Year 5, Day 284

Hello. Today I give you Blame It by Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain.

Jamie Foxx is the professional name for Eric Marlon Bishop who is not just a musician, but an actor, producer, comedian, and most recently TV show host. It's a show my mom keeps saying I should go on called Beat Shazam where you have to guess the music. Which...fair, I'm good at naming music, but I crack under pressure so maybe not. He was adopted and raised by his maternal adoptive grandparents and started with music in church. He chose the name Jamie Foxx when he started as a comedian in 1989, because it was ambiguous enough to pass as possibly a girls name, since female performers were often called up first. He released an album in 1994 which was unsuccessful, but his music career really started in 2003 when working with Kanye West. His second album was released in 2005 which did significantly better than the first. Since then he's split his time between making music and acting, and has had an amazingly successful career. T-Pain is the stage name for Faheem Rashad Najm whose been active since 2004. The T stands for Tallahassee and the name represents how hard it was for him growing up there. He's always loved music, even making his room a recording studio when he was ten. In 2004, he joined Nappy Headz releasing a parody of an Akon song. Akon heard it and immediately signed T-Pain to his label. He switched to singing instead of rapping releasing an album in 2005 and another in 2007. He promoted that album by featuring on lots of song which is why his name was suddenly everywhere. I remember being confused because I hadn't heard of him before then. He created his own label, releasing his third album on it by 2008. He famously uses auto-tune, which yes I think is kind of dead at this point, but it's his signature thing so power to him.

Today we required a song about drugs or alcohol. So many songs to choose from honestly. Will picked Master of Puppets by Metallica, and my grandma chose White Lightning by George Jones. My mom went with Drunk On A Plane by Dierks Bentley and Sammy went for Young, Wild, and Free by Snoop Dog and Wiz Khalifa featuring Bruno Mars. Anna chose Stoned and Starving by Parquet Courts.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 283

Hey guys. Today's song is Relapse by Shawn Hook.

His name is Shawn Hlookoff and he's another Canadian singer, this one from British Columbia. He started writing music when he was in junior high, but released his first official stuff in 2004 when his college teacher offered to produce it. He moved to Vancouver for engineering, where he created a second independent album under his full name. In 2008 he became the first artist to sign with ABC Studios which led to his song being used in a lot of their content. He officially switched to his stage name with the release of his debut album in 2012. He spent some time collaborating with other people until his fame found its stride in 2014. This led to him signing with a label in 2015 which coincided with his previous deal with the studio; and released another album. The next year he toured with Lindsey Stirling, and opened for Marianas Trench. Along with music he created a charity that's branded as Live To Give which raises money for various causes. We haven't heard much from him recently apart from a few singles last year, but I'm sure more is on its way.


This needed to be a song to exercise to. Which was hard to me. I ended up just going with one that has an even beat to keep pace to. Sammy picked What Goes Up by Hyper Crush, and Will chose Down With The Sickness by Disturbed. Anna picked Run To The Hills by Iron Maiden. My mom went with Somethin’ I’m Good At by Brett Eldridge, and my grandma chose Twist and Shout by The Beatles.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 282

Hey. Today's song is Closer by Tegan and Sara.

Tegan and Sara Quin are twins from Calgary, Alberta who've been making music together since 1998. They started at 15, forming a band called Plunk and used the school's recording studio to make two demo albums. A year later they won a band competition where the prize was professional studio time, and used it to make another demo. By the next year they had switched to the name Sara and Tegan, releasing a debut album independently. They switched the names around because people thought and pronounced it as if there was one artist (Aliexisonfire syndrome). They signed with a label the same year, then spent some time working on their next album before releasing it in 2000. The next two years were spent touring before releasing another album. So far they've made eight albums, and have worked with a lot of big names, gaining international fame. They are both out, and have centered most of their influence on benefiting LGBT rights and freedoms. Their music is great, and they seem like genuinely amazing people, and make me proud to know they came from here.

We needed to choose an artist from where you’re from. I got asked about this one a lot because that could mean city, province, or country. I said however they wanted to interpret it was fine. Anna picked Sea Lion Woman by Feist. So my mom went with Raise Your Glass by Brett Kissel, my grandma chose Who Would You Be by George Canyon, and both Sammy and Will chose the same artist. Sammy went with Alberta Bound by Paul Brandt, and Will picked That’s The Truth by Paul Brandt.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 281

What's Up. So today's song is Havana by Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug.

Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao is an American singer who got her start on the X Factor in 2012. She was put in the girl group Fifth Harmony. She left the group in 2016, and I don't know why because each side has a different story. She started her solo career the year before with a collaboration with Shawn Mendes. She continued doing collaborations through to 2017 while working on her album, and began releasing singles later in the year. The full album was released in 2018, and she's been touring since. Young Thug is the stage name for Jeffery Lamar Williams, an American rapper, producer, and songwriter. He's been active since 2011 with the installments of his mixtape which got him noticed by another rapper in 2013 who helped get him signed. He released another mixtape through the label which garnered him major attention throughout the industry, leading to a major record deal by the next year. He worked with a lot of big name rappers on music throughout the year while working on his debut album. In 2015 a data breach cause all of his unreleased music to get leaked. His anticipated album was met with some controversy, so he ended up changing it into another mixtape and working on something else as his debut. It seems like his album still isn't out (I might be wrong) but he's done a lot of mixtapes and collaborations consistently for the last couple years, so if you like him there is plenty to look up.

Today is a song that we each didn’t like at first that grew on us. My grandma chose On The Road Again by Willie Nelson, which is surprising because she listens to him a lot. My mom chose Strip That Down by Liam Payne featuring Quavo, and Will picked Fight Fire With Fire by Metallica. Anna went with Oxford Comma by Vampire Weekend, then Sammy chose last, settling on Solo by Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 280

Hiya. So today's song is No Roots by Alice Merton.

She's technically a German musician, but her family moved a lot because of his job, so she's also lived in Canada, the States, and England. Her music career started in 2015 when she was featured as a singer/songwriter on the album of German band called Fahrenhaidt. A year later she won an award for promotion of talented newcomers. She then moved to Berlin, and with her manager started a record label which they used to release this song. The song obviously blew up, and rolling with its international success, she released her first EP. In 2017, she signed with a record label for in the States, and then released another single. She spent the rest of the year touring through Germany. I haven't heard anything from her for this year, but I expect great things.

This one is a song to relax to. Will chose a classical song we showed him with Peer Gynt by the Copenhagen Philharmonic. Anna decided on Home Again by Michael Kiwanuka. Sammy chose LOUVRE by Lorde, my mom went with Beautiful Mess by Jason Mraz, and my grandma picked Old Rugged Cross by Johnny Cash.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 279

Hello. Today's song is Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars.

This song has been so overplayed at this point, but I still can't hep but sing along. I think I've already talked about Bruno Mars, so instead today we focus on Mark. So Mark Ronson is an English musician/DJ. He's been active since 1993, although this song was his first hit in the Western hemisphere. Fun Fact: his step-dad was the guitarist in Foreigner, which is how he got introduced to music. He started out as a DJ while he was going to NYU, earning huge recognition in that, so much so that his stuff was featured in an ad. He was introduced to Nikka Costa when the manager heard his set, and Mark started producing her music. By 2003 he decided to release his own album, which technically flopped, and he got dropped by his label. A year later he made his own label. The next couple years he spent mostly producing for other people, and was nominated for a Grammy for the work he did with Amy Winehouse. He's released other albums that have done better than his first one. Much of his career has been in the background, doing soundtracks for things and making music that others sing so no one knows it's his stuff. After reading up on it I realize I'm really pissed off about that. So to anyone who says this is Bruno Mars' song? Don't.

This criteria is a song you would sing at karaoke. I don’t know if any of these would be available for karaoke, but my mom chose Who I Am by Jessica Andrews, and my grandma picked Put Your Head On My Shoulder by Paul Anka. Sammy went with Let It Go by Idina Menzel because she thought it was funny, and lastly Will decided on Bad Company by Five Finger Death Punch. The only song that I think you would actually find at karaoke was Anna's pick with Somebody To Love by Queen.

Peace.

Year 5, Day 278

Hey everyone. So today's song is I Wish by Stevie Wonder.

Okay this is a weird choice because my favorite artist is The Score. If you look at the parameters of today's song, you'll see why I'm not sure about this. The problem with getting someone to cover a song is that you want it to be different enough that the cover will be entertaining and original, but not too different that it ruins it. My favorite is a rock band, which is close but at the same time not to this. I would be curious to see what they'd do with one of Stevie Wonder's songs because they are all so groovy. What would it sound like without that? I mean it'll never happen, but I'm thinking about it now.

Following in the same vein as yesterday, this is a song we’d like to see covered by our favorite artist. My grandma’s favorite is George Canyon, who she’d like to see cover Four Strong Winds by Ian Tyson. My mom’s is Meatloaf, covering Talking To The Moon by Bruno Mars. Sammy is predictable, wanting Taylor Swift to cover Barbie Girl by Aqua, Anna is just as obvious wanting Beyonce to cover Feeling Good by Nina Simone. Will is also predictable given he has a tattoo of this band logo, choosing Trivium to cover I'm So Sick by Flyleaf.

Peace.