Stuck In My Skull 553 -- "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" Redux!

Song: "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" || Artist: Panic! at the Disco || http://youtu.be/vc6vs-l5dkc ||

Comments: Good morning, everyone! Strap yourselves in tightly, because today we're going way, way, way back. We're going all the way back to Entry 98! Back in late 2011, before I was using this format, before I was using genre tags, before I was embedding videos or even talking about the song of the day. Waaaaay back then, I mentioned this song, and barely said anything about it. Today, that changes.

First, let's talk about the band. I ran into this band many, many years when my friend Katelyn introduced me to them, and since that time they've been sitting around in the back of my head coming to the surface now and again for brief periods. Their history is a bit complicated, according to Wikipedia -- writing their bio here would be a waste of words. The important part is that this band is about as musically diverse as they come, writing songs from such varied genres as emo and electronic, pop and punk. Also, vocalist Brendon Urie possesses one of the most recognizable voices I've heard in a long, long time. I mean, really -- this guy's about as distinct as Matt Bellamy from Muse. He really just has one of those voices that's impossible to mistake for anyone else.

Speaking of things that are hard to mistake, this song. Panic! at the Disco has a way of writing that really stand out from anything else. .If you hear this band come on the radio, you know who you're listening to. That actually happened to me last night -- this song came on, and I knew right away what it was. That's probably because it has a distinct opener that leads to some really compelling lyrics wrapped in a neat package of electronic rock sound. The Wikipedia article about the song describes it 'emo,' 'pop punk,' and 'baroque pop,' the latter of which I admit I had to look up. Despite the subject matter, this song manages to remain uptempo and airy-feeling, a breath of fresh air from the generic love/hate relationship songs that fill the airwaves. This song came out in 2005 and was released as a single in 2006, but despite its venerable age still manages to get stuck in my head. If you haven't heard it before or just haven't listened in awhile, check this song out -- I think you'll like it. Don't forget to like us on Facebook!

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Stuck In My Skull 403: Songs Revisited, Part 4 -- "Thou Shalt Always Kill"

Songs Revisited, Part 4 || Song: "Thou Shalt Always Kill" || Artist: dan le sac vs Scroobius Pip || http://youtu.be/CWrMGXwhFLk ||

Comments: Hello, all, and welcome to the conclusion of Songs Revisited week! I figured I'd go way back and revisit Entry 3, where I talked about this strange, wonderful song. dan le sac is the producer of this song -- the instrumentation is his work, and the rapping is the work of Scroobius Pip. I have no idea where either of them get their inspiration, but I want some of whatever they're on. DLS's work is fabulous. His weird version of electronic music is truly unlike anything I've heard, from it's weird intro all the way through it's equally odd out-tro. Throughout this uptempo track, Scroobius Pip is dropping common sense all over the place, and let me tell you, it's good to hear. I hate to end the week on such a non-descriptive note, but I truly don't know what else to say. The weird instrumentation melds perfectly with the common sense, and a great track was born. Check it out!

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Stuck In My Skull 402: Songs Revisited, Part 3 -- "Resistance (Muse) [A Cappella]"

Songs Revisited, Part 3 || Song: "Resistance [A Cappella]" || Original Artist: Muse || Covering Artist: Voices in Your Head || http://youtu.be/fzuQ9-KlRDE ||

Comments: Hello and welcome back to Songs Revisited Week on Stuck In My Skull! When I write entries with covers of songs, I always have this debate about how I should write titles and taglines for the entries. In this case, I decided to follow the title used in the video accompanying this song for the tagline, and split the information in the entry into Covering Artist and Original Artist. Originally featured in Entry 2, this song is the a cappella cover of the Muse song "Resistance" as performed by the group Voices in Your Head, the a cappella group of the University of Chicago. Perhaps I simply haven't had enough exposure to a cappella groups and performances, but I found myself somewhat surprised to find that the performers not only covered the vocals but also the instrumentation of the song. This includes not only keyboard or guitar parts, but one of the longest and most competent beat-boxing performances I've ever seen to cover the percussive elements of the song. If I hadn't seen the video to this song, I frankly would not have believed that a group of human beings was capable of producing the vast and staggering array of sounds used in this song. The vocal 'instrumentation' of this song is so impressive that it almost outshines the actual vocals of the song, which are impressive. I mean, forget Glee covers, this is insane. Rather than try to imitate Muse vocalist Matt Bellamy's signature falsetto vocals, Voices in Your Head doesn't even try. Instead, they focus on the emotive, room-filling tones of their own lead vocalist (whose name I do not know), and back it with their jaw-dropping supporting vocals. Their supporting vocals are so strong that I feel as though they could probably carry the song alone, on their own power. This song redefined my notions of a cappella music, and I can honestly say this is one of my all-time favourite covers. To top it all off, Voices in Your Head filmed a truly excellent music video to the song, in which the quality shines brighter than I thought college students would be capable of producing. You should definitely check this song and video out.

