Tag: Music

Posted in Music

It’s all good

Posted on by Bri

So I was searching Google News for some music headlines that I can write about, and then got sidetracked by searching for Jason Mraz.

It just went downhill from here.

So it’s well known that Jason Mraz is my crack. But why, you ask? Well, fiddly doo da, I’ll tell you!

First off, as is always important, Mr. A-Z is attractive. I’m just getting that out of the way.

Secondly, his music not only has interesting and meaningful lyrics, but it also has a diverse sound. I’m Yours is more of an island beat, while Geek In The Pink is more parody rap. But his voice is consistently beautiful.

Third, he knows what matters. He took a year off of touring and recording and “rediscovered” himself. He’s read books on a variety of different religions, and voted no on Prop 8. He’s controversial, but he’s intelligent.

The bell is about to ring, but listen to his music. He is amazing

Posted in Blog

I even freaking reminded you

Posted on by Aardvarki

Grar. Webmistress is grumpy right now.

I’m taking a break from homework right now because I have a pounding headache and I noticed that our new admin, Shawn, has not posted a blog today. Me thinkies that he will be getting deleted… soon. I warned you.

It is eight o’clock at night, and I still have about two hours of homework left to do. Freaking speech and debate cases took two freaking hours, and freaking AP language persuasive letter took freaking one hour, and now freaking AP US History is taking freaking forever. 20 more vocab cards plus fifteen pages of notes on the most BORING ERA IN HISTORY.

The Industrial Revolution is the DEVIL. I do not CARE WHO INVENTED THE STEAMBOAT (Robert Fulton). I like all the political stuff and the presidential scandals and the religious stuff, but manufacturing makes me yawn. Plus, I had to learn about all this crap back in 8th grade. Granted, I like this class better, but STILL. AUGH.

We had a debate today in APUSH over whether or not Andrew was an accurate representative for the “common man”. I was on the negative side, because he so totally WASN’T.

Ack ack ack. Bad-ish day, I’m stressed beyond belief… ok, I’m going to go back to vocab cards.

Shawn, you’re getting deleted. I had hoped that you would be a little more committed to this and would actually put some effort into it. At least the FIRST FRICKING WEEK YOU HAD TO DO IT! Augh. I told you I wouldn’t miss you once astronomy ended. >:p

Posted in Music

You should be careful what you wish for!

Posted on by Bri

One thing I’ve noticed about music is that it’s really hard to imagine most people listening to it, unless they’re stereotypical indie types or boy-band loving preteens.

I remember once in middle school where I was once asked if I ever listened to music, not including Beethoven.

Ok, seriously? Do I really look like I listen to classical music? But since then, I’ve watched people closely (do I sound creepy enough yet?) and noticed the exact same thing. I can’t see any of these people listening to music. Even my friend Kelli (SROTS), who is a huge music lover that I’ve personally seen listening to music, and I STILL can’t see it. It’s so weird!

However, there are those people, like our new admin, Shawn, who I can definitely see kicking back with a retro cassette player listening to obscure bands that no one’s heard about. Shawn, like every other cliched (sorry, Shawn) indie rocker, is the kind of person who wears colorful, seizure-inducing graphic tee shirts and skinny jeans. He rocks the straight, shaggy blond hair that’s swept to the side over his eyes, the over-sized skater shoes, and the handmade beanies. (Has anyone else noticed this new trend… colorful hand made stocking caps? Or the fact that boys are learning to knit so they can make them themselves? No se…)

I can imagine Shawn rocking out on an actual guitar listening to bands like Run Kid Run, Metro Station, and INSERT NEEDLESSLY LONG OBSCURE INDIE BAND NAME HERE. Not to diss your music or your look, indie rockers, I like a lot of that stuff too. Red Jumpsuit Aparatus and Death Cab For Cutie are bands I regularly enjoy.

But really, can you actually imagine just some normal person listening to music? Everyone has their specific musical tastes, but not matter how much you understand that the cowgirl listens to country, can you actually imagine her, sitting in her room covered in pictures of her and her prize winning rodeo horses, rocking out to Keith Urban?

Posted in Music

Music that is so amazing it’s not even funny

Posted on by iridethelines

If you have never heard these songs… I have no words…

The Boxer
Simon & Garfunkel

Sound of Silence
Simon & Garfunkel

Stairway to Heaven
Led Zeppelin

Don’t Fear The Reaper
Blue Oyster Cult

Bohemian Rhapsody
Queen

American Pie
Don McLean

25 or 6 to 4
Chicago

Africa
ToTo

Eleanor Rigby
The Beatles

The Boy in the Bubble
Paul Simon

Pinball Wizard
The Who

Free Falling
Tom Petty

Joy to The World
Three Dog Night

Dylan Van Pelt
Stephen Kasica &the 06 XC Band

The Needle and the Damage Done
Neil Young

Intro/Walk on Water
Men Without Hats

Oh no… There are too many *cries*

Posted in Blog, Music

I’m just gonna say the railroad tracks

Posted on by Bri

I love newspaper class. I always get the controversial articles. The whole school is going to hate me by the end of the year.

