Music Monday: Arctic Monkeys New Song

So, Arctic Monkeys fans have been getting all excited with the reveal of their new single "Do I Wanna Know?" and b-side "2013". Personally I think "Do I wanna Know?" is a brilliant song and probably will be on of the songs of the year with its heavy riff and simple drum beat. Its such a smooth sounding song that I'm sure I'll be tapping my foot to for a very long time as I play it on repeat for a few days. Unfortunately I can't say the same for b-side "2013" which doesn't appeal to me as much musically but I find the lyrics quite funny especially how an iPhone is referred to as a"transmitter" with a "little shiny fruit". Its not a bad song, but after hearing "Do I Wanna Know?" its ever so slightly disappointing as the expectation bar was set high. But it is only a b-side after all, although usually I really like b-sides and they end up being my favourite songs, for example the vaccines turn out amazing b-sides like "Primal Urges" and "Tiger Blood" from their first album, then some really diverse ones on their second album which I love, especially how the other band members get their turn to sing .

Artwork for "AM"

Anyhoo, back to the monkeys. Album artwork has been revealed too, plus the video for "Do I Wanna Know?" is so cool and super trippy, it kinda reminds me of a less intense version of Tame Impalas video for "Mind Mischief" but without a storyline. The album artwork as you can see is pretty simple but cool all the same (anyone notice bands are using really stripped back album artwork?).

The tracklist for "AM" has also been revealed:

1. Do I Wanna Know?
2. R U Mine?
3. One for the Road
4. Arabella
5. I Want It All
6. No. 1 Party Anthem
7. Mad Sounds
8. Fireside
9. Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?
10. Snap Out Of It
11. Knee Socks
12. I Wanna Be Yours

I'm really looking forward to hearing the whole album in September and I'm curious to know why some of the songs were called what they were (ahem "No. 1 Party Anthem" what? Haha). And the second track "R U Mine?" which was released last year is a great song too so this restores my faith after hearing "2013". But anyway, "Do I Wanna Know?" is a seriously awesome song so I think the rest of the album will be amazing! I guess only time will tell though.

Yas xx

Bioshock Infinite Review

One thing you should probably know about me is that I'm a bit of a gamer. I love video games but don't have enough time for them usually, but I had a week off during exams in which I completed BioShock Infinite on Xbox 360, the third in the BioShock series, and it's one of the best games ever!

The game is set in America, 1912 during the exceptionalism movement. You are Booker Dewitt, ex-agent/soldier and currently a "independent contractor" alcoholic with gambling problems. Unfortunately you've managed to rack up a huge debt, and to "wipe away the debt", you need to find Elizabeth and bring her to New York, a girl who has been locked away in a tower for the most part of her life in the floating city of Columbia. Yes, the story-line is incredibly far-fetched, but awesome all the same. Columbia is ruled by religious extremist Zachary Comstock, and on your journey to find Elizabeth you get caught up in the fight between the founders (Comstock's side) and the Vox Populi, made up of Black, Irish, Greek and other minority groups who were discriminated against by the founders who wanted to keep Columbia "pure". There's a good if slight unbelievable twist in the story concerning Elizabeth which the story-line builds to, but unfortunately at the end I was left thinking, "well, what was the point in that?" as the solution to the problem was ridiculously easy from a gaming point of view, they even make the end basically just one giant cut scene where the only thing you can do is follow the actions that are available which is mainly just walking. But the rest of the game was perfect, especially the attention to detail in the characters. Elizabeth in particular is not only very helpful but brings more life to the story line as she comments on objects around her which she has never seen before in real life due to being locked away. She sort of reminds me of Rapunzel too, what with the whole tower situation and the fact that she cuts her hair short.

As for the actual gaming experience, its great and very immediate as its from first person view which I don't usually like as you have to constantly move both joysticks so you can run and see at the same time, and that can get annoying when you're fighting multiple people as they can sneak behind you and attack, but once you've got the hang it of its it makes gameplay a lot more fun and you actually feel like your character. And take a look at the graphics, this game is actually beautiful.

So yup, an awesome game and if you haven't got it, why not? Go get it, you're missing out! I can't imagine that many gamers won't have this though since I know I'm late on this but just go with the flow (like a dead fish). The newest big game that came out is The Last of Us, but I don't have that yet plus I'm am absolutely sh*t scared of zombies so the likelihood is I won't be reviewing that. But anyway, I digress. Hope you enjoyed reading!

