80's Hip Hop

In class we talked about if we liked watching videos on YouTube versus listening to a whole album.  I would have to go with watching the videos for the visual reasoning and I find it more entertaining. I like to see how they dressed in the 80's and see the way their fans acted towards their music. I knew some of the songs we listened to such as Rappers Delight and Apache (Jump On It) by the Sugar Hill Gang. (Who I have seen in concert). Although I liked some of the music, I don't think I would have enjoyed music in the 80's as a whole!

Paul Simon

I really enjoyed Paul Simon's Graceland album! I didn't think any of the songs sounded the same and I thought the lyrics were well written. One of my favorite songs on it was "You Can Call Me Al". The chorus was catchy as well as the beat and it stood out for me from the rest! I also really enjoyed the song Homeless. Adding Ladysmith Black Mambazo, I feel, made the songs 100x better. I look forward to hearing more of Paul Simon!!

Birdy

This artist is from the UK and has become one of my favorites really fast.  She is 16 but you would never guess that if you just heard her voice. It is absolutely amazing. She did a cover of Bon Iver's "Skinny Love" that I've known for awhile and I fall in love with it more and more every time I listen to it. Her voice is so soothing and peaceful that it's hard not to like it.  I came across another song of hers a couple days ago called "People Help The People". I really like the chorus-

People help the people
And if you're homesick, give me your hand and I'll hold it
People help the people
And nothing will drag you down
Oh and if I had a brain, Oh and if I had a brain
I'd be cold as a stone and rich as the fool
That turned all those good hearts away

Here is Skinny Love--

And People Help The People--

Thriller

I really really enjoyed listening to this album in class this week.  I have never been a huge fan of Michael Jackson but I think it's because I never really gave him a shot.  Listening to the album in class, changed my mind.  I think the first song "Wanna Be Startin Something" was a really good song to start off the album. It was upbeat and catchy (like most of his songs are).  The next two songs "Baby Be Mine" and "The Girl Is Mine" were definitely not my favorite.  The next three songs were, I feel, the best three songs to be put next to each other in an album.  Starting with "Thriller", "Beat It", then "Billie Jean", you couldn't get better than that!

P!NK

I have never been a huge fan of P!nk but her new song she released with Nate Ruess called "Just Give Me A Reason" is really really good. It's a new style for P!nk and I think their voices go together perfectly. She has a really good voice and I think this song really allows her voice to do what it can- be perfect.  The lyrics are absolutely amazing and the chorus is very catchy.  The chorus is:

Just give me a reason
Just a little bit's enough
Just a second we're not broken just bent
And we can learn to love again
It's in the stars
It's been written in the scars on our hearts
We're not broken just bent
And we can learn to love again

I don't the chorus could have been written any better.

Here is the music video for Just Give Me A Reason!! Enjoy!

 

Elvis Costello

I actually really enjoyed Elvis Costello's album My Aim Is True.  I thought all of the songs were really catchy and had pretty good lyrics.  He is very smooth with his lyrics.  If you were to listen to the song without looking at lyrics you wouldn't pick up the same meaning as if you were listening to the song with lyrics.  I felt that none of the songs sounded the same and right when I got home, I listened to some of them again.  One of my favorites was the first song on the album- Welcome To the Working Week.  I thought it was a great way to start off the album.  It was upbeat and definitely made me want to listen to more... I look forward to listening to more of Elvis Costello.