Make It Up (Sam Tsui) - Album Review

Details: "Make It Up" by Sam Tsui (prod. Kurt Hugo Schneider)

Released: May 11th 2013

Who Is This Guy?

Sam Tsui is a part of this next generation of pop-stars born and breaded on the internet. Together with his childhood-friend, Kurt Hugo Schneider, they have been making music videos on YouTube for over four years, and together they've really worked their way into the music industry from the bottom and up. Sam was the cute boy with the incredible voice and Kurt was the music-magician that breathed life into the music and knew how to actually piece all the different pieces together. I've already written a post about Kurt and his work, so I strongly suggest you head over here to read more about the man behind the music! 

Last year they announced that a full-length debut album was already under production, and this time around it contained all original music as opposed to the covers they usually do. Instead of signing with a record label they wanted to make this all by themselves, and to do that they certenly needed their fans' help. Several years of brilliant content had made both their YouTube channels very popular, and with Kurt's 2,3 million subscribers (KurtHugoSchneider) and Sam's 500 000 (TheSamTsui) they actually got their own fans to finance this album through a Kickstarter-project. They even got twice the money they needed!

Album Review

The album itself consists of fourteen songs, and surprisingly they are actually not as similar to each other as I feared! Since I am one of the contributors to their Kickstarter-project I actually got an early digital download of the album over a week ago, so I have been able to listen to it quite a couple of times... And this is actually one of those albums that grows on me and gets better and better each time. 

Ever since hearing his covers of songs like "Titanium", "Just A Dream" and "Don't You Worry Child" I knew he really could sing... But when I played this album loud in my headphones, without being "distracted" by some beautiful music video, his voice was so perfect it took my breath away! 

The greatest thing about this album though, except from his incredible voice, was the lyrics. I've only seen him do covers, so I was not fully prepared for the heart and emotion he had put down on the paper. Pop is not usually my genre since a lot of it sounds exactly the same and most of the lyrics are pretty shallow. Even though Sam's songs too are mostly about love I could actually feel the emotion... It was very easy to tell that he had put his heart and soul into this and was writing based on his own experiences. 

The weakest songs, according to me, were Wherever You Are and Bring Me The Night. The funny thing is that they were the only ones that lacked that emotion I mentioned. Wherever You Are is probably a great party-hit but Bring Me The Night played too much on clichés. They were ok, but also the reason this album does not get a topp rating from me.

However, the album was fantastic all in all! Let me show you why...

Make It Up

The leading single from this album is actually so perfect for me and the situation in my life right now that it's ridiculous! Uplifting, enjoyable and with great lyrics I know means a lot to him personally. And accompanied by a fantastic music video, this is a guaranteed hit!

Me Without You

Such a gripping song... I know firsthand how a single person can change your life for the better. 

Worth It

A very honest song that should be able to touch anyone's heart. Arguably the best song of the entire album. So raw and filled with emotion. He manages not to just sing the song, but actually preform it.

Next Best Thing

This is a subjective review, so I feel fully justified saying that this song touched me so hard I actually broke down in tears. A lot of people need to hear this message, even if they don't want to, because being a person's second choice is not a good place to stay. Way too many are fine with being under-appreciated and settle for less than they deserve...

(Get it on iTunes)

April Update - A Neon Colored Life

Another month flew by way too quickly.

The fun has ended. From now on the studies and exams' got the upper hand...

Did you do anything exciting?
This month I've been home for a couple of days to visit friends and family. I even got to go to my good friend Sara's eighteenth birthday. I've also been to a christian youth-camp just outside Bergen together with Simon, Jonas, Ole and Benjamin. The camp was even better than I expected and I got to know lots of new people! I even got to know some girls... What? It might come as a shock for some of you, but I don't only ever talk to guys!

Funniest thing that happened?
This is always the hardest question! Too many great moments to choose from...
But one moment that made me laugh the most was probably during blind man's buff. Simon, Jonas, Benjamin and his brother Tom and myself was visiting a guy named Robert. After playing various childhood TV-games for a while we suddenly decided to be even more childish and play blind man's buff. We turned off all the lights in the entire apartment, removed anything that could easily get broken and turned on some scary "haunted house"-music. One person then got blindfolded and the fun could begin! Let's just say that screaming, laughing, pushing, running and falling quite a lot was all a part of the game. Throwing mattresses at people and turning on vacuum cleaners was perfectly within the rules too. Being the only girl, it was quite a challenge not to reveal my identity too easily, but all in all it was some of the best hours of fun I've had in a while! You aren't fully grown-up until you dare to be childish...

Best Movies you've seen?
Shockingly enough I've actually only seen two movies during all of April. Luckily they were awesome! The first one was The Amazing Spiderman and it was so much better than I expected. The second one was Casino from 1995 (reviewed here), and it was just like watching a masterclass in both acting and moviemaking...

