It's weird to think that all you need to hear is the music from a movie to spark your emotion. In scary movies, it's the steady beat or the short staccato notes that trigger you to curl up and cover your eyes. It's the melancholic sounds that make you sob at the end or make the end even more satisfying than the director or actors could. It's because music makes a movie and without it, movies wouldn't be one of the most popular forms of entertainment. Way back in the Charlie Chaplin days of movies, when talking was non existent, music is what carried the story from beginning to end. Has there ever been a movie without some form of music? No.
Some movies have made their music so famous that people can recognize the song more than lines from the movie. When you think of "Titanic," sure you think "I'll never let go, Jack" or that sudden jolt of anger because Rose didn't move over on that stupid door to save a gorgeous Leonardo DiCaprio Jack Dawson to lay beside her. But you also break out to "My Heart Will Go On." When you think of "Jaws" you instantly thinking "dun dun. dun dun. dun dun dun dun." Or "Star Wars" you start humming the main theme.
Some scores are just so beautiful and great and I have rounded up the 10 that make their movie a hundred times better.
10."Latika's Theme" by AR Rahman from "Slumdog Millionaire"
9. "Main Theme from Castaway" by Alan Silvestri
8. "Neverland (Piano Variation in Blue)" by Jan. A.P. Kaczmarek from "Finding Neverland"
7."Theme from Forrest Gump" by Alan Silvestri
6. "Theme from Jurassic Park" by John Williams
5. "Theme to Cider House Rules" by Rachel Portman
And yes Michiganders, this the the Pure Michigan theme, long before those commercials took over the TV and radio.
4. "Surface of the Sun" by John Murphy from"Sunshine"
3. "This Land" by Hans Zimmer from "The Lion King"
2. "Hymn to the Sea" by James Horner from "Titanic"
Justin Beiber. Lady GaGa. Miley Cryus. Linkin Park. Ke$ha. Just a few polarizing names in the music industry. You either love them or hate them. There seems like there is no in between when it comes to these artists. These artists are known for being the worse musicians or the most successful, whatever your take is. Have you ever asked yourself, "how in the world did these people get signed?" You're not alone, many people have wondered the same thing too. It's a fact they are no Celion Dion, John Lennon or the next Beatles, but someone saw some talent in them for them to be some of the hottest musicians.
10 most hated artists. 10 wonderful underrated songs that might, maybe, not a guarantee, but could possibly change your mind on them.
1. Ke$ha
Let's start with the girl who has just as many haters as she does fans. You know her as the white girl who raps in her drinking songs, the dirty one that bathes in glitter and carries around a tooth brush and a bottle of Jack wherever she goes. But before her music producer Dr. Luke ruined her upcoming career, the girl who spells her name with a symbol of currency actually sang normal music. Here's the other side to the party animal, minus Dr. Luke, auto-tune, drinking and glitter. It's Kesha, spelled with an "S."
2. Lady GaGa
Despite the fact she's a five time Grammy award winner, people still hate Mother Monster. It doesn't matter if she was accepted into the most prestigious music school in the country, Julliard, or if she was accepted into NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, people see her as the 21st century Madonna wannabe. If you just strip away her outlandish outfits, you get Stefani Germanotta. And because she's a little out there, people see her as this crazy, bubble wearing wannabe. "You and I" will be on Lady GaGa's third album, on sale May 23.
3. Justin Bieber
Apparently the world doesn't like overnight Canadian Youtube sensations discovered by Usher. Or 17 year old boys who like to wear purple sweatshirts, shake their shaggy brown every five seconds, ride Segways, and release 3D documentary concert films. If they did, then they would like Justin Bieber. But even though he taught himself how to play the piano, guitar and drums all before he was 13, people still think he's ruining today's music. Hate him all you want, but you can't say he sucks at playing the drums.
If that little clip doesn't convince you, maybe this Justin Bieber song will.
4. Katy Perry
She kissed a girl and she liked it. She would rather not by a push up Victoria's Secret bra, but instead a cupcake bra that spews out whip cream. Is her blue hair too flamboyant for you? Well, she just has that bold personality, and it seems like with many artists, their bold personality, like Lady GaGa, makes people hate them even more. Maybe "I Kissed a Girl," "Hot and Cold" and "California Gurls" aren't the right songs to show her artistic talent, but she has plenty of other songs that do.
5. Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is not as hated as Ke$ha, GaGa and Justin Bieber, and yes, she did suck at her 2010 Grammy performance beside legend Stevie Nicks. But at least Swift is one of the very few artists today who never used auto-tune, she plays guitar and piano, and gasp, she actually writes her own songs. Yes, she has a whole album where she didn't need help from one co-writer, her third album "Speak Now." Some people don't like her voice, some people don't like how she started out country and then turned pop. But this song is an older one when she didn't let pop music convert her into a country-pop singer.
