Posts Tagged ‘Visual’

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Lil Wayne’s genius has taken a more vulnerable, sensitive approach lately, and I freakin’ love it! With his recent emotional smash How To Love, to his just-released video with crooner Bruno Mars, Weezy is letting us into the heart that lies behind his hard, tattooed exterior.

The brand spankin’ new pairing with Mars, on the track Mirror, is fresh to death with genuine real talk. The 29-year-old rap prodigy reflects on his life while splashing paint, revealing a self portrait in the end.

Watch the diamond-grilled rapper get all touchy-feely below.

By: Maria Ciezak
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Okay, so I may be a little late on this, but I am a recent supporter of UK duo The Big Pink. Back in 2009, the group released their debut album A Brief History of Love, which I wish I had given more attention to, but hey, that’s the beauty of music — it’s never too late to give your ears some foreplay. (Their sophomore release, Future This, is now on my to-do list.)

I am currently focusing on the strike with lead single Stay Gold. It has a hip hop drum pattern with a little electro feel. Song Facts explains that the song’s title is a phrase meaning “keep true to yourself” or “preserve your innocence,” which was originally used in Robert Frost’s 1923 poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay.

Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell drop the hazy pathos and opt instead for slick beats and a trip-hop edge. I could listen to this on repeat for days! On to the rest of the album!

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

For making this God-awful video! This is just a pain to watch. The song is definitely not her best effort either. It sorta sucks balls. Sorry for the college frat boy review, but seriously, my brain is fried after watching this shiz.

On the plus side…

Actually, there isn’t a plus side.

Watch at your own risk, suckas!

By: Maria Ciezak
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Nothing else enhances my week quite like discovering free singles on iTunes. This week, it’s Swedish duo First Aid Kit, and their single Emmylou (off of their record Lion’s Roar). I am totally intrigued with this number. The single pays tribute to some of the girls’ favorite country musicians, including: Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, June Carter and Johnny Cash.

Two sisters with a robust love for folk, indie, country, and most of all, kick ass harmony. I recollect hearing of these girls when they did a stunning cover of The Fleet Foxes, resulting in a huge internet fan base. Maybe it’s me, but this tune puts me in a state of widespread calmness. Check it out.

By: Caitlin Hoffman
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

My favourite Canadian rock boys are back with a new single, and a new break onto the charts. Their latest splash in the sea, Am I Wasting My Life, is a throbbing, honest piece.

My Sister Ocean has injected me with musical morphine. Again.

This song is an affront on apathy; the listener is forced to reconsider, reevaluate. The vocals hit you like air-borne alcohol. From the tip of the drumsticks to the vibrating guitar, all resonates with a heavy dose of reality. The song makes me taste smoke. I see lonely roadways lit up with the eerie glow of streetlights. I hear a soul seeking clarification. It’s the purest beauty, and the most devastating pain.

Thus far, the single has hit #50 on the Canadian Active Rock Charts, a first for this budding talent. Let’s push them even higher up the scale.

[Related Post: Duo To Watch: My Sister Ocean]

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

I’ve been wanting to share this for awhile but never knew when the moment was right. Today feels right.

2 years or so ago, I asked a close friend about how he felt when Obama was elected and I remember his exact words because they moved me so much: “You know when you’re a kid and you’re told you can be anything you want to be when you grow up? Well, being black, I knew that was a lie because I could never be President. But then Obama showed up and he changed all that.”

Today we celebrate more than equality. We celebrate the freedom to choose.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Lesson of the day, cumquats!

Fact: This is how Lana Del Rey got her name.

Lana Turner + Ford Del Rey. Very hipster-y, of course.

That’s it, kids. See, learn something new every damn day if you read BTB!

[Related Post: Brooklyn Is The Bee's Knees, Obvi]

By: Maria Ciezak
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

I’ve been scoping out some fresh talent these days and pleasingly landed on a British dynamic duo (Jeremy and Elizabeth) called Summer Camp. Their album Welcome to Condale was released in November and has received great reviews as one of the best albums of the year in many musical publications. It’s got that glow sound of the ’80s, all while keeping it current and fresh at the same time.

Check out one of the many attractive tracks off of this release, called Down. The video is just as cool as the jam!

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

[Photo Cred: Marina Nikitina]

This summer, on my daily commute around the city that never sleeps, I stumbled upon a diamond in the rough. Turns out, the diamond was/still is the best artist I’ve seen perform acoustically in the underground world of New York City. To read more on this day of discovery click the related post link below, which features the awesomeness of Freddy Marx Street.

