We love passing new music videos around the OurStage office, and now we’re going to be sharing our finds with you. In honor of Halloween, this week’s videos are all about zombies, murder and everything evil. Enjoy!
Evanescence – “Going Under”
What would you do if you were playing a show, and everyone around you started turning into demons…even your bandmates?! Continue reading ‘“Watch This!” Wednesday: Creepy Clips for Halloween’
I know today is Halloween, but we just can’t wait for the upcoming holiday season! There are so many great things in store, one of which being the Holidays Rule compilation released yesterday by Hear Music, a joint venture between Starbucks and Concord Music Group. The release features holiday (mostly Christmas) classics covered by some of today’s most noteworthy artists such as the one and only Paul McCartney, The Shins, Andrew Bird, The Civil Wars, fun. and many more! If you’re ready for a glimpse of Christmas future, heat up some hot coco and listen to fun.’s cover of “Sleigh Ride” streaming here! If that doesn’t get you in the holiday spirit, then you might be a Scrooge.
If you like fun. then you might also like OurStage’s own Ivory Drive.
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It’s that time of year again! Between the carved pumpkins lining doorstops, shelves of candy practically disappearing overnight, and costume stores boasting Dracula, Superman, and pretty pretty princesses, there’s no doubt that Halloween is just around the corner.
This spook-tacular holiday isn’t just for kids anymore, (I mean, who doesn’t love free candy and dressing up?), and to help you get into the holiday spirit, we’re bringing you a taste of how celebrities across the country are celebrating this year. Check it out after the jump. Continue reading ‘Celebrities In Halloween Costumes: Heidi Klum, Diddy, Fergie & More!’
Last Monday, as we celebrated Halloween, MTV gave out their second annual O Awards. MTV’s newest and definitely most unique awards show aired on a couple of different Web sites, as opposed to TV. This aspect of the show was fitting, as the MTV O Awards are all about our favorite Internet fads, celebrities and technology. Most of the categories still have to do with music, but they’re based on how we view and consume this music due to new technology, the internet and social networking sites like Twitter. Celebrities even performed and presented nominees via live feeds from various locations. It was a great way to embrace all of the positive effects that technology has on music. Here are some of our favorite parts and winners from the night!
Everyone loves a good cover song. But when YouTube popped up and gave anyone the ability to post renditions of songs by their favorite artists, there were bound to be ten horrible versions for every good one. Luckily, there are some gems that are so great, they make us forget about rest. Marc Martel won the Best Fan Cover Award when he won us over with his rendition of Queen‘s “Somebody To Love” for the band’s own competition. As soon as he starts to sing the first line, you know it’s going to be incredible. While no one can compare to Freddie Mercury, the resemblance in Marc’s voice is undeniable and the award was definitely deserved.
When a band takes a break from their musical career for a number of years, it’s often hard to gain back momentum and success should they decide to come back. But, there are some artists who never really go away; we’re always waiting for them to stage a comeback. This year we’ve seen the return of huge acts like Blink-182 and New Kids On The Block, but this concept doesn’t always have to apply to mainstream artists. Here at Live Wired, we caught Yellowcard on their first US headlining tour in three years as they played to a sold out crowd at Paradise Rock Club on the night before Halloween.
Photo by abbeypotter
Yellowcard broke out with the release of their 2003 single (and album), ”Ocean Avenue”, and released two more albums before announcing that they were going on a hiatus in 2008. Earlier this year, they released When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes, started playing shows again, and embarked on their first headlining tour after regrouping. Not only was it amazing to see the crowd’s excitement and explosive roar as the band took the stage, but it was both heart-warming and refreshing to see how humbled and taken aback the band was by this reaction. Frontman Ryan Key started off by telling the audience that the main goal for the night was for us to lose our voices from singing so loud; he definitely succeeded. While their music has grown from the sometimes angst-filled pop-punk to more of a straight rock sound, all of their songs are perfect when it comes to crowd participation. “Way Away” was the perfect example of this, as fans rocked out to the fast-paced guitar and violin sounds but had the opportunity to sing their hearts out during the bridge of the song.
