Favorite Musical Singles of 2012 (Part 3/4)

 This is the third post consisting of my favorite singles released in 2012. Part four will come later in the week.

 

 

"It's Time" by Imagine Dragons

I discovered this song from watching the trailer for The Perks of

Being a Wallflower and began hearing it on the radio shortly

after the trailer's release. There's something about this song that

describes life, kind of like how Radical Face is good at describing

life. It's ordinary and it's extraordinary. Between the music and the

meaning, "It's Time" makes me want to cry and smile and be happy.

 

 

 

"Breathing Underwater" by Metric This is the second Metric song on this list, and though I love the first one listed, "Breathing Underwater" is the one I tend to favor. The feel of it is so light and carefree; I can't  help but love it. I hoped it would be a single when I heard it from their album Synthetica and almost had a heart attack when I finally heard it on the radio.

 

 

 

"National Anthem" by Lana Del Rey

"National Anthem" is the last of the three Lana Del Rey songs

one can find on this list, and it took the longest to grow on me

out of all the songs on her album Born to Die. However, it's one of her

best. The song itself is unique in its general feel, and it includes a catchy

chorus and intense bridge. Still, the video is probably most popular

amongst the general public since Lana embodied both Marilyn

Monore and Jackie Kennedy without trying too hard to look like either

of them. After all, Lana Del Rey is strictly Lana Del Rey.

 

 

 

"Love Bites (So Do I)" by Halestorm

For a change of pace, give this single a try. "Love Bites (So Do

I)" is such a fun rock song. It's hard not to like something so badass

and lyrically exciting. Even the title sounds awesome. But if

rock isn't really your thing, just listen to Lzzy Hale's ending two

notes. Holy. Cow.

Favorite Musical Singles of 2012 (Part 2/4)

This is the second post consisting of my favorite singles released in 2012. Parts three and four will come later in the week.

 

 

"Lost in Paradise" by Evanescence

One of my favorite songs EVER. Like Evanescence always does, they

created an amazing, tear-jerking ballad. There's nothing to complain

about with this one. Amy Lee's voice is powerful like usual, the

music and lyrics are deep as usual, and the piano leads the way

like a beacon of greatness. There's no official video for this single

yet, so here's the beautiful lyric video. Go follow along with the

lyrics and get chills.

 

 

 

"Storm the Sorrow" by Epica

A big and bold single from Epica, a very worthy symphonic

metal band! This song displays outstanding vocals and lyrics amid

music that's completely epic. Mark Jansen's grunts are limited

to the bridge, creating cross-over appeal for those who don't care

for that style of vocalizing. Plus, the music video happens to be

my favorite Epica video.

 

 

 

"Hats Off to the Bull" by Chevelle

Chevelle's such a cool band, and the single "Hats Off to the

Bull" (released during the previous February) seems to help

enforce that. Anyone looking to rock out with the volume turned

way up? Listen to this song. Then go to one of their shows and

hear it live; they do a great job.

 

 

 

"Breath of Life" by Florence + the Machine

This song is the lead single from the film Snow White and the

Huntsman, and it made the end credits for that movie so much

better. I can't describe this song's genre... There's Florence's voice

plus a choir, exceptional lyrics, and of course the theatrical music...

It's the genre of Florence. And it's very fun to sing.

Favorite Musical Singles of 2012 (Part 1/4)

Since 2012 is coming to a close, I thought I'd share my favorite singles released this year!

 

This will be the first of four posts. Each of these four posts will contain four videos of my favorite singles, making that a total of sixteen songs to expect over the course of the week. I will post the other three posts every other day this week.

 

Initially, I tried to order these numerically, making it more of a countdown, but the order ended up relying on how much I love the artist, it felt biased in result. So, I decided to randomize them. Plus, I just love these songs so much.

 

I hope you enjoy these four great songs as well the others coming within the week!

 

 

 

"Youth Without Youth" by Metric

This is an awesome, fun song that makes me feel BA whenever I listen to it.

The album that this single came from, Synthetica, is a fantastic album

that has multiple tracks that are just as cool (or even cooler) than this

song.

 

 

"Summertime Sadness" by Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey brings a heavy darkness to indie pop with

"Summertime Sadness," and the video does that darkness justice.

It's both mellow and melodic, and even though I wasn't a fan from

the get-go, the greatness ofthis song, as well as the other tracks on

her debut album Born to Die hit me like a ton of bricks.

 

 

 

 "The Other Side" by Evanescence

"The Other Side" is a promotional single from my favorite band's

latest self-titled album (which I loved). Though it's not a happy song,

it's definitely upbeat and catchy both vocally and instrumentally.

As a promo single, it has no official music video, but it does have

an official lyric video in which I have posted.

