If I’m not mistaken the last time I posted a 'What I’ve been watching, listening to and loving was back in February which is funny seeing as February feels like 5 minutes ago (where has this year gone though seriously??)
In that time I haven’t been doing a substantial lot but I have managed to ram in a few episodes from TV Series I’ve either been working round to watching or ones I was curious about catching, as well as listening to both new music and a couple of podcasts all of which I thought I'd pop in here to recommend.
So firstly what have I been watching?
Fleabag
This could have almost formed the whole basis and reasoning behind writing this blog post. I know I’m a little- okay, a lot late to the party but I’m here. I got here eventually and can I just say what a brilliant party it is to be in. From the get go watching Fleabag I was in complete and utter awe over the complex and truly fascinating characters. The relationships within the story being told; the heartbreaking, raw and honest story told from the perspective of a young single women living in London. That woman being Fleabag.
Every second you watch the show you’re made to feel like you're right there with her experiencing every heartbreak, every moment of anger, piece of happiness and humour. It's relatable especially as a women and extremely honest, not to mention clever and insanely witty. You will find yourself laughing loudly one minute and blubbing like a baby the next before smiling through moments of complete and utter pure genius.
It's both rewarding and exciting to see a strong female lead part tackling issues like relationships, sex, family, grief and loneliness. I could truly gush about it all day, I fell in love with it a lot, my oh my. I have no doubt in my mind I'm going to watch it all over again in the coming months. If you haven't seen it I urge you to.
And if you haven't seen second season all I can say is hot priest. If you do watch it my inbox is always open to have endless chats about it, no really.
Queer Eye
Another one I am hideously late with (I can all but apologise) is queer eye. I always watch this when I've had a rubbish day, or I feel a bit down and need cheering up I have to urge you in that respect to watch it because you can finish an episode crying tears of happiness. It's an incredibly uplifting and easy watch. My love for the 'Fab 5' is next to none. I think we all wish we could have Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski and Jonathon Van Ness coming into our lives and completely transforming our skin, hair, lifestyle and interior, I know I wish I could. If you haven't ever seen or heard of Queer Eye it is essentially a makeover program where each episode they delve into the life of a man in need of their help and assistance to guide and direct them towards becoming a more confident and happier being. It touches on a lot of cultural and relationship issues as well as style advice and food ideas. Antoni is my favourite just saying.
Chernobyl
From the moment even seeing glimpses of the trailer for these I was desperate to see it. In the past I would have said this wouldn't be up my street but honestly I'm not quite sure what my street is anymore and this, this is absolutely incredible, gut-wrenching TV.
From the first episode I was hooked, interested and curious a great deal in true story of Chernobyl.
The story of which follows the Nuclear disaster in 1986 and the events that happened after it, unravelling and unveiling the truths and lies behind the devastating disaster.
One thing that you do best to remember whilst watching is remembering that it actually happened, an event that could have completely changed and impacted upon history. Which in turn makes it so scary and unnerving to watch.
Without just taking my word for it, this series is one the highest rated TV series on IMDB beating both Game Of Thrones and Breaking Bad in the ranks.
And what I've also been listening to?
Hot Chip
Hot Chip
'A bathful of ecstasy'
I popped this one in because as of 2 days ago I didn't actually know they had released a recent album (it got released on Friday) an album I have been very excitedly anticipating. I've always been into Hot Chip, a band perfect for if you love your dance music or like me enjoy indie but have a taste bordering on disco/electronic music. Hot Chip have that perfect balance of melody and rhythm whilst on the other hand lending their hand to more dance-y/ house sort of bangers. I love how eccentric and weirdly wonderful they are. This album is a lot smoother and softer in a sense, in comparison to previous albums but it feels fully immersive and bigger with most tracks averaging over 4 minutes. My favourite is Hungry Child one I am dubbing my summer anthem.
'On the Outskirts' Podcast
I've been wanting to get round to listening to this for ages. When both Alice Catherine and Sophia Rosemary first announced they would be doing this podcast I was really excited both because as you know from previous 'watching, listening to and loving' posts I'm a sucker for a good podcast but also because I admire these both as individual bloggers.
I found this podcast a real easy one to listen to, it is essentially like sitting in on them having a catch up and a natter, which makes for such a warm and inviting podcast. What I love is at the beginning of each episode they discuss a little about what they've been up to, listening to, reading or watching and it's a nice little snippet of finding new things or perhaps hearing about things you already know about and hearing their opinion. Just circling back to Fleabag, in the last episode of 'On the Outskirts' I listened to they spoke about Fleabag whilst discussing what it means to be a woman in 2019 'the women who shake up the rules and help redefine how women are viewed by the world' a very interesting listen!
It's very relatable on many levels and also like the purpose of the podcast it does create a space to make you feel more involved and less alone either within the blogosphere but also in a girls world.
I found this podcast a real easy one to listen to, it is essentially like sitting in on them having a catch up and a natter, which makes for such a warm and inviting podcast. What I love is at the beginning of each episode they discuss a little about what they've been up to, listening to, reading or watching and it's a nice little snippet of finding new things or perhaps hearing about things you already know about and hearing their opinion. Just circling back to Fleabag, in the last episode of 'On the Outskirts' I listened to they spoke about Fleabag whilst discussing what it means to be a woman in 2019 'the women who shake up the rules and help redefine how women are viewed by the world' a very interesting listen!
