5 Covers That Put the Original Artists To Shame

Hey,

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm all for honesty. So, I have to be blunt here. It maybe a new year, but the music industry is still the big, broken machine it was 5 days ago. Sorry, but it's the truth.
Still, I consider myself an optimist, so even though the mainstream stuff is complete garbage and indie acts are still looked down upon and labeled, I believe there is a plethora of beautiful, amazing music waiting to be discovered and appreciated. The stuff on the radio is terrible, but with a little effort, it could be turned into something stunning. Therefore, tonight, I present 5 covers of terrible mainstream music made incredible.

5. "Off to The Races" (Originally by Lana Del Rey) by Drew Tabor- I discovered Drew a little over a year ago and she is one of my favorite female YouTube singers. Her vocals perfectly suit Lana's style, which I love anyways, with her deep, slightly gravely, yet powerful voice. Every cover Drew does makes me appreciate her talent even more. This cover, in particular, is so barebones, allowing her talent to really shine through, that it gives me goosebumps. Check out all her videos here

4. "Cola" (Originally by Lana Del Rey) by Ally Rhodes- I realize that this is the second Lana Del Rey song and the title of the post is "5 Covers That Put The Original Artists To Shame" and I love Lana, but both Ally and Drew bring something to Lana's songs. Where Drew's version is raw and chilling, Ally's stab at Lana is more polished but still absolutely beautiful! Both covers are incredible and it's impossible to choose a better singer of the two, so I pick both. :)

3. "I Knew You Were Trouble" (Originally by Taylor Swift) by Walk Off the Earth ft. KRNFX- Where Taylor's original version reeks of too many writers, a terrible stab at Dubstep (Only Skrillex can really get away with all the wub-wubbing) and comes across as another sloppy pop composition, WOTF's rendition is unique, darker, and the a capella gives the depth that the song was missing. I love Sarah's vocals, which blend nicely with the four other guys'. Crazy good.

2. "99 Problems" (Originally by Jay-Z) by Tonic Sol-Fa- I discovered these super talented guys after my mom saw an ad for their concert and we decided, on a whim, to go. Best. Decision. Ever. Seriously. They made a huge fan out of me. :) TSF is an acapella group-- and I've only mentioned a million times how much I love a capella in general--so it's really no surprise why this song makes the list. Jay-Z's versions oozes with his ridiculous bravado and features the most annoying background music I've heard, but TSF challenges that, giving the song a perfect beat, layered vocals, and making it completely loveable and listenable, unlike the original. You have to check these guys out. Really.

1. "One More Night" (Originally by Maroon 5) by Chester See ft. Alex G- Chester has one the most incredible voices and coupled with Alex's gentle vocals, Chester really shines here. Maroon 5's song has really great lyrics, but buried underneath too much synth, repetitious background noise, and Adam's obviously edited vocals, it's hard to tell. But, with Chester and Alex's expressive voices, and gentle guitar and piano, the true passion of the lyrics really comes out. Once again, Chester has won me over and Alex has made me fall in love with her vocals. Love!

Until next week,
Bella

Terrible Music Videos

Hey,

It’s been really fun this week to log on Blogger to see how many views the review of Beecher’s Fault has been getting. I’m super excited by the turnout and hopeful for the band. You guys are cool and you have an awesome set of fans! J

So, this week I’m writing about music videos again. I’ve highlighted a bunch of good ones, but I’ve never done any terrible ones. It was hard to narrow down the list, but I came up with two/three recent ones and a throwback.

Wild Ones by Flo Rida Ft. Sia
Ah, yes, my favorite rapper, Flo Rida. Or as I call him, Florida. I’m kidding; I don’t like his music. I do, however, respect Sia quite a bit, though I wonder if this is truly making her happy. She’s making money, but is this considered selling out? If we’re going to argue that she sold out, shouldn’t we argue that Gotye and Fun, most recently, sold out? I digress. Okay, so the music video is ridiculously tame. For such a “wild” music video, with a notably absent Sia, I expected more than…this. With 102, 952, 772 views, I assumed this might be okay. Never assume with these people. Just a word of advice from a teenager. J These “wild” things: he skydives while making crappy gang signs (Isn’t he such a wild guy!), he raps with two mildly attractive women on either side of him while going down a body of water, he drives a car, he does a nice promotion for Nokia and BMW, he rides a motorcycle, he dances in a club, he drinks, he drives a bunch of vehicles, and takes his sunglasses on and off. Yeah, Flo, really wild.

