Challenge #8 - Creativity: Make an EP - The Entries!
Quote:
Originally posted by Bloomers
In The Early Morning
Tracklist
1) Drake - I Get Lonely Too (TLC Cover of Fanmail)
2) Drake (feat. James Fauntelroy) - Girls Love Beyoncé
3) Drake - Days In The East
4) Drake - 5 AM in Toronto
Featuring tracks only previously released on mixtapes and Soundcloud, In The Early Morning focuses on the feelings of heartbreak and loneliness experienced by being alone in the very early hours of the morning. As the tracks progress, the music slowly gets darker, more abstract, and angrier.
The EP opens with a cover of TLC's Fanmail, changed to the track I Get Lonely Too, it's a poppy song that's an appeal to find a common bond with somebody out of loneliness; however, the dreamy song comes across more as a fantasy than reality, a trademark Drake theme.
Girls Love Beyoncé finds Drake frustrated and fed up over the games that girls play and at his growing feelings of loneliness, he begins to do soul searching as to why he's lonely but still wanting to get back with the distant girl; he samples Destinys Child as a way to ask his girl "What's My Name?" as a way to see if she's still on his side.
"Days in the East," increases in darkness, the pop structure of the previous songs all about disappears as Drake is at his loneliest and reflective. The song oozes along as Drake starts reflecting, alternating between sounding heartbroken, angry, and pleading, throwing his hands in the air and saying "show me something" to his girl before revisiting memories of the relationship that has ended and moving on.
Drake emerges with red eyes, angry and boastful and ready to take-over something if he can't have his relationship. 5 Am In Toronto closes the EP. The beat is abstract and angry, no chorus or features, just him hyping himself up and ready to win something; he's looking to take out the other rappers so he can be the only one left, leaving the Drake you see on the album cover, alone in the cold morning, but at the center of the picture.
Quote:
Originally posted by Citrus
Theme
Americana: materials concerning or characteristic of America, its civilization, or its culture; things typical of America.
The critically acclaimed album that could have been, I give you... Americana.
I made this EP in hopes of giving the listener a perfect glimpse into America, the true dichotomy between the country and the idea. Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. has an iconic, anthemic chorus that could easily lend itself to Cher's vibrato. The lyrics slam American bloodlust and capitalism, the commentaries on war and class inequality fitting in perfectly with Cher's own political ideology. Walking in Memphis is a proper follow-up, the melody strumming through the history of blues and soul, all the while questioning the real morality of American spirituality and Christianity, in particular. Next, Fit to Fly takes to task America's treatment of its veterans. Saying that we, as a nation, aren't "..Fit to fly a flag", Cher glowers at those who scream for war but don't want to provide benefits for returning soldiers. Finally, the flawless Heart of Stone closes the EP. The song finds Cher presiding over a court of systematized disorder, bemoaning the "...Big crowd at the crazy house" and how there is "...No room for the innocent" in contemporary America. War, death, inequality, discrimination, and hatred. Those words are the crux of the issues flowing through this EP, and they are the underbelly of the modern United States. With this EP, Cher has a collection that is both timely and classical, candid and painful.
Tracklist: Sade - ''Jezebel'' Sade - ''When Am I Going To Make A Living'' Sade - ''Hang On To Your Love'' Erykah Badu - ''Didn’t Cha Know''
Explanation
Title - A Longway To Ride
This was definitely the difficult one, I spent HOURS thinking about it, and at the end I ended up choosing 'A Long Way To Ride'. To be honest, It's not the best I could do, still it is good enough.
All the songs are about a goal (ambition) not yet been realized and that to do it, there is a way to be done with difficulty and 'rocks on the road'.
One of the reasons I chose it, was the perfectly relation that it has with the Artwork. Theme - Ambition
Sade song are mostly related to love, but I found it a bit predictable and this was supposed to be the Creativity round. So,
The subject was completely focused on me, I find myself as an ambitious person, so why not, I literally said,
I know ambition can become greed, so that's why I tried to put a song related to Greed, that it can be understood/taken as ambition. Artwork
It is pretty simple,
Sade simply walking to what could be interpreted, the future, and representing in some way or another, the mainly theme, ''Ambition''. I love the position and expression of Sade's body, not caring about what's around, basically, being unbothered (an important matter in the whole 'Ambition' meaning). Tracklist
Sade - ''Jezebel''
The song is about Jezebel, a beautiful lower-class lady who wants to 'Reach for the top ' at any circumstances, she doesn't care about what she had to do to get it, getting to the point to shame her own family name
Quote:
When she knew how to walk she knew how to bring the house down.
