Artists You Should Know: Marina & The Diamonds

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I've just discovered "The Family Jewels" by Marina And The Diamonds, which despite sounding like a group effort is the work of one woman, born Marina Diamandis. Marina explained through her Myspace that 'The Diamonds' refers to her fans rather than a backing band. Marina is a contradiction of sorts; she uses production that you'd expect from a pop star while singing lyrics that are witty and often very tongue in cheek.

To further the confusion, Marina has a strong and quite unique voice, which would be suited for alternative music but is unusual for pop. I haven't made a call on whether she uses pop music to relay her message with ironic/satirical effect or if she is a pop star bringing her intelligence to pop music; the lyrics of her song 'Oh No!' seem like both at the same time ranging from "Don't do love, don't do friends/I'm only after success" to "Don't need money, don't need fame /I just want to make a change." Either way 'Oh No!' is easily my favorite track with 'Girls', 'Seventeen', 'Are You Satisfied', 'I Am Not A Robot', and 'Hermit The Frog' rounding out my favorites.

Marina did a stripped-down cover of 3Oh!3's Starstruck. I know it doesn't sound like it would work, but trust me and take a listen.

This is the dance version of an original music video by a fan and filmmaker. "I Am Not A Princess'  is set to a mix of songs by Marina and is actually how I stumbled upon her music in the first place. So thank you to ELY for that discovery. I like their original edit a bit more, but it clocks in at ten minutes so I thought the five and a half minutes was more easily digestible.

Marina & The Diamonds' Website: http://www.marinaandthediamonds.com/
Marina & Diamonds' Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Marinaandthediamonds 

ELY's Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/ProfEugenius?feature=watch

Notes: 'Hermit The Frog', 'Seventeen', and possibly other songs off "The Family Jewels" contain lyrics that may be offensive to some people. 


That's all I have to say for now. Let me know if you like Marina & The Diamonds or if you've just discovered an artist who you really enjoy. Hope everyone is doing well. 

Fun Facts: The Veronicas

Fun fact: With the help of producer Toby Gad, Tik Tok' hitmaker, Ke$ha, wrote 'This Love' as performed by Australian duo The Veronicas.

Artists You Should Know: Solange

 

 

For my first installment of Artists You Should Know I chose to write about songwriter and R&B singer Solange. My hope with posts such as this one is to shed light on artists who are talented and deserve more attention. Solange is an artist who hasn’t let anyone tell her to be more commercial because she values her creativity that much. She has the knowhow to write more commercial songs as evidenced by the writing credits on songs by members of Destiny’s Child; ‘Obsession’, ‘Simply Deep’ (which features Solange), and ‘Love’ were performed by Kelly Rowland, ‘We Break The Dawn’, and ‘The Movement’ were performed by Michelle Williams, and ‘Why Don’t You Love Me’, ‘Get Me Bodied’, and ‘Upgrade U’ were performed by Beyoncé (who just happens to be Solange’s older sister). 

 

With her famous ties, you might expect big pop productions but that was only the case for her debut album; Solange began recording “Solo Star” when she was fourteen and because of that she followed what would be popular according to the big names she worked with. On “Solange And The Hadley Street Dreams” she takes over creative control by penning all but one of the twelve tracks on the standard release. She had a vision for the record so she was cautious and careful to choose producers who would understand and respect that vision. The disc as a whole evokes a disco vibe with some electronic additions and features candid lyrics about life, relationships, and the comparisons between her and Beyoncé. The first track on the album is called ‘God Given Name’ and she croons “I’m not becoming expectations/I’m not her and never will be/Two girls going in different directions/Striving towards the same galaxy/Let my star light shine on its own/No, I’m no sister/Just my God given name.”

 

 

 

Images from the album photo shoot and the music videos that accompany the album are beautiful and adherent with the sixties/seventies vibe of the music. On album and single covers, she appears with big hair and quirky, colorful dresses. Much like on the album, Solange exercises her creative control by directing or co-directing each of her three music videos. In the video for first single “I Decided” she appears with backup singers in homage to The Supremes. The video incorporates images important to pop culture from the 1960's through the present before making a foray into the future. Making her directorial debut with “Sandcastle Disco”, Solange uses modern technology to play giant instruments with her funky footwear-clad feet and incorporates lyrics and animations to create a fun, youthful video. Some of the costumes she wears are outrageous but that only adds to her charm when cooing “Ba-ba-ba-ba-baby don’t blow me away.” Third and final single, ‘T.O.N.Y.” (which stands for “The Other Night (oh wh)Y” ) has a plot driven video. It features Solange figuring out what to do after a one night stand results in pregnancy. Cee-Lo Green and Kid Cudi make appearances in the video with Cudi as the “love interest” for lack of a better term. All three videos are worth the watch but ‘Sandcastle Disco’ is my favorite.

