11/30/12

"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

       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.

https://www.facebook.com/ChrisWallaceMusic

http://chriswallacemusic.com/

- E

Samples and Covers

       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

       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

Ra Ra Riot

       Ra Ra Riot formed in 2006 in Syracuse as an indie rock band. Currently, the band consists of Wes Miles, Milo Bonacci, Rebecca Zeller, Mathieu Santos, and Kenny Bernard. They have toured with great bands like Art Brut, Editors, and Tokyo Police Club, as well as completing two tours in the UK and two headlining tours in the US. They have released two albums, The Rhumb Line (2008) and The Orchard (2010), and they are currently working on their third album, Beta Love, set to be released January 22, 2013. This band is great in every way and, despite a strong fan base (small, but strong, much like Tokyo Police Club and Sleeperstar), the band is still not famous; the fact that a band like Of Monsters and Men or Band of Horses could become famous before Ra Ra Riot is slightly ridiculous (and both Of Monsters and Men and Band of Horses are great bands, but Ra Ra Riot is just better).

       Shortly after I was getting interested in music again (see here), my oldest sister introduced me to this band; they are amazing. Their sound is just so pure and the music itself is almost cleansing. Most music attaches itself to you in one way or another, whether it's Ke$ha and wakes you up or makes you excited, or Death Cab for Cutie and depresses you, or your favorite band that just makes you happy, but Ra Ra Riot seems completely adept at creating songs that spew truth and emotions that wash over the listener and leave them feeling good. Not excited or sad or happy, but just good; their music is like a detox for your soul. There is not a lot of music, nor bands, who are able to make you feel perfectly at peace with just a few songs, which is why Ra Ra Riot is so great.

       There is not a single song on their first album (The Rhumb Line) that is bad; it is one of the few albums where saying "each song is better than the last" is more a factual statement than a common phrase. That is truly saying something, because "Dying Is Fine" is, to me, perfection, but I am willing to accept the fact that every song after it on the album ("Can You Tell," "Too Too Fast," "Oh, La," "Suspended In Gaffa," and "Run My Mouth") is just as great and that the compositions and lyrics do get better as the album progresses. All of the lyrics are written so beautifully and the compositions are put together perfectly to match those lyrics and Wes Miles delivers each line with so much emotion that it's easy to get caught up in the music. Of course, just because the album becomes progressively better does not mean that the first few songs are not as good. This is a band whose music begins as something amazing, and only grows from there. "Ghost Under Rocks" is just amazing, "St. Peter's Day Festival" has great guitar and violin riffs, and "Winter '05" and "Each Year" are both fantastic. I could describe every song on this album as "perfect" in one way or another, but the only way to truly realize how great the band and their album are is to just listen to it.

       Their second album, The Orchard, came out just as perfectly as the first and shows just how much the band has matured, composition wise and lyrically. You can hear those sharper sounds in the violins and the more ominous tone of the drums because the album is less starstruck and expectant while being more realistic, but it is still a cleansing relief from everything else. "Boy" actually did garner some attention for the band when it was used in a commercial, but that does not lessen the greatness of the song. While "The Orchard" is a truly great song and, again, my favorite song(s) is not at the end of the album, the album, yet again, gets better as it progresses. "Too Dramatic" is just an amazing song and I can never get enough of it, but every song after it gets better, and "Shadowcasting" is just one example of how much better the album becomes as it progresses and the lyrics and compositions from the band grow and become more thoughtful, intricate, and wonderful. "Foolish" and "Massachusetts" may be ignored because they are placed in the middle of the album, but they are just as wonderfully put together as the other songs and, like every Ra Ra Riot song, just get better the more you listen to them. "You and I Know" is one of the few songs which features their female vocalist, and that is the only way the song could have sounded as great as it does. "Do You Remember" and "Kansai" sound just as perfect as any other Ra Ra Riot song filled with meaningful lyrics and perfect compositions. "Keep It Quiet" is amazing; it's just pure Ra Ra Riot and pure perfection. There is nothing better than the closing song on a Ra Ra Riot album, because it is always the absolute best which the band has to offer from that album. "Keep It Quiet" has a composition which does just that and emotions which are so clearly defined with expertly written lyrics and a vocalist who does an amazing job of portraying all these feelings. 

