June Favourites

Heyo!

June was a bit of a weird month for me, I packed up my uni room ready to move house, went back home for the most part and spent time meeting up with old friends. I also ended up spending a lot of time by myself. At first I was very apprehensive about this because in the past I have not always been the best company for myself, but I was able to work through a lot of my own personal mental barriers and I now feel a lot more relaxed. I've dabbled into new hobbies, battled a dowse of boredom (you can read about that here) and just spent a lot of time planning out the rest of my summer whilst enjoying spending time with my family. I know this one seems a bit late but favourites posts are still new to me (I struggled last year hence why I stopped doing them) but you guys keep asking for them - so here they are and here they will stay!

I have just got back and moved into my new house, which I will go into more detail about in next week's blog post. All in all, June was a month for me to reflect on the last year of university, and spend the longest amount of time back home since I moved out in September 2016 (sorry for eating all the food mum!) So I thought I would share with you all my favourite things about the last month.

Music

June was a month where we were blessed with new music by so many incredible bands and artists, and so many of my favourites released new music I found myself re-listening to new stuff, and then all of their older stuff to fully immerse myself in their sound. Here are my top releases from June:

The Killers - 'The Man'

(Image from Billboard - credit to Erik Weiss)

The Killers are probably one of my most favourite bands in the world. Yes, everyone seems to be born knowing all of the lyrics to the band's biggest hit and best-selling album of the 00s 'Mr Brightside', but there's more to the band than that. The four-piece from over the pond have brought so many amazing songs, and albums, to us all, and when they began teasing fans with the idea of new music and potentially an album, and boy have they delivered. The track is eight years old, and was originally going to be released on the band's infamous Day and Age album, but they decided to hold onto it for a rainy day, and it's been raining so they've released it! It's reminiscent to their older sound, and would have perfectly worked with Day and Age, but it spells the beginning of something new for the band, and is the poster single for their upcoming album Wonderful Wonderful which is out later this year. I also got tickets for me and my pal Lydia (who is just a big o a fan as I am) to go and see them at The O2 in November. Go and listen now!

Royal Blood - How Did We Get So Dark?

I took this when me and my good pal Matt wen to Brighton because we are big fans indeed

This album is one that I have been waiting YEARS for, which sounds weird because their first album only came out back in 2014, but with only 10 tracks and a few singles and b-sides I soon got equal parts desperate and excited to hear any of their newer material. After teasing fans with late live-streams on social media and showing snippets of songs, they released their first two singles complete with stunning visuals on their YouTube channel, I put the release date in my diary and refreshed Spotify daily. I missed out on going to their intimate Brighton gig and was distraught about it (shout out to Liam who offered to take me to queue for tickets at 3am you are a hero!)

The album as a whole is a massive middle finger to anyone who doubted the band's ability, and the two-piece from Brighton (technically not from Brighton but everyone from surrounding towns lie because Brighton is cooler than Boring Goring!) meticulously picked the songs they deemed worthy enough to be released on the album. With a mere ten tracks, the same as their debut record, the band's second album is just as perfect, arguably more so. The heavier, dirtier sound is given time to rest throughout the album, and yet it all plays seamlessly throughout. It's one of those albums that you can either pick out individual songs, or just play all the way through. It's informative, bold, defiant and filthy, everything I look for in modern rock. Royal Blood prove once again rock isn't dead.

Wolf Alice - 'Yuk Foo'

(Image from DIY Magazine - credit to Mike Massaro)

Another band that are coming back this year with new music, the wonderful Wolf Alice. They've come back kicking, screaming and once more wowing fans with yet another now distinctively Wolf Alice sound. It's loud, aggressive, sincere, unapologetic and powerful. It's also a song I cannot wait to enter the pit to because it's perfect for screaming along to at 2am, but also for a gym session, is there anything this band can't do? This band can literally do no wrong, and there has yet to be a track that I don't like. This song does not bore me, nor does it bore anyone. Ellie Roswell's voice is dark, lustful and not to be underestimated, as 'Yuk Foo' exceeds expectations and has created nothing but huge anticipation for what will follow. I have bought tickets to see this band too (a theme here - this is indeed where quite a bit of my savings went!) If you haven't listened to the band and this is the first song you hear, I would advise going through their collection of work thus far and basking in the glory of a female-fronted band that subvert and exceed all expectations.