Now, the Ukrainian-born singer/songwriter has independently released his debut music video and, as expected, it’s breathtaking.

When I asked Max (a name he prefers to be called) to give his perspective on the clip, this is how he responded:

“Well, the song is about life. And how it always changes after everything… It’s good because that means you are on the way. Some words in the song are dedicated to my sister’s little daughter. I was writing that song when she was borning (but I knew nothing about that). By the way, in the video, that baby is not my sister’s. So the video shows that you can choose to live in your own little cold world with its thick walls or to leave it for real life with more “air” and colors. But you need to let someone help you. And sometimes THAT is one of the greatest challenges of your life. You think that you know everything, you are so aware…”

The stunning video was filmed at Grebnevs’ estate in Russia and by the walls of the Penal Colony-43 in the Ukraine. The clip was directed by Marina Nikitina, who also took the artist photo above.

I cannot wait to see what blossoms from this talented soul in the future.

Please watch + pass along! Support quality indie artists like Max!

[Related Post: Exclusive Interview: Freddy Marx Street]

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

I throw on my cowboy hat, lace bodysuit, and kick it Shania Twain style. (That’s a joke, people. I don’t own a cowboy hat.)

Speaking of, I’m gonna need a new Shania album STAT!

Someone get on that.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

OK, guys. So y’all know how much I like this cholita, right? Well, yeah. I pretty much think she’s the bee’s knees! But up until recently I had not seen interviews with this Brooklyn bombshell, the fly glamour girl who stole our hearts with the nostalgic Video Games.

That’s starting to change now that the buzz surrounding Lana Del Rey is building into a full-fledged swarm.

Fresh off the press is the release date of her debut album Born To Die, which is set to drop on January 31, 2012 via Interscope Records. Video Games (Lana’s first single) hit the #1 position on iTunes in 9 countries, including the UK, Australia, Holland and France.

Says Lana: “The songs I’ve written are an homage to true love and a tribute to living life on the wild side.”

A new music video for the title-track, Born To Die, is being shot and will be released in the near future, concept conceived by Lana herself and directed by Woodkid.

Interview + audio below.

Oh! And for all those people bashing this girl, check yourself before you wreck yourself! God, I’m so full of wizdum it’s not even funny.

[Related Post: Meet Lana Del Rey]

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

I was lucky enough to be in the audience while this was being shot. Yup, I was there! Get it? I was there! Anyways, I totally cried. The song is Beyonce’s most moving, in my opinion — so feeling that, while being there in the moment was emotional overload. I’m not even kidding.

Beyonce’s Live At Roseland: Elements of 4 DVD is out now!

See the beautiful moment transpire below.

[Related Post: Beyonce Loves Her 'Brave' Gay Fans]

[Related Post: Beyonce Gets Intimate With '4' Showcase]

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

“This song is about standing up for whatever it is you believe in. For me it’s music. For a lot of the people in this video, it’s freedom. Freedom of equal rights, of religion, of peace or of speech. I went to the protests downtown LA and watched the footage online of similar protests around the world and it inspired me. As an artist navigating your way through the music industry there are so many things standing in your way. Time and time again I have had to fight for the things I believe in. When I first moved to New York from Toronto I would play guitar and sing in lobbies of record companies, on the streets and in subways. Little did I know getting signed was just the beginning. Since then I have been pushing for everything from the music I want to making the artwork on this single, to keeping this song on my album. These videos struck a chord with me because the passion I saw resonated with my own. No matter how big or small the cause, passion is passion. I am in no way promoting anarchy or violence. I’m simply in awe of the human spirit and the lengths people will go to stand up for they believe in… stand behind the music.”

–Anjulie

Stand Behind The Music is available on iTunes on December 13th.

[Related Post: Protestin' Like A Boss!]

By: Caitlin Hoffman
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Bell X1: a band that’s content making a stream of steady music. They are Irish lads who have been loyal to the art since who-knows-how-long. They bring an elemental poignancy to indie rock I have not yet seen before. And that’s quite nice. Just when I think indie rock is bordering on cliche, a new (or old) act steps up and grabs me.

Recently, they found themselves touring about New York and couldn’t help but be drawn to the magnetic, odd allure of the Occupy protests. This was their thought on it: “…It actually had a real festival feel; there were some drummers and horn players throwing it down. Noise about all these ills is better than no noise.”

Love it. What’s more, their new song Sugar High is all about these dear old corruptions our world is facing.

