Cover Songs

"Love Song"--Sara Bareilles

"Lover Song"--covered by Four Year Strong

            “Love Song” was released in 2007 as Sara Bareilles first single off her album Little Voice.  The song spent forty-one weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.  In 2009 the pop-punk band Four Year strong covered the song for the compilation album Punk Goes Pop 2.  Both songs share the same lyrics and melody, but sound very different.

            The first thing the listener may notice is the speed.  Four Year Strong’s version of the song is much faster than the original.  This is because Four Year Strong is a high-energy pop-punk band with beats per minute (BPM) typically between 175 and 225 and they changed the original song to fit their style of play.  Sara Bareilles’ original song teeters around 100-120 BPM, this difference in speed gives both songs their own personality from the very first note.  If Four Year Strong’s cover was the same BPM as the original, it would make their cover of the song seem like a band playing a song verbatim, rather than interpreting it how they see fit.

            Another factor the listener may notice is the intensity of both songs.  As a whole the original is much softer than the cover.  Once again this is due to the style of music each artist plays.  I’m sure Sara Bareilles could have made her song just as loud as Four Year Strong’s, but would it work?  Sara Bareilles is a singer/songwriter type musician and the arrangements focuses mainly on the lyrics and her piano parts, which are not typically played at the same intensity as guitars and drums in pop-punk.

            The organization of the two pieces is almost identical.  Besides four measures of piano in the beginning of the original as an introduction, both songs follow this structure:

-Verse

-Pre-Chorus

-Chorus

-Interlude

-Verse

-Pre-Chorus

-Chorus

-Bridge

-Chorus (refrained)

-Outro

            The factor that really sets these two songs apart is the timbre each artist conveys.  The original is a light-hearted and poppy.  The cover still remains that light-hearted feel, however is a driving hard-rock song.  The timbre of the drums in the original and the cover are very clean and crisp, but the style of the different drummers makes the drum parts sound different to the listener.  The instrumentation used in the two pieces also changes the timbre of the songs.  While the original is carried by the piano part, the cover is carried by electric guitar.  There is electric guitar in the original however; the tone is light and crisp, while the guitars in the cover are heavy and distorted.  The piano used in the cover is a similar tone to the piano in the original but the cover only uses piano as an accent in particular sections. 

            In conclusion I like the original version of the song better.  The cover is the style of music I typically would choose over a pop hit but the feeling and emotion in the original really pull me in.  Another reason I like the original version better is because I had high expectations for Four Year Strong to blow this song out of the water when I heard they were doing a cover, but I felt their cover was to typical.  Overall I enjoy both of the versions a lot as the lyrics are all about sticking it to the music industry and doing what you feel.

soundscape

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbM772XiVFOrO6iyDiUajzOfLpcXmF50PSQFDVnJqZsweXeWmHaT_xduG48kUJfPCyeVlrbMusli2udJYlaP87UcxGI9bnw4ldVqF3tLtOTDCrcNdKokqcIQ66YI1TL6ZVIjp5ioZeKJQJ/s1600/wakaflaka.png

Finding My Howl.

Read "Finding Your Howl"

Listen to me talk.

Ways to get Ideas.

Read the article 14 ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas 

In Ditkoff’s article he lists 14 ways to get breakthrough ideas and a way to start each of these 14 suggestions.  This article is helpful to those individuals who struggle with creative thinking, which seems to be everyone at a particular or another.  There were three suggestions which stood out to me.  The first idea I found interesting was number 7, listen to your subconscious.  At first this stuck out to me because it was funny.  How does one listen to their subconscious?  The idea presented was to just follow you intuition at times, but more so how a person’s mind slowly becomes consumed by a problem.  The examples Ditkoff presents of “eureka moments” seem to be examples of how some people’s minds think after long struggles of brainstorming solutions to a problem.  It shows how the brain seems to think of the presented problem at spare moments of the day, or how inspiration for a solution or idea presents itself in everyday life.  Part of this is the way the mind becomes consumed by ideas for a solution to the point the person may not even realize they are thinking of potential solutions.  Another part of this is the way inspiration can strike at any time and it is up to the person to recognize this inspiration.  I think this is a good way to retrieve answers to problems; it just may be hard for some.  As a creative person I try to recognize inspiration, even if the time is inconvenient.

