Mystique Magic

The Civil Wars are pretty new to the scene, forming in 2008 when the two forming members met at a Tennessee song writing session. I became aware of the duo in mid 2011 when they released their track “Barton Hollow”. However, I have only recently started to really appreciate their sound and I hope you will too, they truly are a unique talent.

Despite me only discovering them last year, it was their song “Poison & Wine” that got them noticed. In 2009, the track was featured on TV show ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. The mystery of this song and where it had come from caused a lot of people to head on over to trusty old Google, thus discovering the magic that is The Civil Wars.
Barely getting used to the sudden recognition of their music, The Civil Wars were once again suddenly thrust in the direction of international success when pop star Taylor Swift tweeted her love for the duo. Suddenly a whole new group of fans were latching on to the band, enabling them to go from strength to strength in their music career.

They have so far won two Grammy Awards and I predict that there will be many more to come in the future. This will be helped along by the fact that their latest song “Safe and Sound” with Taylor Swift, will be featuring in one of this year’s eagerly awaited films, ‘The Hunger Games’ (which, if you haven’t read the books, you must do immediately – they are amazing!!) which is sure to get them recognised by yet another audience.

The type of music they create should attract a fairly niche and specific audience, however it is so much more than that, which is why they are a attracting a much wider and mass audience (and rightly so – everyone deserves to hear their music). They are a folk band, but don’t let that put you off if you’re not necessarily a fan of country music, their music is so much more than that. Their songs tend to be very dark, mystic and captivating whilst still being very chilled out and easy listening music.

The Civil Wars however are not your typical band. They travel light with only themselves and some acoustic instruments, leaving behind the backup group and big band theatrics that a lot of groups tend to favour nowadays. All of this just adds to their charm and deepness of their music. It allows them to be stripped down and perform to a raw level, enhancing the emotions their music and lyrics exude.

All I can say is give them a chance. Give them a listen and if you don’t like them then that’s okay, but I am sure you’ll soon be a fan of their music like me.

Plus, it doesn’t hurt that singer John Paul White bears a striking resemblance to Johnny Depp mixed in with a little Jack White.

Let me know what you think. Do you know of any bands similar to The Civil Wars that I should be made aware of?

Kirsty xx

The Benny Hill Bouncers

So, we were given a task in my Digital Marketing course at University to create a video and make it go viral.

Our group decided to go down this route:

As you know, it's a very obvious choice when told to create a video, to bounce around to a bit of Benny Hill. I mean what else would we do?!

So what do you think??

Kirsty xx

90's flashback

It’s Monday ... we all need a bit of a pick me up. This is where Stooshe comes in!

Stooshe (pronounce stoo-she ... similar to sushi, but not to be confused) are a three piece British R&B/pop girl group.

Formed in 2011, Stooshe’s debut track “Betty Woz Gone” stirred up some initial noise around the band, with the video currently racking up almost 300,000 hits on YouTube. However, it’s their new single “Love Me”, featuring Travie McCoy, that is looking to be the song which really gives them a name in the music industry. It is due to be released on March the 5th and the video already has almost 450,000 YouTube hits.

When I first heard “Love Me”, I immediately thought ‘Spice Girls’!! And it’s true, Stooshe do have an air of the Spice Girls around them (particularly the opening talk of “Love Me”) however, they are much more modern and (to put frankly) explicit, and it works for them. Stooshe have also been called an x-rated ‘En Vogue’ (classic 90’s group right there – if you don’t know who they are, look them up) and whilst I can see the similarities, I think Stooshe are much fresher than ‘En Vogue’ were in their time.

So if you fancy something new, colourful, fresh, a little bit cheesy, but most of all something to make you smile ... check out Stooshe.

(They also have an amazing unique style ... and a bright pink Stooshe bus, which helps!!)

So what do you think?? Do you agree with me that this is a group to look out for in 2012? Or do you think they are too 90’s for the music industry today? I personally love them.

Let me know :)

Kirsty xx

You were loved

Today marks a terribly sad day with the loss of the extraordinary music icon, Whitney Houston.

Regardless of the troubles and controversy she faced in life, she was and will always remain a vocal inspiration to many. She is without a doubt one of the greatest vocalists of all time and will hopefully be remembered for her amazing contribution to the music industry rather than some of the choices she made in life.

Whitney’s career speaks for itself, receiving over 400 awards throughout her career (more than any female singer) and spanning almost 30 years. She is a legend in her own right and deserves to be remembered at her best.