So firstly, I’d like you all to welcome IRideTheLines, who has posted an introduction blog, and Cairo, who should be posting soon. New admins! Should I be worried that most of my admins are at least a year younger than me? Sigh.

So. Music. I got a Sansa dock this week. It’s where I plug in my Sansa e260 and it’s got speakers and I can hear my MP3 all over my room! Which is cool. But we had to update my MP3’s firmware, and it totally screwed up all my music. So now I can only listen to my playlist or specific albums. I can’t click “play all”. Luckily, most of the new music I have is on the playlist, so I just listen to that. I’m waiting for a day after school where I don’t have anything to do so I can take evrything off the MP3 and then put everything back on. This is going to take forever, and I have absolutely NO TIME.

Monday I had speech and debate after school, went home for ten minutes, and then went to training for a Kids Voting thing I’m volunteering for. I got home at seven and then ate dinner and did homework.

Tuesday I had speech and debate after school, went home and did homework for four hours.

Today I have a haircut right after school, then I go home to feed my animals, then I have about an hour to do my homework, then I get all fancied up to go to the Academic Awards Ceremony until about eight.

Tomorrow I have speech and debate after school, then I go home for about a half hour, then I leave to go volunteer until eight or eight thirty at that Kids Voting thing. Then I will do homework.

Friday I’m going to out school’s play at seven. And then I rest. Maybe Saturday.

Posted in Music

I am calling on you now

Posted on by Bri

So as many of you know, I went to homecoming last friday. Because this is a dance, of course, there was music. And because this was a high school dance, of course, the music was crappy.

No offense, Taylor, but really? They all sound the same. Here was our selection:

Rap
Save a horse, ride a cowboy
Rap
All Summer Long (I CAN’T STAND THIS SONG)
Rap
TNT
Rap
Shake It
Rap
Unidentifiable slow song
Rap
Baby Got Back
Rap
Cotton Eye Joe
Rap
Unidentifiable slow song
Rap
Rap
Rap
Unidentifiable Slow Song
Rap
Rap
Rap
Rap

…you get the picture. Of course, I danced to most of them, unless I was out in the courtyard because it was so hot inside the gym. But did I actually enjoy the music? Not so much. I sang along to Shake It and TNT. I enjoyed those songs. Then I just lapsed into mechanical teen-dancing, which consists of shaking your hips and flailing your arms.

Ok, I did actually have fun. Just because the music stank like a trout that your cousin hid under your couch three weeks ago, doesn’t mean that the company was lacking. Or some of it. Most of the people that filled up the tiny little gym were not the people I typically enjoyed conversing with, but we had our own little group of about seven people, so it was all good.

Posted in Music

Making a memory

Posted on by Bri

Usher is doing an all ladies tour. “What better way to get up close and personal than to make it all women?”

Apparently, the 29 year old rapper believes that his new CD is very intimate, and in order to get closer to his audience, he thought an all-woman tour would be a good idea. Which seems weird, but hey, it’s Usher. No offense. (Take it. Take offense! Yell at me!)

But the intimacy issue isn’t the only pro of the tour. “The ladies like to see that masculine build,” he said. “They question if I still got it.” So apparently Usher is also questioning his masculinity and wants to be reassured by thousands of woman that he’s attractive, all at the same time. Yeah, read that again. Usher has masculinity issues. So he’s going on an all woman tour. Hm.

He also re-hired his mother as his manager, which suggests that he has fired her before. I’m sorry, but that just made me laugh. almost as hard as the masculinity issues.

When I’m a rock star (yeah, you know it’s coming), I’m gonna go on an all-man tour. and then sing about female issues like periods and childbirth so men and women can get “closer”. It’s like those videos they showed in fifth grade, how they separated the boys and girls and taught them about the other gender and sex. It’ll be like that, except more graphic and not as much about sex since most grown men know what that is.

If you would buy a ticket to my all man concert (ladies, I expect to see you trying to get in with fake beards), let me know and I’ll start scheduling my tour. (I think I’ll start in Greece and make my way around Germany….)