       Every band grows up between albums and Ra Ra Riot shows how to do so flawlessly. I cannot wait for their third album to be released and every time I listen to "Beta Love" I get a little more excited for January 22nd.

http://www.rarariot.com/

https://twitter.com/rarariot

https://www.facebook.com/rarariot

- E

"Remember When"

       I've been neglecting this site, and my readers, and I apologize. Excuses are worthless and the list has grown too long to put into words which are not considered vulgar in English vernacular anyways. With that aside, enjoy this while I try to come up with some new posts for you guys. The composition is catchy, the lyrics are easy to sing, and Wallace has a face and sound that are easy to sell. Plus, if you can look past that electronic beat and pop sound, the song is actually good; it may not sound deep, but if you listen to all the lyrics, it's actually kind of great. Enjoy this now, because it will be famous soon and you'll get sick of hearing it on the radio all the time.

       "Remember When (Push Rewind)" Chris Wallace

- E

"Killer Queen"

Only one example of how truly amazing Freddie Mercury was.

- E

Nostalgia

       I grew up listening to my parents' radios blasting the 'oldies' and a lot of classic rock and country. Every now and then it's kind of nice to listen to this type of music again because they are all great. When these songs were produced, there was no autotune and the composition always sounded full and rich; there's a reason they are so easy to listen to and that they are considered "classics". 

"I Want You Back" The Jackson 5

"Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)" Looking Glass

"Your Song" Elton John

"Addicted to Love" Robert Palmer

"Cold As Ice" Foreigner

"Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch" The Four Tops

"Only The Good Die Young" Billy Joel

"Any Way You Want It" Journey

"No Sleep Till Brooklyn" Beastie Boys

"Hotel California" The Eagles

"Fire And Rain" James Taylor

"Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)" Jim Croce

"Small Town" John Mellencamp

"Man In Black" Johnny Cash

"Everyday" Buddy Holly

"Wouldn't It Be Nice" Beach Boys

"I'm Into Something Good" Herman's Hermits

"Eleanor Rigby" The Beatles

"Mr. Blue Sky" Electric Light Orchestra

"Bohemian Rhapsody" Queen

- E

Genre Confusion

       Every person has their favorite genre of music, and most cling to one genre in particular. When I went to school in 'the south', the two main music options on that campus were country and rap. Both genres are fine by me, my earliest memories are backed by a soundtrack composed of The Statler Brothers or Garth Brooks and Eli Young Band has been growing on me; at the same time, Lupe Fiasco may not rap as quickly as others, but I still cannot help but like him, and Eminem is the best artist. During this time, I also claimed that Taylor Swift was not country and that I did not care for her, even though her new album, Red, shows that Swift has been working towards becoming a country artist (and I truly like listening to Swifty's music, but you don't tell a cute southern guy that you prefer Taylor Swift over something by Blake Shelton or Big and Rich; it's just not smart).

       Once you grab onto a genre and hold onto it like a vise, you cut yourself off from listening to a lot of good music. For most of my high school years, I listened only to alternative music and convinced myself that I wanted to listen to The New Pornographers, BRAHMS, or The Bridges more than I wanted to listen to Ke$ha. Her music is amazing though and she does not get half the credit she deserves. She is better than BRAHMS (they're one of those bands that's just better live) and we can just call it a tie between The New Pornographers, The Bridges, and Ke$ha; I cannot compare them objectively.