6. Miley Cyrus
Dun. Dun. Dun. Oh no, can it be? Ah, it's Miley Cyrus. Miley Cyrus is like Brussels sprouts, no matter how many times you listen to her, you're never going to love her because she's just that bad. But there is one song, if you don't watch the music video to see her pouty face and snaggeltooth, where she actually sounds quite decent...for a Miley song.
7. Rihanna
Umbrella, ella, ella, ay, ay, ay, in a nasally voice, oice, oice, ay, ay, ay. When Rihanna decides to thicken up her voice, she has the potential of not sounding like a donkey. Yes, her songs are overplayed catchy. They're your guilty pleasure, so don't say you don't blast "Umbrella" and "Rude Boy" when you're home alone.
8. Justin Timberlake
It seems these days Justin Timberlake is striving for an Oscar than a Grammy. Maybe he should stick to singing songs about sex and his womanizer ways and his attempt to beatbox. (It's sad to say Wikipedia calls that an instrument, which is why you shouldn't rely on that site for facts.) But there is one Justin Timberlake song where he doesn't rap or beatbox. Although it's on his first solo album, it sounds like his N'SYNC days, you know, when he actually sang.
9. Pink
She may have a hard exterior and what seems to be like an infinite number of songs that take over the radio. She might have tattoos running up her arms and additional space on her husband. During the early 2000s, when acting punk was "in" thanks to Avril Lavigne (too bad Miley wasn't a little older then), Pink hit her peak in her career. Her raspy voice and "rock songs" are an acquired taste, but there's one song that peels away her "I'm all tough, so don't mess with me" image for a more sensitive one.
10. Linkin Park
A lot of people hate Linkin Park because all their songs sound the same and they use the same chords and chord progressions in every single song that is about how they hate their life, the hardships they face, or them complaining about something. Yes, this song is them complaining about something, but when I first heard it on the radio, I didn't even know it was them. If they made songs more like this where they experiment with different chords on their guitars, maybe people will start to love them.
But the real, unanswered question is, how did Nickelback and Rebecca Black get signed? That will always be one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
This blog is inspired by that wonderful cover that Miley Cyrus did of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." And by wonderful I mean god awful.
But let's not dwell on those covers that put the original song to shame. Most covers are indeed that, but there are some better than the originals. Doing a successful cover can be done. You just need this thing called talent and a voice, and you're already on your way to becoming successful. So let's go through the slush pile of Youtube and pick out the best of the best.
1. "Born This Way" by Maria Aragon.
She's only 11 years old, but I like her version better than Lady GaGa's. I'm sure most have seen her since Lady GaGa posted this on her Twitter and even invited Maria to sing the song during one of her concerts. Talk about a successful cover.
2. "Paparazzi" by Greyson Chance
Ellen already signed him, and he's a legit artist now because he has his own VEVO channel on Youtube. Everyone and their brother has seen this video, but it's just so good.
3. "Love the Way You Lie" by Helena and Maria
I just discovered them a couple days ago, but these twins really know how to sing. Eminem should have found them instead of Rihanna.
4. "Firework" by Tyler Ward and Alex Goot
If you watch covers on Youtube frequently, then you have come across Alex Goot and especially Tyler Ward, who seems like the King of Youtube Covers. "Firework" is getting overplayed on the radio, but these guys don't make it sound that annoying anymore.
5. "Love Story" by Gabe
This cover is two years old, but it's just so good. Taylor's Swift's "Love Story" from Romeo's perspective. So clever. So good. He even got appraisal from Taylor Swift on Twitter.
6. "You're Not Sorry" by Lexie Hayden
She definitely has a stronger voice than Taylor Swift.
7. "The Cave" by Tyler Ward and Megan Nicole
Except for I don't understand the random air guitarist for a split second in the video.
8. "Hallelujah" by Justin Robinett and Michael Henry
This song is one of the most covered songs, but this version is the best. The secret: the harmonies.
9. "The Harold Song" by AZsinger 62
The kid looks like he's 12, and although I love this song so much because it's one of the very few songs we actually get to hear Ke$ha sing, I think I might like his version better than hers.
10. "Airplanes" and "Brick by Boring Brick" by Justin Robinett and Michael Henry
The guys who sung "Hallelujah" have more hits on this song than Tyler Ward does on this song. They are the only two people who are allowed to pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars.
Oh Coachella, you are a magical place of wonders. Not only do you get the greatest bands to perform at your festival, you force all the normal people to dress up like hippies, and you bring out almost every single celebrity for one giant celebrity hippie fest.
Now, most people were not lucky or rich enough to snag a Coachella ticket. Tickets sold out in just a matter of 5 days. So if you are one of the many unfortunate ones, I'll tell you what you missed out.
First, open up Youtube. Coachella was streaming on Youtube for the whole world to see. Pretty cool, right?
