Desolation Row

I cannot say enough good things about this cover.

Anyone who follows this blog is probably well aware that my favorite band is My Chemical Romance. While this band may currently be on break and not recording any new material yet, you can imagine my excitement when I heard that My Chemical Romance was selected to record a cover for an upcoming film.
And not just any film; My Chemical Romance has recorded a cover of Bob Dylan's Desolation Row for the Watchmen movie, scheduled to hit theatres Friday, March 6th.

While My Chemical Romance's version of Desolation Row is clocking in at nearly a quarter the length of the original track (Bob Dylan's recording having been around eleven minutes long, compared to the three minute length of the cover), I was extremely pleased by the way My Chemical Romance presented this song. Vocalist Gerard Way chose between the multiple verses of the original track and picked which he felt best represented the movie - a process he said was extremely difficult. However, in the end, the verses the band ended up incorporating into their cover exemplify not only the graphic-novel-gone-film, but the essence of Bob Dylan's original song almost, too perfectly.
There is plenty to appreciate beyond the lyrics, too. My Chemical Romance took an entirely different approach to this cover - it sounds nothing like the original, and yet, the hardcore punk styling of the track not only showcase the novel and, eventually, the movie, but also a new phase in the life of this band. My Chemical Romance are considering moving away from the theatric, rock-opera style which was apparent on their album The Black Parade (2006) and fall back on the punk rock foundations which supported their first two albums (I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love; 2002; and Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, 2004).
Everything about this cover screams punk-rock, from the raw, unpolished vocals to the rough, dirty guitars and crashing symbols of the drum set. The entire essence of the track is just teeming with pent-up emotion, and the whole thing is hard and heavy enough that, at the end of three minutes, you can't help but keep asking for more. The combination of Bob Dylan's outstanding lyrics and My Chemical Romance's talents in musicianship and presentation is truly a winning mix.

All in all, this cover serves not only to represent Watchmen in the most brilliant of ways, but also My Chemical Romance, and the new direction the band plans to take with their careers.
The video is one hundred percent hardcore and a great watch for anyone - however, it's an especially good treat for those My Chem fans eagerly awaiting the band's return from their break (: And anyone who's actually read Watchmen , as I have, will appreciate every reference made in the video - from the Rorschach banner behind the drum set, to the Pale Horse flyers, to the graffiti on bassist Mikey Way's guitar ("Who Watches The Watchmen") ... it's all there.

Make sure to head out and see Watchmen when it hits theatres this Friday!
Until then, keep on rockin' to My Chemical Romance's cover of Desolation Row!

My Chemical Romance - Desolation Row [Bob Dylan Cover] Official Music Video

Desolation Row
Originally Recorded by Bob Dylan
Covered by My Chemical Romance

They're selling postcards of the hanging, they're painting the passports brown.
The beauty parlor is filled with sailors; the circus is in town.
Here comes the blind commissioner, they've got him in a trance.
One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker, the other's in his pants.
And the riot squad, they're restless; they need somewhere to go
As Lady and I look out tonight from Desolation Row.

Cinderella, she seems so easy; "It takes one to know one," she smiles.
And puts her hands in her back pockets, Bette Davis style.
And in comes Romeo, he's moaning, "You belong to me, I believe."
And someone says," You're in the wrong place, my friend; you better leave."
And the only sound that's left after the ambulances go
Is Cinderella sweeping up on Desolation Row.

...
At midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew
Go out and round up everyone that knows more than they do.
They bring them to the factory, where the heart-attack machine
Is strapped across their shoulders, and then the kerosene
Is brought down from the castles by insurance men who go
Check to see that no one is escaping to Desolation Row.

...
Right now I can't read too good
Don't send me no letters, no.
Not unless you mail them from Desolation Row.

Nightmare Revisited

Every few years Tim Burton, Danny Elfman, and team see it fit to re-issue "The Nightmare Before Christmas" soundtrack, and add a bonus CD with covers of all the song by current artists. This year was one of those years!