Posted in Music

Life fills in my veins

Posted on by Bri

 

     I’m reviewing Panic’s second album, Pretty. Odd. And I have to say, I’m disappointed. Their debut album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, was incredible. Each song had it’s own personality, a good beat, interesting lyrics, and an upbeat and electric sound. Pretty. Odd., however, is much more mellow.

    I’ll give them credit for trying new things, and some of the songs were pretty decent, like Nine In The Afternoon, When The Day Met The Night, and That Green Gentleman. But overall, I was looking for their previous, punk/techno/orchestra/alternative sound, and I didn’t get it.

    One thing I found interesting was how the band traded instruments for some of the songs, and one or two Ryan, a guitarist, sand instead of Brendan, the regular lead singer. It was interesting, and brave, but next time I’ll be a little more wary of their music. Who knows what they’ll do next?

    Sounds like: Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, The Academy Is

    Best Track: When The Day Met The Night

 

Sorry for the late post tonight.

Posted in Music

Stop this train!

Posted on by Bri


Cartel

    My favorite new band. Well, New to me. It irks me how I haven’t heard about this band until now. I have yet to buy their first album (*edit* I bought their first album and it’s just as amazing!!), so this review is on their second, self titled one.

    This is probably my favorite CD ever, because it’s so diverse and I love each song differently. Again, it’s half because of the lyrics. From Wasted, “It’s two forty five the baby takes his first breath/ the mother never knew he only had a few left”. Lose It “She’s coming back around, there she sees me, oh my God, this is who I’ve been”. If I Were To Write A Song “If I were to write a song/ that could penetrate your ears”.

    That last track, If I Were To Write A Song, is nine minutes long. It made me laugh when I noticed that. The funny thing is that it’s almost like two separate songs, because half way through,  it completely rearranges the beat and background sound. I like it.

Sounds Like: All American Rejects, Boys Like Girls, Run Kid Run

Best Track: Wasted (Original mix)

Posted in Music

It takes some bad for satisfaction

Posted on by Bri

Yes, everyone, you can go yell and pound your meaty fists in anger, because this week’s music blog is about the Jonas Brothers. Get over it.

I was gonna post my Cartel CD review, but since the Jo Bros new album came out yesterday, I thought I’d do a little something for them.

I do not care if you don’t like them. I like their music, but that’s another story. I’m not writing this blog so you will go out and buy all their CDs. (but if you do, buy the new one. One of the things I love about them is that their albums get better each time another comes out. Not like Panic At The Disco… but that’s another story) I am writing this blog to tell you not to hate them, and give you reasons so you can at least respect them.

Yeah, you heard me, respect the Jo Bros, yo. (Couldn’t help myself, sorry) Here are some of the things people hate most of them:

1. They associate with Disney Channel and have made a movie with them. Uh, can you spell BRILLIANT? I mean, really, what better way to sell your music than get it promoted by Disney? They’re one of the biggest corporations in the world, and they reach kids from the age of three to teenagers (ok, some teens). Even if you don’t watch Disney, you’ve heard of JB through them somehow. Don’t make cracks at JB for doing stuff with Disney, it’s a fairly wholesome operation to belong to, and it gets the word out about them. Actually, that’s how I heard about them. I was bored and there was nothing on TV so I was watching some mindless show on Disney, when their commercials came on. One of said commercials was a music video from these extremely cute teenage boys singing a remake for “Poor, Unfortunate Souls”. I liked it so much, I looked them up, and when their first album came out, I bought it.

2. People think they’re the masculine version of Miley Cyrus. Ugh. Don’t even. For one, Miley Cyrus doesn’t even write her own songs. Maybe she writes one here or there, but for the most part, she sings other people’s words. JB? They write ALL their own music and lyrics. And they also don’t just get onstage and sing like most “boy bands”. They actually play instruments. So maybe the lead singer doesn’t generally play onstage, but like his talented brothers, he plays guitar and piano and some drums. Yes, I said TALENTED. How many people play three to five instruments, write their own music and lyrics, and can actually get somewhere with it?

3. Image. They are probably the most wholesome teenage stars out there right now, or at least tied for first. Have they taken half naked pictures in Vogue? (For the record, it wasn’t that bad. The whole mess was blown out of proportion, but whatever) Have they been caught drinking and driving? Have they been caught doing ANYTHING that would be seen as unseemly? The bigest scandal they’ve been involved in was “Is Nick Dating Miley???” I mean, really. Gotta give them some credit for that.

4. Music. If you don’t like them, remember, I don’t go yelling how YOUR bands suck. Look, music is about opinion and personal taste. I don’t care if they sound like nails on a chalboard to you. I like them. Move on. Grow up.

 

I’ll stop talking now, but think about that. Their new CD, A Little Bit Longer, came out yesterday, and in my opinion, it is excellent.