So, this post is a little bit later than I had anticipated (like 10 days later), but I'm here now, so better late than never, eh?
First things first, there's a new playlist for March ➡️. It's already shaping up to be a cracker, with 266 songs on there as of this morning. I have listened to them all and started my 'duke it out' lists for the month.
Although it's a bit early to pick favourites, the new Highlight EP, Switch On, which was released today is certainly going to be a contender, as is 最美的風景 (Fight With the Demon Concert), the live EP by Marz23. However, there are still a few days to go until the end of the month and a lot of excellent songs are yet to be released, so we'll see what rises to the top when we get to Easter.
Last time, I talked about my new category - TV songs. I hadn't realised how many there were, so there was even a battle to choose the top 3 of January and February. I have now also started playlists for A and B Sides of 2024 (for EPs/Albums). This should, theoretically, make the end-of-year lists easier, as instead of trawling through hundreds of songs then, I'm forcing myself to choose a maximum of ten songs per month, which is really hard to do, but I'm getting there slowly.
It's late and my brain isn't working particularly well after a long and hard day at work, so I'm going to finish here. Also, I'm feeling disappointed as iKON, for whom I have been waiting for what seems like a lifetime to see live (meaning in the flesh rather than live stream), had finally deigned to come to London for a concert, have now announced that it's cancelled😭. I was completely gutted at the news, particularly as the band recently moved into enlistment territory so the chance of seeing them anytime in the next few years has dropped considerably.
I was particularly looking forward to seeing my bias, DK, who released his first solo album, Nakseo (戀), last month (yes, it's top 3, of course it is) but instead we have to make do with this MV for the pre-release track from his album.
I've borrowed the Google Doodle for today because it's cute - I hope they don't mind.
So we've come to the end of another month (lordy, at this rate it will be Christmas before we know it 😭).
I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that my month has been spent working and listening to music (do I ever do anything else?). Despite being a traditionally quieter month (😂) I managed to fill the February playlist with 1,119 tracks.
Despite this, and the last push to get the end-of-year lists completed (which has heavily impacted my February Receiptify), I have managed to keep my current spreadsheets up to date so I have almost completed the top 3 singles and albums for the month. EPs are a little more tricky, as usual, as there are more of them, but we'll get there.
I have realised that I need to add another new category as songs are being released but are not traditional singles as they're either only available on Spotify or they come from TV and YouTube programmes. They don't really fit under OSTs but there are some good tracks so I'm going to give them a list of their own.
Aside from the usual, I did manage to leave the house a few times both to go to work 🫤 and for entertainment purposes. There were concerts, both live and on-screen:
Pet Shop Boys - Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits - we saw this at the cinema. The PSBs were excellent but the sound was far too quiet for a concert and they didn't even open it to full screen, which was disappointing.
ABC - The Lexicon of Love - I was in Brighton for the original LOL tour in 1983 (an amazing weekend which also included Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran gigs - those were the days!) and remember when Martin Fry said that the gold lame suit was being retired forever. Promo material for this tour made me hopeful that it was being resurrected, but alas it was not to be 🥲. Apart from that disappointment, it was an excellent evening and I was impressed at the quality of the vocals after all this time.
John Bramwell and the Full Harmonic Convergence - Anyone who remembers my original Moments and Musings blog will know John Bramwell from our many trips to see him, both in a solo capacity and with his excellent band I Am Kloot (sadly long defunct 😭). He is back with a new band and a brand new album full of the sort of lovingly crafted songs we've come to expect of him over the last 25+ years. The event took place in St Pancras Old Church, which actually seemed like the perfect setting for him, notwithstanding the slug of rum in his tea.
There were also rewatches of the Key and Lee Junho online concerts.
I did manage to get a little drama watching in and finished 3 series:
Marry My Husband - a Korean time-travel romantic drama, about a woman with cancer killed by her husband, who is cheating on her with her best friend. She wakes up ten years earlier, just before her engagement, and decides to change her life to stop the fatal outcome from happening and live a happier life than the one she had before. This was quite enjoyable and featured a decent cast with a lot of lighter moments to balance some of the darker themes in the show.
Perfect Marriage Revenge - a Korean time-travel romantic drama, about a woman who discovers her husband is in love with her younger sister and is framed by her terrible mother for a crime she didn't commit. After dying in a road accident she wakes up a few weeks before her wedding and determines to take revenge on her awful family.
Yes, I know, it sounds much like the previous one, and it was, sort of. But there's something satisfying about seeing these doormat women become tough-ass bitches, and this drama did it particularly well. Of the two dramas I think I just slightly preferred this one, but both are worth watching.
Sword and Fairy (Chinese Paladin 6) - this is a Chinese Xianxia drama based on a bestselling computer game. Despite hearing poor reviews of the show I watched it as I wanted something completely unrealistic and I like the lead actors (Xu Kai and Esther Yu). I was surprised to find that the story was far more emotionally engaging than I had expected, and I enjoyed it thoroughly despite the somewhat dodgy CGI and cheap sets.
My audiobook listening was reduced to only one book, but it was a cracker.
This is book 13 in the Inspector McLean series and features slightly less of the titular character than previously, giving other supporting characters a chance to step up and deal with the sort of weird cases Tony McLean is known for. I enjoyed it a lot, but now have to wait another year or so for the next one.
Time to wrap it up for today. I shall try to post again tomorrow (or soon) with February's listening stats and set up all the new playlists. But before I go, I want to post this video by the excellent VAV, who very sadly announced their disbandment yesterday. The MV is for Designer, the lead track from their final EP, Subconscious, which featured in my favourite EPs of last year.
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