"The Nightmare Before Christmas" really is a classic. It was a movie that was ahead of it's time in stop motion animation technology. Not to mention it had an amazing score/soundtrack written and composed by master of movie music Danny Elfman.

The music is really what made the movie so magnificent. More than a decade later people still line up yearly to see the movie in theatres (in 3D), and kids (and adults too) sing along with the great songs.

Nightmare Revisited takes today's artists and gives us the songs we loved from the movie, with a twist.



The Track list
Coupled By My Opinion Of Each Song


1.Overture-DeVotchKa
[This track really got me. It's quite the opening. The style is almost Cirque Du Soleil. Very circus. An absolutely wonderful start to the CD!]

2.Opening-Danny Elfman
[This isn't that different than the original which was narrated by actor Patrick Stewart. I do think that Danny's voice has a very neat sound to it though, especially since he did Jack's vocals in the original]

3.This Is Halloween-Marilyn Manson
[Definitely a Manson track. Creepy as ever. Has some techno undertones, but sticks with the goth sound that Marilyn does so well.]

4.Jack's Lament-The All-American Rejects
[This isn't my favorite track, by any means. Tyson's voice seems a bit whiny for the song...not as good as it could have been.]

5.Doctor Finklestien/In The forest-Amiina
[This was really nice. There's a slightly Asian backbone to the song, and I love the deep strings (Bass I think?) that keep the beat. It also has a music box feel.]

6.What's This?-Flyleaf
[One of my favorite tracks on the CD. Flyleaf did an amazing job. The song is quite a bit slower and more melancholy than the original (and definitely more so than Fall Out Boy's cover from the last special edition!). Lacey's voice really shines in this song.]

7.Town Meeting Song-The Polyphonic Spree
[The beginning of this song was really cool, futuristic! Lol. Almost David Bowie's Space Oddity sounding. Actually, the whole song had a Bowie-esque sound to it. I liked how they changed the vocal melody...it's like a completely new song. Towards the middle it gets a bit Broadway sounding. It's really something new.]

8.Jack and Sally Montage-The Vitamin String Quartet
[Exactly the excellence you'd expect of Vitamin. Beautiful strings. I could listen to this over and over.]

9.Jack's Obsession-Sparklehorse
[Falsetto. That really sums it up lol. I will say though that the acoustic guitar is quite beautiful, as well as the vocal melody, which like in The Town Meeting Song was changed. There's the faint hint of something that could be a lullaby, maybe.]

10.Kidnap The Sandy Claws-Korn
[Classic Korn. Creepy, strange vocalizations, the whole nine yards.]

11.Making Christmas-Rise Against
[Love the electric guitar opening! And being a Rise Against fan, I'm kinda biased, but I'll say that I really liked this. Very hard-core. Love it.]

12.Nabbed-Yoshida Brothers
[Done in a very beautiful classical Japanese style, with a techno/dance twist. Really great.]

13.Oogie Boogie's Song-Bordrigo y Gabriella
[Spanish! It has that wonderful acoustic guitar flair you get from Spanish flamenco music.
This is the first track on the CD that takes a song that originally had vocals and made it instrumental.]

14.Sally's Song-Amy Lee
[What can I say other than gorgeous when describing Amy's voice? She just owned this song. It's haunting. I love the extra Goth she added to the song. Absolutely amazing, brilliant, beautiful!]

15.Christmas Eve Montage-Rjd2
[Electro. Fun. Christmas with it's own neat little spin. All I can say is it's way fun to listen to, and you can definitely dance to it!]

16.Poor Jack-Plain White T's
[I liked this one. Tom's voice really complimented the song, it's not very unlike the original Elfman version. This song really shows a side of Tom's voice I've never heard, he has quite a range. This exceeded my expectations. Really a good song.]

17.To The Rescue-Datarock
[More electro, techno, synth-pop, whatever-you-wanna-call-it. I'm also a Datarock fan, and I can say they did quite the job on this instrumental piece. Fun stuff.]