       As difficult as it is to admit, I really do like Selena Gomez, and I have absolutely no (acceptable) explanation for this. Her music is just catchy, it's great to play on the highway (especially after that one AM mark), and I might like "Hit the Lights" more than I would care to admit. At the same time that this former Disney star continues to resurface in my playlists, I can never get enough of Eminem. The reason why Eminem is (and always will be) better than any other rapper, is because he does not worry about impressing his fans and his lyrics are becoming more mature and honest with each album. Even artists like Wiz Khalifa and Rick Ross sound like they're trying a little too hard to get attention from their fans sometimes, while Eminem just lays it all out there for you, unabashedly, sharing his deepest emotions. "Difficult", "You're Never Over," or even the slightly commercialized "Not Afraid" have these raw emotions that are overlaid with stories and memories that do a better job of explaining his feelings, and evoking those feelings in his listeners, than any two line lyric filled with four types of symbolism ever could.

       Lady Gaga is this huge worldwide phenomenon and everyone and their mother (literally) likes her. I cannot stand her but, despite my personal feelings, there was a time when I listened to songs like "LoveGame" rather than Lady Danville or ALL CAPS just because it was the popular music to listen to. Most of her songs have meaningless lyrics and are just not as great as her devoted fans seem to think they are; I can see how it would be easy to get hooked on her, but I just can't (get hooked).

       Arcade Fire is supposed to be the epitome of alternative music and, for a while, I really tried to like them, but they only have one song which I can listen to in full. The same thing happened with The Black Keys; I really wanted to like them, but I just could not. Instead, listen to Ra Ra Riot. They are just as great an archetype of the alternative genre as these other bands and, in my opinion, so much better. Their albums just keep getting better too; The Rhumb Line was the best alternative album, until The Orchard was released. Once you find a genre you love, do not get hooked on the most popular band in that genre, because you may end up missing out on great bands that give amazing performances.

       There was a time when I thought Third Eye Blind was amazing, then I saw them live. Now, I would much rather listen to Pitbull; he is so awesome live. Seriously, I did not even notice I had heat stroke until my friend asked, "how are you not sweating right now," because his stage presence, and appreciation for his fans, is so great that you just get sucked into the performance. They are at two completely different ends of the genre spectrum, but Pitbull is, by leaps and bounds, a better choice than Third Eye Blind.

       No matter which genre you proclaim is your favorite, everyone has that one artist or band that they will cross the genre lines for. Rap and country are so closely intertwined (both are rooted in story telling, based on personal experiences), while rock, pop, and alternative all share the same concepts (back beats and verse and refrain structures) that no one can fall in love, and listen to, one sole genre. Try listening to everything you're presented with; just because you have a softness for ABBA, does not mean that you cannot fall for Foxy Shazam.

- E

Thanksgiving

       Thanksgiving really is the most stressful time of the year. There's yelling over the phone, long lines at the grocery store, frenzied plans, last minute invites extended to those with no plans of their own, dogs knocking people laden with dishes over and putting their paws on the counters; then, after it's all done, there is a huge mess, enough food left over to feed five families, and resentments that have been forgotten just long enough to get you through Christmas with these people (where it will begin all over again). I just cannot wait to sit through a meal with a grandmother who thinks I am a lesbian because she was married with two kids by the time she was my age and a grandfather who believes the answer to my current car's unreliability is to buy a bright purple van sporting orange flames (I am positive it was designed by a pedophile on acid).

       I love the holidays. At least I can leave the mayhem early... to go to work. I despise any customer who comes into the store after two in the morning on Black Friday. Who wants to buy high-priced women's fashion at three in the morning; a 'half price' deal is not an actual deal if you are still paying forty dollars for a shirt.

       This playlist (and coffee) will get me through until I can collapse for a few hours Friday afternoon.

