Music Review: Sarah McLaughlin – Laws Of Illusion
June 22, 2011 By
It has been seven years since Sarah McLachlan’s last full-length non-seasonal studio album Afterglow. Listening to much of Laws Of Illusion it’s like she never went away. The opening track “Awakenings” seems to kick off an aggressive, more rock-oriented approach, but the album quickly settles into the kind of ethereal folk-edged pop music Sarah McLachlan fans know and love. She is an artist with a truly distinctive sound and approach. Instead of any radical changes in direction, she simply returns to remind us who Sarah is and that she has not gone away.
Sarah McLachlan’s gorgeous, controlled vocals with that distinctive melancholy catch continue to enchant even casual listeners of her music. Simple, exposed songs like “Forgiveness” and “Rivers of Love” showcase the beauty of her voice as it moves across the song like a languidly flowing stream. “Bring On the Wonder” alters the approach by adding new age style echo. The effect is quite beautiful if fleeting at under two minutes.
The first single from Laws Of Illusion is “Loving You Is Easy”, makes me wonder if Sarah listened to Supertramp as a kid, has an upbeat, almost breezy feel, that is quite refreshing. “Out of Tune” applies Sarah McLachlan’s sound to the sense of love providing an oasis from the stresses of the rest of the world. “Heartbreak” makes light of being chased down by sadness. Ultimately Sarah McLachlan tells heartbreak to “find some other fool.” The melancholy seems not too far away, but for the few moments of these songs the smile behind the voice is entrancing.
If you are already a Sarah McLachlan, you really can’t go wrong picking up (possibly downloading it from your favorite online retailer) Laws Of Illusion. It is a collection of songs filled with clever lyrics and bathed in the beauty of her voice. At times however, the whole collection moves and meanders so languidly it may cause the attention of the listener to wander as well. This is not unique to this album in Sarah McLachlan’s catalog. If you are a long-term fan, that aspect of her music will be familiar territory indeed. With Pierre Marchand, Sarah McLachlan’s producer and collaborator for over 20 years, at hand, Laws Of Illusion is another solid statement of her unique position as an artist who has both influenced strongly the entire genre of adult pop and remains distinctive in her own sound.
That’s What THAY Say
June 22, 2011 By
Read the Hunch blog enough, and you’ll be able to pick out airplane aisle and window seaters while you wait to board. In just five minutes of small talk, you can make a good guess about whether a stranger uses a Mac or a PC. And here’s a fun one: Go to a catered business meeting and try to figure out who’s liberal, conservative, or middle of the road.
Hunch correlations are the result of millions of answers to Teach Hunch About You (THAY) questions. They’re based on hard numbers supplied by a diverse group of people all over the world. If they confirm a stereotype, don’t shoot the messenger or our infographical friends at Column Five Media. Point your finger (or cursor) at the thousands of Hunch users who teach us what THAYs say.
How your father’s music indicates what you listen to today [infographic]
June 18, 2011 By
There’s no end to the reasons why you listen to the music you do today, but we’re willing to bet that more than a few of you were subjected to your father’s music at some point in the past (or present). So that leads to the question: what do dear old dad’s listening habits say about the artists in your repertoire? In honor of Father’s Day, we tried our hand at finding out.
click graphic for larger view.
The Cello Song – Bach is back (with 7 more cellos)
June 14, 2011 By
LOVE this!!
Be sure to watch for the bow throw around 2:35!
Every sound you hear was created by Steve playing his acoustic cellos (with one exception — a subtle “hi-hat” noise made by his voice).
The Cello Song is based on one of the most recognizable classical pieces ever written, J.S. Bach’s Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1: Prelude. (Hint: Say Bach’s title with an English accent and it sounds a lot better). It’s been featured in a lot of movies (and car commercials)…Steven Sharp Nelson decided that this piece needed some accompaniment (Bach must have been busy and never got around to it? 
Adding some original material and 7 more cello parts stacked on top of each other, Steve has created a cool new sound that embellishes all the features that have made Bach’s work so popular. The 7 new parts include drawn-out melodies which soar above fast arpeggios, strumming chords from a guitar-like part, shaker sounds (accomplished by rubbing the sides of the cello), tremolo (1:08–1:24), and a cello-banging percussion part (complete with kick drum).
“Bach was an amazing composer — one of the best that ever lived. He wasn’t the greatest with titles though (smile)… As a consequence, no one can ever remember his Cello Suite’s name…so when I’m asked to perform his piece people always say, ‘hey, can you play that … um … that cello song?’ And so in Bach’s honor I name this adaptation of his amazing composition after what it has been naturally called for hundreds of years.