Favorite edible thing?
Again the winner is Zupperia! It's starting to become a favorite restaurant of mine. This time I had deep fried scampi. Even for a person not too fan of seafood this tasted heavenly!





Which songs have you listened to the most?
This month it's definitely been all about punk-rock and other alternative sub-genres. I had a week of walking down memory lane with Panic! before the brilliant and fantastic thing that was FOB's Save Rock And Roll (reviewed here) was released. Now, however, I need some new bands and artist to listen to so I wouldn't go tired of the ones I already love. I also see myself drifting towards the more "quiet" genres of music... I guess it is required to keep up the musical balacne or something? Of Monsters And Men, Ben Howard and Birdy became my saviours...

"The Phoenix" - Fall Out Boy

"cute as a button" "avenue maintain" "mint candy apple"

"Young Volcanoes" - Fall Out Boy
"Life In Color" - OneRepublic
"Little Talks" - Of Monsters And Men
"Trade Mistakes" - Panic! At The Disco
"Miss Missing You" - Fall Out Boy
"Burning Bridges" - OneRepublic

Favorite material thing?
Bright and flashy colors is not usually something that can be connected with me. But this spring I decided to give it a try and bought sweaters in neon-orange and mint-green and bright blue. And nail-polish! (From Essie of course. Where else?)

Something that made you proud?
This blog actually... I've invested quite a few hours designing and improving both the layout and the content, and I actually feel like I've got it just how I wanted it to be in the first place. That's a great feeling!

What did you learn?
That strangers are just friends you haven't gotten to know yet.

What are you looking forward to?
Well... First I have three exams... But after those I get to go to London with my amazing best friend!

Copyright: Bente (thebenteway.blogspot.com)

Save Rock And Roll (Fall Out Boy) - Album Review

Details: "Save Rock And Roll" by Fall Out Boy
Released: April 15th 2013

Review: Since I've already written a quite long blog post about Fall Out Boy I'll actually dig right into what I thought about this album... (click here to read the other post, though!) After a hiatus lasting more than three years they suddenly surprised the world when they announced that they had finally come together again and made their fourth studio album. I'f you like their facebook-page you probably know that they actually made their entire album available for free streaming through SoundCloud last week already? Due to this joyous surprise I've been able to listen through the entire thing a lot of times already, and I can't stress enough how truly great it is!

If you've been reading my monthly updates for the past couple of months you've probably figured that I've been obsessed with the first two singles from the album, so I had a pretty good idea of what I was in for when I was finally getting to listen to the rest of the tracks. A lot of it was just as awesome as I expected, but there were also some surprises in there like the song Young Volcanoes. Someone mentioned that it sounded like Fun. and that's not someone you'd normally associate with FOB. But both that one and some of the other ones were standouts both despite and because of the new and different vibe they'd put into it.

Some have argued that despite the album title not all of these songs are actually rock... But that doesn't really seem to be FOB's intention either. To me this album feels like their statement to the world that they want to bring back the rebellious and groundbreaking form of music that once changed and defined generations, but that to accomplish that they also had to make it new and current. Both they and the music world has changed over the past couple of years, and that's the way it has to be. Change is always for the better. To me Save Rock And Roll proved what can happen when a punk-band grows older, braver, wiser and better.

Maybe they didn't exactly save rock and roll? But they totally made something fresh and exciting by giving an old feeling a new sound. Even though some tracks were just a tiny bit weaker than the rest of them it's not even worth mentioning, because for me this is actually one out of a very few albums where I honestly love and enjoy the entire thing from beginning to end. Fall Out Boy and Save Rock And Roll has saved a place on my all time favorites from now on...

Favorite tracks: My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark,
The Phoenix, Young Volcanoes, Alone Together,

Rating: 9/10 - AWESOME

Fall Out Boy Is Back!

Joe Trohman, Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz, Andy Hurley

I found a "new" band!

You know that when you open Spotify you're presented with a page containing new music specifically recommended for you? One day it told me that since I love Panic! At The Disco I'd probably like this new single by a band named Fall Out Boy. I clicked on it to check it out... and I've never regretted that decision! 

I've discovered that I really like original and experimenting music. From Kaizers Orchestra to Florence & The Machine to Panic! At The Disco, Muse, Linkin Park, Hoobastank and Imagine Dragons... They were all very original and wired when they first started. Now they're all kind of mainstream, but that's because the world has finally discovered what good music is. Fall Out Boy included.

A little background-research

Fall Out Boy is said to be a pop-punk or pop-rock band with both hardcore and emo influences. Over the years they've kind of made their own genre and have experienced a lot of success as a result. When they first formed in Chicago in 2001 they were heavily influenced by their interest for hardcore punk as most of them had been playing in various other hardcore bands prior to forming Fall Ot Boy. 

