Damn acoustic covers rock
I think I’ll just be using this blog from now to highlight YouTube videos. ohh yeah
Sexy and I know it- Woah! Was not expecting that voice. This guy is great. I’d check out his other stuff too. I bet this video goes viral! woo
Home Acoustic cover – I talked about Harry and Alfie (now known as Hudson Taylor) in my last post. This is a cool cover of Home, along with another awesome YouTube artist, Gabrielle Aplin
We are young cover – Pentatonix is awesome, they won the Sing Off recently, and here they are being really awesome
Honestly, since I started using Spotify on a daily basis, I have found like 20 new favorite bands. My love for music has been revived and I have been on a crazy spree. I found new YouTube accounts, and new awesome singers. Hope you guys like some of these bands as much as I do!
First Aid Kit – So, First Aid Kit has really become one of my top favorite bands. Ever. I loved their first album(s)/ep’s, and their new album The Lion’s Roar is no exception. Their folky, carefree, yet heavy songs are awesome. These two girls have amazing voices and the harmonies they can create are amazing. When I listen to First Aid Kit, I feel like I am reminded of how music should be. The first video below is one of their singles “Emmylou”. The second video is of the girls performing Dancing Barefoot for Patti Smith at the Polar Music Prize Award Ceremony in Stockholm. This performance is awesome, and it really shows how much Patti Smith has influenced First Aid Kit. Also, it was great to see how touched Patti was at the performance.
Asteroid Galaxy Tour – You may have heard the Asteroid Galaxy Tour song “The Golden Age” from that Heineken commercial . I really like the lead singers voice – it’s really light and has interesting intonation. I also really like the sort of fun, retro 70’s feel of their music. I’m seeing them in concert on Friday, so I’ve been listening to as many songs of theirs as I can. Here is the music video new single “Heart Attack”. If you want to listen to their new album, check it out here on their site.
Roufaida & Pluck – This dutch band is one of my new obsessions. I don’t know too much about them yet, but I saw the video below and instantly fell in love. The second video is what got them noticed – from what I gather they made this video and song, and won some Dutch High School (yes, these girls are in high school), competition. Roufaida & Pluck don’t have an EP out yet, but I really look forward to hearing more from them. Like them on Facebook and keep up with them!
Little Dragon – This band has been around for few years, but I first heard them a little while ago in the song Wildfire by SBTRKT (which is an awesome song). I love main singers voice, she has a sort of R&B, smooth/sweet voice that is just really nice to listen to. I was really surprised when I saw what the main singer looks like too. I wont ruin it here, so listen to the song:
and now take a look at the lead singer.
Azealia Banks – Now, for something completely different. This song has been stuck in my head for a few days now. It’s pretty dirty, but I love the way Azealia talks/raps, and the beat is really catchy.
Die Antwoord – Remember when I covered these guys a while back? Well they are back with a new album, and a really bizarre new video. But the beat is catchy, and I do love the South African accent. Side note: apparently these guys are “fake” in the sense that they aren’t ghetto kids from South Africa, but rather normal kids from South Africa? Whatever, I still think they are wicked weird if they produce videos like this:
That’s all for music for now. But what about Lana Del Ray guys? Maybe the failure of her album will help her write and perform songs that she actually feels, instead of performing like a Lana Del Robot.
James Blake is Amazing and I love Folk.
Word. Time to stop sharing all these on Facebook and put them into a list.
James Blake – Pretty much obsessed with him lately. Lindisfarne is my favorite song by far. It’s really chill, and the altered vocals are pretty cool. The music video is super weird, but I think most of it is cool (minus the spit part). Blake’s whole self titled album is pretty sick, notably Limit to Your Love, and The Wilhelm Scream. Check it out for sure.
Harry and Alfie – These guys are one of my new favorite YouTubers. They are pretty folky, and the main singer, Alfie, has a really unique voice.
The Tallest Man on Earth– Now, I have know about this guy for a while. But, as I was telling a friend, he is one of those artists that I knew I would like a lot, especially after listening to him for a while. I just never felt like spending time going through all of his work. Don’t judge. Well, one of his songs snuck into my Spotfiy Radio, and here we are.
James Vincent McMorrow – I found this guy as a similar artist to James Blake, but I don’t really agree with that at all. He is a lot more similar to Tallest Man on Earth, with a smoother voice. Oh, and if you couldn’t tell by now, I’m on a folk binge.
And here is his cover of Wicked Games. This is great
Bernhoft – Found this guy from my YouTube subscription to SoulKitchen. This guy is a one man band, with a very funk/soul vibe. Pretty impressive and catchy stuff.
James Van Ronk – Ending this like Folk Run is James Van Ronk. This is a pretty old song, and has a very bluesy/folk feel to it. Its pretty gritty and I love it. Found this song from First Aid Kit , who post Spotify playlists every now and then. This gem was in their January 2012 playlist.
Rizzle Kicks – Switching gears a bit is this indie/rap band Rizzle Kicks. Just heard this song yesterday so I haven’t had time to really get more info. Enjoy!
Well, that’s all I have for now. I made a Spotfiy Playlist with most of these songs on it, plus a few more for anyone interested. Rizzle Kicks and Harry and Alfie unfortunately are not on Spotify. Anyways, here you go.
