Track Eleven + Hiatus

Dear readers, if there are actually any of you out there...

Wow, it's been a while. I mean.. almost a year. That's a long time.

Alright, I'm just gonna get right to it. I went on an unofficial, unannounced hiatus. It's not something I ever meant to do it's just... things got away from me. Doing something on a daily basis has always been a difficult thing for me and the fact that I was trying so hard to get good songs/make good reviews for you guys was taking *way* longer than it should have every day. That being said, I'm interested in starting up posts again, only when I have time though. I'm still in school (plus I've added work to my schedule now too) so posts will be pretty erratic. I'm going to try and post things as I find them though; and, as always, don't be afraid to send in something you think I should give a listen.

Phew, now that that's over with, let's get to the music.

You're in for a treat today. I found this a few months back and immediately posted it to my facebook. The song still gives me chills. And it may be because I am a HUGE Final Fantasy nerd (especially in regards to the music, I play Theat Rhythm obsessively) but I reeeeally love this remix. I've always been a moderate fan of dubstep.. I say moderate because while I don't listen to a lot of it I can certainly appreciate the genre as a whole and I think this song is a superb example of what can be done with it. I will probably make a post sometime in the future solely about video game music and GAH VIDEO GAME MUSIC but for now, enjoy this stellar remix.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-eJDoa6BJY Remix + Vocals. I highly recommend it if you're a fan of the series, it's got some very cute lyrics. For music nerds, I suggest checking out some of the other things on this guys channel. He's got some pretty cool stuff up. From novelty songs to epic remixes, you won't be disappointed. ---> http://www.youtube.com/user/wwwboyinabandcom

Track Ten: Croatian Rhapsody-Maksim Mrvica

I wish I could play like this.. Forget it, I wish I could compose like this. The song is modern, but you can still hear some of it's classical roots. In short, there needs to be more songs like this. period.

Track Nine: Two Weeks-Grizzly Bear

This song is great. You wanna know why it's great? Because pianos. I will not tell you how many times I have tried to pick out the piano part for this, because it really is just amazing. It's simple, it's repetitive, it worms it's way inside your brain and makes you love it. The vocals are great too, they have this sort of airy, carefree quality. It's the type of song where the backing vocals in particular really make the song. It wouldn't be the same without them. The song seems pretty relaxed, but if you ask me there's just a hint of sadness there, a sort of melancholy. It's hard to describe, but there's no denying it's a beautiful song.

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After reading some of the comments I discovered this. I think it's pretty cool so check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axgTTuL7DVg

Track Eight: War Photographer-Jason Forrest

I have a soft spot for songs that don't have lyrics. Don't get me wrong, I love it when lyrics can tell a compelling story, but songs like this remind me why I love music. If you take a look at the video there is obviously a story it has to tell, but listen to it without the video and.. there's about a million stories it could be telling. I myself am the type of person who takes full advantage of this. Go ahead and listen to the song once with the video. Play it again and this time shut your eyes and just *listen*. If you're like me you will soon be directing your very own music video in your head. The fact that a song can take advantage of your imagination like that is really really cool.

The first time I really *listened* to this song, I was in the car reading a book. The book's characters had been on a long journey when they reached the top of a mountain and got a glimpse of the landscape stretching out before them. It was then that the final chorus of this song began to play. The triumphant, almost euphoric sound of the trumpets completely captured that moment for me. It was unlike any experience I had ever had when listening to music before. It just goes to show you that music really is an emotional thing. It can take a feeling, an emotion, and project it onto us as human beings. It's why sad songs make us sad, why happy songs make us happy, why the music they play in scary movies makes us so unsettled. I find this inherent quality of music truly fascinating. It's the sort of thing that sounds obvious, but when you think about it... just a small combination of tones can either discomfort us or put us at ease in a manner of seconds. It makes you wonder how your brain is really processing all this stuff, doesn't it?

I might've gone off on a bit of a tangent there.. You're probably just here for the music anyway, so I'll shut up and let you listen. Enjoy the song. ~

Track Seven: MAMA- EXO-M + EXO-K

EXO-M

EXO-K

Hey you guys, sorry for the lapse in updates. School. was. crazy. As you can probably tell, the end of the semester is coming up so things are starting to pile up. I have finals to study for, essays to write.. you know how it goes.

That being said I've got two videos for you today! Well... sort off. This is a song by Korean/Chinese boy band EXO. Technically the band has twelve members, but they record their music videos in both languages, one with the Korean members and one with the Chinese members. The Korean half of the band is called EXO-K, while the Chinese half is EXO-M (I believe the 'M' stands for Mandarin? I'm not sure.) The Korean version is waaaaay more popular (about 5 million views more) and that's probably due to all the K-pop fans. that being said, I myself prefer the Chinese version. I think it's the lyrics really. If you ask me the song sounds cooler in Chinese, especially during the pre-chorus. Oh yeah, and there's also some backstory about how they all have superpowers and are going to save the world or something.

Anyways. On to what I like about this song. I'm not really going to talk much about the performance because hey, it's K-pop. Pretty boys and dancing, that pretty much sums it up. What interested me though is that it turns out the songwriter, Yoo Young-jin, composed another two of my favorite K-pop songs: Lucifer (SHINee) and Keep Your Head Down (TVXQ). Both those songs are pretty intense, but not as intense as this one. The chant in the beginning is really really cool. It just.. I dunno, it sets the mood. The song also manages to blend in some styles that I hadn't seen in K-pop before while still maintaining a nice sense of cohesion. Overall, it's pretty epic. If you're not into K-pop, you might not like it as much as me, but I still think it's a cool track.

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Comparison of the two videos. They sorta match up at certain parts, it's kinda cool. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJW7jU9bagQ

Track Six: Handlebars-Flobots

I like this song because it makes me smile.

Well.... except for the end part. It's a lot more dramatic when you watch the video.

So... yeah. Watch the video. It gets more epic as it goes on.

Track Five: Crown on the Ground-Sleigh Bells

Get ready to turn your speakers up. LOUD.

Don't worry, it's supposed to sound like that, your speakers aren't broken. The intentional overdrive just adds to the overall awesomeness. This song takes a simple and familiar chord progression and... how should I say... turns it up to eleven? Combine it with the hypnotic vocal and you've got yourself a pretty sweet track. This song kicks some pretty serious... well, you know. Enjoy.