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rosereview · 3 years

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Top 11 Albums of 2020

Much like my top EPs of 2020, this consists of all the albums that came out in 2020 that I really enjoyed. I just did a small description of my favourite things about these albums, and for all of them, I highly recommend them.

11. Weird! by Yungblud

This one was a very big surprise for me because I generally don’t like the type of music Yungblud creates (a more punk/pop rock-ish sound), but many of the songs on this album made me fall in love with it. Yungblud knows how to use his voice to inflict raw emotion that gave me goosebumps particularly in his song “mars,” “teresa,” “love song,” “it’s quiet in beverly hills,” and “god save me, but don’t drown me out.” These are for sure my favourite songs on the album. He has such an interesting voice and even my least favourite songs, I can still listen to and enjoy because they evoke other types of emotions that really resonate with me.

10. Rare by Selena Gomez

Next we have Selena Gomez’s new album after a five year hiatus, which now feels like it came out a million years ago, but it was just last January (a little more than a year ago). I also had quite a few songs that I liked on this album and the whole theme of mental health and finding yourself I really enjoyed. Not all of the songs were my favourite which is why it’s lower on my list, but many of the songs also grew on me more as time went on. Almost all of them are also really catchy so I found myself singing them in my head at random times, which also made me realize the genius of some of these songs.

9. Leave It Beautiful by Astrid S

Like Selena Gomez’s album, this new one by Astrid S had a lot of good singles that I fell in love with even before the album came out. But when the album came out, I wasn’t as impressed with the rest of the songs, even though some have really grown on me with time. I think I was just wishing for some more ballads and stripped down songs like from her Down Low EP. But besides that, this is Astrid S’ debut full length album, which in itself is really exciting since I’d been waiting for this forever.

8. These Two Windows by Alec Benjamin

Next is Alec Benjamin’s new album, which definitely has some songs that make me pause and give me goosebumps. I really liked how on this new project, Alec Benjamin had some more interesting and different production styles in the songs, so they weren’t all the same, or very similar, styles like in his last album. By that I mean that he used his voice in different ways and there were cool sound effects in the background of the songs that added something extra to them. Although that being said, I think I have to say that the last album had superior storytelling skills than this one, and even though I really did like the lyrics in these songs, in the last album I felt like there was more of a variety of topics and stories that I missed in this album.

7. Wonder by Shawn Mendes

And finally Shawn Mendes came out with a new album this year too, which was really exciting. I overall thought that this album was really good because it was so different from his older stuff. I know that some fans didn’t like this album for that reason, but for me I thought it just made it better. Shawn Mendes is still growing as an artist and I liked seeing him try out different styles of songs that he wouldn’t normally do in his other albums. When “Wonder,” the single, first came out I was sold on this album, and I liked how he did have a theme of wonderland and love and wonders about life throughout the album. It made it feel like a very complete project. (I also loved how there was a song called “Dreams” on this album and Camila Cabello also had a song called “Dream of You” on hers!)

6. Loves Goes by Sam Smith

Sam Smith’s new album was also long awaited, especially when I thought it was coming out in the first half of 2020 instead of the last half. But I can’t say that the wait wasn’t worth it. I was worried that Sam Smith was going to do a whole pop album, but instead I was very happy when they came out with many songs that are still slower ballad heart-wrenching pieces. Most of the songs I really loved, and I also kind of wished that they had an album with none of the bonus tracks from their original album since I felt that just the new songs made it feel more complete, if that makes sense. But even with the old songs that aren’t really my favourites still there, the new songs definitely make up for it.

5. Confetti by Little Mix

Little Mix’s new album is absolutely stellar. I loved so many of the songs on this album and I thought it was all done really well. They were all really fun and make you want to dance and sing along, while still being original and different from their older projects (although some songs take inspiration from older ones which I also liked). They did release a lot of the songs before the album even came out, and I got a little nervous because when that happens, I usually like the singles more than the other songs on the album, but that didn’t happen here. I loved the non-singles probably more than the singles, which I didn’t think possible. They also played around with different production sounds in this project, which I also thought was a very smart idea, and this album just makes me love Little Mix more and more.

4. Only Child by Sasha Sloan

Also a very anticipated release, I was almost in tears when Sasha Sloan said she was finally releasing his debut album this year. I have been obsessed with her EPs for a long time and now having a full length project is such a treat and she definitely did not disappoint. All of these songs on the album are amazing and so many of them are so relatable it almost scares me. I really don’t think there is a song on this album that I truly dislike, and every time I re-listen to the songs, I find a new love and appreciation for them. These songs just feel so personal like a diary entry, which also makes them feel so powerful, and even though Sasha Sloan is known for being a sad girl, this album also has a lot of happy songs when talking about love that made me smile.

3. Heartbreak Weather by Niall Horan

I was very surprised with myself for putting this album in the top three, but I really have to say that I love it so much. I was not even expecting to have a Niall Horan album on this list, but this album took me by surprise in all of the best ways possible. This is the type of album you can just continuously listen to on repeat because all of the songs are different and so good that you just never get sick of them. I love singing along to all of them and I’m obsessed with almost every single song on the album (which usually doesn’t happen with long projects like this one).

2. Folklore & Evermore by Taylor Swift

I put these two together because they do feel like one project and I needed to talk about them as one. First off, I’m just obsessed with the lyrics, the production, Taylor Swift’s voice… you name it, I love it. These albums are just perfection in every way, I can’t find any bad things to say about them. Also the fact that we were gifted with TWO albums instead of one is amazing, and the fact that they have different stories in them with literal characters is also superb. I don’t think there is anything negative or something I don’t like about these and I feel like you can just look at anything a Swifty says to know what I like about these albums.

