Ethan's Playlist 6/11/12 [All Around]

Well, as usual my playlist is pretty diverse, one of my "claim to fames" is listening to all kinds of music, most people claim the same thing, but they usually have 1 "exception" that exception being... dun dun dun.. COUNTRY! Well, I used to be a hater of country until my friends officially introduced it to me, at first I still was hatin' on it, but I gradually started to like it. Another problem I had was with metal, but then apparently not all metal is screamo, and the music I thought was rock was metal, and I had been listening to it all along.

The one genre I sometimes have problems with is Hip Hop/ Rap. Yea, I listen to rap, yeah, I even have "rap" on this playlist. I mean I used to listen to rap, like a decent amount, that along with pop. Thankfully, I got caught, by myself, that these songs had quite a bit of swear words and usually had a very negative meaning. So my most listened to, turned to my least listened to. I mean, clean rap is totally fine with me, and meaning clean doesn't mean "bleeped" out words, it means clean words from the get go and decent meanings. Does this mean that I don't listen to bad rap? Most of the time I don't but some songs manage to sneak in, and if that is the case, I get the clean version.

Pop is around the same, I mean, most of the time there are no cuss words, but the meanings are sometimes awful. Have you ever sat listening to lyrics? And then realized that they suck? Yeah, it's the same thing. "Oh, I listen to the song, it is so catchy! But I would never actually do that kinda stuff!" Well, sometimes, it is just as bad to be complacent to listening to that type of music. I do admit that I am not guilt-free, but hey it's sometimes the effort that counts, as long it is substantial effort.

Well, off-topic, now back to blogging. This week's playlist is pretty diverse, it includes: alternative, christian, dubstep remix, rap, pop, and country.

1. [Breath of Life] - Florence + The Machine

I feel like this band gets disregarded a lot, but this band is pretty legit. I mean this song is a great example as well as "Dog Days Are Over" and "No Light, No Light" which was featured as TIME Magazine's top song of 2011, which is kinda odd, because it really wasn't... Adele was definitely top, but the song is good nonetheless. This is on the soundtrack of "Snow White and the Huntsman" and it totally fits, even though I didn't watch the movie yet...

2. [I Will Go] - Starfield

Well, we recently had a pretty good conference @ White Oak and this was one of my favorite songs from the conference, My definite fave was "You Are Good", but the studio version is like a choir and that is good live only for me. I was really surprised by the original, it was a lot cooler than I thought it would be, I thought it would be relatively the same, but it had all the cool guitar moves and sounds added to it. The lyrics are amazing, my definite favorite is "Take everything I am, I'm clay within your hands." This should definitely be our prayer to God.

3. [Lights (Bassnectar Remix)] - Ellie Goulding

The first time I heard the song was like last year. I was kinda shocked at how it sounded, I didn't really listen to dubstep back then and couldn't really understand it and then later when I realized how awesome dubstep was, I was quite happy with the genre, totally forgetting the song. So this was one of my first dubstep songs, and I actually really like it now. It is my favorite! I am a fan of unique voices and dubstep, so this was a good  match. Either this was the first dubstep song, or a Skrillex mashup  was. My friends were listening to "Scary Like A G6" a mashup of "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" and "Like A G6".

4. [Coming Up Strong] - Karmin

Did you know that no one in the duo of Karmin is named Karmin? Actually the duo was named Karmin after the play Carmen and they believe in karma so they made it Karmin. I love pretty much all their songs, but the reason this one stood out was because it was different. They usually rap a lot but this wasn't as much. It was a soft song with an amazing intro by NICK! I really never heard him sing other than in harmony and he is really good, and of course the switch back into rap is always amazing as well, so good job Amy. This is one of my favorites from them, joining the favorites are Hello & Walking On the Moon.

5. [Honey Bee] - Blake Shelton

I really wanted to blog about a song that I didn't blog about last week, since it was all country last week. This right now isn't on my playlist but the other country songs that were featured last week are on it. Well, back to Shelton, I heard this song for the first time, on The Voice! It was last season and he sang it with Dia Frampton & Xenia! My favorites from last season! I kinda didn't know how to react to the song, because I wasn't a country fan then. So, I kinda was like, my 3 favorites are on stage awesome, and I didn't pay attention to the song, but later I really was amazed by the song and it was my favorite for a while, and I still listen to it occasionally, like today.

Well, I think that was the longest I ever blogged on a playlist, so you guys better come read it! Follow Me Please! I want some followers! I have 3, and one is me... Hahaha! If you get this far into the blog, I'll tell you the best bet to make with a friend. Have the bet money on the table from your friend and 2 glasses of liquid, put the glasses on your friend's fingers and say the first part is about balance, and then take the money and run! :)

EK5 with DJ Kwokodile 5/22/12

OK, now that The Voice is over, that must mean no songs from the show right??? I beg to differ, this probably will be the last playlist filled with The Voice songs. Also included in this playlist are selections of rap, rock, and r&b.

1. [Somewhere Only We Know] - Pip
I watched the performance live, and I have no idea why I didn't like it, maybe he was pitchy, well he was very pitchy at the end... Well I came across this song and started listening to it and instantly fell in love with! This is has been my renewal for my hope in Pip. He has a kickstarter account and he needs a lot of money! Help support him here! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/713719482/help-pip-make-his-debut-album!

