Led Zeppelin

I’ll be honest and say that I’ve never listened to a single minute of Led Zeppelin before this morning. They symbolize a new generation of rock and roll and act as the epitome of an entire side of rock and roll that was unleashed. After diving into some early Led Zeppelin albums, I can now definitely see why they could be argued to be one of the most influential bands of rock and roll. While they have their strengths and weaknesses like every artist/band, they seem to revolutionize music at the time. With Led Zeppelin, we most notably see the rise of heavy metal and harder forms of rock and roll that sprung later on in history. While heavy metal takes hard rock too far for my liking, Led Zeppelin’s early stage of this hard rock is very appealing.

Led Zeppelin seemed to be a pretty versatile band as well. I have been having a difficult time categorizing them under any one particular genre of music. They mix together sounds from blues and hard rock together to create an amazing blend. I don’t always like the swing-like sounds of blues, but Led Zeppelin works with the music in a way that seems to highlight only the best of each genre they fuse. Additionally, I noticed that individual songs could be almost polar opposites from one another. Two of my favorite songs on their first album were completely different from one another. The first song showed a wild and crazed atmosphere while the latter had a softer blues dominated sound. I thought that both were talent-filled songs on their own, but the fact that they were adjacent on an album made me feel like I was going on a little musical journey.

Led Zeppelin is a group of very talented musicians: there is definitely no arguing this statement. They had a total of four band members; one guitarist, one bassist, one drummer, and one vocalist. These four guys usually each only played a single instrument yet they filled up so much space with their music. I was truly impressed in the raw talent of Page and Jones because they made their instruments make such a dynamic sound. In order to make anything equivalent today in modern music, I think that they would have to heavily edit it in the studios and computer-generate countermelodies. The fact that they could just go on stage and play such insane chords and melodies is wild to contemplate. Overall, it’s simply hard for me to articulate my appreciation of their instrumental capacity because it is so astounding.

Despite being some of the best musicians around, they lack some of the sustenance found in other bands because their lyrics are slacking in a lot of their songs. They were no Bob Dylan! They had basic lyrics that focused a lot on simply rhyming instead of making a fluid story. I didn’t really hyper-focus on this issue, however, because it is negligible in the entire listening experience. I doubt that any people listen to Led Zeppelin because they want to be inspired by their powerful message. No! People listen to Led Zeppelin because their songs have wild and insane instrumentals. This band was saved by the fact that they were so good at playing their respective instruments. It distracts me from the lack of lyrical depth and makes me satisfied with the insane melodies.

I enjoyed Led Zeppelin’s first album more than their second so I figured I would draw from some songs there to post. Referencing above when I talked about two polar opposite songs, I’ll post them below. The first song is called “Dazed and Confused” and I feel that the title is very representative of the overall aura the song emits. Throughout the song, they are able to keep a chaotic and wild sound present, while also maintaining a full musical arc and organization. There is just overall strength and power oozing out of this song. If rebellion had a theme song, I think it would be this one. Led Zeppelin simply take the art of “in your face” hard rock to another level. It is constantly insane and wild. It’s pretty great.

The very next song on the album is called “Your Time is Gonna Come”. They start off with classical music with organs aiding a slow introduction. They then gradually develop into a bluesy vibe and a great contrasting swing beat and rhythm. This song is so much different than the previous song that I probably wouldn’t even realize that I was listening to the same band if they were played separately! This song is definitely filled with talent, though. While still throwing in their amazing guitar skills, they control their unleashed passion and anger from “Dazed and Confused” and package it up nicely in a blues/softer rock tune. We can really see the vocals take a commanding presence as well in this song. Check it out:

The Lumineers

I was bored earlier so I decided (as a music fan) to see what was new on the Billboard Top 100 List. I skipped by all of the talentless artists (ie Kesha, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj…) and a gem caught my eye. I noticed that slotted at number 11 at the top of the charts was a song done by a band named The Lumineers. At times, I feel out of the loop with certain artists and bands so I decided I would go exploring.

Apparently, The Lumineers have been around for a few years now but they only really began to become well known and successful in the past year. I think I’ll wait until vacation, when I have more time, to listen to their latest album (unimaginatively named “The Lumineers”) in its entirety, but they have several hits from this album that sum up their music pretty well.

At the heart, there is nothing fresh or new about The Lumineers. I would bet that any semi-talented group of artists with a good sound could pull of a Lumineers song. I’m not saying that their music is bad, just simplistic. I think that in a way, this is how The Lumineers are making an impact in the music world today and why they have recently sparked in popularity. While other groups and artists are trying desperately to come out with the latest and greatest techno-sound or the most fresh and unique style, they are simply returning to the basics of music. When I listen to their music, I feel that nothing is kept secret from me, as the listener. They use basic instruments to put together an amazing rustic sound which deeply contrasts the noise and clutter enveloping the rest of the music world. The Lumineers have veered far away from the technology wave that is taking over modern music. I hear no auto-tune or any computer generated sounds.

There is nothing “special” about The Lumineers sound except for the fact that they are simplistic. This form of simplicity starkly contrasts the type of simplicity I outlined in my earlier blog “Plague of Simplicity” because here I am referring to the rustic instrumentals rather than the lyrical poem being created. Speaking to that point; The Lumineers sing lyrics that come straight from the heart and soul. This ability is rarely heard in music and I greatly appreciated it. The links I’ll post later on in this blog will be the lyric videos so you can see just how amazing their lyrics are! While they aren’t discussing secular problems like Bob Dylan, they write about heartfelt emotions such as love in a poetic manner. The delivery of the lyrics also make me feel that the band means what they say. And I think that’s one of the most appreciated things an artist can do.

The fact that their hit single “Ho Hey” spiked to the top of the charts is also very intriguing. As I continue to analyze music, I keep seeing this folk/alternative rock music sneaking into the frequent playlists of the world. I think we are seeing the pendulum of musical tastes starting to swing away from the clutter of noise and back to the basics as seen in the 60s. Who knows, maybe I’m wrong, but I think people are finding this genre refreshing because they can connect with it and it feels more “down to earth”. I definitely feel this way as a listener and The Lumineers are among the bands (such as Mumford and Sons or Imagine Dragons) that I think are taking music down a less traveled path. By paving a pathway for alternative music and creating lyrical poems, The Lumineers fit right into a growing part of my heart for this genre of music.

Okay, now for some samplers! Before their hit single “Ho Hey” came out, The Lumineers were virtually unknown. This single made their popularity sky-rocket. If you hit the play button below, you’ll quickly learn why. Their music seems so fluid and connected while spicing it up with cleverly placed accents and vocal ticks. The building vocals add to the “down to earth” vibe. If you haven’t already heard this song, you need to:

Another one of their top hits off of their latest album is “Stubborn Love”. While this is another love song, they deliver it perfectly. The introduction is a little too folk-like for my tastes but it picks up pretty well as the song progresses. Once again, there’s nothing much to this song, but everything just meshes together and works well. The lead vocals are also a major part of all of their songs, including “Stubborn Love”. While the lyrics are very powerful and emotionally-charged, they are delivered with a softer tone. Overall, this is a great song as well. Do yourself a favor and read the lyrics as the song plays:

Woodstock!

I find it interesting that the creators of Woodstock were able to put together such a huge event in such a small town. When we look back at this event as modern day listeners, it may not seem as large, as we have massive music festivals all the time such as ACL or South by Southwest. At the time, however, this was amazing and revolutionary. They were able to centralize a multitude of amazingly talented bands in one place in order to expose many artists to the average listener. They were able to build stages and whatnot in the middle of a dairy farm just outside of the town of Woodstock. These people were very motivated and it cost millions of dollars, but it was definitely worth their while. Today, we are left with one of the most revolutionary, innovative and well known music festivals of all time.

