Top 15 Ragelist: February 2014

By Darshan08 (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) 

Putting this post together I realized something. I tell you guys that I use these songs for my workouts, which isn't a lie; but, it isn't completely the truth either. I put these playlists together with one thing on my mind: raging. Whether or not raging is working out is all relative to the situation. So for the monthly "workout playlist", I'm going to change things around and call it the monthly "ragelist".

I listen to this music to before going out, while I'm working out, or when I'm having a manic cleaning episode...among other high energy activities. It is my audial crack, and I am an addict.

There's not much more to say, except enjoy the music. Bask in its sweet beat glory and lose your mind. I've lost mine years ago, and have still found a way to continue appearing like I have at least some sense of normalcy in everyday society. It's a win-win situation.

1. John Legend- All of Me (Tiesto Remix)

2. Cash Cash ft. Kerli- Here and Now

3. Zendaya- Replay (Jump Smokers Remix)

4. Zedd Ft. Matthew Koma & Miriam Bryant

5. Zedd & Lucky Date Ft. Ellie Goulding- Fall Into The Sky

6. The Chainsmokers- #SELFIE

7. Keys N Krates- I Just Can't Deny

8. Krewella- Enjoy The Ride

9. Passenger- Let Her Go (Caked Up Remix)

10. Jason Derulo- Talk Dirty (don't hate on this song because it is actually the bees knees)

11. DJ Trademark- Still Believe

12. Tinie Tempah Ft. John Martin- Children Of The Sun

13. Brass Knuckles- Bad Habits

14. The Jane Doze- Somebody Loves You (Betty Who vs. Audien)

15. AWOLNATION- Sail (DJ Slink Remix)

Chillest Billboard Hot 100 Covers

By David Maiolo (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I can't help it that I am writing so many posts about songs. I like what I like, and per usual today I am feelin the music.

I love doing these lists because all of the songs tie together into one purpose. Today my list is going to consist of ten covers of current songs on the Billboard Hot 100. I'm gonna subdivide that and state that I am sticking to more laid back, relaxing covers. These are songs that you can listen to for studying, getting ready early in the morning, going to bed at night, or to just sit in front of a fireplace with a glass of wine because we all like to keep it classy. 

1. Burn (Ellie Goulding) - Kina Grannis

One of the first posts I did was about a song featuring Kina Grannis. I still have nothing but good things to say. Even in this video with no professional producing, she sounds amazing. Burn is a song that I think is versatile for performing. It sounds amazing in its natural state but it also sounds great slowed down, sped up, and readjusted by covers just like Kina's. The two girls in the background are Kina's sisters who seem to sound just as amazing as she is. Musical genes I guess, it's a beautiful thing. 

2. I See Fire - Ed Sheeran

Since this is my blog I can do whatever I want. This song isn't in the Billboard Top 100, and it's not a cover but I just wanted it to be heard. Skip to around :40 of you don't want to watch all of the junk before he gets into the song. To me Ed Sheeran looks like a mixture between Prince Harry, Ron Weasley, and a frog, but I'm still amazed by his voice. Not that appearance has anything to do with voices but from first look I would not expect him to have the voice that he does. I guess this song was written for The Hobbit which I have yet to see, but it is like eating cheese at a vineyard. It just feels right.

3. Drunk In Love (Beyonce) - Hope Murphy

If I was a musician, I would be way too intimidated to cover a Beyonce song. She's the only Queen Bee, but whoever this girl is kind of does her justice. Although I'm going blind by staring at all of the red she's sporting, focusing on the music alone she has a powerful voice. Surfboard.

4. All of Me (John Legend) - Michael Minelli

John Legend's music makes me feel like butter melting on a warm biscuit. Recently I've discovered the somewhat stalker obsession that I have with him. His music has been on my iTunes for years, but after releasing All of Me, I realized that my purpose in life is to marry him and cement his butt to a piano bench so he can sing to me every second of every day. This cover is the first that I've ever heard of Michael Minelli, and I'm not disappointed. He reminds me of a living Chia Pet, but the boys got pipes. 

5. Dark Horse (Katy Perry) - Maddi Jane 

This song and cover video is just like the name states... "dark". It's an enjoyable type of dark though. In a Katy Perry sense, it isn't running along the line of the bubble gum pop that people are used to hearing from her which is an intriguing curveball. I must have done something wrong with my life because this girl looks like she could be fresh out of middle school and she has some kind of unnatural talent. 13 legitimately is the new 30, I can't even handle it. Soon newborns are going to be popping out of the womb with singing voices capable of trilling and falsetto. 

