I’m in a karaoke room with a couple of friends, and we organize our usual set list that consist of our go-to karaoke songs. We press play and with my microphone in hand I was ready to belt out “Part of your World” a classic Disney song from my favourite movie The Little Mermaid. This song has the power to bring automatic lightness on the darkest days with its bright melodies it’s hard not to feel happy while singing. This song starts off with a twinkling sound of the piano that reminds me of water, and slowly builds adding dramatic violins and twirling flutes into the mix.
With the transition of conversational verses to a slow and emotional verse it can be really fun to sing along and even act out. Singing this song makes you feel like you are on broadway acting out the whole emotions of this inner monologue. Ariel is pleading for adventure and some discovery outside of her own ocean. Being a university student I too am pleading and aching for adventure outside of the library!
Singing and listening to this powerful ballad allows me to scream out full force, in which helps release temporary frustrations. In a strong whisper the mermaid we all love ask, “What would I give If I could live outta these waters?What would I pay to spend a day warm on the sand?” I ask myself these exact questions as I sit in class looking at life occuring outside the window, and wishing my life live outta these desk.
This song brings me back to the less stressful days of my childhood. A time where I would put in the old The Little Mermaid VHS tape and watch the movie on replay until my parents hated me. Instead now I sing this song on repeat in the karaoke room longing for 3 minutes of a piece of my childhood.
Good at Falling is the debut album by The Japanese House which consist of the British singer-songwriter Amber Bain. The song “Maybe you’re the reason” is definitely the most pop sounding track for such a indie album. This song opens up with a catchy guitar riff and blooming echoes coming from the synths, in which reminds me of the Breakfast club theme song. Compared to The Japanese House’s usual moody indie sound this song is very pop. Lyrically the song is very emotional and personal focusing on topics such as depression and feeling insecure.When Bain was asked about the meaning of the song she said, “It’s about being depressed and realizing there’s no meaning in anything. Then in the chorus I thought, I can’t keep this up! I need to make it something nice. I thought about my girlfriend at the time, and how maybe loving someone is the reason you live? It’s the cheesiest chorus ever, but I think it needed it.”
The rest of the song Bain gets deep and personal describing how she she is finding meaning in a meaningless world. The production of the song does a good job at reflecting the meaning sonically. The production of this song is particularly clever where the synthesizers shape up the sound giving it a blend of 80’s influences and modernist feel. The opening guitar riff is bold and confident producing a wave of sound like a pebble dropped in the river. Eventually as the stone skips further the sound creates a faint echo, and some unexpected changes. Much like the song there is some distortion and chores changes almost as if the song is doubting itself. This track in particular is about feeling like there is no meaning in life, but the chorus flips this idea and suggest that loving someone is the reason why you live.
This song feels nostalgic even if the listeners hasn’t experienced this depressing yet loving relationship. We can connect and feel it through lyrics, sound and create meaning. Nothing is lost in translation.
Lead singer Andy Black from the metal/rock band Black veil Brides just released his 2nd solo album titled “The Ghost of Ohio”. The title track that holds the same name reveals his haunted history located in his hometown Ohio. As Andy mentioned the purpose of this concept album was to act as a soundtrack for his latest comic book. He mentions in Alternative press that “the focus was to do songs that felt like they represented, in terms of tone, the different emotions of the story.”At first listen I was surprised by the electronic and upbeat sound, since it contrast heavily to the melancholy Gothic songs I was used to listening.
The song uses minimal instrumentation throughout verses that allows you to focus on the story being told. Although, he was looked down upon fans for using auto tune, I believe it was done creatively to create a ghostly sound. The auto tune created echos which gave that haunting aura. His reflective vocals sound as if he is talking to himself, and his echoed voice comes back to haunt him. The echos in his vocals emphasize the haunting concept. As well, the repeated lyric “I am the ghost of Ohio” reflects back past childhood anxieties and obsessions. He constantly assures his listeners that he indeed the ghost looking back into his mentally fearful past.
This song expresses the idea of not feeling like you belong in your hometown, but yet it’s apart of you that you can’t escape. The beauty of this song is that it can connect to those who feel out of place in their roots. The tone of this song seems cheerful despite its melancholy lyrics, and this emotion of feeling confused is exactly what Andy wants to show. Sometimes we don’t know where we belong, but we can’t escape the haunting memories that stay in our hometown.
