Top 40 Songs of 2016

This is my last blog post for the year - my favourite 40 songs of the year. These are not actually the 40 songs I listened to the most - I tried to limit myself to 1-2 songs per artist so as to be more representative of what I listened to throughout the year. Here is the spotify playlist (with a few songs replaced, because spotify still doesn't have everything) - I think it makes for a nice playlist to listen to between the two holidays.

In any case, whether you read the (extremely long) music list below - Happy New Year!

Top 10 Albums of 2016

I tried to narrow my favourite albums down to 5, but even managing 10 was a bit hard, so I made an extended list this year. I've done reviews of all of these before, so here I'll only shortly comment on why I think these particular albums stand out above the rest that I've listened to in 2016. As always, the list is heavily subjective (almost as much as the soon-to-come Top 40 of 2016).

Christmas Part One

Here I am with me early Christmas presents - as we are flying to England tomorrow, I had to have my usual family Christmas a bit before. I had exams on the 21st, so it all had to be condensed into Wednesday afternoon, topped off with a late night showing of Rogue One (which was absolutely fucking amazing), so Christmas is off to a good start.

Néhány korai ajándékról szól a mai bejegyzés - holnap Angliába repülünk az ünnepekre, így a családi vacsorát előbbre kellett hozni. Mivel 21-én még vizsgáztam, egy rövid szerda délután lett belőle, méltó befejezésként pedig megnéztük a Rogue One-t (a, a cím magyar fordítása rettenetes, b, a film fantasztikusan jó volt), szóval jól kezdődött az ünnep.

Album Reviews: November

November is busy and this poor college student has had more breakdowns that she could count on one hand, but nevertheless, here is the next - and last for the year - installment of the monthly album reviews. As such, regrettably, I haven't had the time to check out many new releases, but what I did check out was of really high quality, so they shouldn't disappoint.

Korean Beauty Haul

Korean beauty products are all over everywhere among beauty blogs. Some of it is fashion, but it's undeniably there are lots of great affordable products, especially skincare. I too like them for that reason mainly; others include the fact that some products are just superior, insanely cute packaging, and the huge range of products.

A koreai szépségápolási termékek mostanra mindenhol elterjedtek (New Yorkban már Tonymoly márkabolt is van...). Részint mert szimplán divatba jött, de kétségkívül remek, és megfizethető termékeket lehet találni, leginkább a bőrápolás kategóriában.

Album Reviews: October

October was a good month. Naturally, the autumn months generally fit the mood of the genre better, but the quality of the releases was still superb, even after September, which had many favourites for me. These months see me sitting at home with my laptop working a bit more, so there's always some music in the background, and the memorable ones help me get through those dreaded all-nighters.

Solstice Scents

Recently I've made my first indie perfume oil purchase from the amazing Solstice Scents, so I've made a quick review of it.

Néhány héttel ezelőtt először rendeltem indie parfümolajat, a Solstice Scents-től, úgyhogy úgy gondoltam, egy rövid kis véleményt megér.

Album Reviews: September

September first and foremost means 'back to university', or as we say, sleepless nights and long commutes. Both give to long hauls of listening to music, either to tune out the melody of Budapest's infamous metro 3 line, or to keep me from going crazy as I pull yet another all-nighter. September this time round was a great month for metal, even if I'm still hung up on a few summer albums. (Specifically Be'lakor's Vessels, and Thrawsunblat's Metachthonia.)

Album Reviews: July-August

The combination of a busy summer and the lack of many great or interesting releases makes for this two-month combo. I really didn't have time to discover new music. On the other hand, the defining musical experience of the summer was listening to Be'lakor's new album whilst traveling in Croatia - somehow it's the perfect summer metal record and I doubt it won't end in the top five, with all the memories stuck to it now.

Album Reviews: June

Here I am with the new review! Summer is usually bleaker for releases, but these are the months I have more time to write, so I work with what I have. There were two records I was really looking forward to, but there are some nice finds apart from those as well.

Album Reviews: March-April-May

Honestly, I most missed my monthly reviews of my favourite albums. It's a bit late now, and it's a monster of a post - so mostly just blurbs go with the albums - but here is my favourite 15 from this spring; as per usual, in chronological order.

Album Reviews: February

Hey there. I know that these days - despite my plans - I just don't write here as much. I don't have the time to write the more in-depth posts I'd want to, and I don't have the patience to write a usual one, say, about fashion (I didn't even have time to follow the fashion weeks). The one thing (thing, as in, beside people and necessary activities) in my life I always value enough to spend time on is music. So if nothing else, the album reviews are going to be here for a while.

February was a good month, especially compared to January - good heavier and more technical records, and some of my definite contenders for year-end lists.

Album Reviews: January

No reviews for December - it's pointless among all the year-end lists, and then it's exam period, and then it's already the end of January, so I don't think it'll ever happen. I'm sure I missed many releases in this past month as well, not having spent much time scouring for new music, but at least the banner looks very unified in its colour scheme.

Series Review: The Darkest Minds

Here I am again after a much needed energizing post-exams break. I intend to make good on my promise to myself - of writing more substantial posts, including semi-articles, thought-pieces and occasional book reviews.

I have read every more famous YA novel that's out there nowadays, and I'm still baffled why those specific ones became famous. My most well loved ones are, unfortunately, less well-known, so I am taking it upon myself to write about some (two in total) on my virtually unknown blog. The first one is the post-apocalyptic sci-fi The Darkest Minds. Doesn't sound too different from the batch, does it? I can point out a few things that make it different, because there are exceptional things in both the character and the world-building. I try not to reveal too much, but if you're one of those with an absolute no-spoiler policy, I think these waters might be too dangerous.