 

 

 

"Ride" by Lana Del Rey 

Lana Del Rey released a new edition of her debut album (The

Paradise Edition) which includes a bunch of new songs for us

to love, including this single. The song itself is very pretty and

melancholy, but the video doesn't do much for me, personally.

Paradise | Lana Del Rey

Indie-pop artist Lana Del Rey has recently released a new EP entitled Paradise, an addition to her album Born to Die (though it can also be purchased separately). Now, I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed Born to Die, but it took a long time to grow on me. When I wrote the review of that album, I wasn't the most fond of it, but I wrote an edit at the bottom explaining that every slight bit of positivity I found became magnified and granted it another star.

Paradise didn't take that extra time to grow, for Lana Del Rey has improved. The very first track (and single), "Ride" still has everything Lana did well on Born to Die. Her voice is relaxing, the music and lyrics are moving... but it's just... better. I didn't have to try and love it; I loved it immediately, especially the strings and how they become even more present towards the end. I totally didn't cry a little the first time I heard it, either. "Ride" is easily one of my favorites.

"American" is the next song, and the strings are still taking the stage, but it does have its poppier elements as well, which somehow reminds me of Bjork's "All is Full of Love" at times (but only on an instrumental level). It's a bit gloomy without being too much; it's nostalgic. Really, that's the best way to describe most of Lana Del Rey's Paradise. It feels incredibly nostalgic.

The next planned single is called "Cola", and oh my goodness, it's weird. Just go listen to those beginning lyrics and anyone will see what I'm saying. As a whole, the song is more fun-sounding than the previous tracks, particularly the chorus. The bridge takes an unusual turn since Lana decides to show off a bit vocally and hits notes that she doesn't normally attempt. "Cola" is definitely my least favorite song from Paradise; it simply doesn't do much for me.

Oppositely, "Body Electric" is one of my all-time favorite Lana Del Rey song. It's very eerie. Sure, Lana Del Rey has made darker music than most, but this song takes it to a whole new level. It was one of the two songs I was most excited to hear from this EP, the other being Lana's cover of "Blue Velvet." I loved hearing it on Lana's H&M commercial and wanted to hear more. She's great with this kind of music, and I hope she continuous to offer quality music such as this.

"Gods and Monsters" seems to be the most pop-friendly song on the album, and I simply cannot relate to it at all. Musically, it sounds catchy, but lyrically, I feel extremely detached. It seems to be about someone extremely reckless without a good sense of what's good for her. Though the general meaning isn't bad and something I'd actually like to hear about, I find myself wishing Lana Del Rey could be more feminist lyrically. I think I'll be able to appreciate this more with time if I can get past the certain irritation I feel.

"Yayo" (whatever that means) returns to the melancholy mood that was set towards the beginning of the album. I'm a little confused lyrically, but there's nothing wrong with the song. It's quite relaxing. If I were to compile a ranking list of the tracks of Paradise from best to worse, "Yayo" would be the middle ground.

The album ends quite peacefully with "Bel Air," as it is reminiscent of a lullaby. The whole feel of it is very different than the rest of the album. Even though it still has a darkness to it, it's so much lighter than the rest of Paradise as well as Born to Die. It's more pretty than it is anything else, like the single that introduced me to Lana Del Rey's music, "Video Games," but it's still very different than "Video Games." It has more of a film score-type of magic to it, too good for real life. That being said, "Bel Air" is another one of my favorite Lana Del Rey songs.

Paradise has a lot to offer. As good as Born to Die is, in the grand scheme of things, it has quite a few repetative sounds. Paradise breaks Born to Die's habits since this EP is different, offering a sound that's even more chilled-out and pretty. It's more soulful and jazzy than anything, breaking from traditional indie pop. The music this woman is making goes to show that some genres will never die, even if they are often hidden by the generic radio stations that will play the same five songs that sound the same until audiences are finally ready for another generic set. At the end of the decade, century, or any other length of time, quality music is still quality music.

4.5/5 Stars



(If you read my review of The Family Tree: The Roots by Radical Face, you know that I was ready to give up star-ratings. As of now, I am unsure... I hope to post about this sometime soon.)

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part Two | Screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg and Stephenie Meyer | Directed by Bill Condon

*This review contains spoilers for those who have not read the novel.

Much like with Breaking Dawn: Part One, I didn't have high expectations for this final Twilight film. Though the second half of first part managed to exceed my low expectations in the end, it was because of the way the corniness fell away during times of action. I did not expect much of any action in Breaking Dawn: Part Two, simply because I thought that the two-part split would not work. Everything that I envisioned to be most entertaining on screen happened in the first part, so I thought Part Two would be a bit boring, leaving room for the inevitable gushiness that the movies in this series tends to bring - except for this one.

The filmmakers threw a major curve ball at me, and I love it!

