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Here's a gem that shows a piece of recording history. It's a 1951 promotional film by Capitol Records called "Want to Buy a Record?" It features the legendary Mel Blanc trying to sell a record to passer-by Billy May. Skip to 10:40 for a look at a session in the old Capitol Studios on Melrose Blvd a few years before the renowned Capitol Tower was built.
The film also shows lacquer cutting, a brief meeting with Les Paul and Mary Ford, and then a rare clip of Dean Martin recording. It finishes up with a tour of a record pressing plant. It's the whole Capitol family in a time gone by.
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13 Ekim 2012 Cumartesi
O'Jays "For The Love Of Money" Song Analysis
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Reader Phil LoCascio requested a song analysis of a mid-70's r&b hit by The O'Jays called "For The Love Of Money" from their Ship Ahoy album. The song represented some great Philly Soul and is another iconic production by producers and writers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff for Philadelphia International Records, an r&b powerhouse in the 70's. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard R&B chart and #9 on the Pop chart. It's title comes from the well-known bible verse "For the love of money is the root of all evil."
Like with all song analysis, we'll look at the song form, the arrangement, the sound and the production.
The Song
The album version of the "For The Love Of Money" is over 7 minutes long, but we'll look at the single edited version here, since that was one that garnered most airplay (although the full album version did get played a lot as well). The form looks like this:
Intro, verse, interlude, chorus, interlude, verse, bridge, chorus, outro
There's not really a lot of sections to the song, yet it seems a lot longer than it actually is. That doesn't mean that you loose interest though. The fact of the matter is that the song continues to evolve as it goes along.
The Arrangement
"For The Love Of Money" is really a mini-masterpiece when you really begin to analyze it. It's built around a simple yet powerful bass riff that continues through most of the song, yet there's always something going on around it that keeps your attention.
The song begins with the bass riff by itself, which is then joined by the drums and percussion after two passages of the riff. A trumpet line is added, which has a harmony added on the second time around.
During the verses, the horns, piano and organ play the chord pattern while a wah guitar pushes the rhythm along with the congas. The lead vocals are traded back and forth between the members of the band. The choruses follow the same chord pattern as the verse, but the background vocals restate the song title. It's only in the bridge that the bass and drums really play anything resembling a typical rhythm section pattern, while the organ plays a pad.
Finally, the outro is basically a chorus with the vocals turned around, with the backgrounds taking the melody and the lead vocals ad libing. The arrangement elements look like this:
* The Foundation: bass and drums
* The Rhythm: congas and wah guitar
* The Pad: organ in the bridge
*The Lead: lead and background vocals
* The Fills: lead and background vocals, horns in the outro
The Sound
The sound of "For The Love Of Money," recorded at Philadelphia's legendary Sigma Sound by its owner Joe Tarsia, is classically 70's clean. A little known fact is that Sigma was the second studio in the US to offer 24 track recording, one of the first to use a DI to record bass, and the first to have console automation!
Perhaps the most compelling part of the song is bassist Anthony Jackson's signature bass line. Take notice that it crosses back and forth between being bathed in reverb and being dry, while also being slightly phased. This is one of the rare times in music where the bass actually benefits from reverb, since it's used as an effect to draw the listeners attention during a section where the bass is playing by itself.
The song also features phasing on the drums and backwards reverb vocals on the background vocal parts. Also take notice that the panning is very wide, with the horns only on the right side (and their echo on the left) along with the B-3 and wah guitar, and the congas only on the left side along with the occasional piano.
Just about everything in the mix has some sort of excellent sounding reverb on it, which really gives it a rich, yet not too distant sound.
The Production
Gamble and Huff were the heart of the Philly Soul era, and their productions have always been sophisticated way beyond what they've been given credit for. The fact that they could take a pretty simple riff and turn it into a top 10 single is a testament to their songwriting and production abilities.
From the backwards phasing on the vocals, the phasing on the drums in the intro, the reverb on the bass, the extreme panning of instruments - any one which might be dubious in most songs, yet all used here - the song is total ear candy. Yet those tricks aren't done just because they're cool, but because they all contribute to the song as they blend in seamlessly to the track.
But the real trick is how they weave instruments together. Listen to how the horns, organ and piano all meld together to become one instrument during the verses and chorus. Listen to the unusual drum beat that compliments the bass line perfectly.
The 3 minute singles version is embedded below, but if you really want a treat, check out the full 7 minute album version as well.
Send me your song requests.
----------------------------------Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.
You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.
Reader Phil LoCascio requested a song analysis of a mid-70's r&b hit by The O'Jays called "For The Love Of Money" from their Ship Ahoy album. The song represented some great Philly Soul and is another iconic production by producers and writers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff for Philadelphia International Records, an r&b powerhouse in the 70's. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard R&B chart and #9 on the Pop chart. It's title comes from the well-known bible verse "For the love of money is the root of all evil."Like with all song analysis, we'll look at the song form, the arrangement, the sound and the production.
The Song
The album version of the "For The Love Of Money" is over 7 minutes long, but we'll look at the single edited version here, since that was one that garnered most airplay (although the full album version did get played a lot as well). The form looks like this:
Intro, verse, interlude, chorus, interlude, verse, bridge, chorus, outro
There's not really a lot of sections to the song, yet it seems a lot longer than it actually is. That doesn't mean that you loose interest though. The fact of the matter is that the song continues to evolve as it goes along.
The Arrangement
"For The Love Of Money" is really a mini-masterpiece when you really begin to analyze it. It's built around a simple yet powerful bass riff that continues through most of the song, yet there's always something going on around it that keeps your attention.
The song begins with the bass riff by itself, which is then joined by the drums and percussion after two passages of the riff. A trumpet line is added, which has a harmony added on the second time around.
During the verses, the horns, piano and organ play the chord pattern while a wah guitar pushes the rhythm along with the congas. The lead vocals are traded back and forth between the members of the band. The choruses follow the same chord pattern as the verse, but the background vocals restate the song title. It's only in the bridge that the bass and drums really play anything resembling a typical rhythm section pattern, while the organ plays a pad.
Finally, the outro is basically a chorus with the vocals turned around, with the backgrounds taking the melody and the lead vocals ad libing. The arrangement elements look like this:
* The Foundation: bass and drums
* The Rhythm: congas and wah guitar
* The Pad: organ in the bridge
*The Lead: lead and background vocals
* The Fills: lead and background vocals, horns in the outro
The Sound
The sound of "For The Love Of Money," recorded at Philadelphia's legendary Sigma Sound by its owner Joe Tarsia, is classically 70's clean. A little known fact is that Sigma was the second studio in the US to offer 24 track recording, one of the first to use a DI to record bass, and the first to have console automation!
Perhaps the most compelling part of the song is bassist Anthony Jackson's signature bass line. Take notice that it crosses back and forth between being bathed in reverb and being dry, while also being slightly phased. This is one of the rare times in music where the bass actually benefits from reverb, since it's used as an effect to draw the listeners attention during a section where the bass is playing by itself.
The song also features phasing on the drums and backwards reverb vocals on the background vocal parts. Also take notice that the panning is very wide, with the horns only on the right side (and their echo on the left) along with the B-3 and wah guitar, and the congas only on the left side along with the occasional piano.
Just about everything in the mix has some sort of excellent sounding reverb on it, which really gives it a rich, yet not too distant sound.
The Production
Gamble and Huff were the heart of the Philly Soul era, and their productions have always been sophisticated way beyond what they've been given credit for. The fact that they could take a pretty simple riff and turn it into a top 10 single is a testament to their songwriting and production abilities.
From the backwards phasing on the vocals, the phasing on the drums in the intro, the reverb on the bass, the extreme panning of instruments - any one which might be dubious in most songs, yet all used here - the song is total ear candy. Yet those tricks aren't done just because they're cool, but because they all contribute to the song as they blend in seamlessly to the track.
But the real trick is how they weave instruments together. Listen to how the horns, organ and piano all meld together to become one instrument during the verses and chorus. Listen to the unusual drum beat that compliments the bass line perfectly.
The 3 minute singles version is embedded below, but if you really want a treat, check out the full 7 minute album version as well.
Send me your song requests.
----------------------------------Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.
You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.
A Look Back At Philadelphia's Sigma Sound
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Last week I posted a song analysis of "For The Love Of Money" by The O'Jays, which was done at Philadelphia's famed Sigma Sound. Sigma was at the heart of the Philly Soul sound of the 70s and is often overlooked in the annals of pro audio.
The fact of the matter was that Sigma was always on the forefront of studio innovation. It was the second studio in the US to offer 24 track recording, one of the first to use a DI to record bass, and the first to have console automation! All of these features are so mundane today, but way back then they were a big deal.
Here's a great video of Sigma owner and engineer Joe Tarsia describing what Sigma was like back then.
----------------------------------Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.
You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.
The fact of the matter was that Sigma was always on the forefront of studio innovation. It was the second studio in the US to offer 24 track recording, one of the first to use a DI to record bass, and the first to have console automation! All of these features are so mundane today, but way back then they were a big deal.
Here's a great video of Sigma owner and engineer Joe Tarsia describing what Sigma was like back then.
----------------------------------Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.
You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.
Fall Out Boy - Sugar, We're Going Down
To contact us Click HERE
Fall Out Boy has never made my blog before, I can actually imagine all your shocked faces! They were introduced to me by Tink09 and Miss Moirae, who couldn't believe I had never heard of them (at the time). They're currently on a hiatus due to the band wanting to explore different musical projects that they couldn't do with Fall Out Boy. The band consisted of Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz, Andy Hurley and Joe Trohman. Will they get back together? Who knows...? But one thing is for sure, their music will never stop being liked and listened to.
"Sugar We're Going Down" was written by Pete Wentz and Patrick Stump. It charted at number 8 in both the UK and US charts, which is surprisingly high, due to the genre of the song, however it does beg to question whether this music video helped with the sales.
The music video is both narrative and performance, which always makes a good music video, And the fact that there is a strong message about bullying and how people react to it and the reasons why bullying goes on.
The band performing is hilarious to watch, you have Patrick Stump being pretty serious, and you know that he believes in the song, then you have Pete Wentz doing stupid stuff that always makes me laugh, I just can't help it.
