Thursday 27 September 2012

One World


“We could have been a world 
We could have been one 
We could have been everybody trying to get along 
We could have been a world 
We could have been one 
We could have been everybody drawn together

You could have been listening, you could have been here 
You could have been giving and you could have cared”

One World – The Feelers

Yesterday I was scrolling the Twitter feed and came across a photo which was taken at JB Hi Fi. It was of an album by The Feelers and captioned “They’re NZ’s Nickelback!” I’m not quite sure whether this was meant to be a compliment or not but it got me thinking about the way we look at our Kiwi bands.

Whenever a new band comes out they’re often compared to overseas act. Jamie McDell is New Zealand’s Taylor Swift. The Make Believe is New Zealand’s answer to Blink 182. Clap Clap Riot have been compared to The Kinks and The Hives. I’m at odds over whether this is a bad thing or not. On one hand, it’s nice to know New Zealand have the talent to be compared with such bad acts. On the other hand, why must New Zealanders be something which already exists in music industry?

Although I’m no musician, I’m going to take a guess and say it would depend what musician you are compared to which makes the difference. I don’t think The Feelers will be feeling particularly pleased with JB Hi Fi comparing them to Nickelback given Nickelback’s reputation in music. But being compared to Taylor Swift, one of the biggest female recording artists at the moment? That must be a cool feeling and a sweet compliment. But are Kiwi musicians stuck in this rut of being constantly compared to someone overseas?

Maybe it has to do with the domination of American and British music. It seems they just get there first. Or is it these artists who are being compared with are success and for the New Zealand musician who just wants to succeed they should embody what is the trend overseas? And, if that’s the case, then can New Zealand musicians be better than their international comparisons? I muse over this and throw out these questions because we are happy to celebrate New Zealand culture and music. But if we walk around saying The Feelers are the Kiwi Nickelback, then we are really just celebrating Nickelback’s music. Are you fine with that? 

Thursday 20 September 2012

Don't Stop Believing


“Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on

Don't stop believing
Hold on to that feeling
Streetlight people

Don’t Stop Believing – Glee Cast*

*Okay, so this song is not originally by Glee Cast at all, but with the return of the hit show to our television screens this week I thought I would dedicate a blog to the music show which has helped shape a generation, and Don’t Stop Believing is the song which became iconic for Glee in the pilot episode.

For those not so familiar with Glee the general concept is an Ohio high school “Glee Club” (singing and dancing group), called New Directions, are practising for sectionals / regionals / nationals for 20-odd episodes. All the while, the characters dealing with typical teenage issues like puberty and who is the most popular in the school, and everyone in the Glee Club slowly works their way through relationships with each other. It all sounds a bit drab and dull and oh so petty – and it would be, if it wasn’t for the music.

What I love about Glee is the variety of music in every episode. And, while the covers aren’t always the best, they are still pretty decent and I do love a solo song turned into a chorus of gleeful teenagers. From Lady Gaga to Keane to AC/DC to Les Miserables, Glee has done it, and they’ve done it nearly 12 million viewers.

In my opinion, the key to Glee’s musical success comes from the unprejudiced way they approach the songs. It seems not one artist is given special preference over another, and you hardly ever hear the cast talk down about a song. The characters take every song to heart and perform the music like they believe in the song. The show is a positivity overload and everyone in the Glee Club, to the extent which is possible in high school cliques, support and believes in one another. This was seen from the very first episode, where a somewhat terrible group practised and performed Journey’s hit song and found they could be quite good. And so, with all the belief in the world, New Directions trotted through three seasons and just came back on screens last night for number four.

Love it, hate it, or simply don’t have time for it, Glee is the future of music television. It’s a money making machine and it draws viewers like the plague. And it’s also one of the few ways we see the impact of music on television and see how music makes people believe. 


Just in case you are a purist, I will also include a copy of the original song by Journey 


Thursday 13 September 2012

What You Want


“Do what you what you want, you don’t have to lay your life down
(it isn’t over)
Do what you what you want till you find what you’re looking for
(got to remember who you really are)
But every hour slipping by screams that I have failed you

Hello, hello remember me?
I’m everything you can’t control
Somewhere beyond the pain there must be a way to believe”

What You Want – Evanescence

This song has a very important message in it: you should forget what others say and forget those thoughts which haunt you and do what you want until you succeed, because you can overcome your doubt and negativity. If you want more on these kinds of musings, check out my blogs I Will Not Bow and We Weren’t Born To Follow. These are dedicated to inspiring you to meet your dreams without tripping over on your way to the top. You see, there is another very important aspect of Evanescence which I want to touch upon here and What You Want also happens to sum this up perfectly.

