Friday, September 28, 2012

Feelings Today

my feelings about today are very bad, I came into school really happy and now its just gone away for no good reason :/

Upside down 9/28/2012 http://www.mazapoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sad-Love-quotations.jpg       

Paper 9/28/2012 http://data.whicdn.com/images/15300089/sad-quotes-on-love_large.jpg
http://www.graphics44.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Sad-Quotes-11.jpg

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Your Picks!!

For my last assigned blog post I have decided to take the suggestions I asked for in one of my first blog posts and tell y’all about music other people like.

First we start with Pink Floyd, thanks to Ms.Payseur for this suggestion :). Pink Floyd formed in London England at Cambridge High School.


The main members remembered now are Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Rick Wright.
I

t is amazing this band even made any songs; most bands don’t survive if their lead singer, chief  songwriter, and leader leave. Pink Floyd made it through victorious not one but two times.


Syd, Roger, and David were all friends in high school but after graduation decided to go their separate ways. David went to an art school, Syd just wandered the English countryside, and Roger went to an architecture school in London.


Roger soon met Nick and Rick; they formed a band called Sigma 6. This arrangement didn’t last long; Roger,Nick, and Rick left to join Syd to form Pink Floyd.




Pink Floyd, 5242/12, Available at ghttps://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjezZD_FEBTTicgZUjkFgFymfqMEHNya5qovjuoqFsuQSP5_r7RRaiTYK_RmvolY9VgEKFSd002Afupe-kWcNiiRIpWYYlVbN6uwPW-z-15a0euc99vJMDrI6hyphenhyphenaPc-veR9I3pXOhdxq6A/s1600/TheIrishPinkFloydLogo2.jpg 



The name Pink Floyd is in honor of blues musicians Pinkney “Pink” Anderson and Floyd Council.
Pink Floyd had many number one hits the years they performed including “See Emily Play”, “Apples and Oranges”, “Jugband Blues”, and many many more.


The bands' album The Dark Side Of The Moon is currently the number two selling album in all of history behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller.  


The band broke up in 1983 after a bum album. They have however released albums after this with the help of Roger and David trying to regroup the band.



Pink Floyd, 5/23/12, Available at http://www.mxdwn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/pink.jpg    


The next band comes from Brandon; I’ve noticed a lot of the music Brandon has on his iPod is by Theory of a Deadman.


Theory of a Deadman is a Canadian rock band that formed in 2001.


Tyler Connolly, Dean Back, and David Brenner make up the band. The band has no real drummer in their line up but from 2010 to the present Joey Dandeneau has been their drummer.


All three of the members grew up around the same neighborhood and worked in the same restaurant.


The band currently has four records out, their self titled album Theory of a Deadman, Gasoline, Scars and Souvenirs, and the newest one The truth Is...;with Scars and Souvenirs being a gold record.




Theory of a Deadman, 5/23/12, Available at https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTgGcVhbj4-rcnpbNjb_lztnwJJB-E_L5usd-9yJh1977YyPc1wXz6LZSGRSx9Pi2ch1c23rOAg92ECPzEHIpydrmC14nQKdR0ZkWPcYokDGnjIP3m0aBMHBOgryQTjmhjyWf_j9cH7ifO/s1600/theory-of-a-deadman-0ebe1db982ccd52a.jpg



The band received the Juno Award for New Group of the Year in 2003.
Hit singles from their various albums include ‘Little Smirk”, “Wait for Me”, “Not Meant to Be”, and “So Happy”.


I like this band; their songs are just catchy and good when you’re going through a rough time with a relationship. (I recommend “The Truth Is...(I Lied About Everything), “Say Goodbye”, and “Heaven (Little By Little)”; these are just a few of my favorite songs by them.






I hope this post will open you up to new bands and leave some more suggestions for later posts. I hope to keep this up even though the assignment has ended.

