Tag Archives: music

Songs for ten cents?

Is it possible to buy music from your favorite artists for ten cents?  With stores like iTunes charging upwards of at least one dollar per track and services like Spotify offering unlimited streaming of however many songs you want for ten bucks a month, it seems unreasonable to believe that you can buy a song for a dime.  But it’s possible–with a catch.

MP3Million is a website that offers its entire 2.4 million song library of good quality MP3 files for ten cents a song.  They also offer a twenty percent discount if you buy an entire album.  All you have to do is create an account and deposit money using a credit card or through PayPal using a service like Pincode Reseller.  Once you deposit the money, you shop their large selection of music.  When you are ready to buy, all you have to do is checkout and download your audio files.  The process of buying music online does not get much easier than that.

As said earlier, there is a catch.  This service may or may not be legal.  MP3Million is based in Russia, where copyright laws are less enforced than in countries like the United States.  As a result, the music is cheaper.  In the United States, the royalty rate is 9.1 cents per reproduction of a song, plus a bit more if it’s over five minutes.  Outside of the States, the royalty isn’t a fixed amount but rather about eight to ten percent of the purchase price.  In that way, this service could be running perfectly legally for customers in Russia.  It is still unclear whether or not people outside of that country can buy from MP3Million.

Can you really buy songs for ten cents?  The answer is that you definitely can, but it may not be legal.  If you’re willing to take the risk, go to MP3Million online and purchase music for a dime a piece.

~Jason

CDs: The Disc is Disappearing, but the Music Isn’t

Let me ask you a question: Do you know what a Walkman is? How about a typewriter? Telegraph? I’m guessing a a good amount of you said no to at least one of these things. Now this is simply because that piece of technology is really, really old. So old to the point where our generation doesn’t even know it existed.


However this is also happening to a piece of technology that pretty much all of us have known our entire lives: the CD. Pretty soon it will disappear. Gone. Poof. Donezo. The CD has now become almost completely obsolete! Very few people still buy them compared to how many people bought when they were in their prime, because everyone just downloads all of their music now. Eventually we’ll be saying the classic “Back in my day” story about how we used to have to put a CD in a CD player to listen to music.

Now obviously this isn’t entirely a bad thing. I personally think it’s great. We’re trading away CDs for downloadable music, the latter of which is easier to get, takes up much less space, and in some cases is much less expensive. The only thing we have to worry about is remembering to charge our phones or Ipods or whatever, and not dropping them or getting them wet. Although those last two things could also be said for CDs. You may ask yourself, “Are we going to miss out on better quality music if the CD goes away?” The answer is no. CDs aren’t even that high quality. One of the reasons that the record is making a small comeback is because it has very high quality sound. This is not at all the case for the CD.The reasons that they were popular were because they were the smallest way to listen to music, and they were cheap to buy and make. Downloads have greatly surpassed them. Will we be seeing a comeback? Probably not. You don’t see the telegraph or the typewriter making a comeback do you? Those would only be kept as antiques. The same won’t be said for CDs though, because they are so cheap. People will just end up throwing them in the garbage.


I really don’t even see any point in even buying CDs anymore. There is literally no reason to have one. Pretty much everyone I know listens to music on their phone or Ipod, and frankly that’s a much better option. Sure their are still people that buy CDs, but they’ll all eventually have to make the switch to downloads.

~Ethan

Why are Vine Stars and YouTubers Popular for No Reason?

 


DigiFest, DigiTour, Magcon, and Playlist Live,are just some of the many concerts and festivals that promote social media. Have you ever heard of them?   Well, the Vine and YouTube community are taking the world by storm. Vine and Youtube are both video sites with videos that times range from 6 seconds to hours long! Between beauty gurus, video gamers, and hilarious six second video masters, vine stars and YouTubers have used vine and YouTube to make a name for themselves around the world. Who are these people that are creating these magical movies that have millions of followers enchanted? Andrew B. Bachelor (KingBach on vine), Nash Grier, and Brittany Furlan are the top 3 most famous Vine stars with followings ranging from 9 million  to over 12 million! In the YouTube community, according to Vogue Magazine Online Bethany Mota and Zoe Sugg are two of the most popular girl youtubers and have well over 16 million subscribers combined. Singing sensations on Youtube and Vine also have helped them to make an impact on this generation. Jack Gilinsky and Jack Johnson or JackandJack on Vine are known as the eighteen year old singing duo. So far, they have released 12 songs with  more coming. Also, Bethany Mota’s song “Need you Right Now” was off the charts when fans went ballistic to go and buy the song.

