Favorite Music Update (2009-01-09)

Instead of just listing the titles of my favorite songs like I did last year, I’m doing a more detailed music post from now on. I figured a post with just titles of my fave songs is really boring. I bet no one even read those.

Listed not in any particular order, here are the songs rocking in my foobar right now.

Britney Spears – Mannequin
This song is sick! It’s nothing like anything that Britney previously recorded and it’s arguably my most favorite song from her new album. This is actually the first song from “Circus” that fans got to hear first (excluding Radar). The “Secret Britney Video” showing a dance rehearsal which leaked months ago featured this song but we didn’t know yet the title of it that time. I also wasn’t too excited about it and the video quality was bad so you couldn’t really hear the music well. I listened to the album for the first time from the CD and so I heard “Mannequin” in all its glory exuding pure awesomeness from our stereo!
The biggest reason that I love this song is that it fulfilled my biggest dream for her music: To have a Britney song with an amazing dance breakdown! It lasts for almost a minute and the production is just excellent. The lyrics sound meaningless at first but it’s actually about someone who doesn’t care anymore what his ex-lover thinks or does (hence the mannequin connotation). But then this is pop music so what are we doing looking for deep lyrics here?

Coldplay – Viva La Vida
I was never a big fan of Coldplay although I liked some of their previous hits. (I still love “The Scientist”.) But their new album is really something, I must say. I only have a few favorites but the first single is really good. I think the main reason why I’m not into Coldplay’s songs that much is because I don’t fancy Chris Martin’s voice. I really like this song because of its amazing production. I always notice myself just listening to the music and not really minding Chris’ voice when hearing this song. I don’t mean to offend anyone though so don’t go attacking me for liking Britney and not minding Chris Martin. Music (like many things) is just a matter of personal preference. I’m just more of a background music/instrumental person and not a vocal type of guy, most of the time. The next song is proof of this.

Yanni – Keys To Imagination
I originally planned to write a post dedicated solely to Yanni’s music but as usual, work got in the way of my plans. I grew up listening to Yanni. My aunt would play the Acropolis laser disc non-stop in their living room when I was a kid. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of listening to “Keys To Imagination”, ever.
This composition is one of the most amazing modern pieces I’ve ever heard. (“Standing in Motion” comes at a close second.) One day, I listened to this non-stop the whole morning till afternoon. No kidding! Actually, I alternated between the Acropolis version and the new version because I like both. The Acropolis version has a more orchestral sound while the new version is obviously more modern but also brings something new to the fans of the original. I love the violins and percussions more in the original. Karen Briggs is great. Charlie Adams is an amazing drummer but I prefer the more acoustic sound in the original. The drums in the new version are okay but the Acropolis is just better in this aspect. But then the addition of the flute in the new version is just way beyond words. I find myself humming the flute part all the time even while listening to the original.
Anyway, try to do a search in YouTube but I must warn you that the video quality in these sites will never do justice to these compositions. You should see them at least in DVD quality.

Jennifer Paige – Always You
This song is really old and so 90′s! From time to time, I go back to my old songs and then fall in love with some of them again. I really like the radio version of this which is actually a remix by The Groove Brothers. There’s also the Ballad Mix which is just as good.

Dido – Thank You (Deep Dish Mix)
“It’s not so bad… it’s not so bad…” Another oldie but goodie. This remix is just too good for words. It’s 9 minutes and 30 seconds of pure club mix heaven. The dub mix is really good too. But hardcore fans of the original may not like it for not having the chorus part at all. Well, this is a remix. You can’t always expect it to be nearly the same as the original, can you?

Miley Cyrus – 7 Things (Bimbo Jones Full Club Mix)
I never really liked this girl but “7 Things” is a really nice song and she sings well here. Plus, this remix is just so good. It brought the song to a whole new level. I like how Bimbo Jones mixed “sha!” several times here too.

Patapon – Patapon
Pon-Pata-Pon-Pon… Pon-Pata-Pon-Pon! Haha! It’s the song Patapon by… the Patapons! I’m not ashamed to admit I almost have the “lyrics” memorized.
I had finally finished the game just last month after more than a year of playing it and I instantly loved the song when I first heard it in the credits. Can’t wait for Patapon 2! (The English version… I don’t have the time anymore to play the Japanese version like I did with the first Patapon game.)

David Archuleta – A Little Too Not Over You
I’ve always liked Archuleta even when he was still on American Idol. (For the record: I also like Cook so don’t be too quick to judge on me.) I liked Archie’s first single, “Crush”, but the song is obviously aimed at teens. When I first listened to his album though, “A Little Too Not Over You” was the one that stood out the most to me. I didn’t like at first the RnB-ish sound in the intro but the melody and lyrics were the ones that made me really love this song. Not to mention the lyrics really mean a lot to me right now.
I’ve seen Archie’s live performances of this song and I like how he sings some of the parts differently from the album version and he still makes it sound good. What can I say? The boy truly has a great voice.

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I will post this music update thing whenever I feel it’s necessary. That’s the one thing I didn’t like with the monthly fave songs I had last year. It felt like I was forcing myself to remember the songs I liked that month. Now, I’ll just be posting this when there’s anything worth sharing. They are worth sharing, right?