 

 

 

Solange is a true artist: she’s got a great voice, she writes her own music, and she’s got a vision for her work. She acknowledges that her style of music won’t bring her to mass fame but doesn’t care because that’s not what she’s after. This message is evident in all released cuts from “Hadley Street Dreams” but is even more potent in the leaked track ‘F*@k The Industry (Signed Sincerely).’ She states “I'll never be picture-perfect Beyoncé/Fly like J-Lo/Or singing baby like Shanti/I barely comb my hair, yeah that's on a good day/I don't care what the hood say/I ain't street like Keyshia/Ain’t never tried to be/And I got soul in my soul/But not quite like Mary/Ain't nothing really R&B about me… But everything I'm not/Makes me everything I am.” She celebrates her differences and isn’t afraid to tell everyone off for trying to change her. The unforgiving honesty in this track makes it one of my favorites by Solange. My other favorites include ‘Sandcastle Disco’, ‘I Decided’, ‘Dancing In The Dark’, 'Cosmic Journey' and ‘This Bird’.

 

 

 

Note: ‘F*@k The Industry (Signed Sincerely),’  ‘This Bird’, and ‘Valentine’s Day’ contain lyrics that may be offensive to some people. 

I hope my post highlighted how talented Solange is and why she should be more known and respected. Comments, suggestions, and constructive criticism are all appreciated and encouraged. Hope everyone's having a good week.

I'm Listening To: Vanessa Carlton

There are two albums that I have been playing repeatedly (between my random mixture of other tunes of course). One of them is the newest album by a musician I've been a fan of for a few years while the other is the 2010 debut album by an artist I've just discovered.

Vanessa Carlton's fourth album (her first on indie label Razor & Tie) was released on Tuesday. It is entitled "Rabbits On The Run" and was influenced by "A Brief History Of Time" by Stephen Hawkings and a children's book by Richard Adams called "Watership Down". She has crossed a bridge from her previous work, but hasn't burned that bridge. Her beautiful melodies, lyrics, and use of piano (which she is most known for) all remain intact while also having matured. It's the production that has changed the most and it has done so in a natural progression for Carlton who has grown up since her past records. She has opted for a less bright/loud pop production in favor of soft adult alternative that is almost ethereal in a way.

 

It's obvious that "Rabbits" was a true labor of love from the way Carlton talks about recording it; she carefully picked the team to record the album, which was recorded to tape rather than being recorded digitally, not to mention that Carlton took the time to improve herself and soul-searched before beginning to write for the record. In an interview for AOL Music Carlton said, " If I'm [in a bad mood], nothing's gonna come out. And because of that, I kind of fall deeper into the rabbit hole. Once I started really working on myself -- I started really figuring things out, searching, therapy, lots of reading, lots of listening, lots of quiet time, lots of no more drinking (laughs) -- then the process started again and I started to get better." 

I admire Carlton's honesty about life and her artistic vision for the album. My favorite songs so far are 'Carousel', 'I Don't Want To Be A Bride', 'Fairweather Friend', and 'Dear California'. One of my favorite lyrics is from 'Dear California': "your face is like a paper cut to the heart."You can listen to each of my favorite songs (with the exception of 'Fairweather Friend') on Carlton's Youtube channel. You can also watch a making of the album, 'The Four Elements Of Rabbits On The Run'.

So there you have it: an album I've been listening to on repeat lately. Leave a comment letting me know if you enjoyed this post or if you have suggestions on music I should listen to or review. Constructive criticism and respectful opinions are always welcome. Take care and happy listening. 

Vanessa Carlton's Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/VanessaCarltonVEVO?feature=watch
Vanessa Carlton's website: http://www.vanessacarlton.com/index.php

Note: The photo used is the work of Castronova Designs. More of their work can be found here: http://www.castronovadesigns.com/  The article quoted is property of AOL and can be found here: http://blog.music.aol.com/2011/07/28/vanessa-carlton-interview/

Welcome!

Welcome to Nico's Musical Musings! I decided to make this blog as a place for me to discuss my favorite topic: music. I could talk for ages about my favorite singers, songs, and albums. Sometimes I think my friends and family gets sick of hearing me talk about music so this will be my new outlet. I've never written a formal blog before so please bear with me through my beginning stumbles and I'll do my best to keep up with posting (and replying to comments when it gets to that point). My hope is that this can be a place for others to discuss the music they love and possibly a way to introduce readers to new artists.

Wish me luck!