Friday, July 29, 2016

HOW TO GET YOUR MUSIC NOTICED: TWITTER & INSTAGRAM

Twitter and Instagram can be a crucial part of your fan base growth strategy. With the right use of these two commonly used social media outlets, you can reach thousands more potential fans than ever before. As with any tool, it's important that you know how to use these outlets so that they can benefit you most. The hashtag system (while sometimes annoying, #washingmyhair #yolo #bruh #iliterallycanteven) can actually help you to reach out to those searching for exactly what you have to offer as a musician. If you stop thinking of them as an annoying way to speak (or express oneself) and start thinking of them more as the tag option in a YouTube video (or on a blog post) it becomes more obvious how helpful the hashtag system has the potential to be for you as someone who is trying to get something noticed on the masses of the internet.

If you're an independent musician, #indiemusic is your new best friend. Use it on every tweet or instagram post that has anything to do with you as the musician, or your music. Another great hashtag to use as an independent artist is #indiemusicblast. Indie music blast is one account that retweets every tweet with that tag in it. However, the hashtag indiemusic can be even more helpful, as there are multiple accounts that will retweet tweets using this tag. And it goes without saying that anyone following an account that retweets those tweets is looking for indie music. These are potential fans, just waiting there on twitter for someone to show them your music. Don't miss out on that simple step!

Another thing that I think is extremely important when using any social media is that your social media art is a good representation of who you are as an artist. I have written about that in depth, and done a video on the topic as well. Here's the video. Here's the blog post.

Best of luck in your music venture! And remember that I'm everywhere and easily accessible to speak with if you have any questions or just want to say hello!



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Friday, July 22, 2016

MELANIE MARTINEZ: LOLLAPALOOZA 2016 ○ MUSIC REVIEW

With Lollapalooza coming up soon, here's my review of artist Melanie Martinez, and her album, "Cry Baby" 
Melanie Adele Martinez is an American singer and songwriter. Melanie Martinez auditioned for the American television vocal talent show The Voice and became a member of Team Adam. Within the fifth week, she was eliminated which subsequently led to her beginning independent work on original material. In 2014, she released Dollhouse, her debut EP featuring the singles "Dollhouse" and "Carousel", which appeared on the trailer for the television series American Horror Story: Freak Show. In 2015, Martinez released her conceptual debut album titled Cry Baby, featuring the critically acclaimed lead single "Pity Party", along with other singles "Soap" and "Sippy Cup"

Melanie Martinez capitalizes on creepy. There's nothing wrong with having a gimmick, and boy does she have one. I've loved her voice since she was on "The Voice." However, it's just within the past year that I heard any of her original music. There are things about it that I love, and there are things about it that I don't like so much. So, to explain my love/dislike relationship with Melanie's music... I'd like to go through track by track and tell you what I enjoy and what I don't care for on each song of Cry Baby. Yes, I realize that Pity Party is more recent, however, it's just remixes from Cry Baby, so I have chosen to use the original body of work that the songs came from and in their original form. I'm also going to be dissecting the music videos (where that's applicable) because I feel like it's a package deal.


Cry Baby:
In the music video, a woman is giving birth and the hospital staff (including the doctor) are rabbits. The intro to this video is an excruciating 2 minutes and 8 seconds long... that's before the song ever starts. And there's a whole bag of crazy and disgust within that intro (Such as another rabbit coming along in a completely different setting and whacking the pregnant woman in the stomach with a bat and candy coming out of her vagina (as if she were a pinata). What is this supposed to symbolize? Is candy equal to a miscarriage? And if she's having a metaphorical miscarriage, then how is she giving birth with the assistance of the rabbit doctor in the hospital? While Miss Martinez's voice is wonderful and some of the lines even sound good phonetically, there doesn't seem to be anything magical about these lyrics. And in fact, the deepest part of the song reads as follows:

"I look at you and I see myself
I know you better than anyone else
I have the same faucet in my eyes
So your tears are mine"


Which just shows that she relates to the person she's singing to... it's showing apathy. However, there isn't anything fantastic about the way it is worded. And what a thing to relate to, huh? Being a cry baby. I don't really understand what the point in this song is. I'd like to say that she's attempting to relate to her pre-teen, super hormonal female audience. Perhaps she is. Maybe she's saying "I know what it feels like to get so frustrated that all you can do is cry." Which is what happens when you're 12-14 and your hormones are going nuts as a female. But couldn't it be conveyed in a better way? I just don't find anything about this song appealing. And why rabbits? Is this a nod to Alice in Wonderland? Creepy white rabbits. I suppose it is, because Melanie mentions other aspects of Wonderland further on in her album. 