"Take Me Out" Franz Ferdinand

"Crazy" Gnarls Barkely

"The Only Way to My Heart" Foxy Shazam

"It's a War" New Medicine

"You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" The Offspring

"Old White Lincoln" The Gaslight Anthem

"Remember When (Push Rewind)" Chris Wallace

"C'mon" Ke$ha

"1996" The Wombats

"21 Forever" Punchline

"Young Girls" Bruno Mars

"Where Will We Go" IAMDYNAMITE

"Robbie Robertson" Momma Holler

"Ships In the Night" Mat Kearney

"Quiet Little Voices" We Were Promised Jetpacks

- E

Impatiently Awaiting Albums

       From OneRepublic's next album, Native, being pushed to a January 2013 release, the inability of Martin (Coldplay) to release any information (or songs) from the sixth album besides stating that the title will "be pronounceable," the inevitable next Adele album, and the need for a full length Momma Holler album, I am experiencing a sort of music withdrawal. The upside, is that Octane Twisted (Porcupine Tree) was released today (even though I'm not a huge fan of 'live' albums, this one's good) and it will be only a number of weeks until Ke$ha, Wiz Khalifa, and Bruno Mars release their newest albums (Warrior, O.N.I.F.C, and Unorthodox Jukebox, respectively); until then, I will just listen to these amassed 'singles'. I did cheat in this list because Phillip Phillips' album was released yesterday, but Man On The Moon needs attention. The last guy to come from American Idol with a voice this wonderfully scratchy and unique was Lee DeWyze (who?); if you like an artist, you should do your best to support them so that they can continue making music for you.

"Feel Again" OneRepublic

"Hold On" Phillip Phillips

"Skyfall" Adele

"Robbie Robertson" Momma Holler

"Don't Let It Break Your Heart" Coldplay

"C'mon" Ke$ha

"Young Girls" Bruno Mars

"Girl On Fire" Alicia Keys (featuring Nicki Minaj)

"Remember You" Wiz Khalifa (featuring The Weeknd)

"Stingin' Belle" Biffy Clyro

- E

Eminem

       Marshall Bruce Mathers III was born in 1972 and was signed to a label (FBT Productions) by 1992 after he dropped out of school at 17 and became a hit on the underground scene. He's awesome. That's all there is to say about Eminem. Think about it; this skinny blond white kid comes onto the scene in 1992, at a time when racial hatred is still going strong, and enters into a racially biased genre where he is the minority, becoming the first white rapper to become successful and, eventually, becoming one of Rolling Stone's "Immortals". It's not that easy to make it in the music business. It is a small business; everyone knows everyone and, if you take one wrong step, they can blacklist you. Eminem had to walk this thin line, watching every word that came out of his mouth making sure to not offend his main demographic or peers, while still spilling out his heart, hopes, and fears. He had to come up against those protesters who claimed he hated women (Tori Amos had a tired answer to Eminem's "'97 Bonnie and Clyde"), those who hated him simply because he was white in a predominantly black genre (and he does make fun of this in "White America" and "Real Slim Shady"), and those who hate rap because they think it inspires hate (it's not actual hate, it's just their anger at not being able to understand it; rap, particularly Eminem's, is poetry). Regardless of all that he has come up against in his personal and professional life, he has always come out on top. He's a forty year old father and he is still cooler than anyone because he has been named "Best Rapper Alive" by Vibe Magazine and voted "Best Rapper Ever" by the readers of Vibe's website.

       Before delving into this, I know some people are against Eminem because they get upset about misogynistic lyrics which they claim advocate violence against women. He does make violent claims against women, but so do other artists, in all genres. Getting all worked up over Eminem sharing his feelings in music (a common medium for this type of expression) is ridiculous; his lyrics have emotion that you can feel, or associate with, because he tells the truth. So if he feels like letting one of his alter egos loose to talk about some dark issues or feelings, it's an emotional outlet for aggression, not a physical act or advocation of this treatment. Besides, songs like "Superman" do not promote violence; this song is only Eminem's frustration at women who like him only for his money. "Sing For The Moment" (the best way to sample an Aerosmith song) and "Criminal" are the best answers Eminem could have given to those who allow themselves to be upset by his music.

       Everyone knows the lyrics to "The Real Slim Shady" because it's great and, if you do not think that "Stan" is, while dark, put together beautifully (even if it is about a crazy fan), you need to look into some sort of music appreciation course; Eminem's music, and thoughts, are a lot deeper than non-fans believe them to be. "Lose Yourself" is an amazing work and, if you cannot understand him (even though I believe he clearly enunciates his words and that this is a slow song, if your ears were not trained for this type of music when you were young, it may be difficult for you to pick up on the lyrics), look up the lyrics, because they are great. "Mockingbird" is just an amazing song for his daughter(s) and is put together so thoughtfully and honestly that you can feel the emotions behind the lyrics.

