Image Credits: Sound On Soundhea
Hey guys for this week’s Music Monday I decided to feature Ed Sheeran. I have heard so much about him over the past year but never actually heard his music before. I assumed he was an indie rocker and I always thought he seemed very sweet when I saw him on tv and in magazines. I also like hearing that he’s British. 😉
First I did a quick listen to his album, “+” on Spotify. I loved every single song. I was a bit surprised by his sound. He’s very mello. He reminds me a little bit of Jack Johnson. It’s nice though. One of the first songs that really stood out to me (and was recommended by some friends) was “The A Team”. This was the very first Ed Sheeran song I ever listened to. I was blown away  by the lyrics as well. It came to me like a beautiful form of poetry, yet it was sad. A beautifully tragic poem. The imagery Sheeran uses here is so strong and beautiful. It seems to chronicle the life of a struggling young woman who just could never catch a break in life. As sad as this song is it still seems a bit hopeful especially at the end where it seems like the young woman is still holding out trying to make things better for herself.
Video Credits: Ed Sheeran’s YouTube page
Another Ed Sheeran song that I really loved was “Give Me Love”. This is another tragically poetic song. This song is very difficult to listen to without at least feeling the strongest urge to start bawling your eyes out. Sheeran sings with a sense of pain and utter heartbreak in his voice. If you’re going through a tough break out at the moment, maybe you should avoid this song. You’ll definitely relate to the pain Sheeran shares, but it will make you feel worst. Great job on Sheeran’s half for capturing that strong sense of emotion. He even remembered to make the analogy of blood turning to alcohol…He really did think of it all.
Video Credits: Ed Sheeran’s YouTube page
I had to give “Lego House” a listening to. It has the word “Lego” in it — that right there told me this song was probably going to be extremely epic. I also thought it would be a little more upbeat than “Give Me Love” and “The A-Team” were. I wasn’t disappointed. With lyrics like “I’m going to pick up the pieces and build a lego house. If things go wrong we can knock it down”, this song was full of hope. This song sounds like a sweet tribute to Sheeran’s love. It sounds like he’s singing to her, that he’ll make her a lego house and that everything will be okay. My one criticism for Sheeran here though is the music video for “Lego House”. I thought it was extremely boring and lame. Yeah, Sheeran plays around a bit with Legos, but c’mon man, this song is LEGO HOUSE. I was expecting the video to be so much more fun and playful. Like I thought it should feature nothing but legos…
Video Credits: Ed Sheeran’s YouTube page
Overall though I really loved Ed Sheeran. I definitely want to hear more of his music and pick up a copy of his album. I think he’s a real true ARTIST in multiple ways and that’s rare to see in musicians these days. He’s bursting with talent an you can tell he really puts his all into his music. My only regret is that it took me this long to discover him…
Image Credits: IndieSounds.org
Do you ever feel like a band is following you through life? You hear their songs playing on every radio station including Pandora. Friends constantly mention them. You see their album for sale in the store without looking for it.
Or, if you are me, that band is Imagine Dragons and they are literally following you… well on Twitter anyway.
The funny thing is, despite their popularity, I had no idea who they were. I assumed they were just a small unsigned band looking for followers. I get those a lot. I always follow them back, but rarely ever pay any mind to them. However, Imagine Dragons is apparently much more than some small band. They are huge, as one of my friends and Twitter followers had to point out to me. She told me she was jealous when she saw Imagine Dragons were following me on Twitter. “Imagine…who?” was my response.
Image Credits: Grammy.com
A few months have gone by since my friend introduced me to Imagine Dragons, and yet I still managed to avoid actually listening to them. But they have continued to follow me everywhere…and not just on Twitter. I work at Walmart and their CD is always in stock. I pass by it every single day. When I went to Target a week ago, I had a similar experience.
I recently downloaded Pandora on my iPhone. I pretty much only listen to one station on Pandora: my Good Charlotte one (Good Charlotte is by far my favorite band). If you’re not familiar with how Pandora works basically it plays songs that it thinks sounds like the music you tell it you like. For example, my Good Charlotte radio station plays music from bands that sound like Good Charlotte. Lately is has been suggesting Imagine Dragons. When it started suggesting them I knew I couldn’t avoid them anymore…I needed to see what was so great about this band.
Image Credits; Last.fm
The first Imagine Dragons song I ever listened to was “Radioactive”. I really like the sound of this song and the lyrics. The guitars sound amazing here. I feel like this song makes an interesting statement about growing up in the age of technology where everything is run by computers and machines. I think the lyrics are very smart and thought provoking which I really like. They kind of open my mind to a new way of thinking about the current world we live in. I really enjoyed the music video as well. It was a very unique, fun kind of video featuring fighting stuffed animals, some of which later become radioactive gaining super powers.
Video Credits: ImagineDragonsVevo YouTube Page
The next song I listened to after the suggestion of several friends was “Demons”. It took me about two seconds of listening to it to realize I was in love. I loved the slower, more serious tone and the lyrics were beautiful and poetic to me. I like how this song seems to be saying that no matter how happy or how perfect we seem, underneath it all we all have demons hidden within us. I found the music video to be extremely powerful with the way that it shows their fans and how they connect to the song and their own inner demons. It gave me an even  better understanding and appreciation of the song and its meaning.
Video Credits: ImagineDragonsVevo YouTube Page
Another friend suggested I listen to some songs that are not featured on the radio such as “Hear Me” and “Amsterdam”. I thought “Here Me” had a little different kind of sound to it compared to “Radioactive” and “Demons”. It almost seemed a bit more upbeat and I’m kind of surprised that this isn’t a radio hit but the others are. I liked the lyrics, but the lyrics seemed a bit too serious for an uptempo song. I wanted it to be a bit slower like “Demons” was. I did appreciate them though. It seems to be about feeling disconnected to society. You’re fighting a battle and you don’t really feel okay, but no one can “hear you” screaming.
Image Credits: watzup700 ‘s YouTube Page
I loved the sound in the beginning of “Amsterdam”. The drums sound amazing on this track. It almost reminded me of The Ting Tings, who are one of my favorite bands. Like several other Imagine Dragons songs, this song deals with the feelings of failure and feeling like you’re letting everyone down. While the song is generally pessimistic, the verse that states
Your Time Will Come
If You Wait For It
If You Wait For It
It’s Hard, Believe Me, I’ve Tried
But I Keep Coming Up Short
seems to offer just enough hope. Things suck. They are hard and it feels like you’re in a no-win situation, but if you keep holding on “your time will come”.
Video Credits: rumcat’s YouTube page
Other songs worth listening to are “Bleeding Out” which sounds to me like a great song for a bad breakup that leaves you feeling hopeless, empty, and as if you are “bleeding”, and “Nothing Left To Say/Rocks” which also reminds me of a breakup anthem in which you tried everything to make a relationship worth, but there’s just nothing left to say or do — you need to just simply give up.
Video Credits: wanderingintherain
Imagine Dragons seems to be a very solid, amazing band. They are one of those rare bands that makes me feel really excited about music. I can’t wait to run out and purchase their album the first chance I get. I’m legitimately sad that it’s taken me so long to actually listen to them because they are amazing. My top 3 favorite songs so far are:
1. Bleeding out
2. Demons
3.Nothing Left To Say/Rocks
But I’m sure that list will be changing soon as I love everything I hear. Simply put, I can’t get enough of Imagine Dragons. They can definitely count me as a new fan and I will happily follow them  back on Twitter. My friend was right, I am lucky to be followed by them.
What's Poppin' in Pop Culture 