Journey - Why They're Still So Popular

I think most of us can remember a time in our lives where we have heard that infamous line, "Just a small town girl!", sung with good friends at either a karaoke bar or after that last-second win from the local high school football team. Journey's most popular song to date, "Don't Stop Believin'", has seem to become a statement song for our generation. Why, do you ask? It's simple; it's the message that Journey sends with the songs, and ultimately all of their songs. "Don't Stop Believin'", for example, talks about well...never ceasing to believe... But really, it's kind of an anthem to the human spirit, when it talks about "streetlight people" and the thought that no matter who you are, you can be somebody.

Journey managed to dominate the musical landscape of the 80's with hit, after hit, after hit. Songs like "Open Arms", "Lights", and "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" are just a few that you may be familiar with. Though not a highly critically-acclaimed band, one has to admit; these guys were good. Combining the talents bassist Ross Valory and guitarist Neal Schon's roots with Santana, singer Steve Perry's soaring tenor vocals (some of the greatest ever, I might add), and Berklee College of Music - trained drummer Steve Smith, these guys were unstoppable. As soon as Perry entered the band in 77' to when he left the band in 96', Journey dished out over 36 hit singles, with over 26 charting on the Billboard Hot 100. Not a lot of bands can ever say they have done or will do that.

Now on to the question, why are they so popular today? Well, the answer lies simply within the music itself. I happen to be quite the Journey fan myself (why else would I be blogging about them anyways), and believe some of their melodies to be the best ever. Thats right, I said it. Better than the Beatles even. Steve Perry probably had one of the greatest voices of all time, and there's no argument there. I know, you're probably still brooding about my Beatles comment, but face it, it's true. I'm sure the millions of people that helped "Journey: Greatest Hits" hit 16x Platinum this year would agree. The album has sat in the center of the ITunes top 100 albums chart consistantly for the last 2 years more than any other album has, and thats a huge statement. They weren't just an 80's arena rock band, they were melodic rock gods.

Even now at the end of 2008 with a new lead singer, Arnel Pineda, Journey still sells out arenas monthly. This years tour was their biggest in 22 years, and their new album "Revelation" is poised to go 2x Platinum in the coming months. People simply cannot get enough of the greatest melodic rock band of all time, and hopefully, they'll keep getting what they're asking for.

As usual, for more info., e-mail me.


Sing On...

Nick

Songwriting - Finding Your Niche

Now, I just want to start by saying that I am by no means a prolific songwriter, in fact I am hardly one at all. Aside from this, I found it necessary to blog about it, because I couldn't call myself a musician without at least talking about it.

Songwriting (as expressed in the title), is all about finding your niche. You obviously have to do what works best for you, and most importantly stick with it. If you're a better lyricist than a melody creator, work with the lyrics first. If you're better at working with a melody and then shaping lyrics around that melody afterwards, do that. It's that simple. I, personally, am a better lyricist and tend to write poetry more often than songs. That doesn't mean, however, that I cant come up with a quick melody myself. The biggest aspect of the process, I've been learning, is finding inspiration. Simply listening to a favorite artist or even just reading some lyrics could be enough, and sometimes it's all you need. Hell, you can even try and emulate an artist's style, if that's what works best for you. I'll touch more on songwriting in the future, so keep checking back.


Sing On...

Nick

Kanye Rules the World. (note the period...).

Sooooo, for my first post, I've decided to talk about Kanye West. Yes, I know what you're thinking...douche, but he basically rules music right now. The guy doesn't be able to be stopped. His new album came out a few weeks ago, and in my opinion, it's the best album of the year so far. Here's the track listing...

1. Say You Will
2. Welcome to Heartbreak Ft. Kid Cudi
3. Heartless
4. Amazing Ft. Young Jeezy
5. Love Lockdown
6. Paranoid Ft. Mr. Hudson
7. Robocop
8. Street Lights
9. Bad News
10. See You in My Nightmares Ft. Lil Wayne
11. Coldest Winter

The ITunes version has 2 bonus videos (Pinocchio Story and Heartless) which are cool if you're an intense fan, but let's be honest, it's the music that counts here. He's taken a huuuge step as an artist, moving away from what people know him for. Let's just say he pulled it off. The album hit number one last week on Billboard, with a projected 450,000 units shipped. He primarily sings in all of the songs, using an Auto-tune device. Other artists that you may be familiar with that have used the device are Cher, in her song "Believe", and T-Pain in most of his recent endevours. The lyrics are so deep it's unbelievable. Most of the songs spawn off of the death of his mother this past year so, naturally, they're pretty dark. His artist integrity, however, still shines through. Oh, if you haven't gathered by now, this isn't a rap album. As expected, he's gotten a lot of crap (haha, get it...) for the transition, but it's a statement.

Now for what you're all asking, what do you think are the best 5 songs, Nick? Haha...

1. Heartless
2. Robocop
3. Love Lockdown
4. Bad News
5. Coldest Winter

There you go... For more info. as far as sales and general facts, just e-mail me.


Sing On...

Nick