Oh, I'm sorry. I need to talk Coachellan.
It was totally far out, man. If you didn't have enough bread to check out the groovy bands, Youtube streamed all the performances. So go watch the highlights. I recommend watching Mumford & Sons. It was so boss, dude. Ya dig?
This year's festival headlined Kings of Leon, Album of the Year winner Arcade Fire, everyone's favorite interrupter Kayne West, The Strokes, Black Keys, The Chemical Brothers, Bright Eyes and Mumford & Sons.
But of course, let's not forget the celebrities. A $300 dollar ticket is really a hundred bucks a day to see your favorite bands, plus celebrities frolicking through the fields of the ritzy Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. This year, quite a few celebrities were spotted. Vanessa Hudgens was caught doing drugs eating melted white chocolate from her fingers with her rumored boyfriend Josh Hutcherson. Emma Roberts and "Glee's" Chord Overstreet were spotted making out. Does this mean a new Taylor Swift song is in the writing process? Then there was Katy Perry waving a light saber because she's so extraterrestrial. Apparently Paul McCartney went incognito, and Jack Dawson Leonardo DiCaprio, Rihanna and Robert Downey Jr. all let their inner hipster come out. That's a whole lotta freaks in one vicinity.
But let's point out the totally rad drama that any celebrity obsessed dude would pay $300 for. Camilla Belle, plus Ashley Greene, plus Joe Jonas equals serious awkward tension. Who wouldn't want to be there to witness that? Seriously, where was Taylor Swift during this? Not only was her VMA interupter headlining, but her ex boyfriend, her "Better Than Revenge" inspiration, and last dating victim were all there. You can't write that stuff. I'm sure she would have a gas writing all those songs. She could have had enough material to write her fourth album. But no, she has to be traveling for her sold out world tour. Only lame people do that...
And if you're a fan of getting loaded on acid (I disapprove, but some people live for that stuff) Coachella at night will make you double check your drink for any psychedelic drugs. This year, Coachella had an outta sight lit up display of dandelions, swans and cassette tapes, plus many more. Maybe this is the cause for everyone to magically turn into a hippie the second they walk through the entrance.
Now you listen to the music. Golden. You have the bread for a ticket. Winning. Oh shoot, we can't talk Charlie Sheen. I don't know if the Coachellan's accept that. Anyways, so how do you dress like a hippie a Coachellan? Simple.
1. A true Coachellan doesn't wear shoes. But if you're not a reg, flip flops and TOMS work just fine.
2. Girls wear headbands, guys wear bandanas--neon colored bandanas
3. Hipster glasses. Ray-Bans, aviators, those sunglasses from the '90s. What are they called? I don't know, but you gotta wear them, man, if you wanna be hip.
4. Straw fedora hats, trucker hats, floppy hats, you know, hats not sociably acceptable anywhere else but California's Coachella
5. Flamboyant colors. Ditch the snooze fest white, black and grays. You need be a walking acid trip. Even if you're a straight cat or chick, it's all about the color. Bring out the neons and the flower prints. Flower power, man. It's 1969 2011!
6. Glowsticks. Come on, you need to add to the overall trippiness.
So there you go. A Coachella wrap up in just one blog. And hey, you got to miss out on the scorching hot weather. Indio, California's average temperature for the month of April is 87 degrees. You know you don't live in the magical land of California when your state's average temperature is 35 degrees. Yay for real life.
Go Radio rocked out with their ear gages. Runner Runner hit on on young girls (so you need to hide yo kids, hide yo wives, and hide yo husbands because Runner Runner is creepin' on eurybody out here), Anarbor head banged with their hippie hair and half shut eyes, Valencia acted somewhat normal and then A Rocket to the Moon serenaded the adoring fans for their first headlining tour,"On Your Side."
A Rocket to the Moon sold out the show in Pontiac, Mich., attracting fans of all ages, skinny jean, converse wearing twelve years old, to crowd surfing drunken college students, to parents lounging in cushioned couches in the back of the Eagle Theatre. Nick Santino and gang were more laid back than headbangers Anarbor, but easily won over their fans by singing 14 of their songs from both their first full length album "On Your Side," to older songs from their EP "Greetings From..."
Nick even gave a special shout out to Pontiac, saying how it was The Eagle Theatre where he and guitarist Justin Richards wrote their hit "Like We Used To" in the parking lot the year before. The song was their first song to play on the radio and the crowd went nuts when they found out the story behind the beloved summer romance song.
Santino demanded that the audience sing louder than him during "Dakota" and his wish was granted. Even after their exited, the crowd chanted "one more song," and just 30 seconds later, Nick, Justin, Andrew, and Eric "The Mouthbreather" came back on stage to sing the fans two more songs, ending their sold out concert with "Mr. Right."