       Lil Wayne is the only male artist to have more song entries on Billboards Hot 100 list than Elvis; that alone makes him awesome. The fact that Lil Wayne requested, often, that Eminem work with him, and then continued to make three collaborations with him, only shows the support he (Eminem) gets in that community (no, we are not going to talk about the fact that Eminem takes shots at Lil Wayne in Recovery or that Lil Wayne claims he's better than Eminem [don't be ridiculous, Weezy]; I like to live in a world in which my two favorite male rappers enjoy working together and do not fight like teenage girls [i.e. behind one another's backs]). "Forever" is just a good song about being good at, and loving, what you are doing (and they are talking about rapping; those people who can't look beyond "telling every girl she's the one for me" should not listen to rap). "No Love" is one of the best collaborations and does a better job sampling (from Haddaway's "What Is Love") than any other rap song in the past few years; it's great because it makes little references to karma and then has the underdog overcoming all. "Drop the World" is just about the end of the world and how you need to get your issues in line and take care of any changes you want to make, sooner rather than later. 

       "Airplanes" gets annoying after a while, but "Airplanes Pt. II" is great because, just as you're getting tired of Williams "wish right now's," Eminem chimes in with great lyrics about making it to the top and the hard work and life that he had to go through to get to this life which he dreamed of when he was younger; his addition makes the song great (and I don't want to think about a world where "Marshall Mathers never picked up a pen").

       "Square Dance" is a really underrated song. It's great and talks about the issues in the US at the time that this album was released, talking about how ridiculous politics and world relations were becoming. "Without Me" is a classic and I can still remember my sister making me listen to this song when I was ten, instructing me on why Eminem's music was great and why he would last.

       "When I'm Gone" and "Hailie's Song" reference his problems in balancing his personal life with his professional obligations and are two of the (many) songs which allude to his daughter's influence in his need for success (as a way to give her a better life). "Like Toy Soldiers" allows Eminem the chance to warn others against using his daughter (after Ja Rule's crass lyrics), as well as offering an overview of feuds throughout the years, and a truce with his peers whom he has entered into feuds with since becoming a rapper, in an attempt to settle any fights. All together, it's an amazing song 

       "Space Bound" is one of my favorite songs. People may complain about the "shock value" of the video but, with an artist whose name has become synonymous with this phrase over his twenty year career, can you really act like you're surprised by images like this? Regardless of the video (which is good), the song is something pure that only Eminem can produce. He's talking about something he feels strongly about so he goes all out in trying to explain his emotions, holding nothing back. Accept it for the great song it is and, if you find the video offensive, just don't watch it. 

       "Love the Way You Lie" is my favorite Eminem collaboration; Rihanna and Eminem make a surprisingly great pair. The subject of the song is just as sensitive as every other great Eminem song, but it is put together in the best way possible and, with Eminem's angry rap and Rihanna's soft chorus, the song is perfection.

       I hate (love) "Difficult" and "You're Never Over" because I don't cry, it achieves nothing, and these songs make me want to cry (especially the repetition of "I just miss you"). The songs are beautiful and perfectly written and composed; they show just how great Eminem truly is as an artist. It's always horrific when an artist dies; how much more could Proof have achieved had he survived, and how different would Eminem's music have been had he not lost his best friend so suddenly? Eminem puts his feelings into words perfectly and may be the only person eloquent enough to do so, so proficiently.

       "Going Through Changes" is a nice way to ease out of this; it's still just as awful (in a way that makes the song wonderful), but it's as if Eminem has carried you through the different stages of grief and is coming around to accepting it. Everyone has lost someone whom they believe they cannot live without and, the fact that Eminem had to go through this to make him the amazing artist he is today, makes songs like "Not Afraid" bittersweet. It's an amazing song and gets angry (at the world and himself) before getting to business and giving you a more emotionally mature, and thoughtful, Mathers who promises to give you (his fans) better songs and to work harder as he continues his career.