1. Manic by Halsey

And finally my favourite album of the year, and probably of all time, is Halsey’s Manic, which makes me smile just thinking about it. This was the exact project I dreamed of getting from Halsey and she delivered in every possible way. I loved all the different styles of music in here and every lyric that she wrote. Listening to the album all the way through on repeat makes me so happy that I can’t ever turn off the music until it’s run through all the way. And just having been on this journey with her for this long, makes it so much more special because you understand all of the little meanings in the lyrics and the story that she’s telling. This is definitely my favourite album from her and my favourite album ever!

And that concludes my top favourite albums of 2020, and I also have a top favourite list of EPs if anyone’s curious.

Until next time!

~Rose Reviews

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disposedserenity · 4 years

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*rough* review of MOTS:7

The title might say review, but it’s really just my own thoughts that I want to share in the form of verbal vomit. STREAM while u read.

1) Interlude: SHADOW I loved the song right away on first listen. The extended version is soooo good, because it traces back to yoongi’s iconic ‘I want big house, big cars, big rings’ line from NMD. Thematically, this is my favourite concept out of the 3 rap line solos (Persona, Shadow & Ego). Yoongi songs all immediately reasonate with me because the stuff he writes about are what I’ve experienced at one point in my life.... and I feel so deeply when yoongi is rapping about it. At this point, I could go on forever about why I love yoongi songs so much but I will stop here.

2) Black Swan

It took me about three listens to fully appreciate the song, but I KNEW I was going to love it when I heard that trap beat and the bump bump bump lyric... Then I watched the performance, and I just loved it even more. For years, I’ve been fervently wishing that bts (especially jimin) would do a contemporary dance and I AM SO GLAD THEY DID!! Speaking of the dance, that’s another analysis on it’s own.... The way they match the dance steps to the lyrics.... Also this song lined up right after shadow makes perfect sense because Shadow talks about losing yourself into the deepest and darkest recesses of your soul while in Black Swan, the boys step into that shadow and confront it because they realise you have to make peace with your shadow to emerge triumphant.

3) Filter

I swear, this could be an Alec Benjamin song because this song has Alec Benjamin VIBES all over. Well, I guess jimin took inspiration from him because he put a ton of alec’s songs on his spotify playlist and even went to his concert so yey! Both their voice tones are similar ish because it’s very distinct and their singing voices are quite different from their speaking voices so it’d be really cool if they made a song together. Funnily enough, I don’t really like this song as much as I thought I’d would. It’s not a bad song, but I think I don’t gravitate to this song as much because this song was written about jimin for jimin and it’s really himself that he’s singing it to.

This song also radiates BIG libra energy. Libras love changing and moulding their personalities to please other people and they put on various personas to showcase the multi-faceted sides of themselves (sorry, just a huge astrology enthusiast here lolol). Filter has a narcissist undertone to it done in a purposeful manner. The protagonist of this song KNOWS he’s desired and is flaunting it in any way possible. They are aware of the power they hold and are wielding it to control the listener (the pursuers) Ahahaha sounds like someone we know? Recently, I told a friend that Jimin is really good at fan service. He’s the idol of idols, his face and name gets recognised first, everyone wants to be him AND be with him.... To sum it up, filter is jimin showing the world that he has many sides and it doesn’t matter which we are going to choose because he can adapt to whichever one you please (this push and pull reminds me a lot of house of cards hmm...)

4) My Time

Jungkook definitely has some magic where his song always gets to me and I immediately like the song. I think he excels in laying out his emotions bare and this creates a perfect canvas for telling his story. I definitely cannot relate to what he talks about in My TIme because I am not a jetsetting global superstar who vary between time zones (not that I know of), yet I still feel like I’ve been in his exact footsteps and know that feeling. This, my friends, is what true skill looks like. The rarest of musicians are able to write a song about themselves and make it relevant to almost everyone. It’s an impossible task. Yet, this golden maknae has succeeded once again.

In Begin, he talks about leaving Seoul to pursue his dreams and dedicates that song to his 6 members, his 6 newfound brothers, the hardships they go through and again, this hits you hard. You might not have left your hometown at a young age, but everyone has left something or someone behind in their lives. Euphoria ALWAYS makes me melancholic even though I clearly 1) am not young, 2) do not have a first love 3) minus bts, would NOT call anyone the cause of my euphoria but shit, jungkook out here got me feeling things and tearing up.

Thank you jungkook for constantly expressing your thoughts in such a clear way in any song you write, and My Time is no exception (and it sounds like such a r&b banger too)

5) Louder than Bombs

TROYE! SIVAN! You absolutely can hear troye’s fingerprints all over this song because this song sounds like a troye song (in the best way possible, because I looooove troye and his music) This is another classic “happy sounding but sad af lyrics” bangtan moment. Louder than Bombs is a good midway point in the album because they are crossing into the sad, aggressive, heart tearing, no bullshit songs territory.

(I don’t have a lot to say about this because I really love this song and sometimes with songs that I like, I just sit back and enjoy for what it is.)

6) ON

OKAY NOW LET’S GET INTO FORMATION! (yes, this was the first thing that it reminded me of hahaha and her superbowl half time performance had a marching band too) THIS.IS.SUCH.AN.ABSOLUTE.EARWORM. I LOVE IT. The 30 second preview made me so intrigued because it only featured the “hey na na na” part so I wondered what ON would sound like. I was NOT expecting it to sound like that, but what can I say? BTS always blows me away with their title tracks.