So, what’s so special about these Vine and YouTube artists? In my opinion, these people are actually very talented for their age. Although,they do just seem like another pop star with stupid lyrics in a catchy song, their lyrics do have a positive meaning. For example, the lyrics in Jack and Jack’s song “Doing it Right” talk about bullies on the internet and telling people that while they are hating on the internet they shouldn’t let these hurtful comments affect them. Some Viners and Youtubers obviously have more musical abilities than others. However,  some are even taking their talents as a job and getting paid to be on a TV shows or to sing a song for a commercial.

I also do believe that there are some stars that are famous for no apparent reason except for their “good looks” which makes no sense! Why should we practically praise and obsess over people with no musical abilities whatsoever? It isn’t only just the musical talents that most of these people don’t have, it’s just plain old common sense. They think that just because they have a gigantic fanbase that they can write songs that not only sound bad but, have bad grammar and don’t make sense at all. The people that put on these songs are just embarrassing themselves. I mean the song practically screams “I don’t have talent”! Clearly, Vine and Youtube stars are really surprising this generation is all different ways.

 

~Marissa

 

“Satanic” Music and it’s Meaning

Rock, Screamo, Hardcore, Metalcore, and Alternative music have all been called “Satanic, Satan worshiping” and many more names.  When in reality all it is is people expressing their ideas in a different style of music.  I personally love to listen to this music and I love the message behind it, for instance the song  Seconds and Sebring by: Of Mice & Men is all about the singer Austin Charlile’s mother who died when he was 17 years old. The song Bulls IN The Bronxs, by Pierce the Veil is written in memory of a fan named Olivia who influenced the band so much they wrote a song in memory of her when they found out she had been severely bullied and committed suicide while listening to their music. Not all people who listen to this kind of music worships Satan, all they want to do is get their point across, but no one will listen. I started listening to this music in grade 7 after my grandfather died, I liked it because all the singers, drum players, and guitar players have all been thought the same thing a lot of kids and teens go through today.  Yes alot of people who like this style of music wear black, and have many piercings and stretched ears, and are covered in tattoos, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t great people, but people judge them anyways because they dress differently.

A lot of people don’t like the singers because they are bad influences, yes some of the things they have done might not have been the best ideas but that doesn’t mean they aren’t nice people.  A couple examples are… The singer of Sleeping With Sirens, Kellin Quinn grew up in a very broken home and his mom left when he was young.  He is now happily married and has a daughter named Copeland and two beautiful stepsons who he would do anything for.  Mitch Lucker the former singer for the death metal band Suicide Silence died while driving on a motorcycle drunk because he wanted to say goodnight to his wife and four year old daughter.  Vic Fuentes the singer of Pierce The Veil, self harmed when he was younger, but then found out that his little brother Mike looked up to him so he wanted to change for him.

These bands mean the world to some people and they do not deserve to be treated differently than One Direction, 5SOS, and more pop bands.  So the next time you put on social media that you shouldn’t hate on 1D just think about not hating on the other bands out there.  I was talking with my grandmother and she said that the bands I like would never play on the Today Show because nobody would ever come and see them perform.   I looked at her and said to her “they don’t need to because they have there own tour thats all summer and they go to every state, $40 for 100 of your favorite bands when Justin Bieber concerts cost like $150 and he doesn’t even start on time!!”

So the next time you say that these bands are “ So Satanic” just remember that those bands were there for people when nobody else was!

~Sophia

 

 

What Does the Fox Really Say?

Believe it or not foxes do have their own noise/call. They actually have many different calls such as a bark that warns their cubs that there’s danger or threats around. Like many other animals they have a mating call and they also make noises called gekkering which is the noises they make while fighting or playing. You probably have heard foxes, waking you up at night or if you just hear a strange noise coming from outside your house while doing everyday activities around your house. The reason you don’t recognize the sound foxes make is because the noise they make is very high pitched so you would probably mistake it for an owl or some kind of bird. Foxes are enormously successful and extremely vocal, I would be really surprised if you haven’t heard a fox.

