2021 In Music

Hi guys first of all MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope you've all had a lovely time and that Santa has been good to you 💓.

I'm excited to publish one of my favourite blogs of the year where I get to waffle and give my entirely uneducated and uncalled for opinions of music I've loved during 2021 😂 (for those of you interested you can check out my review of 2020's music here, I've also been posting occasional blogs about a music challenge that you can see here). As always I'd really like to know what you guys have enjoyed this year and any recommendations you have for me. As always click on the blue writing for links to the albums and songs. 

As a disclaimer some of these songs might have been released prior to 2021 and I've only discovered them this year but loved them so much I had to include them. So without further ado (and in no particular order)  let's jump in .......

Royal Blood - Typhoons

I'd been looking forward to the release of this album ever since Trouble's Coming was released last year and it was worth the wait. I'd describe it as 'rock you can dance to', it has the heaviness of their previous albums but with an added groove. My favourite songs on it are Typhoons (not just because there's a plane the same name honest!) and Boilermaker (Co-written by Queens Of The Stoneage's Josh Homme). Royal Blood are actually still the last band I saw live back in 2019 as although gigs I have tickets for have gone ahead unfortunately my mental health has not played ball at all and I've missed gigs by Royal Blood, Yungblud and Amyl & The Sniffers 😓

Machine Gun Kelly - Tickets To My Downfall

I love this album, it takes me back to the pop punk of my teenage years. However don't be fooled by the upbeat tunes, it's not all sunshine and unicorns and does cover some darker elements. I first heard about MGK when a music commentary channel I follow on YouTube The Punk Rock MBA mentioned that MGK had worked with Blink 182's Travis Barker on his latest album. Not only had he released a new album but he'd actually released a short film to accompany it Downfalls High, whilst the acting is so wooden it could be considered a fire hazard I still enjoyed it. Releasing a film to accompany an album harks back to the creativity of bands like The Who, Pink Floyd etc and in the age of streaming (no I still can't work Spotify) having a visual reference for the songs really appeals to me. My favourite songs on the album are Jawbreaker and Bodybag. I also need to mention the single MGK released a couple of months ago Papercuts - hopefully some more new music will follow. 

Olivia Rodrigo - Sour

Speaking of a pop punk revival leads me to another album I've enjoyed this year by Olivia Rodrigo. When I heard the first single from the album Driver's Licence I wasn't that into it, I thought she had a good voice but it was all a bit overwrought and teenage for me. I kept seeing people raving over her so I decided to listen to some of the other songs on the album and I'm so glad I did, I really like Brutal, Hope U R Ok and of course the Paramore-esque Good For You. The best thing is that Olivia is only 18 and hopefully has many more years in the industry ahead of her, I can't wait to see what she produces!

The Pretty Reckless - Death By Rock & Roll

My final favourite album of the year is The Pretty Reckless' Death By Rock & Roll. I've been a fan of them for 10 years now and the latest album hasn't disappointed. It's the perfect example of 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' and stays perfectly on brand for them. Taylor Momsen has a fantastic voice perfectly framed by the heavy band behind her. My favourite songs on the album are Death By Rock & Roll, Only Love Can Save Me Now, Rock & Roll Heaven and the collaboration with Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello And So It Went.

And now for some songs I've enjoyed this year -

30 Seconds To Mars & Illenium - Wouldn't Change A Thing

Amyl & The Sniffers - Gacked On Anger

Sam Fender - Seventeen Going Under

Green Day - Pollyanna

Foo Fighters - No Son Of Mine

Mod Sun - Karma

Ghostemane - Lazaretto

Scarlxrd - Mxrbid

Yungblud - Fleabag

Nova Twins - Vortex

Inhaler - It Won't Always Be Like This

That's all for me for this year. Hopefully my mental health will allow me to actually attend some gigs next year. Let me know which artists you're looking foward to seeing or hearing new music from in 2022!

Love Jen

XxxX

31 Day Song Challenge - A song that makes you want to dance

Whilst I try not to shake my (considerable) shelf in public too often so as not to traumatise innocent people there are definitely some songs that make me want to move.

One song I like to listen to when I'm getting ready to go out is Lady GaGa 'Dance In The Dark' as it puts me in an upbeat mood and also reminds me of dancing with the rest of the Little Monsters when the Monster Ball arrived at London's O2 Arena.

The song I've gone for is from a band who are one of the best live acts I've seen for whipping up a crowd and raising the roof. That band is The Prodigy and the song I've chosen is 'Breathe'.

Dance music isn't my favourite genre as I find a lot of it repetitive or it murders classic songs that I adore (see Jonas Blue ruining Tracy Chapman's 'Fast Car') but The Prodigy are a different beast. I think I like their music because it's heavy and some songs feel almost punky which matched the lead singer Keith's (RIP 😞) aesthetic - lots of cool hair, studs and a leather jacket. When I saw them the crowd were so into it and determined to have a good time and the band fed off their energy. It's not often I want to let loose and throw myself around in public but, for better or worse, The Prodigy always make me feel tempted 😂. 