The ending for the storyline is surprising, although it does give a reason to why the father is so against them getting together. But this is what confuses me, as it's a bit like Shrek 2 and I have never understood why they have a vendetta against a certain someone because they are similar, maybe it's because they want better for their daughter, but I still don't think it's a good enough reason.
Overall a great song that charted surprisingly high, the music video has everything we need and more, I just can't help feeling sorry for the guy with the antlers, and then laughing lots at Pete Wentz, I just can't win can I? Anyhow this is a perfect music video so how could I not give it this rating?
"Sugar We're Going Down" was written by Pete Wentz and Patrick Stump. It charted at number 8 in both the UK and US charts, which is surprisingly high, due to the genre of the song, however it does beg to question whether this music video helped with the sales.
The music video is both narrative and performance, which always makes a good music video, And the fact that there is a strong message about bullying and how people react to it and the reasons why bullying goes on.
The band performing is hilarious to watch, you have Patrick Stump being pretty serious, and you know that he believes in the song, then you have Pete Wentz doing stupid stuff that always makes me laugh, I just can't help it.
The ending for the storyline is surprising, although it does give a reason to why the father is so against them getting together. But this is what confuses me, as it's a bit like Shrek 2 and I have never understood why they have a vendetta against a certain someone because they are similar, maybe it's because they want better for their daughter, but I still don't think it's a good enough reason.
Overall a great song that charted surprisingly high, the music video has everything we need and more, I just can't help feeling sorry for the guy with the antlers, and then laughing lots at Pete Wentz, I just can't win can I? Anyhow this is a perfect music video so how could I not give it this rating?
Jason Mraz - I Won't Give Up
To contact us Click HERE
Jason Mraz is the sort of artist that you like but wouldn't go as far as buy his singles, he has released a number of songs and have quite a few hits in the UK, however some have fallen short of charting very well. He's signature song is "I'm Yours" but this song isn't too far behind. He is from Virginia in the US, and it's surprising how he has managed to hit the UK, as these sort of artists along with country artists don't even attempt to hit the UK as it usually doesn't work out well, but it looks like Jason Mraz along with other artists are setting the way for other artists of this genre to try and chart.
"I Won't Give Up" was written by Jason Mraz, Theodore Feldman and Michael Natter. The song is very emotional and it was definitely expected to be written by Jason Mraz. He manages to sing every word as if he means it, and that is exactly what you need for this song.
The music video is very symbolic, it is both performance and narrative and reminds me a lot of other music videos such as Avril Lavigne's "When You're Gone" amongst others that I can't think off the top of my head. Which means you are going to have to make the video different or it will be too similar to all the others, unfortunately this one is just the average video.
I was expecting something with this video and there isn't anything, clearly you know that a few are accepted but others have tears in their eyes which doesn't go with the video. Personally I think they must have seen Avril's video before coming up with the idea, as it is too similar, I understand that most videos are the same in one way or another but they change them so they don't look the same, but with this one they've changed it for the worse and not given us endings, leaving it up to us to decipher, which is totally not my thing.
Overall this song is so emotional, but it's video is too similar to others and there is little to no originality. They could've done so much more with this video and they haven't, and now I'm in two minds for this rating, should I be harsh or should I be kind? I have to admit it is a good way of linking to this video, but so many have done it before, and it will probably be done again and again in the future, and I don't think I can deal with seeing the same thing again and again.
"I Won't Give Up" was written by Jason Mraz, Theodore Feldman and Michael Natter. The song is very emotional and it was definitely expected to be written by Jason Mraz. He manages to sing every word as if he means it, and that is exactly what you need for this song.
The music video is very symbolic, it is both performance and narrative and reminds me a lot of other music videos such as Avril Lavigne's "When You're Gone" amongst others that I can't think off the top of my head. Which means you are going to have to make the video different or it will be too similar to all the others, unfortunately this one is just the average video.
I was expecting something with this video and there isn't anything, clearly you know that a few are accepted but others have tears in their eyes which doesn't go with the video. Personally I think they must have seen Avril's video before coming up with the idea, as it is too similar, I understand that most videos are the same in one way or another but they change them so they don't look the same, but with this one they've changed it for the worse and not given us endings, leaving it up to us to decipher, which is totally not my thing.
Overall this song is so emotional, but it's video is too similar to others and there is little to no originality. They could've done so much more with this video and they haven't, and now I'm in two minds for this rating, should I be harsh or should I be kind? I have to admit it is a good way of linking to this video, but so many have done it before, and it will probably be done again and again in the future, and I don't think I can deal with seeing the same thing again and again.
12 Ekim 2012 Cuma
Are There Really 41% Fewer Musicians?
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According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, 41% fewer people now describe themselves as musicians than in 1999. That doesn't refer to musician hobbyists, but musicians that get paid, although they may not make their living directly from music. Depressing, right?
There's been a lot of contradiction about those stats by various parties (check out this great article on Ars Technica), but the fact is that even the best estimate places the number at 8% less than 1999. Regardless of which figure you use, the fact of the matter is that as the recorded music sales drops, so does the job opportunities for musicians.
Surprised? You shouldn't be. It's hard out there on the streets of Music Land, and it's been so for a long time. Here's what musicians face these days:
This sounds like I'm down on the business and lamenting those "good old days" (that probably weren't all that good in retrospect), but I'm not. I happen to think that this is an exciting time in music. Here's why:
The fact is that we're in the middle of a revolution and just about no one can predict the outcome. Even though the recorded music segment of the business has shrunk by 55% since 1999, the global income from all facets of music is at al all-time high And you can bet that somewhere in the near future a new technology will be created that will help musicians more easily monetize their abilities. These things go in cycles, and we happen to be in a trough at the moment.
So hang tough, musos. Study and learn your craft and more about your branding and marketing, because better days are ahead.
----------------------------------Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.
You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.
According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, 41% fewer people now describe themselves as musicians than in 1999. That doesn't refer to musician hobbyists, but musicians that get paid, although they may not make their living directly from music. Depressing, right?There's been a lot of contradiction about those stats by various parties (check out this great article on Ars Technica), but the fact is that even the best estimate places the number at 8% less than 1999. Regardless of which figure you use, the fact of the matter is that as the recorded music sales drops, so does the job opportunities for musicians.
Surprised? You shouldn't be. It's hard out there on the streets of Music Land, and it's been so for a long time. Here's what musicians face these days:
- Paying gigs are harder to find because there are fewer venues.
- Many of the existing venues have instituted a pay-to-play format.
- Fewer record deals are available because there are fewer record labels and way fewer A&R talent scouts.
- The existing record labels only want to take a chance on a sure thing.
- The recording budgets are minuscule as compared to 10 years ago.
- The farm team system and student/mentor relationship of the pre-2000 days barely exists anymore in the music business.
This sounds like I'm down on the business and lamenting those "good old days" (that probably weren't all that good in retrospect), but I'm not. I happen to think that this is an exciting time in music. Here's why:
- The power to realize your creation is literally at your fingertips these days , and it's powerful and economical in an unprecedented way.
- The information on musicianship, recording and production abounds. From books and videos (like those from yours truly), websites, online forums and newsletters, you can find the answer to just about any question in almost a blink of an eye.
- The ability to release a product and get it into widespread distribution is cheaper and easier than ever before.
- The ability to promote yourself is cheaper and easier than ever before.
The fact is that we're in the middle of a revolution and just about no one can predict the outcome. Even though the recorded music segment of the business has shrunk by 55% since 1999, the global income from all facets of music is at al all-time high And you can bet that somewhere in the near future a new technology will be created that will help musicians more easily monetize their abilities. These things go in cycles, and we happen to be in a trough at the moment.
So hang tough, musos. Study and learn your craft and more about your branding and marketing, because better days are ahead.
----------------------------------Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.
You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.
Fall Out Boy - Sugar, We're Going Down
To contact us Click HERE
Fall Out Boy has never made my blog before, I can actually imagine all your shocked faces! They were introduced to me by Tink09 and Miss Moirae, who couldn't believe I had never heard of them (at the time). They're currently on a hiatus due to the band wanting to explore different musical projects that they couldn't do with Fall Out Boy. The band consisted of Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz, Andy Hurley and Joe Trohman. Will they get back together? Who knows...? But one thing is for sure, their music will never stop being liked and listened to.
"Sugar We're Going Down" was written by Pete Wentz and Patrick Stump. It charted at number 8 in both the UK and US charts, which is surprisingly high, due to the genre of the song, however it does beg to question whether this music video helped with the sales.
The music video is both narrative and performance, which always makes a good music video, And the fact that there is a strong message about bullying and how people react to it and the reasons why bullying goes on.
The band performing is hilarious to watch, you have Patrick Stump being pretty serious, and you know that he believes in the song, then you have Pete Wentz doing stupid stuff that always makes me laugh, I just can't help it.
The ending for the storyline is surprising, although it does give a reason to why the father is so against them getting together. But this is what confuses me, as it's a bit like Shrek 2 and I have never understood why they have a vendetta against a certain someone because they are similar, maybe it's because they want better for their daughter, but I still don't think it's a good enough reason.
Overall a great song that charted surprisingly high, the music video has everything we need and more, I just can't help feeling sorry for the guy with the antlers, and then laughing lots at Pete Wentz, I just can't win can I? Anyhow this is a perfect music video so how could I not give it this rating?
"Sugar We're Going Down" was written by Pete Wentz and Patrick Stump. It charted at number 8 in both the UK and US charts, which is surprisingly high, due to the genre of the song, however it does beg to question whether this music video helped with the sales.
The music video is both narrative and performance, which always makes a good music video, And the fact that there is a strong message about bullying and how people react to it and the reasons why bullying goes on.
The band performing is hilarious to watch, you have Patrick Stump being pretty serious, and you know that he believes in the song, then you have Pete Wentz doing stupid stuff that always makes me laugh, I just can't help it.
The ending for the storyline is surprising, although it does give a reason to why the father is so against them getting together. But this is what confuses me, as it's a bit like Shrek 2 and I have never understood why they have a vendetta against a certain someone because they are similar, maybe it's because they want better for their daughter, but I still don't think it's a good enough reason.
Overall a great song that charted surprisingly high, the music video has everything we need and more, I just can't help feeling sorry for the guy with the antlers, and then laughing lots at Pete Wentz, I just can't win can I? Anyhow this is a perfect music video so how could I not give it this rating?
