Ok so around Decemeber time Charlie Simpson AKA Charlie from Busted and Fightstar released an EP (must have been pretty low key as im a massive charlie simpson fan and iv only just discovered it). Saying that its not even on itunes yet so i doubt its been officially launched...
The EP is titled 'When we were Lions,' after the title single. The feel of the album is very Folk Rock, and hats off to him, hes made a fantastic job! He wrote all the songs (apart from Bullet), sang everything on the EP, and played everything on there too, now theres a sign of a real musician!
If you havent heard any of the songs i recommend you listen to 'Lost,' its a real hauntingly beautiful treat. His voice is so haunting and yet soulful at the same time, it really is beautiful and unique... This song in particular reminds me of something from twilight, kinda muse but folk style...just gorgeous.
So anyway, moving on from the sickeningly good EP, we have his brand new single 'Down Down Down' which is currently featured on Radio 1s playlist. The style again is rather folk rock, which a haunting vocal and sick finger picking. The guy is talented, and to any busted critics, this proves beyond reasonable doubt the guys did have real talent, especially Charlie. I have bought this single, and its the best 79p iv ever spent! That good im considering doing a cover...
So what do you think of charlies new stuff? Personally i think hes got better with age, almost like a fine wine... hes definitely hit his best so far, i just hope he can keep it up!
Take a listen to new single 'Down Down Down' here, and let me know what you think...
So, my brother and I teamed up for the night to entertain about 350 people for a charity night in chesterfield. We had a 15min slot in between the full monty (well done guys, takes a lot to do that!), another singer named Danny who was great with his Micheal Buble set, and Donna Ramsdale, who as always, was great!
Its the first time me and my brother have teamed up to do a gig, but i dont think it will be the last! The night went really well, infact i think it was the best it ever went. I remembered all my lyrics, Cal remembered all his intricate solos on guitar, jobs a good 'un as they say.
We performed 4 songs in total, and picked well known songs so people could sing along (we were on at 10.15 so most were drunk enough to join in - youll hear on the videos). The first song we did was Oasis' - Little By Little, which seemed to go down a treat, plenty of people at the bar singing along, made us feel a lot more comfortable that people either appreciated the song, or just wanted to drown us out, not too sure...
The second song was the mighty Coldplays classic 'Yellow,' again, that went down a treat, and it was the first time id got all the words in order!!! Phew! What a time to get it right, when youve got 50 or so people also singing along, who know the words themselves...
The third song was an abolute classic, 'Sweet Child O Mine' by Guns N Roses...the men in the room loved that, as did everyone else, sat or stood around singing along nearly all the way through. You can even hear some of the guys singing along with their own backing vocals...they loved it!
And to finish off we took the tempo down a bit, and performed 'Cannonball' by Damien Rice...Cal learnt this after i pestered him into wanting to sing the song as im a MASSIVE Damien Rice fan, and he did :) so thanks Cal!! The song again, went down a treat and was the perfect mellowed song to end with, one of my favourite songs ever.
Once we'd finished we were greated with applause and handshakes (the drunkeness had kicked in), but people apparently loved it. My mum was making sure she told everyone whod listen we were her kids, whilst similtaniously pointing out she had no talent apart from making cupcakes.
So thankyous... Thankyou to Tracie Holocuk and Becki Trickett for organising a fantastic night and letting us play, Thankyou to Cal who agreed to help me out, we make a good team! Thankyou to Liam & Claire Britton for recording/taking photos, Thanks to the full monty boys for putting on a great show! Thanks to Donna and Danny for also making it a great night, oh and to my mum for baking cupcakes!
Finally thanks to everyone who came, it was a great night and raised loads and loads of money for ashgate hospice!
Thank goodness for that! iv just literally watched this performance on American Idol, and i fell in love with the song. With guitar solos to melt the heart, lyrics to make you cry, and a performace to leave you wanting more, Rihannas back on top!
After a few dodgy overly popy/dancy hits, were back to her original sort of hits...more of a beyonce and leona, but with hints of rock...i absolutely love it!!! It will be an instant hit from the first time you hear it, i can gaurantee the single will do amazingly.
The song at the start reminds me of fergie - big girls dont cry, very acoustic, very soft, and just simple lyrics, but once you get past the first verse, this massive pop rock ballad bursts out! Im in love with this song.
