Of Mice & Men - You're Not Alone

I was starting to get a little tired of Of Mice & Men. I got into them in that sort of dry period where a band isn't touring or publicly working on new material, so you have what they've already put out, but no massive incentive to stay interested. Don't get me wrong, their two already-released albums (Of Mice & Men, and The Flood) are awesome, but I have a short attention span. I am in constant need of new material.
Then, the other day we finally received news of their new album, Restoring Force, due out sometime next year. They also gave us the first single off it, titled You're Not Alone.
It took me a few days to give it a listen, but I have, and now I have also gotten access to a computer to write this. I'm not sure about this song. I think, as with some other songs they've made, it's probably a grower that I'll find myself listening to on repeat once I've gotten used to it. Maybe it's because this is work they're doing without former member Shayley Bourget - he's got a very distinctive voice, I think, so the absence of it really messes with what I have in my head as Of Mice & Men. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, though.
However, I do have some issues. I know every band has to grow and work with trying to change their music a little bit each time to make it better, but I'm not quite sure about Austin Carlile's vocals in this song. It just doesn't feel like he's screaming properly; it's not as raw and angry as on their older stuff. Also, the lyrics and the music itself feel a little too similar to that kind of 'lifesaver metalcore' that so many bands make - you know, where every song is about how you just have to hold their hand and it will be ok, and the breakdowns come in the same places . . . it's a bit boring. I know that's kind of OM&M's thing already, but in their older work they did it in a more original-sounding way.
So, maybe it's not the strongest track, but I'm not going to write off the album just yet.

A Band You Would Like To See Live (13 of 30)

Ooooooohhhhhhh, difficult one. Very difficult one indeed, at first. but then I remembered Of Mice & Men. I would love to see them live, I've even had a dream about it - we were in a hotel, there were only about 30 people there cause it was like an intimate show, but really hardcore and awesome, and they talked to me after. This is They Don't Call It The South For Nothing.

(oh yeah, and the photo is taken by our lord Adam Elmakias, king of band photography)

5 Songs: P

Sleeping With Sirens - Postcards And Polaroids

Of Mice & Men - Product Of A Murderer

You Me At Six - Playing The Blame Game

Gorillaz - Punk

The Smiths - Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want

5 Songs: O

My Chemical Romance - Our Lady Of Sorrows

Pierce The Veil - One Hundred Sleepless Nights

Of Mice & Men - O.G. Loko

Fall Out Boy - Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued

Green Day - Oh Love

5 Songs: G

Deadmau5 feat. Rob Swire - Ghosts N Stuff

The Cribs - Girls Like Mystery

Rise Against - Give It All

Green Day - Give Me Novacaine

Of Mice & Men - The Great Hendowski

5 Songs: D

this is all for my own amusement, none of you are that bothered really, are you? Or you'd actually comment
-_-

Justice - D.A.N.C.E.

Gram Rabbit - Dirty Horse

Fall Out Boy - Death Valley

Of Mice & Men - The Depths

My Chemical Romance - Desert Song

Fuck Off

a playlist for when you feel like slapping everybody who looks at you.

Leathermouth - 5th Period Massacre

Bring Me The Horizon - Antivist

Slipknot - Duality

The Blackout - Fashion Conscious Suicide

Sleeping With Sirens - With Ears To See And Eyes To Hear

My Chemical Romance - This Is How I Disappear

Of Mice & Men - I'm A Monster

Fall Out Boy - XO

You Me At Six feat. Oli Sykes - Bite My Tongue

Happy 100th Post!

I am celebrating this because, not only is it an anniversary, it's a testament to my concentration. There's very little I can keep up with that takes as much effort as this blog does, so I'm pretty pleased with myself. So, to celebrate, we're having an internet party. To have a party, you need music. Because it's my party, we're having my music. I was going to do my top 100 songs ever, but that would just be me linking you to the My Chemical Romance back catalogue. I want to be a bit fairer than that, and also stick to something I'm actually capable of finishing. So what I'm doing here for our little party is an A to Z (zed, not zee, we're British here) of artists, and an awesome song by each. Not necessarily my favourite song, because you see enough of those, but other songs they've done that I also think are great. That way it's fair on the bands, and we get a little bit of variety in here. I'll also stick them in a youtube playlist if, for some bizarre reason, you want to hear them all at once.