Payphone by Maroon 5. I can’t hate this song, as much as I try. It’s stupid, simplistic, and really annoys me, but I don’t know what it is. Ugh. But, the music video was just plain stupid. The first time I saw it I was watching E! News with my mom (we never watch it, but we were bored that night) and we sat there laughing at the sheer stupidity of it. It was so stupid. The song’s about a failing relationship. But, do we show that in the music video? Nope. We have a robbery. Yes, nothing says “Oh, no, our relationship isn’t what it used to be” like robbing a bank. Adam (the lead singer) steals a car, runs from the police, and looks awful in a pair of creeper glasses. I have nothing more to say except it’s dumb. I honestly think their (being Maroon 5) music videos have gotten really dumb. The music video for “One More Night” is another big fail. Again, the song is about a bad relationship, how he needs to leave, but won’t. Do we show that? Nope. This time, Adam (the lead singer) is a boxer, who trains and competes too much, doesn’t pay attention to his wife and eventually she leaves him. Where’s the connection here? The lyrics: “Got you stuck on my body like a tattoo/so I cross my heart and I hope to die/ that I’ll only stay with you one more night/ I know I’ve said it a million times/try to tell you no/ but my body keeps on telling you yes/ Try to tell you stop/ but your lipstick gets me so out of breath/ I’ll be waking up feeling satisfied but guilty as hell.” See the boxing connection? Me neither.

When I Grow Up By the Pussycat Dolls  I know that this song is old (3 years, to be exact) but it still cracks me up when I think about how terrible this music video is. I mean, honestly, do you get any dumber than starting a music video featuring all the members stuck in rush-hour traffic, clad in nothing more than leather and lingerie? It’s like, hm, let’s forget about the music and emphasize the girls’ goodies. Nicole (the brunette lady who’s hogging the camera) is practically falling out of her shirt. That’s called selling bodies, not music. So, then what happens? Well, these girls decide, “hey, we have some time to kill. Let’s hop out of the car!” Instead of what should have happened (where everyone screams “Hey, get back in your car.” Honk honk) people just smile. I bet their clothes have nothing to do with everyone’s unnatural happiness. Then, these idiots decide to climb on the cars. Yes, nothing says fun like slinking across cars. Oooh, it gets better. They dance on the cars! Ha, what a revolutionary idea! Sounds like fun. Until you’re arrested. Maybe their outfits are magical; police officers know not to arrest these girls. I don’t know, just a theory. The rest of the music video shows them strutting down the sidewalk, climbing on a construction site, they have a really awkward, badly placed dance break, and they sing the chorus a gazillion times. Same story, different girls. I know they were trying really hard to be sexy, but I think they did the opposite. They just looked desperate…for many things. Money, especially. Speaking of which, I wonder how much money they spent on that music video. It could not have been cheap. Rather boring music video for such an “amazing” (that’s sarcasm) song.

Until next week,

Bella

Twitter: twitter.com/tsoml2012

e-mail: thesoundtrackofmylife2012@gmail.com

Makeup Post/ Five Songs Rocking My Spotify Playlists

Hey,
I just wanted to do a quick post to let you all know what I'm listening to...


Because I'm crunched for time, here's my proposition: tonight I will talk about 5 songs on my playlist and then on Friday, I will do a proper review: Gotye's newest album, track-by-track.

Now, my five fav songs:

In no particular order:
1. Nothing in My Way by Keane
This is an older song, from their 2006 album Under The Iron Sea, but I just discovered it today. I had on my Gotye Pandora station and this came on; I was frozen in place. Some songs just strike me, and this one was no exception. I love the powerful piano hammering, the organ, the drum patterns, and Tom's beautiful tenor. I love the minor key tonality and the beautiful harmony. Not going to lie, I'm a sucker for almost any song in the minor key. Especially songs in the minor key + a powerful vocalist= heaven for my ears.

2. Diet Mountain Dew by Lana Del Rey
yeah, yeah, she's controversial, talentless, stiff, just a pretty face, rich, spoiled, stupid, dumb; I get it. I don't know why, but I'm drawn to her voice. I like the 50's swagger and her husky sound. It's different. Seriously, Katy Perry doesn't sound like this; I kinda think she sounds like a robot who inhaled a bunch of helium. Anyways, Diet Mountain Dew has nothing to do with the song, really, I don't have any idea what she's talking about, but she does have some good one-two-punches. It's good songwriting.

3. Killer by The Ready Set
Ah, Jordan Witzigreuter (I know that's wrong, but I'm running with it) I love him. He's the dude behind TRS,  just him and a manager/producer, obviously, but you catch my drift. I love his editing techniques. Yes, I think he uses autotune, editing, reverb, and audio effects. Seeing as he actually has real talent, isn't swollen with arrogance, and doesn't do stupid choreographed dance moves, and writes his own music, I respect him. Oh, unlike OneDirection, he plays instruments! Yes, it's crazy right? Now, I realize I'm contradicting myself and setting a double standard by saying it's okay for him to use autotune but not the Biebs. Yeah, but Jordan's not some puffed up, cookie-cutter musician. He has talent, sounds just as good live as in a studio, and he's creative. If the Biebs wrote his own crappy music, I might respect him a little bit more, but probably not. Jordan's just a cool guy and he can sing without his effects; he uses it to give him some edge, and to set him apart from other musicians.

