THE MUSIC POST | MY SUMMER PLAYLIST

Here are some tunes I'll be listening to this summer. 

If you click on the name of the song it'll take you to the song. :)

City of Angels by Thirty Seconds To Mars

I Really Don't Care by Demi Lovato ft Cher Lloyd

Cold Night by You Me At Six

Do Or Die by Thirty Seconds To Mars

Hanging On by Ellie Goulding

Let Go For Tonight by Foxes

Sex by The 1975

Drowning by BANKS.

Settle Down (Young Ruffian Remix) by The 1975.

What songs have you been listening to lately?

LOVE VANESSA xx

THE GIG POST | 30 SECONDS TO MARS AT THE iTUNES FESTIVAL

I was going to post this the day after the show but was so tired and had to be at uni for the morning that I forgot to finish writing it. But anyway hope you like. :)

I was lucky enough to win tickets to see 30 SECONDS TO MARS at the iTunes Festival on the 18th September. It was my first time at a MARS show and have to say it was an interesting experience. I've been a fan of the band for almost 10 years now and it was long overdue that I saw them live. I traveled to London from Oxford and met another fan who used my guest ticket. I saw and spoke to several other ECHELON and it was great to see so many won tickets too. I remember watching Lana Del Rey's show last year at the festival and really wanting to go to the festival this year. I honestly did not think I would win tickets at all so was astonished when iTunes emailed me to say I'd won.

Amazingly enough I was right at the front with maybe 2 people stood in front of me. I had never been to The Roundhouse before so it was great to finally see it in person.

There was a warm-up act called The Family Rain that played before MARS. I really enjoyed their set even though I did not know them. Their music was a lot more indie than is my usual taste but I loved the guitar melodies and the beats of their songs.

After their set the tension in the room was tangible and everyone was ready and waiting to see MARS. They came on stage at 9pm and played a 90 minute set. They played a mix of songs from the albums THIS IS WAR, LOVE LUST FAITH + DREAMS and an acoustic version of THE KILL from the album A BEAUTIFUL LIE. 

Their set-list was :

1. Birth

2. Night of the Hunter

3. Search & Destroy

4. This Is War

5. Conquistador

6. Do Or Die

7. Depuis Le Début

8. End Of All Days

9. City Of Angels

10. Pyres of Varanasi

11. Hurricane (acoustic)

12. The Kill (acoustic)

13. Closer To The Edge

14. Up In The Air

Here are some pictures from their show I apologise for the blurriness as I was too excited to concentrate on getting really good quality photos but look how close I was to the stage.

I was exhausted by the end of the show, I had practically lost most of my voice from singing all the songs (word for word I'll have you know ha ha). I got back to Oxford very early in the morning at probably about 2am and as soon as my head hit the pillow I fell asleep.

Note: Please do not take & distribute the photos online they are mine and are personal.

LOVE VANESSA xx

TRACK BY TRACK | LOVE LUST FAITH + DREAMS BY THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS

Here's my track by track review of Thirty Seconds To Mars' 4th album Love Lust Faith + Dreams.

*disclaimer this is my own personal opinion, you may agree or disagree or you may be thinking what is she going on about but it is my opinion and mine alone*

1. Birth - Sets the tone for the rest of the album. Really bridges the gap between This Is War & Love Lust Faith + Dreams making a smooth transition to something new and different.

2. Conquistador - stadium rock at it's best, I love the melody and the prominence of the guitar, the lyrics are reminiscent of This Is War.

3. Up In The Air - a little dance number and raving beats from their first single off the album

4. City of Angels - lyrically this tells a clearly very personal perspective of Los Angeles, probably my favorite song from this album

5. The Race - Unfortunately my least favourite song from LLFD. It has all the elements of a great song and it may grow on me.

6. End of All Days - Dramatic, anthemic, shows Jared's vocal range, heavy focus on piano, strings synthesisers and drums. "All We Need is Faith" is repeated to an almost obscene level but is not to a detriment. A song to make you think of things beyond simply living perhaps.

7. Pyres of Varanasi - exotic vocals that sound like they're from the middle east

8. Bright Lights - Such an upbeat song. Strange it may seem but I feel like running through a meadow in the rain or something to this song.

9. Do Or Die - Another of my favourites from this album, I love the inclusion of the strings and choir it makes it sound more epic, this song definitely showcases Jared's vocal range. It's a very atmospheric song. There is such  positivity in this one.

10. Convergence - this song has no lyrics/vocals but is a rather peaceful interlude to the epicness (is that a word? haha) that surrounds it

11. Northern Lights - I had already heard an acoustic version of this via a VyRT live stream and I'm glad that they chose to put this on the album. A little bit of screaming in this for the fans of the old school MARS but this is definitely a break from previous albums. One of the best songs off this album.

12. Depuis Le Début - Starts off with acoustic guitar and the repetitive singing of the line "There will be blood" and then ends with strings, synthesisers and builds up into a orchestral crescendo, an epic way to end an amazing album.

Atmospheric, epic, stadium rock, a brighter incredibly personal outlook, an evolution. 

You can buy LLFD from amazon or the itunes store.

LOVE VANESSA x