Womens' Music: Ellie Swisher

Name meaning: I think "Ellie" means "Light" or something (but I think her full name is Elaine or Eleanor). A swisher is a cigarette. But hey, it's just her name.

I don't remember when I discovered Ellie, but it was during my eighth grade year (just a way of making myself sound old--- I'm only a freshman). She has been such an inpiration ever since. She is unsigned (don't ask me why), and she lives in the same state as me (O-H-I-O!), just a few counties and two hours away. She performed in a free concert in Genoa, but freakin' Fine Arts had to be scheduled the next day. Ugh.

Genre: Acoustic, alternative, pop

I am a huge fan of Ellie. She reminds me of that great feeling I have when I'm at home. Probably because we both live in Ohio. But whatever. You'll just have to listen to this kid. She's like an angel on earth.

You heard this during my Landon Austin post on here. Don't they both sound like angels? And 3:07 is still my favorite part--- beautiful bass note!

This song is so pretty--- I've never even heard the original, but now I'm gonna have to buy it! I'm loading up my iPod for NFAF, and Ellie has helped me discover more artists day by day. "This could be the end of everything...so why don't we go somewhere only we know?" Why not?

I don't like this song too much, but I do like Ellie's version. Notice she's wearing a Landon Austin shirt?

I love this song so much! I don't know who the heck it's dedicated to, or if it's dedicated to anyone at all, but all I know is that it is so relatable. It's everything I want in a guy in a song. "I'm so lucky that I have you. I couldn't say what I'd do without you... you're the best friend that I could ever ask for... you're the perfect ten, I wouldn't trade you for anything... you're everything that I couldn't be, you're the other half of me... can't sleep, too busy laughing... you say life is sweeter 'cause I'm in it. But trust in me, I'm the one that's winning... I can't describe what I feel inside every time you walk into my life!"

Stop messing with your hair. Nevertheless, we still love you, Elle! For fans of: Katy Perry, Landon Austin, Nicole Nordeman, Katie Costello, He Is We, Danielle Lowe, Megan Nicole, Sara Bareilles, Marie Digby, Brooke Waggoner, The Good Mad, Maddi Jane,

MY SUMMER PLAYLIST!

It's June! I still have eight days of school left, talking school days. June 13th. I know, I'm dying. So, I've been doing these things for a year now. Just to let you know, I've bene OBSESSING over quite a few songs lately. You had fiar warning.