4. Thanks For Your Time by Gotye
I love him. I love, love,love,love,lovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelove him. He's amazing, and I'll explain it in more detail on Friday night. I chose this song from his second album "Like Drawing Blood," because it cracks me up. Not in like, OMG, I'm doubling in laughter, I need to dry my tears, but it's in more like a funny ha-ha sort of way. But because the entire song is about dealing with customer service on the phone. We all know how freaking complicated that is. So, I love the track in the background, the steady beat, the "ah-ah-oh's" repeating through the back. The clips from different customer service places are a nice touch. It's smart. His building frustration which is demonstrated with the vocals growing louder and the irritated lyrics. I like how he's trying to show it from their stupid side like, "that's understandable/isn't that understandable." Those companies tend to either have ridiculous robots or messages that talk down to you like you're 8 years old.

5. Payphone by maroon5
 I knew this song before it was big. I called it. I've been listening to this song since the day after it came out.  This song is "meh," with simple lyrics, boring chord changes, an easy drum pattern, and too many vocal fillers on Adam's voice. I used to really like Maroon 5, but their new stuff just feels really mass-produced. And all those Pop listeners are freaking out because I'm being mean, and I approve of Jordan's effects, but not Maroon5's. I just know Jordan uses those in all of his songs like they are another instrument. Maroon 5 and Bieber rely on them. I really just posted this song because I wanted to prove that I predict the hits. I've heard most songs before they get big. ask me what I'm checking out and in a few months, it'll be huge. Take "Somebody I Used to Know," I was listening to that like back in January. Same thing with "We Are Young." :)


Until next week,
Bella

New Songs on My Playlist

Hey,
Here's post number two!

So, I should probably clarify the title of the post. They're not necessarily "new" songs, but they're new to me.

5. Trouble by This Providence
I love this band. I discovered them on accident a few years ago and have been listening to them ever since. Very talented, very, very talented. They've never really had a big "breakthrough" on the charts, but they're fairly well known. Song leads in with a kicking drum, base line, and then the vocals. I love his strong voice and the bluesy influences.

4. Off To The Races by Lana Del Rey
Say what you want about Lana, but I love her. She has such a unique voice. There is nothing quite like her, or at least, not since the 50's or 60's. She's kind of stuck in that time, but I love it. People are all like "ugh, she's fake. She's stiff. She has a weird voice." really? And macy Gray, if anyone even remembers her, didn't have a strange voice? No one, save for the pop stars of Nickelodeon and Disney, has the same singing voice; they only achieve that effect by way of over-editing and shamelessness. Anyways, Off to the Races is rumored to be about the book Lolita, which, given that i haven't read it, uh, I don't have much to say to that. I can thank Wikipedia for the inspiration thing. But, it starts out kind of like slow, and progresses to goosebump territory. If you're going to listen to it, wait about 1:30 before skipping to the next track. It takes a little bit.

3. Come Away to The Water by Maroon5 and Rozzi Crane
This was from the Hunger Games soundtrack. The song is incredible. No idea who Rozzi Crane is, though I'd imagine she had some troubles getting people to spell that first name correctly. Maroon5 is, in case you weren't sure, is fronted by Adam Levine. Yes, that hot judge on The Voice, a stupid show, imo, but I digress, and yes, the dude who was dating the equally hot Anne Val(I-can't-spell-the-rest-because-she-is-Russian). Maroon5's songs are typically boring pop stuff that lands on the Top 100 within 2 days of being released. This is different. It's very bluesy, kinda gritty. Pushing Adam a little, a very good thing in my mind. I havea  feeling that some editing was required, but I still like the song.

2. Tight Rope by Alex Clare

I have already professed my love for Mr. Clare, but I keep finding more reasons as time goes on. I originally skipped over this song, but recently realized it was just as good, if not better than the others on the album. I like the reverb in the chorus, minor key, and his soaring vocals.

1. Everybody Talks by Neon Trees
I've been a big fan of these guys + 1 lady for a while now. The lead singer has a legitiatemly soulful, rock n roll edge that never comes across as put-on; I approve. I like the blended genre thing. The song follows their style. It sounds like it was made in the 80's, my fav decade, and has memorable guitar lines and an infectious melody.

Next week...Graffiti6 and Eric Hutchinson concert!  I'm so psyched.
Until then,
Bella