A - All Time Low - Remembering Sunday
I'm still sort of going through the initial 'wow' phase of liking All Time Low, so I haven't settled on a favourite song yet, but at the moment I'm really liking this one. I'm learning it on guitar, too.

B - Bring Me The Horizon - Hospital For Souls
One of the best tracks off Sempiternal. You'd be able to feel the flames even if they weren't mentioned in the chorus.

C - The Cribs - I'm A Realist
I just really love the guitars in this, and the lyrics. Yeah . . .

D - Deaf Havana - Nicotine And Alcohol Saved My Life
This is the first song by Deaf Havana that I heard, and it's the song that convinced me to keep listening.

E - Evanescence - Bring Me To Life
Everybody knows this one. I remember seeing this one all the time on MTV when I was about seven. It also belongs on the soundtrack to my youth.

F - Fall Out Boy - Grand Theft Autumn (Where Is Your Boy)
It's such an emo song, but it's also awesome, and one of my favourites by the band.

G - Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc.
This was my favourite song from the age of about 9 until I discovered My Chemical Romance. Although apparently the bass is actually synth (broke my heart), still . . . baaasssss . . .

H- Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi
Because we needed a bit of J-rock in this playlist.

I - Imagine Dragons - Radioactive
I was struggling to find an artist for this letter, but I really like this song, so there you go.

J - Jay-Z & Linkin Park - Big Pimpin'/Papercut
I am just marvelling that this actually works, and why this happened in the first place.

K - The Killers - Mr Brightside
I don't even know why I'm writing an explanation for this one, because it really doesn't need any. Everybody loves this song. Everything loves this song. Play it in a laboratory and use an electron microscope, you'll see viruses dancing and singing along. It is science.

L - Lostalone - Do You Get What You Pray For?
This song is so badasssss, I remember why I was listening to them all the time last year.

M - My Chemical Romance - The Kids From Yesterday
I couldn't really decide for this one, because I love every single MCR track. But I decided this one because it was a perfect ending song to Danger Days, the prologue that is Vampire Money notwithstanding, and seeing as Danger Days was the last proper album of new material that they released, a perfect end to their career as a band.

N - New Order - Blue Monday
I don't even know.

O - Of Mice And Men - They Don't Call It The South For Nothing
I SAID I'D FIGHT BACK. I DIDN'T SAY THAT I'D FIGHT FAIR.

P - Pierce The Veil - Currents Convulsive
Most people forget about the other songs on A Flair For The Dramatic because of Chemical Kids . . . and Yeah Boy . . . but this track's possibly my favourite on the whole album, and really needs more attention from people.

Q - Queens Of The Stone Age - Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret
I don't listen to QOTSA much, but I like this one. It's the guitars at the beginning.

R - Rise Against - Make It Stop (September's Children)
The song's awesome, and the video is really emotive about bullying. It makes me want to hunt people down and fight them.

S - Sleeping With Sirens - With Ears To See And Eyes To Hear
LIAAAARR YOU'LL PAY FOR YOUR SSIIIINNNSSSS

T - Taking Back Sunday - Make Damn Sure
One of the first TBS songs I heard, while I was working in this shop, and it's what made me look them up properly.

U - The Used - The Bird And The Worm
I just love the contrast between the creepy little verses and the massive chorus.

V - The Vaccines - Post Break-Up Sex
I dunno, man, I just like this one.

W - Without A Face - Republicratic Gang
This was another difficult one, because all of WAF's songs are great. But I've put this one because it's off his amazing Oh, Great, An Election EP, which came before the even better American Scheme album. It's the first I've seen of WAF suddenly getting very cynical and political, and he does it very well. The video's also great.

X - Xiaolin Showdown Theme
Not going to lie, I struggled to find anything for X, but then I remembered this, and really . . . it's my favourite thing beginning with X.