With love and music in my heart,
Montana <3

Thursday, May 17, 2012

The Monkees vs. The Beatles: Showdown of the Sixties Boy Bands

/The Monkees, 5/17/2012, Available at https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2fM4vSR96elZXisd0Uret9hn3aHvSemAb949LnhhlHOvDkT_XXo-BFmgEg1My9XNvhgby4l07acow15uuJ_p4_zvLhWh6oHMdui0BPOcdrzw7HXP2432OrcuLT2WPR_8F6e7hCXigLvNk/s1600/front.jpg

This week I decided to compare and contrast The Monkees and The Beatles. The Monkees are often called the “American Beatles” due to the style of music they did and they both came out at about the same time.

The Monkees formed In Los Angeles, California around 1965. The band performed music in 1965-1969, 1985-1986, 1995-1996. Originally the band was formed as a T.V. show about four poor hippies that liked music.

In the auditions only one Monkee was found; that was Michael Nesmith. Davy Jones, Peter Tork, and Mickey Dolenz were hired as actors for the show.

Keno’s Classic Rock and Roll Web Site describes the band like this:

Davy Jones didn't know how to play a note of music. They were hired first and foremost as actors for the TV show; with no plans to have an actual real life band come about. It was decided for the show that the members would be portrayed as followed: Nesmith as the lead guitarist, Tork as the bassist, Dolenz, who could play guitar, was at first going to be the rhythm guitarist, but Jones, who was to be the drummer, was deemed by the show's producers as to being too small to sit behind the drum kit and still be seen. So Dolenz, who never before played the drums, took that part and Jones, well, he was placed out front as the cute one. All four would take turns at lead vocals, but as it turned out, the two actors, Jones and Dolenz, were the better singers and in time would get more of the lead vocals, with Nesmith handling the vocals for the country rock tunes (which he mainly wrote). Yet the truth of the matter was that Dolenz was the group's main lead singer, even if that fact was never advertised.  

The Beatles on the other hand, who formed in Liverpool, England, changed society not just music during the sixties.

Although the band had many members come through the years the ones remembered today are Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon.

Men who were involved in the band before its great success include Stu Sutcliffe, Peter Best, and several other fill ins throughout their years.

The band was have said to officially started when Paul joined John’s band, The Quarrymen. During this time George joined the band after Stu left; George was only thirteen at the time.

Once George joined the band’s name was changed to The Silver Beatles, which later got shortened again to just The Beatles.

The Beatles (Abbey Road), 5/17/2012, Available at http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01790/beatles_1790559c.jpg
The Beatles first single “Love Me Do”/”P.S. I Love You” was recorded in 1962. Something very special happened with the song, this was the fact that both Lennon and McCartney wrote the song.
Keno describes the band as follows:

Up till then most rock bands only did cover songs. The song barely made the British top 20. The Beatles phenomenon didn't truly kick in until "Please Please Me"  hit number one on the British charts in early 1963. The Beatles music took off  like a rocket after that, their debut LP, Please Please Me, which was recorded in just one day, topped the British charts for 30 weeks. They were now the biggest rock act in the UK. Beatlemania would soon take over America and the rest of the world. "I Want to Hold Your Hand"  their first official U.S. release went straight to number one shortly after it's December 1963 release. After their appearance on the The Ed Sullivan TV Show in February of 1964, they  had had the top five best selling singles in the U.S.; they also had the number one and number two spots in the album charts, as well as several other entries throughout the Top 100. No one at that time (or anyone after) would dominated the market for pop music like the Beatles did. Another very important thing was that they opened the door for just about every other rock band that followed them. They would continue  to put out one after another number one hits until their breakup in 1970.

Up until the mid sixties they had a “good boy” image, after they lost their image the band’s drug usage came into the open.

After the band broke up in the early seventies Paul and John both had other solo music careers. Paul and John fell out soon after. They finally made up but just short months later John was assassinated in 1980 around New York City.

George Harrison succumbed to a long battle with cancer in late 2001.

