ARE YOU READY FOR LEEDS YET?!

(I got onto a computer! Crazy, isn't it. Mine's still broken though, which makes posting regularly very annoyingly difficult)

On Friday, this very Friday, begins the 2013 Leeds Festival. I am going to this festival. I am so excited that I have been having trouble sleeping, which is somewhat troublesome because I should probably get the rest now seeing as I'll be up and about pretty much all day every day when I get there.
This year has an amazing line-up, the best line-up you could hope for after 2011 featured My Chemical Romance. We've got Bring Me The Horizon, Green Day, Deaf Havana, and - most importantly for a fair amount of people, I think, because until this year all the newer fans like myself thought we'd never get to see them perform live - Fall Out Boy. Stoked does not cut it.
So, to try and help work through my own excitement enough that I can sleep tonight, and also help any of you who are somewhat unsure who to go and see at Leeds this year, here are the songs by my favourite bands and artists that will be there that I am most excited to see. (apologies for the breakdown in my ability to express myself as the post goes on, I was getting more and more excited)

Bring Me The Horizon - The Sadness Will Never End

I'm just really feeling this song today.

Leeds 2013

A Band You've Seen Live (12 of 30)

The first band I ever wrote about seeing live, and the band that did a show so good that it cemented them as one of my favourites, with my favourite song by them (at least at the moment), Chelsea Smile.

Morbid Songs For Morbid Writers

Aside from listening to music, I also like to write. I like to write morbid things about death and violence. To aid this cause, I made myself a playlist, and I think it may have broken with me. So, because maybe you're after a really depressing but cool collection of music, I will share this playlist with you.

Blink 182 - I Miss You

Blink 182 - Adam's Song

Echo And The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon

Gram Rabbit - Dirty Horse

Florence + The Machine - Cosmic Love

The Cure - Disintegration

The Cure - The Same Deep Water As You

My Chemical Romance - Romance

My Chemical Romance - Desert Song

My Chemical Romance - Interlude

My Chemical Romance - Cancer

Arctic Monkeys - 505

Arctic Monkeys - Crying Lightning

White Lies - Farewell To The Fairground

White Lies - Bigger Than Us

Deaf Havana - I Will Try

Deaf Havana - Times Change, Friends Leave And Life Doesn't Stop For Anybody

Deaf Havana - Nicotine And Alcohol Saved My Life

Panic! At The Disco - Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off

Bring Me The Horizon - Deathbeds

5 Songs: C

Bring Me The Horizon - Can You Feel My Heart

My Chemical Romance - Cemetery Drive

Fall Out Boy - (Coffee's For Closers)

Pierce The Veil - Caraphernelia

The Blackout - Children Of The Night

Bring Me The Horizon Review

I wrote it and it is on the music website Louderthanwar.com, who got me into the concert. You can read the review here.

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.

Heavy Music For Small Children

So about a year or two ago, I made my little sister Lily a mix CD to try and introduce her to the kind of music I like. I don't remember what was on it specifically, but it obviously involved a bit of My Chemical Romance, The Blackout and Good Charlotte because I was listening to them at the time. I'm thinking that, now I know Lily likes My Chem, it's time to ease her further into the weird milkshake of pop punk, alt rock and metal that is my musical taste. If I teach her nothing else, it will be which bands are good. Here's my selection. Please excuse my lack of commentary; I took a nap in the daytime because I barely slept last night and school made me run like a mile this afternoon, so now I'm really confused and I feel like I might throw up. Just producing a post is my priority here.

My Chemical Romance - Thank You For The Venom

You Me At Six - Underdog

Fall Out Boy - America's Suitehearts

Deaf Havana - Little White Lies

The Blackout - Hope (Scream It Out Loud)

Bring Me The Horizon - Shadow Moses

The Cribs - Housewife

Pierce The Veil - Bulletproof Love

My Chemical Romance - Headfirst For Halos

Panic! At The Disco - The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage

Green Day - Basket Case

Rise Against - Saviour

My Chemical Romance - The World Is Ugly

Bring Me The Horizon - Sempiternal

I haven't been listening to Bring Me The Horizon for that long, and it took me a while to decide that I liked them. But of recent, I've decided they're definitely brilliant, and the reason for that is their newest album, Sempiternal - or Sempiturtle, if you prefer.
"Sempiternal" is an actual word, it turns out; "an archaic English word denoting the concept of 'everlasting time' that can never actually come to pass . . . from the Latin word 'sempiternus'." (Wikipedia, obviously). What I've heard about the meaning behind the album so far is that it's supposed to be a collection of different stories and meanings, and it definitely sounds like that to me. I've been listening to it a lot. A LOT. A STUPID AMOUNT. It would be an understatement to say that I really like it. I like it so much that I need to say a lot of stuff about it, and I wasn't sure what. But then I remembered that I have this blog and it'd be pretty good to put on here.
Anyway, to the album!

It kicks off with one of my favourite songs off the whole album, Can You Feel My Heart. The creepy beeping at the start, and the echoes are amazing. Then the beat kicks in and it just gets amazing. And then on top of that, you get Oli's vocals and they're just wonderful, and they sound so raw and real. I love the line "I can't drown my demons, they know how to swim". Excuse me for a second while I turn this up to eleven.

