Written by C.Diva 2017 has been a fairly quiet year for new music, but I have found a few […]
Lana Del Rey
It’s almost 2015, which means the Croatoan virus did not take over the country, and that, my friend, is something to dance about.
This year, I was inspired not only by music, but by the spirit of the artists creating it.
Here are the 10 albums (plus a bonus) I listened to obsessively in 2014 and will continue to bump in 2015. This list includes feminists, a transexual, a gay icon and other progressive and socially conscious artists. If you haven’t heard of the band or the album, click the links, check out the videos and give ’em a listen. If you’re against revolution via music, move on now, because it’s about to be 2015 and the times, my friend, they are a-changing.
A special thanks to my honey!! for helping me compile this list, across the span of three days, picking up conversations as if no time had passed at all.
Listen to my Top Ten Spotify playlist here or watch my Top Ten video playlist here.
xoxo
The Collectiva Diva
1) Beyonce Platinum Edition by Beyonce
I love me some Queen Bey and the self titled album Beyonce, released as a visual album December 2013 and reissued as a platinum edition November 2014, is her best yet. With musical appearances by Drake, Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Frank Ocean and more, this eclectic powerhouse continues to surprise at every turn and has birthed more than a few feminists this year.
“Flawless”
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As I’ve said before, I am a bit of a music snob.
Music inspires me so much, I create elaborate shipping soundtracks that differ with my mood and the type of fic I’m reading or writing. If I become ridiculously obsessed with an album or a band, I will murder their sound for months at a time, until a) I can’t stand to listen to them anymore or b) they come out with a new album for me to kill. I love to share music with friends, and so, dear readers, here are my top 5 albums to ship to. I can’t get enough of them. In fact, I’m listening to at least one right now over on Spotify and so should you.
Click the band name to join The Collective channel and sail along with us.
Find us on Spotify:
xoxo The Collectiva Diva
1) Hozier
I’ve been listening to my Hozier playlist on repeat this week. For hours, at my desk, at home, in the car. I can’t stop. Listening to this band is like sipping a hot cup of tea in front of a burning building. What I mean to say is, it is intense. “From Eden”, “Like Real People Do” and “Take Me To Church” were most definitely written by a Destiel shipper*, while “From Eden” makes me cry for Bucky Barnes. Listen to the NPR Tiny Desk Concert and then go buy the Take Me to Church EP and From Eden EP.
*this in no way is true
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This week for our Villains of Note series, we stop to appreciate the dastardly dragon lady of the 1959 animated film, Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent. In the original fairy tale, whether you believe it to be Charles Perrault’s, “La Belle au bois dormant” (which the Disney version is based on), the Grimm brothers’ “Briar Rose”, or the myriad of other folklore myths the tale resembles, Maleficent exists to terrify readers and warn of ill-gotten revenge. This forgotten fairy is brought to life in Disney’s classic and given new vitality in the 2014 upcoming production of Maleficent.
Les Sobriquets:
The Mistress of All Evil, The Dark/13th/Aged Fairy
Les Caractéristiques:
Horns, purple and black cape, never forgets or forgives–especially when beautiful young girls are involved.
Sa Histoire:
In the Disney version, Maleficent is shunned by the King and Queen, parents of princess Aurora, at the occasion of the princess’ christening. Being the petty and vengeful fairy that she is, Maleficent curses the baby, proclaiming the child will prick her finger on a spinning wheel on her 16th birthday and die. Maleficent spends the next 16 years searching for the princess, who is sent to live with the good fairies in the forest, away from any magic or sorcery that might allow the child to fall under the dark fairy’s spell. Maleficent doesn’t give up easily, and even after she’s gotten the girl to fall into a deep sleep and all hope seems lost, the Mistress of Evil isn’t satisfied. She takes the princess’ betrothed, a handsome Prince Phillip, and locks him in her dungeon, which was her first mistake, because the good guy always escapes. He does, and she proceeds to use some seriously dark magic to turn into a fire breathing dragon, destroy the fields and the castle, until finally put out of her misery by the Prince’s sword right in her dragon belly.
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I am a bit of a music snob.
Meaning, I regularly turn my nose up at popular music, preferring instead to listen to the tunes that inspire rather than the blather played on the radio or on the charts. The thing is, in 2013, those lines were blurred, and not in a rape-y, Robin Thicke sort of way.
I not only gorged on my usual obscure, artsy music, but I happened to fall in love with some of the hottest albums released on 2013. Here are the 10 albums I listened to obsessively in 2013 and will continue to bump in 2014. If you haven’t heard of the band or the album, click the links, check out the videos and give ’em a listen.
I hope you will find something on this eclectic list that catches your fancy.
xoxo
The Collectiva Diva
The Music
1) Born to Die the Paradise Edition by Lana Del Rey
Released in November 2012, The Paradise Edition of Born to Die is a double album with 8 extra songs in addition to the original Born to Die discography. Lana’s voice is ethereal and her lyrics are hardcore. She is a perfect mixture of a Lolita seductress and a ride or die chick. The singer reminds me of that bad ass party girl I know from the streets of Hollywood; as comfortable piss drunk at a house party in burbs of West Covina as she is lounging by the roof top pool at The Standard. Interested in watching a 27 minute short film set to the tune of Paradise? Check out Tropico, starring Lana Del Rey as Eve, a stripper and other archetypal roles she’s bloody good at playing.
“Yayo”
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