“I Would” – Justin Bieber

Just now, I realized two things. The first one is that I haven’t posted up a music post for such a long time. So I decided to post one up today. The second thing I realized is that Justin Bieber is not a bad singer at all.

Of course, that is NOT to say I like him. I still dislike his personality traits, such as partying every time and doing drugs. However, I have just admitted that he does have considerable musical talent. Of course, the question now is: why does his music suck so much then?

Take for example his song “I Would.” First, listen to the original song on Grooveshark or something. (The reason is that I am not going to post his music here- it sucks too much.) Now, after that, check out the music video cover below by Tiffany Alvord and Hollywood Ending:

Which do you think is better? Unless you are Bieber yourself, I would say you would most likely choose the music video cover. Or at least I would. Some of you might choose the cover as the better version simply because Bieber’s not singing it. However, I actually have a legitimate reason why the cover is better.

You see, here’s the situation: Justin Bieber’s musical talent is not being revealed to its fullest potential, mostly because of the way he does his music. And sadly, music video covers are doing this job for him. One instance is the variety. Take Justin’s voice, and here’s another thing I have to admit: I envy him for his voice because he actually sings pretty good. However, once you have to listen to his voice for a full four minutes, it starts becoming a little bit boring, especially when the lyrics start repeating over and over again. Now look at the cover video: is it just one person singing? No, rather it is mainly three people singing it. Thus, there is more variety. There is variety in terms of pitch, in which no matter how girly Justin seems, he can never reach Alvord’s beautiful high voice. There is also a variety in terms of hearing different voices alternating instead of the same voice the whole time.

Another thing besides the variety are the instrument involved. If you hear the original, it’s just mostly drums. Not saying that it sounds bad, but it does sound inferior compared to the guitar-playing in the cover video. The guitar-playing in fact made the whole music sound so much uppity and so much better. Plus the singers’ dance movements. 🙂

Justin Bieber

Overall, my basic message is that if Justin had done his music the way the cover videos such as this one are done, he would be so much more musically appreciated. Especially by me. Perhaps one step he can take first is to sing more duos with other singers (and please no more rappers). In fact, he should do that. Enough of the criticizing, by the way. I think I should start praising Hollywood Ending and Tiffany Alvord now. One remarkable task is the way they decided to split who sang what. For instance, Tiffany would sing “I, I, I…” and a boy would sing “know it’s never gonna be that easy.” That’s just a beautiful combo right there. Another wonderful thing is perhaps the music video itself. I loved how they put themselves into iPhones. Seems very homely and familiar. And of course, the guitar playing and the dance movements rocked.

Good job, Hollywood Ending + Tiffany Alvord. (Check out their Youtube channels, too.) And better luck next time Bieber.

A Better “Beauty And A Beat”

For all you Bieber fans, there is one thing you should know about me- I absolutely am disgusted with Justin Bieber. All her- sorry, his- still should be her- music is lame and lacking meaning. I guess the only reason why he seems to be popular among girls is not because of his music, but more of his body. In fact, I remember back in sixth grade in which this girl was always talking about Bieber’s body, not his music.

For, instance, take one single by Bieber called “Beauty And A Beat.” 

Oh my god. My ears are already bleeding to the extent that I even regret putting up this music up on my post. First of all, one disgusting thing that stands out- Nicki Minaj. Honestly, a little bit of rap is okay, but her type of rap here makes me want to barf. Let me tell you, if Bieber had eliminated her from the song, this song would sound much, much better.

Another thing- it seems too repetitive. All I’m hearing is the same old tune and the same disgusting voice. By the end of the song, I would have already been oblivious to it. Perhaps maybe even snoring. All in all, here’s the basic truth: Bieber makes me cry. And another even sadder truth: Bieber’s songs are better sung by other people than by himself. Take this cover version of the same song by Alex Goot, Kurt Schnieder, and Chrissy Costanza.

Ahhh… this is heaven compared to Bieber’s hell. Like I said, I consider this superior to the authentic version of the song. First of all, no Nicki Minaj and no rap. Wonderful. Second, there is variety. Instead of just hearing only Bieber’s voice most of the time, we hear both Goot’s and Costanza’s. I like the fact that I am able to hear a blend of both a man and a woman’s voice; it seems much more refreshing then hearing Justin’s torture.

I also somehow find it touching that these three people just decided to band up and do a cover version of this song. Very unlike Bieber, in which he has tons of money, support, and fame. I don’t know if Bieber did this song just for the money (although I’m pretty sure he did), but I do know that Alex, Kurt, and Chrissy sang this just for the fun of singing. Good job, you three.

And by the way, you guys should check Alex, Kurt, and Chrissy out in Youtube. They are absolutely wonderful.

Carry On & The AMC Process

Yesterday, I talked a little about the American Mathematics Competition. After looking over yesterday’s post, I realized that I probably rushed into it too much that one would not even know what the AMC really is.

So what is the AMC? The AMC is the first test of a number of tests in America that determines the final six contestants who will go represent the USA for the International Mathematical Olympiad. If you happen to test out as the top 2.5% – 5% of the whole nation on the AMC, you are qualified to test on the American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME). As I mentioned yesterday, the AMC is multiple choice. The AIME is harder: for all questions you have to write the answer in. After testing the AIME, your AMC score is somehow converged with your AIME score to determine whether or not you can take the USAMO (or the USJAMO, if you take only AMC 10). The USAMO, short for United States American Mathematics Olympiad, in much much harder than the AIME. The AIME is writing in the answer; the USAMO is writing in a full-out proof. And no, not those basic geometry proofs. It’s advanced-level mathematics proofs. If you luckily make it to the top five contestants, then you’re in for the IMO. (see my Dec. 18 post)

Here’s the basic summary: AMC 10/12 → AIME → USAMO/USJAMO→ IMO.

Anyway, like I said yesterday, I was feeling frustrated over practicing the AMC. I almost wanted to give up, but then my morale improved upon hearing a song by fun. called “Carry On.” Hear it below:

I like this song; it’s perhaps the best pop song I’ve ever heard. The chorus tune is my favorite, because it seems to me a little bit like old folk music, with the tone starting low and getting “exponentially” higher. The music video is also pretty nice, which is way better than the video for “We Are Young.” It shows scenes of dimness, sadness in a sense, and idleness, but later with the tune “carry on” shows scenes of happiness and jolliness. Again, this song got rid of my anger over the AMC, because I had this same sort of feeling. I was feeling sad, but this tune later made me happy.

I would say this song truly boosts someone’s happiness in times of despair and hopelessness. It reminds me, at least, that I should forget about all my past misgivings and just “carry on.” Speaking of that, I also liked the lyrics, too. One quote: “May your past be the sound/ of your feet upon the ground.” Isn’t that beautiful? Another one: “My head is on fire/ But my legs are fine/ After all, they are mine.” Rarely does one find this kind of symbolism and deep meaning in modern songs today. Here, this quote is trying to say that even when things torment our mind or “head” we should still keep on walking aka going on with life since “our legs are fine.”

Well, hoped you liked this song.

We Are Young

Normally, I’m not that much of a big rock fan. I think rock is too noisy, rowdy, and uncivilized. Yet, I will have to admit that I am one big fan of one rock song, which is “We Are Young,” by Fun.

Nate Ruess

This song, sung by Nate Ruess and featuring Janelle Monae, became one of the top five pop songs of 2012. Despite its wonderful success, the song had humble beginnings. It started from a meeting between famous Jeff Bhasker, who decided to give just ten minutes to Nate Ruess. He had already canceled two meetings with him. (Perhaps Jeff thought Nate was simply a singer wannabe.)  There, they went to a bar and had a drink. They started talking about music, and Jeff was intrigued by Nate’s desire to “merge hip-hop beats and electronic effects with pop rock.” Jeff later invited Nate to his hotel room, and Nate, who was feeling a little bit drunk, suddenly blurted out the chorus of the unfinished “We Are Young.” Later, Jeff reacts with an “OMG” and demands Nate and his group to show up and perform.

The fact that this was all at a bar is in fact relevant to the song’s context. Here’s the song: 

The song’s pretty awesome, isn’t it? Well, right now I will focus on the composition of the song. In the first part, which is all the lyrics before the first chorus, the musical tone seems to be a little bit carefree. Well, not exactly carefree, but as if the singer was drunk. The lyrics are pretty good; I like the ”
getting higher than the Empire State” quote the best.

And now onto the chorus, which is what makes this song so popular. The tone here is not drunk. It is more than drunk. The tone seems to me as if one is tired of this world and wants to do anything he wants to do. This kind of tone, I am pretty sure, resonates not only with me but a lot more other people tired of their lives. Again, many of us would like to “set the world on fire” (not literally of course) so as to get rid of all our troubles. Thus, to us, it seems as if it is a much more “brighter” world.

A noticeable feature of this song includes the “na…na…na..” chant. I don’t know why, but I feel as if this chant is telling me, “Whatever, Titus, who the %&#$ cares about this world.” Also noticeable is Monae’s voice, in which the reason I found this attracting was because I liked how her lyrics matched up with na..na..na chant. The match-up was just beautiful. Nate’s voice was also cool, too.

Some notes from Wikipedia: “We Are Young” is a power ballad that combines the genres of indie pop, alternative rock, and power pop. The song is written in the key of F major, based almost entirely on the 50s progression (I vi IV V) with the exception of its bridge, and follows a tempo of 116 beats per minute, changing to 92 bpm from the pre chorus to the end. The song has a slow hip hop groove from the first chorus onward, and the song in its entirety is in common time. In the song, “careful arrangements layer sharp, bright piano melodies with big, booming drums and multiple vocal harmonies.” Ruess shifts from “vulnerable verbal tumbling in the song’s sonically sparse intro to the grandiose declaration, ‘Tonight, we are young..’

I usually sing this song when I’m feeling angry or sad. Either way, I still just enjoy listening.

Some Music To Pass The Time By

Greetings. For today, here are 7 songs that I have been listening too.

You should notice that these songs are not that mainstream. There’s no rock, no rowdiness, just pure calm music. I like to call these kind of songs “pure.” Well, that’s just my taste for songs. Whether or not you enjoy my taste, at least enjoy the music.

Call Me Maybe

Hello guys. Today, I didn’t know what to post, but my first thought was the song Call Me Maybe. I just stumbled on it last week, and it’s pretty addicting at first. But now it’s wearing off. Anyway, here’s the music video:

You know, the music is perhaps addicting maybe because of Carly’s voice. I mean, her voice is girlish, yet it purrs at the same time. I also like the piano playing in the background, along with the disco. Perhaps it’s all those elements that make me want to dance. Well, if Carly gives out another song like that in the future, she’s the Pop Queen.

Christmas Music

Hello guys. I know Christmas is over, but I can’t help posting up some Christmas music.

This one is by Josh Groban (refer to my past posts) for the movie The Polar Express. 

That was not actually sung by Josh Groban, but it was meant to be anyways. But notice that the music was pretty smooth; classical in that the pitch went up slowly, reached a climax, and came down; and a little operatic. Perhaps a song similar in style is a contemporary Christian song called: 

Usually, when we think of Christmas music, we usually think of holy, religious singing. But in Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” it actually turns out to be the opposite. In fact, the song is a little bit hip-hop and makes you want to dance a little bit. This song is everything but religious, but very much Christmas: 

Of course, Christmas carols are also an essential part of Christmas. My favorite one is one about Jesus, called “What Child Is This.” Here, it is being sung by Allison Crowe, whose voice makes this song even more unique and good-listening.  Somehow, don’t you think Allison’s voice or accent is sort of a little bit like part African American? Just wondering.

Well, just enjoy these songs and have a Happy Post-Christmas!

Singer Josh Groban

Today will be the first post on music. Usually, when we think of singers, we think of Taylor Swift, Mariah Carey, and all those popular singers. Personally, I’m not in the taste  for those kind of people, although I do like some of their music. My favorite type of singers are vocal, operatic pop singers.

So, I was on Grooveshark just searching music around, when I stumbled upon Josh Groban. He is a Jewish Russian/Polish man who grew up in Los Angeles, around the vicinity where I live. And obviously, he is a operatic pop (and vocal) singer. To my surprise, he is in fact quite successful. This surprised me because I had never heard of him until now. I went to his website, www.joshgroban.com, and heard his music, which were quite impressing. Below is his behind-the-scenes music video on his single pop Brave.

So how did you guys think of the music? I’d say the music was very emotional and enchanting at the same time. And his voice sounds very good, too. By the way, a thing to note is that his best known songs are Christmas songs. That’s how I found him; I was searching for Christmas songs. All you guys should check him out.