       There is so much to write about an artist as great and successful as Eminem and, even after cutting an inordinate amount of information and songs, this still may be the longest post I have ever written. Overall, Eminem has thirteen Grammy awards, his lyrics are fast but always flow perfectly, he is the best rapper alive, and he is the epitome of the underdog who finds success. His music has spanned countries and language gaps and, even after twenty years, he can still top the charts. Eminem is nothing less than amazing. 

- E

Overexposed

       Regardless of how good a song may be, overexposure on the radio can slowly make the song unbearable to listen to. Radio station DJ's do not seem to notice that their repetition of "E.T." makes me want to punch Katy Perry in the face or that I find "King of Anything" to be an incredibly annoying song (something about her "oh-ohs"; I hate it), they just want to keep their playlist manageable. When a song is overplayed, it might get that artist the fame which they have been longing for, but it could just as easily make that artist, or their music, far too annoying and common to enjoy any longer. 

       Avril Lavigne is a victim of her own fame, and now she appears to be nonexistent in the world of popular music. First, "Complicated" was played on repeat (is there a word which means 'more repetitive than repeat'? Use it in reference to this song) and, though it began as a good song, those opening "uh-huh's" were soon answered by my switching the station. The same thing happened when she 'came back' a few years ago with pink hair and "Girlfriend". Words cannot express how much I despise this song; it's awful, in so, so many ways and can only be fun on Just Dance. This overplaying of her music (and the fact that her newest album was kind of really annoying) effectively ended her popularity in the mainstream US. 

       "Love Song" was (slightly) killed in this same way. It's a great song, Sara Bareilles makes fantastic music (the best artists always come out of UCLA), but the song has been so overplayed on the radio that you can play the piano part by ear, without having to purchase the song. The song is great, but it's also tiring and old now; overplaying a song can hurt its chances at greatness. 

       Owl City was good at one time; I overplayed "Hello Seattle" when it first came out (it's not bad if you are the one, personally, playing it on repeat) and when iTunes offered "Fireflies" as a 'single of the week' all I could think is "this is a great song for June". Fast forward six months and every radio station is playing it non-stop and every one who never knew about the band is claiming to be their biggest fan. It's exhausting, exciting, and slightly disheartening all at once, and always seems to end with this 'fresh new band' falling into obscurity (until they do a collaboration with, yet another, pop singer from Canada. Nickelback, Bieber, and Lavigne weren't bad enough, so I guess our radio stations will have to accept Jepsen now). 

       Of course, this same sort of thing happened to Fun. when "We Are Young" was released and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros when "Home" became so popular (except that Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros have kept more of their original fan base because they are too cool to be simply drafted into the mainstream [and because Fun. is more accepting of fame and recognition] as they just want to be the barefoot kids who sing about love. 

       On the other hand, M83 has always been amazing, but they did not start to become really popular until their song "Midnight City" was featured in a slew of commercials last year. They continue to be awesome though because they are just far enough from a mainstream sound that they can get popular enough to generate enough revenue to continue their musical careers, without having to change their sound or image to do so. 

       The same thing happened to The Weepies when everyone got so excited about "Be My Thrill" two years ago and it was added to every retail store's playlist. The song is good, but not the best song by The Weepies (that would be "World Spins Madly On," "Gotta Have You" or "Wish I Could Forget"), but it did allow The Weepies to expand their fan base and to get some airplay so that they could afford to continue their musical careers. 

       I'm hoping this same courtesy, of overplaying a great song on the radio, is extended to The Weeknd. Trilogy was released on iTunes this past week and, while he is amazing in every way, he is not as well known as he should be. Before this album release, the only way you could get his music was by looking up his online "mix tapes" like you had to do for Wiz Khalifa before he got famous. Listen for "Twenty Eight" or "Wicked Games" on the radio, because he's great and is going to be greater. 

