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: