Kate Bush, Wuthering Heights

Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer who's career started in 1975.

This singer is very known for her eclectic musical style and incredibly unique voice that made her one of the most successful solo female performers of the United Kingdom of the last years.

Bush is also the owner of big hits like Running Up that Hill, Babooshka and Don't Give Up.

She already won a Brit Award in 1987 for Best British Female Solo Artist, an Ivor Novello Award in 2002 for Outstanding Contribution to British music and was nominated the Grammy Awards several times.

With 10 studio albums - The Kick Inside (1978), Lionheart (1978), Never For Ever (1980), The Dreaming (1982), Hounds Of Love (1985), The Sensual World (1989), The Red Shoes (1993), Aerial (2005), Director's Cut (2011) and 50 Words For Snow (2011), besides a live album released in 1994 and some EP's.

Wuthering Heights is Kate Bush's debut single in January 1978. Taken from The Kick Inside, the song was written by Bush when she was eighteen years old and it's based on the novel with the same name.

Kate Bush was inspired to write Wuthering Heights by the last ten minutes of the 1970 movie of that novel. It's possible to see several quotes from Catherine Earnshaw (main character), specially on the chorus "Let me in! I'm so cold". She also used them to confess Catherine's confession to her master "bad dreams in the night".

This romantic scene has a sinister turn when Catherine is in fact a ghost that's calling her love, Heathcliff.

"Oh it gets dark, it gets lonely

On the other side from you

I pine a lot, I find the lot

Falls through without you

I'm coming back love, cruel Heathcliff

My one dream, my only master"

Duffy, Well,Well,Well

Duffy is the artistic name for the Welsh artist Aimée Ann Duffy who's career started nine years ago.

This sweet artist is known for her calm and kind melodies like Mercy, Warwick Avenue or Rockferry. 

In 2008, Duffy released her debut album Rockferry that entered the UK Album chat at #1 becoming the best-selling album in UK in 2008 with over 1.60 million copies sold.

A year after, she won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album for Rockferry and won three Brit Awards: British Breakthrough, Best Female Solo and Best British Album.

In 2010, she released her second Endlessly who had a bit less impact but from where Well, Well, Well was taken becoming the only single released.

Well, Well, Well is a song where Duffy questions her lover's accusations and "desire for freedom" in a relationship. To BBC Newsbeat she explained "I want to make people move this time on this record. (...), and really know where it is I want to put myself. I recorded this with lots of different people and a few different locations, two of which I am really proud of."

The video was directed by Chris Cottam and recorded in the streets of Oxford, England in September 2010 and besides following the same line as Rockferry it was also deeply inspired on the 1960's and Brigitte Bardot.

The song features the North-American hip-hop band The Roots.

There have been some rumors about Duffy being on studio preparing her third album although she announced a two-year hiatus.

"You'll only drive me away

There's so many questions every day

You make me go insane

I'm not guilty of what you're saying and i do"

News // Brit Awards: Who are the winners?

Yesterday was the biggest night to the British music - it was the Brit Awards 2012.

The ceremony happened on the O2 Arena, in London and counted with the performances of Noel Gallagher and his new band, Bruno Mars, Adele, Rihanna and Coldplay.
Between the artists with more nominations we have Adele, the new Ed Sheeran, Jessie J and Florence + The Machine. Check the nominees and respective category winners below.

British Male Solo Artist
Ed Sheeran
James Blake
James Morrison
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
Professor Green

British Female Solo Artist
Adele
Florence + The Machine
Jessie J
Kate Bush
Laura Marling

British Breakthrough Act
Anna Calvi
Ed Sheeran
Emeli Sandé
Jessie J
The Vaccines

British Group
Arctic Monkeys
Chase & Status
Coldplay
Elbow
Kasabian

British Single
Adele - Someone Like You
Ed Sheeran -The A Team
Example - Changed The Way You Kissed Me
Jessie J + B.O.B. - Price Tag
JLS + Dev - She Makes Me Wanna
Military Wives/Gareth Wherever You Are
Olly Murs + Rizzle Kicks - Heart Skips A Beat
One Direction  - What Makes You Beautiful
Pixie Lott - All About Tonight
The Wanted - Glad You Came