Fans walked away satisfied and still wanting more. But does A Rocket to the Moon ever disappoint? The answer is no. Starting in May, the Rocket crew will launch over across the pound to charm their British fans alongside Mayday Parade, and will go down under capture the hearts of Aussie's, kangaroos, and fans in Indonesia with Hey Monday.
Hidden behind the songs repeated on the radio 100 times a day, hidden behind the Billboard Top 200 charts and sold out world tours, hidden deep into iTunes and selected iPods across the country is a duo called The Civil Wars.
Iron and Wine mixed with Mumford & Sons with a country spice and you get the indie folk band made up of Joy Williams and John Paul White. The Civil Wars formed in early 2008 and released their debut album "Live at Eddie's Attic" in June of 2009.
Their song "Poison and Wine" made an appearance on a "Grey's Anatomy" episode right before their EP album "Poison and Wine" came out, which later prompted iTunes to rank "Poison and Wine" as 2010's Best Singer/Songwriter album.
Love a soothing yet melancholic song? "Poison and Wine" is just for your and your sensitive side. The refrain "I don't love you, but I always will" might sound complicated written down, but in spoken word it will make you understand its confusing meaning. Love harmonies? The Civil Wars sing the perfect harmonies and chords better than a barbershop quartet. And guess what? They only need two people to do that. The only instrumental you'll need is a muted acoustic guitar and simple piano chords. Doesn't sound like much, but it will sweep you off your feet just five seconds in. So if you're a fan of fermented grape juice, you have your combination of iron and wine, which is an almost guarantee that you'll love poison and wine too.
If you're a little bit country instead of a little bit of rock 'n roll, not only are you probably turning into Marie Osmond, but "Barton Hollow" is just for you. The guitar riff and melody will transport y'all to the Deep South. It will make y''all want to get up, stomp your foot into the dirt ground and square dance in your plaid shirt underneath the moss dangling from a southern live oak tree. A hint of southern upbringings in their hometowns of Nashville, Tenn. and Muscle Shoals, Ala can be traced in the melody. "Barton Hollow" will be a grand ole time if "Poison and Wine" was a little too sentimental for you.
Now that you're acquainted with The Civil Wars, go out a listen to the rest of their songs that are just as good as "Poison and Wine" and "Barton Hollow." For those indie, folk and country fans, you will soon find The Civil Wars taking over your iPod as much as Rebecca Black is taking over the world the music industry. (Which artist hasn't made a "Friday" cover?) Easy listening, beautiful melodies and lyrics, where can you find music like that today? John Paul White has a voice of a god. Nickelback needs to take a few pointers from him. The Civil Wars are one of the most underrated and unheard of bands today. So if you want to listen to real music, Joy and John will show you the way.
Do you wish you can find a way for you not to look forward to Friday?
Well, good news. There is a song out there that will make you officially hate the most beloved day of the week.
It's called "Friday" by Rebecca Black. And if you don't know what order the days of the week are, the 13-year-old will help remind you in the song. Kind of like how Gwen Stefani taught the world how to spell bananas and Fergie taught us how to spell her name. Rebecca Black is teaching the world (someone has to if the government is anti-education). See, this what happens when you ruin those teacher unions. You have Rebecca Black teaching life's fundamentals. "Yesterday was Thursday. Today is Friday. Tomorrow is Saturday, and Sunday comes afterwards." Thank you, Rebecca! To me figuring out what day of the week is like solving those exponential equations that I hate so much. Now I can sleep at night.
Black is a songwriting felon. I just listed ways NOT to write a song, and she goes out and does everything I said not to. Maybe she doesn't understand the concept of bolded words. From the wise words of Charlie Sheen, this video is not winning, and her songwriting is bi losing.
"Seven a.m., waking up in the morning. Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs, gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal. Seeing everything, the time is going ticking on and on, everybody’s rushing. Gotta get down to the bus stop. Gotta catch my bus, I see my friend."
Great lyrical rhythm.
"7:45, we’re driving on the highway cruising so fast, I want time to fly. Fun, fun, think about fun. You know what it is."
No, I don't, and nowhere in the song do you ever tell us what "it" is.
And then she sings "we so excited" about five times. Rebecca, use a verb please. ^(insert verb here). If you're teaching the world, we have to know verbs too. Thanks.
Then to make it worse, some random rapper comes in and doesn't sing about Friday. Yes, Jesus answered my prayers. But instead, the rapper talks about speeding in the fast lane and passing by the school bus that I'm guessing Rebecca waited for at the bus stop before she saw her friend. And how is that relevant to how much fun Fridays are?
Fun, fun, fun, fun.
If you have not checked out the revolutionary song that might top all of the Lennon/McCartney songs combined, and the video that is 2011's new "Telephone," (except minus GaGa, Beyonce, and those honey buns) check it out. You will never be the same, and this will not make your Friday a "Bi winning Friday."