Speaking of formation, hooooo boy do I love the formation of this choreography. Mad props to The Lab for pulling this out of their hat because IT IS SO IMPRESSIVE. The set up reminds me of dionysus too, in the way that the choreography is being arranged in the live performances. Big ups to the Blue Devils marching band too, because even though you can’t really see much of them in the mv (or maybe I’m too focused on the boys lol) but you can hear the marching band so much clearer in the audio and I am LIVING for it. Overall, I am utterly thrilled by this masterpiece.

7) UGH!

*gunshots* alright back to 2013 bangtan let’s go. UGH, when will rap line stop making a banger? never I guess, UGH. lord, just let me get dissed by rap line once and then life would be better.

I. fucking. love. the. rap. line. I am definitely not smart enough to try to analyse or decipher the lyrics even with translations because their wordplay is on a whole other level. With cyphers and ddaeng, I really shouldn’t be surprised anymore but I still am. They manage to outdo themselves with every new song they release together. RM, Suga and J-Hope are great on their own but you put them TOGETHER? in one STUDIO? god help us all when this is performed live because someone’s gonna get headbanged out of the venue. I’ll end this with a silent prayer for a rap line concert.....

8) 00:00

This song is so, so, so painful. This song is what Tonight is to me. Ok I’m going to get a whole lot more personal here.

I was in a fucking terrible internship last year during the period Persona was released (I’m actually quite thankful this song wasn’t released then or I’d really have full on goblin ugly cry listening to this). That was the worst job experience I’ve ever had in my life (lao tian ye please don’t deal me any more shitty hands). I spent every day wishing that my misery would end soon and I physically did not want to go to work the next day. Every morning, I was almost crying to have to get up to go to work (and because it was an almost 2 hour journey to the office). By the time I reached home, all I could do was eat (if I had an appetite) and retire to my room and lie on the floor and just stare into my ceiling while mindlessly scrolling through social media looking for some sort of solace. Some days, even bts wasn’t doing it for me. Even though I managed to get out of that hellhole before the end date, the trauma (lol can I call it that?) and emotions stayed with me throughout the rest of the year. Only one friend knew I had depression and constantly asked me about it (thank you friend, even though you won’t read this...) and I even looked up therapists in singapore.

The lyrics ‘An unsettling night, suddenly, I look at the clock. Soon, it’s 12 O’Clock. Will something change. It probably won’t be the case’ hits so hard because this describes my situation to a T. By the time I got home, it was about 8.30 and by the time I snapped out of my mindlessness, it was almost midnight and this cycle just carried on for months.

Zero O’Clock

And you gonna be happy

Midnight is both a happy and sad hour, because for some it could signal the end of their misery or their happiness. Back then, it was my hell because it meant a new hellish day was approaching. Looking back now, I realise it could have been a tiny form of happiness because it meant that the days are passing and the end to my pain was getting closer.

So thank you Jin, Jungkook, V and Jimin for creating such a beautiful song that I didn’t know would end up being so personal. Putting aside the meaning, it is such a great song that I’d put on repeat. But I’m scared to call this a favourite because of how intimate this is for me so I hope y’all understand. But, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

9) Inner Child

This sounds like it should be a in a drama or anime haha. The “whoa ohhhh” vocals in the backgrounds reminds me a lot of Jet Lag too. Inner Child is a very fitting title because as V described, it is a letter to his past self. As an ARMY, I’ve witnessed how much V has matured over the past few years. I mean even though all of the members have also grown, V’s transformation is the one that stands out the most (at least to me). Tae went from a bright eyed outgoing kid to a still outgoing but deeply contemplative adult in front of millions of adoring fans and strangers alike, and I cannot imagine how that must be like for him. V is a notoriously private person, and we know the least about if you reeeally think about it. I will never (nor do I want to) know what goes through his mind but I appreciate the fact he reveals a tiny glimpse of it in his songs (scenery, winter bear and now inner child).

10) Friends

CAN YOU SPELL SOULMATES? NO YOU CAN’T, BECAUSE THERE IS NO VMIN IN IT. Ships are cute and all, but vmin has trascended beyond what ships are and I’m convinced they are all part of a bigger plan arranged by the Almighty that no matter what happens, they will always find each other in their four lives (can you tell I’ve been watching Goblin lolol). Recently, I was listening to a podcast by Jae and the episode was about the probability of soulmates. One of the questions he posed was what is a soulmate? To me, I believe that soulmates exist in many forms. There are the romantic soulmates (hi glenn & benn), friendship soulmates, family soulmates, strangers soulmates and even a bond between a pet and a human. I now think there should be another category of soulmates and that is vmin. *cries I want what vmin have* Not everyone manages to find their soulmates. The lucky ones do, and the rest of us will have to settle for second best.

Also kudos to Jimin for his first ever produced song! woohoo

11) Moon

When I first read that this was a song about Jin’s love for ARMY, I braced myself for a full waterfall of tears. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how happy this song sounds??? (thanks jin for not making me cry again like tonight did). Now that I think about it, of course Jin would make a happy love song (pffft saggis). As we all know, Jin’s way of comforting himself is to comfort others through laughter, smiles and lotsa dad jokes. No one else but Jin would and I love him even more for this. He takes the idea of what you’d think a love song would sound like and turn it around. SAD? NOT IN JINHIT ENTERTAINMENT.

Jin, know that you are more than a handsome face and the oldest member. You are loved more than you think you are. You think you’re the moon to us? No hun, you are the entire galaxy contained in those worldwide shoulders.