Vinyl

I finally bought a new record, I had been saving the delight of finding the perfect record for after my exams as a reward to myself. I finally found my second-favourite Red Hot Chili Peppers album on vinyl (my top album is very expensive on vinyl and impossible to get a hold of!), Californication is just brilliant and having it on my preferred (and very hipster/indie I know) format makes me even happier, and it's a great addition to my ever-growing collection! I have my eye on a few other records, but they don't come out for quite a while yet, so expect to see them in other posts as the year goes on.

Books

I was able to read some books over June for fun which was very refreshing, and allowed me to experience story lines, characters and authors that seemed a hazy memory to me, and I honestly felt so happy going through the pages again some years later. I wanted a break from some of the heavier books that I am reading in preparation for my only module with set reading (Literature and Evil, and yes it's as dark and harrowing as it sounds) and thought June was the best time to do this. I found that reading books I once read years ago now allowed me to find something new in them that maybe I missed or was not old enough to understand. Out of the books I was reading throughout the month (and poetry) there were two books that really stood out to me in particular.

The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket

I got this in a charity shop, and it clashes with the individual others but hey ho

Everyone has either seen the film or watched the new Netflix series on the books, but I highly doubt that everyone has read the books. This is something that always makes me a bit mad because the books contain a whole world, whereas many adaptations leave out crucial parts. For example, with regards to the Harry Potter saga there are those who know who Peeves is, and those who do not. If you do not, go and read the books! The first book in the thirteen-book saga is called The Bad Beginning, not A Series of Unfortunate Events as many assume. The book explains the mind-set, method and message the illusive and thorough author wants to share. It transported me way back to when I was younger, and wanted to read every book, and I caught up with them the same way I did with the Harry Potter ones, except these books stuck with me in ways the others didn't. They were dark, complex and yet simple enough anyone could read them. They were overshadowed by the success of Harry potter (this isn't a dig, I read both series and loved both equally!) and I feel they deserve more recognition than they got. I really hope the Netflix Original series can bring a new audience to the books and sticks true to them, as there is a beautifully cynical story that unfolds.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon

An old battered copy of a beautiful book (and yes, this is the cushion I crocheted myself!)

Another book everyone knows but might not have read, a must-read for anyone familiar with the theatrical version that has travelled across the country. The way Haddon writes the novel is incredible, and highlights the stigma around people, mainly young adults and teens, with learning difficulties (specifically Asperger syndrome and Autism.) My sister has autism, and was diagnosed aged three, but to me she's always been Hannah. I grew fonder of her as the years went by, desperate to understand why she did what she did and how her mind worked. My mum was excellent with her, and I envied the fact she understood her in a way I didn't think I ever could. That's where this book comes in, the way it is written and Haddon has conducted thorough research into people's though-process and speech helped me understand my sister that little bit better. The way sentences are phrased, pronounced and received are so accurate, and his obsession with trying to discover who killed the dog, and their motive, is again incredibly accurate for this type behaviour. It isn't just a story about a dog, it's about one boy's attempt to uncover something, to have a purpose, and along the way he discovers far more than he first thought. It's witty, humorous, and smashed the stigma that people with Autism or Asperger's aren't like 'normal people', they're actually far more intelligent than many give them credit for.

*

June saw me do lots of things, but it felt heavily-dominated by the amazing music that blessed my ears and it was a month well-spent with friends, family and relaxing. As a result, I don't have much else to say. What I will leave with is a short review/excitement blurt about my new favourite kitchen appliance (I know, I am way older than the twenty-year-old you are familiar with!) and that would have to be my food processor. My mum got me a food processor for doing so well in my second year at university, and also because it had had a good chunk taken off in the sale so was actually affordable unlike other ones I had seen in my dreams. It does everything I could ever need from a processor, with a dual-attachment allowing me to make soups, smoothies, sorbets, dips, baked goods and more!

I highly recommend this one to anyone who's gone vegan/vegetarian as it allows you to make so many amazing foods that would cost you way more pre-made in the supermarkets, but also to anyone looking to expand the foods they make and eat at current!

All in all, the month has been great, and as this post is being finalised and uploaded late, I can confidently say next month only really gets better from this (hard to believe but true) and I am very excited to do more of these posts, and to do them my way. They're not conventional posts, but they're mine, and I'm excited to look back next year at what things I loved about each month and why.

B x