Listen if you like Beyonce, Fergie, Leona Lewis, Bon Jovi (Always), Taylor Swift.
Well, what can i say apart from what a load of crap! Im not a GaGa fan at the best of times (theyre catchy admittedly, and great to dance to, but i wouldnt buy the singles), and this single has done her absolutely no favours in my book.
An awful electro pop dance track provides the instrumental to the single, with the odd synths thrown in there for good measure, i lost track of the ammount of times she mentions Judas...i think we get the message. Infact she mentions it that many times im beginning to wonder if theres subliminal messages in there somewhere.
The lyrics are bloody awful, i mean, judas, juda ah ah? Oh please. The highlight of the song? THE ENDING.
I think that speaks for itself...another mass produced crap dance tune, which will again probably storm the charts, make the record producers a lot of money, and feed GaGa even more fame.
Its rather clear shes rushed this last album, and the songs, and if she hasnt, well it just proves shes bloody awful ! Id get the excuses in now GaGa.
Im officially in love, with this song, and brick by brick. Im going to be first in line to get their album so i can rock out in my car! Its so grungy, so 60's inspired, i just absolutely love the sound theyve gone for. Im quite a grunge and old rock fan anyway so this album is going to be RIGHT up my street! Anyway heres the full song, which had its first airplay on the 11th on radio 1. Im sure youll agree with me, ARCTIC MONKEYS ARE BACK!
So i posted about Taylor Swift in the live lounge this week, she covered this song, i loved it, i thought id give it a go :P
Let me know what you think, and visit my channel on youtube for more www.youtube.com/BEX9637 ... sorry theres no proper video, im a bit lobster pink after being in the sun all day, woops! But i can assure you im playing and singing at the same time, and this was only about the 5th time id ever played it, so im pleased with it :)
Coldplay have been asked to open the Olympic 2012 ceremony with an originally penned song, set to be 'inspirational.' I can assure you now, that if Coldplay and Chris Martin have anything to do with the writing of it, it will be just that and more, i cant wait for a new Coldplay song! Shame il have to wait until next year at this rate...
Lady GaGas new video for Judas is supposed to be a video to retell the bible...great...
Cher Lloyds (left) new album is set to be released on August 18th and has been labelled as 'ingenious.' Shes worked with producers such as the runners and redone, taken dubstep influences, and taken on a whole new personna from the pictures iv seen this week for wonderland magazine...still dont like her though!
Beverly Knight has announced a new album 'Soul UK' to be released on June 28th...YES! Finally, i cant wait for more vocal acrobatics from this diva, what a voice, what a woman!
Kanye West turns into a scarf designer and teams up with Parisian designers M/M...i await this outcome!
Jessie J apparently doesnt care about the fame, she doesnt want it, but from what i can gather from the reveiw in the Times, thats far from how she reacts at her concerts! Apprently making out like hes gods gift to music, the reveiw wasnt exactly sparkling...i shall have to see her in concert to make up my own mind on that one i think!
Jay Sean is, according to polls, the most watched brit on youtube, im sure we have better UK talent?!
It was the 17th anniversary of Kurt Cobains death on 5th April, with many stars paying tributes in their own way, including a tribute from Jared Leto among others. Im sure im not the only one who misses his music and incredible talent.
So, off the back of their leaked single 'Brick by Brick' (which i absolutely love by the way), is a sneak 30 second preveiw of their new single 'dont sit down cause iv moved your chair.' I know what your thinking, the lyrics dont seem like theyre up to that much, and from the preveiw, youd probably be right, but what i love about this preveiw, and brick by brick, is the sound. Its very grungy, very 60's rock, i can imagine a police car chase on heartbeat with this music accompanying, and i love that sound! As i say, the guitars are very grungy in both singles, which makes a welcomed change from the normal format of indie/rock bands at this time...we need more grunge if you ask me!!
Both 'Brick by Brick' and 'Dont Sit Down,' are due to be released on 16th April, with the album 'Suck It And See' to be released on 6th June.
So take a listen to the preveiw below and let me know your thoughts... I now only wish i was going to the gigs in Sheffield...ebay!?