From their debut in 2003 to their latest studio album from 2008, they've been massively successful and have sold millions of records all over the world. However, at the end of 2009 the band announced that they'd take an indefinite hiatus. No problems, no breakup, no explanation at all... just a break. A break that lasted more than three years. 

When 2012 was coming to an end the rumors had started to pass about Fall Out Boy's reunion. On February 4th 2013 the band officially announced that their hiatus had come to an end and that a new studio album was to be released along with a brand new tour. They were back!

My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark

The song I found on Spotify that day was their new single with the ridiculously long name My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up). It's become a radio-hit all across the world, and it's simply a stunning piece of music! One could argue that this is some kind of agressive rock that pulls you right in from its first beat to its last, which wouldn't be too far off as their new album is titeled Save Rock And Roll.

The music video was kind of a let-down at first... But it turned out that it would be explained further by the video for their next single. Regardless, the song in itself is so majestic and original that you don't need any visuals at all to love it. Like most of their songs the lyrics aren't too easy to decipher and make sense of, but I somehow find the entire track both quite rebellious and uplifting. Combined with the music video I feel like it has to do with letting go of the past and start all over with blank pages to figure out who you really are and how you want to be. (Exactly what Fall Out Boy just did themselves...)

Favorite part: 2:13 - 2:38
Rating: 10/10 - AMAZING

The Phoenix

Their second single was released worldwide on March 26st along with another music video. This video  proved to be the prequel to the first one, as this takes place a few days earlier. Here a group of masked girls are kidnapping one after one of the bands members. For what reason it does not say... but that somehow doesn't seem to be too important. Again I feel the song is way better than the music video and should be blasted at ear-shattering volume in your car. It's just got a fantastic energy that comes every single time I play it!

Favorite part: 3:29 - 3:32

Rating: 10/10 - AMAZING

Giving both the singles top rating is not something I usually do... But these two have been on constant repeat on my iPod and MAC for weeks now and I love them more now than ever! I simply can't wait to get my hands on their new album and will tell you what I think about it as soon as I have it. April 12th can not come fast enough...

March Update - Spring Time!

I know it's technically April already, but since I had my best friend visiting me here in Bergen for the end of March I decided it was no crime to finish this post a little late. 

Easter is over, but it's finally spring <3

Did you do anything exciting?
It seems like the answer to this particular question is always YES!
And as I've mentioned before, my best friend, Maria, visited me during the Easter-holiday. We had a thon of fun! However, I've actually quite forgotten to document much of it, so there aren't really that many pictures to show you... I'll try to do better next month :)
However, most of February was spent with my little gang of boys. We've truly had a great time doing all sorts of things... Basically staying up all night and sleeping most of the day :D I'm so grateful that I got to know these guys!

Funniest thing that happened?
Ow... thats hard! There has been so many fantastic moments...
But one I remember was when I decided to visit one of my best friends here in Bergen, Ken Martin, when he was at work. I actually got to know him through Facebook... which I usually never do! Anyway, since I got to know him through messages and such I've actually never met his girlfriend. So when I walked into the kiosk where he works and saw that a girl was sitting next to him behind the counter, I can't be blaimed for thinking it was her... However, she acted really wired as I said hello to him, and did not seem to want to notice me at all? After the longest and most tense silence I've experienced in a while he finally presented us for each other. It turned out that she was just a friend of him waiting to catch a train, and that she thought I was his girlfriend! We all had a good laugh about it... especially Ken Martin himself!

Best movies you've seen?
As you can probably see in the sidebar to the right, I've been watching a lot of movies recently. The best one was probably Argo (rewieved here) which surprised me by being far better than I'd anticipated. Others worth mentioning are Pitch Perfect, basically Glee made into a movie... The Croods, an animation I loved more than I thought I would... And the two "older" movies Monsters, Inc. and X-men Origins: Wolverine.

Favorite edible thing?

Tapas at Zupperia with Maria <3

When Maria visited we ate so many fantastic and exciting things I honestly don't know which was best!  Standout moments were when we tried tapas, sushi and a fantastic noodle-dish with beef. Zupperia and Namo, we are coming back :)

I must also mention the black pasta I got served at a dinnerparty at Simon's house! Cool, right?

Which songs have you listened to the most?
Actually my playlists have mostly been quite similar to the ones I listeden to during February... For me, who's not that good at keeping track of all the new and good music out there, finding new music can take hours! But I kind of "rediscovered" Vices & Virtues by Panic! At The Disco... it's awesome!

"My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark" - Fall Out Boy
"Try" - Pink
"Sara Smiles" - Panic! At The Disco
"Trade Mistakes" - Panic! At The Disco
"Tokyo Ice Til Clementine" - Kaizers Orchestra
"Let's Kill Tonight" - Panic! At The Disco

Favorite material things?