Cage the Elephant return with their new single “Ready to Let Go” from their upcoming fifth studio album Social Cues which will be fully released April 19th. This upbeat song can be portrayed as a perfect “I am moving on from my relationship” anthem. This song is about failed relationships and learning as a individual you must learn to take control of the situation and move on. This connected deeply to lead singer Matt Shultz who just recently divorced his wife of seven years. Although the song “Ready to Let Go” talks about moving on it wasn’t such an easy journey for Matt. In the Rolling Stone article his band mate and brother mentioned that during the making of the album Brad confessed, “we’d think he was getting back to normal, then he would melt down.There was a fair amount of self-medication and intense isolation.”
His emotional instability that developed after the divorce reflects in the song. The drums are bouncy, the guitars are bright and polished which reminds me of Arctic Monkeys. Yet the instrumentation creates a cheerful tone. However, when focusing on his voice the strong and aggressive way he pronounces each word creates a very angry tone. It can be taken as passive aggressive, and makes you wonder if he moved on or saying he did just to trick his mind in believing so. The structure and lyrics of the draws listeners attentions since there is a sense of melancholy behind it despite it being a catchy radio friendly tune. Unlike their older songs like “trouble” the lyrics has a melancholy undertone as he sings, “don’t you worry, baby, no sense trying to change it// I’ma strike these matches, never had control//I’m ready to let go, no, was I fooling myself?//I’ma spread these ashes, never had control/I’m ready, I’m ready, I’m ready to let go.”
There is an emotional core in his lyrics that shows his relationship unfolding. Matt was very clever to structure the lyrics that has a hidden message, and requires multiple listens to get the story. In the beginning he even alludes to Pompeii, which is significant since it’s a trip he and his wife decided they needed a divorce.
There is a wave of emotions in the song and if you listen closely you can feel the pain of the breakup. However, if you came across the song on the radio it’s easy to bob your head to, and not pay attention to its meaning. The catchy instrumentation almost acts like a bandage to cover his sorrowfulness.
Leaving childhood and entering adulthood can be frightening and confusing at first. Sometimes it can feel so overwhelmingly complicated that you want to scream your head off. Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad from the duo group Girlpool began their career by streaming out their frustrations at the young age of 17. They started off being a couple of teenagers, created a friendship, and used music as their medium to understand the complexities of the world. They definitely made a drastic change from their self-titled 2014 EP. In comparison to their “Blah, Blah, Blah” days their 3rd studio album What Chaos Is Imaginary is much more sophisticated and constructed. They transition out from their awkward teenage phase and found their own sense of identity. In this album they no longer aggressively yell at each other;instead,these grown individuals engage in a full length inner conversation.
One of the major differences from Girlpool’s pervious albums is the vocals. This is the first album released since Tucker came out as transgender and started taking hormones that transitioned his voice into a lower tenor. Tucker said in an interview, one of the more difficult things about his transition “is feeling like my own voice is foreign to me.” Tucker is trying to rediscover who he is not just as an individual but also as a member in the band. His newly refined deep voice opens up on the first track, “Lucy”, as he sings, “An unfamiliar stage where you’d rather stay//A meditation plan when you sway and sink.” This melancholy indie rock tune discusses Tucker’s detachment of being on stage, but he knows it’s a place he belonged all along. He mentions it as a therapeutic place where he can “sink” into and feel comfortable in. His stretched out voice and slowed down tempo builds up providing an emotionally powerful wave of sound.
Ironically, the group is called “Girlpool” yet they are not quite swimming into gender conforming roles. They always challenge the ideas of what it means to be a “woman” in what they refer to as a “f*cked society”. A famous example is from their song “Slutmouth” from their self-titled EP. They sing, “Sometimes I wanna be a boy//Never really wanted girl toys” and “I don’t really care about the clothes I wear//I don’t really care to brush my hair//I go to school everyday//Just to be made a housewife one day.” Their lyrics are transparent and straight to the point. They do not hide who they are and showcase their real and genuine emotions and expressions through their music. With Tucker’s transition the duo still keeps the theme of finding their own sense of identity and individuality. They try to piece together broken fragments and build a unified bond and relationship with who they become.