12) Respect

My favourite track. I mean starting with that iconic “should I stay or should I go” line? Genuis. Collab of the year. Namgi of the year. Ok, maybe I am slightly (alot) bias since this song is essentially Suga, RM & El Capitixn (yes, THE El Capitixn that helped to produce DDAENG).

Namgi dynamics are so rarely talked about because most people see them as the underground rapper duo who’ve known each other over 10 years and are old friends and that’s about it. Their dynamics just gets to me even more because the trust and respect they have for each other is incredible. Joon looks up to yoongi as an older member and also for his incredible work ethic, while yoongi trusts joon wholeheartedly as their leader even though joon is younger and the way they banter off each other? ugh, where can I get bros like namgi? Their rap and producing styles are so vastly different yet the result that is respect makes ME respect them. Use me as your slave, masters.

bonus: that ending clip of them just having a convo? please share your stories from back in the day, please. I said please. with a cherry on top.

13) We are Bulletroof: the Eternal

Is this MOTS : 7′s answer to Mikrokosmos? I can already imagine this as the ending song of a concert..... A perfect tune to end the album as well. Who knew my attraction to the number seven had a deeper meaning than just simply liking it huh? Is my life preplanned too.... @ universe give me answers. I really like how this song did not go the WABB Part 1 & 2 route and took a softer approacher indeed. It’s almost like they are saying we were seven hardened boys made more tender with the existence of armys.... ok bitch don’t make me cry anymore than I have been suppressing.

“we are not seven, with you” :’))))

14) Outro: Ego

This is the kind of song that gets better the more you listen to it. Not that it was bad on the first listen, but usually such bright and positive songs takes a while longer for the emo in me to process. I say this all the time that I almost sound like a broken recorder, but I LOVE LOVE how hobi has crafted a sound for him that is uniquely his and you will be able to immediately recognise it’s him (which is such a hard feat to pull off, might I add). I’m also immensely proud because he started out as a street dancer to becoming one of the best rappers in the industry while holding his rightful candle alongside two already established rappers that is namgi. I cannot wait to see this being performed live because you just know he’ll get everyone and their grandmas to start vibin right there.

In conclusion, I love bts. what else is there more to say.

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bthenoise · 4 years

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Q&A: Telle Smith Talks The Changing Landscape Of The Word Alive & How ‘Monomania’ Is Leading The Charge

No matter how much some of us might dislike it, change is inevitable. In order to grow, adjustments must be made.

Now does that mean forgetting your past and creating something entirely different? Of course not. But in order to become better, you can't be afraid to challenge your former self.

Taking this way of thinking and applying it to their music is Arizona act The Word Alive. Giving their previous metalcore-laden sound a 2020 makeover, the Fearless Records outfit has returned better than ever with their new melodic twelve-track effort Monomania.

Detailing this concept of change and pursuing pure authenticity, frontman Telle Smith opened up about his band’s writing process saying, “This definitely is the most The Word Alive record we've ever made because this one is the closest to who we all actually are versus what I think people's perceived idea of what we should be.”

Smith added, “And I know that doesn't always leave every listener happy, but ultimately, if we're not happy with what we're doing and creating and feel like it's pushing ourselves and our story forward then there wouldn't be a point of us being a band.”

For more behind-the-scenes chit-chat on Monomania plus what fans can expect from The Word Alive’s upcoming Noise Presents tour with Falling In Reverse and Escape The Fate, be sure to read our in-depth interview with Smith below. Afterward, make sure to not only pre-order Monomania before it hits stores February 21st but also grab tickets to see The Word Alive out on tour here.

What does the title Monomania mean to you? Is there a specific thing that inspired the title for this record?

So kind of an overall theme throughout the record is really just a loss of perspective. You know, when you fixate on the wrong thing or the wrong things, that's all you can see. You don't see the good, you don't see the positive, you can't find the silver lining. When you feel like your life is falling apart and that's all you're focusing on, you're not going to really do much to change that course. So for me, that was kind of where I was a few years ago and it really took the last three years to get to a really good place. I had just pushed so many things, so many experiences, a lot of pain, different traumas -- I mean, throughout my life, I'd always done that -- but especially in my adult life, I had really not dealt with a lot of things and I was starting to kind of just lose who I was. And you know, I didn't even realize it because when you are fixating on things and you lose your perspective, it changes you. It definitely changed me and I was able to still quote-unquote “be enough of myself” to not alarm most people in my life but there were some people who recognized it and said things about it. I kind of either brushed it off or dismissed it or I was even defensive at times about it.

So to me, a lot of the songs are just the story of how far away I got from myself and how I kind of had to destroy that part of me to get back to myself. So a lot of it has to do with that. Not every song. But you know, like “Burning Your World Down” does, “Monomania” does. “No Way Out” is literally about the worst day of my entire life. So there's a lot of really personal songs on the record. Not every song is [though]. “Another Year In The Shadows” is not about me. There are a few songs here and there that aren't. But for the majority, the whole record is kind of just about that place because I think a lot of people get stuck and they don't find their way out. And this is kind of my reflection on that time, how I was feeling some of the things I was going through that I didn't talk about ever. And, you know, I hope that it can be something that people can be like, “Oh shit, that's how I feel” or “That's what I'm going through.” And hopefully, they can see where I'm at now and use that as a little bit of motivation to maybe face some things in their lives that might be painful and uncomfortable but ultimately it's the right thing to do.

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So do you think writing this record was pretty therapeutic for you to get out of that negative space?