Love Jen

XxxX

Happy Birthday Esme! 🐰🐇

My beautiful Esme turned the ripe old age of 13 last week and I thought since she hasn't had much blog coverage for a while I thought now would be the perfect time to post some of my favourite photos of her.

Esme and her sister Estelle (Stelly) came home at the age of 8 weeks old on the 10th Jan 2009 and I was immediately in love.

One of the first things I realised about both girls was what strong personalities they had. Stelly was very food focused and vain whereas Esme was obsessively tidy (I swear she has OCD) and rather, er disapproving and this disapproval has only grown over the years 😂.

If the badge fits.......

Their first snow in November 2009.

We lost Stelly back in June 2017 leaving me utterly heartbroken and if it hadn't been for Esme I honestly wouldn't have been able to carry on. She makes me laugh with her feistiness and of course her infamous glare......

She even frowns when eating.

She also displays her disapproval by trashing her puppy pads (she's a little, er, incontinent due to her age so the pads just help keep her a bit drier). 

Dandelions are her favourite snack

I'm always amazed at how much she moults 😱

She loves the snow, this was taken in March 2018

Her favourite thing to do (aside from tidying and frowning) is sitting on top of and savaging her 'carrot cottage'.... We get through about one a month...... 

They're also great for flipping upside down and sitting in! 

In 2019 Eos entered our lives and I can't believe how well she and Esme get on even if I don't sometimes wonder if Eos thinks Esme is the pack leader......

I love you so much my little, grumpy floof ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

31 Day Song Challenge - A Song That Needs To Be Played Loud

Hiya guys I hope you're enjoying my series of music blogs so far. Today I'm going to be talking about a song that should be played loud. The eagle-eyed amongst you may notice that I've missed out the 'song that reminds you of someone you'd rather forget' option, this is a deliberate decision as I want to keep this series positive and reflect the joy that music brings me rather than bring anything negative to it.

This post is actually quite a hard one to do as I like all my music played loud! So I'm going to try and choose something that's a good sonic experience rather than just a favourite song I listen to loudly.

Two bands I love who provide great sonic experiences are Pink Floyd and arguably their modern equivalent Muse. Both bands create intricate soundscapes where you discover something new every time you listen to them. I've had the good fortune to see Muse live 3 times and they are absolutely fantastic and do indeed sound good played loud! 

I took this photo of Muse when I saw them at The O2 Arena on the Drones tour in 2016.

So today I'm declaring a draw between the two bands and going to pick my favourite song by each band. 

I've chosen Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb firstly because it's Dad's favourite song and always reminds me of fun times we have listening to it and also the pure joy he has on his face whenever it comes on. 

I also identify with it's lyrics and themes, it starts with a confusion of voices and sounds that could be interpreted as a kind of manic confusion, it asks "is there anybody out there?" from a kind of isolation wondering if this is reality or your brain playing tricks on you. 

I love how the music changes as the song progresses, it starts calmly, almost echoing before the first guitar solo pierces through. It culminates in a really heavy guitar solo which could go on forever. In my humble opinion this is prog rock done right. 

My nomination for Muse is my favourite song of their's Hysteria. It perfectly shows Matt Bellamy's epic guitar skills, he makes it absolutely scream as if suffering from the hysteria of the song's title. It sounds just as good live as it does on record, check out this video from their 2007 Wembley Stadium Show (I was there, it was epic, enough said). If you ever get the chance to see them live then I strongly suggest that you do!

Love Jen

XxxX

31 Day Song Challenge - A Song That Reminds You Of Summer ☀

Summer is my favourite season so naturally I have an entire playlist on my iPod dedicated to songs for the sunshine. It features songs like 'Summer Of 69' by Bryan Adams (duh), 'California Dreamin' by The Mamas And Papas but also songs that aren't explicitly about summer but that remind me of summers past. This includes tracks such as 'Closer To The Edge' by 30 Seconds To Mars, 'Alejandro' by Lady GaGa, 'California King Bed' by Rihanna, 'She Will Be Loved' by Maroon 5. Alternatively I could name one of the cheesier summer holiday songs from my childhood like 'Mambo Number 5' by Lou Bega or maybe a bit of Ricky Martin 'Livin La Vida Loca'.

Thankfully though I'm going for my ultimate summer song Don Henley - Boys Of Summer. Yes it's an utter cliché but from the moment I hear the opening guitar note I can feel the sunshine and yearn for blue skies and longer days. It latches onto everyone's nostalgia for summers gone by and hangs onto every last bit of warmth well into the winter. There's also a fantastic cover of the track by The Ataris and even a dance cover I like by DJ Sammy which gets extra points for the horrific early 00s hair featured in the video 😂. 

