Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Sigur Rós - Hoppípolla

This Icelandic band's music makes me happy/sad.  I AM CONFUSED.  (Same goes for this particular music video.)  This is the second song I'm posting by them, and it's from the same album, though I suppose next time I should try to diversify and choose something from another album.  At least they always have interesting music videos.
Note:  Video is the official music video, and is in HD!

Sigur Rós - Hoppípolla [Hopping Into Puddles]:

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Sarah West - Tag Min Hånd

Hey, look!  It's a Danish song in which the singer doesn't try to sound like a robot!  Sorry, I was looking for Danish music recently and kept finding excessively autotuned club music.  Fortunately, I eventually came across this artist, and thought her voice was so pretty.  Then I looked into the background of the song and found out it was written for a project that aims to help struggling teenage girls with their problems.  Interesting!

Sarah West - Tag Min Hånd [Take My Hand]:

Monday, August 29, 2011

Tonedeff - Optimist

I heard (and saw) this artist perform this song live, too!  It was quite dramatic.  :D  I wasn't sure what song to post by this artist, since he's one of my favorite hip hop artists and has tons of great songs, but eventually decided on this one because it's a good song for when you're feeling down.  In case you're wondering, the song sampled in the chorus is "Life is Wonderful" by Jason Mraz (which I've ALSO seen performed live!), and Tonedeff himself produced this track; dude has great taste in music!  (He's a huge fan of another favorite artist of mine, Tori Amos, and believe it or not this guy is the reason I gave music by Rufus Wainwright another chance--he so strongly encouraged his fans listen to those 2 artists, even though their music is of a very different genre from his own.)

Tonedeff - Optimist:

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Adele - Rumour Has It

I had the pleasure to hear this artist perform this song live recently!  The night before her concert my friend played her newest album for me and this was the standout track for me.  Where did this girl get all her soul from?!
Note:  HD!

Adele - Rumour Has It:

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Hot Chip - I Feel Better

This song is all right, but the main feature of this post is the music video.  Since I discovered it through a NewNowNext playlist last year, I have shown it to just about everybody.  It's the greatest music video in the history of the world.  Make sure you watch all the way through, because at first I thought it was the worst music video in the history of the world, but it ended up being the best.
Note:  And lucky you, you can experience its glory in HD!

Hot Chip - I Feel Better:

Friday, August 26, 2011

Christina Perri - The Lonely

I think this is the second song I heard by this artist, whom I somehow came across on the Internet, probably through a music recommendation article.  I can't really remember where I heard this particular song first either, but it was probably a fanvideo or something.  Quite nice!  I think it's cool that this song has an OFFICIAL lyrics video.
Note:  AND it's in hi-def!

Christina Perri - The Lonely:

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Disturbed - Stupify

I have always liked Disturbed, and this is one of the first songs I heard by them. Their lyrics can be pretty corny, but I like the lead singer's unique voice and usage of it. I like imitating him. LOL! Don't listen if you can't handle profanity. Sidenote: this is the kind of music people evidently think is ALL I listen to, which I think is strange... And which, if you follow this blog at all, is obviously not the case.
Note: HD!

Disturbed - Stupify:

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

F.I.R. - 我們的愛

This is one of the first songs I heard by this Taiwanese band, as well as one of their first hits, and it's still one of my favorites by them.  It's also one of my favorite songs to sing at karaoke!  It was a long time ago when I found this artist, but I think I may have acquired this song through an mp3 rotation site.

F.I.R. - 我們的愛 [Wo Men De Ai - Our Love]:

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Hans Zimmer, Lebo M., and Jay Rifkin feat. Khululiwe Sithole - Lea Halalela

I have been obsessed with the soundtracks of The Lion King since I was a little kid. I thought the movie's music was the most epic, beautiful thing ever (which hasn't exactly changed). I used to own this "inspired by" soundtrack called Rhythm of the Pride Lands on cassette tape as a kid, and a few years ago, in my adulthood, I bought it again on CD. This is one of my favorite songs from that soundtrack; the choir sounds so gorgeous! It's cool that on this version I can hear the clicks in the lyrics!
Note:  Listen in HD!

Hans Zimmer, Lebo M., and Jay Rifkin feat. Khululiwe Sithole - Lea Halalela [Holy Land]:

Monday, August 22, 2011

Janelle Monáe - Cold War

Here's another song that seems thematically related to the previous song I posted by this artist, in that it's about the pressure to conform to societal expectations. I'm proud of my lyric interpretation on this one because she actually confirmed it in a number of interviews, so yay!  It's not often I find the lyrics of a song so personally relatable.
I'm posting this video this time too, because it's also great (and remniscent of Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" video). Supposedly this was the first take of what was intended to be only part of the official music video, but they ended up using the raw footage because it was so powerful on its own. She starts out sticking to her android persona but rather conspicuously drops it when she gets to my favorite line of the song.

