Bulletproof -- La Roux

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  Song: Bulletproof
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  Artist: La Roux
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  Album: La Roux
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  Rating: 1 Star

La Roux's single, Bulletproof, is a catchy and subsequently popular song.  However, does the song's quality measure up to its popularity?

Bulletproof is about a woman that has been in a relationship tht left her saddened and broken.  In the chorus, she vows again and again , that next time she will be strong, and that nothing like this will shake her again.  When he tries to renew their relationship, she refuses, knowing it would only have bad results.

Although Bulletproof is catchy, it has several problems.  One is the grading vocal techniques, and another is the overly-repeated chorus.  In fact, much of the song is spent saying, "this time, baby, I'll be bulletproof."  This issue definitely takes its toll on the song.  After the first thirty or forty second it becomes almost unbearable to continue listening.  Another problem is the poor recording work.  The song is recorded in a very badly executed, raw style.  At times Bulletproof sound like the work of an eight year old left alone in a recording studio.  In short, this is a song badly executed and under produced.  Clearly the result of a catchy chorus, Bulletproof's fame will be heretofore short-lived.

For more artist information, go to www.laroux.co.uk/.

Space Bound -- Eminem

• Song: Space Bound
• Artist: Eminem
• Album: Recovery
• Rating: 4 Stars

Most of Eminem's best songs have a slow beat and talk about more serious personal problems, and Space Bound is no exception.  A song from his 2010 album, Recovery, Space Bound discusses the difficulties of opening up to someone and the heartbreak of a breakup.

 In Space Bound, a man meets a woman, and as soon as he does, he wonders what a relationship with her would be like.  He has been hurt in relationships before but she has gained his trust.  He has been living alone for a long time, and he chose that life.  It has been an emotionless, cold, existance.  He loves her, and tells her not to toy with his emotions because he would not be able to handle it.  He will do whatever he must to be with her, but he is still worried that it will end, as his relationships always have before.  After 18 months, she breaks up with him, and he is crushed.  He begs her not to leave, but she will not listen.  He had let down his guard, and, once again, he has been hurt.  He tries to kill her, but cannont.  He tells her that he would have done anything for her, that he loved her, and asks her to think of him wheneer she sees the stars.  He then committs suicide.

Space Bound has a depressed sound created by an acoustic guitar combined with a slow and steady foreground beat.  This sound is complimented by other instruments which create a tear-drop-like sound.  THe chorus of the song is performed in a high-pitched futuristic tone which seperates itself from the other lyrics to describe the man's feeling for the woman.  The bridge of the song has a sound of difinity and finality which excellently completes the song.  Space Bound is a wonderfully performed and well-excecuted song seemingly destined for singleship.

All The Right Moves -- One Republic

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  Song: All The Right Moves
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  Artist: One Republic
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  Album: Waking Up
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  Rating: 4 1/2 Stars

In Spring this year One Republic released their single, All The Right Moves.  A song about inter-class relationship struggles, All The Right Moves peaked at 18 on the Billboar Hot 100, and has broken several North American music records.

All The Right Moves is about a poor man and a wealthy woman.  He does not have the right friends or the resources to get to her.  Her family has it better than he could imagine, and she has a chance in that life to make something of herself, but she wants to be with him.  They are trying to find a way to be together, and while they are making progress in their relationship he knows that her family will not let them get too far.  Her family has all of the connections, and he knows the two of them do not have a chance.  Everyone knows it too.  He asks her if she thinks that he is good enough for her, and what she thinks will happen.  They both know that the outlook is grim; He tells her that it can never work because they are so different, and everyone knows it.

The music sounds almost like the music of an old-time dance, which effectively portrays the image of people trying to make something work, and of trying to get around the issues being faced.  It has a strong beat, and the vocals are done in a style which makes the singer sound almost desperate, towards the end of the song moving into a confident sorrow.  The music excellently supports the lyrics, allowing the violins of the background to be overcome by the heavy sound of the drums and electrical instruments.  Almost like the sadness and desperation of the situation overshadowing all else.  At the end of the song, only the violins remain, as if to say that the battle was lost.  All The Right Moves is an excellently performed and moving song about the pressures of inter-class relationships.

Brick By Boring Brick -- Paramore

• Song: Brick By Boring Brick
• Artist: Paramore
• Album: Brand New Eyes
• Rating: 4 1/2 Stars

One of the shining stars of alternative music, Paramore boasts of one of the genre's best female vocalists, Haley Williams.  In their single, Brick By Boring Brick, Paramore tackles difficult issues of deeply-rooted pain and feal of release.

In Brick By Boring Brick, Haley is singing to a woman that has been hurt by people and the world.  The woman has built up a world where nobody can reach her to hurt her.  She has put reality out of here mind, and she cannot see the way things are because she is viewing them in the perspective of someone that has been hurt.  When someone challenges that view, she lashes out.  Haley wants her ti come back to the way things are, and to forget the fantasy world because it is just hurting her more.  Someone noticed her, and it seemed as though he was going to save her, but it did not work out.  The song talks about building your perspective and life carefully, or when things go wrong, it will fall apart.  When you pretend everything is wonderful and it is not, it is because you have been hurt somehow.  If it is not real, you cannot see it, feel it, or touch it.  If is is real and true, you still kow that it is when things fall apart.

