Paranoia

Paranoid – Jonas Brothers

It’s like a poison in my brain. It’s like a fog that blurs the sane. It’s like a vine you can’t untangle , I’m freaking out. Just might be paranoid. I’m avoiding the lies cause they just might slip. Can someone stop the noise? I don’t know what it is but I just don’t fit. I’m paranoid.

This first single from the Jonas Brothers’ album “Lines Vines & Trying Times” best complements the feeling this boy went through. The feeling this boy went through when…

There was a cookie lying on the oven;

It was so hot, it was so fresh.

He snatched a piece and he ate it.

He gobbled it all in one bite like a little cookie monster.

It tasted good, but different.

He had the cookie alone; no milk, no drink to help it down.

An hour later he felt different.

He was in a crowd but closed off everything around him.

He wishes he drank something with the cookie to wash it down.

His mouth is now dry. His lips are dry. He craves water.

Everyone is smiling. Everyone is cheering. But he makes himself left out.

He feels guilty for eating the cookie. He shouldn’t have snatched it.

He’s losing his mind. He can’t think clearly. He’s freaking out.

He apologizes to himself. He apologizes to his God. He just wants this feeling to go away.

This feeling that he’s going to faint,

This feeling that he’s going to puke,

This feeling that he’s going to get caught,

No.

It’s just guilt. None of this will happen. He’s just letting his paranoia get the best of him.

The feeling goes away.

Everything stops.

Music turns off, lights turn on, and everything is back to normal.

People still cheering, this time he feels included.

What just happened? He ponders and questions.

Was it worth snatching the cookie?

Concert Review: LIGHTS

Concert Review: Lights

Supporting Act: Jets Overhead

Date: November 27th, 2009

Location: Bronson Centre, Ottawa, Ontario

Lights has been a performer I've wanted to see live in concert for quite sometime. It was about a year ago when I first heard her song "Drive My Soul" that I got into her dreamy voice and synth chords and melodies in her music. I later added her EP to iTunes and forgot about it a few months later. After the MMVAs in June, I rediscovered her music and started listening the EP constantly again anticipating her debut album. Finally when it released a few months ago, I was obsessed and couldn't wait for her to come perform the magical album on stage. I got this oppurtunity on November 27th, 2009.

This opportunity came with a blessing from my frenemy MuchMusic...I had entered a contest about a month before the concert to win tickets and a meet and greet with the singer and a few weeks before the concert I found out I won! Therefore, thanks to MuchMusic, my excitement and overall concert experience was amplified a great level.

The meet and greet occurred first. I had won two tickets and had invited my friend to come along with me. While waiting anxiously to start the meet and greet, my friend and I discussed Lights' talent and our favourite songs. Finally, it came time to meet her and it was the quickest thing ever! We got our picture with her with my camera, my friends camera and Rogers' camera (Rogers hosted the meet & greet) and then were told Lights could sign one item. During this item she did ask how we were doing and gave us hugs. As a fan of Lights, I brought her a gift that I gave to her during this time. One was a

"Listenfied" cover of myself that resembled her album cover "The Listening" as well as a glossy

picture of the Sailor Scouts from Sailor Moon, a television show that Lights (and myself) adore! She loved both things and thought it was cool at the fact that I labelled myself as "The Ringleader" on the cover. She stated that the Sailor scouts looked hot considering they weren't in their traditional sailor outfits. She then gave me a big thank you and another big hug and signed my CD. She began signing the cover when her marker ran out so she signed the back again, this time making it out to me saying "Amazing Art!". Just like that, the meet and greet was over!

It wasn't long till we were let into the venue. Having the meet and greet passes we were let in early and my friend and I were able to get ourselves front row of the concert. If you've read my previous entries, I love being as close as possible and at the Bronson Centre, being front row means you are in against the stage in the centre of the artist's musical talent.

Jets Overhead opened the show in a disappointing manner. Their music, stage presence, and live performance all felt lacking. After doing my research on them when I came back home, I noticed that they were in no way a "new band" and knew what touring was all about. As a result, I felt they could have done much better opening. My dislike for them may have been the combination of the lead singer's creepy ways on stage (he was trying way hard to be "rock and roll") and the uninteresting or capturing songs. I'm very open to music and every genre yet despite that I was still unimpressed. Regardless, their lacklustre performance got me more excited for Lights.

