Front Row Seat: Janelle & Ellie At The Nobel Peace Prize Concert

Hey, remember that new feature I teased about in my last post? The one involving live performances? ‘Tis here. (And I even came up with a cheesy name for it! It wouldn’t be a Harmony Avenue post without one…) Normally I plan to make this about one particular live performance, but for a few reasons, this post won’t highlight just one video…but five. They’re all from the same night…the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Concert, which took place back on December 11 in Norway. Two of my favorite artists took the stage, and delivered absolutely outstanding performances: Janelle Monáe and Ellie Goulding. Rather than narrow their songs down to just one or two, I’m going to share them all. Happy New Year.

First off, Ellie did a lovely job with her cover of Elton John’s “Your Song,” enhanced beautifully by the on-stage orchestra. She also gave the best live version of her amazing song “Starry Eyes” that I’ve seen yet…the size of the orchestra and the unique setting really seem to energize her, and she’s absolutely in top form. Here are both of those songs:

Not that I like to compare artists too often, but I think Janelle Monáe did even better with her fiery 3-song set. First, she took on the Jackson 5′s infectious classic, “I Want You Back,” and handled it with aplomb:

Then (or perhaps before…I’m not exactly sure how the program order went, seeing as I, y’know, wasn’t there), she sang a two-song medley featuring a pair of my favorites of hers, “Cold War” and “Tightrope.” To say she brought down the house would be an understatement. I’m pretty sure even some dignitaries in the audience are dancing by the end…

And well, that’s pretty much it. I might tinker with this feature a bit next time it pops up, but for now I’ll just keep it plain and simple. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words (which makes 5 YouTube videos worth…quite a lot of words?). Thanks for reading.

Song of the Day: “The Daily Mail”

It’s the first post of 2012! And after a barrage of list-based posts at the end of last year, I’m returning to one of this blog’s classic features…the Song of the Day. (As usual, it’s posted at night. I really need to get to doing these in the morning…then they’ll actually be a true Song of the Day for once.) Today, take a listen to…

“The Daily Mail” by Radiohead!

This song, a B-side released by the band last month, is more of a side of Radiohead that we don’t often get to see, and it’s something they should try more often, I think. It kind of harks back to their earlier stuff (in fact, it’s a bit reminiscent of “OK Computer,” before they went in a completely different, experimental direction after that), starting with just a stark, arresting piano line and then having Thom Yorke’s haunting vocals enter in. (He’s rarely delivered a more effective, heartrending vocal in recent years than he does here.) Eventually the full sound kicks in towards the song’s second half, but it’s a controlled explosion, with a deeply melodic quality that you don’t always get in Radiohead’s work. The guitars, the horns, the lyrics…everything combines to make a truly terrific musical experience.

A small preview of what’s coming soon:

• A new theme! I’ve grown quite fond of the one I’m using now, but it’s always fun to shake things up, and I think I’ve found a new blog theme that will work quite nicely. Look for it in the coming days (though knowing me, it will probably be much sooner than that…)
• The first new Artist Spotlight of 2012. I’m still brainstorming who it will be (I’ve got a long list in mind, but I haven’t done this feature for a while), but it will be a good one.
• A potential new feature…there’s one highlighting live performances that I think I want to try out.

As always, thanks for reading. 2012 is going to be a great year, and I hope to make the next few months on Harmony Avenue as jam-packed with good music as I can.