1. "Echo" by Jason Walker. The song is just absolutely beautiful. The piano is absolutely beautiful, like seriously. I love songs that start out with only one instrument and then the entire band joins in, which is exactly what Jason did here. "I don't wanna be down and I just wanna feel alive and get to see your face again, but 'til then... just my echo. My shadow, you're the only friend that I have... I'm out on the edge and I'm SCREAMING my name like a fool at the top of my lungs. Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend I'm alright, but it's never enough..."
2. "Cubism Dream" by the Local Natives. I love the guitar, and their voices all perfectly harmonize.
3. "Chances" by Athlete. I first heard it on a Doctor Who episode, specifically "Vincent and the Doctor." Why do you think Vincent van Gogh is my favorite artist? They placed this song at the perfect time at the end of the episode, when the eleventh Doctor decides to show Gogh (he committed suicide at 37) how amazing of an artist he will become. In his day, or at least how DW shows it, he was not recognized for his talent at all. Just a mad man with a canvas. But this song at the end in the background voiceovered with these words: "He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty.Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world… no one had ever done it before. Perhaps, no one ever will again. To my mind, that strange, wild man who roamed the fields of Provence was not only the world’s greatest artist, but also one of the greatest men who ever lived." Just perfect. Athlete has a new fan!
4. "The Other Half of Me" by Ellie Swisher. The song screams everything I want in my future hubby. "You say life is sweeter 'cause I'm in it. But trust in me, I'm the one that's winning!"
5. "Eyes Wide" by Aristotle (warning: profanity involved in the rap--- I only listen to the chorus) featuring the Local Natives (it's my text alarm--- the "ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh..." part) and "Wide Eyes" by the Local Natives, which is the original version of the song. I like the music video for "Wide Eyes"... it ruins my love for the song every time I see it--- a shark stalks this guy so he kills it, he fights it and kills it during the best part of the song, it's rather graphic actually. Then he puts it in a bodybag. It'd be hilarious if he got caught. And then the next day he is free of his anxiety... and then it ends with an evil koala climbing down a tree with red eyes. "Not again!!!" It makes you wanna yell. I guess that goes along with "Oh some evil spirit, oh some evil this way comes. They told me how they fear it now they're placing it on their tongues. Oh oh, to see it with my... oh oh oh own eyes..."
6. "Starbucks Smile" by Maria K. "I'm so in love with your" song, Maria. This song is "as perfect as a Jolly Rancher seems. I'm more than a girl, I'm your biggest fan." You're a pop artist and you can get me to love you. Takes talent. Sometimes I wonder why I listen to this song, but "you give me a million reasons" why. Am I "in love with your" music? "Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah, baby!"
7. "Abraham's Daughter" by Arcade Fire. The song is rather biblically incorrect (just take a listen and if you're familiar with the story of Abraham almost sacrificing Isaac, you'll get it) but since it's Hunger Games based, I think they only wanted to use it as a metaphor. Besides--- check out that killer percussion! It made walking out of the theater feel pretty darn awesome.
8. "The Ruler and the Killer" by Kid Cudi. I posted this on my gymnastics blog. Check it out here!
9. "It's Not Easy (Superman)" by Five For Fighting. So depressing, and speaking of, I have recently discovered my love for slow and sad songs. The majority of the songs I write are slow and sad. "I'm not crazy... or anything."
10. "Gifts and Curses" by Yellowcard. I love the simple guitar lead at the beginning on the "Mary belongs to the words of a song" part. "(She is the one) but I have a purpose, (she is the one) and I have to fight this... (she is the one) the villain I cannot down... What if I fall then where would I go? Would she know (she is the one), all that I've wanted? (She is the one) and I will be haunted. (She is the one), this gift is my curse for now."
11. "Take the Heartland" by Glen Hansard. It's very violent, but it makes my day. Yeah. Being the happy girl I am, it's amazing that I am obsessed with sad and angry songs. I mean, come on--- who listens to songs that say, "Should I kill you with my sword, yeah or should I kill you with this word?" How about you just don't kill me at all?
12. "One Engine" by The Decemberists. Even better than "Down by the Water." I love the electric guitar. But clearly, this band doesn't understand the meaning of the word "hiatus." Weird. "The line of right, it will barely make you feel... make you feel... barely make you feel..."
13. "American Baby" by the Dave Matthews Band. I mentioned this last time, but sorry, this song is pure genius.
14. I still like "Hellfire", too.
15. And I still like "Mombasa" by Hans Zimmer. The only song that makes me rush through my homework like crazy, yet STILL I get a good grade for it.
16. "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" parts 1 and 2. Part 1 is inspiring and about a girl with cancer. Part 2 is just something you'd play to torture the people in your car.
17. "Professor Layton's Theme" from some video game. My friend Evan showed it to me in STEM Foundations class one day because he was disappointed that I had good artists on my iPod (specifically referring to Newsboys and TobyMac) but none of their good songs. Come on... I love "Born Again!" but I like this one. Accordion + percussion + piano = Professor Layton and Professor Layton ONLY.
18. "I'll Make a Man Out of You" by Donny Osmond. I used this song to motivate the only guy on my May Madness team in youth... yup, that's what you get to do when you're the team leader. "Stop sipping like a lady and drink like a man! Chug it! You are on a team full of girls! Don't act like us! Be a man! Mister, I'll make a man out of you!"
19. "I Am (Creation)" by Overture. Sounds a lot like "Time" by Hans Zimmer. It's form the same album as "Alive (Mary Magdalene)" by Natalie Grant, another song I love.
20. I might as well mention "Alive (Mary Magdalene)" now:). I love the guitar. "I am His because He is ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE, yeah! ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!" That girl can hit crazy notes.
21. "This is War" by 30 Seocnds to Mars. If you've heard the song, you probably like it. "OH! To the leader, the pariah, the victor, the messiah! This! Is! Wa-a-ar, YEAH!"
22. "I Can't Make You Love Me" covered by Kiersten Holine. This song has such a powerful message, and I think anyone who has had a crush on someone who didn't like them back or was in a relationship with someone who didn't feel the same way about them can understand this and relate. "I can't make you love me if you don't. You can't make your heart feel something it won't. Here in the dark, in these final hours, I will lay down my heart and I will feel the power but you won't. No you won't."
23. "Ignoble" by Kiersten Holine. "I am sorry time was wasted on a heart you didn't love."
24. "Stay Close" by Fireflight. Fireflight's new song from their new album! Gah! This song gives me the same feeling "For Those Who Wait" does.
25. "Sometimes" by Halocene. It's got a pretty awesome feel to it. Another band I really like.
26. "Safe" by Britt Nicole. It's such a pretty song--- Christian, and it's another one of those starts-with-piano-and-ends-with-a-whole-band-behind songs. I would love to sing it in a lower key for Fine Arts next year. I've liked that girl's music since third grade.
27. "Last Dance" by Halocene. The song plays piano in a lower octave, which I love sooooo much. And then guess what? The whole band comes in!
28. "You Are My Vision" by Rend Collective Experiment. I can't wait to sing this hymn in church. Maybe I can suggest that we do when I join the worship team.
29. "Meeting in Doorways" by Deas Vail. It's happy and sad. Of course, I adore its sad vibe more than the happy vibe.
30. "Asleep at the Wheel" by Wesley Blaylock, a solo project of his aside form Deas Vail. Can't wait to interview him...
31. Lastly, "Who Knows Who Cares" by the Local natives. Makes me feel like I'm in a jazz club. Has a sad vibe, but makes me feel confident.

