Thursday, October 25, 2012

Rascal Flatts

Okay, some people might not like Rascal Flatts, or maybe not like their newer music, but I am in love with them. This is a band that I listen to consistantly on a daily basis. All of their songs have variety and their lyrics are always so sweet. They are such great song writers. I also have kind of an obsession with the singer's voice just because I think it is so beautiful and always perfectly on the note. My favorite songs by them are "Mayberry", "He Ain't the Leavin' Kind", "Summer Nights", "Prayin' for Daylight" and "My Wish". I know that that is a lot of favorites, but honestly they have a rediculous amount of songs. I have 9 albums of their's on my spotify. It's awesome. So here are my favorite-favorites:

"Mayberry"

 
 
 
"Prayin' For Daylight"

 
So did you listen to his voice? It's legit beautiful. I could listen to this band all day and a lot of times I do...anyways I'm also going to see a Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan concert tomorrow (so excited) so those are also some beautiful voices to check out.

Metal

Honestly, I think metal is just..awful. Like I can't even listen to it for more than 30 seconds without wanting to like break whatever is playing it. It's just so heavy and scary. I have the exact opposite taste in music (chill and happy), so it's really just a downer for me. The words are always weird and I really just can't stand how heavy the electric guitar is; like I can't handle it. Before being in the history of rock class I never really understood that the Beatles' early stuff was really rock and just the start of it. I always was turned off to rock because it was so heavy and I didn't like the electric guitar sounding that way. Metal is like the epitome of what I don't like. I've realized now that the vast majority of rock and roll is stuff that I really like, and this just does not fall in that category. Plus the band names are really creepy..for example:

Three Inches of Blood
Venom
Dirty Ghosts

AH that's creepy. So, conclusion: I hate metal.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

NEEDTOBREATHE

NEEDTOBREATHE is one of those bands that I just can't get enough of. I discovered this band a couple of months ago when a friend showed me their song "The Outsiders". I listened to their album and love it. I really love the way the lead singer sounds. He sings passionately and it sounds great at the same time. Here are some of my favorites by NEEDTOBREATHE:

"The Outsiders"
 
 
"These Hard Times"




I really like some of the lyrics to this song just because they are so powerful;

Give me something brighter
Give me something I can see
Give me something viciousGive me something I can be
Give me all the love and peace
To end these wars
Give me something sacred
Something worth fighting for

It's clear enough to me
The ugliness I see
Is evidence of who I need

Give me an answer
Give me the way out
Give me the faith
To believe in these hard times


That's like most of the song but I mean come on it's all so good! This is just a really well written song.

I also like how they can go from sounding kind of country to sounding like something completely different and it keeps me interested when listening to the whole album. I really like this band check them out!

The Beach Boys- Pet Sounds

I have listened to a lot of Beach Boys before, but not like this. This album was fantastic. All of the lyrics were powerful, there was some crazy sounds in the songs that went amazingly with it, and all of the songs were just beautiful. I have always been a fan of the Beach Boys' stuff like "Surfin' USA" and "I Get Around", etc. But when I listened to this album, I like it so much better and it hurts me to know that it wasn't acknowledged as good when it came out just because it wasn't their normal style. I will definitley listen to this album more. Here are some of my favorites:

"Wouldn't It Be Nice"















"God Only Knows"
 I am loving this album also because of all the instruments they use. How would they do these live? It's crazy how many different sounds they're using and how perfect their harmonies are. I love this album!

Friday, October 12, 2012

Faith vs. Janice

Faith Hill vs. Janice Joplin in the battle of which version of "Piece of my Heart" is kind of a tough one. There'a a lot of elements that go into making that decision. First, you'll need to listen to both versions:
Faith Hill:

 

 
 
Janice Joplin:
 



So, here's a list of the pro's and cons:

Faith Hill
Pros
1. Happy music=happy listener
2. More popular for the time
3. She sings much better

Cons
1. No passion in her voice
2. Feels like she doesn't have an emotional connection with the lyrics

Janice Joplin
Pros
1. Strength in her voice
2. Powerful singing
3. Emotional connection with lyrics

Cons
1. Voice doesn't sound good
2. Makes you feel mad- based on the emotion she puts into the song

So, all in all, in my opinion, I think that Faith Hill's version is better. Although it is very debateable, here is my reasoning: Faith's singing is so much better, her voice sounds cleaner and smoother, it has a happier tone than Janice Joplin's version. Even though some people may like Janice's version because of the reasons that I don't like, I still think Faith Hill is better!

