Posts Tagged ‘Pop Punk’

By: Maria Ciezak
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Not into the punk-rap rage of Travie McCoy? Don’t like what you hear having commercial success these days? I can’t hate. Here is a different version. A friend sent me this video, and I am still uncertain how I feel, so I am opening it up to the BTB devotees to review.

A Rocket to the Moon covers Billionaire in a very dissimilar way. I am not too sure how I feel about it, for it sounds like a wholly different song. The boys are on this year’s annual punk rock extravaganza Warped Tour, which leads to success for many artists like themselves. I’m into covers but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I respect its exclusivity, and see how it would draw a whole fresh crowd into the song, I just don’t feel as if the boy’s got the chops of Bruno Mars. Cover or no cover, vocalists need to know their own limits; master before you pay tribute.

Let’s break it down; music is a discussion, with artists dialoguing by way of lyrics and themes. Which means a cover is the most straight and attractive form of communication. It provides artists like Rocket to the Moon with the likelihood not only to pay respect to their influences (in this case, label-mate Travie McCoy), but also to insert or take away significance from the original version as they see fit. Long story not too short: remakes either want to make the reviewer turn the dial, or cringe when it’s an otherwise fine artist making a mistake. This private pop acoustic version could go in either direction. I dig change, but for some reason, I can’t find the prize thing that was buried.

Numerous people have commented on the video calling it “better than the original” and “a fantastic remake” — do you agree? Let’s not get it twisted, A Rocket to the Moon is signed under Fueled By Ramen, which is leisurely building one of the utmost empires in the mainstream powerpop trade, including artists such as Paramore and Fall Out Boy. With an exceedingly stacked line up, it’s almost a sure thing whenever they sign an up-to-the-minute artist (for every time we close our eyes, we see their names in shining lights).

These boys have the potential to have huge success, so why bask in the fruit of another? Billionaire isn’t the greatest song in the world, but it’s rap-pop revelry style makes it unique, not really sounding much like other things out right now. I’m just saying, once a shoe is shined, it’s senseless to run through the mud.

What do you think of the cover? Does this rocket have the potential to soar to the moon, or does the band just want to be billionaires, so freakin’ bad?

By: Maria Ciezak
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Pop-punk; not so much an addiction as a guilty pleasure. One of my favorite flavors is Cartel. Some may know the band from MTV’s Band in a Bubble (yes, the channel did play things related to music at one point but that bubble has since been popped). The band is back after a long hiatus with a new single, The Perfect Mistake, which is the perfect solution for radio success, and an epic rebirth. 36 million plays later, an MTV mini-series, and tours all over the world has proven that Cartel has retained the “it” factor.

Their third full length album, Cycles, is full of fun and assertion. Opening track Let’s Go screams: “I’ve got so much left to do but I’ll start with this song,” — It’s a great line to initiate you to the release, proving their communal gaze is definitely focused on the future, and all its potential. I find the quintet of Cartel to be real and rousing. This release could have easily been the ideal soundtrack to a victory lap, for they’ve had the success, and are worthy of celebrations. The rock star life has bitten the boys in the ass many years ago, but the swelling never really went down. Rather than living in the past, the group chooses to go forth, to cultivate, sticking to what they’re superior at; hook-laden contemporary rock. After all, Cycles should be repeated indefinitely.

Their music may not be something new or unmarked, or have its own discrete sound, but in this case, that’s the beauty of it. Their good at what they do and don’t try to dip their shit in sugar. There’s something strangely sexy about albums like these. While there’s the accepted truth that “there is nothing new under the sun,” and that art’s magnitude comes more from how the tale is told than what the actual tale is, there are still degrees of uniqueness within the telling.

Cartel is that crew that upon first listen, not only catches your ear, but earns your loyalty, whether you admit to the public or not. I’m not forcing this band down your throat, I just want you to try a taste. Fun pop punk that lets you unleash your 14-year-old Warped Tour mosh-moves, checkered Vans and all. Have some fun, and give in to your guilty pleasure. Explore where Cartel has been, and where they’re going. Let’s go, Cartel, let’s go.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

“I drank when I was younger, but then I had that 10 Things I Hate About You moment when I realized I was doing this for other people and not for myself. It made me mad, and I haven’t really drank since.”

-Hayley Williams / Spin

Paramore’s the cover story for the July 2010 issue of Spin (on newsstands now).