Dollhouse:
Is obviously about a dysfunctional family (aren't they all). And this song breaks my heart every single time I hear it. Not only is it well presented, but it also hangs in my memory as the first sign that a little girl I had grown very close to was having problems at home.

The music video for this song is actually very fitting of the song. It portrays a great image of what the song is about.

Sippy Cup:
This song boggles my mind because it seems to me that she's speaking on several different topics in this one song and that they don't all relate to one another. But maybe they do.
A few lines that she repeats I've pretty much interpreted as "People are fake. Even if you make something look like something else, you can't change what it actually is." She also covers people going to great lengths to afford expensive things. It seems to me like most of this album is about upper middle class struggling to stay upper middle class and keep their squeaky clean image while being horrendous behind closed doors.

Carousel:
This song is pretty obviously about being led on using carnival metaphors and similes. But one thing I really don't get is the line "Chasing after you is like a fairytale" um what? How is chasing after anyone ever like a fairytale? Why would you ever want to chase after someone? I don't know what anyone else's take is on this, but if someone doesn't want me, I'm not interested. I guess this song just isn't something I can relate to. However, it has a good sound and I like her choice of lyrics (for the most part). Altogether, she really does have an appealing sound. I definitely could have done without the pink vomit in the music video, but other than that, it was pretty good, too.

Alphabet Boy: (watch video)
Wait a minute. Wait just a minute. "You can crush my candy cane but you'll never catch me cry."
What a contradiction. Didn't she previously name herself a cry baby? And in the cry baby video, did that not portray an uncontrollable flood coming from her eyes? Contradiction.
Moving on.
Obviously, at the core of this song, is a common issue: someone feeling (and acting) like they're better than you in more ways than one. I like the message she's attempting to get across with this song. However, I don't care for the way she went about it. I guess it's her metaphors are too child related for me to enjoy personally. But I understand that that's just her sticking to her theme on this album, which is fine.

Soap:
She really likes to talk about faucets. This is pretty much about word vomit. Everyone has been there. I hate the repetition in this song. And I don't like the bubble popping sounds at all.  I like the point she makes about playing games and going a certain way about things and watching what you say when you're in a relationship. I really have always thought that this was a senseless standard that people have created. How are you supposed to know if you're on the same page if you can't freely express yourself? And what's the big deal if you end up not being on the same page? It's actually better to know, in my opinion. The video is just her in a bathtub making funny faces, nothing special.

Training wheels:
So, I understand that riding her bike naked with him isn't supposed to be a literal thing, but it still gives me a dangerous visual. Good thing she brought band-aids. I have to say that I do enjoy the sound of this song and the meaning behind it.

Pity Party:
Oh the all too familiar stolen line from Madonna, "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to," that has been the anthem of spoiled rotten brats for decades. I have to go on to say that I don't think this song was intended for spoiled rotten brats, but more for those who tend to get looked over, and are handed less than they probably deserve. And while I will say that crying is a perfectly acceptable reaction to being let down by other human beings, the attitude behind the statement isn't favorable.

This song touches on a somewhat painful experience that, unfortunately, most people go through in life: rejection. But more specifically, I think this song reaches those still in school, who just so happen to not be the "cool kids" (which would make sense, those are exactly the type of kids who I would assume listen to Melanie in the first place: the ones who aren't sheep).

"Just means there's way more cake for me..."
I like this part of the song, because it seems like she's pointing to the the positive side of the situation she finds herself in. It's very clear by now that Ms. Martinez uses quite the long list of metaphors and similes, which is good in an artistic sense. I assume she's not really talking about a party... or cake, but actually about rejection... and whatever silver lining the situation has to offer. But then she goes on to say, "...forever." which, to be honest kind of bums me out. While we should be okay with making the best of a situation and realizing that people aren't always reliable (or what we thought they were), it's a devastating thought that anyone would settle with a lifetime of loneliness for more cake (or whatever).
"I'm laughing, I'm crying, it feels like I'm dying." < that is loneliness.

Tag, you're it:
The distorted vocals in this song are very unflattering... but it's probably supposed to be, since this song is obviously about some type of random abuse, pointing more towards rape. Actually, it reminds me a lot of the stories about girls being abducted and held captive to be sex slaves or fillers for warped fantasies by very sick individuals.


Milk and Cookies:
Um? No, thank you. That is all. I mean, seriously, just WTF?


Pacify Her:
To be honest, I approached this album with having heard a few songs and I did have my critic hat on, because that's what I'm doing here in the first place, but seriously, is this album just getting worse as it goes on?? I mean, I was alright with the first five songs or so, but it's just dropping off a cliff quickly. So, this song is about stealing someone's boyfriend. First of all, that's horrible. Second, I really don't like the way she strings out her words in this song. But the thing I enjoy least about this song is how much she repeats herself. Do you really need to say, "Pacify her, She's getting on my nerves. You don't love her. Stop lying with those words."seven times? No. You don't need to say anything that many times. Just stop.


