John Mayer has always been one of favorite singers and song writers. I began enjoying his music when my sister introduced I find his voice very enchanting and I'm always in the mood to listen to John Mayer. He has songs for all of my moods. If I am having a bad day he has songs that can always cheer me up and make me feel better. I think Mayers career path is especially interesting and there is many things I didn't know about him before I began researching.

Mayers career began mainly focused on rock that he performed acoustically. In the early 2000s he began to move into the blues genre. Blues artists B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Eric Clapton collaborated with Mayer as he progressed into the blues genre. He preformed his blues songs with his trio, The John Mayer Trio. The John Mayer Trio is a blues rock band including John Mayer as the singer-songwriter and guitarist, Pine Palladino as the bassist and Steve Jordan as the drummer. The Trio released the album "Try" which was their only live album. The album was released by Colombia Record on November 22, 2005. The album was very successful and was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. 

Mayer created the album "Continuum", releasing the first single "Waiting on the World To Change". This song was the third most downloaded song of the week after being released July 11, 2006. A month later, Mayer released the entire album on Los Angeles radio. He preformed two songs from the album, "Waiting on the World to Change" and "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room", on the TV show CSI. Later that year Mayer was nominated for five Grammy Awards. He won Best Pop Song with Vocal for "Waiting on the World to Change" and Best Pop Album for Continuum.

Mayer named the album Continuum a year before the bid debut. Mayer wrote, "I'm obsessed with time lately, constantly crunching the numbers to get some sense of where I stand in the continuum."

"Waiting on the World to Change" 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oBIxScJ5rlY

Darius Rucker #2

Darius Rucker 
Julia Riker   

  I chose to study Darius Rucker because he is not the most popular artist out there. Many people my age, including me, don't know that much about him. They have only heard a few of his songs on the radio, and are unaware of his past with Hootie and the Blowfish. They only know him as the country artist he is today and not the alternative singer he used to be. They only know half of the artist and I want to learn about the artist and his history as a whole. I appreciate Darius' unique connection with his music and also I love his lyric writing skills. All of his songs include great life lessons and they have great meanings behind them. His music shows that he puts a large amount of time and effort into every song and I like that very much. Another factor that led to my decision was the fact that Darius is a country singer, not to mention an African American country singer, which is very rare. He has a voice unlike any other country singer. When you hear one of his songs you automatically know it's him just by the sound of his voice. I like the way his songs sound, very true and like they really mean something. One of my favorite songs by Darius is "True Believers." It tells a story of a couple of newlyweds and how they make it through life by just believing in one another. They get through the hardships by remaining one body working totally in sync. I am very happy with my decision of Daruis and am excited to learn more about him. 


🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬🐬

True Believers Music Video:
http://youtu.be/vsoGbyoq0wE

Why Fergie? Post #2

Why Fergie?

I primarily chose Fergie because I didn't know much about her. I thought she was different from most artists, which made me want to find out more about her. I love her songs "Glamorous" and "Big Girls don't cry." I listened to her songs a lot in middle school. I remember her song "Glamorous" came out when I was in 5th grade. My whole grade was singing it and once I heard it, I was hooked on it too. Her style of music is hip-hop/pop, which is a cool combination. Her songs are really fun and upbeat. 

Fergie attended Glen A. Wilson High School and where she attended dance school. This is where her mother found her an agent who sourced voice over work with her. She voiced the characters of Lucy and Sally in "the peanuts" cartoons (Charlie Brown) in the 1980's. She was a straight A student and won the spelling b. She was a girl scout as well as a cheerleader in high school. Fergie also tried acting and landed roles in Poseidon in 2006 (with Richard Dreyfuss) and the zombie movie, Grindhouse. 

One of her songs that I listened to this week was "Glamorous." I was obsessed with this song in middle school. She wrote this song to say she is still the same person and continues to value her friends and family over fame and fortune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2ZmWlTZ5p0

Sources:

"Fergie." Fergie. Web. 27 Feb. 2015. <http://www.contactmusic.com/fergie>.

Infoplease. Infoplease. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.

