Is Anybody Out there? K'NAAN (Feet. Nelly Furtado)

                                      

"Is Anybody Out There?" came out in January 2012.  When I discovered this song a couple of weeks ago it caught my attention, but I did not quite understand it immediately.  I did not understand what it was that was specifically meant.  After listening to it carefully, and then listening to the song with lyrics written, the message became clearer to me.  This song is about those who feel alone and invisible, and don’t want to feel that way.  The reasons that they feel like that can vary; one never knows what goes on in their life.  The boy Adam in the video has a father who never looks at him.  In order to feel something drugs are sometimes used in a negative way.  When these people are trying to find themselves, and grow, others might think they just don’t care; however, they are working hard at becoming themselves. 

This song is meaningful, and like other songs that I enjoy, a story and message is expressed.  This song opened my eyes to an objective view of how people who seem like they don’t care might really be going through something and can use that shoulder to lean on. 

Listen to the song, both the lyrics and official music video version.  What does this song express to you?

-Carissa

New All-American Rejects Album

I have been a fan of the All-American Rejects since their first album (which is self-titled) was released. I remember listening to the popular song titled "Swing Swing." Another favorite of mine from the first album was "The Last Song." Even though I usually get hooked on one song from one of my favorite artists' album, this album was completely different. To me, each song did not sound the same at all. There was a great variety of different sound styles that really impressed me. I was really excited to hear that these guys were coming out with another album. Their new album, "Kids in the Street," was released last week. In my opinion, these guys still got it. It's cool to see a band that I had always loved come out with new songs. Since I have been a fan from the beginning, I was not surprised to find myself downloading the album as soon as it came out. There are two songs that I have had on repeat for a while, and they are "Someday" and "Walk Over Me." While "Someday" sounds familiar sound wise, it still has that great beat that shows who the All-American Rejects truly are. Some other popular and radio-played songs by these guys include "Move Along," and "Dirty Little Secret." So if you've ever heard of them or if your in the need for some new tunes by one of my old-turned-new favorites, check out "Someday" below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jreBDkG3a-U

- Jeana

Justin Bieber? NEW STYLE

I never thought I would say this, BUT I think I like Justin Bieber's new song Boyfriend. I was always the type to make fun of him for his music and squeaky voice because he was so young and had not hit puberty yet. His songs were beyond over played on the radio and all the litter teenyboppers with their Justin Bieber action figures. The whole Bieber Fever was and still is more out of control than The Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. HOWEVER, his new song Boyfriend is completely out of his normal style of music. I did not even recognize his voice at all, I had no idea it was him that I had to use my "Sound Hound" APP to figure out the song and I was astonished to find out that it was Justin Bieber.

I posted the video below, take a listen and tell me what you think.
-Gina 

Lady Gaga- Born this way

Born this way Foundation is meant to empower young people.  Oprah Winfrey helped Lady Gaga launch this foundation at Harvard University.  She would like to do a psychological autopsy on bullies and victims and find out what breeds anger. 

A young 14-year-old boy opened up that he was gay on YouTube.  He felt that Lady Gaga was amazing for her song “Born this Way.”  His friends were not supportive and the pressure got too much, he ended up hanging himself in the middle of the night.  His sister found the young boy’s body the next morning.  Before he killed himself he left a message for Lady Gaga thanking her for her song.  Lady Gaga dedicated a performance for him, and had faith that he was up there looking down. 