Now that you know some background information on each band let’s go over some comparisons on the bands.

  • They were both “boy bands” of the sixties.
  • Both had four members
  • They had relatively the same style of their music
  • The Monkees mimicked The Beatles on an episode of their T.V. show

Differences of the two bands are:
  • They came from different countries
  • The Monkees started out as a T.V. show with no intention of being an actual band.
  • The Beatles started out as a different band that changed members frequently.
  • The Beatles are more well known than The Monkees to younger generations.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Interviews About Music


Susan and I, My property 
This week I have decided to interview one of my best friends and sister, Susan and Cameron. Susan goes to North Gaston, she is sixteen years old, and is my best friend ever. She loves music just like me and often we have random dance parties when we’re together.  Cameron goes to Bessemer, is seventeen, and is country.

I have decided to ask both of them about their  favorite and least favorite types of music, what they thinks music is good for, favorite and least favorite genres and songs.  

Montana: Do you like music?
Susan: Duh I’m just like you I love music
Cameron: Country

Montana: What is your favorite type of music?
Susan: Rap
Cameron:Country  

Montana: What is your least favorite type of music?
Susan: Elvis
Cameron: Rap

Montana: When you’re in a bad mood what music do you listen to?
Susan: Heavy Metal
Cameron: Country

Montana: What is your favorite song?
Susan: Someone That I Used to Know  By Gotye
Cameron: Wagon Wheels By Old Cold Medicine Show

Montana: What is your least favorite song?
Susan: Red Solo Cup By Toby Keith
Cameron: Anything that’s not country

Montana: Who is the most influential artist in your life?
Susan: Miranda Lambert
Cameron: I don’t know

Montana: If you could be a singer for a day, who would you be and why?
Susan: Miranda Lambert, because she’s married to Blake Shelton and he’s adorable
Cameron: Jason Aldean, he gets the chicks

Montana: What does music mean to you?
Susan: A lot
Cameron: A lot

Montana: What song is your life like right now? Why?
Susan: Gunpowder and Lead  By Miranda Lambert
Cameron: Teenage Hearts  By Allstar Weekend  

In this interview I learned things about my friends I have never know about them; like I didn’t know Susan liked Heavy Metal music. I learned Cameron wanted to be Jason Aldean because he thinks he’s a ladies man.  So, readers, this was a learning experience for both you and me.

With love and music in my heart,
Montana <3

Sunday, April 29, 2012

How-To on Installing iTunes


iTunes logo, 4/29/2012, Available at http://scm-l3.technorati.com/10/09/04/17695/itunes10logo.jpg
Hello Bloggers,

This week my new post is a how-to install iTunes on a computer.

Most people see iTunes as a must when listening to music; so this week i will be installing iTunes on my computer and tell y’all how to do it also.

First, you need to have a computer with internet access. Go into your browser and type in iTunes.com into the address bar.

When you get onto the page find the blue Download Now button in the top right corner beside How To. Once you click on that the page goes to a signup page if you will. There you will need to type in an active email address.

When you type in your email hit the Download button right below it.

My computer may be a little different than some but it is all roughly the same to start the installation of iTunes. On my computer a bar comes up on the bottom asking if I want to run this program or stop it; push the Run button.

After pushing the Run button something will come up saying how long and fast the program is being installed. On this bar or whatever shows up on your computer you could stop or pause the installation; don’t press these unless you decide to not install iTunes after all.

(Right now I am at a standstill waiting for iTunes to load; let the waiting go on and on and on)

Phew! After eight minutes and two more windows to wait on I can now move on.

The next window that should come up is on explaining a little bit about iTunes and the product it supports later going on to say to continue click next. (Click that button)

After clicking next another window comes up asking questions that pertain to you and your preferences; me myself I’m just going to leave the boxes checked. In this window there is another install button once again click it.

Yet again we must wait for like twenty loading bars to fill up. After another five minutes iTunes has been successfully downloaded on my computer. Once it gives you this window push the finish button to quit the installation.