Say no more 😂😂😂😂

Love Jen

XxxX

31 Day Song Challenge - A Song You Like With A Number In The Title

Hi guys I hope you liked my last blog where I explained what I'm hoping to do with this 'series'. I've also tagged them all under 'Music Challenge' on my blog categories to make them easier to find.

 I'm good like that!

So today's blog, as the title suggests, is about a song with a number in it's title. I've had a few ideas such as 30 Seconds To Mars - 93 Million Miles, 1000 Miles by Vanessa Carlton for summer nostalgia but I've settled on Lady GaGa - Million Reasons.

I think it's a beautiful song and shows off GaGa's amazing voice. This is off her 5th album Joanne which was a far more stripped back affair than her previous albums but has some great songs on it. If you like GaGa's more 'ballady' style then check out Speechless (I've had the privilege to hear it live and it was heart stopping) or You & I. 

Fingers crossed I get to hear them both live again soon 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Love Jen

XxxX

31 Day Song Challenge - Day 1 A song with colour in the title 🎶

Hi guys I hope you're all doing ok and are relieved the Halloween spam is over 😂. When I was producing said spam I was reminded of how I do enjoy blogging regularly, I used to manage a couple a week, but with no inspiration other than my crap mental health and the shit services I have to endure they weren't going to be much fun. So I had a lightbulb moment when remembering the '30 Day Music Challenge' I did on my Instagram stories last year. I thought why not put it into blog form, it'll be fun and best of all I get to talk about music 🎶. I'm not intending to post every single day but hopefully I'll make it a couple of times a week at least 🤞🏻

So without further ado here's today's 'A song you like with colour in the title'. I had a couple of options here 'Fade To Black' by Metallica, 'Raspberry Beret' by Prince BUT I had to go with the legend himself Jimi Hendrix with Purple Haze.

From the first note of the opening it just makes you want to move and for its time it's so far ahead in its 'heaviness' and choppy guitar. There's been thousands of far more intelligent articles than I could ever write about Hendrix's influence on modern music but I can best sum it up by a YouTube comment I saw whilst copying the link of the song to this blog -

 

Says it all..... 

See you in the next blog 🤟🏻 

Love Jen

XxxX

I Love You Grandad

 Last week my Grandad Frank Richardson passed away at the age of 94 and I wanted to show you all some of my favourite photos of him with a couple of the fantastic memories I have of spending time with him. I'm incredibly lucky to have had 34 years with him and Grandma and have been surrounded by their love. 

At Chris and Vana's wedding October 2017

So in no particular order here are some photos of my beloved Grandad 💖

Grandma & Grandad on their wedding day March 1950

Grandad (second in from the left) served on HMS Victorious during WW2 and I loved hearing his memories of life on board the ship and his experiences in Australia and Malaysia. I remember being amazed at his description of watching Great White Sharks from the Sydney Harbour Bridge when they would occasionally swim in.

I guess this is one of the first photos of Grandad, Grandma and me.

Playing football with Grandad and Auntie (luckily I didn't follow Grandad's lead in supporting Brighton, I took the far more sensible option of supporting Liverpool 😂)

As you can see from my top! (Christmas 2001)

One of Grandad's favourite stories to tell about me was the time he was building a garage in their garden and I took it upon myself to bury his tools ..... in my defence I was trying to help!

 

See helping!!!!

Chris, Grandad and me

Grandma and Grandad used to come on holiday to France with us, including combining my 5th & his 65th birthdays with a trip to the recently opened Disneyland Paris! On one holiday I apparently accused him of being a wimp for not immediately jumping in the slightly chilly sea with me .....

Disneyland!!!!!!!

Ice Cream with Grandma (probably the instigator!), Grandad and Mum

Chris, Grandad and me

We're so lucky to be part of a close family who spend a lot of time together.

I think this is my 13th birthday 

BBQ Time

My 18th 

Chris's 18th

This was the Christmas that Grandad wanted a new watering can and Chris had the genius idea to 'wrap it' and put blue shredded paper out of the spout to look like water 😂


Grandma & Grandad's 60th wedding anniversary in 2010

Chris and Grandad


Back in 2015 Helen, Grandma, Grandad and me went up to Beachy Head to watch the Vulcan Bomber

Everybody together

Christmas 2015

Summer 2018

One of the days I've seen Grandad most joyful was at Chris and Vana's wedding in October 2017.

I adore this photo 💖

Grandad's 90th was a beautiful, sunny day

When Eos arrived in 2019 Grandad fell in love with her along with the rest of us. 

 

We had a cream tea for Grandad's birthday last year

A trip to the park last year

Visiting earlier this year

I love you so much Grandad, thank you for all the amazing memories 💗💗💗💗💗💗

Love Jen

XxxX