Mrs. Potato Head:
Plastic surgery. I'm getting bored. I understand the point she's trying to make. Honestly, I think this album is just too long and she has exhausted me with all of her causes... which is saying a lot considering the fact that I'm pretty passionate about songs with messages behind them. She's making the point that plastic surgery isn't the answer to a happy life, and she's right. And it that isn't the answer that young girls should grow up learning to solve their problems (specifically, marital problems) with.... and she is right. I'm just not all that into it.


Mad Hatter:
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for Alice references... but this song is a super twisted version of that. And I get that that's her thing, but "I'm peeling the skin off my face"?? which may not even be the most disturbing part of this song, since they're apparently painting the roses red with human blood. Charles Manson says, "hello."


Play Date:
The sound of this track is really cute. But quickly, it's obviously not a cutesy song. I still really love the sound she chose for this song. The cursing sounds out of place. Not that I have any objection to using obscenities, it's just that when they sound like they're there just to be there to sound cool or whatever, it just sounds silly to me.


Teddy Bear:
Why is this song so upbeat? I'm going to be honest here, by this point, I'm over it.  How many levels of Hell on Earth do you have to go through to put together an album like this?


Cake:
Her voice is at its best in this track. It sounds so smooth and wonderful. I'm glad I took the time to finish out this album, because this is probably one of the better tracks on this album vocally.



While I do think that Melanie Martinez's weirdness is exaggerated as a marketing gimmick, I also believe that in the center is something very real about it and that Ms. Martinez may just be that thing, that person, that example to help young ladies get through the awkward phases in their lives and to be okay with being their selves; To be okay with their quirks, the things that make them unique, and perhaps, even be proud of {who they are as a person} and the things that set them apart from everyone else (which, let's be honest, is no easy feat, even on into adulthood).





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Monday, July 18, 2016

THE APPREHENDED: AWESOME UNDERGROUND ★ MUSIC REVIEW

Their transitions are gorgeous!
The vocalist is unique and perfect. The screams are actually appealing to me (I'm picky about those). This band blends instrumentals reminiscent of a time when instruments told a story (old school artistry) with modern sounds sprinkled in.

I love the way this album brings momentum with it. I feel like on the journey of listening to this body of work, we're constantly moving at a decent pace. Like I'm going somewhere, or I'm getting something significant accomplished.

I would compare their skill level for composition to early Fall Out Boy or current I the Mighty. Not that they sound like either of those bands. They are definitely different than both. I'm just saying they're on the same level. I think that black veil brides fans would enjoy this band because of the artistry in the instruments

Still Flyin'
The way this band started off this album reminded me of the way TCTT opened Nerve endings. This song has a great build up. It was the perfect beginning to this album. I also feel like it showcases most of the amazing things about this band, which is a valuable thing to have in a first track, because it will help ensure that the listener doesn't go anywhere.

Lysie Royalton
Starts out like raindrops and quickly shifts to being in a hurry instrumentally, to shooting stars

Seam's George VW 
sounds like a bit of a mess, but an organized mess. There's a lot going on at once. It sounds busy, but not bad. It's what I imagine the inside of my head would sound like if it were translated to song.

Wisteria
is definitely a little more in-your-face than the other tracks, but it's just as beautiful as the rest.

I like the way that there's speaking at towards the end of this song as if it's hinting towards the pivital point of the next track. The music box at the completion of this song is fabulous

Quick Hands//Arms Length
Is mostly spoken word, which to be honest in most cases I simply detest. But the fact that they've blended it with smooth vocals may be what helped me to enjoy it. I can't imagine this song done any other way. This is the perfect ending to the ep.

VIDEO REVIEW:


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Friday, July 15, 2016

LANA DEL REY: LOLLAPALOOZA 2016 ○ MUSIC REVIEW

Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), better known by her stage name Lana Del Rey, is an American singer, songwriter, and model. Born and raised in New York, Del Rey embarked on a music career in 2005 and first received widespread attention in 2011, when the music video for her single "Video Games" became a viral internet sensation.


The first song I heard of Lana Del Rey's was "Video Games" and the first time I heard it, Tyler Hilton was covering it in a simple stripped-down piano performance in a hotel on youtube. It was glorious! Here's the link to that.
I can't lie, I really loved his version more. But that's probably because in general, I prefer male vocals to female vocals. I really like her story, how she changed her image and name several times until she found the one that fit for her. I really love her style (both musically and appearance) and her voice is amazing. I know a lot of people really hate on her, but I really enjoy her as a package.

