halia meguid

Music Monday: Taylor Swift’s “Safe & Sound”

~ Shara ~ 3 Comments

I’ve got to level with you: the reason I chose this song from The Hunger Games soundtrack wasn’t because I was in love with this version. I’m actually utterly enamored of a cover by Halia Meguid, which can be found and downloaded from her tumblr, but tumblr is a tricky beast and I could not, for the life of me, get this post to imbed here in WordPress so that you could click play without having to leave my blog.

So you can listen to Halia’s version, no worries. But I had to ask myself: is the original all that bad? I mean, Taylor Swift is a super-easy target to make fun of, but I shouldn’t overlook the original just because people might think I have a secret cache of her music hidden on my iTunes. Spoiler alert: I don’t. I really, really don’t.

Resigned, I pulled up the video on YouTube and was surprised by two things: 1) this song also features The Civil Wars, which — if you remember Barton Hollow — made me extremely happy, and 2) the video for this song is wonderfully evocative and haunting, which is exactly how I imagined this song in my head. With only a teeny-tiny shout-out to The Hunger Games, the video itself tells a story set in Appalachia that feels just right, and it can mean whatever you want it to. It’s not often videos match what’s in my head, but this works beautifully.

Today you get two songs for the price of one: the original, and a lovely, haunting cover of it. I think my preference is still for the cover because it’s so much softer and sweeter, yet the original has some lovely harmonies that really speak to me.

Enjoy.

Like it? Love it? Hate it? Sound off below!

Reminder: Music Monday is about the music, not the videos. Videos are just the medium I’m using to share the music, and some videos aren’t actually videos at all. Enjoy the songs, but if YouTube forces you to watch some sort of advertisement before you can get to the music, please be patient.

Music Monday: Karliene’s “Become The Beast”

~ Shara ~ 2 Comments

Today’s pick is a unique beast. It’s a fan song. And of course, it’s for Hannibal. Because if you’ve followed this blog for any time in the past four years, you’re probably wondering why I HAVEN’T yet devoted a Music Monday to Hannibal.

I discovered Karliene‘s “Become the Beast” last year. When I first listened to it, I didn’t like it as well as Halia Meguid’s “Ravenstag.” But I downloaded it from iTunes anyway (because my Hannibal love knows no bounds), and I quickly fell in love. It’s often a go-to song when I’m driving my super-short commute to and from work, and I don’t want to think about what I’m going to listen to. What’s great about “Become The Beast,” in addition to its addictive and haunting melody, the lyrics have no spoilers and they’re fantastic to boot. You don’t have to know a thing about the show to enjoy the song, and while I was thinking about this week’s pick, especially in light of the trend that’s been going on this month, I figured this had to be next.

What’s more is Karliene does cover songs and original fan songs for all kinds of fandoms: The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Labyrinth, The Hunger Games…. you name it. She’s got a ton of interesting material to listen to and purchase, and every time I visit her page on Soundcloud or iTunes, I’m tempted to pick up yet another song or album.

But for now, I’m happy listening to “Become the Beast,” and if you’ve enjoyed any of my recent picks, I think you will too.

Like it? Love it? Hate it? Sound off below!

Reminder: Music Monday is about the music, not the videos. Videos are just the medium I’m using to share the music, and some videos aren’t actually videos at all. Enjoy the songs, but if YouTube forces you to watch some sort of advertisement before you can get to the music, please be patient.