Monthly Archives: January 2015

#PhillipsSongOfTheDay, Music

Will You Count Me In?

Anytime I listen to Colbie Caillat’s music, I just feel the summer sunshine radiate from inside me, which is something I need given another huge snow storm is blowing through here (#arcticlife).  Ever since her song “Bubbly” came out in 2007, I’ve been a fan of her music and the way her voice can warm your soul.

“Bubbly” is one of the few songs that can make my day better, and make me realize that love can actually exist.  I know that sounds cynical, but I hope one day to find someone who means to me what  these lyrics describe, but I’m skeptical if that will ever happen.

For Caillat, “Bubbly” has been her most successful song to date, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and being certified platinum (selling over a million copies).  She has won two Grammys, one for her collaboration with Jason Mraz for their song “Lucky” and the other as a featured artist on Taylor Swift’s Fearless.  If you haven’t heard of Colbie Caillat (which would be weird if you haven’t), you should definitely check out her music.  I personally think her album Coco is her best (it features “Bubbly”), but her others are just as perfect.

And on a random note, I found this video of Caillat singing “Smelly Cat” from the hit 90s sitcom Friends.  It was the song that Phoebe (played by Lisa Kudrow) was famed for playing in multiple episodes.  If none of that means anything to you, the clip is still a good example of Caillat’s incredible vocals:

Music

Don’t

Ed Sheeran is awesome.  I’ve had the privilege to see him in concert multiple times, and each time I’ve been mind-blown of how he can capture a whole arena with just his guitar.  However, I’d have to say his song “Don’t” from his second studio album x has to be one of my favorite songs.  Not only do the lyrics very explicitly tell the story of his girlfriend cheating on him and, well, pissing him off, but it’s got a great chorus:

Don’t f- with my love
That heart is so cold
All over my own
I don’t wanna know that babe
Don’t f- with my love
I told her, she knows
Take aim and reload
I don’t wanna know that babe

I had read somewhere Ed had decided prior to the release of x that he would only release the clean version of the song because he was concerned some younger fans would listen (I’m not sure if this is true, it’s just what I heard), so they had to delete out the f-bomb from the line “Don’t fuck with my love.”  But, I found an edited version of “Don’t” with the f-bombs (chorus starts at 0:50):

Now, I’m pretty sure the person cut and pasted in the curses, but this could be the original recording.  If it is the latter, I really don’t want to know how they got it.

The original album version:

Personally, I kind of prefer the clean/original version just because I think the chorus pops more by omitting the curse, it kind of gives it an extra passive aggressive punch or edge.  In concert, he sang the unedited version (in case you were wondering).

Currently, Ed Sheeran is nominated for three Grammy awards, including Album of the Year!
#PhillipsSongOfTheDay, Music

Don’t Tell ‘Em

Okay, I realize I’m a bit behind the times, but I just finally listened to “Don’t Tell ‘Em” by Jeremih featuring YG.  And I kind of liked it.

I remember over the summer hearing snippets of this song on the radio, and skipping past the channel.  I have no idea why I never gave it chance.  But, in my defense, I thought it was a completely different song than it actually was.  The song has a great beat/rhythm to it; the synths that start the song  really make the song.  I also think the way he sings/raps “don’t tell ’em” in the chorus is great, and sticks in your head.

I also saw this clip of Lorde covering “Don’t Tell ‘Em,” and while she did a good job, I thought it was kind of unexpected:

Music

Boom Clap’s New Beat

I just got Charli XCX’s album Sucker, and the first thing I noticed was that the album version of the hit single “Boom Clap” is not the same as the version that was featured in The Fault in Our Stars and which burned up radio this past summer.

I’m 90% sure that they used the same vocal track and Charli didn’t re-sing it, but the arrangement of the music is different.  There’s a different drum beat or a different type of drum playing the beat, which is a shame because I thought the original drum kit was rich and filled out the song perfectly.  They also changed the piano/synth in the beginning and throughout the song (it’s most noticeable in the beginning after she shout/sings “BOOM BOOM BOOM CLAP”).

The Sucker remake is the first track on this playlist, the second is the original:

There really isn’t anything wrong with the remake, in fact I like the fact that Charli XCX and her team decided not to just plop her hit on the album without tweaking it.  When artists have hit songs, that song seems to appear on every single album they put out.  It makes sense from a business sense: “Boom Clap” was Charli XCX’s first hit song as a solo artist, so it would entice people to buy her album.   But it’s also rather annoying.