The metaphor of drowning and sinking seems to occur throughout the album. It was mentioned in “Lucy” and reoccurs in “Where you Sink” where Tividad’s dream-like voice sings, “I know you live where you sink” and further sings “Go running around the alphabet sea//I wanna try to be a ribbon in a puzzle mind.” Her small voice feels distanced, and if you further listen her voice fades into a muffled whisper as if she was at the bottom of the ocean drowning.This is also seen in their instrumental piece “Minute in your mind” which consists of only a few lines. The instruments are drowning and the vocals are hidden in between the layer of guitars and synths. If you close your eyes and listen closely the lyric “you help me sink” surfaces over the hum of the guitars. Again the duo are trying to piece things together and keep afloat on top of the chaotic world.
Unlike their other albums one major difference is that many of the songs they were writing were written apart from each other. They lived in different cities and would send each other the tracks. The distinctive trait in Girlpool before was the overlapping vocals that fight against each other and become overwhelming to listen to. However, the layering of vocals is a very clever technique to express them unified as a whole but lost in a world that they don’t understand. The music is overpowering and their vocals drown in the chaos.
This contrasts with their new album in which there are two very distinctive voices. Tracks such as “Hire” and “Swamp and Bay” focus on Tucker’s voice without Tividad’s signature sweet voice overlapping. Tucker’s songs also give off a folksy rough tone with layers of brighter guitars in the background. Tividad’s most prominent song is the album’s title track “What Chaos is Imaginary”. It takes the spotlight with her hypnotic voice and classical string instruments intertwined with her dreamy voice. In an interview, Tividad mentioned she was having PTSD episodes and was having troubles getting in the present mindset and wasn’t able to focus on social situations so she wrote this song which is “about reckoning with this—trying to find a path to forgiving myself, attempts to redevelop a relationship with the world where I could find some illusion of ‘safety’ and belief in the fact that I could ultimately take care of myself.” The idea of the illusion and finding something to grasp onto is reoccurring in their more meditative dream-like songs like “Chemical Freeze and “Roses.” These ghostly songs focus on exiting one world and transferring into another. This refers back to them growing up from their troubled teenage years to finding their identity.
One thing that was recognizable was that there was two parts to the album. It was no longer Girlpool as a collective whole but Tuckers and Tividad’s own personal mini album in one greater album. Each song acts like a fragment; however, they still work as a unified piece. This album focuses on what Tividad calls “inner communication” which makes it more abstract and complicated which contrasts to their screaming transparent music before. This album is all about growth and finding their own identity in where they stand in the world, musically and within themselves.
And that must have been on chaotic episode to figure out.
“S.O.S!” The Jonas Brothers are “Burnin’ up” all the social media feeds as they announced they were reuniting after their six long year break up. They dropped the news unexpectedly, and surprised their fans with their new single “Sucker” at midnight on March 1st. I bet you all the college girls were popping champagne when the clock struck twelve. This was a celebration of a new and improved Jonas that we all been waiting for. The humorous brothers uploaded a nostalgic Instagram post where they recreated their famous “Oh how the tables have turned” meme. The party confetti burst and the banner that writes “Hello again” rolls down which officially confirms their reunion.
Warning! Don’t let your teenage dreams run too wild since it will just lead to disappointment. The title of Mrs. Jonas have been taken and seems like the boys are happy with their decision. Along with the Jonas Brothers we have their wives, Danielle Jonas, Priyanka Chopra and Sophie Turner feature in the Alice in Wonderland inspired music video. The former Disney stars are now more mature and no longer singing about lost love and break-ups. They left behind their more edgier power pop sound and replaced it with an R&B/ pop vibe. Which gives me the Maroon 5 feels. Nick’s falsetto and pillowy soft voice took centre stage, while Joe took over the catchy chorus. This song was definitely meant to be placed on the top 40. I mean the pop hooks, hand claps and whistling are the perfect recipe for a catchy tune. Their cheeky lyrics would have been scandalous for such pure boys to sing 6 years ago. They are now given the freedom to express their emotions without being monitored by Disney. The fans who also grew up with them can also appreciate their more risque lyrics, and not be so concerned about their purity rings.