Jason Mraz - I Won't Give Up
To contact us Click HERE
Jason Mraz is the sort of artist that you like but wouldn't go as far as buy his singles, he has released a number of songs and have quite a few hits in the UK, however some have fallen short of charting very well. He's signature song is "I'm Yours" but this song isn't too far behind. He is from Virginia in the US, and it's surprising how he has managed to hit the UK, as these sort of artists along with country artists don't even attempt to hit the UK as it usually doesn't work out well, but it looks like Jason Mraz along with other artists are setting the way for other artists of this genre to try and chart.
"I Won't Give Up" was written by Jason Mraz, Theodore Feldman and Michael Natter. The song is very emotional and it was definitely expected to be written by Jason Mraz. He manages to sing every word as if he means it, and that is exactly what you need for this song.
The music video is very symbolic, it is both performance and narrative and reminds me a lot of other music videos such as Avril Lavigne's "When You're Gone" amongst others that I can't think off the top of my head. Which means you are going to have to make the video different or it will be too similar to all the others, unfortunately this one is just the average video.
I was expecting something with this video and there isn't anything, clearly you know that a few are accepted but others have tears in their eyes which doesn't go with the video. Personally I think they must have seen Avril's video before coming up with the idea, as it is too similar, I understand that most videos are the same in one way or another but they change them so they don't look the same, but with this one they've changed it for the worse and not given us endings, leaving it up to us to decipher, which is totally not my thing.
Overall this song is so emotional, but it's video is too similar to others and there is little to no originality. They could've done so much more with this video and they haven't, and now I'm in two minds for this rating, should I be harsh or should I be kind? I have to admit it is a good way of linking to this video, but so many have done it before, and it will probably be done again and again in the future, and I don't think I can deal with seeing the same thing again and again.
"I Won't Give Up" was written by Jason Mraz, Theodore Feldman and Michael Natter. The song is very emotional and it was definitely expected to be written by Jason Mraz. He manages to sing every word as if he means it, and that is exactly what you need for this song.
The music video is very symbolic, it is both performance and narrative and reminds me a lot of other music videos such as Avril Lavigne's "When You're Gone" amongst others that I can't think off the top of my head. Which means you are going to have to make the video different or it will be too similar to all the others, unfortunately this one is just the average video.
I was expecting something with this video and there isn't anything, clearly you know that a few are accepted but others have tears in their eyes which doesn't go with the video. Personally I think they must have seen Avril's video before coming up with the idea, as it is too similar, I understand that most videos are the same in one way or another but they change them so they don't look the same, but with this one they've changed it for the worse and not given us endings, leaving it up to us to decipher, which is totally not my thing.
Overall this song is so emotional, but it's video is too similar to others and there is little to no originality. They could've done so much more with this video and they haven't, and now I'm in two minds for this rating, should I be harsh or should I be kind? I have to admit it is a good way of linking to this video, but so many have done it before, and it will probably be done again and again in the future, and I don't think I can deal with seeing the same thing again and again.
Christina Aguilera - Your Body
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I can safely announce Christina Aguilera is BACK! Her most recent album "Bionic" failed miserably and it could have been the end for her, but thanks to The Voice and "Moves Like Jagger" a collaboration with Maroon 5, she realised she still had credibility, and she has definitely returned to music with a vengeance, and this is going to be her next big hit, especially since people can't stop talking about it.
"Your Body" was written by Savan Kotecha, Max Martin, Shellback and Tiffany Amber. This is definitely a great mix of writers and usually any song by these or even a combination of these people is bound to be a hit, they have appeared on my blog a lot. I am surprised that Christina Aguilera didn't help to write this song, she's an amazing song-writer, however she has connected to the song well, and she is an incredible singer and will do any song justice.
This music video can only be described as tongue-in-cheek, there is no other way of describing it as it is quite malevolent and malicious but in a humorous fun way. If people died in a fit full of colour there would definitely be a lot more deaths going on, and it will definitely be the wrong people murdering.
This video is very fun, different and definitely stands out. I like the narrative, it's unexpected and I love the message at the start "no men were harmed in the making of this video". Which, at first, worried me as I have never seen this video until today and so I wasn't entirely sure what was going to be shown.
Christina is shown as quite sensual, confident and self-assured. She doesn't take herself too seriously and she likes to show her body off to men and then kill them. But in a ball of pink smoke, or in bright blue paint, or in a spurt of pink glitter. Clearly she's leaving colour everywhere and it would definitely be a great way to go.
Overall the song is one of those that will eventually grown on me, as for the music video it's astounding and I definitely haven't got anything bad to say about it, I like how the deaths are subtly implied rather than showing us the brutal side of things. However I do believe it is more explicit than Britney Spears' "Criminal", but I doubt the UK will ban this video.
"Your Body" was written by Savan Kotecha, Max Martin, Shellback and Tiffany Amber. This is definitely a great mix of writers and usually any song by these or even a combination of these people is bound to be a hit, they have appeared on my blog a lot. I am surprised that Christina Aguilera didn't help to write this song, she's an amazing song-writer, however she has connected to the song well, and she is an incredible singer and will do any song justice.
This music video can only be described as tongue-in-cheek, there is no other way of describing it as it is quite malevolent and malicious but in a humorous fun way. If people died in a fit full of colour there would definitely be a lot more deaths going on, and it will definitely be the wrong people murdering.
This video is very fun, different and definitely stands out. I like the narrative, it's unexpected and I love the message at the start "no men were harmed in the making of this video". Which, at first, worried me as I have never seen this video until today and so I wasn't entirely sure what was going to be shown.
Christina is shown as quite sensual, confident and self-assured. She doesn't take herself too seriously and she likes to show her body off to men and then kill them. But in a ball of pink smoke, or in bright blue paint, or in a spurt of pink glitter. Clearly she's leaving colour everywhere and it would definitely be a great way to go.
Overall the song is one of those that will eventually grown on me, as for the music video it's astounding and I definitely haven't got anything bad to say about it, I like how the deaths are subtly implied rather than showing us the brutal side of things. However I do believe it is more explicit than Britney Spears' "Criminal", but I doubt the UK will ban this video.
Cascada - Evacuate The Dancefloor
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Cascada is a three piece band consisting of Natalie Horler, Manian (real name Manuel Reuter) and Yanou (real name Yann Peifer). They have appeared on my blog a number of times, so much so that I forget which music videos I have reviewed. This is constantly a music video I think I've already reviewed and I'm always surprised to find out I haven't. Well after today I can safely say I have. The song has featured vocals from Carlprit who has collaborated with a number of singers, and he is attempting a solo career.
"Evacuate The Dancefloor" was written by Manuel Reuter, Yann Peifer and Allen Eshuijs. They went straight to number one with this song, and it was pretty obvious that was going to happen as they did promote the song a lot in the UK, I remember tuning into a show and seeing Natalie Horler performing the song. A lot of people were unaware that they have released more songs, ones that are potentially just as good as this one, but there has been next to no promotion and so no one knows.
The music video has a lot of choreography that is amazing to watch, I like how there is a lot of sync work, and it really works with the song. As we are used to seeing, Natalie Horler isn't dancing, only doing a few steps with her hands. However she can dance as we see in "Au Revior".
There isn't a lot for me to comment on. Carlprit's role is small, but so crucial, I doubt it would have got to number one without his involvement.
Going back to the dancers, some of the things and tricks they perform astounds me, like the guy doing the front flip a long with that woman who does some trick with her feet and for a few seconds she looks like she is floating.
Overall a great song that is totally worth that number one spot, however there are many singles they have released that deserves that top spot too, but people don't realise. The music video is great to watch the first time around but the more you watch it the more you realise there isn't much to it.
"Evacuate The Dancefloor" was written by Manuel Reuter, Yann Peifer and Allen Eshuijs. They went straight to number one with this song, and it was pretty obvious that was going to happen as they did promote the song a lot in the UK, I remember tuning into a show and seeing Natalie Horler performing the song. A lot of people were unaware that they have released more songs, ones that are potentially just as good as this one, but there has been next to no promotion and so no one knows.
The music video has a lot of choreography that is amazing to watch, I like how there is a lot of sync work, and it really works with the song. As we are used to seeing, Natalie Horler isn't dancing, only doing a few steps with her hands. However she can dance as we see in "Au Revior".
There isn't a lot for me to comment on. Carlprit's role is small, but so crucial, I doubt it would have got to number one without his involvement.
Going back to the dancers, some of the things and tricks they perform astounds me, like the guy doing the front flip a long with that woman who does some trick with her feet and for a few seconds she looks like she is floating.
Overall a great song that is totally worth that number one spot, however there are many singles they have released that deserves that top spot too, but people don't realise. The music video is great to watch the first time around but the more you watch it the more you realise there isn't much to it.
11 Ekim 2012 Perşembe
8 Tips For Mixing For Mastering
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While so many engineers now attempt to master their own mixes with mixed results (pardon the pun), just about every major label and large indie still sends their mixes to a pro mastering facility. Regardless of if you decide to master yourself or use a mastering engineer, here are some tips from The Mixing Engineer's Handbook to help you get the most out of your mastering session.
1. Don't over-EQ when mixing. In general, mastering engineers can do a better job for you if your mix is on the dull side rather than too bright. Likewise, better to be light on the bottom end than have too much.
2. Don’t over-compress when mixing. You might as well not even master if you’ve squashed it too much already. Hypercompression deprives the mastering engineer of one of his major abilities to help your project. Squash it for your friends and squash it for your clients, but leave some dynamics for your mastering engineer.
3. Come prepared. Make sure all documentation and sequencing is complete before you get there. You’ll make it easier on yourself and your mastering person if everything is well documented, and you’ll save yourself some money too. Be sure to include shipping instructions and record company identification numbers, and if your songs reside on hard disc as files, make sure that each file is properly ID'd for easy identification (especially if you’re not there during the session).
4. Check your phase when mixing. It can be a real shock when you get to the mastering studio and the engineer begins to check for mono compatibility and the lead singer disappears from the mix because something is out-of-phase. Even though this was more of a problem in the days of vinyl and AM radio, it’s still an important point since many so-called stereo sources such as television are either pseudo-stereo or only stereo some of the time. Check it and fix it if necessary before you get there.
