Casual dip into Merseyside

One of my deepest and greatest loves is exploring, and another is architecture. But then again I am a massive nerd, so when its the history behind a city or cute little village it always has me drawn in further. With that being said, I decided it was about time I wrote another What Not post. So I thought what better way to write my second ever What Not post, than combining two of my favourite things (outside of music)? Now I am from England, in the United Kingdom, and like many countries it is full with iconic and historical cities. However, there is one city that is beautiful, musical and well just beaming with history. Intrigued? You better carry on reading then…
… There’s a beautiful city that’s filled with both old and new architecture. A city that is also full, and I mean full, of musical talent. A city that’s well known for its accent and its people, but also for its iconic docks. I have been incredibly lucky that within the last 12 months I have had the pleasure to visit this city three times. And each time I have fallen more in love than the last. Although my last visit saw me become absolutely smitten, due to the fact that every time I have visited I have saw a little more. But the last time I went, I was graced with a lot and boy was it beautiful. So now here I am, as already mentioned, absolutely smitten and writing about my last trip there. I’m going to talk briefly about what I did there (as the trip had some personal aspects I wont go into too much detail) and the amazing experiences I got to have.
Now if you haven’t worked it out already, I am of course talking about Liverpool.
  Liverpool, is a maritime city that worked as a key trade port (up until early 20th century), and has a direct line ferry wise to Ireland, with its docks being a very famous historical feature and well a great tourist attraction. It is also famous for its musical talents such as Cilla Black and of course The Beatles, but also houses talent that hasn’t yet been discovered! Literally there are performers everywhere you turn its amazing to witness!I was lucky to go and visit the docks during my last trip there, as well as explore Matthew Street which is home to The Cavern a worldwide famous monument. However, Liverpool also houses some stunning pieces of architecture that I also got to see due to being able to explore just outside of the town centre.
  The buildings that surround Liverpool are a large mixture of old Victorian styled properties, buildings with beautiful carved columns and gargoyles. But also big towering modern day pieces filled with glass and chrome. I cannot put into words how beautiful the buildings are there, I can however explain the beauty behind the contrast and mixture of modern meets old, and how it truly amazed me. What was the key attraction to this mix was that the modern buildings didn’t overpower or undermine the older ones. Somehow the older ones stood prouder and more pronounced, but they also work with the modern builds, breaking down the harshness of the chrome and sharpness of the glass.
  Now when it comes to Liverpool’s fascinating history, don’t feel know quite enough to be able to talk about it. So I utterly suggest, if the history of cities fascinates you, doing some research into this lovely place. I was lucky in that the personal aspect of the trip allowed me to speak to someone who generally loves the city in which they live, and having them provide me with some of the vast amount of historical knowledge they had was just absolutely amazing. Liverpool is more than its music, it is more than its university and hospital, it’s about its docks and trades.
  Now besides all the architecture and history of Liverpool, what surprised me the most was how friendly everyone there seemed to be. There was no animosity towards tourists, taxi drivers were chatty and cheery and well the night life there is surreal. It’s so vibrant and so full of energy, literally everyone was there to have a good time and that was it. I mean a good example of how different nightlife is in Liverpool to what I am used to in the city live is that I was accidentally clunked on the head with a pint glass. Now this didn’t faze me as I knew it was an accident, however the guy who did it was extremely apologetic straight away even providing a comforting shoulder tap. This is just unusual for me as normally that happens and you get ignored, so much so that I think my shock at his apology was visible to the poor guy.
  Now I mentioned how everyone is there to have fun, well the biggest showcase of that was everyone dancing, singing and well not caring what they looked like! Also no one cared how drunk or even how sober they were, they were there to enjoy the night and listen to the beautiful live music that was being performed. And honestly, that was probably one of my highlights of visiting Liverpool. Like for me seeing visually people enjoying themselves and having fun just makes the environment just that extra bit pleasant, and with some of the night life experiences I’ve had over the years it was just perfect. I mean being able to dance to live music and not having a single thought of what I looked like floating round my head was just pure bliss.

  Now I could go on forever about Liverpool and its people and history and architecture, but I will stop here. I will however, recommend strongly you go visit this beautiful city! I can also state that I cannot wait to go again!!
 
P.s. look out for something new up and coming very shortly… xo
I just want to take this time to say, that the moments you take out of your day to read my opinions and thoughts mean a lot to me. So from the bottom of my heart thank you! If you’d like to leave any feedback or comments, please do so in the comments box below.
 