The gap between Jets Overhead and Lights wasn't that large. The lights dimmed and we knew it was time for her to appear. I was so excited! Starting with a musical introduction, Lights came in with a bang and high energy. It was somewhat difficult to hear her clearly over the loud synths and beats and the cheering of the crowd. Knowing her songs made it easier to follow along despite not being able to hear her at her fullest. This, however, did improve as the show went along.

Lights had incredible stage presence. Despite not having a huge budget, she did everything she could to make the show as interesting and interactive as possible. In between her songs, she had a animated video segment that was based on her coming that she herself made and animated. She was interactive with the crowd and kept telling Ottawa that it had "been too long" since she last saw us. She also showcased her talent on various instruments as she played the key-tar, played the piano, and also played an acoustic version of her song February Air as an encore.

In the middle of the show, the fire alarm went off and didn't seem to have the need to stop.

Lights laughed at this and continued to play her set. It ironically happened when she was supposed to sing her song "Quiet". Lights "adapted" well to this and tried to play with the alarm so they overlap in her performance. Her songs "Pretend" and "Quiet" were both joined by the fire alarm. Despite this, she still rocked it out. "Its 'cause your so damn hot," someone shouted regarding the reason for the fire alarm. The alarm eventually stopped and Lights applauded the workers who assisted in fixing it. However, when she came out to do her encore insisting that she felt we were ripped off and that she would play more songs, the alarm started again. Let's put it this way, its a show that neither Lights nor the concertgoers will forget.

Some highlights for me during the show were her performances of Saviour, Drive My Soul, and Ice. Those are also ironically my favourite songs by her. During Saviour she had a little musical introduction before playing the 8 beats that start the song. Another moment for me was the beginning of Ice. The song itself already sounds like the soundtrack to a Nintendo game and she revitalized that by playing the instrumental of "level 2 of the original Mario game". I know it probably has a name, but I'm not quite sure. She played that and synchronized it into the intro of Ice. It definitely added to the song and the performance itself was amazing. Another highlight was Lights' shirt which said "Canada" on it. REPRESENT!

Despite having a bad opener, Lights definitely proved how talented she is during her amazing show. Writing and producing her own music, designing her own set, making her own videos, playing her own instruments, and being an extremely gorgeous and nice person all add to the appeal of Lights and nothing can take away from that, not even a fire alarm.

On Set Of...Turn It Up

Turn It Up - Stereos

Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up now. Get in the back 'cause we're driving just to get down. Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up now.

Those were the lyrics to the upcoming single by Stereos that my friend and I heard over a thousand times on November 24th, 2009 when we attended the music video shoot for the song.

It was all really last minute. I had read on Twitter that they were looking for some extras for the

music video shoot (at the time the song name wasn't given). All they wanted was a picture and availability on the day of the shoot. I jumped on the boat; even if it was just the role of an extra, I figured it would be some good experience for me attending a music video shoot considering film,

music and television is one of my great passions. I also like the band Stereos and missed out on attending their concert so I

thought it would be fun.

They emailed me back a day before the shoot and told me they liked my picture and disclosed the address of the shoot (Circa Nightclub in Toronto). They allowed me to bring a friend so

I quickly called one of my friends I hadn't seen in a while who was in my Comm Tech class with me and who I felt would also enjoy the shoot. She agreed excitedly and the next day off to the shoot we went!

They had originally told us to be there for 4:30 however we weren't let in till about 5:30ish. While in line we met some crazy underage groupie fans who were gong gaga for not only being at a Stereos video shoot but being able to get into a club and then we met people who weren't fans at all and just attended to be extras. When let in, we waited on the upper level of the club for a while and eventually the band came out and started shooting solo shots of them performing the song on stage.

After countless takes of those, they brought the extras down to the main area and asked them to partake in the dancing crowd scenes. Of course this was a small if non existent part as there

were about 60+ other people but it was still fun getting into the music and seeing how many takes they did, the different camera angles they shot with and the different cameras used. It was also a pleasure to see hear them use terms such as "cameras rolling, speed" and others. It was also nice to see the crew work, behind the scenes work and different equipment used.The band members were really nice too and would talk to the crowd in between takes and also try and sign things. However, near the end you could tell that they were getting tired especially since many of them were sick as well.

By the end of the shoot we were tired as well. Throughout the shoot they asked to maintain high energy, dance along, sing along, and most of all just show tons of enthusiasm. After tons of takes we sat out for a bit and got some rest and finally joined back in. It was a lot of fun, but vey exhausting as well. Although it was cool to be in the music video and at the shoot we were almost certain that when the video came out we wouldn't be in it, or if we were it would be a glimpse of our hair or finger. Despite that, we made the best of it and had a lot of fun!