And to get 'the top', the second verse basically implements prostituation or/and striptease.
Representing ambition, the song can work completely well at it, showing a bad side of it to get the pourse in a not so good way. Still, the ambition is further through the stroryline.
Sade - ''When Am I Going To Make A Living''
WMIGTMAL can be mainly considerared an empowerment anthem by anyone's eyes, and that's what it makes it low-key an ambition related song.
This is what people considered 'Good Ambition', have a goal to archive in life or in any matter. In this case, get out of poverty, following the rules and being honest through it.
WMIGTMAL also mentions a crucial and important part of what makes a person ambitious, 'Don't give up' no matter how difficult it is.
An absolutely anthem.
Sade - ''Hang On To Your Love''
An example of being ambitious just for the 'love'.
Two reflection off of the song can be considered;
The first one, how a person can forget such a good relationship in such a shot time and out of the blue, just for for a bad moment on it, giving up easily.
This one could be considered A good releated ambition song to follow. Not giving up if you're really sure it's worth it.
The second one, How this song could be related to an psychotic obsession.
The lyrics can really point to this further than the other, Like; 'Gotta stick together,
Hand in glove'' and ''You'd better not let go, You gotta hold on longer''
The first verse really gives this feeling on the song, giving just a ''Obsessive girlfriend trying to get her boyfriend back at any cost'' teas.
At this point, I woudn't knew if this could be considered Good ambition or a Bad one. he!
Erykah Badu - ''Didn’t Cha Know''
While trying to choose I song Sade could sing, I thought about Erykah in matter of second. Their voices are really similar and they share the same musical genre!
This is the ultimate Erykah Badu song.
The deep lyrics on DCK is something that everyone that has gone through struggles in their life can relate to, especially people with big ambitions.
Theme: We all know that in her long career, Kelly has suffered a lot from her break ups, some even called her the "Queen of Break Up songs". I chose the theme "anger" because I feel that it fits Kelly's music very well and the songs tend to make the listener the way that Kelly felt when doing them: angry. When you go on youtube, you'd see some of the comments that say "You took the words directly from my diary, Kelly". Well, that's what I mean and that's why I chose this.
Title: I feel that the lyric "Ignorance is bliss" is one of the most important in the first song from the EP: "Never Again". And Kelly just stated an amazing fact here that we all should do, ignore the ones that are against us or that did something against us, because it's bliss.
Artwork: I went on last.fm and I saw this pic and I immediately thought that it has to be the artwork. It's so dark and powerful like the EP itself and I thought it's perfect.
Tracklist: The obvious choices were, of course, "Never Again" and "Behind These Hazel Eyes". I chose them because Kelly literally goes against her past boyfriends and just drags them down. You can hear the powerful vocals in the powerful choruses and you can see the anger there. Now, "You Can't Win" is the risky choice. Not only because fans don't like it that much, but because it's not the same type of anger as seen through the whole EP. It's more like anger to the society. This song is very personal to me because I hate it that everytime we try to do something, we are criticized and I love what Kelly did here. She basically dragged down all the haters with this song and that's why I wanted to put it here. The cover, "You Oughta Know" is for sure one of the most angry songs of all time. Another angry breakup story that fits perfectly at the end of this EP.
Quote:
Originally posted by EuphorianSea
Quote:
TITLE
Pandora's Box
THEME
Hope (despite all the underlying evils and inner turmoil)
Its too big Its too wide Its too strong It wont fit
My theme is Hope and is about conquering all evil - whether that be personal demons themselves or something more general - by being hopeful, which is basically the moral of Pandora's Box. The EP is titled Pandora's Box for a similar reason as to why I picked Hope as my general theme. I'll get into more detail as we progress through the explanation. I created the artwork myself. It depicts Christina looking faraway into the distance whilst being surrounded by darkness. This develops a sense of hopefulness and longing. It's very simplistic but leaves much room for interpretation.