Yeah, I felt like I had this baggage that even though I had overcome it in a lot of ways, I definitely feel like I was still carrying it because I felt like I wasn't sharing really where I've been. Some people had noticed I was either different or I was falling into mental or emotional traps or things like negative coping mechanisms that were pulling me away. But for the most part, no one really knew. And so this is kind of my like, you know, “Hey, I'm sorry for the way I may have been towards certain people. This is me taking responsibility for it.” But it's also me trying to say like, “Hey, this is a chapter in my life. I can't change it but I can acknowledge that it's there.” Like, I don't want to ever forget about it. I don't want to act like it didn't happen. That's not my goal. My goal is to just have it there and acknowledge that this is what happens if you don't make the right choices and you don't chase what's best for you which is trying to be the best version of yourself every day. So this record is going to be a huge reminder of a turning point in my life and hopefully also the band's career at the same time.

It's great that you're being so open and honest about all of this, especially since a lot of your fans use your music to help them get through their own dark times and negative spaces. What kind of music do you usually find yourself listening to when you get into that kind of headspace?

It's funny because, for me, I listen to a completely different style of music. When I'm feeling a little bit down, I listen to a lot of like Tycho, Explosions In The Sky. I listen to artists like Sasha Sloane, Alec Benjamin and people who do a really good job of writing about their emotions and what they're going through or gone through or just like music that kind of carries the mood. So that's more where I lean when I'm trying to relate emotion to a sound because you know, a lot of people associate hard rock and heavy music with anger. And sometimes, obviously, that's the case. I think when I was younger, I was more angry and just kind of had so much to prove and I think that showed in our music and our lyrics. But now it's a lot more being reflective. I think some people, you know, they hear music and it makes them feel something and sometimes our music is what people use to go to the gym. Sometimes it's going to be what they use to get over a breakup to not feel alone if maybe they don't have the best home life or they're struggling with depression and anxiety. And then for some people, it's like their driving music, it's their get-ready-to-go-out-and-have-a-good-time music. Music is whatever language that person needs it to be and it just depends on your mood and kind of where your thought process is at the time.

Those artists that you listed, do you think any of those influences carried over into this new record?

I think so. I think because of me listening to so much music that isn't in our genre or our relative genre even, I think the way that I went about melody on this album was completely different. I know this is the most that I've felt like myself vocally. [Producer] Eric Ron did a great job of capturing everything I wanted to have in my voice. Like, this is how I've wanted my voice to sound for years. With our early recordings, it was like 18 layers of screaming -- not actually 18 -- but it was a lot and you can't possibly sound like that. And a lot of the times, it was more than one person screaming and with singing, it was just, you know, whether it was tuned, polished or they would just have me sing the notes like straight on, that was what was popular for that style of music at the time but it wasn't me. And for the first time ever, someone let me just be myself. So everything you hear on this record is how I wanted to sound. It's how I would sing something naturally. When I scream, there's not a ton of layers. I scream stuff like a few times and then that was that. I wanted it to feel very raw. I wanted it to feel more like how it is in a live setting because I look back and say like, Deceiver, Life Cycles, Real -- those records, in particular, I barely even recognize that voice. It's not because I don't understand how it came to be but it's not an actual person. Like, I don't actually sound like that. So for me, it would be like someone playing back your voice and you not recognizing it all versus like now I'm like, “Yeah, this is how I feel I sound in my head.” So I love the way that not having genre restrictions melodically -- like, the guys were just totally open to me doing whatever I wanted or felt was right. I feel like there's a lot more variety in the style of vocals from singing soft or aggressively, whether I'm singing in a lower register to the highest. I just feel like I could do whatever felt right to me. And I feel like that just makes the vocal performance way more authentic.

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Coming into this record, was the idea of authenticity and trying new styles where you guys wanted to go initially?

Yeah, I think where everyone has been we understand how we started, but ultimately, when we started The Word Alive and for the first several years, none of us really knew who we were individually -- let alone who the band was or what we wanted the band to be. Fortunately enough, we made enough songs people loved and it resonated with them so it carried us past 10 years to where we weren't just kids anymore. We're adults now who have enough life experience to truly make decisions that are made not just where we've been, where we are but where we want to go.

So for us, this definitely is the most The Word Alive record we've ever made because this one is the closest to who we all actually are versus what I think people's perceived idea of what we should be. And I know that doesn't always leave every listener happy, but ultimately, if we're not happy with what we're doing and creating and feel like it’s pushing ourselves and our story forward then there wouldn't be a point of us being a band. So there are times on this record where there are no guitars at all -- which, going back to our beginning, that would have never happened. But now, we're more about the overall song, the mood, what is this song about, what are we trying to convey, what emotional journey are we trying to take someone on in this... And if that means no guitars or if that means what you hear on some of the songs -- like “Numb Love” has one of the craziest guitar parts we've ever done, “I'm Sorry You're Sorry Now" has one of I think the best and most beautiful guitar solos we've ever done. So we have those elements. Even the last track, I think there are parts that are just so amazing and so much more thought out than just how fast can we play. I think everything carries a weight of the emotion of the song. And everything is very calculated. Everyone wanted to fill the space that was needed, not just fill space to be there. I'm really proud of how the record turned out. I'm very conscious of the fact that everyone in the band just did what was best for the song at any given time. Sometimes that's me doing less, sometimes it's guitars or sometimes that's programming or drums and then everyone still has their time to shine and really show what everyone can do. So it was a really fun process this time around.

Are you surprised it's taken five records for you guys to come to this space collectively? You know, where you're doing things how you want to do it instead of following the trends of the scene?