5. Go to the mastering session if possible. Most engineers and producers will go to the first few sessions when checking out a new mastering engineer to see if he has the same musical and technical sensibilities. After that, a bond of trust develops and they will simply send the mix master with any instructions. That being said, you should go to all of the mastering sessions if possible because it will always sound a bit different (and hopefully better) than what it sounded like during mix-down. Attending the session also allows for some final creative decisions that only you can make ("The kick is a little loud, see if you can de-emphasize it a bit," or "Let's squash the whole mix a little more to make this tune punchier").
6. If you’re making a vinyl record or CD, known the song sequence. Sequencing (the order that the tunes appear on the CD or vinyl record) is especially important and making this list beforehand will save you money in mastering time. Many engineer/producers have the mistaken impression that once the final mix is finished, it's off to the mastering studio. There needs to be one additional session, known as the "sequencing session," where you do any editing that’s required (it’s cheaper to do in your own DAW than during mastering) and listen to the various sequence possibilities. This is really important if you’ll be releasing in multiple formats such as CD and vinyl or different countries or territories, since they may require a different song order due to the two sides of the record.
7. Have your songs timed out. If your project is going to be released on CD or vinyl, you want to make sure that your project can fit. Most CD's have a total time of just under 80 minutes (78:33 to be exact) although it’s possible to get an extended time CD (be careful, you may have replication problems). Obviously the available time decreases if you choose to include additional files on the ROM section of the disc. Cumulative time is important when mastering for vinyl because the mastering engineer must know the total time per side before he starts cutting due to the physical limitations of the disc. This is about 25 minutes per side if you want the record to be nice and loud.
8. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you’re unsure of the amount of compression or EQ that you’re applying while you’re mixing, send the mastering engineer a mix of a song and ask for his opinion. He can guide you on what you got right and what you got wrong so that when you finally deliver the master to him, the mixes sound their best. Believe it or not, mastering engineers love to do this because it makes their job a lot easier in the long run.
For additional tips and tricks or to read other excerpts, check out the excerpt section on bobbyowsinski.com.
----------------------------------Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.
You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.
While so many engineers now attempt to master their own mixes with mixed results (pardon the pun), just about every major label and large indie still sends their mixes to a pro mastering facility. Regardless of if you decide to master yourself or use a mastering engineer, here are some tips from The Mixing Engineer's Handbook to help you get the most out of your mastering session.1. Don't over-EQ when mixing. In general, mastering engineers can do a better job for you if your mix is on the dull side rather than too bright. Likewise, better to be light on the bottom end than have too much.
2. Don’t over-compress when mixing. You might as well not even master if you’ve squashed it too much already. Hypercompression deprives the mastering engineer of one of his major abilities to help your project. Squash it for your friends and squash it for your clients, but leave some dynamics for your mastering engineer.
3. Come prepared. Make sure all documentation and sequencing is complete before you get there. You’ll make it easier on yourself and your mastering person if everything is well documented, and you’ll save yourself some money too. Be sure to include shipping instructions and record company identification numbers, and if your songs reside on hard disc as files, make sure that each file is properly ID'd for easy identification (especially if you’re not there during the session).
4. Check your phase when mixing. It can be a real shock when you get to the mastering studio and the engineer begins to check for mono compatibility and the lead singer disappears from the mix because something is out-of-phase. Even though this was more of a problem in the days of vinyl and AM radio, it’s still an important point since many so-called stereo sources such as television are either pseudo-stereo or only stereo some of the time. Check it and fix it if necessary before you get there.
5. Go to the mastering session if possible. Most engineers and producers will go to the first few sessions when checking out a new mastering engineer to see if he has the same musical and technical sensibilities. After that, a bond of trust develops and they will simply send the mix master with any instructions. That being said, you should go to all of the mastering sessions if possible because it will always sound a bit different (and hopefully better) than what it sounded like during mix-down. Attending the session also allows for some final creative decisions that only you can make ("The kick is a little loud, see if you can de-emphasize it a bit," or "Let's squash the whole mix a little more to make this tune punchier").
6. If you’re making a vinyl record or CD, known the song sequence. Sequencing (the order that the tunes appear on the CD or vinyl record) is especially important and making this list beforehand will save you money in mastering time. Many engineer/producers have the mistaken impression that once the final mix is finished, it's off to the mastering studio. There needs to be one additional session, known as the "sequencing session," where you do any editing that’s required (it’s cheaper to do in your own DAW than during mastering) and listen to the various sequence possibilities. This is really important if you’ll be releasing in multiple formats such as CD and vinyl or different countries or territories, since they may require a different song order due to the two sides of the record.
7. Have your songs timed out. If your project is going to be released on CD or vinyl, you want to make sure that your project can fit. Most CD's have a total time of just under 80 minutes (78:33 to be exact) although it’s possible to get an extended time CD (be careful, you may have replication problems). Obviously the available time decreases if you choose to include additional files on the ROM section of the disc. Cumulative time is important when mastering for vinyl because the mastering engineer must know the total time per side before he starts cutting due to the physical limitations of the disc. This is about 25 minutes per side if you want the record to be nice and loud.
8. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you’re unsure of the amount of compression or EQ that you’re applying while you’re mixing, send the mastering engineer a mix of a song and ask for his opinion. He can guide you on what you got right and what you got wrong so that when you finally deliver the master to him, the mixes sound their best. Believe it or not, mastering engineers love to do this because it makes their job a lot easier in the long run.
For additional tips and tricks or to read other excerpts, check out the excerpt section on bobbyowsinski.com.
----------------------------------Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.
You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.
Jason Mraz - I Won't Give Up
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Jason Mraz is the sort of artist that you like but wouldn't go as far as buy his singles, he has released a number of songs and have quite a few hits in the UK, however some have fallen short of charting very well. He's signature song is "I'm Yours" but this song isn't too far behind. He is from Virginia in the US, and it's surprising how he has managed to hit the UK, as these sort of artists along with country artists don't even attempt to hit the UK as it usually doesn't work out well, but it looks like Jason Mraz along with other artists are setting the way for other artists of this genre to try and chart.
"I Won't Give Up" was written by Jason Mraz, Theodore Feldman and Michael Natter. The song is very emotional and it was definitely expected to be written by Jason Mraz. He manages to sing every word as if he means it, and that is exactly what you need for this song.
The music video is very symbolic, it is both performance and narrative and reminds me a lot of other music videos such as Avril Lavigne's "When You're Gone" amongst others that I can't think off the top of my head. Which means you are going to have to make the video different or it will be too similar to all the others, unfortunately this one is just the average video.
I was expecting something with this video and there isn't anything, clearly you know that a few are accepted but others have tears in their eyes which doesn't go with the video. Personally I think they must have seen Avril's video before coming up with the idea, as it is too similar, I understand that most videos are the same in one way or another but they change them so they don't look the same, but with this one they've changed it for the worse and not given us endings, leaving it up to us to decipher, which is totally not my thing.
Overall this song is so emotional, but it's video is too similar to others and there is little to no originality. They could've done so much more with this video and they haven't, and now I'm in two minds for this rating, should I be harsh or should I be kind? I have to admit it is a good way of linking to this video, but so many have done it before, and it will probably be done again and again in the future, and I don't think I can deal with seeing the same thing again and again.
"I Won't Give Up" was written by Jason Mraz, Theodore Feldman and Michael Natter. The song is very emotional and it was definitely expected to be written by Jason Mraz. He manages to sing every word as if he means it, and that is exactly what you need for this song.
The music video is very symbolic, it is both performance and narrative and reminds me a lot of other music videos such as Avril Lavigne's "When You're Gone" amongst others that I can't think off the top of my head. Which means you are going to have to make the video different or it will be too similar to all the others, unfortunately this one is just the average video.
I was expecting something with this video and there isn't anything, clearly you know that a few are accepted but others have tears in their eyes which doesn't go with the video. Personally I think they must have seen Avril's video before coming up with the idea, as it is too similar, I understand that most videos are the same in one way or another but they change them so they don't look the same, but with this one they've changed it for the worse and not given us endings, leaving it up to us to decipher, which is totally not my thing.
Overall this song is so emotional, but it's video is too similar to others and there is little to no originality. They could've done so much more with this video and they haven't, and now I'm in two minds for this rating, should I be harsh or should I be kind? I have to admit it is a good way of linking to this video, but so many have done it before, and it will probably be done again and again in the future, and I don't think I can deal with seeing the same thing again and again.
Karmin - Brokenhearted
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Karmin are a duo consisting of engaged couple Amy Heideman and Nick (Louis) Noonan. They are a new duo to hit the charts and I can see them doing well in the next few years. Especially since this song managed to chart at number 6 in the UK. "Brokenhearted" was written by Karmin, John Hill, Claude Kelly, Henry Walter, Emily Wright and Richard Head. It kind of reminds me of a Nicki Minaj song and it's got the same sort of catchiness. They did well to get to the chart position in the UK for their first international single, and I'll be interested in seeing what chart positions their future singles get, I'm sure it'll be high.
This music video made me confused, I thought it was an average party music video, surprisingly after reading about it on a different website I was quite surprised to find out that there is a narrative, and the video is well constructed that you may not see it the first time. The fact that they have managed to do such a thing, as well as involve everything that is needed in a music video has definitely brought my initial rating upwards.
The video is based on how Amy and Nick first met, I like how you see 3 different times of the days, we see the present while they are rehearsing, we see what happened last night, and also the morning after and her waiting for a phone call that never comes.
We see from last night that Amy and Nick met at a party and seem to have a connection staying together all the time and having fun with one another, at the end of the night they exchange numbers. Amy then sings "See I've been waiting all day. For you to call me baby. So let's get up, let's get on it.Don't you leave me broken hearted tonight" during the chorus; and the video plays on that the next day. She is idling about waiting for a call from Nick, but she never receives one. Then in the present day while they are performing the song during rehearsals we find out at the very end that Nick is actually seeing someone and that is the reason to why he never called her.
Overall it's a catchy little song that is definitely worth the chart position it got in the UK. It's accompanying music video is definitely one of the best I've ever seen, it involves everything you need and manages to hide the narrative pretty well. I have never had to watch a music video for a 2nd time because I missed the narrative. I also like the fact that the performance is included in the narrative and that we get to see what went on in the last 2 days. I haven't got a bad thing to say about this and therefore I have no choice but to award this music video with the following rating.
