TrekBBS vs. the Music

[Jetfire]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W69DwrXkjgw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op4n0pGQ3F4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulTmmTIlM_o

1. Black Sabbath "Into The Void"

Hells Yeah! Black Sabbath is great. This song is ok...I like some of their other songs a bit more. B-Good.

2. Marcy Playground "Sex and Candy"

Remember this song from the 90's...it is a good alt-rocck radio song but I never cared for it personally. C-Average/OK.

3. Phil Ochs "Outside A Small Circle of Friends"

Never heard before. Um...not really my thing with that whole honkytonk piano and folk vocals, lyrics. D-Bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-jgzVHyZd4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-TSaH7T7_k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RmgiSL1djg

 

[Itisnotlogical]

Florence + The Machine - "Cosmic Love"

I was hooked from the first line. The vocals are beautiful, even if the lyrics can be a bit creepy if taken literally (a star came from somebody's chest and ripped out my eyes...?). The rising volume, along with the sudden drop a little bit after halfway through, the intense background drumming during the chorus, all add up to one of the most awesome songs I've ever heard. The lyrics are very nice too. Easy 10/10.

Jessie J - "Price Tag"

Another pretty excellent song. Even though it's about one of the most overused topics in music (money = suck), it's not presented in the typical "capitalism and by extension the US is Evil Incarnate"- it's presented in the theme of a bunch of friends just finding happiness in being with eachother, even if they're dirt poor. Very nice. 9/10

Jewel - "Foolish Games"

This is more the fault of it's target audience than anything else. I just can't find much to resonate with in the lyrics. I'm not a heartbroken tweenaged girl. In it's favor, it's pretty nice in theory; I just think it's boring because I don't like the theme. 6/10.

dun dun dun dun dun DUN... my three!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3yrd8TqwrM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5juc6fmgylw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj7V-zOJqEc

 

[Eyes]

Sorry I haven't posted for ages, guys. I've been bogged down with revision, and while I've had time to do some things on the site, I haven't done this for ages.

I don't have time to review now, although those look interesting choices, Itisnotlogical.

I want to see how the first one goes down especially, as I've grown a little fond of him appearing everywhere. His latest 'Give Me Everything' is a tune!

Some things I'd like to say on some recent songs posted:

DJ Earworm - United State of Pop

It could have been good, if it wasn't so damn chaotic. It's impossible to tell what they're saying, because they switch singers almost between every other word. There's no organization or unifying theme, which at least keeps it interesting. 3/10.

I find Earworm's mashups quite catchy actually. Somehow, he manages to create coherent lyrics in his maelstrom, and that's part of the fun.

2010's mashup is a little quieter, and slower, as it uses Bruno Mars as the backing track holding it all together, rather than the Black Eyed Peas, so you might enjoy that one more: Link.
Of course that depends on your opinion of Bruno Mars.

Jessie J - "Price Tag"

Another pretty excellent song. Even though it's about one of the most overused topics in music (money = suck), it's not presented in the typical "capitalism and by extension the US is Evil Incarnate"- it's presented in the theme of a bunch of friends just finding happiness in being with eachother, even if they're dirt poor. Very nice. 9/10

I think the reason for no capitalism mention is because it's British. Were you in the UK, you would not have been able
to escape this track. It's one of the most successful tracks this year over here.

There's a lot more British pop (and rap) breaking the USA. Watch out America...

 

[Thestral]

^ I appreciate the artistry of Earworm's 2010 mix, but the 2009 one still has a special place; I think the energy is part of it and the Black Eyed Peas song I think works better as a background track. Still, his work's always excellent.

"Price Tag" is starting to get big here too, I'm hearing it played more and more on the pop stations. Which is good by me.

