Jackie Evancho

Seeing a bunch of powerful voices in You Tube clips is super cool to discover, but one of the things that baffles me the most is the occasional kids with beyond powerful voices. This girl, Jackie Evancho, can't even be compared to any of them I have seen before. She has the voice that full grown women would die to have. If I saw this just on youtube and not on a credible show like America's Got Talent, I would of thought that it was a joke and she was lip synching to a professional opera singer. I am not saying that I really like the style of music she is singing, but she is so phenomenal that I can't help but love it.

Undiscovered Music

In class today, we were talking about convenience in the music industry, and I wanted to put in my input of why that is from someone who isn't musically "in the loop" as much as most people. In class you also related it to going to fast food places, and we go to what is normal and what is what we are used to a comforting. That might be true for someone who knows what's out there and just chooses to do what is convenient. However, I don't even know probably 90 percent of the music that is released if not more, so for me it would probably be like trying to find the best places to eat in a strange country with a different language. If someone told me to go find a band that was new and upcoming, I wouldn't even know where to start, since the only places I get my music are from Pandora, Youtube, and the Radio. Even in class, I had no idea about most of the bands we have talked about until you showed them to us. That is one of the reasons I really like the class, but I also think it isn't fair that there are some really talented people out there that don't get noticed because they don't know the "right people".

The Beach Boys- Pet Sounds

After listening to their albums and watching their movies, I definitely think I have come to really like The Beatles. Now we are listening to The Beach Boys, and I was kind of on the fence about them, but after listening to "Pet Sounds" I decided that I like them. I think a lot of that was decided by the first song of the album, "Wouldn't It Be Nice". That was the song in a movie I really like called "50 First Dates" and I think the fact that the sound was familiar helped me connect with the song better. I remember in class we were talking in class about the facts that people don't want their artists to change, and if they do then sales go down. I think there is some truth to that, for example I can't remember a time where I loved a song the first time I heard. Maybe other people are different than me in this, but to really like a song I really have to listen to it a few times and kind of get the feel of the beat and the lyrics. I think that that is what made me like Pet Sounds so much, because the music was familiar. In addition, I really like the beats and especially the harmonies in the album, and it even kind of reminded me of The Beatles. I just wish people in that time would have appreciated the album for what is really was.

Drew Ryniewicz

Although I am not a huge fan of shows like American Idol and The X Factor, I do like to occasionally see the amazing and talented singers in the world. The main reason I don't watch the shows full time is because for some reason it pisses me off that the judges or so critical, and I honestly believe that if the judges tried out for the show they wouldn't even make the first cut. Putting my anger aside, I really like how the show puts spotlight on people who don't have the famous connections and therefor wouldn't usually get a chance. While on youtube, I saw this girl, Drew Ryniewicz. She is only 14 years old, but I LOVE her voice and the fact that she took a song that is a little boring and made it her own and made it amazing. This is her singing Justin Bieber's song "Baby", but with her own twist. (To get to the singing part go to 2:30)

I agreed with the judges when they said that they liked this version of the song more than the original. Overall, I think she is super talented and hope to see her become famous.

Bob Dylan

I know in class different people have mixed feelings on Bob Dylan, and I would definitely have to say I do not like his music, but mainly I just generally do not like his voice. I think it sounds kind of scratchy and out of tune, and I don't like the way it "feels". I like voices that are smooth and even, and I even think that is possible in rap music as well as country and pop. For some reason, when I hear his voice, I kind of cringe. It also always seems off with the beat. Take this song for example:

I feel like his voice doesn't fit the music, which I think is one of the most important things in a song. I know people say that he is a phenomenal song writer, but I don't think that is enough. I don't listen to music as deep as others, but for me unless I know the words and am singing along, I don't perticularly listen to the words so I guess I don't get the meaning and passion from his songs, but to me they just sound bad.

Opinions on "Beatles" on ITunes

In my opinion, ITunes is one of the biggest revelations in the history of sharing music, because it gives anyone the opportunity to by pretty much any song or movie, and then listen to it as much as they want. I won't say that I think that there inflated prices are fair, but you know, life's not fair. Anyways, I know there has always been controversy whether ITunes has the right to sell songs from bands and musicians that are dead, and haven't said whether they want to release it there or not. Many people say that it isn't fair to the musician and that ITunes shouldn't be able to do that. My opinion on the matter is that I think they should. Although the lovers of old time records and cassettes hate to admit it, ITunes and computers and IPods are the way music is spread, and if something isn't on ITunes, it is most likely going to be way less discovered. I know some people like it that way, to not have their music widespread, but in my opinion the real musicians are the ones that do it because they love it and not to make money or please certain people, so an ideal musician would want their music to be open for the world to see. I think that however, if a singer is dead, ITunes should have to give the money that they would have given to the artist to charities or to promoting other artist.

The Beatles Movie "Help"

In class, I have really enjoyed the movie "Help" with The Beatles in it. In today's world, we have our singers, separated from our fashion icons separated from our movie stars, but in the time of The Beatles, they were all of those. I think the reason they were able to pull that off is that they were discovered for their singing ability first, then acted in movies and pursued that carrier a little bit more. That is what for me is the problem with the Disney Channel "singers" if you could even call them that, because they take pretty much all of the actors in their shows and put a microphone in their faces and auto tune the heck out of whatever comes out. I like also, that The Beatles have their own songs incorporated in their movie, because it is a perfect soundtrack to the movie and also advertisement for them. Also what you are starting to see more are movies about a pop stars life; examples are Katy Perry and Justin Bieber:

The thing that i think is funny is that these stars did what The Beatles did, naming their movie after one of their albums. The last thing is that The Beatles are just a bunch of 20 year old boys, so they are constantly having fun and its really easy to like them when you see them just goofing off.

The Problem With Current Music Sellings

Throughout the years, the way music is kept and shared has changed dramatically. I still remember when I was about 8 or 9, buying my first song on ITunes, it was Clean by Hilary Duff and I bought it for 99 cents. When I pressed the "buy" button, I couldn't believe that I had this song on my computer and I could listen to it any time in perfect quality for no charge. I never personally got to experience the area of big disk, but my dad has one and one time I listened to it, and for some reason it just sounded so sharp and clear, I loved it!! Then I remember the joy of opening a new cd and delicately putting it into the cd rom, and cherishing every song. I never get to experience that anymore, and there are some ups and downs to that. Don't get me wrong it's great to be able to reach any song with the stroke of a few keys, and even see music videos and live performances for free on YouTube, but I feel like it has kind of corrupted how we listen to music, almost made us greedy. Even this blog is an example. I can think of a song I like and put the link on my page, and someone could listen to just 20 seconds, and the maker of the song doesn't get any money or any benefit from being listened to. Also, we take music less seriously and dispose of it all the time. I think people need to take a step back from the electronic world, and appreciate music as a rarer art form, and love music like in the older days.