6.Timber ( Pitbull ft. Ke$ha) - HelenaMarie

Timber isn't a song I would really think would transition well to an acoustic version. But I think for studying or doing work, this cover would suit me just fine. I'm not obsessed with it, but I aint' hatin either.

7. Say Something ( A Great Big World) - Cilla & Howard Chan

I'm assuming if both of these people have the last name Chan that they're related. Not necessarily appropriate for singing this song together, but I guess they did it for the love of the music. Or because they have a creepy inner family relationship and are a little bit too close.The emotion in this cover is absolutely undeniable. But since I'm immature and have to take everything to the next level here's a suggestion. Watch the video until about 2/3 of the way and then keep it going but completely mute the sound. It looks like the two of them are in agony with nauseating gas. 

8. Let Her Go (Passenger) - Jacob Whitesides

Who is this kid? And why is he such a nugget? This cover is so basic but so amazing. I had to watch a lot of videos to find this one, and it was worth every single second. If he didn't look like he was in high school I would go straight to Google and people search the heck out of his name, until I had an address and phone number.

9. Wake Me Up (Avicii) - Madilyn Bailey

Ohhhhhh, girl. Whatever it is you're doing here…keep doing it please. This cover. Makes me. Write ridiculously short sentences. Because I don't have much to say. Except...holy baby beluga whale. 

10. Wrecking Ball (Miley Cyrus) - James Arthur

James Arthur was some dude that won the X factor. I don't follow any shows like that, but from this cover I could see why he did so well. I like the sound of a male voice with the song, specifically his because he has more of an R&B type of tone. This song has been out for a while, and is starting to fade but hopefully everyone can still find the pleasure in Arthur's angelic cover.

Thanks for reading everyone. Keep it real. I hope these songs can help through all nighters of cramming for the biology test that you know you're going to probably fail anyways. But at least you were listening to good music while trying.

Ellen & Elias: A Match Made in Heaven

I enjoy funny people. I think I might even appreciate them more because they can make light of situations that are not necessarily ideal. Plus, they're sharp as tacks (or the extreme opposite) because of their quick-witted responses to normal statements.

Want to know what I enjoy even more? When funny people think that something is hilarious. It's super rare that comedic people crack up, because they're so good at maintaining their expressions. 

I would scream on top of the tallest mountain that I have a humongous girl crush on Ellen Degeneres. If anyone would turn me, it would be her. It's significantly harder to make quality comedy without swearing, and she has perfected the art. Her content is clean and voluminous. Not to mention she is absolutely radiant. With blue eyes like aquatic marbles I just want to lock into her arms and hug her until I die. Her look may not be what is considered average for a 55-year-old female talk-show host, and she rocks it. It makes me happy that her success challenges the profiling and stereotypes that society has set in modern culture. Of course, things have significantly changed in the past decade and I am so confident in where we are headed. 

In this clip from the Ellen show, we meet a little boy named Elias Phoenix. Although some of you may confuse his gender because of his Goldilocks hair , I can assure you that he is a male. Elias is a piano prodigy in every sort of the word. The kid is a mastermind behind the keys of the instrument, tapping classical ballads like it's a typewriter. He's only seven, and the future is holding something bright for him. To see a video of Elias playing at Carnegie Hall, click here. 

I don't know what kind of liquid speed his mother spiked his PediaSure with that morning, and I'd like to know what isle of the underground supermarket it is located in. He exudes more energy than a dog in a bone store. It is gut-wrenchingly hilarious watching him repeatedly hug Ellen and shower her in compliments. It is even funnier to watch how much of a kick she's getting out of it. At one point, when he is walking over to the piano you can hear her chuckling harder than I've seen her in a long time on the show. 

I hope that this kid becomes famous from this appearance. With a personality like that at his young age, he would blossom in any part of show business. Even with his confounding hair. 

I first saw this story on BuzzFeed. If you'd like to see their article you can find it here:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/hnigatu/ellens-interview-with-elias-the-child-prodigy-is-the-cutest

Here is the video:

  

Ten Dynamite Throwbacks, with a Twist of Girl Power: January 2014

After posting songs from my most current workout playlist I was inspired and immediately wanted make another one. I wanted to change it up from only workout songs, but I didn’t know what type of songs I should put together. After about 45 seconds of brainstorming the answer was obvious.

My go to jams from the early 2000’s. Not just any jams…songs specifically by women.

Where are all my sisters? If you’re still with me, put your hands up and lets celebrate. I know that you enjoy these songs as much as I do…if you don’t I recommend that you schedule an appointment with the nearest wall and make repeated contact with your head. Each song is like a different nut that created the musical trail mix of my young life. They’re all priceless in their own way.

