March Playlist

The world is divided into two: bookies that read in a quiet place and bookies that read with music in the background (or blasting it out loud). 

I belong in the second group. If you read my introduction article "Nice to meet you and welcome to my bookish world." you know, music was always important to me. (if you haven’t now it's a good time to do it. Here is the link:  https://bookatiepillar.blogspot.nl/2018/03/nice-to-meet-you-and-welcome-to-my.html)

My dad is a musician and my mum is a former figure skater and later she was a dance group leader so you can imagine I was always surrounded by music. 

What I like to do is I to create a monthly playlist with the songs that I currently like or just discovered. I would like to share these songs with you in a hope that you might like them and probably listen to them while driving (if you belong into the first group) or while reading (if you are a bookie from the group No.2).

Whichever group you belong to I hope you will enjoy this article and the music of course. So, let's get to the point... 

My March playlist is funky dance music and I was obsessed! This playlist was on repeat for full eight hours while I was at work and then I got home and played it while cooking dinner. Of course, I was singing along in the shower and with only 8 songs (31 minutes) you can imagine how well I know the lyrics by now.

1. The Love Within by Bloc Party

I discovered this song on my "discovers weekly" playlist in January. And I thought I saved it but I saved the wrong song! I didn't remember the name or the artist. The only thing I remembered about this tune was the bouncing sound in the refrain. 

So, the search has begun and it took me 3 months to come across this song again. Hence it was the first one that is in the playlist. I still love that bouncing sound. 

2. Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes

That base! Oh, how much I love the first few seconds of this song. And of course, the lyrics! I had to google them, to be honest as I was missing the point while listening but it was worth the embarrassment. 

3. Feel it still by Portugal. The Man

My boyfriend introduced me to this song and for weeks I was confused why is the band called "man" if the lead singer is female... the knowledge that the voice belongs to a man with a huge beard made me love this song even more. 

4. Thunder by Imagine Dragons

The obsession with this song goes further than is acceptable. It goes so far that I use the same tone of voice for words like: "London?" or "fandom?" Is it annoying for the people around me? Yes. Am I going to stop soon? Definitely no. 

5. Whatever it takes by Imagine Dragons

I didn't like this song at first. This one was added to the playlist at the very end. I heard it on the radio so much that I actually started to like it. I still don't know what he says in the lyrics but it sounds amazing so I lip sing without knowing any words. (I hope I am not the only one). 

6. Daft Punk is Playing at My House by LCD Soundsystem. 

I WISH! Well, everybody would be lined up at my house, my house! And Sarah's girlfriend would be working the door, everybody would be PA in my house, my house and all the robots would descend from the bus. There would be a freakout brewing in my house, my house in the basement ‘cause Daft Punk would be playing in my house, my house and we would have to set them up, kid, set them up!

7.Harder Better Faster Stronger by Daft Punk

I couldn't find a song that would follow better than this one... just listen how funkier and funkier it gets. 

8. Some Nights by Fun. 

I came across this one by accident and I heard it on the radio a long time ago. I added this one in because it feels epic! It makes me feel like I am supposed to do something with my life and get up from this chair... and dance at least.

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Nice to Meet You and Welcome to My Bookish World

“Still round the corner, there may wait

A new road or a secret gate

And though I oft have passed them by

A day will come at last when I

Shall take the hidden paths that run

West of the Moon, East of the Sun.” 

JR.R. Tolkien

It all began with the Spice Girls... I should thank them one day, especially Geri Halliwell and her Union Jack dress. I am sure you know which one I mean. Seeing that dress made me wonder; What is that red and blue cross and why would someone put that on the dress?

This is how I discovered the United Kingdom. This was 1997 and I was just 9 years old; singing along "Stop" in Slovakia. 

I remember one Sunday; my mum was cooking lunch when I walked in the kitchen so proud of myself and said: "One day I will live in London.... in England to be more precise." I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I thought England was in London, but there was no Google Maps at that time.

Fast forward 21 years and I am happy to share with you that now I do know where the London is. I am also very happy to tell you that I did live there... or close enough. Because as I discovered later in my life, I do not want to live in London, but there were plenty of other cities in England that were very attractive and so I travelled. I lived in Bristol, in Chippenham, in the middle of nowhere in Devon and in the city called Crawley (Creepy Crawley for English readers). I had been spending my summer holidays in England since I was 18 years old. Other people went to Italy or Croatia, they returned to school with a tan and seashell necklace; while I came with tea and lots of Primark clothes. After finishing a master's degree in English Language and Literature I moved there. I travelled a lot around England and learned so much about the culture and people. I lived in England for four years until I decided that it is time to move on. 

"What could be better than the country of Spice Girls and Harry Potter?", you might ask. To be honest, it is a hard question. Well, maybe easier now with all that Brexit going on. Nevertheless, I made my decision, packed my bag (and all the books) and moved back to the mainland... to the country that I refer to as "weed land" but it is officially known as "The Netherlands". 

I was flying between the London and Amsterdam for almost a year before that decision was made, but my one-way ticket had a date of 1st of April 2017. I am an April fool indeed! ...and Expat in that matter. I am a little Slovakian girl that tries to be Dutchie as much as possible. Luckily for me, I have great help; my Dutch boyfriend and my friends are helping me fall off the bike and laugh at me when I try to pronounce words like "Scheveningen" or "ezelsbruggetje". But if all of this gets too hard and too complicated I hide into one of the books and disappear from this world into the Middle-Earth or Panem, or Hogwarts...

Books have always had an important place in my life. After Spice Girls broke up, there was Harry Potter and this obsession lasts until today. I should thank Rowling, for helping me discover the magical world of books and through Harry Potter lead me to other amazing stories. Thanks to those books I chose to study English Literature at University. I feel like Potter series was a gate that opened unlimited possibilities...

I hope that, in a way, my blog will open a gate for you into the same place where magic is real, where elves, dragons and hobbits exist and where you are never far away from a good book (and a cup of coffee).

If you are reading this I would like to say: "Hi, it's nice to meet you and welcome to my bookish world."

Special thanks to Tim, Sophia, Egle, Nathalie, my mum and dad... and Geri Halliwell’s stylist. 

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