Oh Bublé, how I adore you and your Sinatra-esque tones and register of voice. Never stop singing the sweet, sweet music you create as long as you live.
There are a lot of things when it comes to instrumental and international vocals that I find pleasing to the ear. You know you've found a wonderful song when it "fills" you up with sounds, melodies, rhythms, octaves, and languages that you can't understand but you are in a wanderlust to explore wherever they come from. This band is called Sigur Rós, the above video is off of their first album Med Sud I Eryum Vid Spilum Endalaust, and the name of the song is "Fljotavik".
The sounds are different, and whenever I re-listen to it, the part of my stomach that most would associate as their gut gets warm and fuzzy, yet the area of my body that surrounds the warmer sensation feels cold. I think of this as a "centralizing" type of music that enables thoughts to arouse other thoughts, and then those thoughts become masterpieces, and then before you know it I've finished my homework and I have the rest of the evening to do as I please. I find it easy to get work done when there is instrumental music in the background because my brain does not have to simultaneously push to try and understand the lyrics being sung, rapped, or screamed, and it can focus on the task at hand.
Below is another tune by Sigur Rós on the same album, entitled Sæglópur. You really have to hand it to the Icelandic band, they re-create all that minimal lyrical instrumentals mean to me. And they do it beautifully, too.
The sounds are different, and whenever I re-listen to it, the part of my stomach that most would associate as their gut gets warm and fuzzy, yet the area of my body that surrounds the warmer sensation feels cold. I think of this as a "centralizing" type of music that enables thoughts to arouse other thoughts, and then those thoughts become masterpieces, and then before you know it I've finished my homework and I have the rest of the evening to do as I please. I find it easy to get work done when there is instrumental music in the background because my brain does not have to simultaneously push to try and understand the lyrics being sung, rapped, or screamed, and it can focus on the task at hand.
Below is another tune by Sigur Rós on the same album, entitled Sæglópur. You really have to hand it to the Icelandic band, they re-create all that minimal lyrical instrumentals mean to me. And they do it beautifully, too.
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Starting with the current and most recent season 10 Idol winner, 17 year-old Scotty McCreery from Garner, North Carolina accompanies Carrie Underwood as another country singer to claim the prize, recognition, and fame from the prime-time series. He exhibits his deep bass range of vocals as a grown man, and McCreery's mature voice can be recognized as having the likenesses of legends Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, and Clint Black. Throughout the entire season of hearing him sing, I was impressed with the scales he could reach so smoothly and with a great amount of sophistication. Although he had his habitual eye-brow wiggles and the turning of his microphone sideways which distracted me from his performances at times, I was overall very happy with the entertainment that he gave to our family as we sat on the couch in amazement. His first hit single "Love You This Big" has been doing well on the "United States Hot Top 50" charts, and continues to be popular amongst the millions of teenage girls that absolutely adore the cute, country cowboy. If you haven't heard the song already, here it is! I also included Alan Jackson's "Remember When" so their similarities in singing styles are dually noted!
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And then there's...
Pia Toscano from Howard Beach, New York finished 9th on the 10th season of American Idol this year with some of the most powerful set of pipes the show has ever showcased. Although it was the same old Idol, this season had new twists and turns that made the popular series different from its previous seasons. Its premiere introduced a new set of judges on the panel that included the classic rock band Aerosmith's lead vocalist-songwriter Steven Tyler, to the elimination process that allowed the judges to "save" chosen participants from being eliminated from the competition.
When Pia was called to be sent home from the show, which the judges and a country full of viewers were surprised and initially shocked to have revealed, her departure could be noted as one of the most astonishing eliminations yet in Idol history. As one of my personal favorites from the 10th season, I believe her talent and ability to sing as she does sweeps the nation away, and definitely deserved to at least make top 5 along with Haley Reinhart, Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, and James Durbin. Her recent release "This Time" caught my attention on Youtube as I'm pleased to see that her success was not limited to the one season of American Idol.
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Dip your toes into the sound of blues and smooth R&B, and like a fine wine, everyone has their different taste. Legends like Bill Withers and Mary J. shaped the more modern rhythmic and swaying sounds of todays heavy basslined- soul.
Whether you mix a little bit of old school with the new sound that was 2pac, or you like it simple, you'll find that a little bit of history is found in every good song. Look at our new artists of the 2000's like Ne-yo, Usher, and Trey Songz; they found their beat, rhythm, rhyme from the creators of the classic vinyl R&B.
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Living as a musician, environmentalist, and family man in North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii, Jack Johnson is one of those artists you can really kick back and relax too. Kind of like Corrine Bailey Rae and Sheryl Crow, the sounds of an acoustic guitar and a fine tuned voice can melt away any stress in no time. If Johnson's not exactly your type, I'll refer you to some good head-bangin' Megadeth and we'll get you squared away. Until then, unwind and see where the soothing rhythms take you away to.
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Extra Sites to Check Out:
http://www.billboard.com/
http://www.what-song.com/ - A serious helper if you want to know the song you keep humming that you heard in a movie!
http://www.what-song.com/ - A serious helper if you want to know the song you keep humming that you heard in a movie!
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