18.Finale/Reprise-Shiny Toy Guns
[I love how it starts with a almost "broken carousel" version of "Here Comes Santa Clause" with the guys in the band creepily whispering "la-la-la-la". Then it goes hard-core on us. They even through in a few "Phantom" style organ chords. Another curve, it turns into a very pretty ballad, with church style organs. Again, vocal melodies have been changed, but it's all for the better. The song is really great.]

19.Closing-Danny Elfman
[Same as opening really. Just the original piece narrated by Elfman instead of Stewart]

20.End Title-The Album Leaf
[A very clam, pretty, instrumental end to the CD. Kinda makes me that warm kind of sleepy when I hear it.]



Anyway, it's a great album with surprises around every corner. Be sure to get a listen! Truly a great album, and definitely the best so-far of the Nightmare remakes.

I'm going to share one of (because there's no possible way to fit all of them!) my favorite tracks, Flyleaf's version of "What's This?.

Enjoy!





What's This?-Flyleaf


Lyrics

What's this? What's this?
There's color everywhere
What's this?
There's white things in the air
What's this?
I can't believe my eyes
I must be dreaming
Wake up, Jack, this isn't fair
What's this?

What's this? What's this?
There's something very wrong
What's this?
There's people singing songs

What's this?
The streets are lined with
Little creatures laughing
Everybody seems so happy
Have I possibly gone daffy?
What is this?
What's this?

There's children throwing snowballs
instead of throwing heads
They're busy building toys
And absolutely no one's dead

There's frost on every window
Oh, I can't believe my eyes
And in my bones I feel the warmth
That's coming from inside

Oh, look
What's this?
They're hanging mistletoe, they kiss
Why that looks so unique, inspired
They're gathering around to hear a story
Roasting chestnuts on a fire
What's this?

What's this?
In here they've got a little tree, how queer
And who would ever think
And why?

They're covering it with tiny little things
They've got electric lights on strings
And there's a smile on everyone
So, now, correct me if I'm wrong
This looks like fun
This looks like fun
Oh, could it be I got my wish?
What's this?

Oh my, what now?
The children are asleep
But look, there's nothing underneath
No ghouls, no witches here to scream and scare them
Or ensnare them, only little cozy things
Secure them in their dreamland...

What's this?

The monsters are all missing
And the nightmares can't be found
And in their place there seems to be
Good feeling all around

Instead of screams, I swear
I can hear music in the air
The smell of cakes and pies
are absolutely everywhere

The sights, the sounds
They're everywhere and all around
I've never felt this good before
This empty place inside of me has been filling up
I simply cannot get enough

I want it, oh, I want it
Oh, I want it for my own
I've got to know
I've got to know
What is this place that I have found?
What is this?

Lacrymosa

As I've mentioned a few times in the past my musical taste has stemmed most predominately from my upbringing in a family that loves classical music, and through listening to the classics during my ballet training. So it goes without saying that I lean toward bands and artists with classical backgrounds. I especially lean toward those with symphonic and orchestral sounds. So many of my favorite bands and artists are those like Yngwie Malmsteen, Nightwish, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and of course, Evanescence.

My favorite track of their album "The Open Door" is most definitely "Lacrymosa". The symphonic sound, the chorus in the background, and of course Amy's voice. What many people don't know (though I'm sure die-hard Ev fans, and Mozart fans alike do know)is that the entire backing for this song, not including the electric guitar parts, is Mozart's "Lacrimosa".

"I saw Amadeus when I was nine years old and fell in love with Mozart. The part of Mozart's Requiem called "Lacrimosa" is my favorite piece of music ever. I always wished we could cover it, but with programming and guitars and make it cool. It's our moment to try all the things I wanted to and couldn't, so I started messing with it in Protools. Terry wrote some riffs and turned it into this awesome metal epic." -Amy Lee

And boy is it amazing! I love how well it blended, her vocals and lyrics with Mozart's masterpiece playing in the background. The original Mozart piece has such power in it, yet it's expressed with elegant and mournful notes. It really is quite amazing.

