Thursday, March 10, 2011

Live Music that Actually Moves Me

Unfortunately, in the music industry today you don't have to have talent in order to sound great in a studio recording-technology fills in the gaps. Which is why I normally hate albums that are live recordings of concerts, because they show how far the artist really falls short of their manipulated and enhanced and auto-tuned studio work. Even fairly talented bands can sound mediocre live, if the singer and/or other band mates don't have the best endurance, playing song after song. I'm not a fan of 'live' versions as a rule-but there are some bands that are too amazing to disappoint. The first concert I saw televised was Queen performing at Wembley in 1986. Obviously it wasn't brand new by the time I saw it, considering this was six years before I was born, but it was new to me when I finally did, and as a Queen fan I was completely blown away… I was absolutely glued to the TV. Freddie Mercury had the gift of moving a crowd with his charismatic personality, and in Queen's performance of Under Pressure (one of my favorites by them, along with I Want to Break Free) really displayed how he could control the crowd-before the song begins… well, just watch it ;) :



If you can do an amazing job live, then you actually have talent-which Queen, and other classic bands from that time, really did. I saw Linkin Park's concert in Madison Square Garden on TV a little while ago, and they actually did a great job-it wasn't quite as good as on their albums, but pretty darn close, and far better than I expected (and I'm a fan, believe it or not, but like I said-I don't have faith in live performances). The only current band I've heard lately and found downright amazing in their live concert recordings/videos is the one and only MUSE (INSERT FANGIRL SCREAM!)! I actually favorited their videos on YouTube-I favorited LIVE videos! Seriously though, if you haven't heard much Muse, check out this playlist of 7 of my favorite live performances and see how you like it OR this list, which is longer, and has the album versions of many of their songs. And whether you've heard them or not, check out this awesome live vid FROM…. Wembley again! The build from softer to loud, the crazy vocals and insane guitar work, followed by a beautiful piano solo, and the overall energy, COMBINED with some of my favorite lyrics ever… I love Butterflies and Hurricanes, what can I say :).



And this one is Knights of Cydonia-one of my favorite live performances, with the vocals, energy… this crowd was seriously moving, and the 'no one's going to take me alive...' part is epic :D



They aren't afraid to improvise and mix things up, and sometimes veer away from the recorded version, but it still sounds absolutely amazing and of studio quality, because they're just. that. good. I really could sit here and embed every single live video I can find, but I won't-instead, if you're interested, you can find all of my personal favorites, live and not live, Muse and not Muse, in one place-on my YouTube Channel.
Well, that's a couple of my favorite artists when it comes to live recordings-what are some of yours? Do you like live versions better, or do you avoid them? Let me know what you all think! And for those who commented on the Life is Sweet post-I have now replied in the comments section, so check it out :). A huge thanks to Angela for following-those of you who, unlike me, are capable of cooking, really should check out her blog, Recipes from my mom-it is a great cooking blog, and straightforward and easy to understand, so I have it marked as a favorite just in case I get brave someday soon and decide to try and cook something(I'm thinking about her Chicken Acapulco-it looks like something my mom would love). Thanks everyone for reading, and commenting, and being generally awesome people who I like to consider friends-you make blogging fun :D. Until next time,


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(¸.· Elizabeth *´¨)
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Posted by Elizabeth at Thursday, March 10, 2011
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5 comments:

Oh, I have soo many live performances that I love. Great post!
 
Amanda
March 10, 2011 at 1:19 PM
I think the first time I can remember hearing a Muse song was in the trailer for Reclaiming the Blade (a very interesting movie, by the way).

I hadn't heard of Knights of Cydonia before, and as for Queen, I'd heard of him/them of course, but don't listen to his music for a couple of reasons, including the fact that he was a homosexual.
 
Maximillian
March 19, 2011 at 2:52 PM
Haha, whenever I hear a Muse song in a movie trailer (which is happening with increasing frequency) I tend to scream my head off and shout 'DATS MAH JAMMM!!!!' :D. Haha, including Knights of Cydonia (can't remember what movie's trailer that song was in, but I sure was loud about it)! And yes, Freddie was homosexual, and incredibly talented-the music he composed is brilliant :). I tend to prefer to judge an artist by their art, not their personal lives, but totally understand and respect your opinion on the matter.
 
Elizabeth
March 19, 2011 at 4:32 PM
Thank you for your thoughtful reply, Elizabeth. :)
 
Maximillian
March 19, 2011 at 9:25 PM
No problem, it's something I've thought about before... and the bottom line for me is that music is art, and each song is a specific piece, and I judge them independently :). Which is why I'm a huge Queen fan, because many pieces really are fantastic, and why I just don't care about some contemporary Christian bands-if the work seems completely unoriginal and the vocals and instrumentation are less than stellar, or the message is weak... sorry, but even if the people have hearts of gold, I don't care for the music. The best thing about music, though, is how everyone sees it differently-and I'm always open to other perspectives :).
 
Elizabeth
March 19, 2011 at 10:55 PM

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