Earlier today I put up the first half of this post and now it's time for part two! I decided to break it up as to not put you all to sleep with my ramblings about pop culture. Lets just jump straight back into it shall we? We Shall!
Before I jump into it, please comment below and tell my your pop culture favourites of the year! I'm always looking for some new suggestions.
Albums
There are three albums that stood out to me this year, all of which have been played on repeat since I got my hands on them. First is X by Ed Sheeran, a great sophomore album that follows on from his first but still elevates everything to the next level. Ed's sound is so uniquely his own that it combine acoustic guitars, rapping and some more upbeat stuff and it all sounds like a cohesive album. My favourite songs are Thinking Out Loud, Don' t and Take It Back, though I truly love them all.
Taylor Swift's album 1989 is just all kinds of amazing. Her new 80's pop vibes were such an interesting direction for her to go in but it was a welcomed change by long time fans and hates alike. She certainly gained a lot of new fans with her new sound, which always makes me happy because I love when people become even more successful. For this album it is even harder to pick my top songs but today I'm going to have to give it to Blank Space, Clean and Wonderland.
The third album of 2014 that is vying for the top spot is George Ezra's Wanted on Voyage. This, again, is very different from the ones I've previously mentioned. It has a folky tone that leans on the side of soft rock (I just totally made that up so don't take my word on it). Ezra's voice is just so unique especially because it is coming out of such an unlikely looking boy. My favourite song on this album is Drawing Board which is about him literally wishing death upon his ex girlfriend, offering her a hair cut from Sweeney Todd and filling her pillow case with snakes. The real kicker for this song is that it's so catchy and funny, though slightly evil. I will end this paragraph with the same line that ends the song 'and I haven't seen you since, so I'm praying that you're mince. Oh my.'
Singles
I'm going to keep it nice and short when I talk about my top four singles of the year. Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars and Bang Bang by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj are similar in many ways. Not only do they both have really long artist credits but they're both just really fun to dance to. Bang Bang makes you feel like the ultimate diva while Uptown Funk makes you feel like the life of the party (even if you aren't at a party). Both are winners in my book.
The slower two of the bunch are Say Something by A Great Big World feat. Christina Aguilera and Stay With Me by Sam Smith. These are less dancy and more 'sing from the depths of your soul in the car'-y. They're just both such beautiful songs about love lost and, in the right circumstances, could totally be tear jerkers.
Youtube Channel
The second half of the year has seen the emergence of Youtube channels, rather than individual personalities, as some of my favourites to watch. Most of these revolve around the film industry so I'm just going to lump them all together. AMC Movie Talk is a daily half hour show that delves into the movie news of the day and great discussions ensue. Schmoes Know Movie Show is my favourite of their content, this is a weekly two hour podcast that does a similar job to movie talk (in fact, the schmoes themselves Mark and Kristian feature on AMC) but in a more laid back 'mates joking around with a beer and the occasional quiz' kinda way. Screen Junkies also have a weekly podcast called movie fights which is super entertaining and they make the classic honest trailers which are just hilarious. They are all great because they feature good personalities and I grow to really care about each of their opinions.
Following that bevy of love for the movie channels, is a little show called Good Mythical Morning. Rhett and Link are so funny that I can't wait until their video comes out at about 10pm AEST to see their antics of the day. It is like a funnier version of a proper morning show and if I tried to explain it I would never be able to do it justice.
Youtuber
While I said I've been drifting over to the more professional channel format, there are still plenty of vloggers that I enjoy on a weekly basis. My first two are the beauty beauties who continue to keep my attention throughout their videos, Essie Button and Viviana Does Makeup. They are the two women whose lives I am actually invested in (can't wait until I see a picture of a Esteé/Aslan or Anna/Mark wedding one day) and opinions I really trust. Their videos are simple but I always get so excited when I see them in my subscription box. Their blogs are amazing too, which is just the icing on the cake.
As for the fellas I've got to give a shout out to Connor Franta who was the first ever youtuber I got into watching. He came out as gay just recently which I'm so happy about because, as a teeny bopper good looking O2L member, he gained a lot of his fame form having little girls love him. This could easily have made him stay in the closet for the sake of his career but he was actually met with a really warm response. This made me think maybe the internet isn't as bad as it comes across. My final favourite youtuber of the year is Jack Howard because he is just so gosh darn funny. The way he is so self aware in his personal vlogs, slightly further away Jack being my favourite part, and the great production quality. He seems to have great goals in life and that shows through the Jack and Dean videos which continue to be really well crafted even when they don't necessarily have to be.
Aaaand breathe... phew that was a big couple of posts but it was super fun to do. I love going through all of the things I watched/read/listened to throughout the year and ranking them in order of preference. Though I know none of the people I mentioned will ever read this post, it feels like a personal shout out to them anyway.
I'm actually looking to expand into some more pop culture related content in 2015 as it is one of my true passions. When I first started LOLS I planned on doing some of those posts but they soon fell to the wayside and I focused on the beauty stuff. I hope you guys are okay with that, maybe even excited? I will have to find my feet but I think we will end up with a good variation of posts over in this corner of the internet. Please continue to stay on this ride with me!
Lots of Love,
Shannon
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