Stuff and things
So, ok, the whole post is basically one big spoiler for this week's Glee re: sectionals music performances, so apologies for that. I'll try and post something about me at some point in the future, just to prove I haven't forgotten you, El-Jay.
Right. So. I love Train. Hands down, one of my favorite bands. Been keen on them since a friend in college noticed I had the obligatory Meet Virgina on my laptop and no other, and she scoffed and said "you need to hear the actual album, they're way better than their pop stuff." And she was right, Meet Virginia is the least interesting song on their eponymous album, and was the only one that was really top40-radio-friendly, although some of the other songs from the album might have gotten some air time on country stations (I wouldn't know.)
Drops of Jupiter, the second album, is a lot tighter and simultaneously more commercial, and the titular track was a fairly major hit, and then My Private Nation was just kind of boring and WAAAAAAY overly earnest, with a fairly excessive "I love you and you're gone/far away/not mine" theme that got old. Although I admit that All American Girl was totally my personal theme song while I was in JP. (I mean, come on, "I know I'm just here to amuse you... but tell me what it's like to be the one and only All American Girl" is the life of every JET ever.)
So when For Me It's You came out while I was in JP the title already had me cringing just a bit, and I remember telling my bf that I had to get it, but if it was anything like the prior album I was pretty much done with the band. Thankfully, it wasn't. Still with the overuse of the "person I love is far away!" theme, but they've been becoming more and more poppy and mainstream, so it's to be expected, and musically it's a lot more interesting of an album. They're doing more interesting things and exploring more (and, ok, as a result it also has my least favorite Train song ever (Skyscraper), but it's not because they weren't trying).
Their latest album, Save me, San Fransisco, is just fabulous and I love it 150%. And they've already gotten three singles off of it, so it's been crazy successful, as well.
Now, take one thing I love, Train, and add another thing I love, a capella, and a third thing I love, Glee, and life should be golden, right? I mean, seriously, I LOATHE Katy Perry and the Glee a capella version of Teenage Dream is MADE OF PUREST WIN. So when I heard that the a capella group in Glee was doing Train's Hey, Soul Sister I almost died of anticipation.
Hence my dismay at the actual cover.
It's... boring. The arrangement is uninteresting, the performance is adequate but hardly inspiring the way Teenage Dream was, ditto the harmonies, which are very well done but just not very clever. I fully admit that part of the problem is the song itself, which is very four-chord-song-esque and much more interesting lyrically than musically, but that's the aggravating thing in two ways. First, Teenage Dream is actually just as boring musically, so it's not that they're not capable of doing really stellar musical arrangements of otherwise dull music. Secondly, the second single off the album, If It's Love, which is getting way more air time right now than Soul Sister anyway, is a tighter song and I'm sad they decided not to cover that one instead.
I can kind of see why they didn't want to, given they're still being really cagey about whether or not Kurt and Blaine are going to get together (although that could just make it more interesting to have Blaine flirting at Kurt and him being all 0.o. Also, I admit that Soul Sister is more naturally in Darren Criss' wheelhouse, but not that much and it's not like they don't already shift keys for their arrangements all the time.
It's also aggravating because, frankly, the boring arrangement seriously under cuts the plot imo (not that Glee is ever terribly concerned about plot). New Directions performances were stellar, so having the Wharblers tie with a performance that was good but hardly great in part because of the so-so musicality is just sloppy.
-sigh-
But, so, yeah, that happened. And it makes me sad. You know what makes me happy?
This:
One guy all on his own being more innovative both in the performance concept (although it's easier to do that in the intarwebs than w/ real people, I admit) and musically, with only a five chord 'band.' This wins leik woah.
(p.s. watch the bass version of himself in the smallest window on the left. This is totally what singing the bass line is like. Unless you're in a full choir with altos. Then it's what singing the alto line is like.)
(p.p.s. I am double plus entertained that the performer's name is Fuckert.)
Right. So. I love Train. Hands down, one of my favorite bands. Been keen on them since a friend in college noticed I had the obligatory Meet Virgina on my laptop and no other, and she scoffed and said "you need to hear the actual album, they're way better than their pop stuff." And she was right, Meet Virginia is the least interesting song on their eponymous album, and was the only one that was really top40-radio-friendly, although some of the other songs from the album might have gotten some air time on country stations (I wouldn't know.)
Drops of Jupiter, the second album, is a lot tighter and simultaneously more commercial, and the titular track was a fairly major hit, and then My Private Nation was just kind of boring and WAAAAAAY overly earnest, with a fairly excessive "I love you and you're gone/far away/not mine" theme that got old. Although I admit that All American Girl was totally my personal theme song while I was in JP. (I mean, come on, "I know I'm just here to amuse you... but tell me what it's like to be the one and only All American Girl" is the life of every JET ever.)
So when For Me It's You came out while I was in JP the title already had me cringing just a bit, and I remember telling my bf that I had to get it, but if it was anything like the prior album I was pretty much done with the band. Thankfully, it wasn't. Still with the overuse of the "person I love is far away!" theme, but they've been becoming more and more poppy and mainstream, so it's to be expected, and musically it's a lot more interesting of an album. They're doing more interesting things and exploring more (and, ok, as a result it also has my least favorite Train song ever (Skyscraper), but it's not because they weren't trying).
Their latest album, Save me, San Fransisco, is just fabulous and I love it 150%. And they've already gotten three singles off of it, so it's been crazy successful, as well.
Now, take one thing I love, Train, and add another thing I love, a capella, and a third thing I love, Glee, and life should be golden, right? I mean, seriously, I LOATHE Katy Perry and the Glee a capella version of Teenage Dream is MADE OF PUREST WIN. So when I heard that the a capella group in Glee was doing Train's Hey, Soul Sister I almost died of anticipation.
Hence my dismay at the actual cover.
It's... boring. The arrangement is uninteresting, the performance is adequate but hardly inspiring the way Teenage Dream was, ditto the harmonies, which are very well done but just not very clever. I fully admit that part of the problem is the song itself, which is very four-chord-song-esque and much more interesting lyrically than musically, but that's the aggravating thing in two ways. First, Teenage Dream is actually just as boring musically, so it's not that they're not capable of doing really stellar musical arrangements of otherwise dull music. Secondly, the second single off the album, If It's Love, which is getting way more air time right now than Soul Sister anyway, is a tighter song and I'm sad they decided not to cover that one instead.
I can kind of see why they didn't want to, given they're still being really cagey about whether or not Kurt and Blaine are going to get together (although that could just make it more interesting to have Blaine flirting at Kurt and him being all 0.o. Also, I admit that Soul Sister is more naturally in Darren Criss' wheelhouse, but not that much and it's not like they don't already shift keys for their arrangements all the time.
It's also aggravating because, frankly, the boring arrangement seriously under cuts the plot imo (not that Glee is ever terribly concerned about plot). New Directions performances were stellar, so having the Wharblers tie with a performance that was good but hardly great in part because of the so-so musicality is just sloppy.
-sigh-
But, so, yeah, that happened. And it makes me sad. You know what makes me happy?
This:
Click to viewOne guy all on his own being more innovative both in the performance concept (although it's easier to do that in the intarwebs than w/ real people, I admit) and musically, with only a five chord 'band.' This wins leik woah.
(p.s. watch the bass version of himself in the smallest window on the left. This is totally what singing the bass line is like. Unless you're in a full choir with altos. Then it's what singing the alto line is like.)
(p.p.s. I am double plus entertained that the performer's name is Fuckert.)