Cimorelli

The Cimorelli family is an all christian family, with 9 kids, 6 girls and 3 boys. Incredibly, it was discovered that all of them were beautiful singers. They have a youtube channel, and ever since I discovered them a couple of years ago, I loved their voices, harmonies, and videos in general. They used to strictly do covers where they stand in front of the camera and sing; no autotune, no retakes, just music. Since then, they have started to make their own songs, and make music videos where the voices are put in after. I think they are so incredibly talented, it baffles me how they are not super famous by now. But my favorite part about them is that they make no money with these videos, they do them because they love to sing and they want to share their passion with the world. This is one of my favorite video's, to Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper". This video is from awhile back, but I think it is one of their best pieces of work. They are all incredible singers, but my favorite would have to be Lisa (the one on the far right) Listen to the song, but especially at 2:53 when she sings. 

I think they are all wonderful and wish more people would see their talent!!

The Who: Beatles or Rolling Stones

In class, as we listen to songs from "The Who", people are always debating whether they sound more like the early Beatles, or the early Rolling Stones, two popular bands at that time. I agree that at different points in their music they do alternate between more of the punk rock feel of The Rolling Stones to the smoother rock of The Beatles, but overall, I think they sound more like The Beatles.  Usually when I listen to songs, I don't pay attention to the instruments and the band part of the song, but more of the voices and singing. Maybe this is because not only myself, but my whole family is extremely "musically challenged" and none of us can sing or carry a beat in the slightest. But for whatever reason, I listen more to the voices. I think the fact that there are always multiple band members singing and harmonizing is what makes me think it sounds like The Beatles. With The Rolling Stones, I feel that having only one singer (and not a very good one in my opinion) takes away from the song as a whole, because there is just enough distraction to get the listener not to pay attention to the music, but not enough to bring the song together and make it sound great. As far as the instrumental parts of the song, I would say that the more loud and harsh beats and playing style does remind me of The Rolling Stones more than the Beatles.

This song of theres makes me think more of The Beatles, but this one:

Makes me think more of The Rolling Stones.

Hard Day's Night vs Beatles first U.S. Visit

In class, we watched both the documentary of the Beatles first U.S tour and the scripted "Hard Day's Night". I really enjoyed both of them, but I think Hard Day's Night was my favorite. I really liked how they had the songs incorporated with the movie, because it gave both a better feel to it, but also it was really cool to think of how the Beatles WERE their own soundtrack. To me, the fact that the movie was in black and white didn't really affect the movie as a whole, because for me it was more about the music and the verbal jokes rather than the crisp graphics. I thought that what they showed in the movie looked like what the Beatles did was so much fun and such a blast, and they looked like they were living their dream and being young men at the same time. One thing that did kind of leave me with some questions though, was comparing the attitudes of the band to what was in Hard Days Night. As any director should, the director in Hard Days Night showed the band off to be as extraordinary as possible, and to look like some good old rock boys who were fun and spunky. However, in the documentary, it showed a little more of the bad side of life of this world-wide band. It showed them constantly traveling and going to meetings, and although they tried to conceal it, sometimes you could see them seeming tired and fed up with the incredible lifestyle. I am in no way saying that they didn't like their job, but it does kind of raise some questions on what their life was like behind the curtains.

How Music Affects Me

I am not the most musically aware person, and even if I can't fully appreciate the notes and the true meanings of the lyrics, one thing that I can appreciate is how music makes me feel. For me, it is not exactly the lyrics or meaning of the song, but the beat and the way the song pump me up. This usually is defined by the genre of the music. I think I am very persuaded by the music and how fast or smooth it is, as well as the tone of voice showed by the singer. Because I pretty much hate any techno  music if it doesnt have any singing part, because to me that really makes the song. The three different genres that affect me in the most differnt ways are country, pop, and rap. For example listen to this song:

This song really slows my mood, and makes me feel kind of happy go lucky. Country music is what I listen to while doing schoolwork or if I am having trouble falling asleep, because it relaxes me without making me sad or too numb.
Now listen to this song:

This song is really jazzy and just makes me happy and excited. I would listen to this song to pump me up before I do an activity or go to a party.
Finally listen to this song:

This song (sorry that it is kind of inappropriate) really get me feeling kind of cool and gangterish. I would listen to it while dancing in my room or play it to pump myself up for doing something I am afraid to do.

Ready or Not

This blog is a little bit of a guilty pleasure. I will be the first to admit that Disney Channel stars are hired, and then forced to sing even if they are terrible and then slammed with auto-tune, but for some reason this song stood out to me. It is by Bridgit Mendler, a disney star for her show "Good Luck Charlie", and the song is called Ready or Not. For some reason I really like it. I internally have decided to turn a blind eye to the fact that this song is probably auto-tuned TONS, because in my opinion it just kind of enhances the beat and the way she sings. I think the singing style is almost a reggae way, especially at 2:13, where she kind of talk sings that sounds a a lot like a bob marly kind of singer. This is the song, listen to especially 2:13:

Now listen to the singing style in this song

I personally think they sound similar. Also I really like the song at 2:34, where the song comes to a complete stop and silence, then followed by a more energetic part, and I think it enhances the song. 

The Beatles Documentary

In class on Wednesday, we watched the Beatles documentary and it absolutely astonished me. Until now, I have seen the Beatles as an old band, some country folk singing and performing for people like my dad. For christmas, we got my dad the complete Beatles collection, and I remember sitting in the car with him one day as the cd's were playing and thinking, "Wow, these guys are really good!". And although I liked the way they sung, I still didn't see them as a super cool, popular with the teens band. This all changed when I watched the documentary. There are two main things that really made them stand out to me, and helped me grasp how big and popular these guys were. The first thing was their fans. I have seen some big crowds in my life, and I have seen some crazy fans, but nothing at all like the movie showed.

As you can see from this picture, fans (which were almost completely women), the fans are putting aside their safety and their morals just to get a little bit closer to these absolute stars. 

The second thing that really stood out to me was their actual singing. In present times, pretty much anyone can be a singer. Almost any song that comes on the radio or we buy in itunes has been altered by auto-tune. It makes the song sound better and more even, but it makes it a huge disappointment when you see a person live and they absolutely suck. The Beatles never had that problem, as shown in the movie. When it is the live shows and concerts, they sound almost identical to that they do in the recordings. Listen to the recorded song of "Saw Her Standing There"

now listen how it sounds so similar to their live version.

I personally think they both sound great, and it shows why they were such a big hit. (Not to mention they aren't to hard on the eyes)