This music video made me confused, I thought it was an average party music video, surprisingly after reading about it on a different website I was quite surprised to find out that there is a narrative, and the video is well constructed that you may not see it the first time. The fact that they have managed to do such a thing, as well as involve everything that is needed in a music video has definitely brought my initial rating upwards.
The video is based on how Amy and Nick first met, I like how you see 3 different times of the days, we see the present while they are rehearsing, we see what happened last night, and also the morning after and her waiting for a phone call that never comes.
We see from last night that Amy and Nick met at a party and seem to have a connection staying together all the time and having fun with one another, at the end of the night they exchange numbers. Amy then sings "See I've been waiting all day. For you to call me baby. So let's get up, let's get on it.Don't you leave me broken hearted tonight" during the chorus; and the video plays on that the next day. She is idling about waiting for a call from Nick, but she never receives one. Then in the present day while they are performing the song during rehearsals we find out at the very end that Nick is actually seeing someone and that is the reason to why he never called her.
Overall it's a catchy little song that is definitely worth the chart position it got in the UK. It's accompanying music video is definitely one of the best I've ever seen, it involves everything you need and manages to hide the narrative pretty well. I have never had to watch a music video for a 2nd time because I missed the narrative. I also like the fact that the performance is included in the narrative and that we get to see what went on in the last 2 days. I haven't got a bad thing to say about this and therefore I have no choice but to award this music video with the following rating.
3OH!3 Featuring Ke$ha - My First Kiss
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This song was stuck in my head today, funny how I had "Blah Blah Blah" in my head yesterday, and now this. 3OH!3, as I covered yesterday, are a 2-piece band consisting of Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte. They used to be very popular in the UK, but in the last year or two they haven't been doing that well. They remind me a bit of LMFAO, only I prefer 3OH!3. I hope they have a good hit around the corner, they need a good comeback. Maybe another collaboration with Ke$ha would help? Who knows, but I'm hoping they don't disappear. As for Ke$ha well her real name is Kesha Serbert. It looks like an "I'll feature on your track if you feature on mine", this made me surprised, but it worked so well. Ke$ha is still going strong and I really doubt she'll disappear.
"My First Kiss" was written by Lukasz Gottwald, Sean Foreman, Nathaniel Motte and Benny Blanco. All of which have appeared on my blog a number of times. The song is about really liking a girl and having your first kiss with that person, as described by Sean Foreman. The song got to number 7 in the UK, although it should've done better!
The music video isn't the best, but it's not the worst either. It's mainly a performance piece, that looks like most of the budget went into editing. As for the narrative side, there isn't much, but they have edited it intricately.
There is a lot of explicit content, and a few surprising bits as well, that you wouldn't expect to see, how they managed to get it shown in the UK, I don't know how but they did. It relates to the song pretty well, and I like how there is no age discrimination, which is extremely clever.
However I haven't got a lot to say about it, Ke$ha's part is pretty small, and everything has a performance side to things such as the chorus bit where they have the 3OH!3 logo behind them.
The song is extremely catchy, however the video is lacking, it relates to the song but I wanted a lot more, and it's just not there. However they have tried to do their best and I don't think it's their fault for the budget they had, so they have done well considering. Hence why I'm giving it this rating.
"My First Kiss" was written by Lukasz Gottwald, Sean Foreman, Nathaniel Motte and Benny Blanco. All of which have appeared on my blog a number of times. The song is about really liking a girl and having your first kiss with that person, as described by Sean Foreman. The song got to number 7 in the UK, although it should've done better!
The music video isn't the best, but it's not the worst either. It's mainly a performance piece, that looks like most of the budget went into editing. As for the narrative side, there isn't much, but they have edited it intricately.
There is a lot of explicit content, and a few surprising bits as well, that you wouldn't expect to see, how they managed to get it shown in the UK, I don't know how but they did. It relates to the song pretty well, and I like how there is no age discrimination, which is extremely clever.
However I haven't got a lot to say about it, Ke$ha's part is pretty small, and everything has a performance side to things such as the chorus bit where they have the 3OH!3 logo behind them.
The song is extremely catchy, however the video is lacking, it relates to the song but I wanted a lot more, and it's just not there. However they have tried to do their best and I don't think it's their fault for the budget they had, so they have done well considering. Hence why I'm giving it this rating.
Radio City Christmas Spectacular 2012 Dates
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The 2012 Radio City Christmas Spectacular is celebrating their 85th anniversary. The Rockettes will dance and show off their elaborate costumes with all their dance numbers. This year there will be many breathtaking special effects and surprises. Don't miss out on this wonderful annual Holiday Special which will surely get you into the spirit of Christmas. Click or see below for a list of Radio City Christmas Spectacular dates and venues.
New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall - November 9 through December 30, 2012
Saint Louis, MI - Peabody Opera House - November 8 through November 17, 2012
Nashville, TN - Grand Ole Opry House - November 16 through December 23, 2012
Grand Prairie, TX - Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie - November 23 through December 8, 2012
Rosemont, IL - Akoo Theatre - December 14 through December 30, 2012
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| Radio City Christmas Spectacular (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The 2012 Radio City Christmas Spectacular is celebrating their 85th anniversary. The Rockettes will dance and show off their elaborate costumes with all their dance numbers. This year there will be many breathtaking special effects and surprises. Don't miss out on this wonderful annual Holiday Special which will surely get you into the spirit of Christmas. Click or see below for a list of Radio City Christmas Spectacular dates and venues.
New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall - November 9 through December 30, 2012
Saint Louis, MI - Peabody Opera House - November 8 through November 17, 2012
Nashville, TN - Grand Ole Opry House - November 16 through December 23, 2012
Grand Prairie, TX - Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie - November 23 through December 8, 2012
Rosemont, IL - Akoo Theatre - December 14 through December 30, 2012
10 Ekim 2012 Çarşamba
Rare Video: "Let's Buy A Record"
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Here's a gem that shows a piece of recording history. It's a 1951 promotional film by Capitol Records called "Want to Buy a Record?" It features the legendary Mel Blanc trying to sell a record to passer-by Billy May. Skip to 10:40 for a look at a session in the old Capitol Studios on Melrose Blvd a few years before the renowned Capitol Tower was built.
The film also shows lacquer cutting, a brief meeting with Les Paul and Mary Ford, and then a rare clip of Dean Martin recording. It finishes up with a tour of a record pressing plant. It's the whole Capitol family in a time gone by.
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The film also shows lacquer cutting, a brief meeting with Les Paul and Mary Ford, and then a rare clip of Dean Martin recording. It finishes up with a tour of a record pressing plant. It's the whole Capitol family in a time gone by.
----------------------------------Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.
You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.
O'Jays "For The Love Of Money" Song Analysis
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Reader Phil LoCascio requested a song analysis of a mid-70's r&b hit by The O'Jays called "For The Love Of Money" from their Ship Ahoy album. The song represented some great Philly Soul and is another iconic production by producers and writers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff for Philadelphia International Records, an r&b powerhouse in the 70's. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard R&B chart and #9 on the Pop chart. It's title comes from the well-known bible verse "For the love of money is the root of all evil."
Like with all song analysis, we'll look at the song form, the arrangement, the sound and the production.
The Song
The album version of the "For The Love Of Money" is over 7 minutes long, but we'll look at the single edited version here, since that was one that garnered most airplay (although the full album version did get played a lot as well). The form looks like this:
Intro, verse, interlude, chorus, interlude, verse, bridge, chorus, outro
There's not really a lot of sections to the song, yet it seems a lot longer than it actually is. That doesn't mean that you loose interest though. The fact of the matter is that the song continues to evolve as it goes along.
The Arrangement
"For The Love Of Money" is really a mini-masterpiece when you really begin to analyze it. It's built around a simple yet powerful bass riff that continues through most of the song, yet there's always something going on around it that keeps your attention.
The song begins with the bass riff by itself, which is then joined by the drums and percussion after two passages of the riff. A trumpet line is added, which has a harmony added on the second time around.
During the verses, the horns, piano and organ play the chord pattern while a wah guitar pushes the rhythm along with the congas. The lead vocals are traded back and forth between the members of the band. The choruses follow the same chord pattern as the verse, but the background vocals restate the song title. It's only in the bridge that the bass and drums really play anything resembling a typical rhythm section pattern, while the organ plays a pad.
Finally, the outro is basically a chorus with the vocals turned around, with the backgrounds taking the melody and the lead vocals ad libing. The arrangement elements look like this:
* The Foundation: bass and drums
* The Rhythm: congas and wah guitar
* The Pad: organ in the bridge
*The Lead: lead and background vocals
* The Fills: lead and background vocals, horns in the outro
The Sound
The sound of "For The Love Of Money," recorded at Philadelphia's legendary Sigma Sound by its owner Joe Tarsia, is classically 70's clean. A little known fact is that Sigma was the second studio in the US to offer 24 track recording, one of the first to use a DI to record bass, and the first to have console automation!
Perhaps the most compelling part of the song is bassist Anthony Jackson's signature bass line. Take notice that it crosses back and forth between being bathed in reverb and being dry, while also being slightly phased. This is one of the rare times in music where the bass actually benefits from reverb, since it's used as an effect to draw the listeners attention during a section where the bass is playing by itself.
The song also features phasing on the drums and backwards reverb vocals on the background vocal parts. Also take notice that the panning is very wide, with the horns only on the right side (and their echo on the left) along with the B-3 and wah guitar, and the congas only on the left side along with the occasional piano.
Just about everything in the mix has some sort of excellent sounding reverb on it, which really gives it a rich, yet not too distant sound.
The Production
Gamble and Huff were the heart of the Philly Soul era, and their productions have always been sophisticated way beyond what they've been given credit for. The fact that they could take a pretty simple riff and turn it into a top 10 single is a testament to their songwriting and production abilities.
From the backwards phasing on the vocals, the phasing on the drums in the intro, the reverb on the bass, the extreme panning of instruments - any one which might be dubious in most songs, yet all used here - the song is total ear candy. Yet those tricks aren't done just because they're cool, but because they all contribute to the song as they blend in seamlessly to the track.
But the real trick is how they weave instruments together. Listen to how the horns, organ and piano all meld together to become one instrument during the verses and chorus. Listen to the unusual drum beat that compliments the bass line perfectly.
