VIDEO OF THE DAY: The Gaslight Anthem - "45"

SONG OF THE DAY: DIIV - Wait

This is a track from the debut album Oshin by DIIV, an indie rock band with an interesting style of music. Featuring jangly guitars and tons of reverb with a stark and cold aesthetic, Oshin turned out to be one of my favorite albums of this year and Wait demonstrates best what the band's sound is like. Think of The Cure and My Bloody Valentine mixed with dream pop.
 

VIDEO OF THE DAY: DJ Shadow - Midnight in a Perfect World

VIDEO OF THE DAY: Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait

VIDEO OF THE DAY: Michael Jackson - Bad

SONG OF THE DAY: Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain

From the highly praised album of the same name, this is Purple Rain by Prince with his backing band at the time, The Revolution. Known as one of Prince's signature songs, this nearly nine minute track is one of those tracks where you can't believe that a single musician wrote it. Combining rock, pop, new wave, gospel, and orchestral musical genres into one song, it always moves me every time I listen to it. The second half of the track, right when the guitar solo starts, unleashes one of the most emotional and passionate performances I have ever heard in my life. This is, without a doubt, one of the greatest songs ever written.

VIDEO OF THE DAY: Miike Snow - Devil's Work

SONG OF THE DAY: Beach House - Myth

This is the first track from Beach House's fourth album, Bloom, which came out in early April. It's a pretty damn good album and this track, in particular, is absolutely amazing. I love the textures and atmospheres of the song and the vocals are quite haunting but soothing.

CLASSIC ALBUM REVIEW: Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra - Fantasia

Do you ever wonder what a film would be like without music? Me neither. Since the beginning of time, music has always been an integral part of films. I would even say it is the main ingredient when it comes to any film whatsoever. The first movies were silent but the actions, emotions, and stories were told simply through the power of music. Cue to the year 1940 and after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio saw Walt Disney's third full length feature, Fantasia. The movie was a daring and risky film, combining classical music and animation to tell stories and convey the emotions in each and every one of us. The film is certainly in my Top 3 favorite Disney films and the score is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and powerful pieces of art my ears had the pleasure listening to.

The score utilizes classical pieces ranging from Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony to Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. However, some of them are abridged, the most notable examples being Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite and Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. Nevertheless, the music remains to be a seminal masterpiece when it comes to film scores. Each of the eight pieces have a purpose in Fantasia.

Firstly, Bach's Toccata and Fugue paints like the music suggests: it exists for its own sake. The music is vague, it has no set story, and it relies heavily on your imagination. The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky is one of the most famous pieces in classical music, even though the composer completely disowned it during his lifetime. Arguably the softest composition in the soundtrack, the music is very gentle, light, and has a soothing tone to it. The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Dukas is the most famous piece of music in the score because of the critically acclaimed Mickey Mouse short that accompanied it. It's a wonderful piece due to how the music builds up gradually, becoming louder and louder during the climax and softening again by the very end. 

Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is my favorite composition in the score and coincidentally, this reflects my favorite segment in the film (it was the beginning of life on Earth with the existence and demise of the dinosaurs). The Rite is Spring is easily one of the darkest pieces in the score and musically, it is the most complex. The beats and rhythms have no set pattern and just change constantly, becoming progressive-like. I've listened to this composition multiple times and even I can't decipher its pattern but that's what's so fantastic about it. Next is Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, a musical piece that starts off light, giving a naive feel to it but it suddenly takes a dark turn during the storm act. However, it cools off and it ends on a wistful note. Dance of the Hours, from Ponchielli's opera La Gioconda, is exactly what the title says. Numerous dances take places during the morning, afternoon, late afternoon, and night. Each of these dances represent a different feel to the music and all of them suddenly combine together to form one huge musical finale. 

The last two compositions, Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain and Schubert's Ave Maria, are extremely different in tone and mood but they play off each other so perfectly it's unbelievable. The former is the darkest piece in the score but unlike The Rite of Spring, this piece gives off a very claustrophobic and dramatic feeling. It's so dark that it's like being in hell. However, the bell chimes, signaling the beginning of the latter piece. Ave Maria is the only piece that has vocals and they are just stunning. The composition has a very mournful and sentimental quality to the music and right when the final vocal chords make their appearance, they just strike you in the heart. You get a feeling of redemption and you know that a perfect closure has been made.

I really can't say any more of the soundtrack for Fantasia. It's just breathtaking and incredible beyond words. An absolute must-listen.

http://www.mediafire.com/?42c63jrs8s1w3h0

TRACK REVIEW: Muse - Survival

Survival is the first single from Muse's upcoming album, The 2nd Law, which will be released in early October. This song has created a lot of buzz due to the fact that it became the theme song for the London Olympics that occurred over the summer. The reception has been mixed about the track but I personally think that it's another strong track in Muse's discography.

What I like about this track is the constant "building up", for a lack of a better phrase. The track starts off quiet and slow but it gradually grows louder and more intense. Towards the finale, the guitar becomes noticeably heavier and it alternates between soloing and chugging with the aggressive drumming and distortion of the bass guitar helping intensify the mood. Other than Matthew Bellamy providing his trademark falsetto voice, a choir provides additional voice work in the background to further create the "pumped-up" feeling.

My only gripe with the song is the lyrics. While not entirely awful, one can tell that this song will only be relevant to the Olympics and not anything else outside of it. The lyrics are not as groundbreaking as those from Muse's previous work like songs about the government (Ruled by Secrecy), the end of the world (Apocalypse Please), and religion (Megalomania).

Overall, this is a solid track and I can't wait to hear what the band has in store for us when the album drops next month.

Update/Blue Lines Reissue

Welp, it's been a while since I've payed any attention to this blog but I really want to post weekly updates on here regarding new album releases, reviews of old/classic albums, reviews of new albums, track reviews, song posts, and other good stuff. Please check back here for music goodness, you won't be disappointed.

Bristol band Massive Attack, known famous in the United States for their song Teardrop being used as the theme song for the drama series House, announced that they will release a reissued and remastered version of their seminal debut album, Blue Lines. The album was arguably the first to introduce the sound that Bristol became known for: trip-hop. Trip-hop is a hybrid of hip-hop and downbeat electronic music. It's the type of music that is known to be slow, dark, depressing, and relaxing. When Blue Lines first came out, it spun people's heads. Critics gave large amounts of praise to the album's eclectic style. It combined electronic, hip-hop, dub, '70s soul, and reggae among musical genres and it had vocals ranging from feminine soul singing to rapping. It also utilized breakbeats and sampling. The amazing thing about this album is that despite its eclectic nature, it never loses focus or steam. Each and every song connects with one another and they all matter.

The reissue of Blue Lines will be released on November 20th, 2012.