The next song, The House Of Wolves, has some awesome guitars, and changes the previous mood of loneliness and isolation for this vicious fury and growling - appropriate when you consider the song title. It sounds like being on the hunt. I don't know if it's because of the Shadow Moses video, but the whole album reminds me of snow. This song reminds me of these huskies I saw when I was on a skiing holiday in Bulgaria. I went on a sled ride and they were pulling me along, and there was this absolutely crazy one that kept biting at the snow as it ran, and this is like its theme tune.

Then we get onto Empire (Let Them Sing). It starts with Oli giving this frantic, paranoid warning as the music builds up behind him, and then kicks in, and it's like a battle song. "The deeper you dig, the darker it gets . . . the wolves are at my door . . . are we truly alone?" It's like a conspiracy theory set to music. Again with the wolves. BMTH like wolves, don't they?

Sleepwalking's another of my favourites. It starts off with that spacey video-game sort of noise, and then (trying so hard to not say 'it kicks in'). Well. It sounds like panicking, and being trapped inside your own head, and trying to break out. I know that feel. "Should I sink or swim? Or simply disappear?" I like how it sort of morphs between the aggressiveness of the main song, and the sort of spacey, disoriented bits. Makes me wish I could sing properly so I could join in with this properly.

Next is Go To Hell, For Heaven's Sake. It sounds like hatred to me. All the horrible things you think about people when they do something and your view of them is just shattered and trodden into the dirt, and you're so repulsed that you're trying to get as far away from them as possible. Hatred and betrayal.

Now it's time for Shadow Moses. This is the first released single off the album, and it's been a massive success - it's made it to number one on the Kerrang! Rock 100, a position last held by Welcome To The Black Parade, of My Chemical Romance fame. It sounds very desolate and alone and resigned. It starts with that ghost-like murmuring, and then Oli's, "Can you tell from the look in our eyes? (We're going nowhere)" and then some fucking bad-ass guitars. Wow. Just wow. I really really want to sing along to this, but I'm playing it through my headphones, and I think the neighbours might object to me smashing things and shouting "THIS. IS. SEMPITERNAL." at five past one in the morning. (I'd put the video in here, but the only available link to it is the one that's apparently unavailable for UK residents . . . FFS, they're from Sheffield)

After that awesomeness comes And The Snakes Start To Sing, with a quiet and solemn start. Oli's a very good singer. So far it's making me think of some kind of dark Victorian alleyway at night, full of murder and evil deeds. It's quieter than Shadow Moses, and provides the necessary cooldown from it while still being just as powerful and emotional. The lyrics read like a plea for help, sat in the bottom of a very dark pit and calling out for someone to save you from yourself, but also like the people you need to save you are the very people drinking the blood from your veins. In the last minute it becomes drastic and dramatic and even better than before. This might be my favourite track on the album, I think. Wow.

Seen It All Before comes afterwards. Sad and lonely, it sounds like losing love. Like looking at someone and just feeling a blank void where there used to be an emotion, and having to come to terms with it being there instead of living a lie. I don't know, this is just what it sounds like to me. I've stayed away from interviews so that my impressions aren't tainted by trying to fit what I see into what the band have said about the meanings behind the songs.

Right back in with the anger on Antivist. It feels like the lyrics are practically being spat at me in frustration. It's a defiant song, quite literally "middle fingers up if you don't give a fuck", a call to arms to stop just keeping your head down and obeying The Man, to not just do stuff because someone higher up has told you to, to stop just pleasing everyone else all the time, and also swearing a lot.

Crooked Young starts off very dramatically with the (I'm presuming here) violions. That was a typo, but I'm sticking by it, 'cause this song's got claws (hahaha, thank you very much, I'm here forever). A very religious song - or at least, a song about being deserted by religion, or it never being there at all. "Fuck yourself, the faceless won't save you, the clouds won't hear your fucking prayers". I don't know anything about the band's religious beliefs, but it doesn't sound like they're massively pleased with God. This song's sarcastic, and so venomous towards religion and that expectation that if you just get on your knees and close your eyes, you'll be saved.

And now, the final song. Hospital For Souls starts with Oli Sykes talking over more ghosty noises that gradually grow and intensify, and then BOOM the guitars and the drums, and the high-pitched siren noise, like some sort of air raid. Then a pause, a calm in the storm for Oli to start singing. It sounds like the kind of song a ghost might sing. But not a happy ghost. "Everybody wants to go to Heaven, but nobody wants to die". It sounds like a person who felt too desperate to wait long enough to queue up for Heaven, and has ended up in Hell instead. It's constantly switching back and forth between the anger and fury and flames, and this even darker quietness. It's like someone who's given up.

It's not an album you might want to listen to if you're in a fantastically wonderful mood, but if you like dark, dystopian stuff like me, then this should be right up your street. Lucky for you, it's out now, so you can go and buy it straight away.

Bring Me The Horizon - It Never Ends

I've not been listening to BMTH that long, but so far this one's my favourite song. Very dramatic and shouty and raarrrrr (I'm sorry, I'm not good at articulating with stuff I really like. Just wait till I post something else about My Chem).