You know, I am and I'm not. I know we started feeling this way when we started making Dark Matter and that's when you can tell a sonic shift in our sound really was the most obvious because the sample size for the songs prior to it like on Real -- like if you have a song like “Collapsing” or Life Cycles’ “Astral Plane.” They're not metal songs, they're not metalcore songs, they're not necessarily anything that has a small box name to go with it. We felt like certain songs we were doing had a motion to them and then some songs were like, “Alright, here's the chorus, then we're going to do a build-up, then we're gonna do a breakdown and we're going to do this. And we have to have this in the song, we have to have that in the song.” And it used to be so calculated in a like “pleasing someone” way. And now it's calculated in what is best for this song and what is the story that we're telling. I just think it's a lot deeper now. But am I surprised it took us this long? Yes and no. Yes because, say you hit like 25 [years old] and you're like, “Alright, I got it. I know who I am.” Well, we didn't know shit. And then it's like, we all hit 30 and we're like, “You know, we got it all figured out. Not in the way that we thought we did at 25. Now we know that we have it all figured out to here, like up to this point.” And we know that we're just constantly growing and evolving, changing, learning, experiencing new things. And that's going to shift the way we think, the way we feel, the way we emote. So, I'm not surprised because now looking back, I'm like, “Yeah, that's a natural thing people go through. It takes time.” I'm surprised that it took us this long just because we started feeling this way so much sooner than when I feel like we actually got to display it. But thankfully, our fans let us experiment. We had to put out the records we put out to get to this point. If it took five albums to get this record, I can't imagine what it's going to be like for the next five.

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In today's day and age with fan interaction being so direct and immediate with Twitter or YouTube comments, do you find that it's more challenging to be authentic and really put your full self out there?

Well, it's funny because I was being as open as I knew how along the way but there were several years where -- I'd say probably like 2014 to 2018, maybe even 2019, almost half of our whole career -- I really struggled with the concept of separating how I feel and how proud I am of the music compared to the way the world is changing with social media. And yeah, seeing people berate you online is never going to make you feel good by any means. But I just didn't have the mental and emotional strength at that point in my life to really deal with it in the best way. Like now, it's not that I don't care at all -- I would love if people liked our music, of course -- but I don't mind if someone doesn't. I just understand that our music is being pushed out to potentially millions of people around the world. I would be insane to think that it's going to connect and resonate with every single person. And I had to get to a certain point in my life where I realized that some people, because of the way the world is, they feel the need to let you know they don't like it or they don't resonate with it or they might say that with lot harsher set of words. But for me, I just understand that it doesn't say anything about me. That doesn't speak to my musical tastes or ability. It doesn't make me or my band any less talented. It's just how they feel about the music and that's fine because there's something that they will love. I do wish that people would focus more on what they love then what they hate. But I think people who are enjoying things are just busy enjoying it. Whereas that person that seems so loud on the internet, that's what gives them a rush in their day or something. I don't know what it is exactly because I'm not like that, I don't relate to it but I wish those people the best and I'm just thankful that I'm at a point now in my life where I make the music I want to make. I love what it is. I love playing shows, I love meeting our fans. I love sharing stories and I'm going to do it until the day I die regardless of if some people don't like it. I mean, that is kind of inconsequential to my life at this point.

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That's a great way to look at it. Hopefully, people take away some of the positives you pointed out and apply it to their own lives. It's too bad there isn't a study on why people have to talk shit on social media. Maybe people tend to stick together more with negative things than positive things?

I think it's just as harmful for the person doing it as the person receiving the negativity or the backlash. Habits have a way of forming and pulling you away from your true self and who you want to be in life. And, you know, someone might say, “Well, I just go on the internet and I do this and then I go about my day.” But there's a pull. They get some sort of satisfaction from it otherwise they wouldn't keep doing it. And when you get satisfaction from ultimately hurting someone or attempting to, I can't imagine that's a very fulfilling way to live. And I think a lot of people confuse hate with criticism. You know, it's totally fine to be critical and ask questions and wonder what could be at times. But, you know, when it goes much deeper and it's personal and you feel the need to attack someone, I just don't feel like that's a healthy way to live your life in any way. I mean, can you imagine only going places with the intention of hoping you don't like it so you can leave a bad Yelp review? You're not going to enjoy things. And also, if I had a dollar for every person who's written me over the years who maybe hated a song or album that we put out then months or years later wrote me and was like, “You know what, I listened to it a few more times and I actually like it now or I love it” or like, “Man, I just went through this in my life and now this song means everything to me” then maybe people could actually call me a sellout because I'd have a lot of money.

[Laughs] Going from negative to positive, another exciting thing you guys have going is the tour you’re about to start with Falling In Reverse and Escape The Fate. You've been friends with those guys for a really long time. What's it going to be like for all of you to play shows together?

I think it's gonna be a lot of fun. Like you said, we've all been friends. I've been friends with Ronnie [Radke] for 10 years now and Craig [Mabbitt] for 12 years now because we were friends before The Word Alive was even a thing and then obviously had a little hiccup for about six months. But we've been friends for a long time. All that old drama and what people think is a big deal, like all of us, we're older. Those dudes have kids now. I don't have any offspring but we're all just adults now that can look back on those things and laugh. Half the time, antagonizing situations on the internet are just things we can laugh at it. So it's gonna be a lot of fun. The shows are selling extremely well. And it's what fans wanted. That's why we did this tour. I mean, the first time I started talking to Ronnie about doing this was almost a year ago. So it just took a lot of schedules shifting and trying to find the time to do it. Once we found out this was going to be the best time, we were like, “You know what, let's do this.” This is going to be something that all of our fans, especially the old school fans, are going to really enjoy. But obviously, we're all doing new things now. So I think for us, it's going to be a great opportunity to showcase what we've become over that time.

