The first few weeks of the year are usually put aside for completing resolutions, preparing for a new semester and bundling up to hide from freezing temperatures.
All of these things come and go. Soon, resolutions to work out more and stop drinking coffee every morning falter. The semester will be well under way, and even though a few weeks were spent preparing, nothing can help the turmoil that is spring semester.
The weather that makes us bundle up will quickly turns into weather that places winter coats in the back of the closet, and then taken out again, because this is Indiana, and you never know when winter is truly over.
However, one thing will remain during those first weeks and will be a constant throughout the year — music.
2018 is set to be extremely promising in the world of music, and I plan to write all about it. According to BBC, we can expect new music from bands like the Arctic Monkeys, Fall Out Boy, Bastille, The 1975 and Muse. NME says we need to look out for Vampire Weekend, Nicki Minaj, MGMT, The Vaccines and CHVRCHES.
So far, the year in singles is going well — we have collaborations from Kendrick Lamar and SZA with “All The Stars” and from BØRNS and Lana Del Rey with “God Save Our Young Blood."
It is true that we can expect a lot of new music this year, but most of these albums have release dates that are to be announced, so I cannot say exactly which bands I will be writing about this semester. I can only hope it will be at least a few of them.
In addition to writing about albums new and old throughout the semester, I will be writing about something a little different. Starting Jan. 16 when I touch down in London town (“American Boy” by Estelle and Kanye, anyone?) where I will be studying abroad for the semester, I will be on the constant look out for live music as I travel to new places.
My fingers are crossed for free live music in little cafes and on street corners — the dream in every city — but I am not afraid to pay a few pounds to see some great musical performances to report back about.
The bulk of my time will be spent in London, but I have plans to make my way to Paris, Ireland and Scotland, among many other places I have not exactly nailed down yet.
I spent last semester writing about all different kinds of albums and making playlists to go along with every article. This semester, I plan to do the same. I made an upbeat playlist for the start of last semester, and I think it will work well for the start of this semester, too. You can listen to it here.
I cannot wait to get started next week by writing a review about a crew that released three impressive albums in 2017 — BROCKHAMPTON. Next week, you can expect a review of SATURATION III as well as what kind of music I, hopefully, will have seen in London by then.