Jason Aldean

Jason Aldean is my absolute favorite country singer. He has such a variety of what songs are about and no matter what, they are always catchy. He has songs for every mood, whether it's sad music to sulk in, or happy music to get you or keep you in a good mood, everything he makes is great. His lyrics can go from having a good time to being really deep. This is what I really love about him, plus he has an awesome voice.

Here are some of my favorite's of his:

"Tattoos on this Town"

 

 
 
I really like the meaning of this song and the lyrics saying how he'll never forget the small town that he lived in. I like that he pinpoints certain memories too. Here are some good lyrics from chorus of the song.
 
It sure left it's mark on us
We sure left our mark on it,
Let the world know we were here,
With everything we did,
Laid a lot of memories down,
Like tattoos on this town.
 

 
 
Here's another favorite:
"Keep the Girl"
 

 
I'm planning on seeing Jason Aldean in concert with Luke Bryan in two weeks and I'm super excited! Luke Bryan is my second favorite so it is literally the perfect concert for me. Luke Bryan has a great voice, always catchy and fun songs, and not to mention is super gorgeous. Here's some of my favorites by him:
 
"Do I"
 
"Country Girl"
 
Anyways, Jason Aldean also comes out with a new album TOMORROW! So excited, I can't wait! Hopefully it will help with me not going to ACL...there's always next year. But, check out Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan; they're wonderful!  

Friday, October 5, 2012

Country Music

I am in love with country music. I seriously like used to hate it but for some reason I started listening to it then just couldn't stop and am now just in love. I love how all the songs are just about having a good time, or falling in love. All of the songs are upbeat and all of the singers voices are so DEEP! I think that is one of my favorite thing about country music; how good all the singing is. Every song makes me want to sing along and there's always new music coming out. My favorite artists are Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, and Rascal Flatts.

I do have one problem with country music though: there's a formula for the lyrics. I'm not saying that all songs are like this, or that I hate that it's like this, but it just bothers me a little bit that every one would make a song with the same things in it. Here are some of the things that I think most country songs have:

1. A girl
2. Alcohol
3. A truck or something about the tailgate being down
4. A party in the field or somewhere like that

Some perfect examples:

"Somethin Bout a Truck" Kip Moore
 
 
"She's Country" Jason Aldean
 
These are just a couple of examples, but you can for sure listen to the radio for more. There are so many songs that aren't like this, I just happened to notice that a lot of the ones that I have listened to are. I love country anyways, because even though it's about the same thing, I still like what it's about and all the other stuff besides the lyrics. Country is some great music to sing along to and just to hang out with. I love it!


Help!

So far, we have watched like half of "Help!" and I love it! So far when we have watched the Beatles I couldn't understand  half of what they were saying because of their cute little British accents! But now, I'm starting to get the hang of understanding them and I am still loving them even more. I didn't know that was possible. But I'm totally looking forward to the rest of the movie.

Help!, the album was such a great comeback from Beatles For Sale, which was a bit depressing. I mean, I can't complain they are still amazing song writers and players, but it was just a downer of an album. It was just unexpected considering all of their other songs are really catchy and exciting, and this one just sounded tired and sad. But, Help! is definitely a step up. I personally, love the cover:























They are so happy and just look adorable in contrast to the previous album cover where they looked cold and depressed.

Some of my favorite songs off of this album are "Help!" (of course), "Ticket to Ride", "You're Going to Lose That Girl", "It's Only Love", and my absolute favorite "Yesterday". It's weird because I normally like all of the Beatle's more upbeat songs and the one's that are slow and deep and all are just too boring for me. But when I was listening to the lyrics of this song it was really just awesome. Those are some powerful lyrics! For example:

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday


I honestly normally don't listen to the words to these deep songs and just kind of write them off as slow and boring but this song just sticks in my mind for some reason. It's just one of those songs I love that are out of my normal groove. I also think it's cool that so many people have covered this song.

"Yesterday" The Beatles















"Yesterday" covered by Marvin Gaye















I think it's cool how in covers, artists add their own twist and style to the song. That's why I think it's so awesome that this song is the most recorded song in history..so many people have put a spin on it.