"Glamorous by Fergie." Songfacts. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

Coldplay #2

My love of Coldplay did not begin when I first heard any of their music. My mom had always been a huge fan of Clocks. I was always ready to listen to Viva la Vida and jam out to it in the car. Whether it be in a teenage movie or at Candlelight, Fix you always made me feel sentimental. But, it wasn't until the song The Scientist that I truly fell in love with their music. It was freshmen year, and I was looking for a new popular song to play on the piano. I had become obsessed with it after just playing it a few times. It grew as I began to memorize all of their lyrics, and I also spent countless hours looking up Coldplay's interviews and performances on YouTube. I had hundreds of small facts about the band that no one knew, but I was determined to get my friends to like them. The thing about The Scientist, along with many other of their songs, is it gave me goosebumps. They have songs that everyone can relate to but all for different reasons.

There is a lot of criticism on Coldplay. Many say they aren't that great of a band. But, they deserve a lot more respect than they are given. Unlike many artists in this business, Coldplay has never sold out. They sing the songs that they want to sing. They don't bother with the repetitive, catchy song that only get stuck in their head out of annoyance. Coldplay writes all of their own songs and play all of their own instruments. This is hard to find in today's music business. Coldplay does not care about the  trends in music; they just want to make music of their own.

Music Video to The Scientist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB-RcX5DS5A

Sources
"10 Reasons Coldplay Should Be More Respected Than They Are." WhatCulturecom 10 Reasons Coldplay Should Be More Respected Than They Are Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

Train Blog #2

Why Train?

By: Allie Perez

Train is an artist that has always been on my radar. When I was younger I used to get all my music from my older sister. I remember her showing me songs like “Drops of Jupiter” and “Meet Virginia”. I was initially drawn to the interesting stories the songs seemed to tell and always found these songs stuck in my head.

Since my initial exposure to the band, I have found myself continually listening to their music. One of the main reasons I chose Train, is because I never seem to get tired of their music.  I do not listen to Train all the time, but when a Train song comes on I find myself still loving it and singing along. Whether it’s a slow song like “Marry Me” or an upbeat “pop” song like “Hey Soul Sister”, I can always find a Train song to fit my mood. Their song “Bruises” even has somewhat of a country feel to it. My taste in music spans over many different genres, so I like that Train’s music does not always fit into one genre.

About two years ago I went to a Train concert, and it was one of the best concerts been too, mainly because their music was just so fun and easy to sing and dance along to. I love that every one of their songs tells a story, and many of them are very relatable.

Bruises-Train

"An Image of Train." Last.fm. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

"Train - Bruises (feat. Ashley Monroe)." YouTube. YouTube, 13 Nov. 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

Death Cab for Cutie #2

Why Death Cab for Cutie?

By Anne Marie Adams

I chose Death Cab for Cutie because I grew up listening to their music.  When I was little, my older brother and sister always played Death Cab for Cutie in the car.  I did not listen to them for quite a few years.  Then, out of the blue, about seven years later, my yoga instructor played their song “Passenger Seat” at the end of my yoga class.  By then I could actually understand what the words meant, and I fell in love with Death Cab for Cutie all over again.

Death Cab for Cutie’s music varies between indie rock, indie pop, and alternative.  I love their music because most of the songs have a slow, relaxing tempo accompanied by deep lyrics.  They give off a nostalgic vibe that makes me reminisce times when I was young or felt loved or felt alone.  For example, their song “Passenger Seat” that my yoga instructor played talks about looking out the car window and being amazed by the trees and the sky.  Then the person asks “do they collide?” they being the stars in the sky.  This creates a certain childlike innocence. Although the song only has about one hundred words, it is able to paint a picture in my mind of driving in a car and being amazed by my surroundings while feeling so loved by the people I am with. 

Passanger Seat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKmGJParYno

"8/11 Passenger Seat-Death Cab W/lyrics." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

WHY MAROON 5?

I chose Maroon 5 because I have always loved the feel of their music. Their songs have never failed to put a smile on my face.  I can't help to blast the volume and sing along. I have spent countless hours with Maroon 5 playing on repeat, as I listen and let all my problems melt away. I was also61 hoping to discover songs I had never heard before. I had yet to hear an inadequate M5 song, and since the undertaking of this project, I stand by my statement. While I have been pleased with my knowledge of their music, I have discovered a new song or two along the way. I have found a whole new appreciation for their music as well as the members of the band. 

