11/30/12 /  by E

"Lazy Bones" Green Day
"Where Will We Go" Iamdynamite
"Red Hands" Walk Off the Earth (this song is "restricted in playlists" or something like that; but it's still amazing.)
"Beta Love" Ra Ra Riot
"Sleep Alone" Two Door Cinema Club
"Overrated" Mika
"Time Bomb (Walk Away)" Chris Wallace
"Give Me Love" Ed Sheeran
"The Falling" Eli Young Band
"Gone, Gone, Gone" Phillip Phillips
"D Train (Broke My Heart)" Momma Holler
"The Last Time" Taylor Swift featuring Gary Lightbody
"C'mon" Ke$ha
"Young Girls" Bruno Mars
- E

Chris Wallace /  by E

       I wrote a really short tidbit about Chris Wallace the other day, but he deserves to have a more in depth post. He's from a small town in Indiana and says that that small town mentality is the reason he is able to sing so loudly and set such high career goals for himself. He was a guitarist when he began his first band (Quad Four) as a teenager, but then took the role of lead singer and never gave up that spotlight. After establishing his role as a lead singer, he uploaded a song ("Allow Me to Introduce Myself... Mr. Right") to his MySpace page where he was discovered by a music scout. 
       At this point, he left Hebron, Indiana for New York where he became the lead singer of The White Tie Affair. That band was successful, making it onto the Top 20 with their song "Candle (Sick and Tired)" (written by Wallace), as well as touring with Lady Gaga, Secondhand Serenade, Innerpartysystem, and Metro Station, as well as Stereo Skyline and Runner Runner when they went on their first headlining tour. After the success of their first album, Walk This Way, the band's label insisted that the members begin working with the songwriters and producers which the label had chosen, rather than allowing the band to continue making their own music. Wallace wanted to continue making his own music though and announced (in May 2012) that he would be beginning his solo career (the band later announced that they had broken up in June 2012).
       Wallace's solo career has all the possibility of taking off, simply because he has that likability factor and the great stage presence which are so necessary in creating a star; he just draws attention, it's as simple as that. Plus, he is just mature enough that his lyrics will go over the heads of that teenybopper group and he will be able to create a fan base that is composed of, generally, early to late twenty year old's (mostly female, of course, but what else would you expect from an artist like this), and that age group is easier to grow with, musically, than those teenage fans.
       Wallace writes his own music, so it has to be true to him to be created, and honest lyrics from the musician who felt them are better than any lyrics written by a songwriter for another artist (when an artist sings a song they did not write, even if they have felt these emotions, they are still just mimicking someone else's expressions of that feeling). Though this album does sound, superficially, as if it is just another pop/dance album that has been churned out by the big record exec's, when you listen to it, you can hear how truly great the lyrics are (listen to "I'll Be There," "Don't Mind If I Do," or "Keep Me Crazy" [or any song on the album, Push Rewind]). The composition is not just another pop anthem soundtrack either though; when you start to listen to it, you can hear that it has been played around with just enough that it has that electronic signature that is so satisfying to hear (and the sound tones itself down throughout the album, incorporating a lot more piano and back beats than flat out dance beats as it progresses). Also, there is nothing I hate more than when an artist is drowned out by their own music (it makes me think that their voice just is not that good), but even when those beats swell, you can still hear Wallace's voice coming out above them (he makes it obvious that his vocals are good). 
       Even in songs like "Best Mistake" where he sounds like he's slipping a little towards a boy band sound, he pulls himself back into the realm of a great artist by keeping those lyrics pure and following it up with "I'll Be There" and "Time Bomb (Walk Away)" (which is reminiscent of "Keep Me Crazy" because both are really great dance songs, yet the lyrics ring so true that it just becomes a good song on its own, regardless of the dance beats pulsing through the track). "Invincible" may be cheesy, but that does not mean that it cannot be written greatly (and honestly) and make people feel good, and "Hurricane" is just altogether great (get past the dance beats and listen to the lyrics). "Don't Mind If I Do" is this weird, great mix of jazz and dance, while "Ready To Fall" breaks up the pop album with a composition created by piano, strings, and Wallace's clean voice, and "Do It All Again" closes the album by pulling that dance sound back in, put keeping it just low key enough that it's easy to focus on the really great lyrics Wallace so easily manipulates. Of course, there's "Remember When (Push Rewind)", and I may never grow tired of this song; it gets better the more you listen to the song and the more you focus on those lyrics. 
       This guy puts his heart into his music and he's kind of awesome so, if you like him, make sure to share his music and talk him up so that this is not the last you hear from him.
- E