For example, I bought Meghan Trainor’s Title EP because I thoroughly enjoyed “All About That Bass” and I didn’t think she’d have a full-length album come out (see, even I am wrong).  Now her debut studio album Title was released today and now I have to buy an album with four songs I already have on the EP (I only buy physical CDs, I’m aware I could’ve purchased the EP on iTunes and then “completed my album” and not had to purchase the album again, but I prefer the physical CDs).  It’s annoying because I bought “All About That Bass” as a single, then as an EP, and now as an album.  Kind of waste to spend so much money on the same thing.  And it’s not just Meghan Trainor who does this, by the way, I’m only using her as an example because Title was released today and I was listening to it…a ton other artists have done this same exact thing.

At least Charli XCX tried to make “Boom Clap” fit more cohesively on Sucker and give her fans a new taste of the song so they weren’t buying the same thing twice.

Films, Music

Yellow Flicker Beat

I think I’ve established before that I’m a huge fan of Lorde.  I’ve listened to her music endlessly and I’ve seen her in concert (which you HAVE to do, she’s incredible live).  So, naturally, I was over the moon when her song from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One got nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song.  And probably like all the other Lorde fans out there, I was sad that it did not win the Golden Globe last night.

The great thing about this song is that Lorde perfectly captured the essence of Mockingjay Part One.  She sings in the chorus, “This is the start of how it all ends/ They used to shout my name, now they whisper it,” which perfectly resonates where Katniss is at this point in the film series.  The film is the start (part one) of how the whole series ends (there’s a part two coming November 2015).  Further, Katniss was once something revered in the Capitol, but now she’s their enemy and something not be admired, therefore they “whisper” her name.

The song as a whole has these incredible, thought provoking lines that just seamlessly fit to the story of Katniss, which I think means it deserved the Golden Globe, and quite possibly an Academy Award nomination.  I doubt we’ll see Lorde at the Oscars, but I hope I’m wrong!

Music

Just Call Me Angel

I was watching an old episode of Friends where the cafe where Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) works hires a musician to perform, which upsets Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow).  Anyway, the musician (who I think is the lead singer of The Pretenders) ends up playing this song:

Now, I know this song, for some reason, but I have no idea who sings it or what it’s called.  So I googled some of the lyrics I could make out from the singer (circumstances didn’t allow me to use that cool little Siri trick).  So I found out the song is called “Angel of the Morning” and was written by Chip Taylor.  The problem, I have absolutely no idea who was the original performer.  I mean, apparently it was a hit single for, but not limiting to, Merrilee Rush, Juice Newton, Nina Simone, P.P. Arnold, Olivia Newton-John, The Pretenders, Dusty Springfield, Mary Mason, Melba Montgomery, Billie Davis, and like a bagillion others.

Juice Newton:

P.P. Arnold:

Merrilee Rush:

The Pretenders:

Olivia Newton-John:

I was going to embed more versions, but I think you get the idea: this is a popular song that everyone apparently needed to sing… I do have to say I think my favorite is Juice Newton’s version and I think it’s hers that I’m remembering.  She just hits the powerful chorus the best, in my opinion.

Personal Experience

DJ Siri

I may be a little behind on the eight ball, but if you have Siri, there’s aFun with Siri cool trick I figured out.  If you’re listening to a song and you want to know what the name of the song is or the artist, ask Siri “name the song,” and she will say something like “listening,” and she’ll listen to the song and tell you what song it is!

I may have spent the last ten minutes playing around with it, and I couldn’t stump Siri!

 

 

 

This also happened, and it took me a second to realize Siri actually told a joke!:

Fun with Siri 2

Music

Bang Bang: I Just Realized Something

I was listening to “Bang Bang,” by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj, and I noticed something in the production which I thought was cool but also curious.  It’s rather subtle, but they added a sax or some type of horn to the last chorus of the song.  It starts around 3:02 in the clip below:

Personally, I think the horns add power to the chorus and really fill it out.  It also seems to emphasize the beat more.  So, I’m wondering: why did they only add those horns in the last chorus?  Why not every chorus?

Perhaps it’s like that old saying, too much of a good thing…