Yet another window pops up; what is it with all these windows?!?!?!


This window asks for you to agree to the iTunes license agreement. You “should” read this (most people don’t though”) but it might be helpful in the future. If you agree hit agree.
Once you agree a Welcome to iTunes window comes up and a tutorial one. On the tutorial window you must watch the video explaining things about how iTunes works; once you’re done just exit out of it.

Just to make sure click into the iTunes Store and try to download something; once you do this you will need to make an Apple ID. This will require an email address and password. Once the ID is created another license agreement window will come up do the same thing you did for the last one.

When you agree to the terms and conditions a window asking for your email, password, and security questions. FIll these out and hit continue when you’re done.

You have to start filling out billing information after this. You will need a credit card or iTunes gift card for you to move on.

Once you get all that squared away you will be able to buy and download music for your listening pleasure.

**WARNING** This takes about an hour to do fully and it can get frustrating. **Download at your own risk**

With love, music, and the many windows and loading bars I had to go through,

Montana <3

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

The Voice Upcoming Artists

I don’t know about you but I am a HUGE fan of The Voice, a television show that showcases people solely on their talent when picking teams.

The four judges, Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, and Adam Levine all start out with their backs turned to the contestant. Contestants sing and the “coach” must turn their chairs to fight for that person on their team.

Once people get chosen by a “coach” they then get to work with their coaches to find “The Voice.” Each coach may have twelve people on their team before the battle rounds start. After the battle rounds finish only half of the twelve on each team remain.

The Voice promotes up and coming artists that might not ever make it in the singing business if not for this show.

This time my blog will be about the contestants I feel like could be frontrunners in this competition. First we start with Jamar Rogers; nbc.com says this about Jamar 

A recovering drug addict, Jamar Rogers is an inspiration to all. Although he hit rock bottom at one point, Jamar has been sober for six years and has turned his life around. Through his soulful tunes, this charmer from the Bronx, NY is determined to show everyone his life is back on track, and to prove to the world that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.
His rendition of “It's My Life” by Bon Jovi shocked the coaches with Christina saying “ You truly sang like your life was on the line... You’re one of my favorites.”

Jamar Rogers, The Voice, 4/24/2012, Available at http://www.nbc.com/the-voice/artists/jamar-rogers/


Chessa, the Honolulu native, who moved to L.A. at fifteen to pursue her dreams; even though her family was faced by financial instability never gave up on her dreams. She has shocked me almost every performance. She beat the powerhouse Air Force girl, Angie, in the battle rounds which absolutely shocked me at how good she was. She has upped her performances every time after; even getting saved by her coach Cee Lo when he was up for elimination.

Chessa, The Voice, 4/24/12, Available at http://www.emusicality.com/2012/03/voice-duet-battle-sneak-peek-videos.html



Lastly we learn about Juliet Simms. Juliet is an indie-rocker who has lived on people's couches with multiple contracts, but none of them felt right to her. Juliet has done so many songs I love; the one I feel she did the best in was Roxanne by The Police . The way her voice just sounded so natural and full of a roughness not many people have just made me love it. 

Juliet Simms, The Voice, 4/24/12 Available at http://www.rickey.org/juliet-simms-cryin-the-voice-video-mp3/



I feel all of these artists have what it takes to be “The Voice.”

With love and music

Montana <3

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Song Remakes (Informational Post # 2)

How many of you write a paper and research and paraphrase someone else’s work? Artists do the same thing in a way; instead of paraphrasing they just remake or do a cover of a song.



Songs are remade from every era but it seems like the eighties is one of the most popular times people remake songs from.



Even if people don’t remake it they borrow or get rights to use the instrumental parts of songs. 


