The Fault In Our Stars-Okay-Original song!

So a couple of weeks back i had a burst of inspiration and wrote a song based on the incredibly inspiring and thought-provoking book by John Green, The Fault In Our Stars. This is my song, Okay; i hope you like it, it's my first attempt at writing a song, plus i'm not naturally a singer but i hope you can listen to the lyrics and understand where i'm coming from! I'm sorry for the blurring in the video, i have no idea why my camera decided to do that... just as a note, i was and still am VERY tired so that explains why i look quite apathetic :/ :P

Alternative Ending to The Fault In Our Stars

Here's a little something i've written for a competition, enjoy! :D
http://www.movellas.com/story/201406122239147005-alternate-ending-to-tfios-competition-entry

Music Review: Somebody To You by The Vamps Feat. Demi Lovato

After the momentous release of their debut album, Meet The Vamps, British pop rock band The Vamps have teamed up with American singer, Demi Lovato to create the catchy and upbeat song, Somebody To You.

Characteristically The Vamps sound is iconic and personal to themselves, bringing together the artistry of their guitar playing and drum skills combined with the harmonising vocals of the 4 strapping members. Notably the individualistic sound of lead singer, Bradley Simpson's voice is a fresh reminder that this is a band like no other.

As i have mentioned before, Demi Lovato stars in this song, singing in the second verse with her astoundingly strong and iconic vocals, behind which Brad provides a soft harmony. There's no doubt that such a duet would have caused Demi's fans to flock to The Vamps, in turn supporting their sound and likewise, fans of The Vamps most likely have done the same for Demi; so we can assume that this collaboration has proven extremely beneficial for the artists. However in fact there has been mixed reception with some Demi fans claiming her voice is drowned out by the band, with fans of The Vamps counter-arguing that it is, after all, The Vamps' song, not Demi's.

The band, despite being more artistic and less 'manufactured' in how they sound, does however produce songs that we would stereotypically associate with the 'boy band' label, singing particularly about a girl they adore, pleasing their already huge fan base. Now i don't mind my share of pop music and indeed the essence of rock is there, although fine-tuned, but what the band is challenged by is the reception. Many people tend to pass off pop music produced by 'boy bands', claiming that they are heavily manufactured. Indeed a fair share of artists are 'manufactured' and controlled by the music industry and whilst i admit that there is a slight degree of that here, the fact that the band focuses on their skill and talent not only to sing but also in making great music through the use of their instruments, gives them an edge that many pop groups cannot compare to.

If pop-rock isn't up your street then i can only say that this song isn't for you. However I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the song and i think that even though you may not be into the idea of 'boy bands' it's still well worth a listen. So why not head to your local music store and purchase The Vamps new album? Even better, you can download the album immediately from iTunes here.

Book Review: Crossfire by Dick Francis & Felix Francis

I somewhat dubiously attacked this novel, albeit with the mild but tantalising excitement of turning the first page and reading into a new and intangible storyline. Full of scandalous secrets,writer and renowned post-war National Hunt jockey, Dick Francis wrote the book along with the collaborative input of his youngest son, Felix Francis,which together, they have helped bring together the well-researched knowledge of both horse racing and war to provide an insightful exploration into the possibility and likelihood of many corrupt organisations and fields of work.

The story begins on a high of tension and mystery as we are thrown right into a war scene and just like character, Captain Thomas Forsyth, we aren't fully aware of what has happened until the sergeant tells him that he has lost his foot. This is a very significant point to the background of the story for it directly tells us that there will be constant reference to Forsyth's experience being in the army as well as the difficulties that he will have because of the fact that he only has one leg (despite the effective but irritating use of his prosthetic). Much of Francis' language focuses on militaristic lexis and military history creating a very believable story. Furthermore there is a less significant role of lexis from the semantic field of horse racing, which would have been easily acquired by Dick Francis' experience as a jockey. Not only does the book exhume a great depth of knowledge into racing and war but there is a heavy focus on what is one of the most important elements to the story, finance. Crossfire, although living up to its name when given reference to an unusual occurrence/ change in a horses' gait, is predominantly fixated on the idea of war and the way in which two opposing sides are battling out. Despite no longer serving for the army on 6 month leave (due to the extent of his wound) Forsyth uses his tactical knowledge to battle against foes committing Fraud and blackmail because of a 'Hedge fund' gone wrong.