Another idea Ditkoff presented was number 9, notice and challenge existing patterns and trends.  Now this is a good way to make money but may be too compromising to some creative people.  As a creative person I have always struggled with the balance of staying true to myself while pursuing opportunities.  The idea of “selling out” immediately entered my mind.  As an artist it is hard to compromise yourself to following the trends, but Ditkoff also presented the idea of going against trends to achieve breakout success.  Personally as an artist I think it will always be somewhat of a struggle to follow the leader, while it may be scary to go against the norm, I just have to go with what feels right at the time.

The final idea Ditkoff presented that stuck out to me was number 11; Brainstorm.  This seems like the most basic of ways to achieve a breakthrough idea but is the most effective.  It helps me a great deal to bounce ideas back and forth with another creative person because afterwards the idea is better and more defined.  The idea develops more and more until the people involved with the brainstorm think it is the best it can be.  I like to work with two to five people to get the most out of my ideas.  Even with my solo work I bounce ideas off of friends and peers to see what their input is.  Also brainstorming with others presents an idea of what the audience may think.

One of the final prompts

#14 Suspend Logic

What can you do this week to suspend practicality, logic and rationality in service to birthing

your big idea

This week, in order to suspend practicality, logic, and rationality in service to birthing my big idea, I can just create.  When I am working on some music I can just play, not think.  Sometimes with music the composer will strive for success so much they ignore their instincts as a creator and think of how the audience will receive it.  This is a good way to achieve some success but the way to achieve true success is to foster you instincts so much you do not have to think.  Doing what you feel is the best way to create.  Audiences seem to have the biggest reactions to something that seems natural and not forced.  So I should just jam and fool around.  I should do what I did as a novice and just fool around and abandon all inhibition.  It would also to lose my ego while I write, complete detachment from how I perceive myself.  Going back to the basics is always good.

who influences me as a creative person.

Creativity comes very naturally to me.  I’ve been creating in different mediums my whole life.  It started with paints and crayons when I was a toddler and developed into music in my early adolescences.  I also like to try new mediums as a different type of creative outlet.  I create for multiple reasons including as a stress reliever, out of boredom, or even practicality.  I feel very comfortable to just create without thinking, also to create deliberately.  When I create without thinking I just do what comes naturally, however when I create deliberately I try to imbed an effect or emotion in which the audience can recognize.  Creativity is a balance between my brain and your ‘soul.’

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol is a huge influence on my creative endeavors.  While Andy Warhol was primarily a graphic artist and I am a music artist his styling and use of text and subtext changed the way I create and view works.  Arguably his most famous piece of work is the Campbell’s soup can.  The text of this piece is simply a can of soup but the subtext is in the use of irony.  The irony is a common everyday object is being turned into high-class art.  This, to me, is what his quote “Art is what you can get away with” Is all about.  This is probably the biggest influence Warhol has had on my creative works, simply to do what I want and see if others respond. 

Warhol also used contrast and affinity to emphasize different sections in his painting.  His use of bright colors and sharp lines allow the view to easily identify the subject matter of the painting which can be seen in Moon Walk.   This simple way of directly telling your audience what to focus on has influenced me in the way I create at times by making me ask myself “Will the audience have the basic tools for interpreting my art?”  Although I recognize every audience member will have a different interpretation I want everyone to have the same general idea.  

Tokyo Police Club
Tokyo Police Club is a Canadian indie rock band from Newmarket, Ontario.  They have influenced me as a creative person with their impeccable use of text and subtext and incredible use of tension and release.  One of the best things about this band are their lyrics.  The lyrics are a crucial part in the success of this bands music as the lyrics have many possible meanings, there is a lot of subtext.  Dave Monks, the singer and lyricist of Tokyo Police Club, uses double entendre in a unique way for indie bands.  Monks also use an unreliable narrator at times to help the audience better understand the story of the song and to open a more personal dialogue between the audience and himself.  The band as a whole create a lot of tension and release within their music.  A lot of songs start quite mellow and abruptly change to upbeat and fun.  Listening to this band has helped me fully understand the intense change in emotion a musician can bring over an audience.  Tokyo Police Club is a truly creative and original band.      

Watch the video for 'Citizens of Tomorrow'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOi3F00oJtI

why music production.

I decided to get a degree in music production as a 'legit' way to pursue my dream of making music for the rest of my life.  I did well in high school and felt a lot of pressure to go to a university but didn't want to do anything but make music so I picked a school with a music production major.