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Throughout the entire course of I Am, Christina admits to various faults and takes pride in embodying those said faults. I am tired and defensive.....I have insecurities. This ties in with the idea of "opening up a can of worms" i.e. the mythological story of Pandora's Box where Pandora opens a box/jar out of pure curiosity and unleashes grief (of the world) into the world with hope being the only thing left. Christina is, in a way, cleansing herself of what has frequently been her Achilles' Heel and owns it instead. Thus, proving and providing the idea of eternal hope despite everything else...not hopeful...for lack of a better phrase. I Am also foreshadows everything Christina goes through later on in the EP. This is especially present in the next song: Stronger Than Ever, where Christina recalls all the past hurt that is still feigned beneath her seemingly tough exterior. This then correlates with the mythological aspect of the oracle culture and self-fulfilling prophecies. As a result, I Am serves as a great intro for Pandora's Box - EP since it sets the overall mood of hopeful energy surrounded by negative energy.
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Stronger Than Ever proposes a contradictory response to the near-on deludedI Am and focuses more on the inner turmoil of being something you've instigated yourself.I feel like running, I can't abandon you. Some could argue this with a more literal interpretation of Christina being subjected to what others have inflicted upon her. In my eyes, it's a raw depiction of conflict within personal means and boundaries. Instead of admitting to various faults (rather like I Am), Stronger Than Ever tells a more frustrated story about being tired of walking on eggshells.
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The cover song for my EP is True Colors - originally recorded by Cyndi Lauper. This section of Pandora's Box brings a different perspective on Hope, which adds lyrical depth to the overall project. The darkness inside you...can make you feel so small. It's likely sung in 3rd person considering how the other tracks on the EP usually talk about themselves. This one, however, gives Hope to those who are doubting themselves and that's very much like Christina during Stronger Than Ever.
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To top it all off, Christina sings the outro track Cruz with much conviction. She feels at peace with whatever insecurities she may have dealt with throughout Pandora's Box and is leavin' it to change despite feeling a little remorseful afterwards. It's as if Christina's turning over a new leaf as she is slowly drifting into a peaceful breeze. Very anti-climatic yet there's a sense of relief.
I put the explanation in collapse tags btw since it's a bit long
Quote:
Originally posted by GetYourAssInMyBed
Artwork:
Title: Absence of Your Heart
Theme: Consequences of falling love
Tracklist:
Sever
Idle Talk
o
Never Gonna Love Again (Lykke Li cover)
Explanation: The title "Absence of Your Heart" are lyrics from the song "o" which is included on this EP. It explains the theme of the album really well, in my opinion. The album's is about someone you love dearly leaving you so it works very well.
I chose the theme because it seems to be a very strong topic in their music. This theme has also spawned some of their best songs. Which were included on this EP.
For the cover artwork I used this specific picture because she is wearing the "clump" costume. She associates "clump" with all the men in her life who have broken her heart. They are monsters to her. The picture represents the EP very well. I edited and cropped the original picture myself.
For the cover song, I used Lykke Li's "Never Gonna Love Again" because I think it fits in well with the rest of the tracklist. The song covers the same topics as the rest of the songs. As for the original songs included on the EP
All of the songs selected for the tracklist are about heartbreak and Jonna's struggle with love. All of them sound great together and I've been listening to the EP on repeat for the past few weeks
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Quote:
Originally posted by iHype.
Mariah Carey — Love Lasts Forever
September 1, 2014
Summary: Mariah Carey's newest EP, 'Love Lasts Forever' envisions the view of love for life and beyond, throughout 4 different ways - including a special sultry track from Whitney Houston. Music from her 3 past albums 'Mariah Carey', 'Music Box' and 'Daydream' finishing off with one of the most iconic and influential songs of all-time, 'I Will Always Love You'.
Genre(s): Pop, R&B, Soul, R&B-Pop
Release Date: September 1, 2014
Tracklist:
1. Vision of Love
2. Without You
3. Always Be My Baby
4. I Will Always Love You
To get started, the title is 'Love Lasts Forever' ofcourse, with the theme revolving around the title. The tracklist includes 3 of her most iconic hits today, followed by one of the most iconic hits of all-time. What inspired me to do this idea is the fact, I wanted to do a theme that could apply to many of her songs in different ways, and is something that is true to her music as a singer. So for this, I went through her album tracklists, and looked at some of her biggest hits and such and who Mariah, as a singer, was at her peak. I came down to 'Vision of Love', 'Without You' and 'Always Be My Baby.