Writer Josh Eells, who followed Paramore for the feature, wrote that Hayley and her bandmates are not living the typical rock star lifestyle. Instead of partying, he states that the group spent their time to “watch Spaceballs and play Yahtzee.”

“They sing Hanson songs, and not even ‘MMMBop’ — we’re talking deep cuts,” Eells continued to say in the piece. “Their bus smells like popcorn and Twizzlers, and their chief entertainment is a book of hypothetical questions they take turns shouting out answers to.”

And after reading the article, Hayley responded, not very pleased with the overall vibe of the feature:

“It seems that in most cases writers simply enjoy looking at us and exclaiming – like they’ve discovered something huge – ‘THEY’RE YOUNG!’ or of course there’s always, ‘THEY’RE CHRISTIANS,’ or ‘THEY DON’T SHOOT UP IN THE BACK OF THE BUS!’ What is this, the ’80s? Is it really that sensational that we aren’t the second coming of Motley Crue?”

Hayley later wrote: “It’s my opinion that anyone who is coming onto our band looking for controversy is completely missing the point. The point isn’t in the intent of controversy, the point is that there is no way around it. As people, aren’t we all bursting at the seams with conflict and controversy? The point of our music is that there are human hearts in it.”

You can check out a behind-the-scenes look at the shoot in the clip below.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Summer! Pool! Party!

Take the Jonas Brothers and add a little pinch of Blink-182 and you have yourself Allstar Weekend.

Usually when Disney discovers an act I run in the opposite direction. Ok, that’s not entirely true but you probably know where I’m going with this. Admittedly, I love some good pop music (at times, even the overly commercial), but often, clever and smart pop music gets lost behind the corporate cookie-cutter machine of companies as large and clean cut as Disney.

However, every now and then an act will come through the process that may have gotten their start as a part of that machine but you can’t help but to enjoy anyways, seeing the talent and potential behind the packaging. This is where Allstar Wekeend comes in.

The dudes write great feel-good pop songs. Poppy punk with infectious hooks, Allstar Weekend is perfect for a summer roadtrip. In concert, Allstar Weekend has shared the stage with some huge names including: Justin Bieber, The Maine, and Forever The Sickest Kids.

Suddenly, the debut album from Allstar Weekend, hits stores June 22nd via Hollywood Records. The boys recently debuted the music video for the new single Dance Forever.

Watch the video via YouTube below.

By: Maria Ciezak
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Check out the pleasant, fun, power punk-pop known as Free Energy. The quintet from Philly are on my bands to watch list, with similarities ranging from Thin Lizzy to Steely Dan. It’s almost as if 2010 met 1970, mated, and banged out a few good hits. Ok, so “glam-pop” patterns of any group nowadays aren’t precisely going to come off as pioneering or innovative, but their influences are not their only source of appeal. Songs like Bang Pop and Dream City ride you to a place with the top down, picking up a cheap keg for the backyard, in times when people drank cheap beer, just cuz it was, well, cheap. While other songs like Young Hearts and Wild Winds describe what they’re all about: good vibrations.

Front men Paul Sprangers and Scott Wells describe their music as “a physical dosage of happiness and good vibes.” Sometimes I am fearful of praise tarnishing the anticipation of a fresh group, but I can’t hold it in! I first heard about these guys in Spin Magazine, for I’m an artist to watch column kind of girl, and I never turned back. Debut album Stuck on Nothing has me stuck on something; a modern taste on classic rock. A pop-like frame of mind winning over the cock-rock aura doesn’t always fairly match, but the boys have a knowledge of real music well beyond their young years. It’s compacted with hand clapping, cowbells, and vocals, while concurrently wielding the modern garage-pop sensibility of bands like Jimmy Eat World and Sum 41. The boys played SXSW (South By South West) Musical Festival this year, which is a huge honor for upcoming artists.

Free Energy’s contagious passion and general intensity of talent has me yearning to see them on the road this summer, for I’ve heard nothing but rave. Check out this live performance, grab a beverage, pull up a stool, and enjoy some great music. Their energy is forceful exertion, and it goes to show that sometimes the best things in life are Free.