I'd never thought of what would happen if you were to write your own song, but use a classical piece as the basic structure of it. It seemed a bit undo able, that you would butcher the original piece or that it just wouldn't work...covering a classical piece and turning it into something with a metal sound, I knew that would work. It's been done, and done wonderfully, but this was something different all-together, yet it came out utterly perfect.

I really believe this to be Evanescence's best song on an epic scale, and on a scale of sound.

So, To show everyone the bigger picture I'm posting three videos. One, Mozart's original piece "Lacrimosa", two Evanescence's finished song "Lacrymosa", and three and re-mix of Ev's song that is rumoured to be the original version.

Enjoy!

Mozart's "Lacrimosa" (From Requiem)
(The Video Shows The Music For The Vocal Melodies)


Mozart Lyrics

Lacrimosa
Lacrimosa dies illa
Qua resurget ex favilla
Judicandus homo reus.

Huic ergo parce, Deus
Pie Jesu Domine
Dona eis requiem, Amen.


Evanescence's "Lacrymosa"
(Video Is Just Pictures Of Amy Lee and Band)



Evanescence's "Lacrymosa" (Remix)
(This version is rumored to have been written for the opening scene of "The Chronicles Of Narnia" movie, but was not approved because it was not considered "original" because of the use of Mozart's "Lacrimosa")


Evanescence Lyrics

Out on your own,
Cold and alone again.
Can this be what you really wanted, baby?

Blame it on me,
Set your guilt free.
Nothing can hold you back now.

Now that you're gone,
I feel like myself again.
Grieving the things I can't repair and willing...

To let you blame it on me,
And set your guilt free.
I don't want to hold you back now love.

I can't change who I am.
Not this time, I won't lie to keep you near me.
And in this short life, there's no time to waste on giving up.
My love wasn't enough.

And you can blame it on me,
Just set your guilt free, honey.
I don't want to hold you back now love.

"We Can Be Heroes, Just For One Day"

It's been a while since I've made a post on this site, so I decided to post about one of my all-time favorite songs, hands down.

I've been a David Bowie fan for years and years. I was the only eleven-year-old I knew who could sing "Space Oddity" by heart, but out of all his songs the one that will always be my favorite is "Heroes".

A song far ahead of it's time in terms of sound. My dad told me that when it first came out it was nearly unlistenable because of the style, no one had made music like this yet.

Bowie's voice always seems to pour his heart into the songs. He has a yearning sound, one that I've yet to find in any other artist. "Heroes" emphisised that longing and used it to it's betterment. Between the amazing, timeless, melody and the wonderful lyrics, I consider this a masterpiece for rock music.

In addition to sharing Bowie's version of "Heroes" with you I'm going to share something I came across just a month ago. A German cover of the song, "Helden" beautifully performed by Apocalyptica.
They tweak the style ever so slightly to incorperate the metal sound and those amazing cellos. And add deep rough German vocals.

Both versions are amazing, and are must listens. Not just for Bowie fans, but for music lovers the world round.

Enjoy!

Heroes (Live)-David Bowie


Heroes Lyrics (English)

I, I will be king
And you, you will be queen
Though nothing will drive them away
We can beat them just for one day
We can be heroes just for one day

And you, you can be mean
And I, I'll drink all the time
'Cause we're lovers and that is a fact
Yes we're lovers and that is that

Though nothing will keep us together
We could steal time just for one day
We can be heroes for ever and ever
What d'you say?

I, I wish I could swim
Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim
Though nothing, though nothing will keep us together
We can beat them for ever and ever
Oh, we can be heroes just for one day

I, I will be king
And you, you will be queen
Though nothing will drive them away
We can be heroes just for one day
Oh, we can be heroes just for one day

I, I remember
Standing by the wall
The guns shot above our heads
And we kissed as though nothing could fall
And the shame was on the other side
Oh, we can beat them for ever and ever
Then we can be heroes just for one day
We can be heroes
We can be heroes

We can be heroes
Just for one day
We can be heroes

We're nothing and nothing will help us
Maybe we're lying then you better not stay
But we could be safer just for one day