I’m going to make a suggestion. If you don’t have these songs on your iPod, please download them immediately. Once you’ve completed that step call all of your girlfriends. Get together on a Friday night, drink borderline binge amounts of wine, and put this playlist on. It will result in you and your friends looking like disheveled farm animals, but in the most magical way possible. Guys are always welcome to join the party of course, but would probably rather sit underneath a pile of bricks.

I'm going to be posting a lot of playlists, and I promise to do ten throwbacks monthly from here on out! Lets cut the small talk and dive right in.

1. AM to PM- Christina Milan
I could care less what happened to Christina Milan after all of those cheerleading movies because I will forever have this song. Usually I start partying in the pm rather than the am, but girl, you do you. Something hilarious about this song is that Milan was actually 19 when it was released, so I'm not quite sure what bars she was going to all day and night. Maybe she was getting out of hand at some raging 18 & Up clubs.
                      

2. Breathe- Michelle Branch
This is a put on a polka dot dress, get in a vintage car, roll the windows, and scream sing kind of song. I don't even own a polka dot dress, but if I did I would totally wear it just to listen to this song. I don't own a vintage car either, but I can turn my 2001 Mercury Sable into any car I want when I dream.

3. Fergalicious- Fergie
I think fergalicious is supposed to be an adjective. According to Fergie the definition of fergalicious is "make them boys go loco". So does that mean football is fergalicious? Is beer fergalicious? I don't think it'll be added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary any time soon but I still dig it.











4. Bootylicious- Destiny's Child
No words can be written. Bootylicious>Fergalicious. I wish it was my destiny to be Beyonce's child.

5. I'm With You- Avril Lavigne

I'm pretty sure throughout middle school I had somewhere between 7-10 boyfriends. This song probably helped me cope with every single life altering break-up. The lyric "I don't know who you are, but I, I'm with you" hits pretty close to home. Mostly because I really didn't know most of my boyfriends other than 3rd period English and the daily ritual of walking out to the buses together holding each others clammy little hands.

6. Do It To It- Cherish
This girl group was like the generic version of Destiny's Child. They went as fast as their 15 minutes of fame came, but I still respect them for this jam. As I sit behind my computer trying to describe this song in more detail the only word I can think of is bouncy. Maybe it's because they say "bounce with it" in the song, but the song in general is just bouncy.

7. Goodies- Ciara ft. Petey Pablo
There's no doubt that this song was a banger to dance to back in the day. Except I can't help but have flashbacks to middle school dances when listening to it. All I can remember is girls cry babying all over the cafeteria floor and innocent little me doing fast-paced box steps around their vibrating bodies like they were land mines (if you don't know what cry babying is Google it).

8. Who Says- Hannah Montana
Ohhhh, Miley. I support you now and I supported you then. This song was an anthem that could uplift and inspire any little girl to want to just go into Limited Too and buy every trendy angel top. I'm realizing that store is now called Justice which only proves my age. Ew. The message behind this is that you can do anything you want to do. Apparently in Miley's case it was to become Superman…which is very achievable these days with all of the recent breakthroughs in hormone therapy.

9. Cinderella- The Cheetah Girls
While we're on the Disney swing lets not forget this classic. The Cheetah Girls were the perfect combination of girls that made absolutely no sense whatsoever. If I had to choose one person to have a ridiculously intricate handshake with it would be the white girl from the Cheetah girls. She had a lot to keep up with, and held her own. I could have never body rolled and wiggled around like the other three, but she did it with style. The soundtrack to this entire movie was absolute gold. Actually, it did go double platinum so that is an understatement.










10. Hanging On- Cheyenne Kimball
I absolutely idolized this girl in middle school. Even though she's only two years older than me, she seemed so much older. It's probably because I was still dressing in Aeropostale monkey shirts that said Spring Break, Mudd jeans, and had a hefty rack of metal in my mouth. I used to put this song on and pretend I was her while playing my guitar. I guess nothing has changed much because I still do that…but currently I stick to Beyonce. That's because I am secretly Sasha Fierce. Cheyenne was a singer in the band Gloriana for a few years when she got older, but left the band in 2011.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire

Do you want to know why TV annoys me? Because some television shows don’t know when to just end it. For God sakes Survivor is working on its 28^th and 29^th season to be aired in 2014, The Bachelor has had 18 seasons not to mention all of the spin-offs such as The Bachelorette and Bachelor Pad, and MTV just aired its 29^th season of The Real World last week.

