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?

Corteo-Cirque du Soleil

Every since I was young I've appreciated music from different cultures. Growing up learning Greek folk dance and thus listening to the music, and learning Russian character dance and flamenco, and again listening to the music that comes with it.
I however am not sure where my love for French music came from, but I do know that I'm captivated by French gypsy music.

I also adore circus music. Not Barnum & Bailey style "Big Top" music, but classic caravan circus music. Haha more gypsy sounding. Then there's the side of me that loves those gorgeous Celtic and Gaelic sounds...needless to say I love folk music from around the world.

Last Saturday my dance teacher brought in a Cirque du Soleil soundtrack to dance to, and started off the class with the song "Anneaux" from Cirque's show "Corteo". I was immeadiately captivated by the beat, and then the vocalization, oh and then the strings! It had the essence of a good Nightwish song, but with a French twist, and of course a more circus feel.
This weekend I looking through the library for a copy of the CD, and with great luck found one! I've been listening to it ever since. And this CD has all of the sounds I talked about above!

The other song that caught my eye (though really, they all did) was "Klezmer Moment", it starts off a very Gypsy sounding piece sung by a man with a wonderful Spanish sounding voice, and towards the middle gets into even more of that wonderful French Gypsy/Circus sound. The accordian, everything, is perfect.

Really, this whole CD is worth a listen, and I'm planning on going out and buying acctually. It's quite wonderful!

What's quite amazing about the music from this show is that the vocals are performed in a mixture of three different languages, French, Spanish, and Italian. The ensemble is made up of 61 musicians and singers, with a 16 piece choir, and 13 piece string section.
As I said, quite amazing!

Hopefully, one day I'll be able to go to one of these magnificent shows!

Anyway, without futher delay, these two songs that captivated me so!


Anneaux



Klezmer Moment

"Klezmar Moment" Lyrics

Si ca te fait du bien
Si ca te fait du bien
de te sentir un peu plus mal
Sens-toi bien mal
Sens-toi bien mal
pour te sentir un peu mieux
Sens-toi bien mal
Sens-toi bien mal
pour te sentir un peu mieux

Si ca te fait du bien
Si ca te fait du bien
de te sentir un peu plus mal
Sens-toi bien mal
Sens-toi bien mal
pour te sentir un peu mieux
Sens-toi bien mal
Sens-toi bien mal
pour te sentir un peu mieux

Mieux
Sans te sentir mal
Te fait du bien alors sens-toi
bien mal
pour te sentir un peu mieux

Si ca te fait du bien
Si ca te fait du bien
de te sentir un peu plus mal
Sens-toi bien mal
Sens-toi bien mal
pour te sentir un peu mieux
Sens-toi bien mal
Sens-toi bien mal
pour te sentir un peu mieux

Si ca te fait du bien
Si ca te fait du bien
de te sentir un peu plus mal
Sens-toi bien mal
Sens-toi bien mal
pour te sentir un peu mieux
Sens-toi bien mal
Sens-toi bien mal

Requiem For A Dream

I haven't seen the movie, but I heard this song for the very first time Janurary, in a dance class.

Ou jazz teacher chose this music for a dance we were working on. I heard it and immediately thought "Wow. That's amazing."

The way it starts, with faint vocals and a slow sad tune. Soon going into strings. This song is beautifully eerie. It sends chills down the spine, but in a very good way.
The song picks up towards the middle, louder, faster, and then slows again, only to pick up once again.

This soung gets your adrenaline running, along with all of your emotions. "Three Cheers" for Clint Mansel on composing this piece, it's sheer brilliance!

There's not much else I can say about it. You truely have to listen to this to understand the splendor!

Think Of Me

Reno, you silly head...you forgot Think Of Me! I agree that the other songs rock too, but this one is my favorite. Angel Of Music is probably second on the list, followed by Music of the Night in a close third.
I absolutelly love the lyrics! This song is absolutelly beautiful, whether it means anything to you or not. But if it doesn't touch your heart...I think there's something wrong with you.
I agree with Reno...Phantom Of The Opera is a fabulous musical gone book gone movie, although I've only seen the movie. I can imagine the book is good, too...ask Reno. But I bet the musical blows them all out of the water.
Anyway, here are the lyrics to Think Of Me... In the movie, the female vocals are sung by Christine, and the male vocals are sung by Raoul.

