September Playlist

Friday, September 30, 2016


Hello, yes I am still alive, sorry to disappoint. 

As you've probably noticed it's been a while since I last posted, and I'd like to be able to say there's a number of reasons for that. That I've maybe started training for a marathon or taken up a new hobby, or decided to become more active and given up the internet for a few weeks while I took over the world, or just that my schedule has been overflowing with activities and plans and I just haven't had the time to sit and get some words down for all you lovely people.

If only my life was that interesting.

Truth is, after almost ten weeks of waiting around for summer to end, college has finally arrived and with it has brought a lifetime's worth of coursework, deadlines, new places and people to get used to all in the space of a few short, but very hectic, weeks. Consequently, any spare time I have had has been spent under a duvet, scrolling through social media and feeling sorry for myself - sometimes all at the same time. Not very rock-and-roll at all.

So, today, I have crawled out of my anti-social, unproductive cave and decided to share with you something simple and that doesn't take much effort to put together (I'm so lazy, apologies) but also something that is personal and slightly generic but still fun and hopefully interesting. 

My Summer/September playlist 2016

1. Usual favourites

Music isn't really something I have talked about on my blog before, however it is something which I really don't think I could live without. I have gone through many phases over the years, some extremely cringe-worthy but still very memorable to look back on. 

Towards the end of my "emo"-"I'm not a One Direction fan anymore" phase in early 2015, I came across a band that have stayed with me to this day and will be with me for many years to come. They were unique, nothing like I had ever heard before, but saying everything I needed to hear (yawn, how cliché). 

When I first found this band, they were virtually unknown in the UK, with only a small group of fans connecting through Twitter to share our love for a music we thought was so amazing, but still no one knew anything about. 

This band was, and still is, called Twenty One Pilots. The now extremely popular Ohio duo who have captured a generation with hit songs such as "Stressed Out" and their latest single "Heathens" for the Suicide Squad soundtrack.

Not really fitting into a specific genre was what fascinated me about them, each song and each album is different and each tells a very different but still extremely relatable story. With so many songs to chose from, it can be hard to pick favourites. However I have mine, it's Taxi Cab, from their 2009 self titled album, which I could write a whole other blog post about and has carried me through hard times and will certainly come in handy in years to come. 

2. Something new

As anyone who has sat exams before knows, revising is a grueling task which is, rather inconveniently, vital for success. When I was coming to the end of my GCSEs this June, I was lacking motivation more and more with every passing second. 

Whilst procrastinating during one very, very long (and unproductive) revision session, I came across a friend of mine expressing her love for this amazing new musical which I had never heard of. She had been going on about it for weeks, every other tweet of hers was about how fabulous 'Hamilton' was. So, already in the depths of procrastination hell, I decided to investigate and see what it was she was oh so excited about. 

At first I was confused to learn to musical was based on the story of the founding fathers on the United States. Alexander Hamilton, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson where names which were frequently being mentioned. A musical about history, now can that be interesting?, was my first thought. 

Searching further, I discovered the musical was written by award-winning actor, composer and writer Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also created the extremely successful musical 'In The Heights'. 

Figuring I wasn't going to get any revision done anytime soon, I neglected my physics notes for a first listen on the Hamilton soundtrack via spotify. Forty-six songs of knowledge, history, power and drama, all written and sung beautifully by a fantastic cast. It was so much more than I had first anticipated a musical about such a subject to be, and I can say now I can atleast tell you the brief outline of the American history, which is an added bonus. 

3. Feel-good tunes


Over the summer, I meet up with and made some amazing friends, along with some even more amazing memories. These memories consisted of laughs, new inside jokes, dramas and most importantly music. It wouldn't be a day-out with us lot if we hadn't found a new tune to sing on repeat for the whole time we were with each other.

We've had a whole load of throwbacks this summer, including High School Musical and Hannah Montana, as well as some new songs such as Sia's 'Cheap Thrills' and, of course, not
forgetting the Sidley anthem 'She's So Lovely' by Scouting For Girls.

Even now while we're apart, great memories can be triggered by hearing these songs in our day-to-day lives, whether it be while reminiscing as we plan our next meet-up, or bringing some light to a bad day. 

And that brings a rather sentimental end to my September/Summer playlist for 2016. I'm sorry it couldn't be longer, but as I said, I'm busy being lazy in between attacking these time-consuming but very interesting college assignments.

Let's hope the time between now and my next post for isn't as long as this time around. 

All the love always,

Charlotte x 

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