The 3 minute singles version is embedded below, but if you really want a treat, check out the full 7 minute album version as well.
Send me your song requests.
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Reader Phil LoCascio requested a song analysis of a mid-70's r&b hit by The O'Jays called "For The Love Of Money" from their Ship Ahoy album. The song represented some great Philly Soul and is another iconic production by producers and writers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff for Philadelphia International Records, an r&b powerhouse in the 70's. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard R&B chart and #9 on the Pop chart. It's title comes from the well-known bible verse "For the love of money is the root of all evil."Like with all song analysis, we'll look at the song form, the arrangement, the sound and the production.
The Song
The album version of the "For The Love Of Money" is over 7 minutes long, but we'll look at the single edited version here, since that was one that garnered most airplay (although the full album version did get played a lot as well). The form looks like this:
Intro, verse, interlude, chorus, interlude, verse, bridge, chorus, outro
There's not really a lot of sections to the song, yet it seems a lot longer than it actually is. That doesn't mean that you loose interest though. The fact of the matter is that the song continues to evolve as it goes along.
The Arrangement
"For The Love Of Money" is really a mini-masterpiece when you really begin to analyze it. It's built around a simple yet powerful bass riff that continues through most of the song, yet there's always something going on around it that keeps your attention.
The song begins with the bass riff by itself, which is then joined by the drums and percussion after two passages of the riff. A trumpet line is added, which has a harmony added on the second time around.
During the verses, the horns, piano and organ play the chord pattern while a wah guitar pushes the rhythm along with the congas. The lead vocals are traded back and forth between the members of the band. The choruses follow the same chord pattern as the verse, but the background vocals restate the song title. It's only in the bridge that the bass and drums really play anything resembling a typical rhythm section pattern, while the organ plays a pad.
Finally, the outro is basically a chorus with the vocals turned around, with the backgrounds taking the melody and the lead vocals ad libing. The arrangement elements look like this:
* The Foundation: bass and drums
* The Rhythm: congas and wah guitar
* The Pad: organ in the bridge
*The Lead: lead and background vocals
* The Fills: lead and background vocals, horns in the outro
The Sound
The sound of "For The Love Of Money," recorded at Philadelphia's legendary Sigma Sound by its owner Joe Tarsia, is classically 70's clean. A little known fact is that Sigma was the second studio in the US to offer 24 track recording, one of the first to use a DI to record bass, and the first to have console automation!
Perhaps the most compelling part of the song is bassist Anthony Jackson's signature bass line. Take notice that it crosses back and forth between being bathed in reverb and being dry, while also being slightly phased. This is one of the rare times in music where the bass actually benefits from reverb, since it's used as an effect to draw the listeners attention during a section where the bass is playing by itself.
The song also features phasing on the drums and backwards reverb vocals on the background vocal parts. Also take notice that the panning is very wide, with the horns only on the right side (and their echo on the left) along with the B-3 and wah guitar, and the congas only on the left side along with the occasional piano.
Just about everything in the mix has some sort of excellent sounding reverb on it, which really gives it a rich, yet not too distant sound.
The Production
Gamble and Huff were the heart of the Philly Soul era, and their productions have always been sophisticated way beyond what they've been given credit for. The fact that they could take a pretty simple riff and turn it into a top 10 single is a testament to their songwriting and production abilities.
From the backwards phasing on the vocals, the phasing on the drums in the intro, the reverb on the bass, the extreme panning of instruments - any one which might be dubious in most songs, yet all used here - the song is total ear candy. Yet those tricks aren't done just because they're cool, but because they all contribute to the song as they blend in seamlessly to the track.
But the real trick is how they weave instruments together. Listen to how the horns, organ and piano all meld together to become one instrument during the verses and chorus. Listen to the unusual drum beat that compliments the bass line perfectly.
The 3 minute singles version is embedded below, but if you really want a treat, check out the full 7 minute album version as well.
Send me your song requests.
----------------------------------Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.
You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.
New Music Gear Monday: Reftone Monitors
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Any of you "classic" engineers reading have probably used Auratone 5Cs at some time during your career, but since they haven't been made for some time, most of today's engineers have not yet had the pleasure.
The Auratone (or "Horribletone" or "Horrortone" as many called it in the day) was a 3 1/2 inch speaker in a very small un-ported square cabinet. Unlike virtually all other speakers, it was never meant to sound good, only an average of the typical consumer playback system of the time. It fact, it sounded mediocre at best and that's why studio rats liked it way back when. If your mix sounded great the Auratones, then you could be pretty sure that it sounded great anywhere.
The fact is that the Auratone 5C was the first more or less "standard" reference speakers for the studio, way before the Yamaha NS-10C held that distinction. But just like the NS-10, the Auratones haven't been manufactured for some time. As a result, you now see them on Ebay for $500 a pair or even more. As with all things vintage, many engineers who discarded their 5Cs years ago now wish they had them back.
And now they are, brought back to life as the Reftone, a new representation of something that so many found so useful in the past. The brainchild of engineer Dave Hampton, who had previously built custom versions for Prince and Herbie Hancock, the monitor is updated with a new heavy-duty shielded driver and made from birch instead of MDF. Plus they have a slightly smaller footprint than the original Auratone 5C. That said, the word is that they still sound very close to the old Auratones.
Reftones retail at $299 a pair and are available in a variety of different colors and wood enclosures. By the way, these speakers are passive, so you have to supply your own amp. The amp/speaker combination is critical so there's a list of amp suggestions of the Reftone site.
You're not going to get big thumping bass out of these things, but that's not the point. It's the midrange that so important to definition in a mix, and that's what these are best at. Here's a short video from producer Randy Emata regarding the monitors.
----------------------------------Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.
You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
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Any of you "classic" engineers reading have probably used Auratone 5Cs at some time during your career, but since they haven't been made for some time, most of today's engineers have not yet had the pleasure.The Auratone (or "Horribletone" or "Horrortone" as many called it in the day) was a 3 1/2 inch speaker in a very small un-ported square cabinet. Unlike virtually all other speakers, it was never meant to sound good, only an average of the typical consumer playback system of the time. It fact, it sounded mediocre at best and that's why studio rats liked it way back when. If your mix sounded great the Auratones, then you could be pretty sure that it sounded great anywhere.
The fact is that the Auratone 5C was the first more or less "standard" reference speakers for the studio, way before the Yamaha NS-10C held that distinction. But just like the NS-10, the Auratones haven't been manufactured for some time. As a result, you now see them on Ebay for $500 a pair or even more. As with all things vintage, many engineers who discarded their 5Cs years ago now wish they had them back.
And now they are, brought back to life as the Reftone, a new representation of something that so many found so useful in the past. The brainchild of engineer Dave Hampton, who had previously built custom versions for Prince and Herbie Hancock, the monitor is updated with a new heavy-duty shielded driver and made from birch instead of MDF. Plus they have a slightly smaller footprint than the original Auratone 5C. That said, the word is that they still sound very close to the old Auratones.
Reftones retail at $299 a pair and are available in a variety of different colors and wood enclosures. By the way, these speakers are passive, so you have to supply your own amp. The amp/speaker combination is critical so there's a list of amp suggestions of the Reftone site.
You're not going to get big thumping bass out of these things, but that's not the point. It's the midrange that so important to definition in a mix, and that's what these are best at. Here's a short video from producer Randy Emata regarding the monitors.
----------------------------------Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.
You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.
The Science Behind Bad Singing
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Why are some singers naturally gifted and others tone deaf? That's what researchers in Montreal and Warsaw wanted to find out. In a new study published in the Journal of The Acoustical Society of America called Singing Proficiency in the General Population, Isabelle Peretz, Jean-Francois Giguere and Simone Dala Bella tested the singing abilities of 62 non-musicians in Quebec.
They asked random individuals to sing a verse from a song called "Gens du Pays," which is a common French birthday song. The verse of the song was chosen because it has 32 notes, a vocal range of less than an octave and a stable tonal center, according to the researchers.
What they tested for in each performance was:
But there were a small minority of really bad singers, who claimed that they were "tone deaf." It turns out that they were anything but. When tested, they were actually remarkable good at hearing pitch deviations, they just were bad at executing them.
Probably the biggest problem with recording a vocal is pitch. If this study holds true, the simple act of slowing the vocalist down to go over the part might be a quick and easy way to improve a performance.
Anybody care to try this and report back?
If interested, you can check out another similar study here.
----------------------------------Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.
You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.
Why are some singers naturally gifted and others tone deaf? That's what researchers in Montreal and Warsaw wanted to find out. In a new study published in the Journal of The Acoustical Society of America called Singing Proficiency in the General Population, Isabelle Peretz, Jean-Francois Giguere and Simone Dala Bella tested the singing abilities of 62 non-musicians in Quebec.They asked random individuals to sing a verse from a song called "Gens du Pays," which is a common French birthday song. The verse of the song was chosen because it has 32 notes, a vocal range of less than an octave and a stable tonal center, according to the researchers.
What they tested for in each performance was:
- pitch stability
- the number of pitch interval errors
- pitch deviation
- timing errors
- tempo consistency
But there were a small minority of really bad singers, who claimed that they were "tone deaf." It turns out that they were anything but. When tested, they were actually remarkable good at hearing pitch deviations, they just were bad at executing them.
Probably the biggest problem with recording a vocal is pitch. If this study holds true, the simple act of slowing the vocalist down to go over the part might be a quick and easy way to improve a performance.
Anybody care to try this and report back?
If interested, you can check out another similar study here.
----------------------------------Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.
You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.
A Look Back At Philadelphia's Sigma Sound
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Last week I posted a song analysis of "For The Love Of Money" by The O'Jays, which was done at Philadelphia's famed Sigma Sound. Sigma was at the heart of the Philly Soul sound of the 70s and is often overlooked in the annals of pro audio.
The fact of the matter was that Sigma was always on the forefront of studio innovation. It was the second studio in the US to offer 24 track recording, one of the first to use a DI to record bass, and the first to have console automation! All of these features are so mundane today, but way back then they were a big deal.
Here's a great video of Sigma owner and engineer Joe Tarsia describing what Sigma was like back then.
----------------------------------Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.
You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.
The fact of the matter was that Sigma was always on the forefront of studio innovation. It was the second studio in the US to offer 24 track recording, one of the first to use a DI to record bass, and the first to have console automation! All of these features are so mundane today, but way back then they were a big deal.
