Music Review: Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran - Music as an Art

      I can't tell you how many times I turn on the radio and think to myself, "Really? This is what's popular now? This is what our generation listens to? Repetitive lyrics, 4-chord-song treachery and catchy tunes with no lyrical meaning or soul? Ed Sheeran, an artist out of the United Kingdom, gained in popularity as a singer-songwriter in 2008, when he released the album "+", where the single "The A-Team" grew in popularity and gained radio air time.

(And if you've never heard of a 4-chord song, here's a link to a great example by: Axis of Awesome - 4 Chord Song.)

(some explicit language)

Beginings:

     Ed Sheeran started recording in 2004 at the age of 13 years old and eventually brought an old "indie" feel back to the radio scene, which is another way of saying singer-songwriter (think: Taylor Swift, before she was drowned in pop-artists beats). When I think of singer-songwriter, I think of an artist and their instrument, a guy and his guitar, a woman and her piano; simple music with a focus on lyrics that are personal to the artist. Ed Sheeran's hit, "Photograph", is a great example of a "man and his guitar" singing about memories of love kept within a photograph. His voice is filled with conviction and passion throughout his collective works and he's a testament to artists everywhere.

Here's a link to Asylum Record's and Ed Sheeran's - Photograph.

     Reminiscent of the days of Eric Clapton and Dave Matthews, Ed Sheeran is a reminder to us all that true art never dies. In a year since his music video "Photographs" was posted, the song has over 250 million views and continues to rise as he gains in popularity. Taking acoustic influences from The Beatles and Nizlopi, Ed found a unique sound for himself that took the world by storm.

Artist Review: Local Natives

9/5/2016
Christopher J Rosario

Music 1
Local Natives

Since as long as I can remember I've always loved music, all kinds of music from Country to Pop to Opera, Rap, Alternative, Metal, it didn't matter, as long as the music was composed, written, and executed with care and style, I could legitimately put it on my play list and listen to it over and over until I burn-it-out and hate it forever (think, Barbie Girl, by Aqua).

For my first blog, I'll take it easy on you, the reader, and introduce a band I heard of a year or two ago that continues to stay in the forefront of my mind as modern indie/folk type music. A band called Local Natives brought back the days of the original Simon and Garfunkel and Bright Eyes (if you've never heard of either of these bands, go buy a CD-player from the thrift-store, take it home, and you'll find one of their CDs still sitting in the CD-tray). Both are very folk-like in style. Music back then felt more passionate and songs were written from the heart; Local Natives brings that back.

Local Natives was formed in California and is comprised of five band members, 2 guitarists, 1 bassist, keyboards, and a drummer. They released their debut album, Gorilla Manor 7 years ago. Their musical style is considered, "Indie Rock" but that's a very broad term. Indie in itself literally means "Independent" meaning they are free from restrictions or influence in their music by record labels (you know how popular artists release new albums every year, even if they are terrible, just to pump-in revenue?). What Indie is considered nowadays is just anything not main-stream, something you wouldn't normally find on a radio (until they are founded by a major record label). For Local Natives falls into another category of  "Indie", which is considered "folk-like" or softer music. Although huge now, I also consider artists like Ed Sheeran, Jack Johnson or Jason Maraz, all of which started out Indie back in the day, but later became more stream-line as they received more air time.

Either way, great band, check it out: below is a Youtube video of a live version of Local Natives, Who Knows, Who Cares (Start at 1:30). Let me know what you think. (And remember, everyone has their own tastes)

https://youtu.be/6hhE_sqJG3g?t=1m31s