Arcade Fire are such great innovators and they’ve scored again with their interactive video for “We Used To Wait”. I’m not quite sure if it is technically a music video, but it’s a great piece by Chris Milk called “The Wilderness Downtown” that features “We Used to Wait” by Arcade Fire.
I just spent the last hour playing with this interactive music video. It is genius! I can’t believe no one thought of this before. Check it out yourself….
It really does work best with Google Chrome, but regardless of what browser you use, it’s genius and uber creative. Well done!
“Mad World” sung by Gary Jules has always been a favorite of mine. It’s such a great dark song. It was originally performed by Tears For Fears in 1982, with a heavy synthesized backing the track. The version recorded by Gary Jules for the movie Donnie Darko is dark, with vocals by Gary Jules accompanied only by a piano and cello.
The lyrics are very vivid and dark. There are two lines in particular that strike a chord with me, “And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad, the dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had”, and “children waiting for the day they feel good, happy birthday, happy birthday”. So beautiful!
This is the perfect song to listen to when I’ve had a stressful day or on a gloomy day; it always puts in a pensive mood. It’s such a beautiful song.
And more X-Factor releases. In 2007, Same Difference (brother and sister Sean and Sarah Smith) made it to the semi-finals of X-Factor, finishing in 3rd place, with Rhydian Roberts coming in second, and Leon Jackson winning the title. Same Difference released an album post X-Factor called Pop in 2008. The album was pop indeed, and very youthful pop, generating comparison to S Club 7 and High School Musical.
Sean and Sarah are back with a new single, “Shine On Forever (Photo Frame)” which was released world-wide yesterday. Their sound and look is more mature, no longer catering to kids, but young adults. They are now being compared to the likes of Katy Perry, JLS and Kylie.
“Shine On Forever (Photo Frame)” is as catchy as pop can get. It’s instantly stuck in my head as my head bobs back and forth to the beat. It’s been getting great reviews and has been well received. Hopefully it will chart well and will help re-launch their career. As seen on X-Factor, Sean and Sarah are not only talented singers, but they work tremendously hard and are incredibly kind, caring and humble. Their debut album was a bit too pop for me, but I really enjoy this new mature sound and am excited for their future.
And for good measure, here’s their audition from 2007… They were soooo annoying, but talented and likable at the same time. The judges comments are so hilarious, and spot on.
Simon Cowell says, “You are possibly two of the most annoying people I’ve ever met”… little did he know Jedward was in his future…