Think Of Me
From the Film Phantom Of The Opera

{female vocals}
Think of me, think of me fondly,
when we've said goodbye.
Remember me once in a while -
please promise me you'll try.
When you find that, once again, you long
to take your heart back and be free -
if you ever find a moment,
spare a thought for me

We never said our love was evergreen,
or as unchanging as the sea -
but if you can still remember
stop and think of me . . .

Think of all the things
we've shared and seen -
don't think about the things
which might have been . . .

Think of me, think of me waking,
silent and resigned.
Imagine me, trying too hard
to put you from my mind.
Recall those days
look back on all those times,
think of the things we'll never do -
there will never be a day,
when I won't think of you . . .

{male vocals}
Can it be? Can it be Christine?
Bravo!
Long ago, it seems so long ago
How young and innocent we were...
She may not remember me,
but I remember her...

{female vocals}
Flowers fades,
The fruits of summer fade,
They have decisions, so do we
but please promise me, that sometimes
you will think of me!

Phantom of the Opera!

Hey guys, new music genre for ya, if you've never seen Andrew Lloyed Webber's, Phantom of the Opera you have missed an absolutely amazing performance with some of the best singers, lyrics, and music of all time. Needless to say, watch it as soon as you possibly can. Emmy Rossum is stunning, "voice like an angel" as she is suppose to have, she fits the part absolutely perfectly, she is such an amazing actress and vocalist, and only 17 when she filmed Phantom! Gerard Butler has a very unoperatic voice but is amazing as well. The lyrics for all of the songs are incredible, just breath taking, and with the musics the entire thing is just, omg there's no words that can desribe it....so, here are some lyrics from my favorite songs, not all of the lyrics sometimes, but some favorites and samples...

Phantom of the Opera

In sleep he sang to me
In dreams he came
That voice which calls to me
and speaks my name
And do I dream again
for now I find
The Phantom of the Opera is there
Inside my mind

Sing once again with me
Our strange duet
My power over you
grows stronger yet
And though you turn from me
to glance behind
The Phantom of the Opera is there
Inside your mind

Those who have seen your face
Draw back in fear
I am the mask you wear
It's me they hear...

Your/My spirit and my/your voice
in one combined
The Phantom of the Opera is thereInside my/your mind

*the your / mys are where the Phantom and Christine are both singing one of them, Christine says Your spirit and my voice, while the Phantom says My spirit and your voice, meaning together they make up the whole song. The meaning behind all the lyrics is incredible...

Angel of Music

Father once spoke of an angel
I used to dream he'd appear
Now as I sing, I can sense him
And I know he's here
Here in this room he calls me softly
Somewhere inside hiding
Somehow I know he's always with me
He, the unseen genius

This is an amazing verse by Emmy, she just nails it, so beautifully.

Music of the Night by far has the most incredible lyrics, I have to add the whole of them here, it's the Phantom's solo, and the words are just so so true and gorgeous, I cannot get enough of this song!

Music of the Night

Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation.
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination.
Silently the senses abandon their defences

Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendour.
Grasp it, sense it tremulous and tender.
Turn your face away from the garish light of day,
Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light -
and listen to the music of the night...

Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams!
Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before!
Close your eyes,let your spirit start to soar!
And you'll live as you've never lived before

Softly, deftly, music shall caress you
Hear it, feel it, secretly possess you
Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind,
in this darkness that you know you cannot fight
the darkness of the music of the night.

Let your mind start a journeythrough a strange, new world!
Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before!
Let your soul take you where you long to be!
Only then can you belong to me

Floating, falling, sweet intoxication!
Touch me, trust me, savour each sensation!
Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in
To the power of the music that I write
The power of the music of the night

You alone can make my song take flight
Help me make the music of the night

Well I was going to bold the phrases I liked the most but I think I would have nearly the entire song bolded, these lyrics are just too perfect. There are so many other great lyrical songs in the movie, here's a link http://www.stlyrics.com/t/thephantomoftheopera.htm to all of the song lyrics, so please see the movie, please listen to the songs, and be ready to just become obbsessed with it.