It took a couple of months to set up the entire festival. There were mixed feelings about the festival. Some people believed that it had economic benefits because of the huge influx of fans that were brought into the area. Others worried that the town did not have the infrastructure to support so many people’s needs, including food and transportation. Others still were annoyed that they were disrupting the peace of this quiet area. As I was watching the Woodstock documentary, I noticed so many hippies just aimlessly walking around without purpose. The creators of Woodstock actually way underestimated the number of attendees by about 300,000 people! They also probably way underestimated its legacy. I think Woodstock is so impressive because it united people under one cause to enjoy music. This music had become more evolved in society and represented the current events of the time. Because of this capability of music, it attracted so many people to the festival who wanted to find themselves.

I’m not sure if an event this large could or would ever be pulled off again. The magnitude of this music festival was so large because of the time period in which it took place. Because music and society is forever evolving, I don’t personally believe that people would have the insanity to replicate such an expansive and large event. It’s also crazy to think that they had no cell phones or any other types of communication to the outside world. As I continued to watch this documentary, I found that the people organizing the event really had a lack of control over the situation. They didn’t have much security and no backup plan for the rain. Everyone just went with the flow and I think this is another reason why the festival was so successful. No matter what happened, people were willing to bear through it together, in order to experience such a revolutionary music event.

These people had this attitude because, simply, they were HIPPIES! They were still making the stage literally moments before the first act went on. The noise of the crowd when the concert began was INSANE! It was super loud and I can only imagine the decibel level if I was actually there. If there was a modern day version of Woodstock, I don’t think I would go. Even though it would be insane to be there live, I think the general attitude of today would not highly value this epic live performance. I don’t know if I would want to drown in the mass of humanity in order to just listen to music. In retrospect, though, I believe being able to participate in one of the most influential events in the history of rock and roll would be amazing. I think if they replicated it today, though, there wouldn’t be nearly the numbers they had in 1969.

When they interviewed the hippies I learned about the mentality and lifestyle of the people in attendance. This is another point that makes me believe that such a large event wouldn’t occur again anytime soon. People crowded around, not just for the music, but for answers about society and life itself. The hippies were very content with simply being human and not desiring anything more. Woodstock was a way for a lot of people to come together and share in an enjoyable experience where they could explore and search for answers about themselves. They didn’t have any violence or conflict. People were able to peacefully listen with one another in a general environment of love. In this way, Woodstock went beyond music. It provided a place where society could be reevaluated in a fun and exciting manner.

Just to give you some basis for this festival, I’m going to post some short video clips from the documentary so that you can see the pure energy of the festival.

Richie Havens played a guitar solo that was so full of energy that it just oozed out of him. His soulful voice added to the overall energetic, enthusiastic vibe of Woodstock in general. Haven also is very into the music that he’s performing. Sometimes in modern day, I feel that modern artists simply go through the motions to make money. There were no significant financial gain for these artists and they did it simply for the love of their music and their society. This passion for their art is what makes this music festival seem so different from anything else in history because it was just a group of people united by love and the arts. I can really respect this. Check out this guy:

Another performance that stuck with me was Canned Heat. I genuinely liked their sound. They were very rebellious, which I think perfectly matched the tone of this time period. Check it:

I know I’ve been talking a lot about this festival, but Woodstock could arguably be the most influential and revolutionary event in all of music history!

Snow Patrol

I literally just discovered this band today. I had never heard of this British alternative rock group until someone mentioned they had gone to one of their concerts recently. I figured I would check it out for my blog and here I am.

Anyway, I have mixed feelings about Snow Patrol. While they have been around for several years, I focused my analysis on their most current album “Fallen Empires” because artists and bands develop so much in a single career (I mean just look at the Beatles!). I am rather tired, so I didn’t have time to listen to the album in its entirety but I picked out some of their top-chart songs to look at.

Overall, I think Snow Patrol is a pretty polished band. The vocals in all of their songs sound soft and tender. This works well for them because in the happier pop-like songs it adds a level of innocence and energy. When they sing their sadder tunes, the soft vocals enforce the melancholy mood and makes me connect with the song. In this aspect, they are very endowed artists. They have really developed their skill set to an internationally recognized and cherished stage. Through listening to a few of their newer songs, I noticed that the vocals are not the only great aspect about this band. They also have consistent talent-filled countermelodies. If this is accomplished through a guitar/bass background or a slow piano sound, it ultimately adds depth to their songs.

Another thing that this band does very well, and something that I haven’t seen a lot in current music, is their versatility. Unfortunately, I think this extreme versatility creeps on the verge of inconsistency. While a lot of things remain consistent, their songs sound very different from one another. At times, I can hear vocal similarities with certain vocal ticks but for a majority of the songs, it could be a completely different band performing.

While this band sounds a lot like a polished version of Coldplay, certain qualities about their music doesn’t appeal to me. Although I enjoy a complete “story” for a song, Snow Patrol seems to overdo this a bit. They have a little too much introduction for my taste. It takes about a minute and a half in each song for them to actually reach a point where other instruments (besides the original basic sounds in the background) are added and meshed into the song. From that point, their songs generally are good, but it is painstakingly laborious to reach that point. I had to summon up all my will just to prevent myself from fast forwarding to the main chorus.

Now, I’m not saying this band is bad. They have a tenderness and lyrical depth that appeals to me. I think this entire “alternative rock” genre is a new thing that I have discovered that fuses together some solid sounds. While I don’t believe Snow Patrol is as good as other bands/artists I’ve analyzed (like Imagine Dragons or Alex Clare) they definitely are a talented group.

I’ll just quickly post some songs about them below so that you can check them out yourself. The first song I’ll post is “Called Out In The Dark”. It starts with a pretty catchy electric bass sound and basic snare beat. You can see what I was talking about in that it has a slow start, though. After a minute and twenty seconds, it begins to pick up. Vocal fluctuations along with guitar and synthesized countermelodies in the background pick up the pace of this song nicely. Check it out. It’s actually pretty awesome:

The next song is “New York”. This song has a very forlorn and melancholy sound. The music video makes this about ten times worse. The simple soft vocals at the beginning with charged and deliberate piano introduces a very emotionally powerful song. Be moved, go check this song out:

“In The End” is another one of their recent hits. False-setto mixed with vocal ticks adds variety in this song in the company of a fast-paced driving beat and bass. It is kind of contradicting because the vocals are smooth and almost crooning, while the countermelody alone is almost hard rock. Check it out:

As I continue to listen to this band, I keep discovering new things that are great! While I have some nitpicky things against their sound, Snow Patrol definitely has a multitude of strengths.

The Band

I think I found another group of artists that have struck a source of inspiration in me. I generally tell people that I can’t stand country music. Now that I am broadening my horizons a bit, I have realized that this is just because it is a watered down, pop-based style of country that is relatively new to the music industry. I consider a lot of The Band’s songs to be within the country section of music and I love how the band members mesh perfectly together. Their songs aren’t limited to just the classification of country, though. In a variety of their songs, I can see them categorized in a lot of different areas of music. They have the funk and energy of soul music. They have the rebellious edge and vocals of a true rock group. They also (almost) have the lyrical depth of artists like Bob Dylan (No surprise, they actually worked with the great poetic songwriter). Sometimes I think they even have a little bit of folk thrown into all of the mix!

Their variety and well-roundedness as musicians isn’t even what most appeals to me as a listener. I find the fact that they are able to take these fantastic aspects across the board of styles and basically create their own unique genre. While they have deep lyrics, I’m not bored to death from exhausting and painfully boring countermelodies and vocals. They are able to use fantastic lyrics and mix it in with catchy tunes. I never thought I would be so attracted towards country-style music (besides Mumford and Sons which I think in turn probably were influenced by this amazing band).

To me, The Band is revolutionary. Many may disagree with this statement but I think that their ability and talent shined through. They have a lasting effect and their style and talent impacted me greatly as a listener. Not many artists can do that! I seriously cannot wait to listen to more of this band. I feel that, if I put all of my favorite artists of today and blended their sounds, I might come close to getting the same caliber of music.