Brick By Boring Brick is fast paced and heavily performed.  The base is used heavily, often one of the only instruments used with the vocals.  As with most of Paramore's other work, the guitars are played with great intensity, that shows great talent in the way that they sound as if they are run-together and, yet, seperate.  The drums are played in a rhythm which well supports the theme and style of the song.  The vocals are excellently used, applying differing styles to fit the lyrics.  The two key parts of the song come when Haley sings about why people build a wall around themselves, and when she sings about what is really real.  Brick By Boring Brick is an excellently performed song of instruction and encouragement.  A definite must-hear for everyone.

For more artist information, go to http://www.paramore.net/

Your Love Is My Drug -- Ke$ha

• Song: Your Love Is My Drug
• Artist: Ke$ha
• Album: Animal
• Rating: 3 1/2 Stars

Ke$ha: another addition to the long list of pop starlets which boast of names such as Britney, Katy, and Gaga.  In Ke$ha's Your Love Is My Drug, she once again attepts to both stand out from and blend in with her illustrious collegues.

The main plot point of the song can be found in the name: his love is her drug.  Ke$ha is obsessed with him and, it might be a lack of sleep or perhaps something more serious.  She sees him everywhere, even in her dreams.  She always hopes that he will be there.  She is like an addict for him.  She is like an addict for him.  He is special, and she thinks about him all the time.  People are telling her that she should give him up, but she cannot.  What she suffers from his absence washes away when he is there, and when he is gone, her world comes crashing down.  He is her drug.

The song is played in the style of a pop song from the late 90's or early 00's.  The only flaw being the final piece, where she states for the final time that his love is her drug, while laughing, and then randomly says that she likes his beard.  This final piece seems sloppily written, performed, and placed.  It is completely different from the quality of the rest of the song, begging the question, why?  The quality portions of the song however, are well-done, and provide an excellent addition to Ke$ha's previous single, Tik Tok.  The song has a heavy baseline, and the lyrics and sound make Your Love Is My Drug as addictive to the listener as Ke$ha's obsession is to her.

For more artist information, go to http://www.keshasparty.com/

Uprising -- Muse

• Song: Uprising
• Artist: Muse
• Album: The Resistance
• Rating: 5 Stars

In 2009, the popular British band, Muse, made their American debut.  The first single in America, Uprising, has since appeared on MTV, television shows, commercials, and, of course, on the AT40.

Keeping in line with the song and album title, Uprising is about a resistance movement.  First and foremost is the idea that they will not be forced down or out by those in power.  In the end, they will win.  The ones in power are trying to keep the people in chains through lies and regulations; they are hiding the truth.  Paranoia is everywhere, and the government will begin again to lie and decieve soon.  They will try to keep us in submission, but we will not be controlled.  Free yourself from them, and let the revolution win you over.  Lose your fears, their reign of terror is at an end.  We must unify, and take power back.

Uprising was an excellent choice for a debut single in America.  Most people, especially Americans, fell as though they are constantly in resistance against one thing or another.  It is also excellently performed, with music that excellently supports the theme of the lyrics with both a futuristic and eighties feel.  The bass heavily influences the song in a thoroughly modern way, while the synthesizer and vocals are an incredible blend of the eighties and today.  The style of drums almost mimiks clapping, and the chanting combines to give additional lyrical reinforcement.  Uprising is an altogether complex and amazing song fit for and revolution or social event.

For more artist information, go to http://www.muse.mu/

Young Forever -- Jay-Z feat. Mr. Hudson

• Song: Young Forever
• Artist: Jay-Z feat. Mr. Hudson
• Album: The Blueprint 3
• Rating: 4 Stars

Nobody would think of calling Jay-Z unoriginal, and in his most recent song, Young Forever is no exception. Young Forever is a modern reinterpretation of the 1980's song, Forever Young, that although a cover, exudes the originality of a fresh perspective.

Young Forever is about wanting to be young forever and living life the way it should be lived. Jay-Z never wants to get old, but he also says that youth is not just physical, it is a state of mind. Our lives should be lived for every single moment, and the good times can last forever as we remember them. If we are young in our attitude and perspective, then we have lived our life well. With ambitions, we can succeed, and live forever, in our youth in the lives of others. He never gives up, and will live forever, one way or another. Life is too short to waste, and we should never be afraid.

Young Forever has used the chorus of its original, replacing other sections with similar, yet more chronically relevant lyrics. The song is wonderfully performed, opening as the original did, with the vocals similar to that of the original singer performed by Mr. Hudson. It then moves into the rap interpretation of Jay-Z. Rarely is a cover or reinterpretation better than the original, but Jay-Z has managed it. Using an entirely different genre than that in which it was originally performed, the Young Forever creates a new and better sound, while still allowing the beauty of the other to bleed through. Young Forever takes just enough of the old, and just the right amount of the new to form an incredible and inspirational reinterpretation that brings the message to a whole new generation.
For more artist information, go to www.jay-z.com/