Halloween falls on a Monday this year, which means that it would almost be a disservice to readers everywhere if this post didn’t honor the day in some way. Because of metal’s dark nature, the possibilities are endless. I’ll save the “Rocktober” and Misfits references (as awesome as the Misfits are), and just deliver you eight great OurStage metal songs that directly or indirectly relate to Halloween or Halloween-appropriate topics. Scary things, ghosts, zombies and/or the undead—you name it. Why exactly the eve of All Hallows Day (aka All Saints Day) was chosen to be about evil things we’re not so sure, but we’re not going to argue.
Now that you’ve got your tunes, let’s tell you a bit about them:
“Initial State of Death” by They Might Be Zombies – Zombies and Halloween go hand in hand. This band may or may not be solely comprised of zombies (we’re still not totally sure). All we know is that if they are indeed the walking dead, they’ve still got pretty good finger dexterity.
“Epidemic” by hord – Ah, the zombie apocalypse. 28 Days Later or The Walking Dead showed us the terror an epidemic just might lead to. Here’s the sonic version.
“Where Did They Hyde Dr. Jekyll” by Social Jet Lag – The classic tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is always appropriate for Halloween. We’re not sure that the song is actually about that story, but the title is, and the song’s good enough that we’ll let is slide (just this once).
“Night Of The Rising Death” by Black Divinity – We promise we’re not intentionally filling this playlist with zombie-themed songs, but sometimes a song is just too evil to pass up. Black Divinity bring the fire with some truly evil vocals and riffs galore.
“Today You Will Die” by Gargantuan – Zombies are pretty scary–that’s no secret. You know what else is scary? Serial killers. Something about sensing your own impending doom is just a tad bit unsettling, and Gargantuan capture the feeling pretty well on this track.
“Arise” by Still Screaming – There’s not really all that much you need to know about this song other than it’s a crossover thrash/hardcore punk jam with the hook “We arise from the ashes of the dead tide!” If that’s not evil sounding, I don’t really know what is.
“Gift of a Ghost” by Einvera – I’m not sure about anyone else, but giving someone a ghost as a present seems like a really lame gift. I wouldn’t exactly be pumped up about being haunted. Thankfully, however, Einvera’s music is better than their gift ideas.
“Jesus Hates Zombies” by Above The Abyss – Jesus probably hates evil, that much is evident. Zombies are evil, that’s also pretty obvious. I think Above The Abyss might be onto something here. Jesus might also be into irony, since by some definitions, Jesus could be considered a zombie (after all, he was dead, and then alive again).
What metal songs get you in the Halloween spirit? Let us know in the comments.
Let’s face it. We all love Halloween. Nothing can beat the joys of wearing funny costumes and stuffing ourselves with candy. But did you know that celebrating death is even more enjoyable when it is done the Latin way?
Every year on November 2, Mexicans celebrate “Día de Muertos” or “Day of the Dead.” Contrary to popular belief, this isn’t a gloomy holiday, but rather a festive and colorful event where Mexicans pay tribute to friends and family members who have passed away.
Here on OurStage, we are all about celebrating, so we picked our favorite death song in Spanish and have been playing it again and again. We are talking about “Amiga Muerte”, a piece by Mexican band Purpura Hechizo.
According to Purpura Hechizo, “Amiga Muerte” is a song that talks about the relationship between “a normal human being and the death.” The piece aims to spread the message that one must not reject death but rather embrace it and accept it. The song reminds us that, whether we like it or not, we are all going to die and will have to face “la muerte.”
Besides its profound lyrics, what we love the most about “Amiga Muerte” is the fact that we can all sing and dance to it as if we were chanting about something that is not death-related. We really dig how Purpura Hechizo can make such a gloomy theme a very pleasurable listening experience.
If you like “Amiga Muerte” you should try listening to other songs by Purpura Hechizo. We especially like “Te lo Advertí” and “Que es Mas Cruel.” We hope you enjoy this playlist and have an awesome Día de Muertos. Remember that death can be as fun and as good as a friend as you want her to be. ¡Provecho!
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