The whole shoot definitely brought me back to my highschool days in Comm Tech. It was my favourite class and we did a lot of shooting in studio and on set. Going into the shoot I knew wh

at to expect so it was still a great experience. It also gave me a chance to reconnect with my friend I hadn't seen in over a year. The shoot ended around 11:45 and both of us were ready to pass out. The band members were nice to stay after the shoot and meet with fans so my friend and I got in line.

We were really tired so we couldn't meet all of the members of the band so we met two, Pat (the

lead singer and frontman) and Dan (bass). Both of them were really nice, though you could

definitely tell they were tired...especially Pat. I shook hands with them both and congratulated them on the shoot. I told Pat I'd be attending their Hamilton show in December and he remarked "cool see you there". After taking our pictures, we spoke to some crew members asking them about how they like their work and how they got into it. After some little chit chat, we got ready to end our crazy day and head home.

The day was amazing. We both had a great time reconnecting and got a great experience being at the shoot. Make sure to check out the music video for Turn It Up when it comes out (no date currently known). Till then,

IT'S A WRAP!

You Are Beautiful....No Matter What You Listen To

You Are What You Are (Beautiful) - Christina Aguilera

You are what you are. You are beautiful... No matter what they say. Words can't bring you down.

The 10th anniversary remix of the hit song Beautiful by Christina Aguilera describes an issue that's been bothering me. This issue is about musical tastes and stereotypes.

We're almost nearing year 2010 and equality and stereotypes should be long gone. However, from what I've noticed about many things stereotypes still exist; whether it be if blondes always have more fun/are clumsy or men always run the house. Sometimes stereotypes are unavoidable. What I mean to say is, yes, blondes aren't the only peoples that are clumsy, or Indian people don't all smell like curry and have accents, but sometimes seeing those notions on TV, or sometimes even in person just build it into our mind that sometimes when we say things based on a stereotype, it is accidental. There is one stereotype, however, that IS unavoidable and is sometimes made for non valid reasons. The stereotype I'm talking about is the stereotype of musical genre.

I don't come from a very musical background in my family history (well at least not that I know of), but I do appreciate music in all of its forms. My iTunes library consists of various genres including Pop, Hip-Hop/Rap, Country, Rock, Alternative/Punk, R&B, World and more. This leads to me having a love for many artists; Hilary Duff, Lady GaGa, Eminem, Akon, Billy Talent, Good Charlotte, Green Day, Spice Girls, Alexisonfire, Usher, Massari, Destiny's Child, Jennifer Lopez, Bollywood and more. Something that bothers is me when people generalize music in 2 categories: Guy and Girl

These two categories have existed for a long time. In elementary school I remember girls would giggle or joke if they learned a boy listened to Britney Spears. In the same way, the boys would make fun of that kid or avoid him because of this. In high school when people learned of more adult words and concepts, that same boy (now a teen) would be called gay. Such a big accusation (yes, accuse is a very strong word) simply because of this boy's choice in music.

My question is, why is music categorized in what guys SHOULD like and what girls SHOULD like? Why can't guys enjoy the likes of pop music or to that extent, female artists, without being either made fun of or looked upon as strange? Are the other people that make fun of such people so insecure with themselves that they have to pick a part others' choice in music? This brings me to another question/scenario. Are some men so threathened with their masculinity that they can't listen to female sungs? Having gone through many friends, I've met some guys who won't even listen to a song sung by a girl because they feel those songs are "chick songs." Please. There's a difference between not listening to a song because you don't like it and because its sung by a female. To accentuate my point even more, this person DID like a few songs from that female singer before and then suddenly didn't want to hear them simply because they were sung by a girl.
Why has it come to this?

I'm not going to ramble on about this issue (I could write pages), but I am going to say that a guy isn't any less masculine or gay simply because he listens to diverse music or music sung by a female(s). A genre doesn't haven't to be stereotyped to be listened to only buy a guy or girl. I've always been open to my diverse musical tastes as described above. Throughout the years (yes, a cliche line used in the opening of many essays/papers) I've gone through people making fun of me because of my musical tastes. If not always serious, I've had people joke around that I should listen to "more manly music" or that I'm "gay" simply because of my musical choice. What is "manly music"? The stereotypes would say music that is sung by guys and then would further state real men listen to either rock or rap. Listening to music such as Backstreet Boys or N'Sync (not my favourite artists but just an example), although sung by guys isn't manly because its "too boyband". These stereotypes exist for those people who aren't comfortable with themselves that they pick on others for petty things as such. However, because this has been going on so long, just like other stereotypes, the musical stereotype has also become one that is sometimes passed by people without thinking why they are making that stereotype.