The action began halfway through the story creating suspense and excitement to which i read fruitfully more and more pages, keen to discover the ending; however admittedly, most of the time in which both Dick Francis and Felix Francis explained the difficult situation of handling finance i found myself incredibly lost and confused. Although i think i posed this perplexity not due to inattention to the details but rather due to my age and as a young reader with little knowledge of finance i think it is quite understandable to feel that way. So in all honest opinion, whilst it was an interesting book i believe that to get the best out of it i'd recommend a readership of late 20s and over; however if you happen to have a love for all things finance i see no problem in taking a stab at it!

Do not be fooled into thinking this is solely focused on horse racing, because it is not. In fact the book does have a background of horse racing but we hear of only a few races where blackmail stems. Yet this novel was written to centre predominantly on finance and the flaws of handling it.

All in all, this is a book sure to keep you engaged and interested and i would definitely recommend reading it, however if you wish to have full coherence of the plot then it may be best to be assured that you have knowledge or interest in finance and perhaps the corrupt exploitation of it, if thriller is a genre you find exhilarating.

Single Review: Don't Stop by 5 Seconds of Summer

Think 5SOS aren't you're thing because you 'don't like boy bands'? Well, fear not, this is no boy band...

From left to right: Luke Hemmings (17), Michael Clifford (18), Calum Hood (18), Ashton Irwin (19)

Energetic, exciting and explosive, Australian punk/rock band 5 Seconds of Summer have brought to the market a catchy new song entitled 'Don't Stop' as a subsequent single to the Number 1 hit 'She Looks So Perfect'.

Whilst in many ways mainstream songs heavily base themselves on synth sounds and others, in moderation, such is not apparent in this song, but rather the band focuses on the pure soul and artistry of their skill to play instrument which is how, conventionally, band's should be. Immediately the song begins with the pound of the drums and harsh sound of the bass guitar and this, combined with the vocals, creates a highly memorable song. All 4 members have an iconic edgy voice which couples well with the sound of the instruments, creating a rock sound associated with bands such as All Time Low and Green Day; in fact the band have explained many times how such bands as Green Day and All Time Low have inspired them to become what they are today, music-wise.

This is a song that cannot be listened to just once; it is extremely catchy. Not only is the song striking but 

the band's passion for their music and work ethic to put as much as they can into their music and even the videos produced to promote the song. Certainly the band have invested A LOT of time into this with the lyric video having been strategically composed to create an animated comic-style video showing the band as superheroes. If we didn't think things could get any better they pull out the official music video where we see the juxtaposition of the band rocking out, performing Don't Stop atop a building, instruments and all, and this image is then challenged as we see them developing as superheroes and by the end, saving the day, despite many embarrassing moments (notably Luke being beat up by an old woman).

This is a song bound to pleasantly surprise you, whether you are into bands or not, and even if you don't like the sound, the video is more than likely to amuse you. Either way i'd definitely recommend taking a chance to listen to the song and if you like it why not buy it on iTunes?

Don't Stop will be released on 15th June, available to pre-order now
Self-titled Debut album to be released 30th June, also available for pre-order now

Single Review: Bad Blood by Bastille

Check out my review for Bastille's new hit, Bad Blood here!

SINGLE REVIEW: Bastille - 'Bad Blood' http://t.co/UaO7eVg0qD
— Pop Scoop! (@Pop_Scoop) May 15, 2014

Update: Lewis Watson Gig- Oxford

Lewis Watson is the next biggest acoustic singer, born and raised in the heart of Oxfordshire, with a flair for singing and song writing. Yesterday i went to see him and below in the video description i have summarised pretty much what happened when my friend and i met him. I really want to emphasise how incredible it was to be a witness to watching him perform. Sat on the front row, i stared on in awe as he spoke about the stories behind why he wrote the songs and before, where i would have thought little about the songs' meanings, i could actually hear why he chose the lyrics he did and it meant so much more to me to know that. It was just awe-inspiring to be able connect with him on that level and it was only with his endearing character that i could actually do that, so as an artist he epitomizes the ideals: commitment, friendliness, a hard working personality and a passionate for music. Please, if you haven't already, check him out on YouTube because i believe he could be as big as Ed Sheeran and that can't be possible without your help, so if you click on this link here you will be directed to his channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/HolyLoowis