February 2016 Music Recommendations + Playlist

I haven't put a playlist up in a while and I've been positively squeeing with joy over the music I've been listening to lately, so I thought it prudent to share the songs that made January a little more bearable and February seem a little brighter. This playlist is purely recommendations of songs I've been listening to lately/have been released lately. Most of my playlists in the past have essentially been this but I want to make a distinction between this tendency of mine and my aim to create playlists that are more thematic and atmospheric in the future.

There are, however, some thematic threads which run through this playlist - three, in fact (though a few tracks don't fit into these). These are: 1. The WINNER comeback, 2. The Cheese in The Trap Soundtrack and 3. The Korean R'n'B Scene. And, yes, this means that, once again, this music is all South Korean...What can I say, I don't like things halfway and the passion is going strong here. 

1. WINNER

Among K-pop fans, the main question that you're asked upon meeting is who your favourite group is. I don't really have a single band that I hold above others as I enjoy the music but am a little past devoted fangirling (not that there's anything wrong with that), I'm too old and tired to commit that much energy to any one thing! (I'm aware I'm not actually old) However, in saying this, there are some bands that come close to making me commit and WINNER is one of them. It's hard not to fall in love with them as they all debuted at a relatively old age for the industry after all going through a lot to get where they were.

Two members were finalists in nationwide singing contests like X-Factor or The Voice and one member even almost debuted with another band. WINNER themselves were formed in a competition that pitted two groups made up of trainees from record label YG to become the first boyband launched by the company since megastars Bigbang. When they won, it was genuinely quite emotional and, as great as the other team was (now debuted themselves as IKON), most people were delighted for them - myself included. The band also has had major success since their debut and this tale of perseverance and success paired with the personalities displayed through various television shows makes them a rather likable lot.

At midnight Korean time, they launched their new album and follow-up to their hugely successful debut. At the time I'm writing this, they've topped 8 charts domestically and 11 internationally. EXIT : E, the EP, is part of a series of releases planned for the next few months, à la Bigbang and their MADE series. The EP features five tracks, all written or co-written by the band (an unusual and delightful trait). Three tracks feature the entire band, one is a solo track from one of the main vocalists, Nam Taehyun and the final track is a duet from Nam and one of the two rappers of the group, Song Mino.

I've featured almost the entire EP in this playlist as its release has already hugely altered my current soundscape. To say it is on repeat would be an understatement. My highlights are the emotional "I'm Young" (and its dramatic music video) from Nam, the smooth "Baby, Baby" from the entire group and the fun and dancey "Sentimental" (esp the corresponding choreo which I look forward to seeing in full in their live performances). However, the duet, "Pricked" also deserves a mention as a flawless pairing of rap and vocal performances and due to the fact that it wasn't officially promoted but released quietly before the EP launched and still made it onto charts.

Bravi, WINNER, I can't wait for the rest of EXIT.

2. Cheese in The Trap

tvN is a Korean cable channel which makes some of the best (and risk-taking, boundary-pushing) dramas in the country. Cheese in The Trap is a new drama which is still currently airing and which is based on a popular webtoon. The story revolves around the story of Hong Seol, a hard-working college student who comes from a poor background and has to take on multiple jobs to stay in school, yet manages to get top grades, and Yoo Jung, a rich, popular and intelligent senior. Seol notices he isn't as nice as everyone thinks he is one day and sets a whole series of events in motion by standing up to him. The acting is superb, the story intriguing (is Jung a tortured soul or a lunatic?), the characters lovable (I'm having major second-lead syndrome for Baek In-Ho) but one of the absolute best parts of the show is its soundtrack. Through it I've discovered No Respect for Beauty, a South Korean post-rock band that make the most wonderful walls of sound, and I'm utterly in love with them now. Much of the soundtrack and score comes from Tearliner and I've included both an instrumental piece and a song with lyrics that I've been digging. In addition, there are three more tracks on the playlist that come from the soundtrack from other artists. Did I mention how good this OST is?