Helden (Cover)-Apocalyptica


German Lyrics-Helden

Du
Könntest Du schwimmen
Wie Delphine
Delphine es tun
Niemand gibt uns eine Chance
Doch können wir siegen
Für immer und immer
Und wir sind dann Helden
Für einen Tag

Ich
Ich bin dann König
Und Du
Du Königin
Obwohl sie
Unschlagbar scheinen
Werden wir Helden
Für einen Tag
Wir sind dann wir
An diesem Tag

Ich
Ich glaub' das zu träumen
die Mauer
Im Rücken war kalt
Die Schüsse reissen die Luft
Doch wir küssen
Als ob nichts geschieht
Und die Scham fiel auf ihre Seite
Oh, wir können sie schlagen
Für alle Zeiten
Dann sind wir Helden
Nur diesen Tag
Dann sind wir Helden
Dann sind wir Helden
Dann sind wir Helden
Nur diesen Tag

Dann sind wir Helden

99 Red Balloons

I've always loved this song, "99 Luft Balloons". The German song about a few kids who let ninety-nine red balloons fly into the air only to have the government mistake it as a declaration of nuclear war. Air raid alarms go off and family's huddle into bomb shelters...all 'cause of a child having fun. It's always been a favorite of mine, the tune, the story, it's just a great song.

A few years ago I heard it on the radio, but it wasn't the "99 Luft Balloons" I knew, it was a faster paced more punk/ska version of the song in English. After a while of searching I found that it was a cover done by the band Goldfinger, and really, I think I like it more than the original.

The energy they put behind the cover is great, and best of all it didn't sacrifice the tune of the original at all. It's a must hear for anyone who loves the original, and for any punk/ska fans.

So here it is, Goldfinger's cover of "99 Red Balloons".

Goldfinger-99 Red Balloons (cover)

Tonight, Tonight

I've been a fan of Panic At The Disco for a pretty long time now, and am just starting to get into the Smashing Pumpkins' music, too. The first song I heard from the Pumpkins was Tonight, Tonight, and I was instantly impressed but the dramatic styling of the song and the beautiful, inspiring lyrics.
When I heard Panic! did a cover of the song, I was speechless. I knew Panic's lead singer, Brendon Urie, had just the theatrical style to pull off the elegant track.
And boy, I was anything but disappointed when I heard the cover for the first time! Brendon and the rest of the band went above and beyond in covering an already spectacular song. Even more astounding is the fact that this cover was never recorded; the only version of it available is a live performance!
Usually I don't post live videos on this site, and I try to keep from posting about the same artist over and over ... but this cover was too perfect to resist sharing. It really stand on it's own; this cover embodies all that is Panic At The Disco, while giving tribute to the timeless band who recorded it first.
This is Tonight, Tonight, originally by the Smashing Pumpkins, covered by Panic At The Disco.

Panic At The Disco - Tonight, Tonight Live Performance

Tonight, Tonight
Panic At The Disco
Originally Recorded by the Smashing Pumpkins

Time is never time at all
You can never ever leave without leaving a piece of youth
And our lives are forever changed
We will never be the same
The more you change the less you feel

Believe, believe in me, believe
Believe that life can change
That you re not stuck in vain
Were not the same, we're different tonight
Tonight, so bright
Tonight

And you know you're never sure
But you're sure you could be right
If you held yourself up to the light
And the embers never fade, in your city by the lake
The place where you were born

Believe, believe in me, believe
Believe in the resolute urgency of now
And if you believe there's not a chance tonight
Tonight, so bright
Tonight

We'll crucify the insincere tonight
We'll make things right, we'll feel it all tonight
We'll find a way to offer up the night, tonight
The indescribable moments of your life, tonight
The impossible is possible tonight
Believe in me as I believe in you, tonight

Heart Shaped Box-Evanescence

I'm both a Nirvana fan and an Evanescence fan, but I have to say that I'm always wary of covers just because you're taking someone else's song and tailoring it yourself, and more often than not, it doesn't work out as well as you'd hoped. Well I'd heard Evanescence do Korn covers and Metalica covers, and those were wonderful, so I decided to check out their cover of Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box".