By: Maria Ciezak
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Releasing art outside of your group doesn’t always mean there’s bad blood. Sometimes those Gym Class Heroes just need to graduate. Yes, I’m writing about Travie McCoy, and his first solo debut, The Lazarus Project. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Travie, experiencing his project on the road, and even providing promotional support through his label, and I can honestly say, his talent is raw. His performances are almost like watching poetry readings on 5 hour energy shots; confusing yet amazing. This New York pop-punk rapper is unique in everything from his style to his lyrics, for he is not afraid of the act of expressing himself. Although catchy, radio smash Billionaire may not be your forte, his art remains cool.

He’s playing melodies and heating up his singing voice with collaborations from Cee-Lo, personal favorites Chester French. The Lazarus Project will let all see another side of Travis, by proving himself to a community that may not always take him seriously. Don’t expect auto-tune, for this is the real deal.

Earlier this year he split with pop mega tart Katy Perry, and released his Forgetting Katy Perry mixtape. Normally you would never see me supporting celebrity gossip in my write-ups, but it’s necessary research for the core of the album. The healing process takes a turn on this project as his somber sad-sack tones finally see the light. Song Don’t Pretend is a hard-hitting healing process: “Open up my chest and you’ll see a cold cavity where my heart used to be”. Although it sounds dreary, this album is upbeat as all hell, turning bad to good.

This may be a different pick for your liking, but I have a feeling you are going to enjoy exploring this album. Travie recently stated in an interview, “If Lazarus were a movie, it’d be A Clockwork Orange”. Although it’s got a hip-hop vibe, rock n’ roll storms in during “Superbad”, a smash with another ravish talent, Limp Bizkit axeman Wes Borland.

A disc compacted with teaming up with a diverse array of studio superstars for a genre-busting, groundbreaking new collection. If you want to experience a great musical performance, catch him on the road this summer with 3OH!3 and Cobra Starship. Turning the scribbled lines between hip-hop and rock into a perfect picture, with no fillers or skippable tracks.

Although Travie may not be rollin in Gym Class, this album proves he’s still a hero.

By: Caitlin Hoffman
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

They’ve spun up deliberate rock anthems, tear-choking love songs, and bubblegum punk melodies that can keep the party going all summer. Hedley has vigorously explored different musical corners, and done it with style. Upon getting acquainted with their 2009 album The Show Must Go, I’ve found myself harnessed by Hedley’s continuous flavour and animation. If I’m looking for a cd to listen to when the sun is shining and energy is humming in me, this is the album I’m going to choose.

In their latest album, Hedley continues to exhibit their cheeky flair of an attitude, yet some of the songs still have soulfully romantic components. From twisted relationships to good times with friends to corporate hypocrisy, Hedley covers all the bases. Each album always has at least one song bursting with sensitivity, and at least one song that serves the urge to rock.

You might think that this album is just a new piece to their old routine, but this time, they’re taking their pop punk roots to heart while freely embellishing with some electronic inputs (a mating of genres that seems to be common these days). Even though they’re playing in the dance-music lane, they still stick true to their lovable nature, energetic stage presence and succulent lyrical content.

Jacob Hoggard’s vocals once again engage the listener in their versatility, proving that his start in Canadian Idol certainly hasn’t diminished his talent, nor fashioned him to be a sellout.

On the contrary, it seems if anything he lashes out at the way he made his start, and even makes fun of it in their music video for Cha Ching. In fact, the entire video is all about mocking the modern world of music and reality tv, cleverly exhibiting how every show contestant and celebrity wannabe is just a pawn to the businessmen that dictate the industry.

Hedley is snappy, opinionated and riotous, with attitudes and personas that cater to the fun-loving freak in all of us. It seems that The Show Must Go has been elected to be my summer soundtrack. Give it a listen, and it may become yours too.

Check out the aforementioned music video for Cha Ching below.
　

By: Maria Ciezak
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Paramore frontrunner Hayley Williams recently covered the smash Bad Romance in a whole new light, and I must say, it’s the bomb. She’s more famous than peanut butter, and this video makes her look like an ordinary girl, yearnin’ for her vocals to be heard. I love a good remake, and this is so damn good!

I’m not here to praise the chick, we all know how great she is…just to provide you an awesome rendition of a smash hit. Hayley stated in an interview she loves the song, so hell, if ya like than you shoulda put a twist on it (Beyonce plug, holla). It’s scary beautiful; it’s raw, it’s uncut, and most importantly, it’s real. The firey-haired ball of energy has given me a new interpretation of the song. Paramore is a pop-punk flavored bank, and it’s nice to see the softer side.