Pitbull - Back it Up
Let's first admit that I'm not a big fan of hip-hop in general. But with that said, I can acknowledge there's some quality stuff in the genre, and I'm becoming more interested in it in general. Which brings us to Pitbull, apparently one of the fastest-rising stars of the genre. And he is not a positive example in my opinion. This is the first song I've heard where he was the primary artist, but I wasn't expecting much based on the way he brings other songs to screeching halts (though he works a lot better in On the Floor). And I was right not to expect much. with this particular song, there's nothing especially awful about it, but there's nothing that really catches my attention either. It's greatest sin isn't that it's awful, it's just... boring. And in general that's my opinion of Pitbull, he's doing stuff that's been done, and done better. He doesn't really even have the awful-value of Kanye. Give me Usher, Eminem, Drake, B.O.B. any day. But credit for not consisting of a bunch of random spanish phrases drunkenly thrown together I guess. 3/10

Nightwish - The Islander
Beautiful, mysterious opening... where's this going? It gets kinda sea-shanty-ish, which I wasn't expecting. The guy does a good job singing, and the music sets a nice tone. It's a nice tragic-sounding tale, I do kinda wish the female vocalist was more prominent (I thought Nightwish's main singer was a woman?). This style of music, mixing folk-ish elements and a rock sensibility with otherworldly topics, really appeals to me. I somehow was expecting Nightwish to be a lot more bombastic, but the relatively stripped-down sound works beautifully. Excellent stuff, thank you! 9/10

Gackt - Lu:na (Live)
... Japanese metal? It's more likely than you think! I can't understand a word he's singing and I assume it's because he's singing in another language and not because I'm an idiot. On the one hand, it'd be nice to know what he's singing - on the other hand it leaves me free to focus on the music and the visuals. And the music's excellent - very good guitar/drums work, polished but with an edge. The energy they're putting into the song and the performance is great. And I just love the way it breaks into strings during the middle while a swordfight breaks out on stage, that was awesome. Very nice, and I'd listen to more for sure. 8/10

My three:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_6ak9CYx48
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nugXkgd_-84
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHzOOQfhPFg&feature=related

 

[Itisnotlogical]

Nightwish - The Islander
Beautiful, mysterious opening... where's this going? It gets kinda sea-shanty-ish, which I wasn't expecting. The guy does a good job singing, and the music sets a nice tone. It's a nice tragic-sounding tale, I do kinda wish the female vocalist was more prominent (I thought Nightwish's main singer was a woman?). This style of music, mixing folk-ish elements and a rock sensibility with otherworldly topics, really appeals to me. I somehow was expecting Nightwish to be a lot more bombastic, but the relatively stripped-down sound works beautifully. Excellent stuff, thank you! 9/10

Nightwish tends to jump around between the genres of pop, symphonic metal and this. This type of sea-shanty thing is actually in the minority of their tracks, which makes me very sad. And yes, Nightwish's lead singer is currently Annette Olzone (who is nowhere near as talented as her predecessor, Tarja Turunen). However, I think Marco Holopainen does a very excellent job, and this song really shows off his talent. This type of song is really better suited to his type of voice anyway.

Gackt - Lu:na (Live)
... Japanese metal? It's more likely than you think! I can't understand a word he's singing and I assume it's because he's singing in another language and not because I'm an idiot. On the one hand, it'd be nice to know what he's singing - on the other hand it leaves me free to focus on the music and the visuals. And the music's excellent - very good guitar/drums work, polished but with an edge. The energy they're putting into the song and the performance is great. And I just love the way it breaks into strings during the middle while a swordfight breaks out on stage, that was awesome. Very nice, and I'd listen to more for sure. 8/10

You can find the English lyrics via Google. Some tracks I'd recommend if you liked this one are Longing, Mizerable and White Eyes.

 

[Eyes]

Pitbull - Back it Up
Let's first admit that I'm not a big fan of hip-hop in general. But with that said, I can acknowledge there's some quality stuff in the genre, and I'm becoming more interested in it in general. Which brings us to Pitbull, apparently one of the fastest-rising stars of the genre. And he is not a positive example in my opinion. This is the first song I've heard where he was the primary artist, but I wasn't expecting much based on the way he brings other songs to screeching halts (though he works a lot better in On the Floor). And I was right not to expect much. with this particular song, there's nothing especially awful about it, but there's nothing that really catches my attention either. It's greatest sin isn't that it's awful, it's just... boring. And in general that's my opinion of Pitbull, he's doing stuff that's been done, and done better. He doesn't really even have the awful-value of Kanye. Give me Usher, Eminem, Drake, B.O.B. any day. But credit for not consisting of a bunch of random spanish phrases drunkenly thrown together I guess. 3/10

