2 bands in 1 blog

This week we listened to a little bit of Simon and Garfunkel and The Mamas & The Papas.  I actually really enjoyed Simon and Garfunkel.  A song that I liked the most, to the point I took out my phone to Shazam was Homeward Bound. Coming out in 1966 surprises me because it sounds like a song that could possibly be played on 93.3 today. The way the music was layed out was pretty interesting.  It starts out pretty slow but once it hits the chorus, it speeds up.  Their voices are pure and you can tell what each word that they are saying is unlike Frank Zappa.... not even going there on this blog. I think I will continue listening to them!

The Mamas & The Papas is a band I've know for as far back as I can remember.  But for some reason the only song I know from the first word to the last is California Dreaming. When I was little I used to sing this song all the time but I remember only singing the background voices- 'All the leaves are brown' (all the leaves are brown) 'And the sky is grey' (and the sky is grey). I listened to the song so much, the lyrics just come naturally whenever I hear the song! I look forward to hearing more of their music!

Passion Pit?

A band I've started to really like is Passion Pit. The reason I put it with a question mark is because it's a band I never would of expected to like or would even care to listen too! The lead singer Michael Angelakos started off just writing a song for his girlfriend for valentines day and somehow it wound up in the hand of his friends, who then spread it around. His voice is so unique and also very soothing for being classified under electropop.  My favorite song, as of now, is probably 'Take A Walk'.  Just the first 5 seconds gets me  automatically hooked. I only know the chorus (yes, it's very repetitive) but even though I don't know the lyrics, the background beat itself keeps me listening to the song! Another good song by them is 'Little Secrets'. Ill post both videos below! 


It has a pretty long intro but you'll know when the part that gets me hooked starts playing! (:35).

Here is Little Secrets! His voice and style of music is a little different in this one. 

The Beach Boys

This week in class we listened to the Beach Boys.  3 songs come to mind when I hear that name... Kokomo,  Surfin' USA, and Fun, Fun Fun, all thanks to Davis Elementary.  Our physical education teacher must of had some obsession with them because we had those 3 songs played about a thousand times each year!  Getting to listen to more than just those 3 songs was pretty interesting.  I found myself comparing all the slower songs we listened to in class to the 3 I mentioned above, only because I don't know any other ones! I enjoyed the song 'Wouldn't It Be Nice'. When I first heard it in class, I just immediately pictured a scene in my head of it being the last day of school and you are just driving off to where ever you want too! Pretty weird! Another song I liked on the album, which you said they originally didn't want on the album, is Sloop John B. The Beach Boys have amazing harmonies and it shows it in all of their songs!  I look forward to what else we listen to by them!

Skyfall

A new song that I recently got attached to is Skyfall by Adele. This song is for the new James Bond movie coming out.  It is extremely slow but you kind of forget the pace of the song because the lyrics just pull you in. The first line is "This is the end, hold your breath and count to 10". Just those 11 words alone make you want more; it makes you want to know what she is talking about and that right there is an amazing quality to add to songs. Her vocals really stand out and to this day I believe she has the best voice in her genre of music, maybe even out of everyone, no doubt. Like I said in my last blog about her, she is 'strong and powerful yet soft and soothing'.

Here is the song!

T-Swift

So I'm pretty sure you aren't a fan of Taylor Swift and in a way, neither am I.  I can't stand how she is classified as "Country" when she is clearly pop. But what she has done this month so far has been pretty cool.  Her new album comes out October 22 and starting 3 weeks ago, she has been releasing a new single each week from that album. Most of her songs are about the boy she was with and how it ended badly, and after 3 of those kinds of songs, yes it gets annoying.  But for some reason, these 3 songs she has recently released, you know.. I kinda like them! I'm sure you've heard of "We Are Never Getting Back Together" all the time on the radio.  Most people have gotten tired of it already but I haven't.  The two most recent songs she's released is Red and I Knew You Were Trouble. Red is one of those songs you can listen to whenever and wherever. I Knew You Were Trouble is probably my favorite song right now.  Mainly because its very different from the rest of her music, such as, there being a base drop in the chorus and the song is faster than the others. It's really catchy and addicting! Here it is:

ACL 2012

This year I did not go to ACL and I'm kinda glad I didn't.  We watched some of the bands performing live in class today and I was not all that impressed.  Mr. A was commenting on how he has no idea how some of these bands even made it to where they are and I couldn't agree more.  It's kinda like they went around and put a band together last minute to perform.  I did like the actual music playing in the background, but those obnoxious voices some of the bands had, I just couldn't deal with it. I do plan on watching Florence and the Machine tonight at home around 7:30 live for a little bit.  If I would of gone to ACL, they probably would of been the only band I would of gone to and there's no way I would of payed for one band.  Maybe next year with ACL being two weekends, there will be a better line-up to get more people to go and to make more money! We will see!

Ayyyy Sexy Lady!

I'm sure you have gotten A LOT of blogs about this but this is just too good to ignore. First time I heard Gangman Style, I was at swim practice for Anderson and everyone was talking about it and when we got to school first period, we looked up the music video. One word...what? I hated it when I first heard it but I am embarrassed to say it has grown on me. Our team has learned the dance and it gets us pumped up for swim meets. Given we have a Korean on the team, he has been bugged with questions from us asking what this song even means! He said it really doesn't mean anything.  I have a personal goal to learn this song (which will probably never happen) but the only part I know is "ayyyy sexy lady". Why those were the english words to be chosen to be put in the song, yeah I don't know but I feel like they help the song in a way! This video on youtube has hit nearly 378 million views, he was on Ellen. Its just mind blowing and it kinda makes you question what people actually like to listen too!

Help! I need somebody

 *Fun Fact: 50 years ago, on this exact date, the Beatles released their first single "Love Me Do"(10/05/62)* 

In class this week we watched the movie "Help" which was pretty interesting.  There were parts that were pretty funny but as Mr. A said, if you didn't listen closely, you wouldn't understand the British humor. The movies to me was very confusing just because I feel like it didn't make sense.  It was all over the place and I feel like this movie helped them become more popular and that was the whole purpose of putting it out there.  I also liked how it would start songs in the movie, like at one point it started playing the tune of Norwegian  Wood, or in the beginning, how it started off the song Help. Speaking of Help, I love that song! I think it was a great way to start off their album. If I were to hear that song first, I definitely would of looked more into the album than just that one song!