Monthly Rewind: May & June 2018

I missed out on doing a May rewind because I was very mentally exhausted from finishing my first year of university that I didn’t even do much blog wise but I feel like I’ve jumped back from that dull feeling and I feel like I’m doing much better now! So I’ve quickly tacked on my May reads and music just so its documented.

B O O K S

M A Y

Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi | Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope | Skylarks by Karen Gregory

J U N E 

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman | The House of Islam by Ed Husain | S.P.Q.R. by Mary Beard | The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang |My ID is Gangnam Beauty by Gi Menggi | The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty | Amazing Women by Lucy Beevor | From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon | Hungry by Shveta Thakrar | Want by Cindy Pon | Something in between by Melissa de la Cruz | The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

There’s a big difference between me in a bad mood and a good mood and it can really be seen here. Haha.

M U S I C

Okay, so much good music came out in May and June (mainly K-pop), and to shorten it down to just under ten songs/album was so damn hard! I decided not to make a graphics because SO MUCH GOOD MUSIC.

May

• Cross gene’s “Zero” – So underrated! Cross gene have such a good discography and Zero was such a good album. Give them a listen!
• BTS’s “Love Yourself: Tear” – Literally already one of my favourite albums of the year. I was in the middle of the tracks from LY: Her but Tear reminds everyone why BTS is rising and continue to rise every day. This whole album was damn near perfect. The Truth Untold is such a breath-taking song. (I certainly wasn’t expecting such a slow song when I saw Steve Aoki’s name on the feature!) The outro is one of their bests. IM SO EXCITED TO SEE THEM IN OCTOBER.
• Astro’s Jinjin’s FM201.8 project single “Like a King” – I was so damn excited to hear that Jinwoo would be leading this month’s FM station song. I have to admit it’s not exactly my style but the second I heard it, I knew it was Jinwoo’s style and it grew on me very quickly.
• LOONA yyxy’s “beauty & the beat” – You’ll most likely see someone on your timeline say “STAN LOONA” and if you haven’t yet, it’ll probably get to you soon. They’re a predebut group which revealed its members every month with a new song and then placed them into subunits. They have such a vast range of styles that you’ll quickly find a favourite. Love4eva is so fun and catchy!

June

• Blackpink’s First Mini Album “Square Up” – Almost two years old and they’re only just releasing their first mini album is disappointing but I’m not surprised. (Damn you, YG) But the album very much exceeded my expectations. DDDD was a fun comeback song, but I slightly disappointed by the choreography, especially since they cut out a solo for Lisa, who is the main dancer of the group. Also, I wasn’t exactly happy with Jennie wearing a bindi in the MV which highlights the CA issue in K-Pop, which I really hope is addressed more. But Jisoo, my favourite of the group, has really improved a lot and I’m excited to where Blackpink could go if they’re managed well.
• Kim Taeyeon’s “Something New” – Literally my favourite mini album of hers now. I never really had a favourite album of Taeyeon since literally all of her songs are so good. But this album was so different and her voice is actually perfect. Listen to Circus, it’s so beautiful.
• SHINee’s The Story of Light – To be honest, anything SHINee releases is gold and The Story of Light trilogy adds to their brilliant discography.
• 5SOS’s “Youngblood” – Four years ago, I was a huge, and I mean, HUGE 5SOS fan. (Unpredictable remains my favourite teenage bop) I sort of naturally moved away from their music but I decided to listen to their newest album and I was actually really surprised. As an old fan, they’re certainly grown as artists and that’s good to see. Babylon was the only song that really stuck to me. I don’t really keep up to date with them but some of their older songs are still on some of my writing playlists and almost always reminds of my early college days.

That’s it for this month! Tell me what went on in YOUR life this month! What sort of things was important for you this month? New obsessions? New TV shows? Or book? Any new song recs (I’m always open to new music!)? Best books you read this month?