Pitbull isn't my least favourite rent-a-rapper, that honour goes to Kanye's terrible verses on Katy Perry's 'E.T' where he cuts out the best part of the song to speak about alien sex. It's not even particularly rhythmic. I do like Kanye's other work though.
Anyway, Pitbull does good on his solo tracks, well, not necessarily that one, but on Hotel Room Service and Give Me Everything, yes.
When he's on other songs, On The Floor is easily his best featured work. I Like It, I haven't heard it without Pitbull, but Enrique's bits are so much better.

Usher's DJ Got Us Falling In Love Again has Pitbull as pretty much a non-event, while the 4th track I've seen him on, Alexandra Burke's All Night Long, the album, non-Pitbull version is far superior.

So I'm pretty much mixed on him.

 

[Jetfire]

My three:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_6ak9CYx48
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nugXkgd_-84
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHzOOQfhPFg&feature=related

1. The Cranberries "Stars"

I like some of The Cranberries stuff...this was pretty good. Nice light alt-rock sound jangling guitars...her vocals are always nice. B-Good.

2. Caleb Meyer - Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

I haven't heard before. Kinda a folk/indy rock sound... acoustic...the guitar work is great...This was alright. C-Average/OK.

3. No Doubt "Just A Girl"

I saw No Doubt live with Bush & The Goo Goo Dolls in 97'. This is a decent song...I was never a big fan though. B-Good.

Mine...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yisD3EyvUv0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDwV2oSRdpc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar1nynBH8YY

 

[JayOwl]

Mine...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yisD3EyvUv0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDwV2oSRdpc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar1nynBH8YY

"Circle The Sky" - Shark Etiquette - Is that singing? Seriously? Even so, it's quite funny and sort of catchy, and I like the backing. It's just too weird and screamy to be rated any higher than: 4/10

"Run And Hide" - Ninja Dolls - Actually really nice, great voice. It's nice to see that it's stripped back without any autotune. I'm actually quite a big fan of female vocals in rock . 8/10

"Again" - Flyleaf - I'm listening to it while I'm typing, and I already love the intro. Great voice. Fantastic chorus. Reminds me a tiny bit of P!nk. Absolutely brilliant. 10/10


Mine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW0yynlDmqQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLGbfEf7o7c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIz2K3ArrWk

 

[Thestral]

2. Caleb Meyer - Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

I haven't heard before. Kinda a folk/indy rock sound... acoustic...the guitar work is great...This was alright. C-Average/OK.

I like to think of it as the prettiest song about attempted rape and homicide in the world.

 

[Jetfire]

2. Caleb Meyer - Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

I haven't heard before. Kinda a folk/indy rock sound... acoustic...the guitar work is great...This was alright. C-Average/OK.

I like to think of it as the prettiest song about attempted rape and homicide in the world.

I really don't take in the subject matter of a song when judging them...or I wouldn't be listening to half the crap I listen to.

 

[Canadave]

2. Caleb Meyer - Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

I haven't heard before. Kinda a folk/indy rock sound... acoustic...the guitar work is great...This was alright. C-Average/OK.

I like to think of it as the prettiest song about attempted rape and homicide in the world.

Hmm... I don't know about that.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLY0HNds_tE[/yt]

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Mine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW0yynlDmqQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLGbfEf7o7c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIz2K3ArrWk

1. White Lies - Bigger Than Us:
The song is pretty good - standard alt rock fare with a higher than normal amount of synth that gives it a slight 80's feel. Nothing bad about the song at all...but I suspect it would be one of those songs that I'd passively sit through as it played on my car radio 20 times...and in the end, I'd still not know the name of the song or the name of the artist, because I wasn't motivated enough in all those listens to look down at my XM radio display - either to change the channel out of intense hatred...or to get the name of the band so I could grab their CD out of intense love of their awesome music. For me, this song falls into the category of 'won't turn it off while sittin' in traffic music'. 7/10

2. Pitbull - Give Me Everything
Well, for starters, any song that mentions Lindsay Lohan by name in the first couple of lines is likely to leave an extremely UN-favorable impression on me. Just sayin'.