Here I'm gonna be really girly actually! You see, I walked by Kicks one day and suddenly spotted a new parfume from the brand Escada. I love all their scents so I decided to smell this one as it was the limited edition spring fragrance named Cherry In The Air... Needles to say it smelled so good I actually bought it on the spot. Love it.




Something that made you proud?

I actually went jogging! Once... But still, better that none! It's been so freaking cold here that it's not been very tempting to go outside more than absolutely needed, but as I can finally feel the spring heat creeping upon us I'm going to try my best to get at least a bare minimum of exercise. I need it!

What did you learn?
During the past couple of months I've met so many new people I couldn't count them all even if I wanted to. Meeting new people is always both exciting and frightning at the same time... And I've always been one of those people who has to constantly make a choice to put myself out there and be social and talk to new people. It just doesn't come naturally to me... But the thing I've learned is to just be myself and be open about me and my life and ask a lot of questions... In doing that I'm always nice to the people I meet, but I also know that not everybody will like me or like the way I am. That's life. But in accepting that I also discovered that I had nothing to loose. Those who do not like me wouldn't have been great friends anyway, and those who take me for the person I am can become true friends :)

What are you looking forward to?
I'm actually going home again in two weeks, so that'll be this month's thing to look forward to <3

The Dragons That Conquered The World

It's been quite a long time since I first got to know the band Imagine Dragons.

Back in february 2012 they released an EP named Continued Silence consisting of six tracks. Shortly after that I actually watched a live-chat with youtuber makeupkatie95 where she talked about this band she'd fallen in love with. I took her advice and searched for Imagine Dragons on iTunes the same day. After having listened to the preview for only the first couple of songs I was so amazed I bought the whole EP right there and then! 

A couple of months later I was thrilled to discover that the very first song to be featured in the fourth season of the TV-series Glee was "It's Time", Imagine Dragons' lead single. After that suddenly everybody knew the song! Friday they were even invited to play on the Late Show with David Letterman...

Like a lot of the bands I've been liking lately, their music can be put under the category indie-rock. Normally that's not the kind of music that gets featured on the radio or becomes number one hits around the world... So you can picture my surprise and amazement when Imagine Dragons suddenly became famous all across the world through the end of 2012 and start of 2013! Chances are pretty high you have heard a lot of their songs on the radio already... Radioactive? It's Time? Demons? Tokyo?

The funny thing about this whole story is that Bergen, the Norwegian city in which I'm currently living, was one of the first places Imagine Dragons got to play in front of an international audience. As early as 2011 they cought the attention of Frank Nes, the General Manager of the annual summer festival Bergenfest. He flew the then unknown band all the way actoss the Atlantic and never regretted doing so! Today, in 2013, they are one of the hugest rising stars in the music industry world-wide, but they never forgot the people who believed in them in the beginning. This summer they're headed back to Norway and to Bergenfest, and now they are the headlining act!

Like I said they released an EP named Continued Silence in early 2012. In September they also released their first full album titeled Night Visions, but unfortunately this was limited to the States only... Here in Europe we had to wait until early 2013. But it was worth the wait. I absolutely loved it, and so did luckily the rest of the world!

Radioactive and It's Time, their two singels, are two of my favorite songs of all time actually. Other great ones from their album includes Bleeding Out, On Top Of The World, Demons, Amsterdam, Tiptoe... and just about all of the others as well! The entire album is brilliant and a world-class masterpiece.

If you haven't already, run to the nearest record-store and get Night Visions at once! You'll not regret it.

The Script - Music Video and News

I've told you all about The Script already, and if you still haven't heard about their new album (#3) you can check my review here. Less than two hours ago they uploaded a brand new music video to their Youtube channel!

A while ago they released the music video for "Hall of Fame", which became an instant hit all over the world. Peaking at number 3 on Billboards Hot 100 and number 1 on the UK Single charts, it took the world by storm and beat a lot of better known artists!

I actually made this collage a couple of weeks ago, and by now #3 is number 1 on the Spotify Albums charts!

Anyway, the song they chose to make a music video for is called "Six Degrees of Separation", and it's actually one of my very early favorites from the album. The video is very simple, but the message is so powerful! Personally I've not been through a terrible breakup lately, so I can't really relate in that sense  but I just love the song and the raw and honest feelings behind it...

I'm oddly enough not able to post a thumbnail for the music video? But to see it click here...

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MUSIC VIDEO for "Six Degrees of Separation"
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A Dubstep Violinist? (Lindsey Stirling - album review)

Lately I've been more into music than I usually am... Så here's yet another post about a new album!

Lindsey Stirling entered America's Got Talent in 2010, and became known as the "Hip-hop Violinist". However, she got voted off after just a couple of weeks. Piers Morgan, one of the judges told her she was unmarketable and needed to be in a group. He also said that she was unable to dance while she played because that made her playing sound like "rats being strangled". At the time she said id was quite devastating, but it also made her determent to prove him wrong...