I know I’m raving a lot about this group without much evidence to back it up. Well, let’s give you something to listen to so that you can be as thrilled as I was to hear this phenomenal art. First things first, I have to blog about their hit “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”. I can’t get enough of this song! Their edgy introduction, backed up with flashy bass strums, adds to the passionate voice of Robertson which ultimately drives the song forward. He also has a lot of key vocal ticks that add flavor to the melody. I think he has a very polished voice yet still possesses the edgy tone that makes these songs sound so “real”. Additionally, this song ventures into uncharted territory regarding inflammatory lyrics. COMPLETELY contrasting my last blog analyzing how simplistic lyrics are currently, this song is on the same caliber of lyrical depth as Bob Dylan! Who just sits down one day and writes about the Civil War in the perspective of the Confederates? Maybe a bunch of backyard hillbillies, but not a group of successful music artists from Canada! At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, this is even more astounding that this song even got released, let alone become a major success. Check it out, it’s a real hit:

The next song is “Up on Cripple Creek”. This song starts out with a funky introduction which leads right into a series of accentuated harmonies throughout the song. The first few measures of this song are a great example of how harder rock influenced their music. This part is intensive in guitar/bass and some great rhythms thrown in there too. There is also a throaty, frog-like bass sound that picks up the slack between main verses. Additinoally, the vocals tend to go towards a more folky sound. I also don’t think I mentioned the fact that I find it awesome that the vocalist also plays the drums. Personally, as a percussionist, I can only imagine how hard that would be. Overall, they prove once again, they can carry out perfect harmonies and deliver a catchy tune. Check it out:

The final song is “Rag Mama Rag”. This has a very pretty epic introduction that hooked me on this song. It begins with a great, energetic fiddle rock that flows right into a great hip-hop-like kick drum entrance. The main countermelody continues throughout the course of the song and I’m literally bobbing in my seat right now to the captivating rhythms. The enthusiastic piano adds to the ragtime sound that makes this song sound so wild. Check out another fantastic song by The Band:

Overall, I am pretty impressed with their musical ability and songwriting. I think this is a very multifaceted and talented band and deserves a lot of kudos for their art.

A Plague of Simplicity

When we look at music in the past, we must identify what was going on during that time in order to gain a complete understanding of the song, album, or artist. Most of the time, the music reflects the societal values of the time or current events. Music is like a mirror that reflects everything back towards its audience and it adapts to changing times based on what the audience desires.

We’re no longer in the world of the 1960’s, where artists composed love songs with deep meaning and lyrics that went beyond the basic literal content. Looking at songs throughout this time period, I see lyrics that are well-rounded and poetic just by themselves. Nowadays, however, when I look at a vast majority of popular music, I hear mainly simplistic lyrics which rely heavily on the actual instrumentals to supply substance to the songs.

Thus, I wanted to dig deeper into understanding why music has evolved and changed. Is simplicity an inevitable end? I personally don’t think so. I think this is a certain phase of history that marks a significant change and evolution of the music realm. Music styles fluctuate. This is seen by comparing the pop-like flash-in-the-pan hits of present day artists to musically talented and developed bands of the mid-late 20^th century. There are plenty of phases in music history. We’ve got the 70’s disco rock. We’ve got the 80’s pop rise. Every decade seems to offer a new fresh twist on music. Right now, our simplistic ways is what is on the rise.

Now, why has simplicity taken such a stronghold on modern music and the modern listener? I believe that it is a direct reflection of what our society wants. In all areas of life now, people desire everything to be brought to them at an instantaneous and efficient rate. As technology continues to develop at a rapid pace, it enables the society to fulfill this need for quickness. Everything needs to be faster! The internet has strangled other methods of media such as books, newspapers, and magazines because of its instant connection of the world and information supplies. With one click, I can see everything going on immediately.

With all this information, everything becomes more concise. Things need to stand out and not be too laborious to read. Otherwise, most people will lose interest nowadays. Someone is most likely not going to read a 100 page book describing the war in Afghanistan, but they may click on the Yahoo! News blurb. This mentality of quickness makes other things need to be faster. Shopping has taken a stronghold on the web because of its ease and rapid pace. Fast food restaurants are becoming predominant worldwide. The world is becoming a whirlwind of efficiency.

Because of this growing mindset, I believe that people have begun to crave concise, simple songs. If a song can still get across the basic message and idea of a more complex (and maybe deeper) song, people will accept it. If they feel that they are still taken on a journey with the artist, even if the song lacks lyrical vigor, they will be drawn to it. They also want to be shocked. Lyrics can be shocking, but it takes a lot of effort on the artist’s part. It is much easier to shock people in order to grab hold of their short attention spans by working through other aspects of the industry. Instead of shocking you with content, they shock you with what they do (like Lady Gaga’s meat dress) or their wild instrumentals and jams. Because pop music is becoming more flashy, provocative, and out-there, powerful lyrics have gone by the wayside.

Our society has changed music so much, that lyrics are no longer even the core of a song’s soul, but rather an extraneous spice that is needed in order to hear the vocals. When I analyze the lack of lyrics in this manner, I find myself sad. But, because I have grown up in this evolving world, I don’t mind this change in casual listening. I think a majority of people would say the same. So even though we’re plagued with the simplistic lyrics of today, I can’t wait to see how music will be changed tomorrow.

Swedish House Mafia: Rocking Out Radically

For some reason, I wanted to blog about something totally wild and different today. I don’t usually listen to Swedish House Mafia or even their genre of music and they are very radical compared to a majority of music I listen to. I would say that they most compare to what I classified as “Pump Up” songs earlier in this blog. Swedish House Mafia recently released their new album “Until Now” but it is mainly composed of a conglomeration of different things. To create this album, they pulled from a variety of artists and seemed to remix them as well as work alongside them to put together an insane album (and by insane, I don’t mean fantastic, I legitimately mean “insane”!). They pulled from and worked with artists from Usher to Coldplay. There are a lot of artists/bands that I am not familiar with on the track listing because I’m so foreign to the “progressive house” style of music.

For you all who don’t know, progressive house is a music genre composed of synthesized instruments and electronic sounds. This is borderline dub-step, basically. Don’t worry if you didn’t know that (I had to go on Wikipedia). All Swedish House Mafia does is provide the countermelody (if you can call it that) to remixes of other artists/bands that provide the main vocals. So, you can see how their songs are very hit-or-miss and can vary drastically based on the band that accompanies them.

I would venture to say that I dislike a majority of their songs on their new album. A lot of it sounds too hardcore electronic to me. After I listened to certain songs, I felt like I needed a shower just with all that dubstep grime. I generally don’t like this genre, but once again, I was feeling wild today. There are, however, several songs that I think are actually well done (while borderline). I didn’t really know what I was getting into actually when I started researching Swedish House Mafia.

This skilled trio’s most heavily exposed and best single is “Don’t You Worry Child”. I feel that a lot of what I like is the vocals of featuring artist John Martin, but he isn’t in the band so I won’t heavily focus on the vocal parts of this song. When I listened to this song, it sounded fresh and new. I think it sounded enough like everything else I was listening to, like an Imagine Dragons kind of feel, that I accepted it. At the same time, they worked in some of that progressive house style sounds into the background. I think this is one of the few songs they created that actually sounds balanced between the vocals and crazy synthesized  countermelody. It really is a good song and I can see how it topped the charts worldwide upon release. It builds slowly from a couple of beat-driving synthesized piano/organ chords at the beginning to an epic beat break in the middle of the song where Swedish House Mafia really shines.