Mastercard British Album of the Year
Adele - 21
Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto
Ed Sheeran - +
Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

International Male Solo Artist
Aloe Blacc
Bon Iver
Bruno Mars
David Guetta
Ryan Adams

International Female Solo Artist
Beyoncé
Björk
Feist
Lady Gaga
Rihanna

International Group
Fleet Foxes
Foo Fighters
Jay Z/Kanye West
Lady Antebellum
Maroon 5

International Breakthrough Act
Aloe Blacc
Bon Iver
Foster The People
Lana Del Rey
Nicki Minaj

Outstanding Contribution to Music:
Blur

Critics Choice:
1st - Emeli Sandé
2nd - Maverick Sabre
3rd - Michael Kiwanuka

British Producer 
Ethan Jones
Flood
Paul Epworth

Also check some performances and speech.

News - Brit Awards nominees announced + Adele's comeback

Yesterday, at the the Britis 2012 launch event, was announced that Adele is going to perform at the 2012 Brit Awards ceremony that will happen on February 21 at London's O2 Arena.

Other performances include Noel Gallagher, Coldplay, Rihanna, Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran. The live show will air on ITV and be broadcast on TV and radio in more than 100 countries.

There are several nominees that are logical due to the impact that have on the music industry this year others are a surprise for me because I don't know several names - which is not a bad thing because what's most hear isn't necessarily the best.

British Male Solo Artist
Ed Sheeran
James Blake
James Morrison
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
Professor Green

British Female Solo Artist
Adele
Florence & the Machine
Jessie J
Kate Bush
Laura Marling

British Breakthrough Act
Anna Calvi
Ed Sheeran
Emeli Sandé
Jessie J
The Vaccines

British Group
Arctic Monkeys
Chase & Status
Coldplay
Elbow
Kasabian

British Single
Adele - Someone Like You
Ed Sheeran - The A Team
Example - Changed The Way You Kissed Me
Jessie J ft Bob - Price Tag
JLS ft Dev - She Makes Me Wanna
Military Wives/Gareth Malone - Wherever You Are
Olly Murs ft Rizzle Kicks - Heart Skips A Beat
One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
Pixie Lott - All About Tonight
The Wanted - Glad You Came

Mastercard British Album of the Year
Adele - 21
Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto
Ed Sheeran - +
Florence & The Machine - Ceremonials
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

International Male Solo Artist
Aloe Blacc
Bon Iver
Bruno Mars
David Guetta
Ryan Adams

International Female Solo Artist

Beyoncé

Bjork

Feist

Lady Gaga

Rihanna

International Group

Fleet Foxes

Foo Fighters

Jay Z/ Kanye West

Lady Antebellum

Maroon 5

International Breakthrough Act

Aloe Blacc

Bon Iver

Foster The People

Lana Del Rey

Nicki Minaj

Interesting that artists such as Feist and Bon Iver are in this list. I don't usually look at this type of nominations but this one seems to have a bit of credibility, at least on the nominees.

We know that last year was a big one for one British artist: Adele, and it won't be a surprise the number of prizes she is going to win!

Following is the list of artists that I think are going to win - it's not who I necessarily want to see winning:

British Male Solo Artist: James Blake
British Female Solo Artist: Adele
British Breakthrough Act: Jessie J
British Group: Coldplay
British Single: Adele - Someone Like You
Mastercard British Album of the Year:  Adele - 21
International Male Solo Artist: Bruno Mars
International Female Solo Artist: Rihanna

International Group: Maroon 5

International Breakthrough Act: Bon Iver

I think that any of these 3 artists - Adele, Florence or Jessie J - could won the Best Female Artist but due to the impact of the owner of the - probably - most heard song of last year - Someone Like You - Adele will win.

In terms of the International Female/Male artist or group I don't really understand the nominees but anyway those who I think will win.

What are your choices? Who do you think will win?

Jessie J, Domino

As Ana said on her post - read here - Jessie J is the artistic name for Jessica Ellen Cornish a young English singer and songwriter.
She start her recognition for writing songs for Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys and Christina Aguilera.
Jessie J is known for songs like Do It Like A Dude or Price Tag.

