Featured Video: “Look at Me Now” and Pancakes

I’m sure if you know what YouTube is, you know of its destructive power toward that little thing we like to call productivity. I can’t tell you how many times in college I’ve tried to sit down and write a paper, only to find myself on YouTube for hours looking at cute kittens or funny videos of people acting stupid. And since I’ve left college? Not much has changed. I’m here to tell you that you’re not alone.

I’m also here to tell you that there is no sense in resisting. YouTube is too strong, and we are only weak mortals.

Anyway, this is a new series I’m calling “Featured Video” where I’ll be posting an interesting or funny video that I happened to come across while procrastinating. It differs from the “Rising Stars” series in that I won’t be talking about an artist and why I think they’re amazing, but just posting a single video, a quick blurb, and awaiting your take on it.

Now, most of the people reading my blog – whether you follow or just happened to stumble across it – can probably get a pretty good sense of the type of person I am. I like to read and write. I love movies. I love being a geek. But you might not know this:

I love rap.

I don’t know why. It seems to go against everything that I appear to be: small town, simple, quiet, moral, meek, and nerdy. I don’t like violence. I don’t like swearing. I’m pretty straight-laced, as far as most people go. But rap is my favorite kind of music.

Now, before you judge me, just hold on to your exclamations of surprise and your opinions about hip hop. I’ve got some pretty good defenses, but you have to give me time to get my thoughts in order before I can share them. In the mean time, check out the video below. It is set to Chris Brown’s “Look at Me Now” and the guy (MacLethal) cooks breakfast while he spits his own rap to the beat. It’s hilarious. (CAUTION: Yes, he swears. He says some things that aren’t really all that funny, but the guy is obviously talented at rapping AND making pancakes. I know people who can’t do one or the other, let alone both at the same time.)

(If you want to check out the lyrics, go to the video on YouTube. He’s got them in the description.)

Rising Stars: Karmin

You know how sometimes you hear a song and it just speaks to your soul? How you catch a band performing and you’re riveted to your seat? You find that their voices are beautiful, or powerful, or inspiring. The beats make you want to get up and dance or sing along to the slow melody. And the lyrics feel like they’ve been written for you?

That’s how Karmin is for me. They’re a new band – YouTube stars, actually – and I really, really want to do this article justice because I believe in them so much.

To start off, let me just quickly talk about their rise to fame (or almost fame, as I think a lot of people still don’t know who they are). Amy and Nick hail from small towns in Nebraska and Maine and met at Berklee College of Music in Boston. They both had been in bands before, but nothing was working out. They had already been dating for a little while before they figured they would just form their own group – thus Karmin was born. “Karmin” is a combination of “carmen” (Latin for “song”) and karma. Nick lends his classic rock/jazz style and appears to know how to play just about every kind of instrument  from the keyboard, to the trombone, to the cajon (that’s a wooden box). He’s got a pretty good voice too, and brings wonderful harmonies into the mix. Amy is the power singer. She can play guitar, but she’s got some pipes and she puts them to good use. Did I mention she’s also an amazing rapper?

If you think you’ve heard of Karmin before, chances are that it was this song:

They started off doing covers on YouTube as well as original songs. Musically, their style is simple, catchy, and amusing. They change the songs they cover to make them their own, and keep it PG for all ages. They’ve got just the right mix of sincerity, humor, and talent. Nick seems to be an easy going guy and you can tell he’s really into the music – I get dizzy just watching him bob his head up and down as he plays. Amy has got this great ‘40s look down – suicide roll (Karmin style) and bright red lipstick to boot. She’s got a great and distinctive style – though that doesn’t hold them back: not only can they rap, but they can do country songs and pop songs equally as well.

Check out this great Adele cover:

These guys are the real deal. They’re down to earth and genuine, and you can tell they care about staying who they are and true to their fans. They are engaged and the chemistry between them is off the charts. They’ve got raw talent and great song writing capabilities. And they just signed to Epic Records with L.A. Reid. These guys are ones to watch, I promise.

Please do me a favor and check out a few of their other covers (I love “6 foot 7 foot” and “Written in the Stars”). They’ve covered a huge range of really popular songs, so I’m sure you can find something you’re interested in. While you’re at it, listen to some of their original songs, too.

Here’s their first single “Crash Your Party” which debuted a couple of weeks ago.  Their album will drop early next year.

(As I was writing this, I found out they are now VEVO Lift artists. AND the retweeted me!)

Some other info:

Their Youtube Channels:  KarminCovers and KarminTube

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Itunes

**Please leave me a comment below! I’d really like to know if you’ve heard of Karmin before, or if this is your first time being exposed to them. Which are your favorite covers? Which are your favorite original songs?**