Shortly after, she was contacted by Youtube cinematographer Devin Graham (devinsupertramp) who wanted to make a music video with her. The result, the song "Spontanious Me", instantly became popular and got thousands of views! This marked the start of a great collaboration and an even greater Youtube carrear.

What's so different about her is that she brings so much more to her music and videos than normally expected from Youtube musicians. She's got a bobly personality that shines through and makes her stand out! Even though she plays the violin, which is a very classical instrument, she loves genres like rock, dubstep and just about anything with a good rhythm. The key is that she mixes the genres in such a perfect way so that just about everyone that hears her loves her music.

Another fantastic thing about her Youtube-channel are the videos themself. They are SO GOOD. Costumes, fantastic landscapes, thousands of camera angles, surprising locations... She's got it all. As of this date, her channel "lindseystomp" has got 870 116 subscribers and the incredible total of 144 million views!

She's also done a very famous medley of music from the videogame "Zelda", a "Lord Of The Rings" medley, and she cooperated with percutionist Peter Hollens on a "Skyrim" cover and, more recently, a "Game Of Thrones" cover.

Due to her success she recently released her first album, appropriately named "Lindsey Stirling". It can either be bought on iTunes or, like I did, directly from her website. It features a lot of the songs form her Youtube channel, but also a couple of new ones.

It's just as amazing as I knew it would be! Even though you don't get the visuals like you do watching her videos, the music itself is so good and varied itself you don't need anything else, really...  For some of her songs she's even added vocals here and there, and that made the songs stick out even more, and it removed the danger of the different tracs being too similar.

Favorite tracks: "Moon Trance", "Elements" and "Crystallize"

All in all... loved it!
Perfect for both enjoying really loud in my headphones and as background for my homework reading :)

The Kaizervirus

As most of my norwegian readers already know, The Kaizervirus is spreading across Norway, Europe and beyond. But I thought I'd make this post anyway to enlighten those of you who don't know.

So, first thing first...

Who and what is Kaizers Orchestra?

Well, they are...

Jan Ove "The Jackal" Kaizer (Vocal)

Geir "Hellraiser" Kaizer (2nd guitar)

Terje "Killmaster" Kaizer (1st guitar)

Rune "Mink" Kaizer (drums)

Helge "Omen" Kaizer (Pump-organ)

Øyvind "Thunder" Kaizer (bass)

And that's just about it!

Adressing the what-issue, Kaizers Orchestra is probably the most famous Norwegian band since... ever? At least they've done what many thought impossible: Make a Norwegian band, singing in Norwegian, that is not a heavy metal-group, famous abroad. Now fans all over the world actually learn Norwegian just to sing Kaizers-songs!

Formally, Kaizers Orchestra is an alternative rock-group, but they don't let themselves be pinned down to just one genre. With "instruments" like a pump-organ, ash-trays, trash-bin-lids, hubcaps and their ever-so-famous oil barrows they are truly unike and never boring. Some describe their style as messy, noisy and just a mashup of screeching sounds. I used to be one of those... But increesingly many people all over Europe and beyond love their style and theatricality, and they are said to be Norway's best live-band.

Just to clear some things up, the band formed in 2000 and have published eight albums since then, so they are in no way in the "new-and-upcoming-category". And secondly, I'm not at all fitted to be a spokesperson for them or their music, as I only a couple of months ago suddenly discovered that I actually liked them.

What is The Kaizervirus?
You see, they are from Jæren in Norway, which is basically where I'm from. (It's about 20 minutes from Stavanger.) And they even sing in my dialect, which would probably be called Stavangersk or Jærsk. It's actually got a very special, odd and distinct sound to it. In Norway people either love it but can't imitate it, or they hate it and think it's broad and ugly. Either way there are even a lot of Norwegians that can't understand it very well... My point is: All of Kaizers' lyrics are written and preformed in this dialect, which is a very bold and un-common choice.

Anyway, to complete their album trilogy named "Violeta, Violeta", they have developed an android-app named The Kaizervirus. Basically you just install it on your phone, go for a walk, and suddenly your phone tells you that you have been infected by one of the viruses. Which means that you walked by another person who'd already been infected. Then you open the app and you get to listen to one of the bright new songs from the not-yet-released album "Violeta, Violeta: Volume 3". After a while, the band will release another song, and it will start to spread just like the others. After all the songs have been spread the album will be released... It's never been done before, it's awesome and it actually works!

The music video for the first single, Aldri Vodka, Violeta, has been released today and can be watched HERE.

The second song, Siste Dans, and its intro has been leaked unto Youtube...

Why haven't you been a fan of these for years already?
I know. Stupid me. My problem is this: I always refuse to pay any interest to what "everyone else" is into at the moment. I don't listen to the Billboard Hot 100, or read the bestselling books, or buy some kind of clothes that everyone wears... You get the point. It's not because I want to be cooler or better than anyone else, it's simply because it's boring. It doesn't tell anything about who you are.