       Overexposure to a song does, however, have its benefits. Flo Rida had not come out with an album in a year, yet he put out "Club Can't Handle Me" and it successfully carried his name over that three year gap between album releases, as it gave him only a few months between that great(ly annoying) success and his first single from his album Wild Ones; if your name does not fall off the headlines or the radio playlists, you never have to worry about making a comeback. Currently, you can hear "Whistle" on the radio, again, and again, and inappropriately again. 

       "Ass Back Home" may have been overplayed the past year, but it does not matter because Gym Class Heroes is amazing. I would love to see New Medicine live, seeing The Fray or Michael Franti again would be amazing, and I will not rest until I can see Coldplay live, but I would give them all up to see Gym Class Heroes or Travie McCoy perform; they're great. I listened to "The Fighter" on repeat for a week before surgery and now it's my go to song when I need some inspiration. They are so very underrated; The Papercut Chronicles II is a masterpiece with not one bad song. I got slightly off track, but "Ass Back Home" is awesome and so is the band, so just sing along when it comes on the radio in a few hours.

         "Coming Home" is the best autobiographical song out there (if you did not already love Sean Combs, this song will make you appreciate him so much more. Research him though; writing a paper about him only makes him an amazing artist) and is the most successful single released from Diddy- Dirty Money's Last Train to Paris. The piano intro, Grey's soft voice, and the violins which chime in just a second before he begins his piece makes the song that much better. It is an amazing song that was put together perfectly and can be overplayed without actually being 'overplayed'. 

       To close with a classic, "Drops Of Jupiter" will never get old. Say what you want about Train, but the fact remains that they are amazing because they have stayed on top of the charts for over ten years, came from San Francisco (I have yet to find a city which I am more enamored with), and Pat Monahan writes amazing songs (see "Drops Of Jupiter" and click here). It's one of the songs that, when it comes on the radio, everyone just sings along, a little subconsciously, because you just know these lyrics; they're ingrained somewhere in the back of your mind. It's a great song stemming from great intentions and will always show up somewhere on the radio, so just enjoy it when it does. 

- E

New Medicine

       A rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, New Medicine (Jake Scherer, Dan Garland, Matt Brady, Ryan Guanzon) formed in 2009 and released their debut full length album, Race You To The Bottom, in September 2010. The band has toured with Halestorm, Hollywood Undead, Stone Sour, Avenged Sevenfold, and performed at Uproar Festival, Rock the Rapids, and Rocklahoma.

       In a little over two years, the band has gone from a few uploaded videos and a handful of amateur recordings of live performances on YouTube to having music videos for nearly half their songs; I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the band has been able to amass a great fan base. The band has an amazingly devoted fan base who will share this band with anyone to get their music out there and a label who took 3OH!3 from obscurity and turned them into a worldwide phenom. This band is, hopefully, only one album away from achieving the fame and recognition which they deserve.

       "Laid" is the best opening song, for the album, which the band could have used. It's awful, but really fantastic. It's also one of the best songs to run to (especially if you're really pissed off) ever.

       If you can listen to, or watch the video for, "Rich Kids" and not love how weird, gritty, and wonderfully honest the band is, you probably should not bother yourself with reading the rest of this post (watch the music video; it will make the band that much more amazing). The band is great, and the fact that an awesome song like this heads straight into "Little Sister" only makes the band that much more amazing. The song ("Little Sister") is just amazing. It's put together perfectly and shows how great the band is at being heartbreaking-ly honest while maintaining that gritty outer core that is so central to the rock genre. The repetition of "do your wings fit good" never fails to rip at my heart, but it's so fantastic at the same time that it makes it possible to listen to again without getting too upset by this perfectly amazing song.

        "End of the World" is such a great song. It would be a great concert song with lines like "let's go crazy, everybody let go," "someone give me something I can scream out loud," or "party till the end of the world". The song is just so upbeat while maintaining that main set of guitar riffs that is so imperative to the heart of a rock song. 