Janelle Monáe - Cold War:


And the music video:

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Gary Cao - 笑我笨

A long time ago one of my friends showed me a music video by this Malaysian-born, Taiwan-based artist, but I didn't pay much attention.  Then, later, I heard another song by him through a Chinese-language music video playlist on YouTube, and this time I was impressed by his nice R&B voice, which I don't hear very often in Taiwanese music, so I listened to a few of his albums and especially liked this song from the collection.

Gary Cao A.K.A. 曹格 - 笑我笨 [Xiao Wo Ben - Laugh at Stupid Me]:

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Natacha Atlas - Leysh Nat'arak

I found out about this artist quite recently, when my friend was playing her music from the soundtrack of the film Kingdom of Heaven. Yesterday I came across this old song by her, which is lamenting the conflicts and lack of unity in the Middle East.  The singer is from Belgium, but it seems like the bulk of her work is sung in Arabic, as in this song.  You can find a translation of the lyrics into English here.

Natacha Atlas - Leysh Nat'arak [Why Are We Fighting?]:

Friday, August 19, 2011

Erik Hassle - Hurtful

I stumbled across this Swedish artist by accident while clicking on random music artists' songs in the related videos margin on YouTube the other day. I thought his voice was nice, as is this song.  I can imagine this song doing well as a single in the U.S., because it sounds stylistically similar to a lot of other current popular songs on American radio.
Note: Video in HD!

Erik Hassle - Hurtful:

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Bada - Aurora

This is a pretty little song I heard on a Korean MV program on TV years ago. It's also one of the first Korean-language songs I even tried learning the lyrics of. Ummmmm... I don't really have much more to say about it.

Bada - Aurora:

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Taku Iwasaki - Say Goodbye

Holy crap, this piece... It makes me feel like my heart is being ripped in half or something! Its pain is palpable! Which is, of course, why I can't get enough of it. It's from the second soundtrack of the anime series Witch Hunter Robin.

Taku Iwasaki A.K.A. 岩崎 琢 - Say Goodbye:

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Christina Aguilera - The Voice Within

This artist is not my favorite celebrity personality, but she is, IMO, one of the best mainstream singers of my generation. Her voice is so powerful I'm constantly in awe of her vocal ability, even though I'd been hearing her voice since I was a youngun'. I think this song by her is particularly beautiful and soulful.

Christina Aguilera - The Voice Within:

Monday, August 15, 2011

IAMX & Imogen Heap - My Secret Friend

The first listed artist is the alias of the lead singer of Sneaker Pimps, Chris Corner, and the second is the singer of Frou Frou and one of my all-time favorite artists.  I think both of them are really innovative and have cool voices that go really well together.  Their respective styles mesh together excellently, too.  I love this song and its creepiness, although I have very little idea as to what it's about.  I'm including the MV, which was directed by Chris Corner/IAMX, because I have a thing for its weirdness and gender-bending.

IAMX & Imogen Heap - My Secret Friend:


And the music video:

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Brown Eyes - No Day But Today

I heard about this Korean duo years ago through a forum for K-pop music.  I was sampling the music of various Korean artists and came across this one, and thought their voices were great and their music was addictive.  Both their albums are still among my favorite R&B albums in my collection.  I've already posted music by one of the singers from this group's other project with a similar name, Brown Eyed Soul, but this group came first.

Brown Eyes - No Day But Today:

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Bôa - Duvet

This was the opening credits song for the very trippy anime series Serial Experiments Lain.  It's not my usual style but for some reason I like it.  See, this is confusing because there's another singer (whose music I've posted before) named BoA, who ALSO has done anime theme songs.  But she's a Korean pop star and this is an British singer-songwriter.

Bôa - Duvet:


Here's a link to the intro credit sequence from the anime in HD, because I think it's kinda cool:
http://youtu.be/NDAeOatiooM

Friday, August 12, 2011

Nine Inch Nails - And All That Could Have Been

I've known of the existence of this artist for a long time, but didn't go out of my way to listen to their/his music, for some reason.  I heard this particular song in an AMV for Tokyo Babylon and X, which I realize is pretty lame, but there it is.  This is one of the few songs where the instrumental component, excluding songs with violin or cello, is what got me rather than the vocals.