That's issue #1. Issue #2 is that the chorus of this song sounds like 80's disco music. And not in a good way. I lived through 80's disco music, and I'm glad it is behind me. Very glad.

Issue #3 is...well...rap. Or 'kinda-rap'. Either way - not my bag.

Sorry, but I really hated this song. I realize all tastes are different and perhaps it is not an inherently 'bad' song or anything. However, it just seemed to press a good many of my 'Wow! I really hate this song!' buttons, all at once in a technicolor explosion of dislike that would probably be visible from space. Unlike the last one, this is the sort of song that I would remember the next time it came on the radio...because as soon as I heard the opening bars, I'd be mashing buttons as quickly as humanly possible. 3/10

3. Owl City - Vanilla Twilight
The greatest thing about this song is...well, that it's NOT the last song. Compared to that one, anything remotely in the ballpark sounds epically awesome to me.

Is that Shaq in the video? Granted, I'm not the most avid NBA viewer on the planet...but it sure looks like Shaq to me!

I actually kind of liked this video...although I'm not sure what's happening at the end. Are we being invaded by aliens? Or is it.....jeez, I hate saying this today.....the rapture?

Anyway, this was the best song of the lot. 8/10

My picks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMQbzLrvwlE&feature=share
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMLsF8ajI6U&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4sQfHD_b_E

 

[Jetfire]

My picks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMQbzLrvwlE&feature=share
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMLsF8ajI6U&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4sQfHD_b_E

1. The Smiths Please, please, please, let me get what I want

Haven't heard before...I think...heard The Smiths before though. I like them and this song is quite nice...great emotion in the song. A-Excellent.

2. Apocalyptica featuring Corey Taylor - I'm Not Jesus

Hells Yeah! Singer from Slipknot/Stone Sour. I like what Apocalyptica has done with various artists. This is great...my first listen actually. Nice mix of metal and hard rock with some strings. A-Excellent.

3. Shaman's Harvest "Dragonfly"

Haven't heard before. Getting that alt-metal feel. I am not liking it...seems a bit generic...it isn't bad...but it doesn't have that "it" factor for me. C-Average/OK.

Here are mine...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXCKLJGLENs or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eDSzL0774Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0bZtf5MCzY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr3E6mNRxHU

 

[PKTrekGirl]

2. Apocalyptica featuring Corey Taylor - I'm Not Jesus

Hells Yeah! Singer from Slipknot/Stone Sour. I like what Apocalyptica has done with various artists. This is great...my first listen actually. Nice mix of metal and hard rock with some strings. A-Excellent.

<snip>

Here are mine...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXCKLJGLENs or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eDSzL0774Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0bZtf5MCzY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr3E6mNRxHU

Yes. Thanks in large part to you, I have pried myself away from Pearl Jam Radio/Lithium for at least one direction of my RT commute each day....and listen instead to Octane.

The first Apocalyptica song I heard (on Octaone) was the collaboration they did with Gavin Rossdale....and I have to confess, I liked that better than anything he did with Bush. "Cello Metal" is still a concept I'm getting used to...but you can't deny that these songs kick ass.

Anyway, when I looked that one up on YouTube, I stumbled across this one and fell in love with it. Corey Taylor is amazing, IMO. An awesome singer of extreme talent.

Unfortunately, I just can't stand all that stupid-ass makeup nonsense that Slipknot does. Plus, Corey Taylor is actually a pretty nice looking guy. Why waste it under all that silliness?

I like Stone Sour...but in truth, at this point, this is my favorite song he sings. He really is great. And this song is perfectly suited to his talents.

Wish I could review your songs. Look to be right up my alley.

