A life without longing

Wherever I am in my life, I'm missing something. Someone. Some aspect of life from some other time or place. In many ways I wish I had been born in one place and lived there all my life and always known the same things and the same people and I wouldn't know anything else. Never content. Always longing for something. I hope that some day the longing will stop, and that I will feel happy with everything I have. I long for a life without longing.

THIS IS WHY I LOVE PIZZA BECAUSE IT TEACHES ME LIFE LESSONS

Today, talking to a Japanese man about pizza (what else, right?) he tells me his favourite pizza in the world is margherita and he always gets margherita wherever he goes, no exception. I asked "Really? But don't you ever wanna try other flavors like, I don't know, pepperoni, Hawaiian?" He says "No, no, no. Because I know that I love Margherita. And I don't want to risk trying anything else because then I might not like it and I won't be happy."  So...I think you know where I'm going with this. :) If something or someone makes you happy,  hold on to it and never, ever try to replace it.

Arctic Monkeys - AM

Every now and then you come across an album that feels like it was written especially for you, almost tailor-made. That's how I feel about AM.

Let's start with how it sounds. It's catchy pop mixed with heavy rock mixed with deep dark raunchy sex mixed with longing mixed with amazing hip hop beats yet it's not hip hop. Then you've got songs like Fireside which sound like something you've heard before but you can't quite put your finger on it. And even the lyrics seem to reflect that feeling of nostalgia, That place on memory lane you liked still looks the same but something about it's changed. Everything seems so carefully thought out on this album. With each listen you find a new little gem that you hadn't noticed before.

It starts off with Do I Wanna Know?, with its slow thumping beat which gets more and more intense as the song goes on. The lyrics, about something I'm sure everyone can relate to, that infatuation and despair you feel at the beginning of any kind of relationship when you don't know what it is, if it's love, if it's lust, if it's nothing, does the other person feel what I'm feeling? Have you no idea that you're in deep? I dreamt about you nearly every night this week. Then the line, How many secrets can you keep? which seems to suggest this is some kind of secret affair or that the person involved doesn't want to admit their true feelings to the other person. The next two songs express this same feeling of longing and doubt, but in different ways. Then there's Arabella, the heaviest track on the album, which everyone has been saying sounds like Black Sabbath. But try not to get too caught up on that and pay attention to the incredible lyrics! And a Helter Skelter round her little finger and I ride it endlessly. Who else but Alex Turner could express the idea of being wrapped around someone's little finger so eloquently? Absolute genius. The chorus too, it's easy to not notice the lyrics because of that heavy groove that all you wanna do is rock out to, but listen: My days end best when the sunset gets itself behind that little lady sitting on the passenger side. It's much less picturesque without her catching the light. The horizon tries but it's just not as kind on the eyes. Now come on, how beautiful is that?! :')

The ironically titled No. 1 Party Anthem, which evokes imagery of a lonely old man playing piano in the corner of a smokey bar, with lyrics like It's not like I'm falling in love, I just want you to do me no good, and you look like you could, which are sort of reminiscent of similar lyrics from Suck it and See on their previous album of the same name (You've got that face that just says "Baby, I was made to break your heart"). It's that feeling everyone knows, of giving yourself to someone, of letting yourself be vulnerable to another person, knowing this person is capable of doing so much damage to you (and probably will), but you almost want them to. Fireside I think is probably my favourite song off AM, just because of its unique sound; you listen to it and feel like you're in a beautiful movie scene, where you're driving a convertible around steep cliffs, hair blowing in the wind and the crashing waves below, reminiscing about love lost. You listen to it and you feel like you've heard it before, it takes you to a place you've been before but you don't know where/what it is. Snap Out of It - gotta admit that I WISH Alex Turner would grab my shoulders and shake me. And Knee Socks, which I can't say I was much of a fan of at first, but that's because I hadn't realized how sexy it is. The ghost in your room that you always thought didn’t approve of you knocking boots, never stopped you letting me get hold of the sweet spot by the scruff of your knee socks. Ahh!! Alex, stop it!! And then when the instantly recognizable voice of Josh Homme comes in at the end... Just perfection. And that last track, I Wanna be Yours, don't even get me started. The slow sexy RnB with those incredible (and hilarious, at times) lyrics. Beautiful. And it seems to sum up the entire album in one simple sentence. Maybe I just wanna be yours. Perfect. PERFECT.

It's been so long since I've loved an album this much; that's why I had to write this "review". The whole thing is absolute perfection from start to finish. 10/10. Please do yourself a favour and give AM a listen. :)

Number one

I'm usually pretty computer-savvy but this blog thing is totally new to me and will probably take a while to figure out. Basically, I'm going through a time in my life where a lot's going on, and I feel like I need an outlet. If people are interested in what I have to say, great. If not, that's fine too, I'm more than happy to just write to myself :D Anything from album reviews, movie reviews, my stupid thoughts about life. I will share it all here. Looking forward to it!