And I must say, that all my expectations were met. Amy Lee's voice is perfect for this song, and she delivers the vocals beautifully, as always. She always puts heart and soul into the songs she sings like I've never heard anyone else do before. This is a great cover!!!

Enjoy!


Heart Shaped Box-Evanescence (Nirvana Cover)


She eyes me like a pisces when I am weak
I've been locked inside your Heart-Shaped box for weeks
I've been drawn into your magnet tar pit trap
I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black

Hey! Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey! Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Your advice

Meat-eating orchids forgive no one just yet
Cut myself on angel hair and baby's breath
Broken hymen of your highness I'm left black
Throw down your umbilical noose so I can climb right back

Hey! Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey! Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice

Your advice
Your advice
Your advice

Vitamin String Quartet - A New Spin On Old Favorites

What do AC/DC, Death Cab For Cutie, and Linkin Park all have in common? The Vitamin String Quartet has covered all of their songs - using the violin, viola, and cello!
From the very first time I heard the Vitamin String Quartet cover of My Chemical Romance's Helena, I was hooked. I was instantly drawn in by the talent the Quartet had to not only play the song, but perform it, with just the right amount of emotion to tell the story of the song, without any lyrics to back it up. After hearing the Quartet's My Chemical Romance covers I went on to look up some of their other work, and was surprised and delighted by the sheer volume in which they had recorded. They had covered songs from an unmeasurable amount of artists in seemingly every genre.
But not only had they recorded tributes to individual artists, the Quartet had also recorded themed albums; there was the "Rock N' Roll Wedding Collection", the "String Quartet Baby Shower Collection" ... There were tributes dedicated to specific genres, or the biggest hits of a particular year. And not only were there string covers, but piano covers as well ... I was slightly overwhelmed by the mass amount of recordings, but loved every minute of discovering the Quartet's work. Every once in a while, they'd branch out past the strings or keys and incorporate a different instrument when it would add just the right touch; the Vitamin String Quartet's cover of Guns N' Roses' Don't Cry includes a snare drum roll, and at the end of the cover of My Chemical Romance's Teenagers, an electric violin joins the group, imitating the punk-rock sound of an electric guitar.
All in all, I am blown away by the talent of this Quartet, and have loved listening to their covers of so many amazing songs. I encourage you to check out the Quartet for yourself, because what I post on this blog could never do the group justice. Please, do yourself a favor; go to vitaminrecords.com and see all of the amazing recordings this group has done. You won't be disappointed.
But, for now, check out a few of my favorite Vitamin String Quartet covers in the videos below.
Enjoy!

Vitamin String Quartet - String Tribute to Helena by My Chemical Romance



Vitamin String Quartet - String Tribute to Broken by Seether feat. Amy Lee



Vitamin String Quartet - String Tribute to I Write Sins Not Tragedies by Panic! At The Disco

Beat It

Fall Out Boy recently recorded a cover of Michael Jackson's Beat It, which was recorded with the help of guitarist John Mayer (ooh! three for one deal! three artists, one track! o.0 lol). The cover gained huge success both as a single and featured on Fall Out Boy's latest DVD/CD release, ****Live In Phoenix. Today the official music video for Fall Out Boy's cover was released on the Fall Out Boy website, and I have to admit, I was hugely impressed. To honor the release of this brand new Fall Out Boy music video, I thought I'd post about the song on music.is.life.
I'm going to get this out of the way; I've never heard Michael Jackson's recording of this song; the only version of Beat It that I've ever heard is Fall Out Boy's cover. But, I must say that this song is extremely catchy, with a fantastic beat and awesome instrumentals; the guitar solo John Mayer plays in the cover is jaw-dropping! Patrick's vocals in this new release are outstanding, and the lyrics are great. All in all, a really fun track to listen to.
This music video is awesome, and I am very impressed with Fall Out Boy and their abilities to make great videos; but, not only are their videos great, it seems that they have a lot of fun filming them as well. Apparently Beat It's video is full of Michael Jackson references ... I'm not a fan of Michael Jackson and wouldn't recognize the references, so those of you who are fans, pay attention!
Thanks to the glory of YouTube and the speed in which things travel the Internet these days, you can watch this brand new release, right here, on music.is.life. So whether you're a Michael Jackson fan or a Fall Out Boy fan ... enjoy an awesome song!

