You & I

I can't believe it has taken me a week to discuss One Direction's "You & I" music video.

It's amaZAYN, phenomeNIALL, BrilLIAM, fabuLOUIS, and extraordinHARRY.  Yes, I just did that.

The video takes place on a mile long pier with a pretty grey color scheme, although the five boys brighten up the screen with their gorgeous faces.

It starts with Niall, singing his solo.  Liam follows Niall, but instead of just having Liam come up on the screen, Ben Winston, being the excellent director that he is, morphs each member into the next.  Niall looks down and becomes Liam as he looks up.  Liam moves his hand down in front of his face and becomes Harry.  Harry turns around and becomes Zayn (this part gives me goosebumps because the music changes and I think it is the best morph done in the whole video).  Zayn turns to the side and becomes Louis.  And Louis places his hand directly in front of his face to go back to Harry.

But there has been a lot of talk that One Direction has "plagiarized" Australian company Oh Yeah Wow's "freeze frame effect," which they claim they created.

I think if anyone created the "freeze frame" it would be the J. Geils Band.

That's my sense of humor.

But really, the idea of freeze framing has been around for a long time.  Nice try!

Yes, plagiarism is an issue we need to watch out for these days since the creation of computers and the internet, but I don't think I see plagiarism here, I see this as imitation.  Isn't imitation the finest form of flattery?

Leave my Brits alone.

[Source:  YouTube]

Wild Wild Love

I first heard the Pitbull song "Wild Wild Love" on my way home from the Miley concert.  The song features girl group G.R.L.  Their voices sound amazing together, I'll put it that way.

G.R.L. is an American-British-Canadian girl group that consists of Emmalyn Estrada, Simone Battle, Paula Van Oppen, Lauren Bennett (former member of Robin Antin's Paradiso Girls and feature in LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem"), and Natasha Slayton.

Robin Antin, the creator of the group, originally put the girls together to be the new line-up of her 1995 creation the Pussycat Dolls after the previous members parted ways in 2010, but decided to just create a whole new group instead of replacing a previously successful one.

I love the way the girls sound in Pitbull's new single.

[Source:  YouTube]

Bitchcraft

When I was nine I was in love with Drake Bell.  Drake & Josh was a huge show where he co-starred with Josh Peck.  In the show Drake was in a band and loved music.  Drake sang "I Found a Way," the theme for the show, and later on throughout the show presented the audience with some other songs.  Being the huge fan I was, I had DVDs, CDs, magazines, and saw every single episode.  Call me devoted.

So Drake has released several albums in the past, but his debut album (and in my opinion his best) can no longer be found on iTunes, which is a little strange.  I am aware that because it was an independent album, they did run out of print and had to be re-released two years later, but just because that's what I read does not mean it's true.  The internet, in fact, is NOT always right.

That album, Telegraph (2005), featured:

1. Intro
2. Found a Way - the theme for Drake & Josh (can also be found on the Drake & Josh soundtrack)
3. Circles
4. Somehow
5. In the End
6. Don't Preach
7. Hollywood Girl - was featured in the TV movie Drake & Josh Go Hollywood (can also be found on the Drake & Josh soundtrack)
8. Golden Days
9. Down We Fall - was featured in the episode "Number One Fan" (can also be found on the Drake & Josh soundtrack)
10. The Backhouse
11. Highway to Nowhere - he performed this song on an episode of Zoey 101, another show created by Dan Schneider, the creator of The Amanda Show, iCarly, Drake & Josh, and other hit Nickelodeon TV shows (can also be found on the Drake & Josh soundtrack)
12. Telegraph

For those of you who watched iCarly, Drake can also be heard as a background singer behind Miranda Cosgrove (the star of iCarly who also played Drake and Josh's little sister in Drake & Josh) in the theme song for the show, "Leave It All To Me."

Drake and Josh also covered the song "Soul Man" for their episode "Blues Brothers."

[Source:  YouTube]

[Source:  YouTube]

[Source:  YouTube]

[Source:  YouTube]

[Source:  YouTube]

You may be wondering why I am bringing up the talented star.  It's because he has a new album Ready Steady Go! which is set to be released Tuesday, April 22nd.  One track has been released on iTunes thus far and it is called "Bitchcraft."  Being as though it has been years since he has released an album, you would think his sound would have changed a tiny bit.  It has.  You can tell he has really matured as a singer and songwriter, but he still sounds like Drake Bell, which is what I like.

I'm curious to hear what the rest of the album sound likes, so I plan on buying it during its first week of release.

Disconnected

I was listening to "Disconnected" by 5 Seconds of Summer from their recent EP She Looks So Perfect and I made an intellectual discovery.

The song sounds extremely similar to The 1975.

[Source:  YouTube]

Just listen to even the first five seconds.  Now listen to "Girls" by the 1975.

[Source:  YouTube]

The 1975 has a very distinct electric guitar sound that 5 Seconds of Summer displays in that song and that song only.

And coincidentally, both bands consist of four guys.  Hmm, some food for thought.

Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.

[Source:  Google]

I spent my day in Asbury Park, NJ, the topic of Bruce Springsteen's debut studio album.

The record was released on January 5, 1973 through Columbia.  It has nine tracks:

Side One:

1. Blinded by the Light*
2. Growin' Up
3. Mary Queen of Arkansas
4. Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
5. Lost in the Flood

Side Two:

1. The Angel
2. For You
3. Spirit in the Night*
4. It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City

*Singles

You would think the album would've sold thousands because, well, it's The Boss.  Actually, it only sold about 25,000 copies in the first year.

But despite the poor first year sales, the album was ranked by Rolling Stone as #379 on their list of 500 greatest albums of all time.  They also ranked it as 37 on their list of greatest debut albums.

His E Street Band consisted of Clarence Clemons (clapping, saxophone, vocals), Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez (clapping, drums, vocals), David Sancious (keyboard, organ, piano), Bruce Springsteen (acoustic guitar, bass guitar, clapping, congas, electric guitar, harmonica, keyboard, piano, vocals), and Garry Tallent (bass guitar).

Steven Van Zandt was the sound effect expert for "Lost in the Flood," Richard Davis played the upright double bass on "The Angel," and Harold Wheeler played the piano on "Blinded By the Light" and "Spirit in the Night."