Amy Lee is a babe.

Yes, my precious blog readers, I want to bring to your attention how hot the lead singer of Evanescence is. Girl. Crush. Alert.

I love Amy Lee for a variety of reasons, the first of which being her beautifully haunting voice which is rare in the music industry. She’s built herself a huge fan base through her writing, singing and overall style – a weird hybrid of old school glam gothic pop rock which no one but Amy Lee would ever be able to pull off. Furthermore her overall attitude which she portrays through her music is fabulous, whether she is telling us to follow our dreams or kicking her ex, Seether’s Shaun Morgan, to the curb in the song Call Me When You’re Sober. And, who could forget, she’s classically trained in piano making her equal parts talented and gorgeous. Her overall persona makes me believe her when she tells us to do what we want while remembering who we really are. And look at her – she has clearly done what she wants through music and style, and what we know of her personal life, and come out on top. Amy Lee? I idolise her.

Or rather, I idolise the image she portrays. See, I can muse all day long on here about how great she is, but the bottom line is I will probably never get the chance to meet her and see what she is like in real life. And while I’m fairly confident she will be as wonderful as I’ve just described, it is likely I will never know.

A few weeks ago I was listening to the radio and the host suggested idols are someone we know and can be mentored by. I took his point, and since then I’ve started to feel a bit torn about whom I consider idols – from Amy Lee to Sally Pearson to Princess Diana, these are people who inspire me but I can never meet. Even past family members who made achievements but are long gone and I cannot meet, meaning I would technically not be able to idolise their heroics. And if I never meet them, I am just idolising what I’ve read and heard about them and thus being inspired by an image.

It’s a bit tricky and I’m not sure where it leaves me. Sure, I can continue to be inspired by these famous people and take the lessons they publically give, but perhaps not idolise them in the same way I once did.  
 
 
 
Just thought I'd include a picture of Amy Lee so you be reminded of what a babe she is.
 

Thursday 6 September 2012

Feel Inside (and stuff like that)

“Children getting sicker,
Drinking too much bubble mixture, 
They all just wanna be bubbles, 
They all just wanna be bubbles.

There must be something we can do,
To stop these kids from doing spews.

Feel inside,
And stuff like that,
Open up the lids,
Helpa helpa helpa the kids”

Feel Inside (and stuff like that) – Flights of the Conchords and Friends
As with any charity events in which the aim is to raise money for those who need it and are unable to cover the means by themselves, a great charity song with a number of well known artists is needed. There are hundreds of charity songs for many different causes which raise both money and awareness – Stand Up To Cancer, Do They Know It’s Christmas etc.
When it came to Red Nose Day and Comedy for Cure Kids here in New Zealand, a comedy song inevitable. As much as I love a good charity awareness ballad, I don’t think society and the kids themselves needed to be reminded of the sad truth there are hundreds of sick kids in society. Rather, someone smart who was involved with Comedy for Cure Kids made a fantastic choice to continue with the comedy theme and Flight of the Conchords were called to provide the amusement. They could have come up with a funny song off the bat, but they got stuck in and took it a step further.
The Conchords duo – Bret and Jermaine – headed back to school to meet with children and they chatted about what kids thought being sick meant and how they should raise more money. It was your typically fantastic children answers. From the girl who ate bubble mixture because she wanted to turn into a bubble to the boy who said John Key was spending all of New Zealand’s money on furniture, not forgetting school kids were adamant sick children needed juice, pizza and plasma TVs to help make them better.
Bret and Jermaine took these answers and turned them into lyrics, and thus Feel Inside (and stuff like that), was born, and it’s hands down the best charity song I have ever heard. Flight of the Conchords then teamed up with some fantastic Kiwi musicians – Brooke Fraser, Kids of 88, Zowie, Hayley Westenra and Savage to name a few. The result was a song which was funny but still made the point clearly: kids were sick and money was needed. You can buy the song of iTunes if you haven’t already – in my opinion, it’s the best was to open the lid and helpa helpa helpa the kids.  


And here's the full length video including the children's answers