Nick confessed in James Corden Carpool karaoke that this comeback was kept a secret for 8 months. This bomb that they dropped on us definitely brought back some good old feels, and childhood memories. It’s good to finally have all the brothers playing music, and harmonizing back together again.
-Allison Brown emotionally singing at Taloola cafe
After a stressful week I was excited to wind down, drink some coffee and listen to some live music. It didn’t take much to convince my coffee-obsessed friend to join me on this night adventure. We heard from a friend that they make the best Vietnamese iced coffee, so we had high expectations. Once we walked in and passed the vintage red chairs, we ordered our ice coffee and tried to find a seat. We ran into some difficulties when we realized there were no seats available. There was no way we were taking our coffees on the go, I needed to see tonight’s performance. So we squeezed ourselves in the back and sat on flimsy foldable chairs. It was rather “cozy” not only because we were 2 inches away from other people, but because a warm heater was directly behind us. Nonetheless I liked the vibe of the place, the ceiling was an orange hue, and the lights were dimmed to a hazy yellow. It was comfortable and the brick wall was covered in antique style pictures, maps, mirrors and statues. It felt like a home rather than a coffee shop which made the live performance much more enjoyable to watch.
Luckily enough a table opened up and we quickly left our toasty seats for a front row view. Allison Brown was up on the small stage placed in the corner of the cafe. She conducted a mini sound check by strumming on her guitar and speaking into a microphone to check the sound. The abrupt sound did not stop the crowd from having their own conversations. Once Allison’s powerful voice filled the small room many tuned in to listen. It was a stripped down raw acoustic performance which is something I always appreciate. Her voice was filled with emotion and she took her time singing out each and every note. Not only could you hear the emotion through her voice, but you were able to feel it by looking at her face. With every long note she carried she closed her eyes and focused on her singing. She was in her own little world that she created temporarily with herself and her guitar. It created an intimate experience and being so close to her allowed me to focus solely on her without any distractions.
While she was performing she was in her world; however, in between her songs she was engaged with the audience. She wasn’t afraid to crack some jokes just before covering Kevin Quain’s “Mr.Valentine’s dead,” saying “this is one of my favourite song sing on Valentine’s day… and on Halloween. I guess that says something about my love life.” Let’s just say she was glad Valentine’s day was over, and made many references throughout her gig about her “post Valentine celebration.” Single folks and even couples chuckled creating a light hearted atmosphere.
Near the end she played one of her original songs “Scavengers” from her 2015 album Stitches and Incisions. This folksy song allowed her to showcase her vocal range quite well. She was able to hit high notes so effortlessly without any traits of strain in her voice. Listening to Allison allowed me to be emerged in her music. Her soft and angelic like voice put me in a reflective state, and made me tune out my stressful thoughts and overworking mind. I could finally relax and focus on enjoying the music, and my perfectly balanced sweet and bitter coffee.
Even if Allison made a mistake you wouldn’t notice, she confessed after finishing her song “ I totally forgot the lyrics in the middle so for a while I was singing ‘blah, blah, blah.’” A woman who sat next to me responded back saying “with a voice like yours you don’t notice a blah, blah,blah in there.” With 20 years of performance experience she was an expertise at captivating her audience.
Taemin is back with his new solo mini album “WANT,” and once again surprises us with his maturity. Once known as “Korea’s little brother” to now being referred as “TaeMAN” is seducing us with his famous graceful and fluid dance moves in his music video for “WANT”. Which really makes you “want” you listen and not just watch. That is the cleverness behind the K-pop industry, they please you with visuals and then captivate your ears. Although the industry is highly organized to pump out boy and girl groups left and right, SHINee member Taemin challenges the stereotype of what K-pop is defined as. There is no bright melodies, nor a catchy hook, and definitely no rap breakdowns. Taemin moves away from the traditional sound of K-pop and instead is giving us a mashup of the 70’s and 90’s together. The 90’s sound definitely hit me at the chorus when he sang “hot, hot” and I got flashbacks to NSYNC’s song “bye, bye.” Later I was not surprised to discover that NSYNC’s JC Chasez co wrote a song on the album.