 

[JayOwl]

Mine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW0yynlDmqQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLGbfEf7o7c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIz2K3ArrWk

1. White Lies - Bigger Than Us:
The song is pretty good - standard alt rock fare with a higher than normal amount of synth that gives it a slight 80's feel. Nothing bad about the song at all...but I suspect it would be one of those songs that I'd passively sit through as it played on my car radio 20 times...and in the end, I'd still not know the name of the song or the name of the artist, because I wasn't motivated enough in all those listens to look down at my XM radio display - either to change the channel out of intense hatred...or to get the name of the band so I could grab their CD out of intense love of their awesome music. For me, this song falls into the category of 'won't turn it off while sittin' in traffic music'. 7/10

2. Pitbull - Give Me Everything
Well, for starters, any song that mentions Lindsay Lohan by name in the first couple of lines is likely to leave an extremely UN-favorable impression on me. Just sayin'.

That's issue #1. Issue #2 is that the chorus of this song sounds like 80's disco music. And not in a good way. I lived through 80's disco music, and I'm glad it is behind me. Very glad.

Issue #3 is...well...rap. Or 'kinda-rap'. Either way - not my bag.

Sorry, but I really hated this song. I realize all tastes are different and perhaps it is not an inherently 'bad' song or anything. However, it just seemed to press a good many of my 'Wow! I really hate this song!' buttons, all at once in a technicolor explosion of dislike that would probably be visible from space. Unlike the last one, this is the sort of song that I would remember the next time it came on the radio...because as soon as I heard the opening bars, I'd be mashing buttons as quickly as humanly possible. 3/10

3. Owl City - Vanilla Twilight
The greatest thing about this song is...well, that it's NOT the last song. Compared to that one, anything remotely in the ballpark sounds epically awesome to me.

Is that Shaq in the video? Granted, I'm not the most avid NBA viewer on the planet...but it sure looks like Shaq to me!

I actually kind of liked this video...although I'm not sure what's happening at the end. Are we being invaded by aliens? Or is it.....jeez, I hate saying this today.....the rapture?

Anyway, this was the best song of the lot. 8/10

I'd probably agree with you on "Bigger Than Us". As for "Give Me Everything" I'd totally disagree, it's really good for a party song, and I now have a lot of good memories accosiated with it- just because it's rap I wouldn't shun it, but hey, it's your opinion. These kinds of songs aren't for everyone.
Vanilla Twilight is just beautiful, and rather emotional.. I think it's based on a personal loss- the video is ok, but all it is, is some people looking at a twilight/sunset (The Girl being the focus) and Owl City (Adam) playing a piano. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with any rapture, that's just probably on your mind at the moment for obvious reasons . I can see which guy you're talking about after looking him up on wiki, but whether it is Shaq or not I couldn't tell you .

 

[Thestral]

So I'm pretty much mixed on him.

I think I'm just a little more on the "dislike" side with Pitbull - but as you say, he's certainly not the worst. Yeah, Kanye just murders ET.

I really don't take in the subject matter of a song when judging them...or I wouldn't be listening to half the crap I listen to.

Music's always the most important thing of course, but good lyrics can elevate a mediocre song. More importantly though, awful lyrics can sink an otherwise mediocre song (see: much of rap music IMO)

Hmm... I don't know about that.

Nice.

Here are mine...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXCKLJGLENs or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eDSzL0774Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0bZtf5MCzY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr3E6mNRxHU

The Cure - Lovesong
Ahh, this song. I don't really know much about the Cure, but I definitely like this song. The music provides a nice quiet accompaniment, never getting in the way of the singer but providing a good background. Reminds me in some ways of The Wallflowers or The Cranberries, wonder if The Cure influenced them? Anyway, the lyrics are nice enough, though I wonder if there might not be a darker undertone to them - that might just be the moodiness of the video, but maybe not. Anyway, not a whole lot to say, but I've always enjoyed this song. 7/10