This anger ignited in me this morning. I woke up just like any other day and turned on the TV as I sat down to eat my breakfast. When I turned it on I saw that Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was playing. I figured it was just an old rerun. I know Regis Philbin retired from TV quite a few years back and Meredith Viera replaced him on the show. The game format was changed around and even though Meredith was good I never really warmed up to the change of play and host.  To my surprise this was not an old episode….and who was hosting you might ask…CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER.

Cedric the Entertainer

Is this some kind of sick joke? I’m not hatin’ on Cedric but what kind of grade A blasphemy is this? Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is a legend as far as game shows go. Now I’m even more aggravated that they didn’t completely pull it after Regis Philbin. Yes, Cedric is qualified and absolutely fine as a TV host in general; but, what the network needs to realize is that the show will never own up to the original…SO WHY KEEP IT GOING. It honestly makes my blood boil (or perhaps I’m just lactose intolerant because I ate a lot of yogurt this morning and I don’t think my gastrointestinal track is very happy with me).

Do less, television, do less. Even though many reality shows go way upwards of ten seasons, at what point do you think they lose their integrity? Sometimes when you love something, you have to let it go.

You know what, maybe some of these shows do still stay true to their original state. But seriously, it can’t go on forever. I (clap) can’t (clap) deal (clap) with (clap) it (clap). But I do have to admit I still watch The Real World which I will most likely do a review on later hehe. Maybe I’m just a griping hypocrite.



Regis and Joy Philbin at the
2009 Tribeca Film Festival

To wrap this up I’d like to give a shoutout to my boy Regis Philbin for still being alive and kicking like an absolute boss. The man is as sharp as an arrow straight from the factory. Seriously, God bless him. As for Cedric the Entertainer…I wish him the best with millionaire. It’s not his fault the network is still snowballing the show, and I’m sure he will do just fine.

So what are your thoughts? Do you think that long running reality shows are overkill, or simply a comfort blanket for the American public? I guess here we are toying with the line if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.   

Top 15 Workout Playlist: January 2014

By U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class William R. Goodwin. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

If your New Year's resolutions for 2014 include working on your fitness you're in luck. It is a proven fact that music can enhance a workout, and if you disagree with me then you have issues.

A great playlist is the backbone to my workouts. There's times where I'm on the treadmill gasping for air like a laryngectomy patient, and my legs will shatter like a pretzel rod underneath a car tire if I try and go for just one more minute. In times like these I go to my iPod and pick the most stimulating song I can find. If I choose the right song, it is 100% guaranteed that my fatigue will vanish.

When I am "in the zone" with a song I feel like I could beat the crap out of a metal T-rex. I know that's over-ambitious, but when a dirty beat drops my adrenaline goes haywire. I've forgotten to bring my headphones to the gym before, and if you're anything like me that is the biggest workout buzz-kill that exists. I would rather accidentally fart into a microphone during a yoga class than be at the gym without my headphones...and I'm completely serious!

So, for those of you who want a taste of my pick-me-up playlist I have composed the top 15 songs I currently listen to during workouts (in no chronological order). Try not to get too excited while listening to them...I don't want anyone to hurt themselves. I tried embedding all of the songs onto a music player that would be much more compact to listen to the songs but when I tried to encode it onto the blog it messed everything up. If you want to hear the songs just copy and paste the title on YouTube!

1. Timber (Jump Smokers Remix)- Pitbull ft. Ke$ha

2. Liquor Dance- DJ MADD OD x Beyonce

3. Just Another Night (CaPa Remix)- Icona Pop

4. All Night (Cash Cash Remix)- Icona Pop

5. Surge- Clockwork ft. Wynter Gordon

6. Bittersweet- Ellie Goulding

7. Country Girl (Wop That Thun Thun MASHUP) [Luke Bryan x Finatticz x J. Dash] - Tesher

8. Alone Together (Krewella Remix)- Fallout Boy

9. The Best Thing (That Never Happened)- We Are The In Crowd

10. Calling- Sebastian Ingrosso & Alesso ft. Ryan Tedder

11.Wrecking Ball (Caked Up Remix)- Miley Cyrus

12. We Are One- Krewella

13. Never Say Goodbye- Hardwell & Dyro ft. Bright Lights

14. Work B**ch- Britney Spears

15. Holy Kukatu Grail (Hardwell MashUp)- Jay Z & Justin Timberlake vs. Ivan Gough & Jebu

Tamera Mowry's Scrutinized Marriage

If you're anywhere between the ages of 20 and 25, I'm sure that Tia and Tamera Mowry are familiar names from your childhood. I used to watch Sister, Sister on a daily basis along with all of the other 90's favorites such as Saved by the Bell, and Boy Meets World. Even though I was under the age of ten when I watched them and couldn't understand a lot of their teenage directed humor, I would still laugh at all of the jokes I didn't understand to try and compensate for being completely oblivious. If I were my parents I probably would have slapped myself listening to all of the stupid cackling. Ahhhhh, the life of being young and dumb.

