I did a cover of "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift ft. The Civil Wars, and again, Colin Hammond accompanied me. There are 2 versions as I was experimenting with the reverb. Here is version 1, and Here is version 2.
This is a very beautiful song written for the soundtrack for The Hunger Games movie. It strikes me as being very much a lullaby, however it is also very sad-sounding at the same time. The song is also very high-pitched. It was stretching the upper regions of my vocal range when I sang it. Honestly, I think it was stretching Taylor Swift's vocal range when she sang the original as well. It has a very raw sound that singers often get when they are just trying to reach the notes. That sound was very good for the movie though. For those of you who have read The Hunger Games or seen the movie, you know that the setting is post-nuclear war, futuristic. In one way, the civilization has regressed considerably, while being incredibly technologically advanced in other ways. Because of this, the raw, almost unpolished way that the song sounds reflects the raw, unpolished lifestyle that the common people in Panem lead.
Now on to my thoughts about the movie. Unlike most movie-goers who have already read the book in advance, I actually did like the movie. In fact, I thought that the producers and actors did a really good job.
See, the book is written in first person, and seeing as movies are not filmed by the actors themselves, they're pretty much limited to 3rd person. There are ways that films can be almost 1st person, but that requires a lot of voice-over narration by the main character, and that is not as fun as seeing it on screen. These sort of conglomerates wind up with mostly 3rd person movies with random narration by the protagonist as are present in the Twilight movies. Usually, when producers try quasi-first-person movies, fans think the movies are extra bad because 1st person books don't have little quotes like "death is peaceful. . . easy. Life is harder." like Bella Swan says in Twilight when she almost gets killed / turned into a vampire in an abandoned ballet studio. No, what books actually say are things like "we lapsed back into silence as we finished eating. He cleared the table while I started on the dishes." (Twilight, page 37). It's not the kind of dramatic thing that sounds good in a movie.
So, because they had to transition The Hunger Games to 3rd person, there are things that have to be explained another way than in the original book. For example, in the book, while Katniss is narrating, she tells the reader about how "tracker jackers" were created and why they were used, since they are brought back in the arena. In the movie, they choose to show this part of the arena as if you were a citizen of Panem watching the broadcast. This allows them to have a commentator tell the citizens about the different dangers since otherwise, without Katniss's narration, the viewer wouldn't know the importance of them. After all, none of us are citizens of Panem, and "tracker jackers" don't actually exist.
I thought the effects of the movie were incredibly good. Granted, the dogs they had in the movie were not exactly how I had imagined them. I had pictured them looking much more wolf-like. But still, overall, it was great. The various fires seemed pretty real. The injuries were very realistic.
I even think the casting was over-all pretty good. (My second cousin is one of the children in the "reaping" scene. Though, to be perfectly honest, I couldn't pick him out in the crowd.) I must admit though, I do not recall Rue being the particular ethnicity that they cast her as. I thought it was nice that they had a bit of cultural integration, though it could be viewed as a little bit racist that they cast African-Americans to play the roles of the tributes for the agriculture district. You know, what with Civil War era North America using African-Americans as slaves on plantations. . . Just saying.
It has been a while since I have seen the movie because I saw it the day after it came out in theaters, and it has been about 2 months since then, and I haven't seen it again since. Feel free to leave a comment with your opinion, or any other details you'd like me to address that you missed.
Also, if you have an opinion you'd like to share about my song covers, please tell me. Which version do you think sounds better? Do you even like them at all? Any suggestions? Whatever it is, I'd like to know. Thanks for reading, and thanks for listening!
P.S. To all you Twilight haters out there, I'm very sorry if I ruined The Hunger Games for you by making those Twilight references. Then again, I've heard that The Hunger Games is the new Twilight, but on the other hand, I heard that Twilight was the new Harry Potter. So, if you're a Harry Potter fan, it's all good, right?
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
"Photograph"
I have recently sung another song that Colin Hammond wrote and accompanied. Here is a link to the lyric video of the song "Photograph." It was written about a friend of Colin's named Diana Dades. She is a photographer, hence the theme of the song. The video features her photography. Comment, share, thumbs up, bla bla bla, thanks for listening!
Friday, May 18, 2012
Uncovering Pretty Words
Poetry is a vastly under-appreciated art outside of certain circles of the art community. Reading is already mostly confined to 140-character bragging sessions or random details that no one really cares about. It seems, at least to me, that far too many people have dismissed reading as being boring, and poetry as being lame, or generally unappealing. To a certain extent, poetry can be generally unappealing if it's poorly crafted, but that's true of anything. I would like to offer that the only things that posterity remember about predecessors is which countries try to annihilate each other, and what art of the era is preserved and well-done. That includes writing. If it didn't, we wouldn't have literature classes, now would we?
People's opinions have varied throughout time as to what makes good poetry. Hence, there are many literary devices that may or may not be widely used now. Some writers and critics have argued that poetry should be didactic, and others have argued that it should be purely aesthetic, or convey emotion. Many poem forms have been popular, varying from ballads, to sonnets, to free-verse.