Yeah, it should be cool for some fans who haven't seen you guys play in a few years to see how you all have grown and progressed.

Yeah, and we're doing something special. We're playing a song that no one thought we would ever play that we've never played live. We're going to play "Heartless" for the very first time.

Wow!

It's funny because we retired Deceiver but we didn't say the deluxe edition so we felt like this tour was the perfect tour to play it for the first and probably last time. We might play it on a headliner depending on how well it goes over, which I'm assuming it's going to go over well. But yeah, we haven't forgotten our fans at all and we want to do something fun for them, especially on this tour. So I'm looking forward to trying not to botch all of those crazy lyrics.

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#The Word Alive #Monomania #Fearless Records #Telle Smith #interview

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because-im-a-mirrorball · 4 years

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Best albums I heard in 2019!

These are albums that either released in 2019 or I found and loved in 2019. This will mostly be in chronological order. And feature thoughts from me on it, including around when I heard it. A sign of a really good album to me is if it has enough sonic diversity (NOT COHESIVENESS please kill me, sonic cohesiveness is BORING) that I can listen to just that album and not get bored/have everything start to sound the same.

Mary Poppins Returns

This movie was FANTASTIC and I'm so obsessed with this soundtrack. The music. Lin Manuel Miranda. Emily Blunt. Absolutely magical. This was how I started off the year.

Dumplin by Dolly Parton

I loved this book and enjoyed the music far more than expected and sometimes it's just a vibe. Another soundtrack to January 2019.

Side A & Side B by Jillian Jacqueline

I really enjoy her sound (also January 2019 when I found her) and I'm super excited for whenever she next releases music.

Time of Our Lives (EP) by Brynn Elliott

I'm beyond obsessed with 2 songs in particular from this EP but enjoy all thoroughly. Highly recommend the songs Time of Our Lives and Might Not Like Me. (Also New Years ish time frame)

LM5 by Little Mix

When I found this album over spring break in March, I listened to nothing else for a month aside from listening to Ben Platt's album a few times. I could listen to this album alone for forever, but it's also really good to mix into playlists.

Sing to Me Instead by Ben Platt.

I can't listen to this album straight through, it all starts to sound too similar. But I still love him and these songs were perfect to toss into a playlist! It would also be really good to listen to if you were struggling to fall asleep. And sometimes you just need something to fade in the background that's kinda peaceful.

Naive by Andy Grammar

Absolute perfection of an album. Every song brought something new and beautiful to the album. I'm still obsessed and it released in July. I can listen straight through (and do often) on repeat.

Happiness Begins by the Jonas Brothers

Another perfect album for me. No skips. Perfection in a playlist or stand alone. I love their sound on this work and it is filled with bops.

Lover by Taylor Swift

I started my tumblr for this era and I'm so glad I did. Lover was absolute perfection for me. The sonic variety coupled with some of her very best vocals and amazing lyrics- it all comes together to almost top RED as my favorite Taylor album (a VERY hard thing to do). I am going to love this album for a very very long time- meaning forever. I listened to nothing but Lover for a month (straight through). No skips, and it stands alone in sound for me or works well in a playlist.

Mr by Leslie Odom Jr

I can't say enough good words about this album but I'm obsessed. I listened to this on repeat for at least 2 weeks after I heard it the first sound. It's jazz and musical theatre vibes wrapped up in smooth vocals and it is just delightful. Play through the album alone or mix into a playlist. The whole thing SLAPS.

Christmas: a Season of Love by Idina Menzel

I love Idina. I love Christmas. I loved everything about this album! Personal favorites include her duet with Billy Porter (I've Got My Baby to Keep Me Warm), duet with Josh Gad (Wish You the Merriest), and her duet with Ariana Grande (Hand for Mrs. Claus). A delightful work of art by such a talented woman! Christmas music does not apply to my feelings on sonic cohesiveness because it is Christmas.

Fine Line by Harry Styles

Still determining how much this one can be played on its own. There are high points and I really enjoy all the different songs, but there are moments when I think it would be best mixed in a playlist as opposed to listening to it entirely alone. My thoughts on that aspect of playability have changed with my moods as I listen to it, but I really do enjoy it.

Bonus feature: Albums that I studied to-

Sans commentary. Lots of instrumental.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms soundtrack by James Newton Howard

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them soundtrack by James Newton Howard

Taylor Swift's discography

Mr by Leslie Odom Jr

Narrated for You by Alec Benjamin

Playlists curated by my sister

Christmas music including Christmas: A Season of Love by Idina Menzel and The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show

#marybeth says #long post #music of 2019 #my year in music #random thoughts with marybeth

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onestowatch · 5 years

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Iconic Songwriter Billy Steinberg Deconstructs Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” [ANATOMY OF A SONG]

Photo: Bruce Hulse

“Like A Virgin,” the song that established Madonna as one to watch, sent ripples through the music industry with its edgy title and infectious melody. Matching her controversial demeanor, “Like A Virgin” was the title track to Madonna’s 1984 Like A Virgin album, which quickly became one of the best selling albums of all time. Over 21 million copies sold, and a music video with 7 MTV Nominations later, “Like A Virgin” is still revered as a brilliant moment in pop music.

Written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, “Like A Virgin” is a reminder that a great song doesn’t necessarily need upwards of a dozen writers. Two people with honest lyrics and a synthesizer can pen a song beloved by generations. Behind the daring and attention-grabbing persona of the singer who popularized the song, we find the gentle and deeply introspective demeanor of Billy Steinberg, who wrote the lyrics of the song after finding a love that made him feel “shiny and new.” With songwriting credits including “Too Little Too Late” by JoJo, “Alone” by Heart, “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper, and “So Emotional” by Whitney Houston, the challenge with Steinberg wasn’t finding a smash hit to discuss, but rather choosing one.