In this film, Bella thinks she has the 'forever' she's always wanted as a vampire, and she has to deal with the quirks that come with the lifestyle. (This includes hunting and trying to look human.) But of course, the Volturi become suspicious of her mixed-breed daughter, Renesmee, and the Cullens know they can't convince them that she's harmless without some help. Even with Jacob and the wolf pack on their side, it may not be enough despite Jacob's strong connection to Renesmee.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's start at the very beginning... The opening credits.

Yes, I'm even critiquing the credits. That's probably not normal, but seriously - the credits looked awesome! The names and background kept switching from a normal woodsy scene to red. Despite the cool-looking credits, they went way too fast; it felt odd. Really, the beginning of the movie felt a little bit sped up.

As I mentioned earlier, the corny element I always complain about in this series is barely there. Of course, there's affection, but it's cute. It's sweet. It doesn't make me roll my eyes. And I'm not just talking about Edward and Bella's love story, I'm talking about Renesmee's protector, Jacob. Breaking Dawn is the book that really made me fall in love with Jacob. He's a dependable, all-around good guy and Taylor Lautner did a great job portraying him in this film.

Another thing that contributed in making me take the movie seriously is the film score, which was much better compared to some of the other films in the series.

I know I've said this every time, but I'll say it for the final time now: This is the best movie in the series. Though I've said it before, I've often meant 'well, this is a little better than the last one.' Breaking Dawn: Part Two buries the previous four movies in the ground because for the first time, they tricked the audience. (I promise not to spoil.) They changed something without changing anything, and that made it the good movie it was. If they did not throw the curveball, this movie would have been as boring and nearly uneventful as I predicted. It was the BEST part.

Am I saying that the movie got it right and the book got it wrong? No. The fact of the matter is, some things in books don't work well on screen. (Honestly, I've even seen movies with original scripts that I thought would have been better in novel formation...) The filmmakers knew that they couldn't possibly target a movie audience unless they made things a little more eventful even if there's nothing wrong with the book.

Don't think that this adaptation isn't true to the book either, because it is.

Anyhow, the very end was sweet, just as the book's ending was. I liked that they put actors' names with character faces at the end along with occasional pages from the books. In fact, this movie's ending note was perfect... I'm sad to see it all go now. But, I'll always have the books to revisit as I wish; for at the end of the day, The Twilight Saga offers good fun and an enjoyable love story that made me happy.

Dilemmas with Cinemas

I have a problem. Truth to be told, I have a series of problems.

There are so many movies that I want to see, but I only end up seeing no more than six a year. (How often does the average person go to the movies a year anyway? Is six a normal number?) Either way, I don't get to see nearly as many as I want. Since I'm an avid book-lover, I tend to go see movies that are based off of the books I've read. When you take into account for how many books series' there are, that's a lot of film adaptations. But... why do I even need to see to see these adaptations? Honestly, I've always felt like it was some sort of fan obligation. Though my curiosity would drive me crazy in some cases, there's always the rare occasion where I really don't care.

November 16th is the perfect example. Since I enjoyed the Twilight books (DON'T JUDGE ME), I feel obligated to see Breaking Dawn: Part 2. But quite frankly, I'm just so pessimistic about this movie! The two part split was utterly unnecessary and every film adaptation in this series has been corny. Besides, all of the interesting events in the book have already happened in the first part; why should I bother with this movie? I have nothing to go for.

However, I do want to see Lincoln, which debuts on the same day. Steven Spielberg's magic glorifying my favorite president in movie form? I'm in! And am I the only one completely enthralled by this movie's TV spot? It's even better than the theatrical trailer. Has anyone else ever seen a TV  spot better than the theatrical trailer? Not I.

Watch it; it's only about 30 seconds:

So, why not see both? Well, my mother really, really, really wants to see Breaking Dawn: Part 2 for one thing, and for another thing, going to the movies is overly expensive. By the time I get my popcorn, soft drink, and cookie dough, I feel like I'm pouring money down the drain. The fact that the food is overpriced isn't the only problem, though. I can't even consume everything I buy! I always buy a small soft drink and popcorn, but smalls aren't even small! How can someone eat/drink all of that? It's ridiculous! If you ask me, they shouldn't even be called small, medium and large; they should be called, big, bigger, and huge.

Not to mention how embarrassing it is to cry in a movie theatre. But the worst part isn't that I cry at nearly every movie, the worst part is that I've also cried during the trailers. When I saw the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 trailer in the cinema, I probably looked like I was having major respiratory issue. (TRAILERS ARE AMAZING, OKAY!?)

Yet at the end of the day, despite all of my complaints about going to the movies, it's something I really do like to go out and do. It would be wonderful if my complaints did not exist; then I'd be able to go more often and actually see all (or at least most) of the movies I'm interested in. Until that day comes, I will remain choosy.