So this week's SSSS simply had to be Christmas-themed, there's no arguing that. Each year I try to decide what my favourite Christmas song is and can never really narrow it down because each time I hear another one I'd forgotten about I find myself bopping along to it just as much.
However, 'All I Want For Christmas' by Mariah Carey will ALWAYS be right up there with the big guns. It gives you everything you want from a Christmas song - jollity, bells in the background, happy singing and a corny video to accompany it.
If by some small, tiny miracle you have yet to hear this song this year then do what you know you should and watch the video right now.
This young woman is the idol of countless numbers of Paramore fans across the globe and I guess the inner teen striving for a suitable role model inside of me loves her the same way. The only difference is I don’t feel an essential urge to dye my hair to match hers (all you red-headed ladies who followed her hair example... are you going blonde now? Being a lookalike is a tough business eh?). She’s the full package – she possesses an absolutely fine set of lungs which generates an incredible voice and she is also super duper cute. Being a dinky-sized package myself I will always admire a pintsized rock star making it big (look, I never said this would be free from puns).
Katy Perry is very VERY fine. Don’t you dare look at her and tell me otherwise. She is a complete sex kitten with the cheeky attitude to pull it off without coming across as big-headed or annoying and she isn’t afraid to experiment with some of the most outlandish outfits ever created. Yet, in contrast to Gaga, she can wear weird get-ups and pull it off with style without coming across as a bit of a freak.
Flyleaf are one of my newest band loves and with this comes my lusting for Lacey’s voice. There are similarities between her voice and Hayley’s but there’s something about hers that is darker and deeper which brings a completely different edge to their songs giving them a mysterious sound which entices you to listen.
The first time I heard ‘Untouched’ I fell in love with it. It was their ability to make their voices sound like they were craving passion and it is their singing adaptability which makes me like them. Part of a song is the aspect of singing like you mean it and my gosh, I definitely got the sense that they had been going through a very long sex dry spell. Plus two sisters who are just as talented as one another? That’s a lot of kick-ass in one family.
No, I do not mean solo love in the way you’re thinking, Mr/Miss/Mrs/Rev filthy reader. And don’t tell me you don’t know who Feist is, you saw the iPod ad that featured her single 1,2,3,4 so don’t tell me otherwise! Anyway, enough of addressing you, more of talking about Feist. Lesley Feist (excuse me, just having that as a surname is awesome enough), has the perfect “indie” voice. If that’s even something a person can possess. It’s soft, playful and unique. It skips along the words and makes each lyrical line sound like summer. Beautiful, easy and mellow.
Have you ever seen this lady perform on stage? She’s practically hypnotic. Her style is adventurous, some might even call it questionable, and her manner as she performs is bizarre, odd and sometimes a little twisted. But she is compelling and addictive to watch – the qualities any front woman should possess.
No one can question Beyonce’s talent. She is the RnB version of Hayley Williams: in her genre NO one can beat her voice, her dancing and her true on-stage charisma. You simply cannot avoid her and can’t stop yourself from appreciating the true star she is, regardless of the music you’re into. The crazy thing with Beyonce is the fact that she has been around for what feels like forever and yet with every new album it’s like she’s generated even more love and hype around her. In the music world she is undoubtedly immortal. 
Okay, so I’m not a Lavigne fan. Now. I confess that I did own her first album, I’m not afraid to admit that I was a big lover of ‘Sk8r Boi’ (text speak HATE) and ‘Complicated’... amongst others. But after that it was bye bye Avril for me. She’s never really had the best voice, fair enough. She’s also got a questionable way of playing a guitar when she likes to have a “I’m a serious musician so watch me play an instrument” moment. As for her fashion sense, well, she’s in her early 20s and she dresses like a 13-year-old emo/goth combo, enough said. Then ‘Girlfriend’ came and I cried inside at the sound. The second someone trying to make a place in SOME kind of rock scene starts including a dance routine in their video (without being ironic) it is the time to switch off, close your eyes and block it out. I will never forget the time I saw an interview with her on television and she literally sat there with the biggest chip on her shoulder and the most sour attitude I’ve ever seen. Get over yourself, little girl.
I don’t think I’ve covered up the fact that I am a huge lover of this band. They’ve had a fair bit of coverage on the blog and I’ve already heaped quite significant praise onto their new single and a move towards a more epic sound. I am going to do a video review of this album, so I won’t go into detail here but for me this album is a departure from a ‘smaller’, finely tuned sound that you came to associate with 30STM to a bigger and more cinematic album of grandiose. The tracks feel like a soundtrack to an adventure and the vocals backed-up by incredible musical peaks definitely sound like anthems of a battle being fought, and won.
I’m a little surprised at myself for choosing this as number one. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a massive fan of Paramore despite being someone who has rarely favourited bands fronted by women. Female vocals just don’t usually compare to the force of a male voice in my eyes. But Hayley Williams is incredibly special in that she has one hell of a set of lungs on her and sings with the talent of a thousand men. This comes tops for the basic reasons of its expansive range of songs, what I like to call the “catchy factor” and because of its lyrical content. This album is vastly reflective of Paramore’s growth and maturity as a band, and as individuals.
A quirky venue always makes for a unique experience. That, coupled with the electro-orientated beats and sweet harmonious voice of Vincent Frank made for an energetic, dance-crazy night.
This would have been much higher up the list had it not been for our fairly disappointing seats in the arena. However, this popped my ‘seeing Coldplay live’ cherry and did not disappoint. Chris Martin is an idealistic front man – happy, humble and full of beans and he, and the rest of Coldplay, put on a show full of splendour, out of this world effects and perfect little touches.
A live event that brought back my youth as the sound of Blur filled my ears. I’ve never seen a bunch of men look so chuffed to be back performing together and it showed in the hit-filled night they gave us. They played with the strength and charm that they did years ago and it was magic.
Yet another live set full of nostalgia as the band rocketed through every hit they’ve ever had over the span of their successful career in the rock world. I hadn’t been to a show so raw and powerful, in the sense of losing yourself to the music, in a very long time. It was a total rollercoaster of high-octane, furious and non-stop bliss for a Funeral fan as big as me.
In a word – euphoric. In two words – mind blowing. In three words –absolutely bloody fantastic. This night saw a band display their older rock sound blended into their newer synth-infused melodies. One minute you felt like you were tripping on the up-tempo riffs and the next you were bathing in the intensely dark vocals. Eclectic.
If any band can generate a sense of post-gig high, it’s The Killers. This was by far the best I have ever seen them. It was undoubtedly a special show before they’d even started – the venue, the format, the set. But when they played it was HUGE. Their sound is made to be played live and it ricochets off of you like a drug you can legally get high on. Top showmen, top talent and totally unforgettable.
