Album
Melanie Martinez - Cry Baby
I first heard of Melanie Martinez on Vine of all places but I was soon drawn in by her songs & alternative aesthetic. You have no idea how tempted I am to copy her hair! She's not very well known in the UK yet but she was a contestant on The Voice USA before releasing her album Cry Baby earlier this year. It's a concept album about a character called Cry Baby which is partly based on Melanie's own childhood traumas/experiences. All of the songs combine childhood themes with adult situations & they're all incredibly catchy. My favourite tracks would have to be Soap, Dollhouse & Sippy Cup but I actually really like all of them. It's rare for me to find a record where I don't feel the need to skip any of the songs so this is definitely my favourite album of the year. I really hope that Melanie tours in the UK soon as I would love to see her perform live!
Other Faves: Lana Del Rey - Honeymoon / Fall Out Boy - American Beauty/American Psycho / Little Mix - Get Weird
Song
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Downtown
For some reason the first time I heard Downtown I decided that I hated this song & made Andy turn his car radio off! Then I saw the music video & somehow I fell in love with it. Who knew that singing about mopeds could be so much fun?! Eric Nally's parts really make the song for me & I wish I could pull off his crazy dance moves in the video! I keep finding myself singing random lyrics from it out of nowhere. Right now it's the tiramisu line... Anyway this was my favourite song of 2015 because it's such an earworm & I can't help but sing along.
Other Faves: Drake - Hotline Bling / Little Mix - Black Magic
Fall Out Boy - Uma Thurman / Jack Ü feat. Justin Bieber - Where Are Ü Now
Book
The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo
January is the perfect time for some spring cleaning so if you haven't read this book yet then I highly recommend checking it out. Marie Kondo is a Japanese cleaning consultant and this book guides you step by step through what is known as the 'KonMari' method for tidying, simplifying & organising. Some of it I find to be a bit excessive but it does deliver some very helpful tips to get your home & life in order. One of the main things that I took away from this book is the idea that the things you own should 'spark joy' & if not you should throw them away. I do tend to hoard things that I never use so it does make you think about your belongings differently. It's an especially powerful message if you need to clear out your wardrobe or makeup collection. I'd love to lead clutter-free existence & while I doubt that will ever happen, this book has definitely helped to steer me in the right direction.
Other Faves: Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn / Among The Shadows - Various Authors
Only Ever Yours - Louise O'Neill / A Head Full Of Ghosts - Paul Tremblay
Film
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
I was so incredibly stoked to see the new Star Wars film. I'm someone who didn't actually mind the prequel trilogy (in fact I loved Revenge Of The Sith & have it on DVD!) but I really hoped that The Force Awakens would be a return to the former glory of the original films. Episode VII was everything I could have wanted & more. Of course it was brilliant to see Han, Leia & Luke again but I completely adored all of the new characters. Rey, Finn & Poe were amazing and had great chemistry. BB-8 is the cutest droid ever! I have huge weird crush on Adam Driver though so seeing him as Kylo Ren was just exhilarating. I really wanna go see it again on a 3D IMAX screen this time. The last time I bothered to see a film more than once in the cinema was LOTR: The Two Towers but I think Star Wars is something you really do need to see a few times to take all of it in. Plus you know... Adam Driver
Other Faves: Inside Out / Ex Machina / Birdman / A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
TV Show
American Horror Story: Hotel
There's been so many brilliant TV shows this year but the programme I most look forward to every week is American Horror Story: Hotel. I've seen all the other seasons of AHS & this one is my absolute favourite. I thought Edward Mordrake was such a cool character in Freak Show so I was really glad they brought back Wes Bentley this season & as the main character, no less. Chloe Sevigny is my bae so even though John & Alex are terrible people I love seeing them together. Lady Gaga's acting has been great but Evan Peters is really knocking it out of the park as James Patrick March. He's such a creepy yet intriguing character. I could watch a whole show just about him! I only hope that Hotel doesn't suffer the same fate as Ryan Murphy's other shows where they start off really well before crashing & burning at the end (Popular, Glee, Nip/Tuck, every other season of AHS!).
Other Faves: Game Of Thrones / Better Call Saul / This Is England '90 / Humans / Transparent / RuPaul's Drag Race
Animation
Steven Universe
Chloe always seems to find cool new shows to watch on her iPad & it's because of her that I started watching Steven Universe. It's about a young boy called Steven who hangs out with three aliens called the Crystal Gems. Steven is half-gem so he's figuring out his powers as they go on adventures & save the world. I love the animation style & the songs are ridiculously catchy but what makes Steven Universe stand out from other cartoons is that the show explores many adult themes in a way that's understandable for kids. It touches on things like feminism, gender & sexuality. The gems take on a female humanoid form & can 'fuse' together to create stronger gems. One of the characters, Garnet, is a fusion made up of Ruby & Sapphire and is said to be the 'physical embodiment of a lesbian relationship'. I think it's really great that there's a show with such strong LGBT references for kids these days. I'm sure most of it just goes over Chloe's head but it makes me enjoy the show so much more.
Other Faves: Death Parade / Sailor Moon Crystal / Teen Titans Go! / Tokyo Ghoul √A
Game
The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
The only current games console that I own is the Nintendo 3DS & there hasn't actually been many good games out for it this year. The only one I purchased was Majora's Mask which I was really excited about as I never got to play the original on N64. I love Zelda games & I have to say that Majora's Mask is one of the best in the series. The story is quite dark but the whole collecting masks & resetting time mechanics made it very enjoyable. There are tons of RPGs coming out in 2016 though so I already know that next year will be fantastic for gaming. I'm especially looking forward to Fire Emblem Fates, Hyrule Warriors Legends, Bravely Second & Project X Zone 2!
Other Faves: Pokemon Shuffle / Pokemon Rumble World / The Legend Of Zelda: Triforce Heroes
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