John Martin serves excellently as the lead vocalist in this song as well. His passionate voice matches the powerful driving countermelody of this dynamic trio. The lyrics also are very moving throughout the songs and sharply contrast lyrics of other songs in this genre. For instance, go back to my “Pump Up Songs” blog. One song literally had three words. Contrasting that, this song shows a full story accompanying a pretty rocking background. Swedish House Mafia is able to match the mood throughout the whole song! It’s pretty amazing and this was the one song that pulled me in. Oh, and don’t even get me started on the beat break that is about a minute into the song. It just makes me want to get up and break dance (which wouldn’t turn out so well but you get my point). You definitely need to listen to this:

Coming off of that epic song, I was expecting music that was as high caliber. I was somewhat disappointed in the rest of their album Until Now because it didn’t match my tastes in music as much as “Don’t You Worry Child”.  There were actually few songs that I could even tolerate listening to the whole thing! But, like I said, this type of genre is very hit-or-miss on a song basis. I found two songs that I think have some high points but nothing really comes close to the above song.

“Save the World” is one of those high points. This has a VERY similar structure to the last song. It builds slowly from a soft sound to an epic climax. I feel a rush at the “instrument” break because Swedish House Mafia just rocks out with wild beats and catchy tunes. The music video is also kind of cute even though I don’t understand why they used dogs. (Wondering what I’m talking about? Check it out!)

“Greyhound” is another song that makes me lean in my chair from suspense and build-up.  While the main melody sounds like a dancing dial up modem, it somehow works, and makes me bob my head and tap my foot. It also avoids bad repetition by spicing up the music with various different sounds and beats that give an energetic vibe. I still don’t understand their obsession with dogs though in their music videos! Check it out. This is a great “instrument” based song. By the way, the music doesn't start until about a minute into the video.

Imagine Dragons!!

This band is off the hook! I think I found the source of a new playlist on my iPod. This band is plain amazing. They incorporate so many great musical aspects into one album. Their newly released feature album, Continued Silence, only has 6 songs, but they could all be top singles! One of its songs, It’s Time, was the first song that I heard from Imagine Dragons. Like always, it popped up on my Pandora station and now I’m furious that I hadn’t discovered them earlier. They would have made boring road trips ten times better! I think this band possesses many qualities of true talent. They sound like a blend between Mumford and Sons, Alex Clare, and the Wanted. They also add a certain level of electronic flavor that jazzes it up for me as a listener. While a lot of their songs seem to follow a distinct pattern, I cannot wait for them to release a whole line of new music.

                The hit single, It’s Time, called to me through my iPhone headphones.  Its indie-folk rock music was a nice contrast to the highly auto-tuned songs that so often pop up on my Pandora stations (which get skipped almost immediately). While the beginning starts off a little slow for my taste with some basic Mumford and Sons sounds, it quickly developed into its own little niche in the rock world. Throughout all their songs, they seem to start off with basic countermelodies (like a strum of high pitched guitar or repetitive rhythms) and build off from there into their passionate and unique vocals. They then stay at a relaxed, yet energized, level throughout the rest of the song. Check out what put Imagine Dragons on the map, with It’s Time (I’m going to have to warn you that the music video is mind-blowingly good):

                Like I said, though, this feature album really has no weaknesses! I highly encourage extra listening of this band because they’re style is so fresh. I feel like they are a Mumford and Sons 2.0 with added dubstep-like sounds that rip apart all previous music norms. I might be raving a bit much about this band, but they were able to take a piece of every current artist I like and meld it into one. They took the soul of Alex Clare, the catchiness of bands like the Wanted, and the flavor of Mumford and Sons; and ultimately made a party in my ear drums.

                I would say that “Radioactive” is one of the best songs on the album if the others weren’t so good! But “Radioactive” is a very suspenseful and powerful song. The lyrics are disturbing at times yet utterly forceful and powerful in their meaning. This song probably most closely resembles Alex Clare’s work, as it has a great bass drop at the beginning which marks an amazing and stark shift/contrast in attitude/tone. In this song, they sound a lot more intense than others but it works fantastic. I can’t stop listening to it!

                “Demons” is not a lot like the previous song but still makes me bang my head to the beat. I would classify it as a softer version of “Radioactive” while incorporating a more self-discovery oriented message. It starts off really soft and the vocals shine through in this song even more than “Radioactive”. Check this one out too:

                This last song is probably one of my least favorite songs of their newly released singles. That really isn’t saying much, though. The worst of a series of champion songs is still a champion! “Round and Round” has a lot of catchy beats and counter melodies. The vocal ticks add a lot of variety to the main chorus. For some reason, it doesn’t all come together for me until midway through. But that’s just personal preference. Listening to it again, I hear different aspects that I missed before. The beginning sounds a lot like that folk-type music that Mumford and Sons made so popular lately. Towards the middle-end, though, it climaxes with some crazy vocals and instrumentals. I kind of retract my previous statement of disliking this song. It’s just so hard to hate on this band! Well, listen to this one too because it is, like everything else, great.

 I’m amazed at how many of these songs I like! Usually, I’m lucky to enjoy a mere couple of songs on an album, but every song I listened to of Imagine Dragons has appealed directly to my tastes in music. They really hit the spot and I HIGHLY encourage anyone to delve into more of their music.

Cream: Disraeli Gears

While Cream’s name is funny, this band is far from a light-weight in the music realm. I mean, wow! They were pretty outstanding and this musical trio really stood out to me in my listening. I was pleasantly surprised at the level of music ability this band possessed. Because we have listened to a lot of Beatles, being exposed to Cream felt new and energizing. The style was completely different and overall I loved their album. For only their second album, I feel that their songs are very polished and for the most part (except for Mother’s Lament) they were strong on a variety of levels.

First, I’d like to point out their great instrumental use. They took the wild electric guitar sound of Jimi Hendrix and mashed it with vocals of the Who. But not quite. They have their own unique sound that really shocked me. I thought I had heard it all! Unlike a lot of the music preceding this album, “Disraeli Gears” highlights Cream’s jazzy and smooth rock style which also incorporates pretty balanced instrumentals. I love songs that can have wild electric guitar breaks and sick rhythms that drive it forward. Cream covers this no problem. They take the energy and inject it directly into each of their songs. What makes them seem EVEN BETTER than Jimi Hendrix (I know, dare I say it) is that they were able to reinvent themselves in each song. I was surprised at every turn. And it wasn’t the shocking difference between late Beatles’ songs. It was more of a mild change that altered the song, satisfied my craving for versatility, and also maintained a unity amongst the album. I also think that they are better at incorporating and mixing the rocking guitar parts into the rest of the song so that the vocals don’t get overpowered.

So, in every song, Cream brings it to the table (except for Mother’s Lament, which I felt that they must’ve been doing drugs while singing) instrumentally. Their vocals also varied in a positive manner. In some songs the vocals ooze energy while at other times they are crooning or have a voice haunted in tone.

But let’s get to the album! I guess I was too enamored with their fresh style! Anyway, I’d like to point out four main songs. These songs emphasize the multi-faceted nature of the band.  The first one was “Sunshine of Your Love”. I could’ve sworn that I’d heard this song before on guitar hero or something. It had a catchy and familiar counter melody in the bass that drove the song forward effectively. This song starts the album off with high intensity and blaring high-pitched electric guitar overlaying the main countermelody.  This classic rock sound that relies heavily on guitar really appeals to me and Cream implements it perfectly in this song. While this song DOES get a little repetitive, the lyrics and vocals make up for it. Every strum of the guitar I feel myself wanting to tap my foot and the song just ultimately gets cooler and hipper with each verse. Check it out: It’s probably my favorite song on the album.

Coming off of that epic song, the album progresses right into “World of Pain”. Now, I was disappointed in this song and I wanted to make that clear. The vocals didn’t sound as energized and they sounded more like a haunted house narrator than the lead vocalist in a successful rock band. While I think the vocals didn’t appeal to my tastes, this song is worthy of blog space because it illustrates the fact that Cream didn’t rely ONLY on the electric guitar. While there are instrumental breaks, the (creepy) vocals primarily drive the song. Overall, I thought it was pretty trippy, but let’s see what you think.