Fall Out Boy featuring John Mayer - Beat It Music Video

Beat It
Fall Out Boy featuring John Mayer
Originally recorded by Michael Jackson

They told him don't you ever come around here
Don't wanna see your face, you better disappear
The fire's in their eyes and their words are really clear
So beat it, just beat it

You better run, you better do what you can
Don't wanna see no blood, don't be a macho man
You wanna be tough, better do what you can
So beat it, but you wanna be bad

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it

They're out to get you, better leave while you can
Don't wanna be a boy, you wanna be a man
You wanna stay alive, better do what you can
So beat it, just beat it

You have to show them that you're really not scared
You're playin' with your life, this ain't no truth or dare
They'll kick you, then they beat you,
Then they'll tell you it's fair
So beat it, but you wanna be bad

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it

Beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or who's right

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it
Beat it, beat it, beat it

Under Pressure

I am so not an eighties music fan. I hear an eighties song, and I do my best to leave the room. I don't know what it is about that musical era, but the eighties and I are not good friends as far as music goes.
But, leave it to me to fall in love with an eighties song as soon as My Chemical Romance & The Used collaborate on its remix. In all honesty, I would have never given this song a chance if my favorite band and their close friends, respectively, hadn't redone it. Sorry, I'm terribly prejudice against eighties music, I know. But I listed to this remix of Under Pressure, and turns out I like the lyrics a lot, and the beat is super catchy, too.
Congrats to MCR and The Used, for recording an awesome cover to what was probably an awesome song to begin with. But I'll let some Queen or David Bowie fans tell you how great the original track was. Me? I'm a little biased.
So, here are the lyrics to Under Pressure, and a video of the bands performing the song together. Usually I don't like posting videos of live performances because, let's face it, no band or artist is as great live as they are in a recording studio, and most of the videos of live performances on YouTube have awful picture or audio quality, or both. But I found this video and it was great quality, and fun to watch to boot. So, I'm making an exception and posting this video of a live performance instead of a video where you sit and stare at a band logo for three and a half minutes. You're welcome.
Enjoy the song!

My Chemical Romance & The Used - Under Pressure (Live)

Under Pressure
My Chemical Romance & The Used (Originally by David Bowie & Queen)

Pressure!

Pushing down on me
Pressing down on you no man ask for
Under pressure
That burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets

Bah bah dah bah bah dah
(Yeah) (Yeah)

That's okay!
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Scream "Let me out!"
Pray tomorrow takes me higher
Pressure on people
People on streets

Bah bah dah bah bah dah
Okay!

Chippin' around
Kick my brains round the floor
These are the days
It never rains but it pours
Bah bah dah bah bah dah

People on streets
bah dah dee da day
People on streets
bah dah dee dah dee dah dee dah dee dah

It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Scream "Let me out!"
Pray tomorrow takes me higher (higher)

Yeah!

Turned away from it all
Like a blind man
Sat on a fence but it don't work
Keep coming up with love
But it's so slashed and torn

Why? Why? Why?
Love (love)! Love (love)! Love (love)!

Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking
Can't we give ourselves one more chance?
Why can't we give love that one more chance?
Why can't we give love give love give love?
Give love give love give love give love give love?

Cause love's such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care
For the people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our ways
Of caring about ourselves

This is our last dance
This is our last dance
This is ourselves under pressure

Under pressure
Under pressure

Carol of the Bells

It's Christmas Eve! Merry Christmas everybody!!!
And what would a blog about music be without a few Christmas songs??? ;) I know. I hate Christmas music to; it's just way overdone. When they start playing Christmas songs the day after Thanksgiving, you're fed up with it by the time Christmas comes around!
But I feel slightly oblidged. So here's my favorite Christmas song, Carol of the Bells... with a twist.