This sort of thinking sometimes makes me very "late" in discovering popular things that were actually great! I discovered The Lord Of The Rings seven years ago, the Harry Potter-series five years ago, the Twilight-saga three years ago, MUSE two years ago, and so on... Since Kaizers was basically from Stavanger, where I grew up, they were very popular and "everybody" loved them. As you have already guessed, I did not. Perhaps mostly because my little sister became so into them? I figured she could have a passion I didn't "interrupt".

Sadly that ment that I only recently discovered how great Kaizers Orchestra really were. But, better late than never...

Now I'm trying to make up for lost time, as I'm actually going to see them live in the new Stavanger Concert Hall together with my sister in February! She told me I could not embarras her by not knowing any of their songs. I guess I'll just start in one end or the other?

So, twelve years later, I hope I'm still welcome into the line of Kaizers-fans...

The Script #3 Review

I finally got the new album from The Script!

I've actually been waiting for it for a long time because I love their music so much and coud not wait for them to finish and publish their third album. This review should however have been done a while ago, because the album was released over two weeks ago, there was just one problem... they didn't have it at my local record store!

So, I had to order it, and it literally took me two weeks to get it. That was a bit disappointing. The Script is actually kind of famous, so it should be available for purchase in Bergens biggest record store. But I guess they'r more into Flo Rida, Carly Rae Jepson, Nicki Minaj and all that really boring and meaningless music...

But, when I finally got it, it was totally worth the wait!

For those of you who might not know The Script already, they consist of lead vocalist Danny O'Donoghue, guitarist Mark Sheehan and drummer Glen Power. The three of them are from Ireland and play some kind of rock-ish music. Wikipedia sais alternative rock, pop rock and indie pop, but they have described their style as a form of "Celtic soul". I guess they don't exactly fit in a box... The best bands don't.

Anyway, their third alum, appropriately named #3, consists of ten tracks. (There is an extended album on Spotify with seven additional tracs, but mine hasn't got those.)

1. Good Ol' Days                
2. Six Degrees Of Separation          
3. Hall Of Fame                            
4. If You Could See Me Now            
5. Glowing                                        
6. Give The Love Around          
7. Broken Arrow                                
8. Kaleidoscope                                  
9. No Words
10. Millionaires

Simply said, this is a real work of art. I love it so much, and no simple blog post will do it justice. The Script has always been a bit different. They write, produce and preform their own music, and that really shows in their work. The first two albums were great, but this one is different.

Good lyrics is a thing they've always been known for, but in this new album they are taking this to a whole other level. For the first time they're writing straight from their guts, and the powerful lyrics and rushes of emotion it conjures is breathtaking. They simply write about life, all aspects of it.

It's not just your typical "love, and how it breaks, and love, and how it breaks". Being grown up men with long relationships, wives, families and kids brings a sense of wisdom to their work. It's impossible to make you understand... You just have to go listen to it yourself.

That being said, I have to say I love the first half of the album the most. The second part is great, but the first four songs is in a league of its own.

I've picked out my three favorite songs of the album, and I hereby present to you:

Six Degrees Of Separation
Wow. I just don’t know where to start. It’s so honest and real. Knowing that the lead vocalist, Danny O’Donoghue, had a terrible breakup with his ex-girlfriend last year, you instantly know this is written straight from his guts. It’s such an incredible thing to listen to something that grabs you like this. One of my all-time favorite songs.

Hall Of Fame
I could not believe my own ears when I heard this for the first time. There are not many songs like this in the world… Talking about how doing what you are passionate about and succeeding in that is way better than any amount of money or fame. And how anyone can be a champion, whether it is on an every-day base or in a more literal form. One of the most inspiring songs ever! And the music video… I’m in awe at what they (The Script) manage to tell the world in such a short and simple thing as one song. You must however see the music video to really feel it's power...

If You Could See Me Now

I can’t listen to this song in front of people. It’s that kind of song that brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. Mark and Danny wrote it one night they finally decided to put words to some of the thoughts, feelings and fears they had hidden deep inside. The song is dedicated to Marks parents and Danny’s father, and it’s so painful, beautiful and raw it’s almost terrible to listen to. You know they mean every word. And the feeling of wanting people to be proud of who you are, what you do and how your life turned out, is just universal. Every single people in this world can relate to this song one way or the other. One of the best and most honest songs ever made.

My verdict? Possibly the best album I've heard... There is honestly one song that I don't love that much, and that is "Give The Love Around". It was just a bit flat to me in between those great pieces of art. However, track number 2, 3 and 4 I think is some of the best I've heard. 

Love this album with all my heart, and if you consider buying it too, DO IT! 
Like I said, it's worth the money...