By: Caitlin Hoffman
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

When I first heard of Angels & Airwaves, I was still sweeping up the pieces of my broken heart due to Blink-182 first breaking up, and I suppose I was less than pleased that Tom Delonge had so quickly arranged a new band to dedicate himself to. Yet all I had to do was hear a few of their songs, and my broken heart was instantly sealed and swept away. They effortlessly compress beauty into synthetic melodies. The way electro-rock is combined with alternative rock interfaces perfectly, creating a ritual of trance-like musical movements that a binaural beat would be jealous of. Songs like Secret Crowds or Everything’s Magic (both from their album I-Empire released in 2007) carry the facets of both ecstasy and adoration. So, I couldn’t wait to explore what fresh element they would bring to their new album, Love.

In my opinion, it certainly lives up to its name.

Have you ever left a theatre or a conversation feeling totally stunned and lifted out of your typical biases, as if you’ve just been delivered into a new realm of consciousness? For me, music often has the ability to do that, and Angels and Airwaves is one of the bands that creates that experience. They bring a maturity and enchantment to space rock that goes unsurpassed. All of their songs create symphonic vibrations that make you feel lighter than air. They take the physical realm of music and charge every sensation with exploding droplets of idyllic dreams and hopefulness.

One of the best parts is that each song has its own unique appeal. While listening to Epic Holiday, you’ll be chased by urges to drop the daily exhaustion of life and retreat into the unknown. Meanwhile, Young London easily helps one find light within the darkness of some cramped club, and Hallucinations creates a nostalgia for memories that haven’t been created yet. Like any epiphany, this album has its strong points and its weak points. Still, as soon as one song stops, you find the silence cannot match the pleasure the music brought you.

These guys can really harness the potency of music; their songs have such emotional power that they have the ability to inspire someone to imagine a better world, and perhaps even work towards shaping that vision into a sparkling reality. While you let yourself get drenched in this album, your head may be filled with images of long, unbroken highways, or the delightful thought of breakthroughs occurring in the minds of the young.

Amazingly, the visionary charge doesn’t stop with the album; Angels and Airwaves is also working on a film of the same name, due to come out sometime this spring. As Tom says of the album and the accompanying film, “It’s the biggest release of my life, the pinnacle of my creativity.”

It’s clear Tom has a vision, and he wants to share it with everyone.

Join in the magic below.

By: Caitlin Hoffman
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Admittedly, I’ve always been wary of the punk pop/emocore mesh scene. I’m all for catchy tunes and skinny jeans, but I never found anything truly satisfactory within that genre. No matter how far I searched, I never found anything that kept me going back for more or hitting the repeat button. That is, until All Time Low.

This band is fresh, young, and clearly jonesing to make some music happen. Their unrestrained lyrics, habit-forming tracks, and appreciatively clever attitude towards the lifestyle they represent all make them a unique band that can do far more than make you bounce up and down to their luscious beat.

Seeing as they started out as a highschool band playing Green Day covers, they’ve really come a long way. In 2009 they were touring with Fall Out Boy, Metro Station, and Cobra Starship, and their first live debut was supporting the Plain White T’s in 2007. Although their first two albums were full of spunk, their third album, Nothing Personal (released in 2009) was the record that really lit up the charts for the group.

Although, like many new pop punk bands, it seems that they’ve been controlled to an extent by different labels, the longer they stay on the music scene, the more control they seem to exert over the choices they make about their musical direction. Even their name implies the fact that they appreciate the classic punk philosophy of admiring the bad and chastising the successful (and it’s obvious they appreciate the irony of the success of punk music as well). It may just seem like they’ve jumped into the spotlight just to goof around, but if you look close enough you can tell that they really love the music they make, and they just want to make their fans happy.

Tongue and cheek and full of flavour, these guys are on their way up, and they’re not going to let anyone bring them down. Listen to Weightless (the song that got me hooked) below.
　

By: Caitlin Hoffman
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

The distant call of a memory you thought was long gone. A cramped, dark room full of strangers dancing in the same directionless, wild rhythm. An instant loss of lucidity. Endless swirls of grey smoke. The undeniable presence of delicious toxicity. These are among the sensations that Die Mannequin can provoke within the mind.