The next song is “Blue Condition” and I literally would’ve mistaken this song as a John Lennon piece. This sounds so much like Lennon that I took a double-take when listening to it. The slow tempo also provides relief and variation to the other high energy/intensity songs towards the beginning of the album. What’s funny, is that I don’t really like Lennon as a vocalist, but this song actually appeals to me! I guess Cream is just Lennon 2.0! The calm aura this song emits matches its deep lyrics as well. Check this one out too:

 “Take it Back” is the last song I’ll be highlighting. I know this a lot of songs to digest, but all of these provide a fresh new look at Cream that illustrates their many dynamics as a band. This song, unlike all the others, sounds very country-pop to me and starkly contrasts the heavy rock sound of the rest of the album. I love how they incorporated weird instruments like harmonica. Unlike the Stones, though, they implement it well! One last song for the night:

Jimi Hendrix: "Are You Experienced"

Jimmi Hendrix is definitely an original artist of his time. I think that he efficiently incorporated the electric guitar as a staple in the rock and roll industry and he showed that it was successful. Not that it hadn’t been done before, but I think his pure guitar skills stretched the electric guitar to new limits. In this way, he was able to add flavor to his songs. Through listening to this album, I could tell that he was first a guitarist and then a full-fledged singer/songwriter. All of his songs heavily rely on guitar and a beat. While he has a very passionate and soulful voice, I think what makes Hendrix stand out, especially in this era, was the fierce instrumentals and beats he chose to accompany his songs. When the album first started playing I was jazzed. I could hear Chuck Berry, Otis Redding, and a dash of Elvis with every strum of the guitar, belted out lyric, or wild beat. Jimi Hendrix had the wild side of the old rockers like Chuck Berry and Elvis and the soulful passion vocally as Otis Redding. Not to mention a guitar skill almost unmatchable before him.

With Jimi Hendrix entering the stage, I think I’m starting to see some more early classic hard rock. I think Hendrix was probably a launch pad from the Beatles and Beach Boys to harder rock groups relying on guitar. The electric guitar made all of Hendrix’s songs sound ten times cooler and more bad-to-the-bone than any Beatles hit. Personally, I think his style made the Beatles and Beach Boys sound like a young Justin Bieber.

But I do have mixed feelings about this album. There were definitely many high points throughout the album with some insanely wild guitar solo and epic beats that carried an otherwise soulful melody. At other times, however, the album dragged on and on and on. I felt myself getting increasingly bored as the songs just kept cycling through. I’m surprised I stayed awake for the entire album! There were so many songs and, while I enjoyed the refreshing style of harder rock, many sounded very similar. While this almost lulled me to sleep, it was too long of an album. I added up all of the song lengths and I think it totaled just under an hour! Insanity!

Despite this, I still want to give you my highlights from the “Are You Experienced” album because it really is a strong debut album that I think deserves a place on my blog. I started getting really tired of blogging about just Beatles music. That all changed instantly when Hendrix struck that first note of “Purple Haze”! The guitar lead is strong as always and I feel myself banging my head to the powerful beat. Soul oozes out of his gravelly voice, which just enhances the epic countermelodies. Not to mention that the electric guitar breaks in the middle of this song are phenomenal. You definitely need to hear this (by the way, skip to about 20 seconds into the video):

Next is “The Wind Cries Mary”. This song is not one of my favorite on the album but it has a pretty catchy little diddle that carries the main countermelody. This song shows the little versatility of Hendrix. He still sounds the same but instead of hard rock, this offers a more soft tone to the song. The instrumental is almost country-sounding to me. It is unique, but this was probably one of the songs I felt my eyelids closing on. But, this softer, jazzy sound may be just what you’re looking for:

This last song is off the hook. I think this is definitely one of Hendrix’s best songs on his first album. “Foxy Lady” starts off soft but quickly escalates into Jimi Hendrix’s classic electric guitar. This song also emphasizes Hendrix’s voice. This is one of the few songs that I actually feel some attitude coming from him. Hendrix has several vocal ticks and seems to sing pretty groovy. I can just imagine him having a sly grin when singing this song. The main reason this song stands out to me, though, is that it has a very memorable guitar part. Because I appreciate this aspect the most in Jimi Hendrix’s songs (which is to be expected) this is one of my favorites. Check it out below:

Overall, while Jimi Hendrix was a very talented guitarist, I think he illustrated his musical capacity to become a strong singer and song-creator. I am impressed by his development of skill set and that he had never before written songs. For a first-timer, I’d say he did pretty well and implemented many good assets that I appreciate in songs. While it may have been a tad long, I found this album refreshing and exciting to see where rock takes us next!

Ellie Goulding and Her New Album: Halcyon

Ellie Goulding is a very talented artist in the midst of what I feel is somewhat of a desert when it comes to pop music. I think I’ve already ranted on that in earlier blog posts, so I will spare you my thoughts on certain artists of today’s pop music that really have no vocal capacity at all. But like I was saying, Ellie Goulding is a gem in this realm. I never had really listened to much Ellie Goulding before either. I was first exposed to Ellie Goulding when she rolled out with her hit single “Lights”. This song was pretty awesome and was remixed an insane number of times especially by dub-step artists. While dubstep covers were an unfortunate take on her song, “Lights” really shot Ellie Goulding to instant fame and the mass population probably knows her from that one song. I thought she was one of those one-hit wonders like Carly Rae Jepsen or Rebecca Black for a while. All of a sudden, a couple of days ago, this new song appears on my Pandora station by Ellie Goulding and I loved it. So I checked out her latest album Halcyon.

I’d like to introduce Ellie Goulding to you in the same manner I first listened to her. This was through “Lights”. This song, although it was extremely overplayed by the radio, rocks. When I got my new iPod, one of the first songs I downloaded was Goulding’s hit single. It incorporates everything of a fantastic song. It has pretty polished vocals in my opinion with meaningful lyrics. The vocals are also accompanied with some pretty catchy beats and just the right amount of a constant soft electronic sound that adds depth to the musical arc throughout the song. This song was almost like a hook for the general population to become exposed to Goulding. And it sure worked on me. I’m a fan because of this song and the music video is pretty catchy too:

Okay, now for some more current Goulding songs. Her latest album is named Halcyon. Halcyon is actually a synonym for calm which is an interesting title for her newest line of music. I haven’t listened to the entire album (although after I finish writing this, I’ll hopefully be able to go back and listen to more) but skimmed over it so that I could highlight the main songs that appealed to me. Halcyon is a pretty well-rounded album and shows that Goulding is pretty versatile as well as an artist. Halcyon also revealed Ellie Goulding’s voice without much auto-tune in certain songs. I was able to gain that much more of an appreciation for the vocals. She has the soft tone and passion of Taylor Swift with the hip side of Calvin Harris. I’m also going to be posting the lyrical videos from YouTube so that you can see the songwriting as well.

The first song that stood out to me and got me started on more Ellie Goulding listening was “Anything Could Happen”. There is an amazing hook at the beginning and the introduction once again grabs me and slowly builds suspense. I noticed that in most of her songs she has a great “musical arc” that climaxes in a pretty passionate part. This song really combines her talent vocally with pretty catchy beats and melodies in the climactic section of this song. While it gets a little repetitive when building to the climax I think this adds some flavor and zing to the suspense. This song also has lyrics with strong meaning that I like while mixing in with some talent musically. Check it out, if you haven’t heard it before, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised:

This next song is another home run from Goulding’s new album. Right off the bat (ha no pun intended) I feel a different aura coming from this song than other Goulding music. The piano at the very beginning provides a strong gateway to the entire song. It starts off rather hip and techno and carries throughout the rest of the song after her initial intro part. This techno adds a new spice to her pantry of musical genres and techniques. Being a fan of these electronic sounds in vocal-oriented songs, “I Need Your Love” is amazing to my ears. I was amazed at the combination of lyrics, sick counter melodies and overall style of this song as compared to others on the album. It starts out energetic and never stops throughout the entire song. I also find it funny the way she pronounces the word “can’t” because she’s British. This is my favorite Ellie Goulding song so far!Check out this rockin' song:

I’m going to post one more song at the bottom of this blog just to show you the versatility of Goulding. Although “Explosions” doesn’t really appeal to my musical tastes, I think that it offers basis for conversation over Goulding’s ability to adapt to a mass variety of musical styles. I think it’s awesome that she can write a techno song and a slower softer song in THE SAME ALBUM. “Explosions” is very much simplistic, especially at the beginning and sounds more like a choir solo performance. But, see what you think. Overall, I am stunned at the pure ability of Ellie Goulding. She really is a talented artist who is releasing strong music. And that’s all we can really ask for. Anyway, check out “Explosions” below:

Pump-Up Songs: OH YEAH!

