entertainment

Top 30 Favorite Songs of All Time: #30 “This Too Shall Pass” by OK Go

You guys and gals ready? It’s high time for me to kick off my Top 30 Favorite Songs of All Time (in no particular order, posts are just numbered from 30 to 1). I decided to start this column on the 2nd of March due to the fact that March is a 31 day month.

OK Go is a band known for going all out with their music videos (expect at least 2 or 3 of their songs here on this majestic list), and “This Too Shall Pass” has over 39 million views on YouTube, not including all those lyric videos that have at least 500 thousand views each.

The song is really catchy and is one of those that you can’t help but bob your head to the beat. If you listen closely, you’ll hear a trumpet in the song, and in fact, I’ve began to see a trend that songs that have a trumpet in them tend to please my ears a lot more. I’ll expand on this later. You’ll see for yourself, as well.

The music video for “This Too Shall Pass” is insane; it involves a Rube Goldberg machine and lots and lots of colors. In the wise words of one of my favorite artists, Kanye West, “That shit cray.” You’ll say something along those lines, too, once you’ve laid your peepers on this insane production.

The music video for “This Too Shall Pass” :

Earworm: “Nothing Like Us” by Justin Bieber

It’s a first, ladies and gentlemen.

The first Justin Bieber song to ever make it to the Earworm category.

A moment of silence for the amount of respect The Big Cheese had for me, because it probably all died in the moment he read the title of this post.

I highly doubt that I’ll be a fan of his work from this moment on, but Justin Bieber does deserve some respect. Gotta admit, he can sing (this is subjective), regardless of how feminine he may sound. Now, his chart topping pop songs are ridiculously irritating, but who are we to talk? He’s rich, has talent (which, again, is subjective), and probably gets more girls in one day than any of us do in a year.

I don’t mind Bieber anymore actually, but I do not like those Beliebers. They’re horrendous. No offense if you are one. But I very much dislike you.

The only reason I’d caught wind of this song at all (again, I don’t follow the Biebz), is because of a few of my favorite YouTubers making covers of the song. I first heard the AJ Rafael and Cathy Nguyen version, then I listened to the JR Aquino rendition, and I didn’t think the lyrics were too tacky, so I decided to give it a listen.

To my surprise, I actually didn’t hate it. In fact, I liked it. It wasn’t stupid, and his voice wasn’t highly annoying for once, so I gave it a chance to settle in my brain.

Soon enough, it joined my Spotify playlist, much to my chagrin.

Anyway.

Here’s the song.

AJ Rafael & Cathy Nguyen

JR Aquino

End: 2012.

Guys, we did it.

We survived 2012, and we get to live the rest of our lives.

I think I’ll take the time to actually run through a list of things I accomplished this year. Trust me, it’ll be a short list.

  • Watched the Doctor Who revamp in completion and am up to date with the show at Series 7 part 2
  • Watched both series of the miniseries BBC Masterpiece: Sherlock and am actually not confused but awaiting the next series
  • Opened my ears to more musical genres
  • Hit 6 ft in height
  • Made the decision to strive for art as a career
  • Live without the past.

I can’t stress enough that 2012 may have been the most unexciting year in my life, but it really is the year that I felt most human. Most vulnerable and curious and obviously the year I felt most mature.

I’m glad to have been able to share my musical tastes with you, our audience. I hope to continue to update you of my Earworms and just things I find interesting.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Earworm: “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz

Funny rap songs. I’m in.

Funny rap songs with meaning behind them? Even better.

The last verse of this catchy and hilarious song actually makes so much sense. Why pay so much money to buy something that won’t even make you look unique? It’s not like buying expensive clothes get you the ladies (or men, or, hell, both). Yeah, the style might help.

But why pay full price? Thrift Shop. This is fucking awesome.

This earworm is literally embedded in my head. I can’t stop singing the hook, and the rapping is actually really smooth. I can dig it.

 

Earworm: “My Body” by Young the Giant

Nothing but good things have been spewing from the depths of Spotify’s radio station based off of artist Foster the People (except for the occasional Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj garbage due to Foster the People’s mainstream popularity).

My listening to Young the Giant is a byproduct of my listening to Foster the People. And I don’t regret it.

The song that’s been festering in my mind for a bit now is My Body.

On their Remix EP, the song is remixed by one of my favorite bands, Two Door Cinema Club.

Earworm: “Chelsea Dagger” by The Fratellis

Ah, rock and roll. The good old image of unkempt men, playing their loud music in small rooms, thrashing venues and getting chicks.

This song is just fantastic. The catchy chorus that is easily sung can improve anyone’s mood.

It reminds me of The Strokes and maybe The Killers.

Have a listen. (I’d advise opening a new tab while listening to this, the video is NSFW due to its sexual nature and semi-nudity. Plus the band doesn’t look too appealing. But their musical skills are great. so listen.)

Earworm: “I Can’t Make You Love Me/Nick of Time” by Bon Iver

“Justin Vernon’s voice could cure AIDS… Fact.”

Wow. All I can say is wow. His voice is magnificent, and I only got into the indie folk band’s music when I started using Spotify, a few weeks ago.

No wonder they won a Grammy. (As if awards really mean a person/group is talented…)

Have a listen. Somehow the piano just makes me… Feel.

Earworm: “Welcome Home” by Radical Face

A smooth and relaxing song for you guys.

The soft guitar and clapping really make me feel happy. The song’s music video is trippy, honestly. Out of focus shots, slow movements…

Enjoy the song!

Question: Do you like the new YouTube layout?

YouTube seems to have taken a major step in pushing subscriptions. When you subscribe to a YouTuber, their new videos get sent automatically to your subscription inbox. You primarily see the videos they upload.

You’ve always been able to do this. YouTube has always been about the user and the subscriber, sharing videos, ultimately in a way that you get to watch things that you want to watch without having to try.

Usually, YouTube does a great job with their subscriptions, albeit there are some discrepancies. Sometimes the videos don’t get pushed to your subscription inbox.

What has YouTube done that makes me want to spark this discussion? They’ve changed their entire layout. They’ve introduced something called the guide, where they are heavily pushing your subscriptions to avoid these discrepancies.

I personally like this guide concept. The new minimalist approach to YouTube is stellar. I love the way it looks (on different computers, it may look different. On my Google Chrome on my Windows 7, it looks beautiful. It happens to look horrendous on Google Chrome on my Linux Ubuntu 11.) and is definitely a good improvement.

I really do wish, however, that they implemented the use of themes. Maybe a dark theme, because there is so much white space, and that looks terrible on HD monitors.

What do you guys think? Let us know how you feel about the new YouTube layout in the comment section!

Earworm: “Go To Hell” by Go Radio

Probably the most polite “fuck you” video out there. Enjoy the voice on Jason Lancaster. It’s beautiful