L'il Red Riding Hood

L'il Red Riding Hood

Amanda Seyfried

For the Love that don't fit in the mold.
For the Love that strives to exist.
For Love. For Love.

Wide Awake: A Review

Wide Awake

Katy Perry

Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection

Drama: ON. I don't know why, but after watching this music video, I have gained more respect for Katy Perry. It showed something deeper than the literally candy-covered chapters of her life. It showed that even the media kills you and masks who you really are and that fame could make you do the things you never wanted to.

Commenting on the graphics, it's has the typical music video over-coloration and over-drama, except for the street scene for the kid which was reminiscent of Last Friday Night. You can also spot references to her other music videos. (It's part of Pop Culture now. Go ahead and point those out.) My favorite shot would be the close up of the bitten strawberry in the hand of one crippled Katy Perry (OOH rhymes!). Now that I think of it, maybe it signified the weakness of holding on to what holds you down.

The Broken Ones

The Broken Ones

Dia Frampton

Red

Monday Morning

Monday Morning

Christina Aguilera

Bionic (Deluxe Edition)

Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go

Florence + The Machines

Ceremonials

I present to you my current obsession: Never Let Me Go by Florence + The Machines. Off the whole album, this one struck me the most. Even through crappy speakers, I could feel the song pulling me into the deep, losing my mind for a moment.

On the song, I guess I haven't delved quite deep into indie music, but I do appreciate the band even the lead, Florence Welsh. Her voice isn't what you normally hear in "bands", which is great! The band is something different and the music they do is so ethereal in their current album, which for me is a take on religion and its whole she-bang. The track featured today is no exception. From it, I could feel like I have been eaten by a big wave, dives underwater and just drowned though still alive. Her vocals have the calming effect most especially felt when they get stretched to a near falsetto. The echoing choir, piano, and drums also help in the effect of the undersea and the rain. The lyrics have also the addiction of water and just letting yourself go into the deep even when you keep on saying to someone else never let you go.

The point has been driven further by the video, which need not to be explained much, because at times, even I couldn't understand. But from what I see, it would just simulate the feeling of the song. The possible plot would be the woman the lead plays is a ghost of a drowned victim revisiting a lover, which is in itself a reminder to never let her memory go. Even that is heartbreaking.

Bound to You

Bound To You

Christina Aguilera

There is something very eerily beautiful with Bound To You. The richness of Aguilera's voice to the sincerity of each word in the composition. And by some things I could not grasp, I fell in love with this song above all others from the same movie.

Starting with the composition, I could really tell the honesty of every word. The emotions of a woman too strong for too long, needing nobody, now finding herself falling for someone for the first time. The fears of a first love and the greatness of giving in to it, forgetting your past, forgetting your fears and diving in head first to the murky future, with your love leading you and guiding you through. This battle of letting go and clamming up is a timeless beauty.

Then with the sounds, Aguilera's voice is perfect for this song, nearly tailor-made for her and her now-whole and rich tone. Each word and note comes out clean and heavy, thus making you feel her pain and struggle, which is furthermore expressed in her strains in her high notes. In the song you don't hear much layers in the vocals, just a few background vocals here and there, but there is none to be found post-bridge, unlike most pop songs, thus focusing on the seriousness and singularity of the ballad. The composition of the instrumental is phenomenal, with its chorus cadences, and an after chorus return to the simple beat, a classic Sia work of art. By doing this, it makes you pay more attention to the words better with the simple violin-accompanied piano, and come the chorus again, there is a surge of complexity which continues to the bridge and the final chorus which finishes off beautifully with an note signifying an enlightenment.

The music video come from the movie itself, which is a beautiful production, a green draping dress and a white flower in bunched up hair, with a light behind and just you on stage - one of Xtina's finest looks.

End note: Let it go. Let it go. Beautiful. Give in. Let it go.

We Found Love (An Appreciation)

We Found Love

Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris

It's amazing how love can be based on even the most destructive of things. This is the beauty of the music video presented for We Found Love, Rihanna's lates single.

It is most unlike what is mainstream today: color splashed and brainless. It's naked quality to show the roller coaster of love and drugs have given a real and human feel. It has successfully portrayed (though in a very over-executed version) how people lose their minds and a little bit of themselves in love. Furthermore, symbolism in the montages or insert elements in the music video are pinpoint. From eye dilation, to falling buildings, to puking different colored ribbons, it has painted pictures of abstractions when placed together but would have been insignificant if were to stand alone.

The music video has also deviated from the typical crisp color of normal videos and opted for the cinematic feel and perfect dullness. And to add, I love working with the projector emoting and lip syncing. Kudos to that!

I guess Love is not enough nowadays. And Purist Lovers would hate the day they wake up to smell those flowers.