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Stuck In My Skull 401: Songs Revisited, Part 2 -- " Motorcycle - As the Rush Comes (Tiesto Remix)"

Songs Revisited, Part 2 || Song: "Motorcycle - As the Rush Comes (Tiesto Remix)" || Artist: Motorcycle || http://youtu.be/rv3EY4k3yrY ||

Comments: Hello everyone, and welcome back! Please forgive my conspicuous absence last week -- I was incredibly and wretchedly sick. But, I have at long last begun to fight off the cold and clammy embrace of my feverish captor, so let the music continue! This track is suitably warm and a cool blue sound, and I can't get enough of it. Featured all the way back in Entry 1, it's been a long time since I played this track. And I have learned a few things since I wrote that sparse description back in the day. For one, I just learned that Motorcycle is actually the illustrious electronic duo Gabriel and Dresden joined by vocalist Jes Brieden. Thank you, Wikipedia! I've joked for ages that electronic music has simultaneously the best and worst naming practices ever. Electronic music loves to actually tell you exactly what mix of whose song you're listening to, but sometimes it gets out of hand. While not as bad as some songs I've seen, the title of this track is the name of a little known group, then the track name, then the remix artist and remix name. Oh dear.
While the nomenclature might be confusing, there's nothing confusing about this track. It's the calmest, most relaxing trace track I know -- vintage Tiesto at his finest. Jes Brieden's vocals are beautifully layered over a classic kickdrum beat in the 130-140 BPM neighborhood, with some of the most relaxing synths I've ever heard. This song is seriously like warm cuddles to my ears, with a familiarity and warmth that flirts with the border of sensuality. There is precisely nothing wrong with this track. I love it. It does, in fact, 'embrace me' and 'surround me as the rush comes.' Check it out!

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Stuck In My Skull 400: Songs Revisited, Part I -- "Memento Mori"

Songs Revisited, Part 1 || Song: "Memento Mori" || Artist: "Kamelot" || http://youtu.be/Kymf6m4sVWM ||

    Album Version: http://youtu.be/Kymf6m4sVWM
    Live Version: http://youtu.be/JnYW1xeixAE
Comments: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the four hundredth entry of Stuck In My Skull! I first started this blog on July 16, 2011, and it's been quite a journey for me. This blog is nearly two years old, and I've loved every second of it. Throughout the last (nearly) two years, I've posted some of my favourite songs on this blog, and I confess, there are a few songs that I don't feel I really did justice at the time -- this week will be a week of Songs Revisited, so I can go back and really talk about those tracks that I slighted the first time. Way back in Entry 52, I posted the song "Memento Mori" for the first time. I said when I wrote that entry that I was using that song as filler, because I felt too sick to write anything else or find anything new. "Memento Mori" is one of my favourite songs of all time, and it deserves better than being a filler entry.

"Memento Mori" is the 12th and longest track on Kamelot's seventh studio album, The Black Halo. Released in 2005, The Black Halo is a concept album that finishes telling the story began in Kamelot's previous album Epica. Epica and The Black Halo are a rock-opera telling the story of the alchemist Ariel, whose story is losely based on Goethe's Faust. In "Memento Mori," Ariel's interplay with Mephisto is beautifully concluded in a three-voice ballad of eye-watering beauty, featuring then Kamelot vocalist Roy Khan voicing Ariel, Mari Youngblood (wife of Kamelot guitarist Thomas Youngblood) voicing Helena, and Dimmu Borgir vocalist Shagrath grunting the part of Mephisto. The song opens with a piano and vocal number at slow tempo, before the guitars and drums are introduced with an up-shift of the tempo as the action begins to unfold. As Ariel realizes his control of his own destiny, the song shifts between descending chords and mellow melodies, leading up to simultaneous introduction of Mari and Shagrath as Mephisto grunts and Helena sings in overlapping Latin, joining together on the line "memento mori." Ariel, in his last moments, rejects the evil of Mephisto. Helena intercedes and asks God to save him, and Mephisto loses his bet and is cast into hell as Ariel's soul ascends to heaven to be with Helena's. Finally, the action settles to a calm out-tro, mirroring the vocal and piano intro to the song. The last note hangs as someone (probably Helena) whispers "Ariel... Ariel... Ariel..." into the silence.

There are not words for how much I love this song. Seriously, this song moves me like few other tracks can. The album version is my favourite, but the live version (recorded in Belgrade, Serbia) is also excellent. It features a slightly faster tempo; a more prominent, chugging guitar; and the voice of Shagrath is far more prominent, with Helena's being either occulted or missing. The live version is slightly rougher yet more adrenaline-pumping, whereas the album version is a slightly calmer piece, and a refined and beautiful work. If you've never heard the song, you absolutely must check it out. Enjoy!

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