Whitney was a true diva with an incredible voice; she will be forever in our hearts and never forgotten. Thank you for the music, may it live on throughout history.

May she find the peace now, that she was searching for in life.

Rest in peace Whitney Houston.

Kirsty xx

 “We all wanna make a place in this world
We all want our voices to be heard
Every one wants a chance to be someone
We all have dreams we need to dream
Sweeter than any star you can reach
Cuz when you reach and find, you've found someone
You'll hold this world's most priceless thing
The greatest gift this life can bring
Is when you look back and know
You were loved”

You Were Loved – Whitney Houston

Friday fun

Now I know this isn't totally music related but if you squint, it fits in there somewhere ;)

It was my day off from work and uni today so me and my friend decided to have a movie day ... yeah, that didn't quite happen.
Somehow (and i'm not exactly sure how), we decided to make a little video instead (as you do).

It was so much fun to make, so hope you enjoy it.

This was the finished product:

Kirsty xx

Dance Our Lives Away

So considering it was Super Bowl Sunday yesterday, there is only one person I can write about today really ... Madonnaaaaaaa!!

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it was the Super Bowl yesterday which not only means a great game of American Football, but a brilliant halftime show to look forward to aswell.
This year it was the New York Giants vs. the New England Patriots, which meant a brilliantly tense game (yes I stayed up until 4am to watch the game, don’t judge) and a performance from Madonna at half time (woo!)

As to be expected, there was a big buzz around the Queen of Pops halftime performance – would she live up to the hype? Was she the right choice? What songs will she sing? Well let me tell you something ... she did not disappoint!! Her set was incredible.
She entered the stage with a remix of the classic “Vogue” (along with a lot of hot gladiators), the stage then transformed into a big futuristic disco set for party classic “Music” ... of course, this is Madonna, it’s not going to be that simple – she had a little extra entertainment for the crowd with a man (possibly Will Ferrell) on a tightrope (sounds weird, but you have to see it and then you’ll understand).
This is the point where LMFAO decided to drop in on the party with a little “Party Rock Anthem” – could have been a disaster, but they worked it in brilliantly and flawlessly.
Following on from this, M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj decided to get in on the action and joined Madonna on stage for her new single “Give Me All Your Luvin’” where they were dressed as cheerleaders (of course they were ... would you expect anything less?!). This is also the time in the show where the ‘controversy’ occured – surprisingly nothing to do with Madge herself for once, this is where M.I.A. flipped off to the camera (yawn).
Anyway, back to the set. So how could she possibly top this you ask?? Easy ... bring on Cee-Lo Green for a little sample of “Express Yourself” followed by an enormous choir and a rendition of “Like A Prayer” of course!!
The whole extravaganza ended with bright lights spelling out the words “World Peace” on the ground.

So there you have it, the Super Bowl 2012 Halftime Show. It was absolutely amazing, Madonna rocked it and all I’m saying is ... next year’s act are going to have a hell of a time trying to beat that!!

Now some people are disputing her performance purely because she lip-synced. At the end of the day, does it really matter if she mimed?? She put on an absolutely incredible show which could have potentially been compromised if she was expected to sing live.
I mean come on, give the girl a break, she was dancing non-stop and I don’t know about you, but even after running up a couple of flights of stairs, I can’t be expected to hold a conversation, never mind singing my heart out whilst simultaneously busting out a move (I apologise now for using the phrase ‘bust a move’ but it just felt right).
And anyway we all know she can sing, she wouldn’t have gotten where she is today without some sort of vocal ability. I went to see her last tour (the Sticky & Sweet tour) at Wembley Stadium in London a couple of years ago for which she sang live, and I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised. I mean I knew she could sing but I was expecting her to be all about the performance she put on rather than perfecting her vocals, but she managed to pull both off spectacularly! So we know she can do it, so who cares if she actually does?? She’s Madonna, she can do whatever she wants!!

As you may have noticed, I am slightly obsessed with Madonna (like that’s a bad thing) and if I’m honest, the Super Bowl just gave me the perfect excuse to blog about the undisputed Queen of Pop without seeming weird (I hope).

So check out the Halftime show below and let me know your verdict :)

I’ve also included her new single “Give Me All Your Luvin’” as it’s definitely worth a watch in my opinion. What do you think??

Kirsty xx