The Hard Task Of Finding A Good Album

(Pleas note that all information in this post is quite outdated...)

Two of my all time favorite bands are releasing a new CD this fall!

Over the last weeks I've become aware of what kind of music I really like. I listen to so much different it's always been hard for me to say which artists or bands I like, because sometimes I only like one or two of their songs... But I'm starting to find a few favorites among the insane amounts of artists and bands there are out there.

One thing I quickly discovered: I like bands. I hardly listen to solo-artists...

Some times I only like one of the albums a band or an artist have made. They may have a couple of good songs on other albums too, but there are spaces between. Let me give you a few examples.

Panic! At The Disco is an exciting band, but some of their songs are really wired. I like "Vices and Virtues", but the earlier albums can get a little one-dimensional to me, and some of the songs sound exactly like esch other.

Owl City has a cute sound, but after his first album, "Ocean Eyes" I think it all got a little bit too similar. I can't listen to all of his songs in a row...

Demi Lovato has become quite an artist, but I only like her newest album "Unbroken". The previous two is SO bad in comparison!

Both Jessy J and Katy Perry has actually got great voices, bot unfortunately a lot of their songs are very shallow. But then again, they have a few exceptions, and than they're really good.

Kaizers Orchestra is a norwegian band I have grown to like. They are different and have a very special sound. In total they have published over eight albums, but it's their last one, "Violeta Violeta Volume 2", I really like.

Taylor Swift I used to like... but then she made "We Are Never Getting Back Together". Enough said.

MUSE are just fascinating. Some of their songs I love and can listen to over and over again, but some are just boring (Madness) or very messy and noisy to listen to (Assassin). I like half of "The Resistance" and half of "Black Holes And Revelations"... But what I really want is to go to an outdoor concert with these guys! They have been crowned world's best live-band so many times I have to check for myself.

BUT I have found someone that I really like, and that I will continue to listen to for a long time...

Florence + The Machine is so special they're one of a kind. Her voice is so unique and powerful she could sing the phonebook and I'd still listen. I literally know all of her songs by heart, and even though I have no clue what she's singing about most of the time I love them! No one has made music like them before...

Christina Grimmie is one of the best female singers in the world in my opinion. She started making videos on Youtube all by herself, and now she's going on tour for the second time and her second studio album is coming up! I've followed her journey for almost two years now, and it's been exciting!

OneRepublic has been one of my favorites ever since I heard "Good Life" in the first episode of the Canadian TV-series "Rookie Blue". I love both their albums to pieces and can't wait for their upcoming next one... Yesterday night I watched a live OneRepublic concert on iTunes, and I promise you my heart almost stopped a couple of times because I was so excited to finally get to see them "live". Especially when the intro to "Good Life" rang through my headphones. Yes, it's a little old, but somehow It's got a special place in my heart...

The Script are just beautiful to listen to. Their sound is so distinkt and calming I smile every time I hear just the intro to one of their songs. Yesterday I listened to the songs on their brand new album, #3. It took my breath away! It was a piece of art and I can not stop singing "Hall Of Fame"...

So here you have it... my three favorite bands plus my favorite solo artist. And In case you were wondering... No, I don't like or listen to most of the things on the pop-charts or on Billboard's Hot 100. Most of it is boring and shallow, so I tend to find my own path through the music-world. You may like it or not, but that's just how I am <3

Kurt Hugo Schneider - The Music Magician

(*Update: Read more about Kurt and Sam's new original album "Make It Up")

I just had to mention him at some point, and the thought hit me that it should be rather sooner than later!

For those of you that don't already know him, he's a magician. Well... not the wand and cloak kind of guy, but a real-life magician after all. He conjures music and songs. The most beautiful kind there is.

The more common explanation is that he's a music producer, film director and songwriter who can play nearly every instrument you'd be able to mention. Long story short, at high school he met a singer named Sam Tsui, and soon they started to make small films together.

In 2008 they published their first video, Can I Have This Dance, on Kurt's YouTube-channel. The song from the film High School Musical was ment to be sung by Sam and a girl, but she bailed in last second. Kurt thought it'd be fun to make Sam sing the girl's part too, and he ended up editing the two different clips so that it would appear to be two guys sitting next to each other singing the duet. Just imagine how stunned people became when they found out it was actually the same guy!

After the surprising response to their video they continued to cover a lot of different songs using Kurt's astonishing skill as a musician and a lot of Sam's for all of the vocals. The YouTube-channel grew popular in record-time, and as of today it's one of YouTube's 50 most subscribed channels with the amazing number of 1 442 201 subscribers as of today!

Over the years he's collaborated with a lot of other singers, both knows and unknown to the web-universe, and made everything from mashups to covers of famous songs to original music and music videos. Always improving and ever-changing his videos are now some of the best there is on YouTube.