Y - You Me At Six - Crash
I'd heard other You Me At Six songs before this, but this is the one that really got me into them. There's so much emotion in it.

Z - The Zutons - Valerie
We wouldn't have the Amy Winehouse version if it wasn't for this, and the original's not that bad anyway.

My Terrible Fan Art Edition 3 - Of Mice And Men

I think The Flood is going to have to go down as one of my favourite albums ever. But yeah, this one I'm quite pleased with because of the 3D aspect to it. It's slightly based on The Great Wave Off Kanagawa.

Songs For Monsters

I'm more of a fan of the bloodstained and macabre than religion, although I do love a good stained-glass window, and I appreciate the effort people put into worshipping their various deities. So anyway, as I'm not really a Jesus kind of girl, I'm having today as a second Halloween, and giving you some songs about the monsters out there.

Sleeping With Sirens - Dead Walker Texas Ranger
I really like how it starts of as some kind of gentle song, and then kicks in and it's all gruesome and frantic, and it sounds like running from zombies, even though there's still the kind of poppy 'ba ba ba' bits. It's the one song I could think of to actually put in this post at first, just because I really like it.

Falling In Reverse - I'm Not A Vampire
I am a little dubious about Falling In Reverse for a band, not least because they're so very scene that even I - and admittedly I probably shit purple glitter - find them a struggle at times. However, this song's so catchy I have never fully been able to get it out of my head.

Leathermouth - This Song Is About Being Attacked By Monsters
It just sounds like bashing in the brains of some terrifying creature and then hiding in a house waiting for its friends to get you, even before you read the lyrics - "They're coming in through the windows, and breaking through all the boards I nailed up, they look like they've been through hell and back, and they've got one thing on their minds". I can get very deep about this song.

Of Mice And Men - I'm A Monster
It may be called 'I'm A Monster', but to me it sounds more like how when everyone else is the monster, and they just make you think you're worse than them, and how furious with yourself you can feel because of it.

Misfits - Astro Zombies
My Chem did an awesome cover of this, but I'm sticking the original in here because it's awesome too.

The Cramps - Human Fly
I love this song. It sounds so creepy and erm . . . fly-like. Plus there's the lyrics, which always make me laugh. "I am a human fly and I don't know why, I've got ninety six tears in ninety six eyes".

Of Mice And Men - My Understandings

I just love this song. It sounds like water at the start, and then it kicks in and it's so big and angry and just yes, it's like a storm, which is really appropriate considering that it's off an album called The Flood.

Reaallllyyy Relaaaaxxxxinnggg Songs.

Because everybody's stressed at the moment. Exams are coming from every angle, teachers know that and are subsequently attacking everyone who's not going to make them look good this summer. Not fun. Especially not fun if, like me, you're a perfectionist and very easily stressed, which is why I've decided to post some of the songs I find really relaxing (hence the title), because sometimes stuff like Product of a Murderer is not what you need to hear to put you in a positive frame of mind, no matter how much I may like the song.

Gorillaz - Hong Kong
It's on one of their earlier, smaller albums, and I don't remember when I first heard it properly because I kept skipping it, but it's beautiful. Reminds me of grass and dirt and stuff.

Otis Redding - (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay
This guy is so chilled out. Just sitting there all day watching ships and boats. He is so chilled he has nothing else to do all day. Was he unemployed at the time? He's definitely more chilled than me, I could only look at a boat for about as long as this song lasts, but that really saying something on how relaxing this song is, because I normally can't look at boats at all.

Of Mice And Men - When You Can't Sleep At Night
I really wasn't expecting this the first time I heard it, given what the rest of OM&M's discography is like. You go all the way through The Flood and it's all fury and anger and punching walls, and then there's this beautiful calm one at the end.

Compay Segundo - Guantanamera
Latin music is actually awesome, and it's always relaxed, even when it's not. This is especially so, despite being about a woman from an area of Cuba currently controlled by the USA, even though they don't need it.