I’ll probably do a non music update later this week.
As always, any music suggestions are welcome!
CaseyJerk
Let’s do this! (Warning, multiple acoustic covers ahead)
Alright, for my first post back, here are some of the videos/songs I found in the past months that I love.
Adele! – Adele finally came out with her new CD. So I love her first single Rolling in the Deep, which you can see below.
Then I heard this sweet remix, by Jamie from The XX, thanks to Ryan. When I first heard it was on The Hype Machine, but the link gotten taken off. On youtube now:
This endearing cover of Home, by Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros. Which happens to be my favorite song. EVER! (by realitychangers)
Nice mix of Home as well:
This video is sick. The kid can dance. Just watch the whole thing k?
Sick acoustic cover of What’s My Name – Rihanna (by Hobbie Stuart Music)
This kid has a future. We need more of him!
Love this cover (by Justin Diaz):
Finally, one of my favorite genres of acoustic covers. Acoustic covers of Rap! Woo, hope this brings back some memories (by Kay Pettigrew):
So, that’s about it for now. As I said before, these are all videos I have been watching for a while. I will get back here in a few days and post some new stuff! Oh! Also everyone should checkout The Hype Machine and get an account there. Killer mashups / covers / remixes / new songs. Here is my page if you wanna friend me, and have a place to start. Bonus: if you have chrome, install this extension to download songs right from the Hype Machine website!
CaseyJerk
I’m back!
So, I’m going to start blogging again! After getting back from France, I kind of took a “content creation” break and just spent like 3 months doing nothing with my social media life. It was a nice, needed break.
So I should be able to get off my butt and start sharing stuff again! I’m thinking about making the focus of this blog more music sharing based, but I still will have an enlightening post every now and then!
CaseyJerk
Antoine Dodson Viral Video: How awesome it really is
In one of my recent posts, I ended with a video that had just recently gone viral – the Antoine Dodson video. Have a look at the original again below if you haven’t seen it. Basically the video starts off normal, then just gets really funny when the brother (Antoine) talks. Now, he is just being himself, and he was obviously very emotional after the incident, but within hours of this video being posted on the new website, it had a ridiculous amount of views, and has really become an example of a viral video at its best.
So the video airs, and within days there are remix’s to the video, memes, designs, covers of the remix, and even a blog that Antoine set up. According to the makers of the remix video the song hit #3 on the R&B charts on iTunes!
Remix:
Design:
And then an acoustic COVER! I LOVE ACOUSTIC COVERS!:
And of course, Antoine has made a blog. Pretty funny: http://www.antoine-dodson.com
In addition to just being really funny and cool, I think this video is a perfect example of what a viral video is and what it can turn into. The video wasn’t made by some company or organization, it was just a regular news report that regular people saw, loved, and re-shared. From there the creative minds, the best of the best, took over and hyped the video even further. The people behind the remix do a series called auto-tune the news, where they pretty much do what they did with the Dodson video: create songs from clips by adding beats and auto tuning it. I would suggest checking them out here: http://www.youtube.com/user/schmoyoho . The song they made from the Dodson clip is on iTunes, and like I said it is currently #3 on the R&B iTunes charts! That itself is just ridiculous, and is creativity at its best. And just imagine – without means of sharing this video and its remixes, such as YouTube, Facebook and Reddit (where I first saw it) this would have never happened! Good thing I love all three.
Thats all for now, I just wanted to share how awesome I think this whole thing is! The internet at its best.
I’m sure there will be some gear for sale soon, followed by Antoine actually releasing his own songs. Let this stand as a prediction!
As I finished writing that, I found this – Official Merch is already out! I will link back as soon as I find out Antoine has released a new song. I give it 1 month.
Hide ya kids, hide yo wife, and hide yo husb cuz they rapin’ errybody out here
Covers! ep3
Hey blog. How are you doing? Lets get back into this thing with a nice simple post.
+OMG – Originally by Usher. Covered by Tiffyiffyiffy
-Also see OMG (cover) by Jenny Suk
-and this mix of Billionaire and OMG by itsmePAULINA
+Speaking of Billionare, and mixes…. check out this nice mixup by some of my favorites – AJ Rafael and Andrew Garcia
+ Love the way you lie – Orignally by Eminem and Rhianna covered by Krista Nicole and Mars Raps. Wow her voice is great, and he is a pretty good rapper.
-Also a nice cover by PJ Simas and Cato Webb
+Not music, but if you haven’t seen this yet you have to watch it. This video went viral SO fast. Lol I love it. Then watch the video below for the song remix!
–Music remix – so good:
+Also, if you are into folky indie stuff (like mumford and sons) check out my playlist I made http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/playlist/Awesome+Music/32435569
See ya!
New age marketing is fun and weird!
I really like the new direction that marketing is going in. The whole “viral video” world really intrigues me. I call it the viral video world because I think that’s where new age marketing was born. In order for videos to go viral, they have to really grab attention – and a majority of advertisers go in the comedy / weird direction in order to do this. I love it.