            So what does the lyrics to Born this Way mean?  In my interpretation, Born this Way is about being you, and not regretting it.  God made you that way for a reason, and he did not make a mistake and did not do it for the negative.  He did it for a positive reason.  Live your life, be yourself, and just have live life in the happiest fun aspect as you can. 

bornthiswayfoundation.org/

-Carissa :) 

Discovering Music with Shazam

When I listen to the radio and hear a song that I used to love back in the day, I get really excited. I am a HUGE fan of the throwbacks and one-hit wonders that used to play on the radio constantly. The only issue I find myself facing is the fact that, if the name of the song is not announced, I will never know the name of it. This really bothered me, until I discovered Shazam. Shazam is an app that tags the song; meaning, it works by listening (tagging) the song and displaying both the title and artist of the song. Next, this fancy app gives you a few options. The options include downloading the song from itunes, sharing it (on facebook or twitter), lyrics, tour info and a suggestion of what they call the "essential" tracks of the artist that has been tagged. All the tags are also saved, so if you want to download them at a later time, you can. You can also preview the songs here as well. For me personally, I also use the app when I am watching a movie or a show on tv so I know what they are and so I can enjoy the songs at a later time. This app allows me to not only discover past songs, but new songs and artists as well.

Some of the popular gadgets it is available on include the iphone, ipod touch, ipad, android, blackberry, nokia, windows mobile 6 and windows phone 7.

I recommend this app for those who love music as much as I do, and for those who find it frustrating when they cannot remember the name of a great song. One of the best parts of this app? It's free on iTunes!! So check it out and let me know what you think.

- Jeana

Taylor Swift

Who went to see the Hunger Games this weekend?!  - - and who actually read the book before seeing the movie?

I am a big Taylor Swift fan, I can tell her songs from the first key. However for the first time, I was actually not positive if this was her song or not, since I had never heard it before. Taylor Swift has 2 new songs that are featured in the new movie The Hunger Games, which came out in theaters this past weekend. I know many people who went to the midnight showing of it and Facebook was flooded with amazing reviews of the movie. I am actually going to see it in a few hours and am very excited. I wish I had the time to read the book before the movie but with school and work (I’m sure you all understand) there is not much spare time for recreational reading. Over the summer, while I’m sitting on the beach, relaxing and this book will definitely be on my summer reading list.

The lyrics of Taylor’s song Eyes Open has so much meaning to it other than for the movie. You have to be prepared for anything that life throws at you, everyone is watching you and waiting for you to mess up so they can get ahead of you.

“So here you are, two steps ahead and staying on guard
Every lesson forms a new scar
They never thought you'd make it this far”

Take a listen to the song, and let me know how you like it. It’s very different from her other hits, it’s not like her normal country songs, but I guarantee you will LOVE it.

-Gina 

Happy Hunger Games! May the odds be ever in your favor.

Lady Gaga

So Lady Gaga, I’ll admit, I always thought something was up with her by her drastic costumes. Other than that, I was not really interested in her, until Monday night. I turned on OWN, and Oprah’s Next Chapter was on and the interview was with Lady Gaga. Watching this episode opened me up to more of who she is, and a definition of one of her songs. She explained when, why, and how, she created the song “The Edge of Glory.”
“The Edge of Glory” was created on the night her grandfather, her dads dad, was passing away. Her dad was sad and she said to him that there is no reason he should be alone, and that it is okay, that he is right now on the edge of seeing everything he has done. He is really on the edge of something great, to not be sad. That night her and her dad had a bunch of shots while she wrote this song. According to the interview it took about 10 minutes to write this song. She then had her mom drive her and her dad to what I want to believe was off to see her grandfather.
It is very interesting to get to learn about the person off the stage, even if they claim that it is who they are on the stage. Something interesting about Lady Gaga is that one of her creative techniques is to shut out the electronic media including the television, and even newspapers. If her mom calls and starts mentioning, “did you hear…” she hangs up on her. Lady Gaga likes to think in her own thoughts and let her own creativity be expressed.

Do you shut off the music, the television, and maybe even your cell phone, and spend sometime just living in your own thoughts? Try it, and let me know what you think. Was it inspiring, empowering, or torturous and scary? Do you feel that too much of the media clogs our own minds and thoughts?

-Carissa

Check out her music video
http://youtu.be/QeWBS0JBNzQ


Official Website
http://www.ladygaga.com