Furthermore, these are explanations on how each song corresponds to the overall theme.
Vision of Love - "Treated me kind, sweet destiny, carried me through desperation, to one that was waiting for me. It took so long; still I believed, somehow the one I needed, would find me eventually. I had a vision of love, and it was all that you've given to me." The thing I love about this song, is it's something you interpret -- there is no set meaning, so I thought it would be neat to include this one through my own eyes as what it was. To me, reading the lyrics, I thought she was explaining that someone which could be God, herself, hope, etc finally gave her gave her the companion and love she'd longed for and possibly thought she'd never get. Someways you can interpret it's a guy, someways you can interpret it's God or such. "You treated me so kind, sweet destiny, and I'll be eternally greatful, holding you so close to me." Either way you interpret, you know out of the lyrics she finally found her 'Vision of Love' which she now cherishes and will have forever. This is why to me, it fits the theme 'Love Lasts Forever'.
Without You - This is pretty explanatory, and I absolutely love this single. 'I can't live, if living is without you. I can't liveeeee, I can't liveeee anymore'. She simply tells us the basics of the theme, that love lasts forever -- and without that one person, you simply cannot live. This breaks as the polar opposite from Vision of Love because it moves on from finding someone to dealing with losing that special person. To date, this is also her biggest song of her career (Worldwide, statistically, or else it'd be AIWFCIY ofcourse!). That's why I thought it'd be perfect to add in addition as the 2nd song to the EP.
Always Be My Baby - This one ofcourse, is a classic. I knew this needed to be added soon as I thought of the theme, because this is just perfect for it, this is signature Mariah. Mariah deals with a man in a romantic relation leaving her, but she still is confronting herself with his love saying he'll always be her special one. No matter how far away or how long apart they go, Mariah will always his baby and he will always be Mariah's baby. She just won't ever let that moment of her life go. This moves on with the theme as VOL showed finding the love that lasts forever, WY showed losing a love that lasts forever, and now ABMB shows the part of not letting go and holding onto something that you will remember forever.
I Will Always Love You - I just knew, I just knew I wanted to do this one. Whitney & Mariah outsung every other singer in modern history, and I just knew this would truly be the icing on the cake with the theme 'Love Lasts Forever'. So if I had to choose one song for Mariah to cover, at her peak, it would be ofcourse, Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You'. No other competes with it at all. In addition to the success, the vocals are only something that Mariah can come close to. The theme of the song is basically love lasts forever, no other song fit the description more clearly to me. I think it would've been amazing if Mariah had a done a cover, better yet, a duet of this song with Whitney. So this, would go down as the final track to the EP -- 'Love Lasts Forever'.
I decided to go with the theme of just having a great time and "going crazy" through partying, dancing, or whatever you feel like doing. The title of the EP, "Get Way Down" is a lyric from her song "Electric Lady". The artwork is a beautiful drawing of Janelle I found and I think it works great as the EP's cover. The 3 songs by Janelle talk about dancing even if it's the end of the world, getting way down as the title of the ep suggests, and "tipping on the tightrope" (which means keeping your balance in life and not letting others get in your way). The song "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince which Janelle has covered numerous times also fits of theme of the EP, with him saying not to let the "elevator" bring you down, and to just go crazy.
Quote:
Originally posted by posh
Challenge #8 - Creativity/EP
As the title of my EP may (hopefully) suggest, for this challenge I decided to go with a 'rocky love' theme. All of the songs that I chose deal with either trying to rekindle a love, or reassure a partner that you are loyal and here to stay. The title, "Tales from the Doghouse," is derived from a term often used by married men who have gotten in trouble with their wives. This connects directly back to the 'rocky love' theme and the concept of trying to prove your love to your spouse. For the artwork I decided to use extremely simple, black and white photos with a blurred effect to represent the confusion and emptiness that someone feels after a fight with their partner. For the cover song I decided to go with "Suspicious Minds," a popular track by one of Michael's idols and biggest influences, Elvis Presley. The songs talk about a wife who is always suspicious of her husband, which brings him great pain; it really captures the theme of this EP and puts everything into perspective. In an attempt to keep things brief, I'll just end things here. This is the first time I've ever done something like this, but I'm quite pleased with the outcome and had tons of fun creating everything. Hope y'all will love it as much as I do!
