who cares about winter after all).

On that occasion and the fact that I can't get that Sigala song out of my head for quite some time now, I decided to do a dance/house playlist this week and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

And maybe one of the songs will be this years summer hit, we will see... Two of the featuring artists on today's songs have been on former playlists already and I'm glad they got to be part of great new songs so soon - I'm talking about Vaults (SOTW8) and Emma Carn (SOTW1).

For all the featured songs on my Songs of the Week feature give my Songs of 2016 playlist on Spotify a go and follow it to stay updated. But first here's this week's new additions to celebrate the arrival of spring.

Zootopia

Today it's going to be a short one because (nearly) all I've got to say is:

"Go and watch this film!"

Zootopia is for sure one of the must-see movies for everyone this year. Why? It's an amazing film, very current and has the perfect message for the world we're living in today: Respect each other and we can all live together in peace.

But it's not just that, the newest Disney animation is a story about dreams, courage and adventure. And it is a lot of fun to watch.

Not for nothing it has 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and this Critics Consensus:

"The brilliantly well-rounded Zootopia offers a thoughtful, inclusive message that's as rich and timely as its sumptuously state-of-the-art animation - all while remaining fast and funny enough to keep younger viewers entertained."

Another remarkable thing I've got to mention is the passion for detail. All the animal versions of film posters and adverts are super cute and they even bothered to make up animal related song titles. And there's even more pop culture references, CINEMABLEND has collected ten of them in a gallery, have a look.

With Zootopia, Disney has once more proved that they can make wonderful movies for everyone and I think I know already who will be taking home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature next year.

I loved it and hopefully you will love it too. Let me know when you saw it and tell me what you think by commenting below.

And last but not least, here's a trailer to get rid of your last doubts.

Songs of the Week [11]

It's a new week, which means that there's new music and I've got an interesting mix of the newest released tracks for you as every Monday.

If you want to have a look on what has been on the previous lists this this year, check out my Songs of 2016 playlist on Spotify and follow it to stay updated. As you probably know, I'm adding six new songs every week, which I'm presenting to you every Monday.

This week's list is featuring one song, that could get really big this year, a powerful Eurovision Song Contest entry, a very unusual artist choice for me and a beautifully emotional charity single.

But I will keep you guessing for a bit and let's start with two new indie tracks I really enjoy listening to first.

Artist Rendezvous: IAMWE

This Thursday, it is time for another Artist Rendezvous and it is about one of my favourite new discoveries: IAMWE.

IAMWE is an American indie pop/rock band from sunny Phoenix. They are a five-piece consisting of frontman Nate Huss, guitarist Shane Tschida, guitarist Ryan Williamson, bassist Erik Brunner and drummer Josh Carlson.

Their debut EP LOVE and LOSS was released a few weeks ago and it sounds really good. The songs are super catchy and have a great vibe. It is music that is enjoyable and easy going, but also has that special extra spark. And this is the groovy sound paired with an awesome presence and philosophy.

I had the chance to ask the band some questions and get to know them a bit better. Hit play on their EP and read the interview below.

Songs of the Week [10]

Hello fellow music friends! I'm keeping it short and sweet this week, because I'm ill and got a lot to do. But I didn't want to withhold these new releases from you, thence I'm doing a short post anyway.

The first song on the playlist has already been out for a while, but is on the list to celebrate an album release. The song is Love Is Blind by Låpsley. Her debut album Long Way Home is out now and it's so lovely - you should listen to it.

The other five songs have all been released last Friday. First of all there's a new version of Desire by Years & Years. This time featuring Tove Lo. I think Desire along with Illuminate were the first songs I heard of Years & Years back in 2014. Desire is a great track and I'm glad they've finally released it as a single.

Back Into It by Graham Candy is the first single taken from the singers' debut album Plan A. It's a catchy, dance pop track. You might remember Graham's Candy voice from Alle Farben's track She Moves.

Speaking of catchy pop tunes. Genghis Khan by Miike Snow is another one. The Swedish indie pop band has released their third album iii on Friday and Genghis Khan is the latest single taken from it.

Frank Turner's new single is called Mittens
and it's rocking and gleeful love song.

And now that were on the rock trail already, there's also a new memorable single by one of the newest promising rock bands around: Last Night by The Sherlocks. I already picked another The Sherlock's song for a playlist last year and it looks like I was right about being excited for new music by the Sheffield boys as this one is really great again.

And that is it already. Hopefully you enjoyed this week's picks. Check out the full Songs of 2016 playlist on Spotify to catch up with the Songs of the Week so far.

Love
Julia x

Kodaline // European Tour 2016

As promised in Monday's SOTW post, I wrote a few words about the Kodaline gig in Stuttgart I have been to last Friday.

I've been looking forward to my first gig of 2016 for a while - especially because it also meant I would get to see one of my favourite bands again.

You probably know that I've seen them twice before, but this time it was the first real tour gig I've been to, so it was still special.

I don't want to repeat myself too much, hence you can read why I think Kodaline are a brilliant live band in my post about their New Pop Festival performance last year and about their music in general in my post about their latest album Coming Up For Air.

But here's why I really loved this particular concert: I'm so happy they had Lost on their setlist, I adore this song. And the lighting was pretty epic as well. And of course I had tears in my eyes again when they played Love Will Set You Free - it's just such a beautiful and emotional song and it happens every time...

If you have a chance to see them live somewhere near you, you should do it - I promise you will have a great night.

Last but not least, I have a video with some impressions from the gig for you - I'm sorry that the sound isn't great... My camera is broken and it was just too loud for my phone... Hopefully you can enjoy it anyway.