What actually makes something poetry though? Poetry does not, in fact, have to rhyme. It does not have to have a set meter. It doesn't have to be romantic, or sappy. It doesn't even have to-- ok, it DOES have to have words. The main elements of poetry are condensed idea, and relative precision. Epic poems don't count. That's just a fancy style of noveling, and it is so rarely done well, that it is almost never worth reading. That is just my opinion though, if you like epic poetry, then good for you. You are one of a very small crowd.
I generally hold that the most important quality deciding if a poem is of good quality is if it successfully portrays or evokes emotion in the reader. The second best thing is to use creative imagery and description. Neither of those matter though, if it seems like a writer is trying to hard. This is often the major problem with amateur poets trying to use rhyme and meter, but particularly rhyme. If you can rhyme naturally, great! Use it! If not, don't force rhyme, or you will lose meaning and value.
Anyway, my point is, that one should try to cultivate at least an appreciation for good poetry, and not just rely on not-always-well-written musical lyrics for culture. It would be great if people tried to write their own poetry, but you can't ask or too much. If you start reading the really good poetry, you may be surprised at how much you like it, and how much your writing improves!
As an aside, one of the best lyric poets currently well-known is Adam Young, or Owl City. If you listen to his music, I mean really listen, he uses great imagery, conveys emotion beautifully, and rhymes well without having to make up words, use ridiculous word-order, or fail to make sense. He employs an impressive vocabulary, and creates good allusions. he is also very easy to relate to. Might I also add that the music he composes very nicely compliments his words. If you aren't a fan of Owl City, you should be.
If you have didn't understand a single word I just said, either translate the page to a language you know better, or educate yourself on the topic, because this is obviously for you.
As Thoreau famously said: "We do not enjoy poetry unless we know it to be poetry."
People's opinions have varied throughout time as to what makes good poetry. Hence, there are many literary devices that may or may not be widely used now. Some writers and critics have argued that poetry should be didactic, and others have argued that it should be purely aesthetic, or convey emotion. Many poem forms have been popular, varying from ballads, to sonnets, to free-verse.
What actually makes something poetry though? Poetry does not, in fact, have to rhyme. It does not have to have a set meter. It doesn't have to be romantic, or sappy. It doesn't even have to-- ok, it DOES have to have words. The main elements of poetry are condensed idea, and relative precision. Epic poems don't count. That's just a fancy style of noveling, and it is so rarely done well, that it is almost never worth reading. That is just my opinion though, if you like epic poetry, then good for you. You are one of a very small crowd.
I generally hold that the most important quality deciding if a poem is of good quality is if it successfully portrays or evokes emotion in the reader. The second best thing is to use creative imagery and description. Neither of those matter though, if it seems like a writer is trying to hard. This is often the major problem with amateur poets trying to use rhyme and meter, but particularly rhyme. If you can rhyme naturally, great! Use it! If not, don't force rhyme, or you will lose meaning and value.
Anyway, my point is, that one should try to cultivate at least an appreciation for good poetry, and not just rely on not-always-well-written musical lyrics for culture. It would be great if people tried to write their own poetry, but you can't ask or too much. If you start reading the really good poetry, you may be surprised at how much you like it, and how much your writing improves!
As an aside, one of the best lyric poets currently well-known is Adam Young, or Owl City. If you listen to his music, I mean really listen, he uses great imagery, conveys emotion beautifully, and rhymes well without having to make up words, use ridiculous word-order, or fail to make sense. He employs an impressive vocabulary, and creates good allusions. he is also very easy to relate to. Might I also add that the music he composes very nicely compliments his words. If you aren't a fan of Owl City, you should be.
If you have didn't understand a single word I just said, either translate the page to a language you know better, or educate yourself on the topic, because this is obviously for you.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Black Tears
Before I mention anything else, I'm sorry to all the guys out there to whom this will not directly apply, but maybe this will help you understand girls a little bit better. To you girls, this will help you understand your mother better.
Guys, when girls are very close friends, we form a sister-like bond that makes us practically inseparable. We know that it makes us seem less approachable, but best friends are like security blankets. You see, that way, we can point and laugh at other people's outfits, hair styles, makeup, boyfriends, and other accessories. We can also confide in each other, or get advice about our outfits, hair styles, makeup, boyfriends, and other accessories. (Guys, there is the possibility that you are just an accessory if you are in high school.) With this almost all-transcending bond comes the sharing of many things such as outfits, hair styles, makeup, boyfriends (actually that's a huge no-no), and other accessories.
Girls, I am not positive that all mothers say this, but I know that my mother harps about about makeup sharing like you wouldn't believe. She is always talking about how unsanitary it is to share eye makeup, and even more specifically, mascara. If you're like me, the fact that your mother told you not to wear your friend's mascara because you don't know where it has been never really bothered you. First, in a pinch, many girls will opt to look pretty now, even if there is a chance that they may get sick later. Second, if she's close enough of a friend to be sharing makeup with, you probably know exactly where all her makeup has been!