Besides the great feel good vibes, I was also interested in who actually made up the band. I no longer think of Maroon 5 as "Adam Levine and wait are there actually other members?" I no longer feel guilty not knowing who makes up one of my favorite bands.  While Adam Levine will forever be my Maroon 5 love, being able to give members such as Jesse Carmichael and James Valentine their dues is important to me. 

Sugar by Maroon 5 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09R8_2nJtjg&spfreload=10

Blink-182 #2

Why Blink 182?

I chose Blink-182 because I love the band so much. I remember when I was little listening to Panic! At The Disco and just wanting to listen to more. I was younger, so I did not know how the name of the band or how to find them and continued to listen to the top 100 songs, even though at that point in time they were on it. When I got older, I figured out that was Panic! At The Disco, and I completely fell in love with this type of music that was new to me. While on Pandora, the Blink-182 song "All The Small Things" came on. I was so happy to stumble upon a band with music that I had never heard before. I instantly downloaded all of their albums and instantly loved the songs that were so different from everything that I was hearing on the radio. 

The band writes their own songs, which is something that doesn't happen everyday. I love this about them because it shows that all of their songs actually mean something to them rather than singing about something they do not know. The band has their own distinct sound, so it is clear to everyone when one of their songs comes on the radio. Each member of the band is an expert in what they do, so it is amazing when it all comes together for any song they play.

Song: Up All Night

Album: Neighborhoods

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpYhGdrknlA

Blink-182-Up All Night. Perf. Travis Barker and Mark Hopkins and Tom Delonge. Youtube. Interscope Records, 26 Aug. 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

Carrie Underwood: Post #2

 

Why Carrie??

I choose Carrie Underwood because she is hands down, one of my absolute favorite artists. She has an amazing voice that people only dream about, and I wish that I was as talented as she is. I also like how Carrie Underwood often writes or co-writes her own songs. Some of these include hits such as American Girl, Good Girl, Something in the Water, Two Black Cadillacs, Undo It, and many more. Carrie Underwood write about more things than her broken heart and the next boy that she wants to date or that she thinks is cute. She writes and sings about her own experiences, beliefs, and passions. Another reason that I chose Carrie is because she stays true to who she is. she refuses to give up things that are important to her, such as her faith, even though she is now famous. Carrie often sings what we would call church songs, or songs that praise God. I like this because it shows that she is strong in her faith and does not care what others think.

 

The first song that I heard that was by Carrie Underwood was a song titled American Girl. It is to this day still one of my favorite songs of any artist. This is one of Carrie's earlier songs, and is featured on her second album Carnival Ride. Carrie wrote this song along with Ashley Gorley and Kelley Lovelace.

 

Link to her song:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xO6B8Bi7i0

 

 

MLA Citing:

"Carrie Underwood." Carrie Underwood Official. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

 

 

 

 



Miranda Lambert: Post #2

Why Miranda Lambert?

Madison Clement

My first introduction to Miranda Lambert was when I was with my dad driving up north a few years ago. I hated country music and I was very annoyed with my dad because that was the only thing he would put on the radio for our 3-hour trip. After about 2 hours the country music finally became enjoyable. The song that made me fall in love with country music was by Miranda Lambert! I immediately fell in love with the song, “The House That Built Me”, as it played on the radio. This song began my country music obsession.

Miranda Lambert’s country style music is relatable. Her music shows the ups and downs of life. Even with all Miranda Lambert’s success, she still finds a way to give back and share her talents and passions with others. Miranda Lambert partnered with Ram Trucks for an amazing cause. Miranda auctioned off a customized Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn just like the one she drives, with all proceeds going to benefit MuttNation Foundation. She is co-founder of the MuttNation Foundation and has raised over $2.2 million in the last 7 years. Although I am not a huge animal lover, I still admire her selflessness and caring nature towards something she strongly supports. MuttNation’s mission is to help build shelters for better animal care, to increase pet adoption, and to promote responsible pet guardianship in addition to other worthy goals. Miranda Lambert works hard and lives her life to the fullest.  She also has rescued 7 dogs from shelters. I chose Miranda not only for her music, but also for her ability to give back to a cause she strongly supports.

The House That Built Me- Miranda Lambert

"Miranda Lambert - The House That Built Me." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2015. 

"Miranda Lambert." Miranda Lambert. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.