Where did the inspiration go!?

There is always inspiration in something you do. Some people can be inspired from movies, books, and television shows. The best inspiration someone can find is through music. Not only can people truly connect with songs, but the songs themselves were inspired. Although some artists today have lost sight of what true inspiration is. BB King was and still is a true inspiration to any aspiring Jazz, Soul, or R&B artist. But what happened to the inspiration? Kids today are inspired by artists who sing about "love" and "hardships" in life. No wonder girls today think there is something wrong with them when they haven't found "love" at the age of sixteen. These artists are suppose to be inspiring and sparking creativity in kids. Society has lost the focus on what is truly important. The band 3OH!3 is a good example of what should not be on a popular teenage/kid radio station. Their songs have a huge sex based attitude. Kids today should not be exposed to such things. Thirteen year old listen to these stations and sing along with these songs. They know the lyrics to songs talking about sex, making out, and other things that shouldn't be there. So what inspires these artists to write their songs about these things? Producers and label companies have just about completely destroyed individuality and innocence. Style and music is what sets you apart from others. Big corporate companies don't want to take the risk of putting someone fresh out there but who keeps it real. Reality is a big thing in society and yet companies are shadowing that with these teenyboppers who will become has-banes.

For more on keeping the music alive:
Before the Music Dies

Help VH1 in saving the music:
VH1

For more info on how music influences children:
AACAP

Movies and Music come together!!

We all form emotional attachments to movies. We relate to the characters and the issues they have, but mostly we relate to the soundtracks of their lives. The songs playing softly in the background add considerably to the emotions we feel while watching a movie. Although this isn't a one-way street, as much as music influences movies scenes, movies, especially recently, have had an impact on the music scene. Bands like Muse and Snow Patrol got their big breaks by being featured in hit films and TV shows. Movies also influence past genres such as the movies Cadillac Records, Ray, and Walk The Line. These movies are creating interests in influential artists such as Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, and Etta James. This crossing of medias is a very symbiotic relationship with both business's but also with consumers. The relationship with consumers is often unbeknownst to them because it has a way of occasionally broadening their musical and cultural knowledge. So in this thought Steph and I are taking a bow and saying "Bravo!!" to corporate media working together to demolish consumer shields that can create ignorance.

Video courtesy of: MTV

Paramore - New Music - More Music Videos

To buy soundtracks:
Buy.com

For info about music from movies:
musicfromthemovies.com

To find out more about the movie "Cadillac Records":
The Internet Movie Database

With a Twist or Original Recipe

Everywhere we go today we have choices to make; regular or diet coke, "would you like fries with that?", pink or black chucks, hybrid or SUV etc etc. Lately when it comes to music it seems the choices are being made for us. The same stars sing the same songs. Only the corporate labels get to decide who sings what. But there are options out there! If anyone is a fan of Glee you see this show take songs from all over such as Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" or Chris Brown and Jordin Sparks more recent duet "No Air" and completely rock them! Some might say, and by some I of course mean Kelsey and myself, that they even sing them BETTER than the original artists. That's not to say that some covers out there aren't complete and utter disasters. Who could forget the unfortunate covers by Jessica Simpson both "Take My Breath Away" and "these Boots Were Made For Walking" really would have been better left alone. Though Glee mostly stays "inside the box" with their covers they do a couple of entertaining mash-ups combining two totally different songs such Katrina and The Waves' "Walking On Sunshine" and Beyonce's "Halo". These slightly out there covers make for something out of the ordinary that works! I feel that the key to a successful cover song is to make it your own. Take the example of Limp Bizkits cover of George Michael's "Gotta Have Faith", they start out being fairly close to the original and then take it and totally heavy metal it out. Instead of trying to conform themselves to the original they conform the original to them! More example of this can be found in the Punk Goes Pop series of albums created by Fearless Records. Paramore also does a great cover the recent Kings of Leon hit "Use Somebody" but below I've chosen to use my friend TJ's cover purely because I'm biased due to our friendship.. haha.. compare to the original also posted below!!

Buy Punk goes Pop CD:
Amazon

Listen to Music from the Glee cast:
Myspace

To watch other cover songs:
Youtube


Videos courtesy of: Youtube.com

Live Isn't Always Better!!!

When you go to a concert you go to hear music of course, but you go for the experience more than anything. There’s that rush of seeing one of your favorite bands in person, but it’s a total let down when after hours and days of listening to their CD and becoming so passionate about songs that you cry and commiserate along with the lyrics; the singer opens their mouth and not only does it sound nothing like the CD, but it's almost painful to listen to.
If you're a music lover like us, it's completely heartbreaking. Welcome to the miracle, or disaster, of music technology. Today's music is all about enhancement. Whether enhancing an already gifted singer or enhancing a seriously untalented wanna-be. For example, a new teen star, whose concert tickets many pre-teens are spending there hard earned allowances on. Who also ironically won the Country Music Award for Entertainer of the Year, but falls short of the ideal when singing live.
This raises the question of whether building the ticket buying fan base through radio play and CD tracks that have been edited and voiced is ethical. Regardless of the intention, when an idol actually lacks the qualities we admire, the effect is always the same: Fan devastation!
photo courtesy of: thehothits.com

For Ticket info:
Ticketmaster

Read a good critic on music:
Music Critic

Buy CD's:
Rhapsody