Now, I really have not looked into the sanitation of it, but here is a good reason not to share mascara. Unless you have memorized exactly what mascara your friend is currently using (in which case you may need to branch out a little bit more), you aren't going to be thinking about what brand of makeup you're putting on your eyelashes. Your probably just trying to get your mascara even, whislt not getting it all over the bridge of your nose (trust me, everyone's done it, or at least gotten mascara on their cheek), and getting to your next class, or meeting your date on time. If you are sitting in class, and you sneeze, cough, stab yourself with a pencil while writing notes, or whatever, or you are watching the sad part or a romantic comedy that you dragged your date to, accidentally order food that you thought wouldn't be so spicy, get a text saying that your pet [insert type of animal here] died unexpectedly, or get broken up with, you will inevitably at least tear up a little bit. And when the puddles start forming in the corners of your eyes, the thought will strike you:
Sometimes, you may not remember, even if you're wearing your own makeup, and wind up rummaging through your handbag until you see the words "waterproof" on the side of the wand. But if you are wearing your girlfriend's facial push-up bra, whatever problem you are facing will pale significantly in light of the possibility that you are about to have little black rivulets streaming down your face, and streaking all your other makeup. SO you have to pull out your phone, and subtly text your bestie:
Then she will have to rummage through her handbag and try to tell you the answer before the traumatizing thought of turning into a zebra transforms you into a total watering-pot. If she says yes, then you get to blubber a bit, wipe your tears on a tissue/napkin/page of notes (which you will have to recopy from someone else later), and if she says no, then you will have to blubber a bit, wail, burst into a fit the size of Niagara, while your class and teacher, or date and the rest of the restaurant or theater looks on in shocked terror.
So the moral of the story is, don't wear your friend's eye makeup, no matter how desperate you may get. (Now, lip gloss is a whole other story for a different day.) And for guys, don't break up with your girlfriend in public.
Guys, when girls are very close friends, we form a sister-like bond that makes us practically inseparable. We know that it makes us seem less approachable, but best friends are like security blankets. You see, that way, we can point and laugh at other people's outfits, hair styles, makeup, boyfriends, and other accessories. We can also confide in each other, or get advice about our outfits, hair styles, makeup, boyfriends, and other accessories. (Guys, there is the possibility that you are just an accessory if you are in high school.) With this almost all-transcending bond comes the sharing of many things such as outfits, hair styles, makeup, boyfriends (actually that's a huge no-no), and other accessories.
Girls, I am not positive that all mothers say this, but I know that my mother harps about about makeup sharing like you wouldn't believe. She is always talking about how unsanitary it is to share eye makeup, and even more specifically, mascara. If you're like me, the fact that your mother told you not to wear your friend's mascara because you don't know where it has been never really bothered you. First, in a pinch, many girls will opt to look pretty now, even if there is a chance that they may get sick later. Second, if she's close enough of a friend to be sharing makeup with, you probably know exactly where all her makeup has been!
Now, I really have not looked into the sanitation of it, but here is a good reason not to share mascara. Unless you have memorized exactly what mascara your friend is currently using (in which case you may need to branch out a little bit more), you aren't going to be thinking about what brand of makeup you're putting on your eyelashes. Your probably just trying to get your mascara even, whislt not getting it all over the bridge of your nose (trust me, everyone's done it, or at least gotten mascara on their cheek), and getting to your next class, or meeting your date on time. If you are sitting in class, and you sneeze, cough, stab yourself with a pencil while writing notes, or whatever, or you are watching the sad part or a romantic comedy that you dragged your date to, accidentally order food that you thought wouldn't be so spicy, get a text saying that your pet [insert type of animal here] died unexpectedly, or get broken up with, you will inevitably at least tear up a little bit. And when the puddles start forming in the corners of your eyes, the thought will strike you:
Is my mascara waterproof?
Sometimes, you may not remember, even if you're wearing your own makeup, and wind up rummaging through your handbag until you see the words "waterproof" on the side of the wand. But if you are wearing your girlfriend's facial push-up bra, whatever problem you are facing will pale significantly in light of the possibility that you are about to have little black rivulets streaming down your face, and streaking all your other makeup. SO you have to pull out your phone, and subtly text your bestie:
Is your mascara waterproof?
Then she will have to rummage through her handbag and try to tell you the answer before the traumatizing thought of turning into a zebra transforms you into a total watering-pot. If she says yes, then you get to blubber a bit, wipe your tears on a tissue/napkin/page of notes (which you will have to recopy from someone else later), and if she says no, then you will have to blubber a bit, wail, burst into a fit the size of Niagara, while your class and teacher, or date and the rest of the restaurant or theater looks on in shocked terror.
So the moral of the story is, don't wear your friend's eye makeup, no matter how desperate you may get. (Now, lip gloss is a whole other story for a different day.) And for guys, don't break up with your girlfriend in public.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)