Yas xx

Book Review- Carrie by Stephen King

As a person who absolutely loves reading, I'm always on the lookout for a new book which I haven't read (especially now that exams are over and I actually have time to read). So while in Waterstones the other day (which, by the way, is the best shop ever) I thought, I haven't read a Stephen King novel before, and since the remake of the movie Carrie based on Stephen King's novel, starring Chloë Grace Moretz is coming out in October, I might as well see what all the fuss is about before the movie comes out, and I'm so glad I did.

Carrie is a creepy horror story about a girl called, (surprise surprise) Carrie, who has been bullied and tortured by not only her classmates but her god-fearing mother all her life. Carrie had always been the odd girl in her school, but they have no idea just how different she is, because unbeknownst to them, Carrie has a gift. She is telekinetic, able to move things with her mind. This talent comes into focus when she is distressed by a particularly horrible bout of torment from the girls in her year, and when one girl feels guilty that she participated in making fun of her, she decides to make it up to her by persuading her boyfriend to ask Carrie to the Prom. He agrees, but this action causes the worst day to arrive at their town... I will say no more. If you don't want the entire story ruined for you I suggest you don't watch the movie trailer for the remake, as it unfortunately doesn't leave much to the imagination. 

Anyway I really recommend reading this book, especially if you've been stuck reading really cheesy teen romances (we've all been there, Twilight anyone?). Its not scary so don't worry if you're not a horror story type, but the end is certainly very unnerving... Enjoy!

Yas xx 

Music Monday: Review- The Strokes "Comedown Machine"

So for Music Monday today, I thought I'd do a review of my favourite album of 2013 so far by my favourite band.

Out of all of The Strokes' albums, "Comedown Machine" is by far the most interesting. The first song is "Tap Out" with a kind of funky, disco sound, and the perfect way to start the album off. Followed by singles "All The Time" (which was the first song to have its name revealed to the world and got everyone excited) and "One Way Trigger", which caused quite a stir when it was leaked as some people loved it, and some hated it due to the distance it has from earlier stuff from The Strokes. The songs each sound quite different to each other, but have a running thread of sounding like it came out fresh from the 80s and most of the songs have falsetto, except for "50/50", which sounds like it could be on "Room on Fire" due to the effect on Julian Casablancas' voice and the chords + riff reminiscent of their earlier albums. My personal favourite is "Welcome to Japan", with its syncopated beat and odd lyrics (although weird lyrics are kinda always The Strokes style), but I love every single song on the album. When I first heard it, I wasn't that convinced by "Partners in Crime", "Happy Endings" and "80s Comedown Machine" though, but I very quickly grew to love them after a couple listens.

Concerning the cover art, as you can see its very simple, which I quite like, and on the little booklet there are silhouettes of the band members on a red background from the pictures taken in their first album, which is pretty cool. Albert Hammond, Jr. explained this by tweeting "the cycle is complete" when someone asked him about the pictures, meaning that "Comedown Machine" is the last album of their contract with RCA.

So, to wrap up this review, "Comedown Machine" is an awesome album, and is in my opinion The Strokes' second-best album, because even though I prefer a few of the individual songs better than a couple from what I think is their best album ("Is This It?"), as a whole "Is This It?" beats it by a tiny fraction as I loved every single song on that album as soon as I heard it, and didn't have to grow to like any of the songs at all. But its still a fricking amazing album!!

Yas xx

Film Review: The Wave

As far as history/politics films go, I'm not exactly the most interested person in the world unless there's a lot of action (even though I love studying history and politics). But this film is the exception to my rule. The Wave, or its German name Die Welle, is, you've guessed it, a German film, based on a true story on an experiment concerning how dictatorships come to be by creating one in a classroom. You're probably thinking, that sounds incredibly boring, but due to the fast moving plot it really isn't.


The actual experiment happened in 1967 in California, but the movie is set in modern day Germany and follows a group of kids who have decided to take the autocracy class but are bored with learning about Hitler and The Third Reich. Their teacher, Rainer, experiments with the idea of creating a dictatorship by making the kids feel like they are part of an elitist group, by implementing stricter rules (calling him Herr Wenger instead of by his first name, wearing uniforms etc.) but the experiment spirals out of control within just a few days. Really worth watching, quite a good soundtrack too, but be prepared for the onslaught of emotions in such a short space of time.

Yas xx