There are always those songs out there that you know took absolutely no musical talent to create, yet still somehow appeal to you. I group some of these songs under the general category of “pump-up songs”. They serve nothing more than to pump you up. They provide a rush of adrenaline and the urge to move/dance that others songs just cannot match. The reason why other pieces of music cannot match this capability of a true pump-up song is that the pump-up songs only have one purpose: to be insane, wild and catchy. Given that they don’t need to fulfill any musical elegance, there’s a lot more “wiggle room”.

In my opinion, pump-up songs are actually very limited in their actual style of music.  They lack depth of lyrics or any at all. They have repetitive melodies and basic tunes. And a lot of the times, they are heavily computer-generated. Now, I’ve always insulted the dub-step genre of music, so in this blog I’m going to sound somewhat hypocritical. I think I’m trying to show that these styles of music are appealing in small doses and use at the correct time. I only listen to pump-up songs at certain times, like right before a competition. They are high-energy, high-intensity pieces of music that blow a listener’s mind away. But, on a daily basis, I don’t recommend listening to these songs; you’ll probably begin to get a massive headache.

Beware: these songs don’t sound like anything else I’ve blogged about. I just thought I would highlight a different realm of the “music” world. I put music in quotes because some of these songs are basically just screeches of computer-generated sound that goes in time with a sick beat. You’ll see what I mean later on, but for now, time for some pump-up songs! I hope you’re ready!

Let’s start with a song I think sounds more middle-of-the-road. It’s not too extreme (as to not scare you away), but it illustrates accurately the different aspects of what I call a pump-up song. The song, by Calvin Harris and Ne-Yo is “Let’s Go”. You will either love this song or utterly despise it. That’s a common trend with these pump-up songs. A lot of them are hit-or-miss based off of each individual listener. Anyway, “Let’s Go” is probably the perfect song to listen to when you’re running on a treadmill or riding a bike because it is like a little man sitting on your shoulder yelling encouraging words at you! While there are lyrics, they are not very in-depth and most of them are “let’s go” over and over again. What fuels this song into stardom is the beats and high energy sounds that are so typical of pump-up songs. I feel that this song is one of the milder types of pump-up songs because it still has basic singing and doesn’t rely as heavily on computer-generated noise as some of the later songs I’ll highlight. The song is very repetitive and can get old pretty fast, but it makes me just want to stand up and start dancing! Check it out. I dare you not to tap your foot to the beat!

The next song is epic and one of my favorite pump-up songs ever. There is no song that gets my competitive edge on more than this. If you’re an athlete I highly recommend this song. While there are legitimately only three lyrics in the entire song, it is somehow empowering and more importantly energizing! “I Can’t Stop” by Flux Pavillion is probably one of the few pure dub-step songs that I can tolerate. And not just tolerate. The drop in this song is off the hook and when it comes, about 34 seconds into the song, it gets wild. The beginning goes by slowly and seems to lack any melody or sounds whatsoever. When the drop comes though, there is no holding back. It sounds like organized white noise and a seizure of sounds that somehow mesh together in a way that adds flame and fury to this pump-up song. No other song is as intense as this one. Check it out (if you get bored at the beginning, just fast-forward to 30 seconds in):

The last pump-up song that I’d like to highlight before I stop praising dub-step, is “Bass Cannon” by Flux Pavillion. If you enjoy dub-step music AT ALL, you will do a double back flip when you hear this song. Once again, the beginning is rather dull and sounds like an old dial-up modem but when the drop comes, this song brings it. There is a limit to how much I can talk about this song because it lacks much depth at all (this one only has TWO lyrics). This is basically the musical arc: There are a bunch of sporadic sounds at the beginning. Flux says “Bass Cannon” a couple times to a beat and then the drop comes and the whole earth feels like its shaking.  Repeat cycle. And that’s it! But, once again, pump-up songs are made to pump you up, not satisfy a craving for good harmonies or melodies. Go listen to some Beatles for that. But for now check out this song. Who knows, you might just think it’s insane enough to sound good!

So while pump-up songs don’t necessarily possess any discernible strengths and skills, I feel that they serve their purpose of building up insanity and supporting a massive adrenaline rush. I apologize if this didn’t mesh well with your tastes but it’s good to try something new every once in a while too. And pump-up songs are definitely that.

Sergeant Pepper

If I were to describe this entire album in one word it would be:

Wow.

This album seems to be revolutionary in the music world! It sounds nothing like anything preceding it and it makes a gaping path for future bands to follow. There are so many ways that this album carves out a new way of music composition it will be hard to even cover half of them in this relatively miniscule blog! I was pretty impacted upon listening to the entire album. I now see clearly how they were constantly competing with the Beach Boys’ "Pet Sounds" album. Pet Sounds was good, but this album knocks its socks off.

It is not that this album favors all my musical tastes that I thoroughly enjoyed this album. Several songs which I’ll get into more a little bit later, taste bitter to my ear. I enjoyed this album because at every turn, the Beatles had a new element incorporated into their songs. This made every song a new journey with fresh sounds bursting constantly around the listener; keying in all their senses at once! I feel that a lot of albums don’t do enough variation or experimentation in their music writing. For this reason, I cherish the Beatles. As I continue to listen to their music over their entire career, I gain a larger and larger appreciation for the depth of their musical journey and success as artists. I think the Beatles are amongst the best because of the changes they have made along the way and paving the way for new sounds to erupt into the music industry.

Now, you might be wondering why I claim this album to be one of the most unique and versatile of its time. It all starts at the basics of this album. The Beatles got tired of touring so much so they reached a new point in their career. In this part of their career, they decided to release this album. Sergeant Pepper is, at its core, a concept album. Throughout the album, the songs correspond with this storyline of a band named “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band”. They make up fake names for themselves too. I found this pretty amusing as well, because once again it shows that the Beatles actually had a personality that was readily available to the public eye. Anyway, this concept album makes me feel like I’m watching a whole performance live, rather than just staring at my computer screen and clicking on YouTube videos. While some of the songs in the middle of the album may not directly pertain to the main story theme and idea, the Beatles make a point of having concept-specific songs at the beginning and end of the album. This serves well to connect the album into one unifying performance and makes it that much more memorable.

Additionally, they incorporate all kinds of sounds into their songs. In some parts I feel like a little child. In others I feel lost in an Indian jungle. In still others, I feel that John Lennon was literally doing drugs as he was singing. All of these aspects make for an extremely versatile album with all kinds of new things coming my way.

Now, I’d like to go back to the beginning and end songs. These songs possess a certain quality and vocal difference that makes me feel like I’m at a circus or happy performance. The first song specifically, “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band”, sounds as if McCartney is not so much the lead vocalist but rather the announcer. They also purposefully utilize a laugh track and other crowd-sounding noises that give the illusion of a live performance. I thought this was a revolutionary technique and they were really beginning to stretch the capabilities of what the studios did. Never before in a song had I such background sounds like this song. It felt more like an introduction to a children’s circus than the first song of an album, but really pulled me in to see what else they could bring to the table. Check it out for yourself:

Another song that sounded distinctly different than the original music of the Beatles was “She’s Leaving Home”. This song incorporates string instruments and starkly contrasts the otherwise hard-rock sounds of this album. It sounds like an orchestra and this offers a relief from the pop and rock songs of the beginning. This song acts as an intermission and can only really be fully respected when listened in relation to everything else. When I listen to it I also think it sounds like a Christmas carol for some reason.