I dig this groove. It’s energetic, incredibly powerful, but also very sad. I adore it when people use their talent to spread a message, to get people talking and thinking about what’s happening in the world. And the lyrics hit me hard…

“Let’s build all this shit no one’s ever gonna buy, When we come ‘round we’ll blame the sugar high, And act all sheepish and kinda sorry-ish…”

“Free to those who can afford it, To those who can afford it, Very dear to those who can’t, Those who can’t…”

Bracing, beautiful, breaking.
　

By: Caitlin Hoffman
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

“The people you’re after are the people you depend on. We cook your food, we haul your trash, we connect your calls, we drive your ambulances. We guard you while you sleep. Do not fuck with us.”

-Tyler Durden, Fight Club

If you look at it logically, we have the power. We’ve got the majority of the vote, the more manpower, and the most potential. The working class, the bourgeois, even the proletarians have been cited again and again as the untapped resource of the world, the key to social revolution. So how come every cubicle boy with his briefcase and every cleaning lady with her hairnet feel nothing but demoralized and degraded?

Where did the power go?

When I was growing up, everyone wanted to be doctors, teachers, firefighters, charity workers. As children, we had our priorities figured out! We wanted to embrace careers that helped people, careers that involved exploration and creativity.

So how come we grew up, got saddled with a shit-storm of a desk job and forgot about those ideals we used to so proudly hold? How did we go from idolizing teachers and nurses to coveting the lives of businessmen and billionaires?

It’s the formula, kids. The formula that keeps us working class ‘where we belong’.

Oh, you don’t know the formula? The formula is a time-honoured concoction pushed forth by the top one percentile to ensure that the majority will never revolt and make society their own.

It is applied as follows:

Step One. Go to school. Distract yourself with games and gossip, socialization and alienation.

Step Two. Graduate. Distract yourself with career goals, getting an apartment, going to parties, getting a girlfriend, having a good time.

Step Three. Get a job/go to college. Distract yourself with debt, menial labour, sex, and your choice of socially acceptable self-medication.

Step Four. Get married. Distract yourself with meagre relational squabbles, pumping out kids, balancing the budget, and continuing to abuse your choice of socially accepted drugs.

Step Five. Die before you have a chance to make a change.

This is the Game of Life for the working class, and the Top Five are intent on us keeping our pieces on the board. If we stray away, they freak. When we explore art, protests, activism, charity work or fighting against the status quo, it upsets the balance of our carefully crafted depression. But not to worry: that’s what prisons are for.

So, why does the formula work? That’s easy. It’s a potent combination of sedatives, diversions, and dwindling dreams. The number one percentile erases our socially-oriented goals and replaces them with less positive, more selfishly driven ideals. (Thank the profit motive for that, I guess.)

We replace the weekends at a dog shelter or soup kitchen with playing video games or going to the bar. We give up on being a playwright and get a job writing for a fashion magazine instead. The Top Five knows it’s exhausting to fight against their current of commercialism, and they know that we’re going to give up.

They know we’re going to shuffle through our mediocre lives, content with being discontented. They know we’ll keep pushing, secretly hoping that all those dreams they’re selling us are going to come true.

Humans used to depend on the struggle to survive. We had to be constantly out-thinking predators and outsmarting competition in order to thrive. Now, there is no need for such struggle. The only toil we have is found in maintaining our pay-cheques and keeping our taxes in tow. Everything else is automatic, instant, delivered. We have fast food and ‘for a limited time only’ sales promotions. We don’t know how to wait, and we don’t know how to work towards something better.

If someone’s handing me a greasy slab of dead cow for only a dollar, why should I waste time growing veggies in my backyard? If the company that tests on animals gets me the shine I like on my lips for less money, why waste time finding an organic, cruelty-free company?

I get it. We’re tired. They’ve swamped us with unattainable desires. We see nothing but cars we can’t afford, bodies we’ll never have, and holidays we don’t have time to take. They’ve got us chasing our shadow, and worst of all, they’ve got us liking it.

But we can’t stay stuck in the formula. We have to take the power back.

The best way to rip yourself from the status quo? Get thinking. Get talking. Look up articles, immerse yourself in politics, buy from thrift stores, learn to bake, learn a different language, seek out an alternate opinion. Start running. Walk dogs. Read labels. Bring up controversial issues. Look over the leaflet before you throw it away. Stare at the stars. Stay up late. Get up early. Find a job you actually enjoy.

We need to learn to embrace our fear. Maybe it’s easy living inside the formula, but life gets a whole lot better if you try stepping out of it.

Maybe if we harnessed our power, someone would fucking listen.

And I wouldn’t just be some irate little girl ranting to the computer at two o’clock in the morning. Maybe I’d actually be a part of something.