Yann Tiersen

posted under , , by Anonymous

Aside from composers within the realm of classical music, my favorite one is the French composer Yann Tiersen. The man can do no wrong; I have all of his albums and every single piece is both beautiful and lyrical. He has six studio albums, three live albums, and he wrote the soundtracks to the movies Good bye Lenin!, Tabarly, and Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (which also happens to be my favorite movie of all time). Easily recognizable, Mr. Tiersen primarily uses the piano, accordion, and violin in his music, but he also uses other random things like the xylophone, melodica, and typewriter. I'm having a very hard time deciding which is his best studio album, but the soundtrack to Amélie is a very good sample of his music. Among my favorite pieces by Yann are: Comptine d'un Autre Été: L'après Midi, Monochrome, and Rue des Cascades. Check them out!

Carla Bruni

posted under , by Anonymous

Many of you may know that Carla Bruni is a former model and that she is married to the French president Nicolas Sarkozy. However, you may not have known that she is also a gifted singer and songwriter. I have not heard her latest album "Comme si de rien n'était" (As if nothing happened), but her other two are quite good. Her debut album "Quelqu'un m'a dit" (Someone told me) is my favorite, but "No Promises" is a really cool CD too because it contains poems by Emily Dickinson and Yeats among others that have been put to music. I love her voice and her guitar accompaniment; they're very relaxing and pleasing to the ear. Listen to some of my favorite songs; Raphaël, Quelqu'un m'a dit, La Derniere Minute, and Those Dancing Days Are Gone



Stars

posted under , by Anonymous

Stars is a Canadian band one of my friends told me about. It's hard to say what genre they fall into, since their sound is a mix of pop and rock, in my opinion. I really like the soft voices that are never yelling to get their point across; however, what really distinguishes this group from others are their lyrics, so pay attention! My two favorite songs on the album "Set Yourself on Fire" are "Ageless Beauty" and "What I'm Trying to Say."

P.S. Is it just me, or does the album cover of Paramore's CD "Riot!" look like the one for "Set Yourself on Fire?"

Lion King: The Musical

posted under , , by Kate
Last week Marcela and I went to see the very popular musical, The Lion King. This was one of my favorite movies as a kid, and to see it this way was incredible. Not surprisingly, the musical won a Tony Award in 1998 for Best Costume Design. I'd have to agree. Aside from the music, the masks and costumes were the most amazing part of the show. The clothing showed both the human and animal sides, and it worked perfectly - leaving the audience to use their imaginations. Definitely a show worth seeing!

-Kate

Indeed, the costumes and sets were extremely impressive. And yet they did not distract in any way from the music, which was phenomenal. Even though the musical stays very faithful to the movie, I love how they mix traditional African music to the original score. For instance, the character Rafiki only speaks and sings in Swahili. Changes like this in the musical just add to the whole experience and thrill of seeing a live performance. As Kate pointed out, Lion King is definitely worth seeing and it's something everyone will enjoy.

-Marcela

The Hush Sound

posted under , , by Anonymous

What I like about this group is that their album "Like Vines" is both jam-in-the-car and "chill" music. There are both female and male vocals, which is something rather unique; I don't know of any other band that has both. The best part is that you get to randomly here tamborine and piano riffs, haha. My favorite song on this CD is "Wine Red," but "Sweet Tangerine" is a cool piece too.


Rockin' summer tunes

posted under , , by Kate

Today being the first official day of summer (although here, it's felt like summer for the past 4 months), I though I'd share a few great artists to kick it off.

The Ting Tings. If you haven't heard Shut Up And Let Me Go, you are missing out on life. Have a listen.
Hot Hot Heat.
We The Kings. Great pop-rock, super fun and full of energy.
Spoon.

Jeremy Larson

posted under , , by Kate

Jeremy Larson has to be one of my favorite new artists. His music is simply gorgeous, ethereal; his voice, writing, and composing are something special. Starting out as a classical music performance major, his songs are rich and full of lush piano melodies. Not only that, but he plays every instrument on the album himself: drums, guitar, cello, trumpet, and mandolin. Talk about talent! See what I mean here:



Make sure you also listen to Swim, The Thief, and Make Believe on his myspace, and be sure to buy the album on iTunes.

Oh and, his girlfriend Elsie is crazy talented as well... check out her blog. (;

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