Well, not that much to say about the single apart from you can tell Ke$ha wrote the thing. Its alright, very catchy, but not much actual music behind it. When i say actual music, i mean music from the good old ages of rock (60s/70s/early 80s). its another generic pop tune, which will no doubt storm the charts, but its not really my type of thing. I can imagine myself boogying along to it when iv had a few, but i wont be buying it. The video is similar to a lot of ke$ha's other stuff, getting down and dirty in some sort of underground club, getting sweaty, you get the idea, its repeated hundreds of times on pop videos today.
Overall rating: Catchy, good dance beat, but massly overproduced (much like a lot of pop music these days), and the videos just a bit dirty for my liking - they need a good bath.
So today was the day the lovely Taylor Swift graced the live lounge with her super smooth voice and equally matched guitar skills. If you havent already heard her in the live lounge, its worth a few moments of your time to check it out, shes seriously brilliant in a live setting!
As you all probably know, the layout of the live lounge means that the artist performs an original song, and also a cover of an artist or band they like. Taylor decided to perform her single 'the story,' and her cover was the brilliant choice of 'white blank page,' by the fantastic Mumford & Sons.
The cover was quite accurately described as 'haunting,' by one radio 1 listener, and id totally agree with that! What a fantastic voice for singing these folk songs, she didnt even sound like a country singer. Her voice was smooth, soft and silky, and her guitar playing was just sublime. I know its very difficult to play very well and sing very well together, usually one is slightly comprimised, but here she manages both effortlessly...a true professional!
What i love about Taylor is that she comes across so lovely and sweet, and i truely believe this is what shes like in real life, she just seems very genuine and down to earth, and thats one of the main things i look for in a popstar.
Anyway, you can check out both songs at www.bbc.co.uk/radio1 and make up your own mind... dont forget to post your comments on what you thoughts!!!
The name may sound familiar, and so it should do! Tim made it to the final 24 in American Idol by wooing J-Lo in his first audition singing Maroon 5s classic 'she will be loved.' Steve and Randy claimed it was like 'no one else was in the room,' his emotion was that powerful. Anyway after successfully getting through Hollywood to the live shows, Tims final song choice failed to impress the judges enough for them to give him a wildcard (a very bad decision if you ask me, hes much more talented than some of the others!)
Anyway, Tims been on my radar for a good year or so before now, after he started following me on twitter (god nos why), and i was intregued to see that he was a keen performer and songwriter. He has many EPs on itunes, so check them out because theyre amazing - i downloaded them all in a heartbeat! My personal favourite is 'she runs.' If you like the singer songwriter style of music, such as Gavin DeGraw, youll love Tims music also.
He has a new single out - the last song, and an album due to be released in September of this year, so watch this space!!! Its hard for me to describe his voice and style, so just search him on youtube or itunes, or listen to the video iv posted with this post...you'll become an instant fan!!!
Ok so i have a single out on itunes which i worked on with a canadian artist called Faedi. The idea came about after id written a song called 'pray for japan,' about the Japan tsunami and earthquake, and posted it on youtube the same day as the disaster unfolded. The song went down pretty well, and currently has around 42,000 veiws in just a couple of weeks. Anyway, Faedi got in contact and we decided to do a sort of remix of the song. I wrote the whole song, including the rap, and feature on the song as i sing the chorus and bridge, and outro too. Heres the link to the single on itunes. http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/pray/id429992714?i=429992722&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
All money raised from the single is being donated to the red cross who are helping out in Japan at the moment to help rebuild the communities damaged. its a great cause, and im sure you can spare 79p for such a great charity. For a preveiw of the single either follow the link, or watch my video on the song.
Right id best start off with an introduction! Im Bex, im a student at Notts Law School, but on the side i sing, songwrite and play guitar...hence this blog! Music is my main passion, when im not singing, im thinking about singing, when im not songwriting, im constantly thinking of new ideas, lyrics, chord patterns, you get the picture...i eat, sleep and drink music!
This year im hoping to start doing a lot more gigs, open mic nights etc, hence the reason for this blog. I can direct everyone i meet to one place where they can see everything they need to know about me!
If youd like to know more about me, please feel free to ask!
I will be contantly updating with gig reports, and my new little projects im working on, lots of exciting stuff to come this year hopefully :) anyway, follow the blog, and ask me anything you wish :)
