It’s one of my favourite times of the year—time to celebrate and share some of my favourite releases from 2024 with you!
As always, there’s a strong focus on Pop music, with a sprinkling of other genres for good measure.
I genuinely think this year has been brilliant for Pop Music, especially for women in the genre. I don’t say that purely to be inclusive – the Pop girlies deserve to be celebrated this year. From Beyoncé to Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande to Sabrina Carpenter (our new Pop Princess), we’ve been spoiled with phenomenal albums.
So, naturally, I put my nerdy music hat on and decided to (foolishly) collate a list of thirty songs that I love dearly and/or hold a special significance.
This was no easy feat and took me quite a while… There are many favourite bands, artists and songs missing from here. But it’s proved 30 isn’t that big a number (not that I particularly feel old!) I also think I’ve settled on 30 songs that perfectly capture my music tastes and key moments in my life so far.
It’s September which means it’s time for the September mixtape!
We’d have loved to have included some material from Frank Ocean’s ‘Blonde’ album but unfortunately it is not available to share. Still, here’s twenty tracks we have been loving listening to in this past month.
It’s the 1st of July which can only mean one thing… the July mixtape is here!
This month’s is mostly an R&B affair but with the odd curveball thrown in…
We’ve been nominated again by the lovely Tammy over at https://alittlebitalt.wordpress.com/!
So sorry for the huge delay in posting this, there was no notification informing us of the tag!
These are the rules supplied to us:
Write ten songs that come on shuffle (no skipping)
Write your favourite lyric from each song.
Tag people
So with no further ado, and with some apprehension considering the amount of guilty pleasures in my music collection, here goes… *presses shuffle*
1) Prince – Sometimes it snows in April
Ah, one of my all time favourite songs. Probably one of the most beautiful songs in the world.
Favourite lyric: “I used to cry for Tracy cause he was my only friend Those kind of cars don’t pass you every day”
It’s the second line that’s my favourite but the first is needed to show the context. It’s just a beautiful expression. Prince is a bloody nightmare when it comes to sharing his music online! He consistently removes his work from YouTube and Spotify so for now you’ll have to make do with this pleasant but not-as-good-as-the-original live version:
2) John Mayer – Stop This Train
Boy I’m glad this one came up! Probably one of my all time favourite songs lyrically.
Favourite Lyric: “So scared of getting older I’m only good at being young”
Captures the fear of adulthood perfectly.
3) Mark Owen – End of Everything
Mark Owen’s solo career is the most underrated thing ever (I like to remind people of this on a regular basis).
Favourite lyric:
“Enter if you can through all the tears of your parade”
Just a lovely poetic lyric which for me emphasises having patience with yourself when times are tough.
4) The 1975 – Chocolate
In my top 3 favourite songs of all time and I never, ever tire of hearing it.
Favourite lyric: “I think about how to think”
I can relate to over-thinking, to the extent you’re thinking about the way you’re thinking!
5) Robbie Williams – Snowblind
I love the vulnerability this track possesses and it’s just stunning. Robbie knows how to create beautiful ballads aching with sincerity.
Favourite Lyric: “You stole my heart, But my madness, Is taking the man right out of me”
Mr Williams is a genius at playing with phrases and this is a brilliant example.
6) George Michael – White Light
Hmm. Whilst a huge fan of George, there are many songs in his discography better than this, especially lyrically. It’s still brilliant though.
Favourite Lyric: “And tomorrow is mine”
I like the ‘seize the day’ attitude this line conveys.
7) Michael Jackson – (I like) The Way You Love Me
I LOVE this song. I’m a huge MJ fan although I don’t seem to publicise it as much as I used to. This is a song he recorded in the mid noughties and was remixed for his first posthumous album ‘Michael’. I’m including the original demo version released in his lifetime though because I think it’s better than the remixed version.
Favourite Lyric: “I was afraid of life and you came in time”
Simple but effective.
8) James Taylor – Something in the way she moves
Lovely song.
Favourite Lyric: “Every now and then the things I lean on lose their meaning and I find myself careening in places where I should not let me go.”
I love the way it recognises the more you depend on something, the less meaning it has. Just a beautifully worded lyric.
9) Melanie C & Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes – Never Be The Same Again
What an absolutely brilliant track this was/is.
Favourite Lyric: “Picturesque is the picture you paint so effortlessly.”
Left Eye’s rap is the best in this song, lyrically. As well as being poetic, it’s just a clever line.
10) Take That – Affirmation
There’s Take That songs I much prefer to this but again, it’s still a great song.
Favourite Lyric: “We’re not really falling apart, we’re just incomplete.”
It’s a bit like the ‘glass half empty or glass half empty’ analogy. The whole song is lyrically brilliant.
Well I got pretty lucky there considering they were selected through shuffle!
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