Samples and Covers /  by E

       After hearing how Willie Nelson completely butchered "The Scientist" (but maybe that's just because I truly abhor Nelson's voice and Coldplay will always be better than him), I began thinking about all of the truly great songs that have been created, then ruined by awful covers. That's a little depressing though, so why not focus on the positive and talk about the best covers of some great songs? Sampling is just as important once you begin discussing covers, because they run along that same sort of line; both are taking something from a former song or artist and using it to create something that is even better. Who has not heard a song and thought, "Gosh, I wish I had written that"? Doing a cover or taking a sample of a song just shows that the covering artist respected the song or the original artist's composition; it's kind of a great compliment.
       One of the best examples of the thin line between sampling, covering, and supposed stealing, is "Bitter Sweet Symphony". It's an amazing song by a great band (The Verve) and, though they have received no royalties from the song's success, they still continued to perform the song and it became the song which the band is most recognized for. They are said to have sampled 'too much' from "The Last Time" by The Rolling Stones and had to give credit for their song to Jagger and Richards. Ashcroft (The Verve) later did a live performance where he stripped the orchestral sound and stated that, even without those sampled bars, the song is still great; and it is, the lyrics and melody are fantastic.
       I love Jason Derulo. Really, I love any artist I have ever had to write a paper on because, the more you know, the more you like them (usually). He's a great song writer and just a nice guy and, even though "Whatcha Say" does not have the best meaning (he's basically telling a girl that she should forgive him for cheating because, one day, he'll be rich and famous and it will be worth having stayed with him...), but the lyrics are put together greatly and he did manage to bring a song ("Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap) that had become nearly dormant, after its early success in 2005, back to the spotlight. The fact that he took a song that is so very far removed from his pop genre and mixed it perfectly with these lyrics is amazing and something which he should be praised for; you have to know, and like, the song to get to the part of the lyrics which Derulo samples.
       "Addicted to Love" was a great hit by Robert Palmer, but Florence + the Machine did a great job with the song and kept it pretty close to its original composition, changing it only slightly from its rock sound to keep with the alternative sound the band has become known for.
       Ellie Goulding did an amazing job with Elton John's "Your Song" and I actually prefer her version over Elton John's, though that sounds slightly blasphemous, so we can call it a tie between Goulding's cover and John's original. The fact remains, no matter how great her cover is, Elton John is still the one who wrote and composed this perfectly beautiful song; he gets all the credit for whatever amazing music is created from, or with, this song.
       "Suspended In Gaffa" by Kate Bush has truly amazing lyrics and, it may just be because I am a Ra Ra Riot fan, but if anyone could take a song that amazing and make it better, it would be them, and I much prefer their cover version (which does stick close to that original composition) over Bush's original.
       "Sing For The Moment" by Eminem is the only song that could successfully sample such an iconic Aerosmith song and do it ("Dream On") justice.
       "I Cry" is great and Flo Rida has not been given as much credit for this song as he should; the song does a great job of sampling "Cry (Just a Little)" by Bingo Players' (a song which sampled "Piano in the Dark" by Brenda Russel). Also, lay off Flo Rida; "Cry (Just a Little)" was more than pointless before he turned it into something great.
       Sons of Admirals did a really great cover (back when they were still together; oh, finicky bands...) of "Here Comes My Baby," incorporating the composition from Cat Steven's original version with the upbeat vocals in The Tremeloes cover version. It's a perfect mixture of the two versions, with just enough of the band's unique sound mixed in (the band was cool, because the members have all done work on their own and came together to create more exposure for the member's work). If you like Sons of Admirals, check out Alex Day (his music is really great and I only found him, and every subsequent band in this paragraph, because Kristina Horner [ALL CAPS] did a song about him), Tom Milsom, Charlie McDonnell, Ed Blann, Chameleon Circuit, or Chartjackers (though this was a project that featured no composition nor lyrical work by Day or McDonnell, it's just a cute fun song for a good cause).
       Ratham Stone's cover of "Everybody Talks" is actually more fun to listen to sometimes because it does feature a female vocal and, if the Neon Trees were missing anything in their original composition, it was that female component that works so perfectly into a song like this. Neon Trees are awesome though, and the original still beats the cover, but Ratham Stone does do one of the best live covers of "Pumped Up Kicks" that I have heard (and that's a lot (almost too much), because every 'undiscovered band' seemed to latch onto that song this past summer). Ratham Stone (and Neon Trees) is just fun to see live though; if they get famous it will be, in part, due to the energy which they exude on stage.
       No band can perform a live cover of a classic by The Cranberries like Passion Pit in a hazy club though. Despite my new(ish) feelings on the band, the first time I saw "Dreams" performed live, it was great; the band did an amazing job with the cover and may be the only current band who could do so, so flawlessly.
       Travie McCoy's "We'll Be Alright" samples Supergrass's "Alright" and it's great. It was later covered by Bruno Mars, though Bruno Mars helped to write the song, so I'm not sure how much this would be considered a cover and how much is just Mar's rights to record himself singing along to the song (which is basically all the cover is anyways. And I do really like Bruno Mars, as you can tell from this, I just like Travie McCoy so much more). Also, Mars version was not, and could never, be better than Travie McCoy's because he will never be that cool; Travie McCoy is kind of awesome.
       "Cheers (Drink to That)" by Rihanna used a sample from "I'm With You" by Avril Lavigne, though the backing vocals were sung by L.P. so, basically, Rihanna sampled a song that was then covered during the song. Besides the fact that the song simultaneously includes a sample and a cover, it also has one of the best covers by a band: Walk off the Earth. If you're looking for musical ability versus a catchy drinking/party song, go for Walk off the Earth. This band is the king of covers (though they have fantastic original songs), simply because the vocal and instrumental abilities of their members are so amazing; calling their version the best cover may not be fair as they are so great and I'm kind of biased (Walk off the Earth is better than Rihanna, in my opinion), but it is a really great cover.
- E

Warrior Preview /  by E

       Sometime yesterday, iTunes began offering a free listening of Ke$ha's new album Warrior (to be released next week) for a short period of time and I am only more excited for its release now. The entire album is great and Warrior sounds like it is better than both of her previous albums combined. Despite what people may have previously thought, Ke$ha has made it clear, on this album, that she does have a good singing voice (without the help of autotune) and that she is a good song-writer; and that she's kind of awesome. This album sounds amazing, so get Warrior on December 4th because now I can say, with confidence, that it will be worth it. 
       Full length singles which have already been released from this album: "Only Wanna Dance With You", "C'mon", and, of course, "Die Young".
- E