Artists Writing For Each Other Makes For Great Music

British pop star Jessie J co-wrote Miley Cyrus’s infectious classic “Party in the USA.” One Republic frontman Ryan Tedder is also a prominent songwriter and producer, crafting tracks for the likes of Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson, and Adele. Even Ke$amp;ha has gotten into the writing-music-for-others game, taking a co-writer credit on Britney Spears’s “Till the World Ends.”

Sometimes just knowing that an already-famous artist wrote a song for someone else is enough to deepen your appreciation for that song. That applies specifically to my renewed love for Beyonce’s “I Miss You,” a track off the recently-released 4 and written by up-and-coming R&B star, Frank Ocean.

A pretty simple track, for sure, but BEAUTIFUL. I randomly read that Frank Ocean wrote it a week or so ago and it made me become randomly obsessed with it. He even performed his own version of it at a show he did in New Orleans last week.

So…yeah. One awesome track performed by two incredibly talented musicians.

Y’all have a great week, yeah?

Josh

Weekend of Leaks: Drake, Childish Gambino, AND Birdy!

I’m not sure about all y’all, but the world of music was very kind to me over the weekend. THREE of my most anticipated albums of the year leaked, giving me a ton of new tracks to keep me patient for at least another week or so.

It’s been over a year since Drake released his last offering, Thank Me Later, and his follow-up album is certainly something to get excited about. I’ve only listened through it a couple times so far, and the major standout for me is the sexy title track with Rihanna, “Take Care.”

Childish Gambino is Community star Donald Glover‘s rap project and he’s finally releasing his debut album after a string of mixtapes and EPs. Camp has Glover constantly testing out new genres to accomodate his hilarious and poignant raps. “Heartbeat” goes hard with a legit electronic beat and is definitely worth a listen.

Birdy is a 15-year old British phenom that y’all clearly need to know about. She grabbed major attention last year with her cover of Bon Iver‘s “Skinny Love” and she continues that trend of fascinating covers on her debut album (all tracks except for one are covers). My favorite, a beautiful version of The National‘s “Terrible Love,” was nowhere on YouTube, but I was able to find her equally beautiful rendition of The xx‘s “Shelter.”

That’s it for this week, hope y’all enjoyed the tracks!

Josh

Embrace the Heartbreak: Two new covers to reduce you to tears

This might already be obvious to those who have read my previous posts, but I have a serious thing for covers. In keeping with that, I nearly burst into tears upon checking out this beautifully harmonic cover of Bon Iver‘s “Blindsided.”

I can’t say I’m too familiar with Jose Vanders (who takes lead vocals on this) and Luke Leighfield, two relatively obscure British singer-songwriters, but apparently the two have been working on a joint project for some time. I’ve yet to explore either’s solo works, but color me interested if any of it can live up to this brilliance.

Next, yet another cover that may or may not reduce you to tears.

Coeur de Pirate, a Canadian pop singer who mainly sings in French, is one of my personal faves and this here cover of The Weeknd‘s “Wicked Game” breaks my heart in a million and one little pieces. Therefore, I love love love it. Sue me, I’m a masochist.

That’s it for this week. Keep checking the blog for new posts from my fellow coworkers, yeah?

Josh

Introducing… Mree, your new favorite YouTube artist!

YouTube functions as a haven for aspiring musicians, that is to be sure,  but the level on talent exhibited on there is oftentimes very questionable. Once in a while, though, I’ll find someone absolutely brilliant.

Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to be stunned by the beautiful perfection that is Marie Hsiao‘s voice. Performing under the name Mree on her YouTube channel, she frequently releases videos showcasing covers and original songs. It was this flawless Bon Iver medley posted below that first caught my attention.

As further proof of Mree‘s brilliance, here goes her immaculate cover of the Elvis Presley classic, “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

All of her videos can be checked out  at http://www.youtube.com/user/mreebee3

Two days past its release, are you still in love with “Judas”?

The Internet almost broke on Friday, April 15.

A short low-quality clip of Lady Gaga‘s upcoming single, “Judas,” was leaked online and immediately spread like wildfire. Originally scheduled to be released on April 19, the clip had fans clamoring for more and Gaga responded by releasing the song to iTunes later that day.

The results of the unending hype? A potential classic pop song driven by an incredibly danceable beat. Musically, it evokes a feeling of “Bad Romance 2.0.” I’ve never been one to spend much time analyzing lyrics, but the song successfully straddles the line between catchy and random. The chorus is simple to learn and there’s still a bizzarre bridge to laugh at when she says, “Judas kiss me if offenced or wear ear condom next time.”

Gaga herself recently co-directed the music video for the single with master choreographer Laurieann Gibson, though a timetable for its release is currently unknown. The track’s source album, Born This Way, drops May 23.

Almost as soon as the track hit the Internet, covers started appearing all over the place. I came across this one yesterday and was stunned at how it manages to reinvent the song as a keyboard-led masterpiece. It’s too bad artist Mitch Moffit has no other videos that showcase his talent at the level he exhibits in this video, but it doesn’t take away any of the brilliance of this particular YouTube cover. Watch and enjoy!