"Let me tell you all the reasons why you're never gonna to have to cry; because you're one of a kind. Yeah, here's to you, the one that always pulls us through."
"We can't go on together with suspicious minds, and we can't build our dreams on suspicious minds. Let our love survive. When honey, you know I've never lied to you"
"You're a falling star, you're the get away car. You're the line in the sand when I go too far."
"I believe that you can fall in love with me again, and we'll both be standing tall."
Listen to Tales from the Doghouse on: YouTube or Spotify
So, I have been neglecting Kylie's recent works throughout this competition because I'm not really fond of them. However, this challenge was a good chance to use that. I took her most recent release, Kiss Me Once, and reworked it a bit. I focused in on Sexy Love, as it's one of the few usable songs on the album, and the theme developed from there. The title is cute and Summery, like the music. The artwork is my own take on the Into The Blue single cover, which is much better than the tragic album cover we got, and I think it really makes you think of Summer.
"Sexy Love" has a total Summer vibe, which is what made me pick the theme. I also chose "Into The Blue", as I feel it's a good fit for Summer, especially talking about "letting go and running free". Other than that, the album is lacking in Summery songs, so I decided to recycle "Love, Love, Love", an unreleased Aphrodite track. This one is really relaxing, like the soundtrack of a calm poolside in the heat. The other song I used was Charli XCX's "SuperLove" as I thought Boom Clap was too immature for Kylie, but I could definitely see her singing this one. It also has a real tropical feel to it.
Quote:
Originally posted by Truth Teller
Title
L.U.S.T. (Living Under Sexual Temptation)
Theme
The theme of this EP is sexual stimulation and attraction. The theme is on the one hand lyrical, which means all the songs have sex as their main subject, but also musically, as all the tracks are mid-tempo and give out a sexy vibe and pace
Christina is mostly known by the GP for her powerhouse vocals and her heartfelt ballads, but Legend can also deliver a good, explicit bop. I chose this theme to showcase how diverse Christina is and to prove there's more to her discography than empowerment songs. Sex is actually one of her main themes, as showcased in the tracklist of the EP, which covers her entire career, as it includes 4 songs from 4 different albums, one being her debut and one being her latest record.
The first song is Tough Lover, a soul song originally sung by Christina's biggest idol and influence, the legendary Etta James and covered by Christina on her acting debut, called Burlesque. I chose the track because I loved the idea of the EP starting with Christina's signature powerhouse vocal acrobatics and also because, thanks to its short duration, the track serves as a perfect intro. It fits the theme because it's an old school ode to sexual attraction. Sexiest lyric : "Everyone will talk about how he got me fixed
The second song is Your Body, Christina's latest solo single. I chose it because it's her sexiest and most liberated song, tackling sex related subjects like one-night stands, promiscuity and sexual stimulation without coming across as contrived. It's carefree and uplifting. Sexiest lyric : "So don't even tell me your name, all I need to know is whose place and let's get walking"
The third song is Genie In a Bottle, Christina's first ever lead single. Despite her young age at the time (19), Christina pulls off the major sexual innuendos of the track effortlessly and with admirable conviction. Who else can sing these lyrics and make them exude classiness and innocence? Sexiest lyric : "I'm a genie in a bottle, you gotta rub me the right way"
The last song of the EP is Get Mine, Get Yours, an album track from Christina's most provocative album to date, Stripped. The song is about a girl who wants her lover to remain restricted in sexual activities and erase all possible feelings towards her. It's sassy, independent and daring, a confession that exudes sexual maturity. Sexiest lyric : "Gotta hit that spot just right, work me like a 9 to 5"
The artwork of the EP comes from one of Christina's sexiest photoshoots ever. She's pictured lying on the bed with nothing but her lipstick on! Still, she manages to look classy and sexy at the same time, much like the content of the EP. The colors of the cover and the back cover are red and pink, which Christina has said are her 2 favorite colors. Most of the fonts I chose look like they could easily be hand written, giving the artwork a personal feel and touch.
Its too big Its too wide Its too strong It wont fit
The one time I try to ease up on the writing too.
They all look promising!