Nine Inch Nails - And All That Could Have Been:

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Eve - Who's That Girl

The first lady of the Ruff Ryderssssssss.  Eve is one of those rare female MCs who made it to the mainstream without resorting to full-on skankitude.  I used to see the MV for this song getting played on TV all the time back in the good ol' days.  And she's still around, making music and acting (I saw her in episodes of Glee and the movie Whip It).  Yet again there is profanity; COVER YOUR EARS, CHILDREN!

Eve - Who's That Girl:

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Darren Hayes - Random Blinking Light

Even though this was a B-side (of the single for the OTHER song I posted by him, actually!), it's one of my favorite tracks by this artist.  I loooooooove when his voice goes high...  There's a tiny bit of profanity.
Note:  Arghghghg, it seems like it's impossible to find a song by this artist on YT that DOESN'T feature a slideshow of him, and his music seems to have been purged from my other source I use for this blog, so I had to settle for this... but at least it's in HD.  Whatever; I suppose everyone knows what he looks like because of his Savage Garden days.

Darren Hayes - Random Blinking Light:

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Nancy Sinatra - Bang Bang

I heard this song in the movie Kill Bill and liked it, though it was nearly ruined for me by a housemate who played it repeatedly for days on end and wouldn't stop singing it.  Fortunately, that stopped eventually so now I can listen to it without feeling like strangling someone.
Note:  HD!

Nancy Sinatra - Bang Bang:

Monday, August 8, 2011

Staind - Waste

I've had the album this song is on and played it many, many times since I was 14 or so, but it took me a while to realize this song is chastising someone for committing suicide. Supposedly, it's based on a real encounter in which a fan of the band committed suicide and the mother blamed the band. There is some profanity.

Staind - Waste:

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Natalie Merchant - My Skin

My sister is a fan of this artist, so I've been exposed to her music for quite some time, but I paid closer attention when I heard this song in a fanvideo. This song is reeeeeally pretty, IMO.
Note: The video has HD.

Natalie Merchant - My Skin:

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Juanes - A Dios le Pido

I heard this song before class when my Spanish teacher was playing it for a higher-level Spanish class one day and really liked it but didn't know who the artist was.  Then, shortly afterward (cómo un milagro), I saw this artist performing this song live on TV and stuck around to watch just so I could find out his name and solve the mystery.  It worked, I found the song, and I learned the lyrics, which ended up being helpful because the following year I had the same Spanish teacher and she used the song for our class's exercise (as she had for the same level class the previous year), in which we had to try to transcribe the lyrics as they were sung.  Tricky, tricky!  And now this seems to be the one Spanish-language song everyone knows.
Note:  HD!

Juanes - A Dios le Pido [To God I Pray]:

Friday, August 5, 2011

TLC - Damaged

A couple days ago I was reliving some of my childhood by listening to an album by this artist.  This song is from a later album than the one I was listening to, but I like it all the same.  It's sad watching the music video that has only 2 of the original 3 members, since this video is from after Lisa Lopez died... but at least it features the lovely & talented actress Justina Machado (who was in Six Feet Under)!

TLC - Damaged:

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Gackt - 君が待っているから

Ah, there's something really enjoyable about this artist's (melo)dramatic music.  Last time I posted a more fast-paced rock song by him, so I thought this time I should post a more downbeat one.  This is one of my favorite songs from what I believe to be his strongest album, Crescent.

Gackt - 君が待っているから [Kimi ga Matteiru Kara - Because You Are Waiting]:

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Cat Power - I Found a Reason

It's not often that I like such understated, minimal pieces as this song, but for some reason this strikes a chord (HA, get it?) with me. I heard this calm, low-key cover of the Velvet Underground song in the movie Saving Face AND in the movie V for Vendetta.
Note: Watch/listen in HD!

Cat Power - I Found a Reason:

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Nidji - Heaven

I found this band years ago when I was rooting around for Indonesian artists. They were one of my favorite discoveries, and this was one of my favorite songs from their album Breakthru'. I was surprised to find out, when searching for a video of this song for this post, that this song was used in the soundtrack for the American show Heroes.
Note: The lyrics transcription is really bad, but the video's in high def.

Nidji - Heaven:

Monday, August 1, 2011

Lara Fabian - Je Suis Malade

I heard about this artist years ago through an mp3 rotation site, though I can't at the moment recall which song I heard by her then. More recently, though, I came across a video of her performing this song live and was moved by how powerful her performance was.
Note: The first video has the song in HD, the second has the live performance I came across.

Lara Fabian - Je Suis Malade [I Am Sick]:


And the link to the live performance (which can't be embedded):
http://youtu.be/uGthVEza97U