Music has been made to enjoy. It has been made for enterntainment. It has been made as a drug to help people find an out when in difficult or stressful situations. It has been made for people to relate to or relate with. Consequently, like many other things, music should not become stereotyped into categories for guys or girls. It should not be stereotyped AT ALL. (Other stereotypes of music that I didn't bring up include racial stereotypes -- African/Jamaican people listen to Rap, Caucasians listen to Rock etc.) Music should be listened to for its purpose and that's for enjoyment, enternatinment or as a remedy, as a drug, or something to relate with. Thus, no stereotypes should be made.

I no longer let people's judgement based on my music affect me. I'm comfortable enough with myself and with who I am that I don't need people's stereotypes to build my lifestyle. In that sense, I've also picked apart who my real friends are. If anyone reading can relate to this blog, my strongest recommendation is to not let people's stereotypes affect you and question to yourself (or if you're blunt enough to them) why they are making such judgements. It's not you, it's them (trust me). If you are reading and are one of the guilty ones, I hope this blog gets through to you. Lastly, if you are reading simply because you follow this blog, or because I sent you here to read, thank you for reading my rambling.

Like Christina Aguilera says, You Are What You Are. You Are Beautiful...no matter what you listen to.

November Music Review

So after creating many posts about my personal life, I’ve finally decided to make a general post about one of my favourite things in the whole WIDE world; music! The last 3 weeks have been INCREDIBLE for fresh music, and November will be the month to purchase albums! Lady GaGa, Rihanna, and Britney all have albums coming out in November! On top of that, we’ve got Jennifer Lopez returning to music after her pregnancy and fellow Canadian, Massari releasing a follow up to his successful debut! To promote these albums we’ve got some amazing singles floating around that deserve attention, and here they are:

Morning After Dark – Timbaland featuring SoShy

After the success of the many singles from Shock Value, Timbaland’s back with a fresh single called “Morning After Dark” in which he introduces a new artist, SoShy, from Paris. Timbaland’s set to release Shock Value 2 in November, and this is the first single from the album. To be honest, I’m a little disappointed. Weeks before the release, the song was described by Timabaland himself as “very interesting” and “so different”, but to me it’s the trademark Timbaland beats backed with very eerie elements to create the vampire/ “Twilight” theme Timabaland was talking about. The verses are reminiscent to earlier Timbaland produced and featured hits such as “The Way I Are” featuring Keri Hilson and “Promiscuous” featuring Nelly Furtado; they are sexual innuendos exchanged back and forth between Timbaland and his “new” artist he wants to promote. Nelly Furtado got the boost she needed to get back in the spotlight. Keri Hilson finally got out of writing songs and got an album released, and now it seems like he’s trying to boost SoShy as well. However, I think he might fall short this time as she’s nothing “amazing.” Her voice is sexy, but nothing extraordinary. If you haven’t heard a Timbaland song before (I’d be surprised), this will sound fresh and new. If you have, you’ll instantly know its Timbaland. Despite that, it’s still an enjoyable song and a good first single. Let’s see how this impacts the charts! Catch the album out December 8, 2009.

3.5/5

Bad Romance – Lady GaGa

Taken as the lead single from her "new" album also refereed to as a re-release, “The Fame Monster”, Bad Romance is the new single from Lady GaGa. It seems as being “fresh” these days is a little hard. As much as I love this song, I can’t help but hear elements of previous GaGa hit “Poker Face” in this song. However, GaGa still manages to make the song its own unique masterpiece with a lot going on in one song. She adds her “rah rah” and “mum mum mahs” as well as French verses, and a catchy chorus to deliver an amazing pop-art fiasco. Produced by RedOne, it seems as if GaGa knows the recipe of not only a hit, but an amazing song. The lyrics of the song are a bit more dark than her previous, but it fits into the theme of the release, “The Fame: Monster.” If this is your first time listening to GaGa, you’ll understand why her name is everywhere, and if you have heard her before, you’ll love how she can just deliver hit after hit. I recommend this song to everyone; if you don’t enjoy it the first time, listen to it once more and I’m sure the “rah rahs” will be stuck in your head. Check out the album November 24th, 2009.

