F1 sneak in (no. 1)

Oh, just found it today. It's not just Michael, just look at the car! Mercedes has the best commercials in history of... anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Bc43153Wlw

Comparison anyone?

Mercedes SLS

Mercedes SLK

Still I don't know which team should I support this year, maybe Kari helps me ;)

Art of borrowing

I can't resist it - I listen to music not only to have fun or create the mood. I listen to it and think about influences, about the way the songwriter thinks while writing a melody. I think about the arrangement, about progression (or regression) in music. I have in mind all the creative "gods" of the past while listening to today's music. I want to present here things that I've noticed listening to music, which came virtually unnoticed by the majority of listeners (yeah, I sound bullshit, but think I'm right). Every such a "discovery" is a great fun for me.

How does it work? I hear a song or a composition and just think "I've heard this hook/line/melody/harmony before!". And then I sometimes know where did I hear it first and sometimes not. Today I want to show you the song for which it took me 2 years to come to a conclusion.

Year 1995. Oasis and britpop movement overtook the world. Everyone who experienced it (I was 7 at the time so it's the sound of my childhood :) knows what I'm talking about. Pop music was SOMETHING back then, not like now, when the valuable music (call it pop, rock, whatever) is called alternative :( But this is a topic for another post.

The opening song from Oasis' second LP "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?". "Hello". Everybody knows that the bit in the chorus ("Hello, hello, I'm back again") is a sample from a Gary Glitter song and Oasis song is actually credited to "Noel Gallagher, Gary Glitter, Mike Leander". But the bit in the pre-chorus bridge was always mysterious to me - to be exact the guitar descent (just 3 notes backed by the chords) with the words "And it's never gonna be the same" sounded so outstanding and well-known. Just a short bit it is, but anyway I told you that I'm a freak =)

No more words, just examples:

Oasis - Hello - spot 1:04

Then there's the song from which it came. Glam rock classic rock band Slade and their hit:

Slade - Cum On Feel The Noise - the main riff at the start and during chorus

Oh and by the way - Oasis covered this song :)

But then there's another song, surprisingly by Slade, which used the same motiff, that is this one:

Slade - Far Far Away - spot 0:44 (chorus)

And this last one is probably the song of which I thought when I first listened to "Hello" by Oasis back then in spring 2008 :) Any thoughts?

10 best melodists in pop music contest

Imagine the world has run out of electrocity. We are left only with some archaic feelings like love, with some out-of-fashion means of locomotion like our feet, with computers made of tissue called brains. And with music that can describe all that. But when you don't have your box of electronic effects, no beats, no discos, you can only pick up some acoustic guitars and use your voice. WHAT SONG CAN STAND THAT? That's a question, don't you think?

I think I’m not the only one, who wonders why some songs just stick and are around for a longer period of time (call it forever!) and the others not. There were many influential artists in the past 50 years, who emerged in the time, when pop music became the leading force in musical industry (I am a great fan of classical music as well, but taking into consideration that I don’t know that much about it, I’ll stick to rock and roll and what follows) but few survived over the years going by. Why there are some songs which became standards and everyone knows them? What is that core of the business that made "Yesterday" like everybody’s song?

I bet you know the answer, because it’s simple, although many “true” musicians refuse to admit that. Composition. Or maybe rather the composition. Melody and harmony in the background make the hits songs. No more no less. Guy Dudgeon (producer of Elton John’s albums) said “there are not hit lyrics, there are hit melodies”. And that’s true. Even if Paul McCartney had released his "Yesterday" as “Scrambled Eggs” you would know this song. Because of the melody. There are just some people who craft melodies effortlessly. And they need nothing more because when the melody is memorable and better, hummable, you don’t have to overdub tons of effects on the record. There are many who hide their inability to write hit melodies with production, beats, arrangements. Yes, I’m a fan of melodies and I always like the song which I can actually sing in the bathroom better than the most progressive but hard to understand piece of music. Although I like these ones too.
Going to the point. I’d like to show you my list of greatest pop music composers. Not necessarily songwriters, mark my words! Some of them have/had the skills to make their songs so memorable they will survive hundreds of years, just like Mozart or Bach. I’m quite certain about this. And one more thing before I start: relative simplicity of pop music do not mean that this is any worse than Mozart. He also wrote pop music. Yes he did.

So today, number 10 on my subjective list:

10. Sting

The man who stands behind the hit singles of The Police. But, what is unusual, he made his own name even bigger than the band’s he wrote for. What is so special about him that he can make a post-punk song like “Roxanne”, a pop-masterpiece “Every Breath You Take” and East-influenced “Desert Rose” become an international Hit? And when I write this, there come to my mind at least 5 more signature tunes from this guy + some memorable instrumental hooks. Here we go with his signature tunes:


(I used to hate this song, it’s so overplayed, dare I say. But anyway it’s so massive with hooks and melody that no wonder that it has been sampled so many times to this day)


(Quite the same story as above – and music shops’ workers are probably sick of the classical guitar hook! ;)


(The song that blend effortless melodic craft with acoustic hook plus orchestra into one more masterpiece about love. And what is very important – the eastern influences are so obvious yet very pleasing. Very personal song to me as well)

Well that’s Sting on spot number 10. Any suggestions of the songs that best show his melodic skills and intuition? Comments appreciated. And watch for no 9!

Aye!

First entry. First thoughts. Well, this is my vision. Vision of the world, of music, of love, of everything that comes to my mind. Surprisingly - sounds not so original. But hey, haven't you ever wanted to beat The Beatles in some way? Place for you to realise!

Hints in this song maybe. Oh well.
Swirling argument about life

We can work it out, don't we? First hint: be yourself as John is: making all these stupid faces which I personally tend to love in a way :)