It's very relatable on many levels and also like the purpose of the podcast it does create a space to make you feel more involved and less alone either within the blogosphere but also in a girls world.
Two Door Cinema Club
'False Alarm'
I'm going to be honest here and say that of all the years I happily said Two Door Cinema club are one of my favourite bands in the most recent years I stopped listening to them as much. Their last album was probably my favourite of theirs but I've felt for a long time like I started growing out of them which is hard to explain. I remember having a conversation with someone older than me across Twitter to which they told me they stopped listening to them because they felt they had grown up and their music felt younger to listen to, something I never thought would happen but did. I have to say putting that aside I'm surprisingly liking TDCC new album. It's different in so many ways, I feel like with each album they bring out it brings with it a new sound, one that at first makes you think, do I like this? Do I like this direction? All before diving head first into it.
This album is a lot like that, it is different but it's different in a way that is like nothing I don't think they've ever done before. This album sounds weird in places- in a good way, its experimental with a lot of creative risk takes. It's incredibly 80's electro in places which I love. This album is certainly a journey but a good one. My favourites are 'Satellite' and 'Dirty Air'
This album is a lot like that, it is different but it's different in a way that is like nothing I don't think they've ever done before. This album sounds weird in places- in a good way, its experimental with a lot of creative risk takes. It's incredibly 80's electro in places which I love. This album is certainly a journey but a good one. My favourites are 'Satellite' and 'Dirty Air'
Yogurts
I know this sounds weird but bare with me. Since I've started healthy eating I found that on my cheat days, or lets just say the weekend I find more pleasure in being able to enjoy the things that I don't eat so much of in the week, not to say I don't eat yogurts in the week because I do but these ones I class as more like dessert yogurts, a little bit naughty but very nice.
At Sainsbury's they do their own 'Taste the Difference West Country Yogurts' in a variety of flavours I've only picked a few so far but the ones I have were extremely delicious. The ones I thought worth mentioning is the Pink grapefruit and Gin yogurt, Coconut, Pineapple and Rum as well as the Lemon Curd which out of the 3 is the most basic but in my opinion the nicest. Jay's recently bought a blender to make smoothies so I'm tempted to pop one in one day and see how it tastes.
Reading
I'm putting this one as a general one for now given that I've only been doing it for the past week. But starting this year I told myself (in fact I think I popped it in a blog post on here) I wanted to start making an effort to read more books in order to enjoy doing so and hopefully in turn help me to be a better writer. Around 2 months ago I think? I won a kindle subscription on the Elite Mcdonalds Monopoly (god who doesn't love Mcdonalds monopoly??)
The subscription is for 2 months and I thought what a perfect opportunity it would be to ram my library with some good reads to get stuck into. Like I said I've kept this one under a very general umbrella until I find some books I feel confident enough to recommend but I did in fact finish a book in a week, last week. The book was called 'The Best Friend by Shalini Boland' described as a gripping physiological thriller with a breathtaking twist. The story follows a woman who befriends a wealthy wife with everything to which they become friends before unveiling that not everything is quite as it seems. It was a good read and one that eased me well into getting my reading mojo back but wasn't one of the best things I've read so I'm looking to find one I can really get stuck into, watch this space.
Wallows and Foals
In the last week we also seen Wallows on the Monday and Foals on the Sunday two gigs I've been looking forward to since booking. Wallows I listened to most of last summer so for me they feel like a summer band along with Foals so being able to see them in June just felt like the right time.
If you caught my instagram story from Wallows you'll know that it was probably the first gig to make me feel SO old. I was shocked to say the least to see so many young teenagers, but still shouldn't have been surprised given Dylan Minnette from 13 Reasons Why is in the band. They were incredible, it's always perfect timing to see a band when you're in utter awe of them.
Then Foals on the Sunday was honestly by far one of the best times I've ever seen them in fact I would go as far to say as one of the best times I've ever seen any band. Every time I catch Foals they always exceed my expectations but this time they were phenomenal. The gig was an outdoor one in Birmingham which was a little touch and go with the weather but worked out to be quite a nice evening. Foals are another I class to be a summer band so what with the music and the set which was adorned with jungle style big leafed plants and topped off with Yannis (the lead singer) coming only centermeters to me (which did result in me ending up in complete shock I stupidly forget to press record) it was an incredible set- a night to remember.
Then Foals on the Sunday was honestly by far one of the best times I've ever seen them in fact I would go as far to say as one of the best times I've ever seen any band. Every time I catch Foals they always exceed my expectations but this time they were phenomenal. The gig was an outdoor one in Birmingham which was a little touch and go with the weather but worked out to be quite a nice evening. Foals are another I class to be a summer band so what with the music and the set which was adorned with jungle style big leafed plants and topped off with Yannis (the lead singer) coming only centermeters to me (which did result in me ending up in complete shock I stupidly forget to press record) it was an incredible set- a night to remember.
What's your opinion?