3. Korean R&B

The final thematic thread in this playlist is Korean R&B. 2016 saw new music released by Dean, Crush and Zico and, boy, was I excited. Admittedly, some of these figures are problematic (it's hard not to find rap, hip-hop and R&B problematic at times) but these are very talented individuals. The latter two are pretty well established with Zico becoming more and more famous as a producer, being a member of idol group Block B yet managing to maintain his underground hip-hop street cred, producing endless amounts of new solo work and being taken on as a judge on Show Me The Money, a rap competition television show. (And, as he says himself, he's "only 24" which is actually only 23 in Western age. If you ever want to feel unproductive and bad about yourself, google him). Dean, meanwhile is the least well-known of the group but a huge up-and-coming star in the Korean scene (he has even worked with both of the other two artists).

All three have produced tracks in the last few weeks that are less hard-hitting than previous works and a little more melodic and melancholic and perfect for the season and weather.






BONUS: This final mention isn't on the playlist as the track isn't on Spotify yet but I've fallen so utterly in love with The Black Skirts' "Everything" that I had to include it in some way. This dreamy, genre-bending track from the one-man indie band that is the Black Skirts is a bit of a departure sound-wise but is so perfect. Again, much repeating.



Well, that's more talking than I meant to do...Anyway, here's the playlist! Enjoy and let me know if there's anything you've been digging or if you like anything here.

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Best of K-Pop 2015

2014 has been dubbed by many K-Pop fans as the worst year for the genre due to scandals, tragedies and other unfortunate events. By contrast, 2015 seems like one of the best in recent years.

In many ways, it was the year of the Rookie with outstanding, multi-talented groups like Seventeen, iKon and Monsta X all debuting in strong form this year. It was also a year of long-awaited comebacks with the likes of BAP returning after a nearly two year absence. 

Furthermore, this year marked the solo debuts and emergence of sub-groups from some of the most beloved and best-established acts. Hyunseung of Beast had a much under-hyped solo debut which showcased his outstanding dancing abilities and allowed the cheeky sex-appeal that was apparent through his Troublemaker activities with Hyuna in the past to shine through. VIXXLR brought together the angelic voice of vocal Leo with rapper Ravi of VIXX in a pairing that worked better than anyone could have imagined and gave us an album of great beauty that showed the writing cred of the band. 

VIXX themselves also had an outstanding comeback with "Chained Up" that saw the concept idols outdo themselves with the fan service. Hyuna, Zico and EXID came back harder than before. F(x) reemerged with an album that took risks and paid off with a really cool eighties vibe while Wonder Girls gave us a more unadulterated, nostalgic, very JYP eighties album. 

EXO and BIGBANG both continued to dominate the industry and the world, along with BTS later on in the year, making it on to mainstream music charts globally, proving the power of K-pop and their own international, large-scale appeal. IU also had a comeback which further solidified her megastar status but saw her battle with controversy.

On a personal note, alongside the above that were all what I saw as highlights of the year in K-Pop, I had a particularly fond spot for Roy Kim's latest album, The Great Dipper, which was, perhaps, my favourite of the year in any genre or language. It's certainly clear evidence of his advancement as an artist. Other highlights for me were anything Jooyoung or Zion T were involved in and Jong Hyun's solo activities. 

Looking at it all laid out, it makes me excited for what's next and the further growth of these acts. Hopefully, 2016 will be an even better year for K-Pop and will see the recognition for the genre grow even more.

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I'm a big K-pop fan and this summer has been a particularly great one for launches and reboots. As summer is now officially over, I thought I'd pop some of my favourite songs from the last few months up here for others to discover/obsess over/fall into the endless pit of dreaminess/sign away their lives to being a lame fangirl.

(Also, the use of the term "k-pop" is being used a little loosely here as a couple acts are probably better described as rock or R&B bands but all are South Korean music groups/artists.)

Playlist: Songs That Sound Like Summer

The charts and pop culture tend to dictate that some songs and albums and artists represent given summers but our own lives often have their own soundtracks as well - especially during summers. As a teen, I was prone to discovering a new band or album, falling madly in love and listening obsessively and exclusively to the one thing. The summer I was 14, I listened solely to Panic! At The Disco. At 15, it was the Ramones. 16 was Placebo's Without You I'm Nothing - the only music my family and I could agree on during hot car journeys with my legs on the dash and a heavy breeze coming in the window. Best Coast's first album is being on holidays and sitting by the pool at night, talking on the phone to the girl who would become one of my best friends, as we planned living together in second year of college. Last summer, I was all about The Cure and this summer it's K-Pop central.