Video Review:


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Wednesday, July 13, 2016

SLEEPING WITH SIRENS: WARPED TOUR 2016 ► BAND REVIEW

Sleeping with Sirens is an American rock band from Orlando, Florida. Band members include: Kellin Quinn  (lead vocals, keyboards), Gabe Barham (drums, percussion), Justin Hills (bass guitar, backing vocals), Jack Fowler (lead guitar, programming), Nick Martin (rhythm guitar, vocals)

I've never been a gigantic fan of high pitched vocals, but the band that made me realize that I actually could enjoy them was Picturesque. And the first time I heard Kellin Quinn wasn't even on a Sleeping With Sirens song, it was on a Too Close to Touch song. I found his voice pleasant enough that I knew eventually I would give the band he fronted a listen. Well, my friends, that time is now. And honestly, I'm not sure why I waited so long.

I was honestly surprised to find that this band has the most twitter followers of any of the advertised Warped Tour bands. Not because they aren't a great band, but because they haven't been around all that long in comparison to some of the other bands on the line-up. However, demographic has to play a role in that. They definitely had the largest crowd at Nashville Warped Tour, though.

A lot of their song topics are certainly relatable with what I like to call the golden demographic. Pre-teen- young adult females. Not to say that their songs aren't something that a lot of people of different ages, races, and genders  can relate to, because they most certainly are. But once you grab that golden demographic, you've got a loyal fanbase forever. Because the golden demographic will love you as long as they live and you create.

On facebook, in their "Genre" box they have "Epic," which I can't argue with. I think as a lot of modern rock bands do, they touch on several different SubGenres, which is wonderful. I hear a little alternative, a little pop-punk, a little post-hardcore, a little just plain solid epic.

As far as feelings go, this band has a lot of upbeat songs, but they also have some tracks that touch on serious subjects (such as suicidal thoughts, which they executed gracefully). So, how this music makes me feel really depends on which song I'm listening to. For instance, if I'm listening to "Go, Go, Go," it feels a lot like summer, movement, and daytime driving, adventure, and new love. They also have several

This is a really good live band, and a really good live crowd to be a part of because of the previously mentioned golden fanbase.

Video Review:


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Friday, July 8, 2016

EVERYTHING IN SLOW MOTION: AWESOME UNDERGROUND ★ MUSIC REVIEW

Everything in Slow Motion (EISM) is an American music project by former Hands frontman and Christian metal musician Shane Ochsner from Fargo, North Dakota

I decided to present this review to you just as I wrote it: Going through track by track and giving my first impressions and initial feelings about this body of work.

Coma:
Spacey with echoey vocals and that underwater sound with the guitars. Then the drums come in like crashing waves. I like the instrumental shifts. They go quickly, but it isn’t jarring. I have to say though that at first listen, this vocalist sounds mediocre at best and maybe even inexperienced. He sounds like he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Like maybe he’s singing on a completely different track. His timing is off from the instrumentals. The piano was a lovely addition and added to the emotion of the track.
The instruments are very good with building feelings. Hope, excitement, disappointment, anger.


Bad season:
The drums in the intro are nice but I’m not sure the guitar that quickly follows fits just right. However, as the song builds, it begins to sound much better.  Yes, I love this drummer. No matter what is happening, he holds the song together. I’m warming up to this vocalist, but I still feel like his timing is off. His voice is good, but it’s like he doesn’t know when to stretch his words, or more accurately, when NOT to. It’s like he drags way too many words out and that just discredits them all. But his voice really is something I would pick. He just needs to learn how to use it. Perhaps some lessons with a vocal coach would help. Their guitarist is good, too. But he’s constantly overshadowed by the drummer, even during the long riffs


I am Laid Low:
This song reminds me of being alone outside in the middle of the night. When I was younger, I used to walk from my house to my cousin's house with headphones in. I loved the way the night felt. This song reminds me of that feeling. It surrounds you and creates a peaceful atmosphere.

Runaway:
I don't know how many people actually know this about me, but I absolutely loathe excessive repetition. And the lyrics of this song have way too much of that for me. However, the instruments portray a very real and common feeling, which happens to be what the lyrics are trying to get across. So, in this case, the lyrics didn't do much for me... but the rest of the song accomplished what the lyrics had set out to. I love how this song seems to fall apart at the end. It gives great symbolism.

Capella:
This song wraps up the EP with a very eerie, somewhat depressing, but realistic "Band of Horses" type of feeling. I love how the vocals really stand out. I felt like I was in a room with the vocalist singing his frustrations at me. As if I were the one who had done him wrong. And all of the background oohs and ahs only built on that feeling. The instruments are very minimal in this track, but it's so powerful in the way this song is delivered.


Overall, I feel like this is a great body of work. Each member of this band has a great amount of talent. I would suggest the vocalist take some lessons with a vocal coach to learn better focus and expand on his already present talent.



Video Review:
 Video Review

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