Thank you,
 
Leanne xo
 

"I don't mind sentimental girls at times…"

   Talking to people, whether it’s friends, relatives, strangers, anyone at all, about their music tastes, preferences, what they like and hate, is one of my favourite things. The perfect example of this was recently in my best pal’s car; just me her and the drummer from Sextapes (I’ve done blogs about them in the past, if you haven’t seen them, take the time to go have a look). We were driving home from a gig and decided the radio just wasn’t cutting it, so we decided to just take turns in picking songs, and talking about what we’re into, and what we don’t like so much. The point I’m getting to is that I was reminded of a band that I love, but had completely forgotten about! Usually in the car we choose BMTH, Paramore; the usual. But drummer boy mixed things up with his request: Supersoaker.

   This band has a vocalist that fit’s a category I love; quirky, unique, some examples of others being Ellie Goulding, John Newman and George Ezra. But the vocalist in question is Caleb Followill. What gets me about his voice is that it makes you feel so many things, that maybe other vocals on the same track wouldn’t, just because they sound so different and out there. They make you want to check out their music, listen to album after album, because they really catch you out. Being made to want to listen to more and more is such a hard thing to accomplish from an artists point of view, and it makes me feel such great respect for them, like they have a magical power that only few have been blessed with. Obviously some people may think other artists have more unique voices, because it’s really down to what music is your usual genre, and what steps out of you own ‘norm’.

   So Kings Of Leon, as I’ve mentioned, are a band I forget about, never even thinking to talk about and certainly not to blog about, but I think they really deserve it. They’re a band from Tennessee, made up of 3 brothers and their cousin. Their music overall is so rustic, raw and catchy too. Caleb’s deep voice makes you feel as though in that moment, no other vocalist could ever sound THAT good. They’re defined as a rock band, but they seem to me to dabble in so many different genres, that I don’t think one label can describe them; they don’t fit to ‘rock’ mould. Having this mix of rock, indie and folk sounds all from one group of musicians displays their talent immensely. Their religious views are very well known to fans, and they’re well known for sticking to their beliefs, but despite this they wrote one of the most well-known songs of my generation: Sex on Fire. I know it’s stereotypical of me to say it, but as a religious group I thought they would be somewhat reserved about this topic; but apparently not! The song is so catchy and creative, on a controversial subject but still got to Number 1 on the charts! They make music about all sorts of topics: drugs, fighting, politics, abuse and not forgetting sex, but write them in a way which doesn’t come across as edgy and frowned upon, but simply as great music!

Thank you guys for always being supportive and reading what I write! Leanne xx

Here’s the video of Kings of Leon – Supersoaker:


Singing of Sex, Drugs and Harmonies

   Most of the time, my posts are about rock and indie bands, and today I’m going to stray from this blogs norm i’ve accidentally created and tell all about another band I’ve got some big love for at the moment!

   I got onto the topic of this artist recently in the office with my colleague, after hearing a kid shouting the lyrics outside. We were both just saying how lovely this artists voice is, how we’re feeling every song we’ve heard so far. What I love about this artist is the power in the voice, even though they speak-sing most of the time (which is another thing I love). The harmonies are wonderful, the instrumentals of the track are spot on and they’re all really feel good tunes… On the surface.

Listening to these songs properly, you realise what the lyrics are about; much darker subjects – drugs, sex. I was then asked if I’d heard the older stuff they’d done; I hadn’t. Of course, I went and listened and instantly realised a difference. The mood was still the same, the songs still catchy, but you didn’t have to listen very well to realise that they were about the subjects I previously mentioned. With words that are totally unfit for kids ears (I say this because I left them playing in my room and my little brother heard: DISASTER!) but surprisingly still very good songs.

   If you haven’t all realised who I’m talking about already, another clue is HE was first bought to my attention when he collaborated with Ariana Grande on one of her songs, but then more so when his song was released for 50 Shades Of Grey. Got it yet? It’s The Weeknd!

   If you haven’t already checked him out guys I highly recommend you do; whether that’s Spotify, YouTube or going and buying his album – it’ll be worth your time!

Thanks as always guys for reading and supporting, Leanne xx

Here’s the video for Can’t Feel My Face – The Weeknd

Running…

   Nothing makes a run better than good weather and good music. This morning I went for an early(ish) run and thought, ‘Spotify, you are going to be my god today’. Selecting browse, then workout, I was greeted with multiple playlists for different genres and workouts. I opted for rock-run today and the best track provided this morning was the following by My Chemical Romance

   Even though I’m not a huge fan of this song it was the perfect running track and gave me the get up and go I was looking for.