It’s bands like this that give me a glimmer of hope that goth punk has not yet died, and lives within the throats and hearts of singers like ‘Care Failure’, who leads Die Mannequin with her throaty, gorgeous vocals. The rest of the band easily matches up to her rocking expertise, and they all work together to ensure that their music will crash right through you, and leave vast carnage behind them. Whether their lyrics are speaking the harsh truth of twisted love, murderous inclinations, teen angst or drug abuse, they’ll be sure to knock you off your feet.

If you think their songs just blasting from a stereo light up your pleasure centres, believe me, the intoxicating thrall of their energy is set to overload when you see them live. Their last show was in their hometown Toronto, Canada, just at the beginning of this month, where they played with the Trews and others to help raise funds for Haiti.

The rivetting effect that Die Mannequin has doesn’t just stop at their lyrics, songs, or stage presence. Even their music videos manage to attack you with that same startling takeover of your eyes, ears, and mind. The music video for their song ‘Miss Americvnt’ is a gripping, edgy montage depicting all the corruption American society is saturated with, from preoccupation with money and celebrities to the exploitation of women in pop culture. Seeing it was like having my eyes splashed with the truth (fantastic editing). It’s so great to see that not only does Die Mannequin have a great amount of strength musically, but that they understand that women shouldn’t be pressured by the unrealistic measurements of society, and also understand what that pressure leads some women into doing.

Do check out their video below. And, as Care Failure would say, “Thank you from the bottom of my fever.”

By: Caitlin Hoffman
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

I think every Tim Burton fan is looking forward to his version of Alice in Wonderland, due to be released in theatres this March. (I mean, let’s face it, Alice in Wonderland is an acid trip in itself, and to have it tweaked with the deliciously twisty brain cells of Tim Burton is going to be a delight for everyone.) Being a Tim Burton fan myself, I am quite excited, and was especially excited about the score being done by Danny Elfman, as is typical with Tim Burton films. The whimsical, quirky, and sometimes unsettling moods he often produces in his compositions suit my tastes well, and I was eager to discover what he’d come up with to pair with the odd pigment of Alice in Wonderland. I began looking up any leaked info on the soundtrack, only to find out that punk-pop princess Avril Lavigne has made a contribution of her own to the score with a single written especially for the movie.

The song, aptly titled ‘Alice (Underground)’, is to be played as the first song on the end credits of the film. The lyrics evoke the mysterious disconnect of reality that the character Alice no doubt experienced while stumbling about through Wonderland. It seems that Avril has been expanding with her vocals, shown clearly through the breaking chorus line of the song. Her tone expresses the disillusionment of the lyrics perfectly, with a little droplet of pain staining the edges. Although it doesn’t have the uppity edge I was hoping for, it inspires the feeling of glumly overcast skies, and can still be accepted as ‘Tim Burton-esque’.

Avril mentions writing the song in one of her recent blog postings, expressing her excitement for being involved musically in the film as well as saying, “I wanted to come up with something a little on the moodier side to fit his film. I think the piano adds a cool dramatic element to the song.”

Is it moody? Definitely. Does it have that dramatic vibe? Sure. But does the single meet the standards of Danny Elfman’s heart-pumping, mind-bashing scores? Honestly, I don’t think it would be fair to match a skilled composer against a bubblegum punk singer, so I’m just going to bob my head and bite my nails while waiting for the release of the film and its promising soundtrack. Meanwhile, I have time to soak in the enjoyable intensity of Avril’s single. And so do you.

Down the rabbit hole we go!

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Pure pop with a hint of skater boy.

Coming to you from Chicago is THE WHITE TIE AFFAIR, a pop rock band who has a wide range of influences including: Prince, Stevie Wonder, AFI, and The Police.

The music is hook driven, enough so to land them on an episode of a show in which I hate (so much I refuse to mention it)–the show, clearly stirring up much needed attention for the band who seems to be having a hard time taking off.

Check out TAKE IT HOME below.

PS: The show is on MTV and rhymes with PILLS!

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Get your hairbrushes and air guitars ready…

Introducing HIT THE LIGHTS!

Check out the band’s cover of the 80’s classic HOW WILL I KNOW by Whitney Houston.

I find it very interesting that the band did not change “he” to “she”…hmmm?

Update: The Whitney cover was removed (lame), so instead check out the official music video for Drop the Girl, below.