Rise Against - Swing Life Away
I like Rise Against, but sometimes the whole WE ARE VERY ANGRY ABOUT POLITICS thing gets a bit boring, even for me, and I'm always angry about politics. So this one's good, because not only is it relaxing, it's just about erm . . . swinging life away (swing your pants?)

The Best Of All The Harlem Shakes

I only knew what a Harlem Shake was a few days ago. You Me At Six did one and it was awesome.
THE BEST HARLEM SHAKE IN THE WORLD
(I can't get it to show up as a proper video grrrr)
Now, I think you may have noticed by now that I'm a bit of a fangirl. So, can you perhaps imagine what I did when I saw that.
It's got Pierce The Veil. It's got Of Mice And Men. It's got Sleeping With Sirens. It's got All Time Low. It's got horse masks. It's got weird dancing and Vic pretending to get off with himself and Tony and Alan guitaring and Austin thrashing about and just
;slgkajkj;fkajs;dklmasfkmalmfmd;lfamdf;
FEELS
I LOVE BANDS
I LOVE THOSE BANDS
THEY DID A DANCE
I LOVE THEM
BANDS
ALWAYS
BANDS
I LOVE THEM SO MUCH I REALLY JUST BANDS I NEED BANDS
THANK YOU SOUNDWAVE
THIS IS WHY FESTIVALS HAPPEN

(I am very professional please pay me to write this kind of stuff more often)

Of Mice And Men - Second And Sebring

This is the song that got me into Of Mice And Men. Apparently written by Austin Carlile (vocals/ "shouting really loud") as a tribute to his late mother and how she inspired him. Not quite similar to a lot of the other stuff they do, because of the amount that Shayley Bourget (former bassist and not shouty singer - don't ask for technical terms because I don't know them) sings in this one, but I still like it.

Hello.

So this blog is essentially a sort of project. I've been told that apparently I need to know more about handling social media, which is partly being corrected by this blog, and partly by my twitter, although twitter's not a preferred platform of mine because of the bastard 140 character limit.
The idea of this was to pick a subject and blog about it. One subject that I have a lot to say about is music. I am all over music, all over it like a powerful moss.

This, however, is a little introduction to me; the person behind the blog.
My name's Izzy, I'm currently 17 and I live in the north of England. I have various interests, including foreign languages - I'm studying German and Spanish at AS level (*coughshowoffcough*); reading, especially fiction and especially stuff where everyone dies very painfully; writing, of a similar nature to the stuff I like to read, but lacking in skill and plot; drawing with varying degrees of success (I draw a lot of band fan art, which may end up on here because it's kind of relevant); and, most pertinently to this blog, music. I'm learning guitar verrrry verrrrrry slowly, but I am progressing. I have, however, sworn never to take part in guitar douchery (loudly proclaiming that you can play guitar while in a public place and proceeding to play Wonderwall to the swoons of adoring girls completely lacking in musical knowledge).

I like a lot of bands. I mean a lot. There's so many bands that I like now that it takes me a couple of days to remember them all because I'll forget about six of them each time. Also, when I say 'I like bands', that's a bit of an understatement as well; I get so excited about some bands that I listen to that I have been driven to tears in the past. Just so you know what kind of blog you're getting into, and because I love lists, below is an actual list of the bands that I love the most.

My Chemical Romance, Pierce The Veil, Fall Out Boy, Sleeping With Sirens, Of Mice And Men, Panic! At The Disco, Without A Face, Rise Against, You Me At Six, Blink 182, Green Day, The Blackout, Cancer Bats, Slipknot, The Cure, The Smiths, The Cribs, Leathermouth . . . I am now panicking slightly because I know I've forgotten some of them and I can't remember which ones. Just so you know, my absolute favourites are My Chemical Romance and Pierce The Veil. I will actually eat your face off you while you're still alive for the opportunity to meet them (that may quite accurately sum up my blog title).

This blog will be about a range of things within the world of music. Songs and albums I like, why I like them, new bands and artists I'm listening to, issues within the world of music and such - anything that I believe is relevant and I can be bothered to write.

So yes, there you have it. That is me and my introduction post. Goodbye.