During and after the production of Sister, Sister, the Mawry siblings continued to act in kid-friendly roles for the majority of their young life. Does anyone remember the show Smart Guy? Their brother was the main character and was absolutely adorable. The kid looked like a living chicken nugget with dimples.

After these shows were discontinued, I have to say I had no clue what happened to Tia and Tamera. I knew that they were still acting separately, but that was pretty much it.

Apparently in 2011 Tamera Mowry married Fox News correspondent Adam Housley. A few days ago she spoke out on Oprah's: Where Are They Now; to discuss the internet racism she has received from being in an interracial marriage.

 First of all, it is disheartening that she would even have to come out on something like this. Even though the internet is an open platform to criticism that doesn't make anything racist, sexist, biased, etc. ethical on any terms. Love is blind and when it is all said and done, regardless of the color of our skin we are all human beings. The poor thing is clearly distraught by the comments just like any other women would be. It's easier said than done to "just ignore it" when it is truly unavoidable. 

Now, I don't want to come off insensitive, but was anyone else confused by her sisters reaction? To me it seemed like Tia was hearing all of this for the first time. I mean maybe the two never got into detail about the specific comments being made but shouldn't she have known this was going on? Watch between :39-:45.

"Geez, like what do they say?" 

WHAT THE HECK TIA? I'm sure your twin has been getting this stuff spitballed to her since 2011. And I'm sure you had to have known that when you were asked to be on this Oprah show that your sisters marriage was a topic of interest. The entire time I watched this I was cracking up at how surprised she looked. 

Does anyone have an answer for me here? Like I said before, no disrespect but Tia threw me for a loop on that one.

I hope that Tamera Mowry can one-day create a coating where the comments repel straight off of her, but like I said before that is easier said than done. I'm sending an air hug and a puppy over express mail. I wish her all the best in her marriage, and have one thing left to say.

The Keeper is a Keeper

Before doing anything else you have to listen to this song. If you want the full experience, I'd say to plug in your headphones and go lay on something soft with your eyes closed before clicking play. Or if you live somewhere warm go lye in a grass field, or sit on wooden swing and listen to this from your cell phone.

Okay, so assuming that you've given this a listen lets continue. Who are these people singing? The girl playing the guitar is +Kina Grannis and the one on the piano is +MarieDigby . Clearly they're both musicians, and I'm a little bit too excited about this collaboration.

I’ve been following Kina Grannis since she started her YouTube channel six years ago. In 2010 she won a contest called Crash The Superbowl. It was basically a contest where the finalists had their 60 second music video aired during the Superbowl and then the viewers voted on which they liked the best. Kina won, which scored her a record deal with Interscope records (she is currently signed with One Haven). Her music has transformed immensely since then. Her songs were strong to begin with, and they just keep getting better.

To be honest, I know way less about Marie Digby. I remember she had a viral video that was a cover of Rihanna's "Umbrella". After looking her up I found out that she also won a contest. In 2004 she won a contest by Pantene and received $5,000 along with a producer to work on an album.

I think the reason that I appreciate them both has to do with my personal love for the guitar. The fact that  their YouTube stardom and fan base came from posting videos of them singing and playing their instruments raw is something that I respect. You can tell that they not only have a passion for their talent, but their damn good at it. 

The song above is called "The Keeper". Doesn't it make you want to somersault around a pit of cotton balls and drink honey based beverages? This whimsical track is minimally produced and all in all just a beautiful piece of music. It reminds me of something you would hear in a Hunger Games-esque movie. 

It is not only calming musically, but when you take a further listen the lyrics are equally soothing. Of course lyrics are always open for interpretation, but I'm pretty sure that this song is about guiding someone during a difficult journey, and holding their hand along the way. Making sure that they don't fall off track and fade into failure. Ugh, I just love it (insert classic crying emoji). 

I am all for duets, but I think that they are either a success or failure. It is all a matter of finding two voices that compliment each other rather than clash. It may be cliche but I think Kina and Marie's voices go together like peanut butter and jelly. I don't have one bad thing to say about this song...NOT ONE OKAY. Take it or leave it but this one is going on Julie's bedtime playlist.

If you want to see Kina Grannis' musical transformation you can visit her YouTube channel here:

Click fo some mo' Kina!

For more Marie Digby just click here:

Do you dig Marie Digby?...Click here my dear