What got me thinking of what sounds foxes say is obviously the popular song “The Fox.” I never believed that foxes make the rather stupid sounds that the song suggests so I decided to learn about it. I got the idea of this when I was in class and I heard a friend a couple seats over singing “The Fox” and trying to mimic the sounds and I found it the funniest thing in the world. By doing this research I can now make a comparison to the dumb sounds they make in the song and the actual noises foxes make. I can tell you that the sounds they make in the song does not sound anything like a fox.

~Toby

Music Rants & Recommendations

Who here enjoys music?  *everyone raises their hands*  Ok, how about old music?  *many hands drop*  Well, today I’m going to talk about music.  Lets start in the ‘50s and make our way to now.  One name: Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll.  He’s in the music Hall of Fame and has some awesome songs.  “Love Me Tender”, “Blue Suede Shoes”, and “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”, just to name a few.  Next comes the Beatles.  The Beatles were big in the ‘60s.  Talk about the British Invasion.  Some of you may be going: “Huh?  The Beatles?”.   Ask your parents or your grandparents.  It’s your grandparents “pop” music.  One Love is a good song.  Then there’s Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, etc.  I could go on and on.  Next is the ‘70s, with disco, BeeGees, and Diana Ross.  There also was Pink Floyd, Bob Marley, and Don Mclean’s American Pie.  Then there’s Meatloaf.  Mmm… yum.  Not really though.  It’s a cool band.  Ooh, you can’t forget Queen and Elton John.  The ‘80s was Michael Jackson, Madonna, and REM.  There was also U2.  I’m skipping the ‘90s and going to the new millenium.  We have Fun, Mumford and Sons, Katy Perry, Lady GaGa, and Rihanna.  There’s also Justin Timberlake and One Direction.

 

I personally enjoy Queen, the Beatles, Meatloaf, Elvis, and modern music.  Others, like Elton John or Bob Marley, I’ve listened to a little, but not too much.  I highly recommend the aforementioned artists and bands.   I consider my taste eclectic.  New music is just as important to me as older tunes.  The Beatles are one of my favorite bands.  Most of their music is fun and light, and other songs are a little more deep.  The songs get you dancing and sing along.  Overall, I like their voices and you should try them.  Queen is rock music, quite different from the Beatles, but just as good.  They sing “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions”.  Meatloaf is also rock too, but it’s quite different from Queen.  Elvis is more rock ‘n’ roll, but he’s just awesome.  I also like all of, or most, of modern music.  There are some artists I don’t like, but we don’t all enjoy the same things.  I guess you could say that I like old rock, but that’s not the extent of music.  Wicked (a musical) has beautiful songs.  If you ever have the chance to see it, go!  My favorite song is either “Popular” or “What Is This Feeling?”.  Please take up my advice and listen to what I recommended.  You won’t regret it.

~Alyssa

Miley Cyrus: The Performance that Turned a Reputation Downhill.

For the longest time, everybody knew Miley Cyrus as either Miley Stewart or  Hannah Montana, from the hit TV show on Disney Channel, “Hannah Montana”.   All her fans could recite all of Hannah’s “hit songs”, including “Best of Both Worlds” and “Nobody’s Perfect.”  Miley was one of the biggest role models for kids between the ages of 8 and 13.  She was 13 when she started acting for “Hannah Montana.”  Children of all ages watched her grow up on TV.  She was the whole package: she could sing, dance and act!  She wrote over 100 songs while filming the Disney Channel show, and many were used in the show.  She was “perfect.” You couldn’t really dislike her.

She now has a completely different reputation, going from perky teenage actress singing catchy songs that kids love, to singing inappropriate songs accompanied by music videos with  extremely explicit dancing.  Even Liam Hemsworth, her ex-fiance, dropped their engagement because of her actions. After Miley’s VMA’s performance, I think anyone would! For those of you that didn’t see Miley’s performance on the VMAs, consider yourself blessed.  Do you know how many negative reviews came in about her performance from people nation wide?  More than plenty, that’s for sure!

CHILDREN watch the VMA’s, and that performance was for a show only viewed by adults.  She used to be one of my biggest role models, but after seeing her performance, I will never look at her the same way again. The day after the awards show, there was a buzz all over school about her performance, including “Did you see the VMAs last night? Miley is so inappropriate, “She’s an insane lunatic, and  “I used to look up to her…” I am 12 years old, and it was way too mature for my, and my family’s liking.  Think about all the kids that are much younger than I that watched the awards show.  It just proves how awful she really can be.  She has sent herself full speed ahead in the wrong direction!