       "Baby's Gone" does not sound like the name of a great song and if you listen to it superficially (focusing on the name and the main refrain) the song sounds a little unnecessary, but if you listen to the entire thing and actually pay attention to the lyrics, the song is kind of great. On the other hand, "Resolve to Fight," is just great. I mean, the only way I can truly define how I feel about it is from my short hand note which simply read "fucking awesome"; and it is, undoubtedly, that.

       "Never Heard" is a great song, from the first drum beat to the last guitar riff. The composition is perfect and the lyrics are put together so thoughtfully that I cannot get enough of the song. Scherer appears to get the bands point across so easily, with the way he can spit out lyrics at the same time he is pouring out his heart to the listener. If the composition and the other lyrics did not make me like the song, then the line "I don't want to feel these things for you" makes me love the song.

       "American Wasted" sounds just like you would expect it to, but does that make it any less fun to listen to. It sounds like a fantastic '80's rock song and, regardless of your personal taste, most everyone can listen to, and appreciate, that era of rock. The same thing goes for "Race You to the Bottom". I do love the fact that a rock song employs the phrase "hell's bells," but it's not quite as terrific as the other songs, whose lyrics are just a little more heartfelt and thoughtful.

       Immediately after this, slightly ridiculous, song is "It's A War," and this song is too great to be shoved in towards the end of the album. The band has this amazing ability to produce these great meanings and lyrics in each of their songs, and this song is the prime example of the band's skills. Of course, the switch up from the beat of the guitar to the addition of the piano into the middle of the song only makes it that much better before it dissolves into the rock guitar riffs and back beats as the song draws to a, slightly discordant, end.

       "Sun Goes Down" is one of my favorite songs; not just by New Medicine, but one of my favorites, period. It's simply an amazing song from "I don't know where to start, I keep falling apart" to "my eyes are blind and all I see, is how the world just laughs at me". The entire song is fantastic from that opening guitar to the simple beat that follows it the entire length of the song; and not one of those lyrics can be described as anything less than perfect. It's an amazing song and deserves so much more attention than it has received. You might not expect a band like this to have great lyrics, but every song on the album is better written and put together than the last and, the fact that this song is the last on the album (if you do not have the 'deluxe version') only proves this point. 

       You should get the deluxe version of the album though, that way you can listen to "The Takeover," on repeat. It's a surprisingly fantastic song and I cannot imagine how anyone decided that it should not have made the original album cut. There is no band I would love to see live more than this band, if only to hear/see the band perform "The Takeover" and "Sun Goes Down".

       "We Are the Fire" is just a great rock song; each of their 'bonus tracks' is amazing enough that it should have made it onto the bands album to begin with. The song is put together so greatly, beginning with a great guitar riff (that almost sounds reminiscent of Mellencamp era country, turned into rock), to lines like "shut up, get up, wake up", before dissolving into the "whoa's"  and the wails of the band that try to follow that last guitar strum out of the song; it's great. 

       "Amen" is a classic rock song that sounds like it could have been produced sometime as the '80's were crossing into the '90's, much like "Race You to the Bottom" and "American Wasted". Not my favorite sound, but I can still appreciate it for its composition and the everlasting quality of that classic rock sound.

       "Love You Now" is a great way to end the album. It is just as amazing as "Never Heard" and "Sun Goes Down" and there is absolutely no reason that it should be as little known as it is. With a great rock sound, throughout, and lyrics like "I wish I would have known a little more when I was younger, would I have been the man I am today" and "I didn't wanna love you now" the song is too great to not know, or to not listen to on repeat. 

       Each song on Race You To The Bottom is better than the last and the band is so gritty and honest that they're great. The band is able to slide so easily from one rock sub genre to the next without missing a beat in their great compositions; and each song, no matter the sound or atmosphere, has lyrics which have been put together perfectly. Buy their album (the 'deluxe' version), it is more than worth it and is one of the few albums that get better the more you listen to them. They are so amazing, I cannot believe that it has been two full years since this album came out and they are not yet famous; they need to be.
http://www.newmedicinerock.com/
https://www.facebook.com/newmedicine

- E