Kid Rock once said “If it looks good you’ll see it, If it sounds good you’ll hear it, If its marketed right you’ll buy it, But... If Its Real You’ll feel it.
This is one of my favourite quotes, I just believe it is so true, good music to me is something you can relate to and identify with. The songs haven't just been churned out to meet a deadline so that a record label can begin to market and sell their "product". Time and thought has gone into them, which is taken from real life experience and influences of those who came before. The best performances of songs are those which really strike a chord with you and hit you right here. How many bands actually do that for you these days. Look no further than Keith Urban's live rendition of "You'll Think of Me", Bruce Springsteen's performance of "Blood Brothers" in New York City in 2000, these are performances that can actually bring a tear to your eye. Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty sings with so much intensity that you can tell he means absolutely every word. That is the way to perform. You can’t manufacture this stuff on some reality TV show. X factor is entertaining and all but has anyone heard much of Joe McElderry all year or even Matt Cardle since Christmas. At least MC plays the guitar and says he’d rather front a band. Too many bands churn out song after song of meaningless nothing in order to fill an album that may have one or two decent singles on it.
A few people have mentioned that they liked the song I posted last time Blue Jeans and White T shirts by The Gaslight Anthem and I'm glad you approve. That's what this blog is about sharing music that I'm passionate about with people and hopefully opening their eyes to something new. Brian Fallon (their singer) really wears his heart on his sleeve when he sings, you can really tell his music means a lot to him and I think its really rare to find singer songwriters that are like that these days. I see a lot of videos on You Tube where people are comparing his style to Brandon Flowers. So heres my side of The Gaslight Anthem vs Killers debate. Brandon Flowers sings his songs well, pretty much as they are on the cd but you never get that impression that he's really engrossed in his own music, he's more of a showman whereas Brian Fallon transfers the song from a a few instruments with a set of lyrics into something that you can actually feel when it is performed, there is a soul in his voice that makes you think he's going to break down in tears at times. Don't get me wrong The Killers have made some great songs and I'm a fan, the majority of which came on the Hot Fuss album but their albums have tailed off. I've watched their live DVD but I haven't actually seen them live as of yet so I will put any further judgement on hold until that day. The Killers obviously have a major record deal, they've been well marketed and they've written some good catchy tunes which people enjoy going wild to. So have the Gaslight Anthem but just not on the same popularity scale and I can see why people compare the sound of the two styles of singing. I have no doubt that The Gaslight Anthem could be as big as the Killers if and when they sell out to a major label and benefited from greater marketing and publicicty but the fact is that they insist on staying with a small label at this point. This earns my respect, gives them integrity and proves that for them it really is all about the music and not a big money deal. Both bands have written some anthemic songs with fast paced beats and catchy lyrics but if marketed the same it wouldn't necessarily be "Somebody Told Me" you would dance to every night, instead it could very well be Great Expectations. That said this all just my own opinion and who knows what the future holds for these great bands.
This last week I've been mass uploading videos to my You Tube profile. This is the link for my channel, please take the time to watch a few songs that I have covered. I intend to put up a few of my own songs sometime soon too! So watch this space...
If you only have time to watch two or three, look for Meet Me By The Rivers Edge, Casanova Baby, High Lonesome, The 59 Sound as some suggestions but know that I appreciate the time some of you take to watch these and any comments and feedback are much appreciated. Its all part of the education I spoke of last time, maybe you will hear my version of a song and off the back of that look up the real version? I don’t know, but I'd encourage this because even if you slightly like what Ive done, the real thing is incomparably better.
Ive rambled on for a bit now. I'm going to leave you with my song of the blog which is Keith Urban with You’ll Think Of Me and do me a favour here, watch this at a time when you won’t be distracted. Watch it from beginning to end, listen the words right through and prepare to be bowled over by the emotion and intensity of the performance, don't worry if tears fall guys, if music can do that to you it has to be a good thing, thats real music....
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