There's gaps in there where the other songs on this playlist come into play. Each track is from a moment, means something but in some cases I can remember the time and feeling but not the specifics around it. I just know that if I hear any of these songs, I think of summer.

So, I hope you enjoy the playlist and do let me know your ultimate summer songs - I'd love to hear about them!

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The Summer K-Pop Playlist

There's something about K-Pop that makes it perfect summer music.

The other day, I was talking to a friend and mentioned that I had gotten back into K-Pop in a major way. I'm listening to it on the bus, bopping away to it as I work and craving it when my internet connection drops. I told her that I couldn't remember the last time I'd listened to it and didn't know why I'd gone so long without it. It's perfect for good moods and motivation.

She laughed and told me to look out the window.

Of course, it's the sun. K-Pop seems to be the perfect thing to listen to the moment the weather gets better. Perhaps because it tends to have beats that make you dance in your chair. Perhaps it's the crazy-good choreography that mesmerises you. Perhaps it's the insane production value.

Either way, it gets me smiling and moving and maybe it'll do the same for you. So, I thought I'd share my chair/car-danciest picks in playlist form. Because it's been a while since I popped a playlist up here.

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Today Is Beautiful, We Have Things To Do

January is a bit of a crap month, right? For me, it's mostly down to two factors. 1. I was so excited by what 2014 brought that I wanted everything in 2015 to happen immediately. This did not happen (obviously) and it made me feel a little let down. 2. I need some goddamn sun and warmth now.

Yet, despite this, I'm trying not to let it get me down overly. So, in order to combat the crappiness, have a fantastic playlist, named after a song by John Lambert/Chequerboard. All the featured artists are Irish and are musicians I've been listening to loads over the past month. There's a range of genres and styles present but the underlying theme (at least for me) is focusing on the great things about life, the achingly beautiful things.

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2014 // Music

It took a surprisingly long time to wade through the songs that not only provided that soundtrack to my year but also came out this year. I tend to find it hard to keep with music of my time and gravitate towards romanticised notions of the past. While there's nothing wrong with appreciating what has come before, I don't want to be a person so stuck in the past that they miss the present.

This playlist of twenty tracks has a lot of the things I've felt and thought this year infused into it. It's a playlist of growth and change, of realisation of how lucky I am - for the love of those around me me, for the comforts I take for granted, the opportunities many never will have and for the potential yet realised and possibly unlimited.

There's also a lot of women in this playlist, as well as some undiluted, unapologetic pop. It shows the growth of someone in their understanding of their personal relationship to feminism and their realisation that liking what you like is something to be celebrated. The song you dance to might not be the song that makes you realise that everything will eventually be okay - but that's fine. Everything has it's place in this world. I'm old enough to embrace even the less cool parts of me. Which, ironically, I think are pretty damn cool in their own way. Being an obscure music-loving automaton has to become monotonous. And music should be anything but. And the ladies? They're my ongoing mission to put more female creators in my life. In art history, they're often willfully forgotten. In many other contemporary fields they're often given less serious consideration. And in the music that marked the beginning of my aural love affair, they were rarely visibly present. After years of listening almost exclusively to men's voices, I wanted to even the playing field.

Lykke Li and Sharon Van Etten managed to break and reform my heart this year while S made me smile through painful teenaged injuries still present deep down. Keaton Henson and Asgeir soothed me with the pure beauty of their music. Meg Myers and Yasmine Hamdan made me blush. Florrie, Marina, Iggy and Ariana made me dance. Perfume Genius made me full-on weep. The artists on here have all affected my life in one way or another and I think that's all an artist can really hope for, that in such an over-saturated world, you make someone pause and listen.

2014 was a beautiful year in many, many ways - let's hope for an even more moving 2015.

Hope you all had a safe and mostly happy year! What jams got to you?

Ultimate Hallowe'en Playlist

For getting ready, getting ghoulish and amping yourself up before the big night (or doing an awkward 80s shoegazey sway to)....can you guess I'm excited for hallowe'en?