Here's a great video of Sigma owner and engineer Joe Tarsia describing what Sigma was like back then.
----------------------------------Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.
You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.
Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.
9 Ekim 2012 Salı
The Wombats - Moving To New York
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The Wombats have finally made my blog and it's all down to the fact that my flatmates keep playing this song and it is stuck in my head, so why not review this music video? The indie band is comprised of 3 members who are Matthew Murphy, Dan Haggis and Tord Øverland-Knudson. They have released a lot of singles so far, and this is their biggest hit in the UK, second is "Let's Dance To Joy Division" which got number 15. Their most recent singles have failed to chart well, is this the end, or will they return with a well received song? We'll have to see, but it does look like indie is on it's last legs, but that can easily be turn around.
"Moving To New York" was The Wombats first single and currently their best charting single managing to get to number 13. The song was written Matthew Murphy, which explains why he manages to connect to the song easily when he sings. The song was first released on a limited edition 7" vinyl in October 2006, but it was then re-released 1 and a bit years later in January 2008.
The music video is a real take of what goes on in the lyrics, which is expected and annoys me at times as clearly they can't think of anything good to make it stand out. I'm glad they managed to make it both performance and narrative, but it's been done in a television style, therefore we watch it as a third-viewer and in doing so we miss out on what they are like live.
The story is very steppy (not a word I know but the only word I can come up with to describe it). There is no flow and no way of describing this better. It's like they've looked at the lyrics and decided that here we will put this, and here we will put that. With nothing following that well.
Having said that I like how it's been done and it has an indie vibe, but that is all I have good to say about it. The song is ultimately catchy and is one of those songs you will still be hearing again and again in the future and you'll never be sick of it (hopefully). It's music video is lacking and just not as good as it should've been, it's a good portrayal of the lyrics but not done in the best way.
The Wombats have finally made my blog and it's all down to the fact that my flatmates keep playing this song and it is stuck in my head, so why not review this music video? The indie band is comprised of 3 members who are Matthew Murphy, Dan Haggis and Tord Øverland-Knudson. They have released a lot of singles so far, and this is their biggest hit in the UK, second is "Let's Dance To Joy Division" which got number 15. Their most recent singles have failed to chart well, is this the end, or will they return with a well received song? We'll have to see, but it does look like indie is on it's last legs, but that can easily be turn around.
"Moving To New York" was The Wombats first single and currently their best charting single managing to get to number 13. The song was written Matthew Murphy, which explains why he manages to connect to the song easily when he sings. The song was first released on a limited edition 7" vinyl in October 2006, but it was then re-released 1 and a bit years later in January 2008.
The music video is a real take of what goes on in the lyrics, which is expected and annoys me at times as clearly they can't think of anything good to make it stand out. I'm glad they managed to make it both performance and narrative, but it's been done in a television style, therefore we watch it as a third-viewer and in doing so we miss out on what they are like live.
The story is very steppy (not a word I know but the only word I can come up with to describe it). There is no flow and no way of describing this better. It's like they've looked at the lyrics and decided that here we will put this, and here we will put that. With nothing following that well.
Having said that I like how it's been done and it has an indie vibe, but that is all I have good to say about it. The song is ultimately catchy and is one of those songs you will still be hearing again and again in the future and you'll never be sick of it (hopefully). It's music video is lacking and just not as good as it should've been, it's a good portrayal of the lyrics but not done in the best way.
David Guetta Featuring Sia - Titanium
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David Guetta, real name is Pierre David Guetta, has definitely came a long way in the last few years and he will never disappear. He has released a number of singles, many of which have appeared on my blog, and I believe I haven't given a bad rating to any of them, and this certainly isn't a video that will change it, as this video is top notch too. It's a collaboration with Sia, who was unknown internationally until after this song and Flo Rida's "Wild Ones". It has definitely pushed her into the limelight. Her actual name is Sia Furler, and I can see her releasing a lot more songs internationally and getting a lot of chart worthy hits.
"Titanium" was written by Sia Furler, David Guetta, Giorgio Tuinfort and Nick Van De Wall. Sia wrote the song for various well-known artists, Katy Perry turned it down, and so did Alicia Keys apparently. A leaked version was released online featuring vocals from Mary J. Blige. It makes you question how many artists did record vocals or were just offered it. But David Guetta decided to stick with Sia, and it was definitely worth the risk, she wasn't known in the US, and hadn't released in the UK in years (yes she had previously managed to get to number 10 back in 2000), but her version worked well and managed to get to number one in the UK.
The video is perfect, the song is about being strong and standing up for yourself as well as the inner strength and being able to release it. They have taken that way out of proportion and put it in this amazing video. HANDS UP this was the first time I had seen this video, as I'm not too keen on the song so I always skipped over it when I used to watch the music channels.
The video has a narrative that never features Sia or David Guetta (it's like it used to be for David Guetta videos). Our main protagonist is Ryan Lee who has been in a lot of films and TV shows. A lot of people have said it reminds them of Chronicle and I certainly wouldn't disagree.
We start off in a school corridor that has been wrecked with paper everywhere. Ryan Lee stands up and passes a teacher who is terrified of him, clearly he has done the damage. He walks out of the school as the police show up and the female teacher runs out and tells the police he was the one who did it. By then he is cycling home. When he gets there he finds out that it's all over the news so he gathers his things ready to run away, but the police get there before he is ready, he goes for the back door but it's locked so he uses his supernatural powers to get the keys and unlock the door. The police get inside and find the boy gone, all is left is 2 teddy bears floating in the air. The boy is later captured in the woods by the police, but he finds his inner strength and blasts them all away. The story ends on a cliff-hanger and makes you wonder whether he will be running for the rest of his life, or will he eventually find a safe place?
There are a few things that get on my nerves like him using the keys to unlock the door, why can't he use his powers to unlock the door? And the fact that the story doesn't have a proper ending, therefore leaves it open for everyone to come up with an ending, which I hate in films and TV series and in music videos, unless they follow it up with a sequel. But I just can't knock off a star for that as others like it too. This song took me some time to finally like it. But it's video is astounding and therefore I have no choice but to give it this rating.
"Titanium" was written by Sia Furler, David Guetta, Giorgio Tuinfort and Nick Van De Wall. Sia wrote the song for various well-known artists, Katy Perry turned it down, and so did Alicia Keys apparently. A leaked version was released online featuring vocals from Mary J. Blige. It makes you question how many artists did record vocals or were just offered it. But David Guetta decided to stick with Sia, and it was definitely worth the risk, she wasn't known in the US, and hadn't released in the UK in years (yes she had previously managed to get to number 10 back in 2000), but her version worked well and managed to get to number one in the UK.
The video is perfect, the song is about being strong and standing up for yourself as well as the inner strength and being able to release it. They have taken that way out of proportion and put it in this amazing video. HANDS UP this was the first time I had seen this video, as I'm not too keen on the song so I always skipped over it when I used to watch the music channels.
The video has a narrative that never features Sia or David Guetta (it's like it used to be for David Guetta videos). Our main protagonist is Ryan Lee who has been in a lot of films and TV shows. A lot of people have said it reminds them of Chronicle and I certainly wouldn't disagree.
We start off in a school corridor that has been wrecked with paper everywhere. Ryan Lee stands up and passes a teacher who is terrified of him, clearly he has done the damage. He walks out of the school as the police show up and the female teacher runs out and tells the police he was the one who did it. By then he is cycling home. When he gets there he finds out that it's all over the news so he gathers his things ready to run away, but the police get there before he is ready, he goes for the back door but it's locked so he uses his supernatural powers to get the keys and unlock the door. The police get inside and find the boy gone, all is left is 2 teddy bears floating in the air. The boy is later captured in the woods by the police, but he finds his inner strength and blasts them all away. The story ends on a cliff-hanger and makes you wonder whether he will be running for the rest of his life, or will he eventually find a safe place?
There are a few things that get on my nerves like him using the keys to unlock the door, why can't he use his powers to unlock the door? And the fact that the story doesn't have a proper ending, therefore leaves it open for everyone to come up with an ending, which I hate in films and TV series and in music videos, unless they follow it up with a sequel. But I just can't knock off a star for that as others like it too. This song took me some time to finally like it. But it's video is astounding and therefore I have no choice but to give it this rating.
Christina Aguilera Featuring Redman - Dirrty
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Christina Aguilera gets my Sunday revisit. This is definitely the music video everyone links with Christina Aguilera and it will be described below as to why. She has come a long way since this video and it definitely changed the perceptions people had on her. Most recently Miley Cyrus has released a similar music video that also came to controversy. She has recently came back to the music industry with an amazing new song called "Your Body" and I cannot wait to see what the future brings. Will there be a new number one soon? Or will she be like Britney Spears, always trying to get to the top spot, and having those songs that deserves to be there, but just doesn't get there. She has collaborated with Redman, real name Reginald Noble, who was a big American rapper in the late 90's, early 00's but who never released in the UK, or just didn't chart. He has been trying to return to music for a while, will he become as big as he used to be or will he just disappear with the rest of them?
"Dirrty" was written by Christina Aguilera, Rockwilder, Balewa Muhammad, Redman and Jasper Cameron. It is unsurprising that Christina Aguilera helped to write the song, and she has definitely managed to do exactly what she wanted to do. The songwriters used "Let's Get Dirty (I Can't Get In Da Club)" by Redman as a template and it definitely works.
The music video hit controversy as Christina Aguilera wanted to change her direction dramatically. From her previous videos we had seen her as cute, young, delicate and dainty. It's not how she wanted to be perceived and usually the only way to push it aside is to go the total opposite and that is exactly what she has done. In later years it has been praised, especially by Miley Cyrus, who has done something similar with the music video for "Can't Be Tamed", which sparked controversy as young girls had been watching Hannah Montana, in which she plays a cute dainty girl, and Miley believed that isn't her and so she became the opposite.
The video has a BIG choreographed dance scene, I love these, at the end of the day you can't beat Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera's dancing, they are great dancers and it shows in all their music videos (please remember these artists are actually friends and there is only rivalry thanks to the media).
