Jody Whitesides

Tag: pop

  • You Don’t Choose Trendy Music, It Chooses You

    You Don’t Choose Trendy Music, It Chooses You

    Trendy music is always a topic on year-end lists.

    Goodbye To A Lousy 2016

    Looking back on a year that for a lot of us was probably not our greatest glory is a hard thing to do. I think the one thing that got a lot of people down had to be the deaths of a lot of entertainment icons. Musicians, actors, and creative types that many, if not all, of us are familiar with. Its sad to see icons pass away.

    Sizzling Trendy Music

    While I didn’t really grow up thinking about pop music, I have come to embrace it pretty hard in the last year. But it doesn’t mean I wasn’t aware of many of the popular musicians who passed away this past year. The main reason for the embrace isn’t to be chasing trendy music, but rather to spread out and create more interesting music. Rock feels like a dead subject – especially when most rock isn’t being overly adventurous in sonic terms. Pop music on the other hand is ingesting so many different vibes that it becomes really hard to ignore.

    Fantastic Spotify

    Spotify encapsulates the beauty of finding out what is trendy music. Streaming music and especially Spotify makes it incredibly easy to listen to more music than you can shake a stick at. For me it means taking time to listen to what is topping the charts. This in turn gives me the ability to tear apart the instrumentation and the concepts that led to the creation of the song. That in turns improves my writing, my arrangements, and my production skills.

    trendy music

    An Inspired Past

    While I don’t spend a ton of time dwelling on the past, I did spend time appreciating the music of many who passed away this year. Part of what has stood out is the timelessness of the music created by artists like Prince, George Michael, David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Leonard Cohen, and producer Sir George Martin. That’s an incredible list of people who redefined the music industry in decades long before I started playing an instrument.

    Impact With The Now

    Newer music like Daya, Shawn Mendes, The Weeknd, Alessia Cara, Bieber (yes, I’m putting him in this list), and DNCE shows how I can incorporate a variety of styles and make them something new. Looking forward into 2017 I’ve got a line of singles I’m excited to get released. Every song is different from each other. There’s even some that are a serious departure from my normal concept of releasing music. Think someone like DJ Snake or Calvin Harris, more trendy music and I’m looking to keep people on their toes.

    Demolish Your New Year’s Eve

    So on this final day of 2016 I want to wish you a fond farewell to a poor year of entertainment deaths and welcome you to an exciting year of new music. Wherever you end up partying tonight, I hope you’ll have a seriously mind-blowing time. I also want to see you survive any experience you use to ring in the new year.

    See you on the flip side with new music to play for you!

    Happy New Year!

  • Chandelier By Sia

    Chandelier By Sia

    chandelierWho knew that my horizons would get expanded by a Chandelier?

    Happiness is knowing that you can learn, grow and expand. Such is where I’m heading in my own career. Even as little as a few years ago I would have never been into hyper lush production of a song. At least not beyond getting a good sound and making a good blend with a standard type of band setup and maybe adding a few additional sounds. Now I’m checking out songs that are humongous arrangements with track counts that number well over 48. Ones that have awesome sounds in them built in layers and layers. Such is the case with Chandelier sung by Sia. The production on this tune was achieved by Jesse Shatkin and Greg Kurstin.

    What I really enjoy with this song is phrase “1, 2, 3, Drink.” There’s a really clever use of prosody in music with that part. It’s something that a musician would appreciate, but the consumer would just think “oh that’s cool.” What happens where she’s singing 1, 2, 3 is that the vocal is parsing in triplet quarter notes over the beat. Three counts getting a division of three across beats – as I said: clever. The melody soars when it hits the word Chandelier, which also has a sense of prosody thanks to the fact that Chandeliers tend to hang from a ceiling up above.

    Sonically, there’s a ton of ear candy and while a pop song doesn’t have to be chock full of ear candy to be good, said ear candy can take a good song with a memorable melody and push into great. I could listen to this on repeat and be happy.

    Chandelier by Sia

    YouTube player

    Party girls don’t get hurt
    Can’t feel anything, when will I learn
    I push it down, push it down

    I’m the one “for a good time call”
    Phone’s blowin’ up, they’re ringin’ my doorbell
    I feel the love, feel the love

    1,2,3 1,2,3 drink
    1,2,3 1,2,3 drink
    1,2,3 1,2,3 drink

    Throw em back, till I lose count

    I’m gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier
    I’m gonna live like tomorrow doesn’t exist
    Like it doesn’t exist
    I’m gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry
    I’m gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier

    And I’m holding on for dear life, won’t look down won’t open my eyes
    Keep my glass full until morning light, ’cause I’m just holding on for tonight
    Help me, I’m holding on for dear life, won’t look down won’t open my eyes
    Keep my glass full until morning light, ’cause I’m just holding on for tonight
    On for tonight

    Sun is up, I’m a mess
    Gotta get out now, gotta run from this
    Here comes the shame, here comes the shame

    1,2,3 1,2,3 drink
    1,2,3 1,2,3 drink
    1,2,3 1,2,3 drink

    Throw em back till I lose count

    I’m gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier
    I’m gonna live like tomorrow doesn’t exist
    Like it doesn’t exist
    I’m gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry
    I’m gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier

    And I’m holding on for dear life, won’t look down won’t open my eyes
    Keep my glass full until morning light, ’cause I’m just holding on for tonight
    Help me, I’m holding on for dear life, won’t look down won’t open my eyes
    Keep my glass full until morning light, ’cause I’m just holding on for tonight
    On for tonight

    Enjoy your day and the song!

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