Wide-Eyed and Blind Playlist XX - Classic Colette

Last, I gave you the music that maps where I am now as a person and taste-wise. Now, as part two of this special playlist, I present the songs and bands that made me who I am, the songs I listened to obsessively over and over again, the people who helped me through that terrible test in life...being a teen.

Nostalgia, much?

Wide-Eyed and Blind Playlist XX Part I - Who Colette is Now.

Playlist XX is special; it marks twenty times that I've shared this part of myself with you guys. It marks twenty times I've gotten to squee over the music I'm loving with a much wider audience than my group of friends. And I think that's pretty darn cool.

So, to mark the occasion, this playlist will be coming in two parts. Part I is the music that represents where my taste has evolved to whereas Part II will showcase where I've come from.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

And to end on this for now because I'm writing my thesis and I love Sailor Moon and the lyics are awesome (srsly, google a translation)!

Wide-Eyed and Blind Playist XIX

I think it's about time for another playlist, don't you?

I'm aware this one was random but...that's my taste in music, isn't it? Merry weekend all x

Wide-Eyed and Blind Playlist XVIII

An effing gamut of emotions. A gamut, I tells ya.

Wide-Eyed and Blind Playlist XVII

It's about time for a new playlist, right? This one is a wee bit all over the place but it's the things I've really been feeling. Enjoy x

Wide-Eyed and Blind Playlist XVI

I'm not nearly established/followed enough to do this but, screw it, I feel weird addressing vaguely the same group of people namelessly all the time. So, I'm naming you, dearest readers. I hope you don't mind. How do you all feel about the Lilettes (sounds like a razor/sixties girlband)? I feel this name is kinda cute but how do you feel? Speak out! Let me hear your voices! I long to.

Damn, I'm in a weird mood.

But that's kinda the place this particular playlist is coming from.

Most of my recent playlists have been dancey and happy and upbeat. But I'm a maudlin feck a lot of the time and this week, I've been majorly stressed about life and the future while trying to research a dissertation. Research lends itself to being alone a lot and, while I love being by myself, it's not always necessarily the best thing for me. I tend to go into an overthinking overdrive where I convince myself I'll amount to nothing, never get an adult job and die unloved. Killing your buzz yet?

So, this playlist is the last of me indulging my sadness. One last wallow...and what better way to wallow than to great music? My favourite way to do it is to turn my lights off, light some candles, lie on the floor and, hopefully, by the time I get up I'll have gotten over myself.

Here's hoping.

And if anyone is feeling this way too, have some positivity from one of the wisest, best, most wonderful people I know, Sarah: "Everyone is special." Now get your grump on and know tomorrow's a new day.

Wide-Eyed and Blind Playlist XV

A fine mix of the dreamy and the catchy, if I do say so myself.

Wide-Eyed and Blind Playlist XIV

Happy Easter weekend, y'all! I just wanted to take a sec to appreciate that lots of super-cool stuff is going on with the blog at the moment and you guys are a major part of that happening! So, thank you. Thanks for helping me hit 60,000 pageviews and do lots of amazing things because of your pageviews! These are minor achievements to some but they are something I'm very proud of so cheers to us! Because bloggers are nothing without their readers.

Anyway, as a thanks, here's another post today and it's a playlist of some absolute tuneage! Enjoy. Major love xxx

Wide-Eyed and Blind Playlist XIII.

Not only is there plenty of awesome tuneage going on here, the Warpaint and Florrie videos offer some serious style. Hair envy a-plenty but I'm also loving the normcore/cool vibe of the Warpaint girls - tees and jeans with the right tuck here, the right silhouette there are all you need. I'm especially loving the layering of a kilt over skinnies - who knew that could work? And SO well? Not I. 

And, well, Florrie ... she's always flawless. So easy-cool. Metallics with French-girl perfectly rumpled hair, colourful eyes with natural lips. Sigh. So perfect.

Love always to Kurt x

Wide-Eyed and Blind Playlist XII.

Tune in for music today and a competition tomorrow!

(Geddit?)

(God, I'm funny)

Wide-Eyed and Playlist XI.

*NJOY xoxo

And because pancake Tuesday:

The Wide-Eyed and Blind Playlist X.

Stuff I've been listening to. 

P.S. Oh, hai, Brendon Urie. 

LOVING the new album. TOTES check it out!