“Tainted Love” by Soft Cell is one of the most used instrumental pieces in music. (Thanks to Ms. Payseur for that information)



Some examples are “Kids in America” by Kim Wilde, “Dancing with Myself” originally by Billy Idol, 
“Jenny/867-5309” by Tommy Tutone, “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper, and one of my personal favorites “Lady Marmalade” by the amazing Patti Labelle.

Music Quote, available at http://guitarmonk.com/tag/music-quotes-and-thoughts/, 4/18/2012


“Kids in America” was remade by twenty-nine artist! Some of the artists who remade the song are The Bam Bams, Cascada, The Donnas, and The Jonas Brothers.



“Dancing with Myself” (which is now stuck in my head) was remade by Blink 182, The Donnas, and the Boomtang Boys.



“Jenny/867-5309” got remade by Bracket, Less Than Jake, and The Refreshments. I love this song personally, I think it’s very catchy.



Phil Collins and Fredro Starr featuring Jill Scott remade Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors.”



My personal favorite from this list is Patti Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade”, Christina Aguilera, P!nk, Lil Kim, and Mya did an amazing job remaking this classic.



Remakes of songs are everywhere, in fact today I heard the original Lady Marmalade, and version of Breakeven by Colbie Calliat. 



Some people do not like remakes at all; an article by ABC News on the new Dirty Dancing remake say, 'Nothing will EVER compare to Dirty Dancing. I don't know why they're gonna try and remake it #PatrickSwayze will always be a legend.' Alyssa Reale from Ohio wrote on her Twitter feed. 


It's up to you, decide for yourself if you like remakes or you absolutely hate them because the original is much better. 




You've probably heard a remake and never known about it. So ask your parents if they know any songs by another artist. You might just like the original better. I hope you’ll go look at remakes now that you know some of the songs that have been remade.






With love and music-

Montana <3




Wednesday, April 4, 2012

New Music

So readers,
 Do any of y'all have suggestions for amazing songs that you want people to listen to or just love yourself?

 It can be any kind of music you want from any age. Once I get some songs I'll write another blog explaining what I thought about the songs.


Blake+Shelton+%40WMSoundcheck
Blake Shelton, Available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/19642747@N00/4360065224, April 4,2012





I was thinkinh about going country for my first post. What do y'all think?

Maybe, we can have each week a different genre of music I explore?

Y'all can voice your opinions too if you want to. Hope your Easter break is wonderful and Happy Easter!!



- with music in my heart to all y'all
             -Montana

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Welcome to my Blog Y'all!


I love music, I listen to it every single day of my life; in fact I’m listening to it as I type this post. For this project I was very confused what to do then I had a lightbulb moment of why not do music.


Musical notes

Picture: musical notes, available at :alegri  http://4freephotos.com/Musical_notes-image-c3efcdef00bbb5e48bb4e8a2b0138e5b.htmll, 2010-01-03


Music is everything in my life, when I need something to take my mind off of something there is always a song that I can relate to in some way. I’m into all types of music ranging from sixties classics like the Beatles, to Bon Jovi and rock bands from the eighties, Ice Ice Baby from the nineties, and lastly LMFAO with their song Sexy and I Know It. 

Music is something everybody can relate to at different times in their lives whether being the happiest they’ve ever been, sad from a heartbreak, or just a girls night out on the town and they need some dancing music.

In this blog I am trying to bring old music back and expose people to all different kinds of music that they may not listen to regularly.
I will explore the web for top songs of decades and take viewer recommendations for songs you want me to delve into.

I want to help people understand what song writers are trying to say in the music that they write, and I could be completely wrong or spot on, it's just all in the way you interpret it. I am here to help you maybe find a meaning to the songs you like the most.

I also want to do this blog for fun because it can get some things off my mind while enriching the minds of young people everywhere. Music is big in most people's lives.

I hope your passion for music will soon be as big as mine and you might just learn something new. Enjoy!

Picture: musical notes, available at :alegri  http://4freephotos.com/Musical_notes-image-c3efcdef00bbb5e48bb4e8a2b0138e5b.htmll, 2010-01-03