In 2010 he created a Miley Cyrus-medley together with fellow YouTuber Christina Grimmie. This has later been proved to be the video that earned Christina an agent and sent her on her way to fame. (That's a story destined for another post later sometime...)

The video that really made him boost to fame was him and Sam's mashup of Love The Way You Lie, Dynamite and Teenage Dream. It became so popular it eventually ended up airing on different radio stations, and as of today it's got over 26 million views! It's also the first of their videos I saw, and from then I was hooked.

His most viewed video of all time is Sam Tsui and Christina Grimmie's cover of Just A Dream, originally preformed by Nelly. It's got more than 51 million views, and if you check out the video below you'll understand why! I love it a thousand timed more than the original (which I actually don't like at all...) and so do thousands of others!

One of my favorites of his is Sam's version of Safe And Sound by Taylor Swift.  It's so beautiful it's breathtaking! I happend to listen to it again tonight, and it was so good I just had to write this entire blog post...

Today he also posted a Sam Tsui-cover of David Guetta's Titanium. I love the original, but I LOVE this version!

Other videos worth mentioning is a Rihanna medley by Matisse, B-e-a-utiful by Megan Nicole, Born This Way Cover by Sam Tsui, OneRepublic Medley by The Royal Sons, and Sam and Kurt's first original song Don't Want An Ending. He's actually making YouTube-stars rather than just collaborating with them!

Finally I'll just link you some of the most recent work by the music wizard himself... And I hope you'll start to love him as much as I do :-)

A Thousand Years (ft. Aimée Proal and Lindsey Stirling)

Pop Medley 2011 (ft. Sam Tsui)

Skyscraper Cover (ft. Olivia Noelle)

Katy Perry Medley (ft. Olivia Noelle)

Favorite - Song Mashup

(c) Elisabeth

Yepp! I'm running late again. Get used to it! It's in the evening/night I've got time for blogging, så that's when I'll do it ;) But I got the idea that I'd try to be ahead instaed of late, so I'll try to write one in the evening that's actually for the next day... I'll promise I'll try at least!

Today it's all about song mashups. Or like someone pointed out to me, also called song medleys. For this category I have so many good answers I honestly don't know where to begin! I've narrowed it down quite a lot, but I still have a couple to go through...

First up is a Britney Spears medley by Sam Tsui. I fell in love with his work a couple of years ago, and what he can do with his voice, some instruments and a camera is just admirable!

Secondly I have to show you guys the King Of Medleys: Kurt Hugo Schneider! He's a song-producer, composer, song-writer and plays every instrument you can name. It's that crazy! Together with Sam Tsui he started a Youtube-channel in 2007. Since that they have been making fantastic covers of famous songs! A couple of years ago Kurt also started to make videos together with other famous Youtubers, both covers, medleys and originals. He also makes the music-videos himself, and like I said, plays all the instruments and edit all the things (both song and video) afterwards. Here's some of his finest work:

A Rihanna medley by Matisse...

Miley Cyrus Medley by Christina Grimmie...

(This actually made Selina Gomez' stepdad wanting to be Christina's mannager)

There's just one problem... Kurt isn't the only medley/mashup-king! There is one guy. He's actually quite known... As a matter of fact so known that you might indeed have heard one of his medleys on the radio! His name is Jordan Roseman aka DJ Earworm, and he's unparalleled at what he does! Every year since 2007 he's created a mashup presenting the 25 top song of the Billboard list of the past years music. He chops them into tiny pieces and puts them together in a totally unrecognizable way. He actually creates a whole new song out of it! This skill got him famous and today he's working for the very artists that features on the Billboard-list, only that now he's creating medleys for them using their songs... and getting paid for it! Here's his most resent work:

United States Of Pop 2012: Don't Stop The Pop

United States Of Pop 2011: World Go Boom

But the time has come to crown my winner, the best song-mashup/medley I know. And the result is...

A TIE! 

I have decided to crown two winners...

And first winner is:

United States Of Pop 2009: Blame It On The Pop

When I first heard it I became obsessed with it! And apparantly so did the rest of the world. It's got over 41 MILLION hits on Youtube! This is the song that made it to all the big radio-stations. It made him known, respected and famous! his songs from 2010 and 2011 is sooo good, but all Earworm-fans hold this one most precious. We don't know why... It's just best, and I know all of it by heart!

And the second winner is:

Love The Way You Lie - MASHUP

This is just so good <3 I know every note and word by heart, and yes, I've got it on my iPod! It's the song that made both Kurt and Sam famous. This is where it really started for both of them, and they deserve every opportunity they've got since then! Kurt isn't as brilliant a editor as DJ Earworm, but he makes his own music from scratch... And there's this mix of homemade, professional and personality about it. Can't wait to see what he's going to do over the next couple of years!

*added
Check out Elisabeth's answer at Drops Of Art!