Yup. Those are the songs I am in love with right now. There's probably more but... oh well.

Musical Tomboys

Here's to the girls who prefer guitar over piano...

Who prefer metal over alternative...

And alternative over pop...

Here's to the girls who sing basslines...

To the girls who can sing lower than most guys...

AND ALL THE GIRLS OUT THERE MAKING MUSIC!

"Safe and Sound" Covers

I love Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars' "Safe and Sound" from The Hunger Games: From District 12 and Beyond soundtrack. The entire soundtrakc is amazing... there's "Safe and Sound," "One Engine" by The Decemberists, and "Abraham's Daughter" by Arcade Fire, and more.

Many people have covered this song, so here are all of the covers I've seen, and I don't necessarily like ALL of them, but I like most.
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I love Christina, but... STOP TALKING FOR SO LONG AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR VIDEOS! On this video she cut back on the talking, thanks. It would have been a great collaboration, though, just a suggestion.

Megan Nicole and Tiffany Alvord... two girls I almost NEVER have blogged about. Their cover was the first one I heard. I like it, I just don't like THEM very much, and I don't know why. Tiffany because she collabs with EVERYBODY on YouTube and it scares me. Megan because she doesn't look very confident when she sings and rarely smiles.

This is one of my absolute favorite covers of this song. For once, someone did the "ooh ooh ooh ooh" parts perfectly! Luke Conard's collab was AMAZING on that, too. I just found out about the girl, Ellie, today. She sent me a message on YouTube telling me to look at her "A Thousand Years" cover. I'm VERY picky about that song, and she nailed it. I am SUPER picky about this song especially, but she and Landon aced it. I love how Landon took his voice down a full key but Ellie sang in the original key. i know a lot of singers who WOULDN'T like that, but I do. I love Ellie, but her stage presence is almost as bad as mine, if that's possible. Ellie, this will sound awkward, but you're beautiful (your voice=amazing!) so SMILE, girl!

Megan and Liz. Gosh, you know I LOOOOOOOVVVVEEEEE these twins, but let me be honest, here--- like I said, I am VERY picky about covers, this song especially. And if the bridge or ending aren't (both "ooh"ing) the way they originally were (I don't care if you improvise, but PLEASE keep that part the same), I probably won't like the cover. So Here it is. I kinda hated their cover. And also, the chord at 2:57 to 3:00... I don't think ANY of the covers did that right. You'd have to check the original for that. But in the original, it has this... it's hard to describe a chord.... I don't know... this feeling that shows that the song is leading up to the bridge. And all the covers just did that chorus like normal. And I REALLY liked that part in the original.

Luke Conard... I love him. Faith introduced me to Joey from WinterSpringPro, and WSP did a Hunger Games parody that I blogged awhile ago. Then that introduced me to Luke. Then Luke posted this video. They did the bridge right. I think they met all my expectations... and better!
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It all comes down to this...

Which was your favorite?

For once, I can tell you what mine are.

FIRST PLACE: Luke Conard!!!!! And no.... it's not just because you're SUPER cute. I also hear you're like, thirty, though. I pray that's not true. But I also looked you up on one of those Yellow Pages sites or something and guess what? I heard you have an average income... which I find hard to believe BUT! That means! I have a chance of meeting you. I just gotta move to Iowa.
SECOND PLACE: Landon Austin (with Ellie!). You guys like, almost MATCHED th eoriginal an dI really apreciate it.
THIRD PLACE: Megan Nicole and Tiffany Alvord. They sound great!

BYE!!!

-H