Personal thoughts - Chris Martin & Gwyneth Paltrow split

The Concious Uncouple

Earlier this week myself and many fans of both Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow were shocked by some surprising news of their personal lives. A split. Honestly, I never expected to see such a headline myself. I remember when I first saw the post on Gwyn's blog, Goop I was completely taken aback. How could this ever happen? I had thought to myself, hardly believing what my eyes were seeing.

Chris and Gwen were always the perfect example of what I and many other fans saw as being 'the perfect couple' and utterly unbreakable. For 10 years the two were married to each other and had two beautiful children, Apple (9) and Moses (7).

In Gwyn's announcement post she asks for their "space and privacy to be respected at this difficult time." I don't think I could agree more, breaks up can be tough and I am sure there is nothing worse than having the press breathing down their necks at all times. Having 2 young children and making sure their lives remain as 'normal' as possible without them getting any bother from the publicity may be difficult.

[picture used from Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop post]

All I can do is hope for the best for Chris and Gwyneth. I truly admire them both and I hope their privacy is as respected as they want it to be. I wish them health and happiness in the rest of their lives.

Review on The Vaccines' album What Did You Expect from The Vaccines?

What did you expect?

Yes, yes I know it's been 3 years since The Vaccines released this album but I felt like doing another 'oldie but a goldie' review today (also maybe because I have been too lazy to listen to a new album.. Eeek!) . This debut album is up there in my favourite albums and always seems like the kind of album you can rely on to not bore you.

I think that this album is the perfect example of one of those albums where there are no 'filler in' songs. In case you don't know what I mean, my idea of a 'filler in song' is a song just put into the album for no reason. The song doesn't catch the listener's attention and usually leaves them skipping the song on their iPod or CD. All of the songs on this album are different in their own way and are just too good to want to change.

The album opens with a perfect, upbeat start with 'Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)' and ends on a slow soft note with 'Family Friend'.

In a way this whole album has inspired my thoughts on what I want to do in the future. Not a lot of albums can affect a person in this way. I think this album is extremely surfer-esque, it makes me want to go surfing on a grey cloudy day, come in from the sea and sit in one of those vintage Volkswagen busses with a group of friends overlooking the stormy sea under a warm blanket.

I will leave you with my favourite track from the album, giving you a sample of what you can expect from The Vaccines ;) 

Review on Arctic Monkey's AM

         Ahh, yes my favourite album of 2013! This album is just so bad ass. Half of the album makes you wanna dress up in leather, wear red lipstick, drive around on a motorcycle and break boys hearts while the other half makes you wanna fall in love and slow dance with the love of your life. <sigh> I just really love this album, okay? Like, really could this band get any cooler?

I remember seeing such hype before the album was released and months after it was released. Not being a huge fan of Arctic Monkeys before (don't get me wrong, I liked them but just not as much as I do now) I didn't really get the excitement. Seeing posts everywhere on websites like Tumblr encouraged me to listen to a few songs. And oh, did I fall in love!! I knew their previous popular songs but this album is a whole new level!

The tracks on this album are soething of beauty. The singles released include: 'R U Mine?'; 'Do I Wanna Know?'; 'Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?'; and 'Arabella'.
My favourite song on this album is 'Knee Socks' or 'No. 1 Party Anthem'.
The lyrics of some of these songs (in parcticular 'Arabella') are so beautifully written and leave you in complete shok of what you have just heard.
This whole album in general has converted me to an Artic Monkeys fan and I am looking forward to seeing them in concert this summer,
This album deserves every award it has won this year, despite how cringy Alex Turner acted while accepting them...

Coldplay - Ghost Stories (upcoming album)

         A NEW ALBUM BY COLDPLAY YOU SAY? 

YES PLEASE! Coldplay are set to release their new album, Ghost Stories in mid-May 2014.
Rumors have spread that the album will be similar to their old stuff, like 'A Rush of Blood to the Head', my favourite album! I have high hopes for this album and don't want to be disappointed.
9 tracks had already been confirmed :

1.  Always in my Head
2. Magic
3. Ink
4. True Love
5. Midnight
6. Another's Arms
7. Oceans
8. A Sky Full of Stars
9. O

So far Coldplay have released 2 songs, 'Midnight', and 'Magic' but performed two other singles 'Another's Arms' and 'Always in my Head' at the iTunes music festival which were both accepted with great enthusiasm by fans.
Their first surprise single of the album, Midnight was released a couple of weeks ago and was greated with mixed responces. The song is dark and is complimented  by a music video directed by Mary Wigmore (who also directed the video to 'The Hardest Part'). The video reached 1 million views in less than 6 hours. It seems almost as if they did a 'Beyoncé' on their suprise release of this song. Well played, boys.

I, myself wasn't entirely fond of the song. It shows a completely new side of the band and takes a sharp turn from the previous upbeat, 'pop'ish album Mylo Xyloto (also greeted with mixed reviews). I have further hope for this album, however.

Their latest single, 'Magic' is far more to my liking. Wow, I love this tune. It has been accepted very well by fans and seems to be doing quite well in the charts.

Recently Coldplay have joined up with Target to release a deluxe version of Ghost stories that includes 3 bonus tracks:

1. All Your Friends
2. Ghost Story
3. O (Part 2)

I have high hopes for this album. I will be waiting patiently and hope it lives up to its expectations!!