2. [Walking On the Moon] - Karmin
I have loved Karmin since their youtube days and was excited to see that they got a legit album out with legit singles that are charting! So this song is not charting, but it is still really good. I think this is one of their best songs.

3. [Whistle/Wild Ones (feat. Juliet Simms)] - Flo Rida
I never thought I would listen to this song, but since Juliet is singing in it, I feel like I have an excuse to listen to it, it is really good, I feel like Flo Rida is the clearest and the least auto-tuned, since he doesn't sound airy or breathy when he raps which shows that he is good, unlike others <cough> Kid Cudi <cough>

4. [Yesterday] - Adam Levine & Tony Lucca
This was one of my most favorite duets of the night, this one and Christina's and Chris's were pretty tight, but because I know the words and it is catchy. I don't know Latin, so, that's why I enjoy this one more. I just love Adam Levine's voice, I wouldn't have minded if Tony wasn't included in the record.

5. [I Want You Back (feat. Jamar Rogers, James Massone, & Pip)] - Jermaine Paul
This was the best final performance, all guys sang so great, it especially showed that Pip was not diminishing in his quality of voice, he is still sounding great and all the guys just sounded really great together!

Hope you enjoyed the playlist!

EK9 with DJ Kwokodile 4/9/12

So this week was my spring break, that is probably the reason why the number of posts skyrocketed. I also went camping this spring break, and right now I am extremely envious of those who had camping, then spring break instead of having spring break, than camping. This is my playlist for this week. It is mainly The Voice based. No new music that really appealed to me except from The Wanted and Karmin.

1. [Chai Tea Latte] - Angel Taylor
This song is the most beautiful song by Angel. Angel recently was a contestant on The Voice. She was extremely talented, but was paired with an unknown powerhouse, Katrina Parker, and was eliminated in the Battle Rounds. This song first caught my attention by the name, Chai Tea. I love all types of Chinese tea, so I wanted to listen to this one first, and was so glad it was extremely good. This is a piano ballad with soft vocals, and Angel is singing about dreamy non-existent love.

2. [Lightning] - The Wanted
This British guy band doesn't seem to fail. Everyone is hyped over One Direction, and I am not. I don't understand why people like them so much! They can only sing, and they sing together. It is like Glee all over again, so I am not a fan of them but of The Wanted, they actually add electronic beats to their music to make it as enjoyable as possible. I like this song because of those reasons.

3. [Wake Up Call] - RaeLynn
I know, I know, I remember when I was furious at Blake for keeping RaeLynn in the competition, but she was actually really good! It surprised me and it was definitely a redemption performance. I did not know it was a Maroon 5 song until Carson, Blake, and Adam talked about it. RaeLynn's performance was so good, I downloaded the original version. It was interesting to see the power of Blake and RaeLynn turning a pop-rock song into a pure full-on country song. It worked, and it definitely paid of for RaeLynn, earning her a spot in the quarterfinals!

4. [Brokenhearted] - Karmin
I first heard of them when I listened to their, "Look at Me Now" cover. That girl can rap, unlike Nicki Minaj, but she can also sing really well! I was so excited to see them release an original! I was then pleasantly surprised to see their song chart on iTunes, and then was shocked to hear them on the radio! I have never heard a group from youtube, chart on iTunes and played on the radio!

5. [Misery Business] - Charlotte Sometimes
I was mixed when I first saw this song on iTunes. I looked up the song and saw it was by Paramore. I was a little mixed about this, but I quickly became excited by the performance. I honestly thought it was one of the best performances of the night! She sang a different style to her tone and I thought it was more than enough to take her to the next round. I was saddened when she didn't make the cut and was eliminated.

6. [Somebody That I Used to Know] - Lindsey Pavao
I have heard so many covers of this song and I must say that this is the best one yet! I think it is better than the original. Lindsey didn't bring enough power in her performance, but she brought it when she recorded for the studio. Her soft soothing voice brings a power of indie so powerful, it is unstoppable. I was ecstatic when her song reached #23 on iTunes! I knew this song would boost her to the quarterfinals.

7. [Paris (Ooh La La) {Live}] - Ashley De La Rosa
In her non-airing blind audition, I was so surprised to see Christina actually turn around. Now, like Adam, I am starting to understand why. Ashley is so versatile and her rock performance showed her true artistry. She was so much better than Brian Fuente when doing this song. She totally just snatched the last spot when she sang it and I am so glad she did get the spot.

8. [Alone] - Jordis Unga
I was extremely saddened how Jordis performed in the Battle Rounds, the same can not be said about her live performance. It was extremely good! Her rock side shined as well as her regular vocals! I think she represented Rock and Roll that night, topping the iTunes Rock Charts! I was a little shocked that she had to earn her spot a second time and was not automatically in. I'm bittersweet that she moved on, because I also wanted Charlotte to move on as well. In the end I am glad that Jordis moved on because Charlotte has a contract and has albums, but I have nothing from Jordis except The Voice and Rockstar.

9. [Livin' On a Prayer] - Jermaine Paul
I was and still am confused about Jermaine's genre of music. Is he R&B? Is he Pop? Is he Rock? He has clearly sung all of those genres. I liked his Bon Jovi cover the best mainly because of the instrumentals. He was good and I don't know if I wanted Jermaine to stay because Charlotte might have stayed if he didn't.


I do apologize for the random number 9, it really is quite a weird number. I hope you enjoy my non-unique playlist for this week! Only 10 more days until my birthday!