We sat down with the songwriter to talk aerobics class, keeping demos simple and being brave.

BRAIN: The Thought Process

OTW: Let’s start by setting the scene. What was your headspace like when you wrote the song?

Billy Steinberg: When Tom Kelly and I wrote songs, we had a process that consisted of me coming in with a fairly complete song lyric. So at the time, I lived down in the Coachella Valley and Tom lived in Los Angeles. I used to work at my father’s farming operation growing grapes, and I had been in this really difficult relationship. I finally emerged from that relationship, and I met somebody new, and fell in love. So without really thinking about it, I wrote the lyrics “I made it through the wilderness, somehow I made it through.” The line “Like A Virgin” came out of the concept of “shiny and new.” So I had that lyric, and then I got together with Tom Kelly, my songwriting partner.

Tom was well aware of the details of my personal saga, and when he saw the words, they were poignant to him--so he started singing it like a ballad. But when it got to the chorus, and the line, “Like A Virgin,” came up, it always sounded ridiculous. I knew instinctively that it was a special lyric and could be something if we really got it right. He started playing the piano and trying to write a topline melody for it, and out of sheer frustration, he started playing the bassline and singing falsetto. And I was like “that’s it!” I would say the song was influenced to a certain degree by “I Can’t Help Myself” by The Four Tops or “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson. They have similar basslines to “Like A Virgin.” I don’t think the songs are similar in any other way, but I think the concept of the bassline would have been an emulation of those two songs.

OTW: At this point did you exclusively write with Tom Kelly?

Billy Steinberg: Yes at this point we were exclusive writing partners.

HEART: The Core Emotion

OTW: Would you say out of the songs you’ve written, that “Like A Virgin” was one of the most personal?

Billy Steinberg: I think all of the songs that I’ve written have been pretty personal, really. I don’t stand back and pick a topic and say “I want to write about that.” I write in a stream of consciousness-manner, so the material that comes out is usually from my unconscious.

LEGS: The Means To Take Off

OTW: What made the song take off in your opinion?

Billy Steinberg: Our attitude was, if you have a great song you don’t need an elaborate demo. We had a great song structure, and the song had great melodies and lyrics, so it was strong. Tom programmed a drum beat on the LinnDrum Machine and played a very simple pattern on the Jupiter 8 Synthesizer and sang it falsetto, and I did a few background vocals.

At this point, Tom Kelly and I were just trying to write a great song, we didn’t have any artist in mind. Our goal was to get it out into the world, and at first we hit some road blocks because it was a rather controversial title and a few Record Company people who heard it said, “That’s a catchy song but no one is ever going to sing a song with that title.” They suggested that I change it, but I felt instinctively that it was a strong, ambitious title and wanted to keep it. Tom and I had a meeting with a guy called Michael Ostin, a prominent A&R guy at Warner Brothers, and he mentioned that he needed songs for Madonna.

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I don’t think Tom knew who Madonna was at that time, but I did because my girlfriend taught aerobics classes and used a Madonna song called “Burning Up” in her class. This was before “Holiday” or “Borderline” had been hits. She was just starting to bubble into industry awareness. We played “Like A Virgin,” and he just flipped for it. We heard back from him fairly soon, and he said that Madonna loved it, and that she was going to cut it in New York with Nile Rodgers.

OTW: We heard that Madonna kept the same adlibs that appeared in the original demo. Were those adlibs your doing?

Billy Steinberg: Well, the majority of the vocals are Tom Kelly, but do you know the song pretty well?

OTW: Very well.

Billy Steinberg: At the end of the song when the melody changes, all of that is Tom, and she copied every single note. But also, one of the things I did was add “hey!” and she even incorporated that little punctuation, so she clearly studied our demo carefully.

OTW: The song has stood the test of time. What do you think makes it timeless?

Billy Steinberg: Well, I don’t know about timeless. I wrote “True Colors,” and that song definitely has a timelessness to it. With “Like A Virgin” I just don’t know, it’s in a completely different category than “True Colors.” I guess some of the great Motown songs have that timelessness, but I think “Like A Virgin” has stood the test of time as an iconic song rather than timeless.

HANDS: Advice For Songwriters Who Need A Lift

OTW: You’ve had an incredibly fruitful songwriting career. What would you say to up and coming songwriters who need some guidance?

Billy Steinberg: I think it’s important to be courageous and listen to your heart. Listen to the content that makes up who you are as an individual. Not who anyone else is, but who you are. If you can write something truly personal, it sometimes becomes universal simultaneously if it’s honest. So I would say don’t try to copy what you’re hearing on the radio but be brave and try to write something different--something that is truly you.

OTW: Are you still songwriting pretty regularly?

Billy Steinberg: Yeah, I would say I’m not as prolific as I have been in the past but I’m still writing songs. In fact I just wrote a song last week with my current songwriting partner Josh Alexander that I’m extremely happy with. He and I wrote “Too Little Too Late” for JoJo, and we’re still writing together.

OTW: Do you two have a title yet?

Billy Steinberg: Yeah, it’s called “I Break Down.”

Photo: Art Streïber

OTW: We’ll be looking for it. Finally, who are your Ones To Watch?

Billy Steinberg: I have written songs with a guy called Alec Benjamin and I think he’s very good. I’ve also worked with Madison McWilliams, and she’s only 17 years old but I think she’s got a wonderful pop voice.

#anatomy of a song #billy steinberg #tom kelly #pop #madonna #nile rodgers

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