The last weird song I’d like to highlight from this album is “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”. I found it funny that the initials of the title spell out LSD because that is EXACTLY what I think John Lennon was on when he recorded this. His voice sounds as if he inhaled helium for five minutes straight before the recording. The general countermelodies sound catchy but I could never really get over the singing in the non-verse part. The main verse had a great harmony, but the rest of the song (when Lennon sung solo) had drugs written all over it. Listen to it for just twenty seconds and you’ll see what I mean:

With all of this variation, I’d also like to throw in this last song because it is one of my personal favorites from the album. I've also noticed that I like Paul McCartney's songs much more than John Lennon's. Just to end on a high note with this blog, I’ll post it here:

Mumford and Sons: Babel-ing Away to Another Hit

Until a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea who this band was. The amount of knowledge I knew about Mumford and Sons was limited to my friend saying, “Hey check out this new Mumford and Sons song” and “I’m trying to get their new album!” Curiosity got the best of me and the good old Wikipedia was open on my Internet Explorer window (yeah, I know, I STILL don’t have Chrome). My limited knowledge of this apparently folk rock band as described in the side bar of their Wikipedia page was not enough for me. In no time I had YouTube up and running as I scoured the web trying to find their songs (not so much scour as peruse, but you get my point). This band was not on my radar at all: But it is now.

They seem to be able to combine old school folk music with innovative sounds and country countermelodies and singing. I don’t consider myself a country fan. Maybe that is because I have never really been exposed to many songs of modern country. I think that country has probably grown into something more tolerable and even something rather enjoyable. I consider Mumford and Sons more of a country rock band, but that depends on your background. If you are straight from Nashville, you would probably scoff at that declaration but rock is in the ear of the listener. Either way they have written some pretty impressive music.

After listening to several of their songs on their newest album “Babel”, I have mixed emotions about their music. While I still believe that they are a talented band, I’m not sure if some of their stylistic choices mesh with some of my personal tastes. As you may notice, this blog post is about something radically different than any other band I’ve blogged about. No, my tastes aren’t changing. I just wanted a fresh perspective into the music realm and go into foreign waters. Anyway, the album throws out some distinct sounds. I feel that a lot of the countermelody stays very similar throughout multiple songs and the one saving grace is varying vocals. After about two minutes into each song, I start to get tired of the constant and repetitive strumming of a banjo in the background. Once again, it might be because of my lack of exposure to the genre, but there is only so much of that I can handle! That brings me to another point about their newest album. Have you seen the track listing? 4:36, 4:13, 5:39, 5:14, 5:21 minutes long each song! My attention span isn’t that long with songs I am familiar with; throw in a new genre and I’m about to go crazy. I think this is one downfall of this album: its sheer length takes away from the talent by stretching it out thin.

Another thing that bugs me before I start describing the positive things about this album: I feel that a song is either really upbeat or really soft. For the songs that they attempt to mesh the two, it starts off really low and soft, like in “Lover’s Eyes” and then they seem to abruptly change to a higher gear and keep the intensity throughout the rest of the song. I guess I desire more of a ‘story’ arc to my songs that takes me on a journey.

Now don’t get me wrong; Mumford and Sons takes me on a journey! While I seem to be a downer about this band, I am amazed at the work that they have displayed. They really hit the mark on two main fronts: vocals and lyrics. Because of its incorporation with a soulful type of music, I can take more powerful and passionate lyrics seriously as compared to upbeat pop songs. That is one method that I think Mumford and Sons exceeds at with their style choice. Because of their folk music, they are able to have deep and meaningful lyrics that match the general tone of the instrumentals itself. In sadder songs, they are able to keep the singing low and the instruments sparse and soft. In happier songs (and in the climaxes of songs) they can get away with using their wild banjo and guitar-like instruments to get a wild folk party sound! The vocals, as well add to the power of the each piece of music they compose. His deep soul-filled voice gives off an aura of passion. While it can get old at times, his consistent voice unifies a variety of songs with various tones together to make it sound like “Mumford and Sons”. His voice is so distinct that I think I will be able to recognize any of their songs now!

Now to the videos! I’m going to post three videos today. The first one is the lead song named “Babel”. Babel was the first song that I ever listened to by Mumford and Sons and it caught me. Thus it exquisitely served its purpose as the lead song on the album. They start out with an epic guitar diddle at the beginning that leads into the main counter melody. This song accents Mumford’s voice the best and they mesh well as one. Additionally, this song has rises and falls to it that I like in a song; making the powerful and upbeat sections of the song that much more cherished. Check it out below:

The next video I wanted to highlight from this album is their lead hit single, “I Will Wait”. This song starts off again with pretty rocking and upbeat instrumental introduction. This gets cut off into a softer vocal section that slowly builds back up to the high level of intensity. At the same time, it keeps the soft tone of this love related song. This is definitely one of my favorites from the album and I can see how it risen to the top of the charts. Check it out. Even if you don’t think their music is to your liking, it’ll grow on you:

While I have mixed feelings about this band that I just now discovered, I think that I might have been introduced to a new type of music that could grow on me. Pretty good despite being abnormally long!

Revolver Hits One Out of the Park

The Beatles are back at it again! By this time, they are actually starting to see a variety of competition come out of the wood-work. How can the Beatles compete with all of these rising bands such as the Stones, the Who, and the Beach Boys? Easy, they’re the Beatles.

Revolver was only released about three years after the Beatles’ first album. Remember that first blog I posted a while ago? The bubbly songs like “Please Please Me” and “I Saw Her Standing There” were vibrating off of Harrison’s guitar just a mere three years. The rapid pace in which the Beatles have developed as a band and the music they create is astounding. It has been relatively gradual too. It took several albums to ease into their new versatile selves who dared to throw in crazy bumps in a once uniform pop-like blend of songs. I bet that if the Beatles went back in time to themselves three years prior to releasing Revolver and told themselves that they would incorporate a sitar into their songs; they would be revered as insane (especially considering the fact that they would be talking to themselves).

When the album first started, I was utterly surprised at the first several songs. This wasn’t a feeling of surprise you get when you pass by a dead skunk; rather, a feeling you would get at a surprise birthday party. While I was not expecting certain aspects of the music that highlighted a new wild side released from within each of the band members, I was still content with their harmonies, melodies, and lyrics. I think that my love for the Beatles has grown and matured into something different. While I believe some of their older songs sounded more hip, I think I respect them more for their pure ability now after hearing them in a variety of genres and styles. This takes guts too! After being successful in one area, evolving into something that is unknown is a pretty gutsy move (especially in a field as fickle as music which all depends on the mood of the audience).  Because they are able to be so successful with whatever they do and adapt to changing music styles, I revere them very highly (as you can see given that I write every third blog about them).

Anyway, back to Revolver. I feel the influence of the Beach Boys ooze out of the speaker when I listen to this. This is most predominant at the very beginning of the album and through a couple of songs interspersed later on. In these five-ish songs, the Beatles adopted the orchestral sound of the Beach Boys. I was disappointed that they ditched some of their classic instruments in these songs, but the sound was unique and fresh to Beatles music. And it worked with the beautiful harmonies created by this band. In two of their songs, they use straight string instrumentals in order to carry the countermelody. In another song, “Got to Get You into My Life” they use a brass section with a predominant trumpet sound. In this song, they are able to use it to add musical background to an otherwise swing-like catchy beat and vocals. With brass instruments, I get a jazzy vibe. On the other hand, in the songs that use pure string instrumentals, I receive a vibe of complexity and emotion. For example, in “Eleanor Rigby”, the Beatles are able to conjure a sad message, yet at the same time, make a catchy tune and also sound complex and deep!