I don’t have any cool viral videos for you today, because that’s not what I am here to talk about. I wanted to talk about some of the other methods that companies are using to reach their customers. One of the newest ways to get visibilty is to use twitter. Chupa chups decided to go one step further and create a twitter account for its mascot Chupa Chuck.
Now this doll scares the crap out of me. Sure it’s funny, and the videos he are in are also very cute / funny (viral videos!)
But come on, you have to admit he is creepy. Anywho, we have one of these guys in our office, and the other day I tweeted
To which a friend asked why, and I said
So I thought that was the end of it. Much to my horror (delight) I got an email this morning :
AHHHHH he found me! LOL. So I guess that Chupa Chups created a twitter for Chupa Chuck to promote their website http://chuckscup2010.com/ . I looked at his wall and it had some pretty funny comments – as if it were actually Chupa Chuck talking. Just some funny comments then here and there a link to the site. So I wanted to see if I could get a conversation going with Chuck. First though I had to express my horror:
And then, Chuck responds. And creeps the hell out of me. But makes me laugh so hard at the same time:
LOL WHAT THE HELL. Too funny though. Then there was one more little tidbit. Another co-worker joined in.
Well played Chupa Chuck, well played.
Chupa Chups has definitely gotten my attention with this little guy, and I like them more as company now. (Not that I had an opinion about them to begin with).
So everyone should follow @chupachuck and have fun.
Also check out the pics we took of chuck with a vuvuzela! haha
Oh hai – Roundup
Ooops, I have been neglecting this blog for a while. To get back into the swing of things here is a general roundup of some things I have found cool as of late.
Iceland promo video – Poor Iceland, from what I hear it is an absolutely amazing place. But the rest of the world is mad at Iceland after it let its volcano erupt and ruin so many flight plans (and also because it named the volcano eyjafjallajokull and all of the news anchors in the world had to try to pronounce it). Anyways, Iceland decided to try and boost its tourism rates with this promo video – which is absolutely amazing. The music is awesome (new favorite song) the filming is great, and Iceland just looks really beautiful. I think its one of the best tourism promo videos I have ever seen.
Next. So if you didn’t know, Lady Gaga’s new song single and video are out, titled Alejandro. And damn, once again I found it catchy. But there was something about it that I couldn’t put my finger on – it was familiar. Then I found this mashup and knew: note I would suggest watching / listening to the original song (fan made video but normal song) first so you can hear the similarities.
And while we are on the subject of mashups, I have been absolutely mashup crazy lately. I found a sick playlist on grooveshark – have a listen here if you want: http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/playlist/Mashups/30022762
and this is one of my favorite mashups I found:
Next: Mark Walberg is a great actor:
And finally this song, which I have shared before, but continue to love. Lulu and the Lampshades
Until next time! (which will be sooner)
Lost – The End. My take on the finale
Spoilers ahead!
First of all, it is so hard to believe that it is all over! I have been watching Lost for about 5 years (started a year late), and I have really been a huge fan of it. I have watched it with so many different people along the way, and it was sad having to watch it all alone here in France. I guess for me it wasn’t so much “live together, die alone” as it was “start Lost together, finish it alone” haha…
Anyways, so after much reflection, I have to say that I did like the finale. Sure it didn’t answer a lot of questions but I think it ended in typical Lost style. So basically the alt timeline was indeed a purgatory like place, and not created from the hydrogen bomb as I had originally thought. Things are still definitley a little hazy though. Like why were their lives that way in purgatory? Some say that the alternate timeline was a chance for the characters to live their lives like they really wanted to, without the mistakes and stuff (Hurley being super lucky, Sayid saving Nadia, Desmond being accepted by Whitmore). But then there are people like Charlie, who was the exact same, or Claire who was the same as well. Who knows? I wish they had explained that part a little more.
I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed every single “remember” moment, where the characters remembered their past lives. The Sun/Jin one and the Sawyer/Juliet one definitely had me tear up. And of course the Charlie Claire one. I dont care what anyone says, I loved Charlie and I think he became an awesome character on the island.
Check out this awesome video my friend Sara sent me:
Some of my favorite parts of the finale:
Locke saying to Jack something along the lines of “Jacob picked you? I’m actually surprised because you were the obvious candidate from the beginning.” Haha
Kate saying to Jack “Christian Shephard, are you kidding ?” I can’t believe I didn’t pick up on that before either.
I was happy that all of the characters were happy when they learned that they were actually dead. They weren’t saddened or anything, they were glad.
Jin and Sun remembering how to speak English haha!
Jack, about to “Die alone” but Vincent comes and lays down next to him!
Locke forgiving Ben
Things I am still confused about:
Why wasn’t everyone at the church in the end, Ecko for example.
Why didn’t Benjamin go with them in the end? It seems like once you remember the past you can move on? But I guess he just needed more time to go over stuff?
Why didn’t Daniel get to go with them? Desmond told Eloise that he wasn’t taking him with them.
How the HELL did Jack stay alive for so long after getting stabbed with a huge knife.
How Jack’s super punch:
Turned into this: Jack falling into Locke
Anyways. Lost, I loved you. There is a void in my life now that will never be filled. I miss you.
Casey Jerk 