Although this video is dingy grungy and DIRRTY, it's different to what we expected from Christina Aguilera, and it made all her future videos different, and I just can't dislike this video. I was young when it first came out and didn't actually watch it, as far as I remember. Although I do remember seeing clips, I think it was on Top Of The Pops, and I think my parents turned it over because of it's content.
Overall this music video has a lot going on and very little at the same time. The song is catchy and definitely worthy of that number one in the UK. It changed the future of all Christina Aguilera music videos, and I'm sure Miley Cyrus' future music videos will be different too. I've actually found this music video the most hardest to review, and I'm glad all I have to do is give it a rating. I dropped one star because I don't think there is a lot to the narrative, but that all.
"Dirrty" was written by Christina Aguilera, Rockwilder, Balewa Muhammad, Redman and Jasper Cameron. It is unsurprising that Christina Aguilera helped to write the song, and she has definitely managed to do exactly what she wanted to do. The songwriters used "Let's Get Dirty (I Can't Get In Da Club)" by Redman as a template and it definitely works.
The music video hit controversy as Christina Aguilera wanted to change her direction dramatically. From her previous videos we had seen her as cute, young, delicate and dainty. It's not how she wanted to be perceived and usually the only way to push it aside is to go the total opposite and that is exactly what she has done. In later years it has been praised, especially by Miley Cyrus, who has done something similar with the music video for "Can't Be Tamed", which sparked controversy as young girls had been watching Hannah Montana, in which she plays a cute dainty girl, and Miley believed that isn't her and so she became the opposite.
The video has a BIG choreographed dance scene, I love these, at the end of the day you can't beat Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera's dancing, they are great dancers and it shows in all their music videos (please remember these artists are actually friends and there is only rivalry thanks to the media).
Although this video is dingy grungy and DIRRTY, it's different to what we expected from Christina Aguilera, and it made all her future videos different, and I just can't dislike this video. I was young when it first came out and didn't actually watch it, as far as I remember. Although I do remember seeing clips, I think it was on Top Of The Pops, and I think my parents turned it over because of it's content.
Overall this music video has a lot going on and very little at the same time. The song is catchy and definitely worthy of that number one in the UK. It changed the future of all Christina Aguilera music videos, and I'm sure Miley Cyrus' future music videos will be different too. I've actually found this music video the most hardest to review, and I'm glad all I have to do is give it a rating. I dropped one star because I don't think there is a lot to the narrative, but that all.
New Release: Alexandra Stan - Lemonade
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Alexandra Stan hit the UK with "Mr. Saxobeat" managing to get all the way to number 3. I am definitely a big fan, not only does she look amazing but she is a great singer with very catchy songs, much like her label friend Inna. She is from Romania, who happens to be doing pretty well in the music industry so far and it can only get better for them. Her second single "Get Back (ASAP)" failed to chart as well as her first song, only managing to get to number 56. As for this song, released yesterday, there is no sign of it on the top 1000 iTunes chart. Unless there is a lot of sales within the next few days, I don't see it charting, which is definitely disappointing as this song is extremely catchy.
Written by Marcel Prodan and Andrei Nemirschi, it seems like a club hit, but it's just not being promoted, and although the music channels were playing it quite a lot before I went off to uni, it is just not enough promotion, will she just be this one hit wonder? I hope not as I don't want her to disappear, surely there is a big hit around the corner. The song has been received well across Europe, but not as well as it should.
The music video takes a different take to things, we all believed that we would have a Basshunter-like follow-through music video franchise, but guess that isn't going to happen. Although the cops do appear in this video begging to question whether there's more to this video than we first thought.
It is extremely colourful, and you can't help but enjoy watching it. Having said that they use the black and white tool, which is another little bug-bear I have, however it doesn't annoy me in this case, I think it's because it's only used in a small scene and it kind of relates to the song as well. The video manages to portray that and I like the fact that everyone is dancing and just having fun.
Overall a catchy little song that I'm going to buy tomorrow to hopefully get a few more sales for it, I hope you download it too and help it to get on the UK charts. As for the music video it relates to the song well and it's definitely a fun-filled music video filled with the sun and enjoyment the sun can bring. The only reason I'm dropping a star is because she is singing to someone in the song, and we don't have a male protagonist (really) and so it doesn't work perfectly.
Written by Marcel Prodan and Andrei Nemirschi, it seems like a club hit, but it's just not being promoted, and although the music channels were playing it quite a lot before I went off to uni, it is just not enough promotion, will she just be this one hit wonder? I hope not as I don't want her to disappear, surely there is a big hit around the corner. The song has been received well across Europe, but not as well as it should.
The music video takes a different take to things, we all believed that we would have a Basshunter-like follow-through music video franchise, but guess that isn't going to happen. Although the cops do appear in this video begging to question whether there's more to this video than we first thought.
It is extremely colourful, and you can't help but enjoy watching it. Having said that they use the black and white tool, which is another little bug-bear I have, however it doesn't annoy me in this case, I think it's because it's only used in a small scene and it kind of relates to the song as well. The video manages to portray that and I like the fact that everyone is dancing and just having fun.
Overall a catchy little song that I'm going to buy tomorrow to hopefully get a few more sales for it, I hope you download it too and help it to get on the UK charts. As for the music video it relates to the song well and it's definitely a fun-filled music video filled with the sun and enjoyment the sun can bring. The only reason I'm dropping a star is because she is singing to someone in the song, and we don't have a male protagonist (really) and so it doesn't work perfectly.
Ke$ha Featuring 3OH!3 - Blah Blah Blah
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Ke$ha, real name Kesha Sebert, has been going for a couple of years, managing to get hit singles here and there in the UK, including a number one with "We R Who We R". Her most known song has to be "TiK ToK" but she is releasing new music soon and I cannot wait to be able to listen to it and review it. 3OH!3 features on this song, who are a 2-piece band consisting of Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte. They have had a few hits but in recent times they have failed to make the UK chart and many other international charts, could this be the end of them? I sure hope not.
"Blah Blah Blah" was written by Kesha Sebert, Benjamin Levin, Neon Hitch and Sean Foreman. They came up with this song after arguing who talks more guys or girls. Ke$ha has definitely made her own style and still no one has jumped on to the band wagon as far as I am aware of and therefore, in doing so she is going to be untouchable. This is like nothing anyone has heard before and that is why she charts so well.
This music video is always funny to watch, it's both narrative and performance, as the bits when she flies in the air shows how crazy she actually is and you could definitely imagine you wouldn't be disappointed if you saw her live.
Since she is the main protagonist, guys are shown in a negative light as always talking and she wants them to stop. And usually they don't therefore she goes about shutting them up herself. When 3OH!3 come in they turn it around and show that girls are the ones who talk so much, but they are only there for a short time and I feel they aren't able to pass that over that well, which is exactly what Ke$ha wants, clearly she has shown that guys do talk more than girls.
I like how different the guys are that go after her, which suggests that she tends to have many admirers that she isn't happy with, many of which she probably calls "douches". She is also very bad at bowling.
Overall a very catchy song, with an accompanying music video that makes me laugh lots. The guy at the start is played by Bret Ernst. But I haven't got a clue who the other people are in the videos, so if anyone knows and can cite a source for me, I'll add their names in. I haven't got a bad thing to say about this video, and therefore have no choice but to give it this rating.
"Blah Blah Blah" was written by Kesha Sebert, Benjamin Levin, Neon Hitch and Sean Foreman. They came up with this song after arguing who talks more guys or girls. Ke$ha has definitely made her own style and still no one has jumped on to the band wagon as far as I am aware of and therefore, in doing so she is going to be untouchable. This is like nothing anyone has heard before and that is why she charts so well.
This music video is always funny to watch, it's both narrative and performance, as the bits when she flies in the air shows how crazy she actually is and you could definitely imagine you wouldn't be disappointed if you saw her live.
Since she is the main protagonist, guys are shown in a negative light as always talking and she wants them to stop. And usually they don't therefore she goes about shutting them up herself. When 3OH!3 come in they turn it around and show that girls are the ones who talk so much, but they are only there for a short time and I feel they aren't able to pass that over that well, which is exactly what Ke$ha wants, clearly she has shown that guys do talk more than girls.
I like how different the guys are that go after her, which suggests that she tends to have many admirers that she isn't happy with, many of which she probably calls "douches". She is also very bad at bowling.
Overall a very catchy song, with an accompanying music video that makes me laugh lots. The guy at the start is played by Bret Ernst. But I haven't got a clue who the other people are in the videos, so if anyone knows and can cite a source for me, I'll add their names in. I haven't got a bad thing to say about this video, and therefore have no choice but to give it this rating.
8 Ekim 2012 Pazartesi
Reggae On The Rocks 2012
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The 25th anniversary of Reggae On The Rocks will take place at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO on August 25, 2012. Reggae On The Rocks has showcased the some of the hottest reggae artists, as well as many premier upcoming artists in the industry. This year's lineup includes Burning Spear, The Meditations, Steel Pulse, Yellow Dubmarine, Judge Roughneck and Rebelution. Don't miss the anticipated return of legendary reggae artist Burning Spear, who hasn't made a Reggae On The Rocks appearance since 2007. All Reggae On The Rocks 2012 tickets are available at Tons Of Tickets.
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| Cover of Burning Spear |
Jeff Dunham Live 2012-2013 Tour
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Jeff Dunham, the worldwide comedy sensation, has added many cities to his 2012-2013 tour schedule. Jeff will be touring through the summer, fall, winter and spring where he will bring his favorite characters to life for millions of fans. Don't miss seeing Walter the Grumpy Retiree, Bubba J, Peanut, Jose Jalapeno...On a Steek! and Achmed the Dead Terrorist coming to a city near you.
Jeff Dunham will be visiting many cities in the United States such as Tucson, West Springfield, West Point and many others. He will also be live in many cities of Canada such as Calgary, Vancouver, and Winnipeg just to mention a few. Purchase 2012 Jeff Dunham tickets today at Tons Of Tickets where you will find tickets for all your needs.
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| English: Jeff Dunham, American comedian, with his puppet / character "Achmed the Dead Terrorist" (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Jeff Dunham will be visiting many cities in the United States such as Tucson, West Springfield, West Point and many others. He will also be live in many cities of Canada such as Calgary, Vancouver, and Winnipeg just to mention a few. Purchase 2012 Jeff Dunham tickets today at Tons Of Tickets where you will find tickets for all your needs.
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