~Ali

Is Music Today Appropriate?

These days music is becoming more and more provocative. Take Miley Cyrus for instance and her performance at the VMAs. She shocked the nation while she was performing her hit song “We Can’t Stop.” Music celebrities are doing whatever it takes to get popular and famous. The songs all have the same beat to them and sound pretty much the same. But what about the lyrics? What are the artists trying to get across to the listener? They are singing about topics 12 year olds didn’t even know about only a decade ago. There is also explicit language being used that’s not appropriate for kids to listen to. The artists are acting as role models to these kids and if they do risky things or dress a bit risque then their fans will want to do the same. In a result our new generation will become just like them and they are the future. You would be surprised how much music and the artists impact the world and how it works.

Don’t get me wrong it’s not all bad though. Some artists and music today are great to listen to. Such as Taylor Swift, Imagine Dragons, Philip Philips, Britt Nicole, and more. These people are good role models for girls and boys today. They also sing about things that aren’t too bad. I know the world’s changing and moving away from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Third Eye Blind, and many other older artists. People’s ideas in good music and the definition of appropriate are also changing, but that doesn’t mean that kids need to know about the things they should learn about when they’re older. I personally don’t really like music today and therefore I stay with music from the beginning of the 2000’s and older. Do you think that music today is appropriate for this generation of kids?

~Sophia

The Music that has Been Overlooked: Aerosmith

If you haven’t already guessed, Aerosmith (yes the band that Steven Tyler is in), is one of those bands that has easily been overlooked. Even though this band is a classic rock band, their music is still good. Everyone has at least heard one song from the band, that song being “Dream On”. You may not know the words, but you know what song I’m talking about. This band has been around since the late 70’s  and is still making music and for five 60 year old guys, they still sound awesome. With a total of 29 albums released, the band still thrives. With their most recent release, Music From Another Dimension, they still have a decent popularity mark. The new album has been able to sell 75,000 copies in the first week and a total of over 100,000 copies. On this album, a total of 15 new songs were released along with a duet with Carrie Underwood. The sales for this album aren’t amazing, but it’s only because no one is willing to try their new material. Let me tell you that you are really missing out.

The new music for Aerosmith has been overlooked since the release of the album in November of 2012. For Aerosmith, over 100,000 copies of an album isn’t too good. Their albums usually hit over 100,000 copies sold in the first week. The only reason that this hasn’t happened with “Music From Another Dimension” is because no one seems to want to try the new music of an old rock band. Their new music has been rated by multiple people with three or four top hits on the album. In my opinion, the new Aerosmith music isn’t half bad. Their top hits for that album would be “Legendary Child”, “What Could Have Been Love” and “Lover a Lot”. The album puts together some great new material with some rock aspects and some blues aspects. It also introduces a bit of country when Carrie Underwood does a duet with Tyler in a song named “Can’t Stop Loving You”. I’ve never liked country or Carrie Underwood, but surprisingly this song is actually really good. Overall, the album introduces a bit of variety with the band and the new album should definitely not be overlooked, so if you want to hear some new music, go pick up the album today.

~Michael Stearns

Mindy McCready, Gone With Her Ten Thousand Angels

On February 17th, 2013, famous country singer, Mindy McCready, was found dead at her home in Heber Springs, Arkansas. Just last month, her former boyfriend, music producer, David Wilson, was found dead in the EXACT SAME PLACE as her. Both suffered a single gunshot wound to head. Coincidence, right? The officials have ruled both deaths as suicide. David’s dog was also found dead with Mindy. It’s concluded that she shot the dog before taking her own life. I know. I know. Poor puppy. McCready’s close family and friends were not surprised by her suicide. They said she was dealing with drugs and alcohol abuse and “had demons she wasn’t beating.”

Honestly, I was very saddened by both deaths. Well, who’s happy about people taking their own lives? They left their one year old, Zayne, and Mindy also left her other son, Zander. Now they’re in foster care and all alone. Poor kids. They had a drug and alcohol addict mother whose love for them wasn’t enough. I think they had it worse than the puppy. But I just don’t get why McCready killed herself. She was only 37-young, pretty, and talented. She had loving family and friends and two beautiful sons. I bet if only she didn’t let her troubles and griefs drag her down, she could persevere through the hard times. From rock bottom, you can only go up. Sadly, not even her ten thousand angels can help her now.

~ Panru Jing