Court Links: The Beatles, Eminem, and well The Beatles

11 Dec

Happy Friday and good news for everyone who cares about my well-being; classes are over. My two finals yesterday went well, just not for my hand (25 green book pages over a 3 hour span, my hand is sore). So, for this friday I thought I would give you an awesome performance on classical guitar and an asinine link from Fark.com

“You Never Give me Your Money” by The Beatles starts the climactic ending of the Beatles’ final medley on Abbey Road. It is also one of my personal favorite Beatles song because it begins the medley that is just enriched with symbolism and beautiful Beatles melody. One of the best. Want to see it performed on classical guitar by a skilled guitarist? I know I did and yes, I sang over it. I was not disappointed.

Link: http://www.fark.com/cgi/vidplayer.pl?IDLink=4844937

On the subject of the Beatles there is some good news. People today have not completely lost their music tastes. Our decade round-up has brought us to a link that shows that the Beatles’ release of “1” still surpassed all other albums in single units sold. Now do you want the bad news. Eminem beat The Beatles in the subject of complete top-selling artist of the decade. What!?! Well, I have a confession to make. I own The Marshall Mathers LP. Look, when I was like 12 that stuff was hip and I was trying to fit in with everyone else. I am sorry. Anyway though, Eminem has sold over 32 million dollars over the span. Wow.

Link: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/12/eminem-named-top-selling-artist-of-the-decade.html

Court Polls: The Biggest One-Hit Wonders of the 2000’s

10 Dec

As the year comes to a close, inevitably music magazines start making various lists of the top everything of that particular year. Yet, special cases call for special polls. As 2009 comes to a close, the end of a decade where we saw tragedy and, well, more tragedy and lots of stupidity, will also wrap up. 10 years which saw me turn from an immature 11-year-old to an immature 20-year-old. A lot has changed!

Anyway, I thought I would put together a bit of a different poll to start our round-up of the decade. The next three polls (eventually ending on new years eve) will also ask various questions about the decade that was. One-Hit Wonders are always the accepted term in music when talking about artists who had the hint of fire in their minds but over-exerted on the first song and then triumphantly fell off the face of the Earth. There are a lot of them. You know their songs, and since you lived in this decade you probably know who sang them, but, if I ask you in 50 years I doubt you will know. For example, “Ballroom Blitz.” Exactly. (It’s The Sweet by the way). Vote for who you think takes the cake to the record company, eats it all, and then cannot afford more cake. That was a miserable representation.

Links to all 7 songs!

“Who Let the Dogs Out” : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He82NBjJqf8

“Butterfly”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl6BiileOrg

“Bad Day”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk_9sEhV3vM

“Blue”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68ugkg9RePc

“Heaven”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuBmiu68ECU

“This is Why I’m Hot”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKV2981agEI

“You’re Beautiful”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjUaWiy_QXc

Lyric #23

10 Dec

So guys…finals are approaching for the writers of this blog. I know I’m burnt out already. Therefore, I find it necessary to post this lyric. Good Luck with the lyric and to everyone that has to deal with this academic warfare.

"These wheels keep turning but they're running out of steam"
hint: This guy has a very exotic pet/friend in London. The song implies a cardiac storage facility.
Answer: Keep Me in Your Heart, by Warren Zevon

Finals Tomorrow: The Lennon and The Gaga

9 Dec

The grasp of finals has overtaken me and I can only do a quick post today so I thought I would leave you with a rather odd picture and a fantastic recording of John Lennon performing the greatest song ever written “Imagine” just a few months after its release on December 17, 1971.

Here is the song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RNXertAO4k

And the picture…

So, the Queen of England and the mysterious alien settled their differences and agreed that the Gaga would be left with only obliterating music charts, while the human race could keep their Earth

Court Polls: Defense for “The Godfather”

8 Dec

After several days of voting, 11 votes have produced John Williams’ epic “Star Wars” soundtrack as the clear winner in the minds of readers. I cannot say I disagree with the way that the voting went because the soundtrack is a staple in movie music. That being said, I still believe that the music in “The Godfather” is slightly better and less artificial. The “Star Wars” soundtrack has some great original pieces but I believe that Williams’ best work lies in a sampling of pieces from different movies (not just one movie).

Nino Rota, the prolific Italian composer who has written scores for over 150 Italian and American including “The Godfather,” wrote a tremendous score for the film that is currently rated as the second best film, behind Citizen Kane, on the American Film Institutes list of 100 films. The reason I believe Rota’s score trumps all other film scores is because “The Godfather” music satiates listeners with its extraordinarily real Italian sound and dripping classical beauty. The soundtrack is drenched with music that alludes to the rustic Italian sound but retains its stunning  originality.

This is expressed best in the “Godfather Waltz” which is one of the most known piece that repeats throughout the movie. Coppola, ‘, uses this song in perfect scenes and creates a musical and visual tapestry of the Italian-American struggle and mob scene. The music played in the songs first few seconds will forever be implanted in the minds of people who view the movie. They are simple,  but emit the feeling of almost being ensconced in the movie. And, how about the love theme. The strings are just beautiful. The song works in two ways. It is unquestionably melodic as heck but, it also gives off a bit of an odd unsettling feelings that portrays a perplexing juxtaposition. It works and, in my opinion, it does so better than any other movie soundtrack.

The Love Theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hQAO8QTnG8

The Godfather Waltz: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQvc7Ne5mok&feature=related

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →