The danger with a musician letting other artists cover their song is they might do it better than the original artist. No doubt music like any art is subjective in that everyone has different tastes…but I for one like these two covers of Adele’s Rolling In The Deep MORE than the original.
Tag Archives: music
Born That Way?
Have you heard the new Lady Gaga song; “Born This Way?” If not you can check it out below. As with most of her songs, this one has a very catchy beat that teens have picked up on very quickly. You might say this song is a battle cry for a new generation of adolescents who are demanding acceptance for things that formerly weren’t socially acceptable. Personally I think the song expresses one of the more powerful lies in our culture today that we are born with certain desires, addictions and perhaps physical conditions that were once believed to come through other means. I don’t care to get into the debate on whether or not people are born with a pre-disposition to this or that (there is scientific evidence to back some things up) but I think more and more is getting lobed into this “excuse” to demand society’s complete acceptance. My question is where is the line between what should be accepted and what shouldn’t? And perhaps more importantly; Who is the proper authority (or authorities) to draw those lines any more?
PS – Did you notice the religious undertones of this song? Who do you think is “Capital H-I-M”? I agree that the question of whether or not one is “Born This Way” is a very important question, for the answer says as much about our Creator as it does about us.
Thoughts on the VMAs
I am not what you call a “frequent” MTV viewer, however I try and tune each year to the VMAs (video music awards) to see the latest in the music industry. As a person who values cultural relevance, I think the VMAs is a “must watch.” Why? Well you can learn more in that 3 hours about what culture values than in a full semester in a college course designed to study youth culture. Last nights show was very similar to previous years, showcasing just how low the music industry has come. Just take the last 20 minutes; Gaga wins video of the year and accepts her award wearing an outfit made out of meat? For her acceptence speech she introduces the title of her next alblum and sings a line from it; “We are born this way!” Wow. Talk about an in-your-face message. Then they ended the entire night with an off-key, negative, vulgar Kanye song called “Runaway…” which had the chorus; “let’s raise a glass to the douche bags, lets have a toast for the a**holes, lets have a toast for the scumbags…everyone that I know, lets have a toast for the jerk-offs.” This is talent? If I didnt know better I would’ve thought he was bummed he didn’t win this year and was singing just to tick everyone off.
There were a couple of brighter moments…Taylor Swift kept her clean-girl image well intact and sang a great new song “Innocent“. Paramore’s lead singer rocked out on “Airplanes” which had an amazing star-filled backdrop behind her as she sang. My personal favorite was Linkin Parks performance of Catalyst. The song itself sounded awesome, but what really stood out was the unique venue. They played live at the Griffen Observatory overlooking LA…with the sun setting behind them. See for yourself this epic performance (I recommend making it fullscreen). The lyrics matching the environment was epic;
God save us everyone, when we burn inside the fires of a thousand suns…
Far from the world of you and I
Where oceans bleed into the sky
A Baby’s First Thought…
…………Help I’m Alive!
I’ve been hearing this song on the radio over the last month and finally found out who it was so I could download it to my IPOD. At the gym this morning I was trying to think about what it could be about. For whatever reason it made me think about a baby being born. They come into this world very dependent beings and have absolutely no problem making that known. Though they cant use words yet, they definitely communicate that they need our help. As we get older we are “nurtured” to the point where we don’t believe its true anymore. Especially in America we are taught to be individuals who are “self-sufficient” and can exist with little or no dependence on others. What if God never intended us to lose our desperate need for each other? What if instead of filling our diapers and crying we could articulate with words; “Help I’m Alive!”?
Magnificent
Been digging the new U2 album (thanks Janet).
You have to stop and think how many bands stay popular as long as U2 has. Not very many. The Joshua Tree is seriously one of my all-time favorite discs…like top ten. I was not super excited about the new record coming out, mostly cause I havent heard much about it and I fear that someday they are going to put out a crappy record. But that time has not yet come. Hands down my favorite song on the new album is “Magnificent…” which in my opinion is a worship song. Bono has become more outspoken over the past few years with his faith and has done alot of good in the world through his ONE campaign. As someone put it; he is a good one to have on our team.
Check out U2 on Letterman performing: “Magnificent” It seems it a couple of moments he is even worshiping right there on live TV.
I was born- I was born to sing for you
I didn’t have a choice but to lift you up
And sing whatever song you wanted me to
I give you back my voice – From the womb my first cry, it was a joyful noise…