This song is no common K-pop sound and his company SM entertainment describes “WANT” as “an up-tempo dance song based on a space disco genre that combines a rhythmic bass line and a kick sound.” I am not going to lie and say I didn’t look up what “space disco” meant and after playing the song once more I realized that the synths take centre stage to give it a “disco” sound. The electronic beat in the background is consistent and does supply a good rhythm to dance along to, and it makes sense since he is known for being the “dance machine”.
With this album Taemin’s desire is to expand out of his dancing image, and get more recognition as a singer. He expressed this through an interview as he said “I have strong desires for singing. They talk about my dancing wherever I go. I want to sing.” Compared to the beginning of his career I think he made great improvements on his vocal ability. His solo albums allowed him to be experimental and showcase his new improved sound to his listeners. No doubt he worked hard to have his voice recognized, however his airy and light voice unfortunately does not “wow” me. Although I must give him credit for challenging the K-pop genre and bringing in a retro flare to the bubblegum pop industry. This song for sure will not hit 500 million views on youtube like BTS, but nonetheless Taemin should be acknowledged for not choosing the safe route. This retro “space” disco dance music is far away from being a popular genre in the K-pop world. Yet, he uses his music to improve himself as an artist rather then reaching #1 on the charts, and that I applaud him for.
“Learn to live” is the opening track on Alice Merton newly debut album called Mint. She definitely introduces the album with a bang as she sings,“they’ve got fire// well I’ve got lightning bolts.” Merton comes on full force ready to fight all her fears, as she told Billboardthat Learn to live is about “facing my fears and not be scared of everything. It reminds me that if you’re scared of everything in life, you’re not actually gonna live.”
Fear really has the power to trouble one’s mind and prevents one from taking up on opportunities. Merton does not let her fears steal her spotlight, I mean literally she is up on stage now promoting her new album. This takes a lot of courage, since writing this album is equivalent to her personal diary. She touches upon many topics from facing fears, feeling lost, finding her place in society and tackling everyday life’s issues. All these topics revolve around her journey on “learn(ing) how to live” in such a fast paced world.
She starts off by introducing the opening track with simple heavy strums of the guitar that gradually gets more complex as the layer of drums hit in. The constancy of the guitar strums gives that “here I’m coming for battle” tempo. Merton’s strong voice comes in and captivates my attention. Unconsciously I realized myself humming along and next thing you know I’m bursting out “ I WANNA LIVE WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES!” I mean who doesn’t? These lyrics are so relatable, and the music is upbeat making it a perfect album to have a karaoke session in your car.
Sometimes we need a song like this to remind us to live in the present. It is easy to constantly think about the past or worry about the future. Life is full of questions, and it can be quite frightening. Yet, Merton tells us to not let those demonic thoughts control our lives.
Rather she tells us it’s time to armor up and get ready for battle.
With the title being “Baker Baker” I was expecting to listen to a sweet love ballad about a girl falling in love with her local baker. With valentine’s day around the corner I guess I had the sweets on my mind. Let’s be real though what girl wouldn’t like to have a man to bake her cakes and cookies? When Tori sang the first line “Baker Baker baking a cake” I was full of anticipation to hear the love story unravel.
As I was listening I quickly realized that the sweet song I was hoping for became bitter. Tori’s soft and airy voice puts you in a reflective state and makes you go down memory lane, and it’s not a happy memory either. During her interview with The Baltimore Sun she said “I think with Baker Baker, to deal with a man that truly loved me, but that I wasn’t emotionally available for.” Her remorse on her past relationship is definitely heard through her voice. Her voice hits centre stage and over powers the acoustic- like quiet piano ballad. The way she pushes out her long notes are full with emotion that digs deep in from her heart, and pours out of her mouth.
It’s almost as if Tori is talking to her past lover from a distance. She is on a journey to find out what happened to him as she ends with “And I wonder if he’s okay if you see him say hi.” Her one way conversation ends unresolved, but she is in no way searching for him anymore. Maybe she was feeling apologetic and wanted to meet with him once more to “make her whole again.” Or it could be that she is too anxious to even revisit the past, and instead she chooses to be stuck in a dream-like state of mind.
Notes on Notes 