4.5/5

3 – Britney Spears

It hasn’t even been a year since her successful comeback album, “Circus”, that the legendary Ms. Britney Spears is back with a new single. No, we aren’t fortunate enough to get a new album, but this song is being released to promote her second greatest hits, “The Singles Collection”. “3” is produced by long time collaborator Max Martin who produced her number one hit, “…Baby One More Time” as well as hits for Kelly Clarkson, P!nk, and others. This song is another hit he has under his belt. It has already debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 1, an accomplishment for Britney and the chart in general. T his song is cliché Britney Spears. It has the controversial lyrics (this time not about seeking people, but about threesomes), has the thumping beats, and of course the vocal synths that Britney heavily relies on. It is nowhere near my favorite Britney release, but of course it is so catchy that I can’t get it out of my head after the first listen. That’s the marketability of pop songs these days; as long as they have a catchy hook, they are a success. But of course, how else will people be persuaded to download the song? At least when its stuck in their head, they have an incentive to download it and blame it on being “catchy.” Isn’t that what I’m doing right now? Watch out for “The Singles Collection” out November 10th, 2009 (November 24 for the deluxe box set).

2.5/5

Fresh Out The Oven – Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull

Like the title says, this latest song by Jennifer Lopez IS fresh. At this moment, it is unsure what is happening with this song. It was confirmed by Pitbull as the next single, but has now been dubbed a “promotional” single from the diva’s upcoming album “Love?” that won’t be featured on the album itself. It is official artist is referred to as "Lola" a pseudonym Jennifer used for this song. Thankfully it was for this song only. Regardless of its release, it is a fresh song that takes Jennifer Lopez back to her “J.Lo” album days. It combines elements of pop, hip-hop/rap, and R&B to create an amazing uptempo song that’s sure to be a hit at the clubs. She gets help from Cuban rapper, Pitbull who no one can seem to get enough. When I heard about the collaboration, I was super excited, but when I heard it I feel Pitbull didn’t really add much to the song. This Neptunes produced song is so good on its own, the Pitbull rap seems unnecessary to the song. I was expecting a little more from him, but despite that, I’m not complaining he’s on the song; I’m just wondering how him and Jennifer Lopez AND The Neptunes couldn’t have come up with something even more amazing. Don’t get me wrong, the song is great, but with all the big names on the track I expected a little more. Don’t let that take away from the song! Keep a look out for Jennifer Lopez’s much awaited album “Love?” out January 26th, 2010!

4/5

5. Russian Roulette – Rihanna

After the success of “Good Girl Gone Bad”, Rihanna is back with a new album releasing next month called “Rated R” and here we have the first single, “Russian Roulette.” This song is a very dark and serious song that seems to be a sequel to her previous hit “Unfaithful”. This track deals with suicide and Rihanna sings about it till she reaches the end taking a deep breath before pulling the trigger of the “Russian Roulette”. Produced by Ne-Yo, this is a beautiful ballad that showcases Rihanna’s versatility and amazing vocals. I’ll admit that when I first heard this song three letters were going through my head, W T F, but after a few more listens and analyzing of the lyrics, it has become a favourite of mine from this Barbadian artist. Whether it will be a hit or not, I’m not sure; she definitely took a risk releasing this as the lead single from the album, however I am sure that this will be a favourite among critics and will definitely be nominated for some awards when the time comes. If you are a bit touchy about the suicide issue, this may not be the best song to add to your library, but if you’re a music fan like me always looking for fresh music then this is a song for you! The lyrics are really touching and I’m glad it ends on a dark note. In real life, things don’t always end in happy endings and I think Rihanna is trying to show just that. Job well done; pick up the album November 23rd, 2009.

5/5

6. Body Body – Massari

The last song I’m going to review for this blog is the latest single from Canadian R&B sensation, Massari. Massari was received with major success after his debut self-titled album was released in 2005, and he is finally releasing his follow up, “Forever Massari” in early November. Here we have the second single called Body Body that I was fortunate enough to hear first at promotional party Massari held at a local nightclub in Ottawa. The song, and its steamy video, are really hot and is a surefire club, dance, and pop hit. It’s an uptempo R&B song that combines Massari’s Middle Eastern roots to create an exotic song. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but is definitely a better choice as a single to promote his album than previous single “Bad Girl”. Most importantly, it’s a Canadian artist who is working hard to becoming really big. He’s already had amazing success, and with the right promotion and marketing, he can become even bigger and enter the territory of current R&B stars, Colby O’ Donnis, Jay Sean, and Chris Brown. Till then, let’s support our Canadian musicians and get Massari’s album “Forever Massari” out November 10th, 2009

3/5

Enjoy and make sure to pick up the albums when they come out!