If this wasn’t enough, they threw in another song with an epic sitar solo at the beginning that drags on for what seems like eons. I feel like I entered an Indian jungle and met a native tribe during a ceremony. The sitar starkly contrasts the otherwise pop-like Beatles and utterly blew my mind when I first heard it. It was totally unexpected. Check it out:

By this time I’m thinking that this album has lost hope of ever hearing anything like the old beloved Beatles again. Not so! The Beatles have a way of tugging at my emotions, I’ve noticed. As soon as I think I’m disappointed, they make it so that I want more. By the fifth song of the album, they reverted back to a classic love song. The sixth song, “Yellow Submarine” was bland in my opinion, but they really hit their stride in the middle of this album! “She Said She Said” has a pretty epic introduction and sick beats. I feel like this song could have been a rival contender during the hard rock age. It just feels right for some reason, even though it contrasts my beloved early Beatles style. Additionally, the Beatles threw in a couple of classic-sounding songs like “Good Day Sunshine” that really tied the album back together in a nice knot. Check out these songs too.

I know this seems like a lot of videos, but it’s because this album is so full of intrigue! I can’t stop myself! I was literally sitting in front of YouTube with fourteen tabs open trying to decide which songs to highlight in this blog. Overall, this album offered some welcomed twists in the Beatles music but satisfied me as a whole. I definitely recommend this for further listening.

Beach Boys - "Pet Sounds"

The Americans surge again! While the Beatles continue to release a variety of hits in their albums Rubber Sole, Revolver, and Sergeant Pepper, the Beach Boys are a group that deserves rightful attention. While starting out writing a lot of fluffy music lacking depth, throughout their careers, the Beach Boys have shown an evolution of their music. The constantly are competing with the Beatles during this time period because their vocals sound extremely similar. The Beach Boys are somewhat like the Beatles 2.0 in the album Pet Sounds. They hit very pleasing harmonies to the ear and showed a progression toward better music.

I don’t know how they are able to do it either. This album has harmonies and vocals that have not been matched by any other band that I’ve heard all year. They show a different side to rock that drastically varies any other artists up until that point. The only ones in the same universe as them are the Beatles and I would even dare say that this album possesses qualities that surpass some of the Beatles’ later released songs. One of the pros, in my opinion, of the Beach Boys is that they evolved into better music while I kind of feel that the Beatles slowly made a plateau. Additionally, the Beach Boys created deeper songs than their original album which was highly focused on girls (sound familiar? *cough*Beatles*cough*).

“Pet Sounds” is full of songs that vary drastically. The first four songs of this album sound very soft and even classical. They perform long slow harmonies amongst a smooth melody. By the fifth song, though, they start out with a bang that really grabs me by the shirt collar and shakes me awake. I feel that this was needed in the album. The powerful timpani and snare drum abruptly contrasts the crooning in the first songs of the album. The fifth song of the album, named “I’m Waiting for the Day”, possesses certain qualities that match preceding songs in this album. They keep their basic harmonies and sounds the same, yet implement them in a fresh manner. This album works well because the variation adds needed spice to an album that would go on the verge of bland from the repetition of the first four songs. I’m not saying that the first four songs were bad (because they were amazing!) but if the Beach Boys kept all of their songs like this, I would turn off the album after the fifth song. And this is exactly where they started to pick it up! Check out what I mean. Below are two videos. One is from the beginning of the album and the other is “I’m Waiting for the Day”. I think you’ll notice what I’m getting at:

Now by the time the sixth song hits, I know this album is going to be a hit. The Beach Boys have the guts to throw in not one, but TWO instrumentals! Talk about being different. Most albums don’t even try touching an instrumental. I generally don’t like pure instrumentals because, most of the time, they are not implemented well. The first one named “Let’s Go Away for Awhile”, however, by the Beach boys is done very well. Unlike certain songs (*cough* The Ox *cough*) that seem like an uncontrolled jumble without the vocals to lead them, this song shows that it is stable all by itself. I feel a story being told throughout the melody and counter melody that actually makes me feel emotion. Overall I am just moved by the gorgeous music. And coming from me, that’s something. I don’t usually describe music as gorgeous. Maybe epic. Or wicked. But not often gorgeous. See it for yourself:

While the Beach Boys started out being a very fluffy band without any meat, this album throws away any of those stereotypes. Through just the lyrics, they venture into more in-depth topics. Additionally, I feel a wholesome quality in their voice that drives a more soul-based sub group of the genre of rock. They fall into the same area of the Beatles yet possess even more soul, seen through Otis Redding. I’m not saying that they sound like Otis Redding’s distinct deep vocals (because they don’t at all), but their styles are somewhat relatable as I feel they are based heavily on vocals. This is why the instrumental songs in the middle of the album seem so out of place. I feel like these are welcoming intermissions to a great play. And overall, the Beach Boys sound united under this soul, vocal-based sound.

While obviously heavily influenced by the Beatles in their song-writing and musical style, the Beach Boys have an important place in the development and evolution of rock.

Otis Redding: The King of Soul

All of my blogs lately seem to have been about bands that originate in England. So what is the rest of the world doing? What happened to the good old American rock and roll artists such as Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis? Did they just disappear? Did they give up on music? England cannot be the only one that is spewing out good artists left and right!

Well, one rock and roller that dared to rival the great English bands such as the Beatles and the Stones and the Who, is Otis Redding. Otis Redding seemed to break down common molds of rock and roll during his time. He is able to pull off singing in a variety of different styles. In one song, he is able to sound as wild and crazy as the “old” rock and roll style that made Jerry Lee Lewis so popular, yet he can shift in a heartbeat to a song much milder and softer in tone.

Despite his changes in style, he always seems to maintain a steady swing-like beat and his soulful voice. This is probably what enabled him to keep fans no matter what song he released. In this way, he is kind of like the Beatles who were able to try any genre they pleased and it was accepted. Like the Beatles, it was the vocals that unified the songs the most. The Beatles were able to sound like “The Beatles” because they had standard harmonies. Likewise, Otis Redding had a very distinct voice that unified his songs. His deep, vibrato vocals enabled his songs, if it was heavy rock, to country, to a more soulful melody, to flourish.

While he was not able to create music for as long as other bands and musicians of the time because of his unfortunate early death in a plane crash at age 27, in the time that he had, Redding made a significant impact to the music industry as a whole. He took rock and roll by the handlebars and steered it in a completely new direction. He basically formed early R&B with his passionate country-like songs. Redding was also had a lot of depth to each of his songs as well. The reason why Redding stays so memorable to me is that he was so different than anything that preceded him. He made music that contained so much originality that even his covers seemed to be different songs.

For instance, in his cover of “Satisfaction” of the Stones, Redding creates almost a completely different piece of music full of a lot more energy and craziness. Otis Redding definitely takes the Stones’ hit and transforms it into a completely different sound and vibe. Listening to them side by side, I hardly realize they are the same song besides the chorus. While the Stones’ version had, in my opinion, timid vocals and a much more punk-like sounding countermelody in the guitar, Redding goes a new route. He adds his own flavor to the song and incorporates a quicker tempo, jazzy and country-like rhythms, dominant vocals, and (we can’t forget) his commanding stage presence. Check out Otis Redding in action, transforming the Stones song below:

After hearing this one song by Otis Redding, I thought I had a pretty good idea about the type of music he wrote. It was all upbeat wailing and kind of wild. But then my ears caught hold of a completely different side to this brilliant artist. A lot of his songs are written very bluesy and display a soft R&B sound. In his song, “These Arms Are Mine”, Otis Redding writes a brief, yet powerful, poem that he croons out. His phrases are long yet it doesn’t make the sound seem to drag on laboriously. Redding’s songs seem to ooze out passion from their very core in order to put across a soulful message. Check it out for yourself and compare with the first video I posted:

Overall, I think Otis Redding is refreshing in comparison to all of the Beatles, Stones, and Who that I’ve been blogging about lately. He provides a new look into the art of rock.