Nine Inch Nails - Hurt
I never really thought a whole lot of NIN, they were never really my style of music. Not that I was down on them, they just didn't really enter my thought much. But between this song and Trent Reznor's work in The Social Network, I can definitely appreciate the talent of the people behind them. The quiet, sad refrain of a depressed man looking back over the pain and suffering in his life, mixed with the stripped-down, barely-there instrumentation makes this song fantastic. Less is absolutely more in this case, since we're invited to commiserate with the singer in his misery. Now, I will say that I heard the Johnny Cash version first and, to be honest, I'll always like it better. Reznor does a solid job, and he's clearly struggling with demons in his singing, but it's just not as ... I dunno, textured and lamenting as Johnny Cash's take. If anything, Reznor sounds like he's trying to reconnect after a long time of disconnect - there's more immediate pain, whereas Cash is more of looking back on the pains in his life. Reznor's still got a future, whereas Cash is more emotional because it's near the end. ANyway, always good to hear this song again. 8/10

Tori Amos - I Don't Like Mondays
Speaking of minimalist instrumentation. Tori Amos has a lovely voice, that much is clear. The music, on the other hand... nothing against it, but I don't really care for it with this song. It seems a little.. bubbly for the song, I might like it better if it was a guitar or fiddle. Indeed, I wonder if this has ever been done in a folk/bluegrass style? The topic of the songs is definitely appropriate. Anyway, like I said Tori's voice is lovely and the song itself is good, I just wish the instrument was different. 5/10

My three:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ59jBudWwQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4KMrc3eNdo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35rREuHEJg8

ETA: Sorry about that Jetfire. That's what I get for writing my reviews out in Notepad

 

[Jetfire]

^
You are not going to review my songs.

 

[Thestral]

Shit, sorry. Editing that in.

 

[Jetfire]

Tori Amos - I Don't Like Mondays
Speaking of minimalist instrumentation. Tori Amos has a lovely voice, that much is clear. The music, on the other hand... nothing against it, but I don't really care for it with this song. It seems a little.. bubbly for the song, I might like it better if it was a guitar or fiddle. Indeed, I wonder if this has ever been done in a folk/bluegrass style? The topic of the songs is definitely appropriate. Anyway, like I said Tori's voice is lovely and the song itself is good, I just wish the instrument was different. 5/10



ETA: Sorry about that Jetfire. That's what I get for writing my reviews out in Notepad

It is ok...I would have waited but I have flair for the dramatic.

About this Tori Amos cover...I love it...the music works for me...I would prefer her and just a piano instead of what was used here...I forgot what is is called...but it isn't piano...ugh...I will look it up later. I actually should have picked "Enjoy The Silence" from the same album...but forgot. Thanks for your time.

 

[23skidoo]

My three:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ59jBudWwQ

Cast of Glee, "Loser Like Me".

There's no doubt that the cast of Glee are talented, but the only problem I have with this song is it sounds like pretty much every other song I've heard from Glee and High School Musical. Most Glee songs are covers, so this is probably one too, but I don't recognize it. I think what makes this one work is the enthusiasm of the performers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4KMrc3eNdo

Dropkick Murphys, "The Worker's Song"

This one struck me as sort of a harder-edged Pogues, and I could easily see Shane McGowan singing this. That's a compliment. This is a great folksy type of song that probably makes for some great sing-along action. I like the fact the lyrics can be heard. I say that because I've heard a few of these types of songs where the music's too loud and the words are lost, and they're the most important part of a song like this. Good guitar work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35rREuHEJg8

The Elephant Love Medley from "Moulin Rouge" - Nicole Kidman and Ewen McGregor.

I didn't have to watch this one because I'm familiar with it. This was a fantastic minestrone of familiar songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s that I thought worked really well. Nicole and Ewen have great voices and they should have recorded an album together. It's a bit overblown in the staging, as is the whole film, but this is a great snapshot of late-20th century pop. The opera-singing guy at the end I could live without, though. But none of this is supposed to be taken seriously.

OK, my three.

When viewing this first one keep in mind this was recorded in 1964 and filmed in 1965. You might not realize it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOuxXOnMBvQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAhFTXyiCJs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnvVKdE7pmE
(couldn't resist - and if you want to see a version you may have never seen before - complete with both Hollys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLJanSkYAso )

Alex