She only released an album - Who You Are on February 2011 and won several awards like Critic's Choice award at the Brit Awards and BBC Sound of 2011.

Domino is part of her debut album and for me this song is about taking the best of every situation.

"Rock my world into the sunlight
Make this dream the best I've ever known
Dirty dancing in the moonlight
Take me down like I'm a domino"

Mumford & Sons - The Cave

Mumford & Sons are an English folk rock band formed in 2007.
They released their first album called Sigh No More on 2 October 2009 in the UK, and on 16 February 2010 in the United States and Canada. It won the award of Album of the Year win at the 2011 BRIT Awards.

The album sold 626,000 copies in 2010 and 982,000 in the first half of 2011 for a total of 1,608,000.

This song is the third single of the algum and it was released on 26 February 2010.
The song's music video was directed by Fred & Nick of Pulse Films in Goa, India during Mumford & Sons tour on that country.

A number of reviewers have surmised that the title is a reference to Plato's Allegory of the Cave in which the Greek philosopher argued that the invisible world is the most intelligible and that the visible world is the least knowable, and therefore the most incomprehensible. Plato believed that the soul exists in a realm apart from the body and the thinker is separate from the world he thinks about.

Makes sense.


So come out of your cave walking on your hands,
And see the world hanging upside down,
you can understand dependence
when you know the maker's hand.

So make your sirens call,

And sing all you want,
I will not hear what you have to say.

Cause I need freedom now,

And I need to know how,
To live my live as its meant to be.

And I will hold on hope,

And I will let you choke,
On the noose around your neck,
And I find strength in pain,
And I will change my ways,
I'll know my name as its called again.

A.

Bat for Lashes - Horse and I

Bat for Lashes is the stage name of Natasha Khan, an English musician, she was born in 1979.
Her first album was released in 2006 and was nominated for the 2007 Mercury Prize.
In 2008, she received two BRIT Award nominations for Best Breakthrough Artist and Best Female Solo Artist.
In 2010, she won the UK Asian Music Awards - Best alternative act - and Ivor Novello Awards for Best contemporary song (Daniel -  from her second album).

This song is from her first album, Fur and Gold. I was hearing this album during my study today and decided I had to share this artist with you guys today.

After graduation she worked as a nursery school teacher and in that time she wrote the material for this album.

Whenever I'm writing music it's a very visual place in my mind. It has a location full of characters and colours and landscapes, so those two things really complement each other, and they help the other one to blossom and support the other. They are like brother and sister.


The whole album is very melodious and calm. A good one to hear when you're studying or when you just want/need to relax. I will definitively going to hear the other album she released in 2009, Two suns.

The smell of redwood giants.
The banquet for the shadows.
Horse and I, we're dancers in the dark.
Came upon the headdress.
It was gilded, dark and golden.
The children sang.
I was so afraid I took it to my head and prayed.

A.

News - Adele releases the dark and powerful "Someone like you" video

When it comes to her [Adele's] albums, Adele is pain personified. Alone and adrift, brokenhearted and bitter — these are emotions we all feel, but rarely do we have the courage to express them like Adele does.

Someone like you was released as the second single from 21 in January this year but only today it the video was released.
Until now the official video was the stoning performence at the 2011 BRIT awards.

This video is a very simple black-and-white one, which makes the video even more dark (like the lyrics weren't dark enough).
It was shot in Paris, early in the morning and it's basically Adele walking the deserted streets.

Many people may have felt the same of what's describe in this song (all credits to Adele) and that what's make the video and the music itself so special and powerful - people can easily relate to it.

This is, in my opinion, a very good clip because the whole video show the sadness of a break-up and the feeling of (still) loving someone that doesn't love us back anymore. In the other hand, her voice show her power to change things and move on. It’s simple, it’s honest, it’s beautiful.
I <3 it.

Never mind, I'll find someone like you, 

I wish nothing but the best for you, too. 

Don't forget me, I beg, 

I remember you said sometimes it lasts in love 

but sometimes it hurts instead.

A.

Adele, One And Only

One And Only appears on this British singer second album "21". This album released by the beginning of this year is already considered one of the best of the year. Adele impressed everyone with her strong lyrical song Rolling In The Deep with the very known beginning "There's a fire starting in my heart / Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark". With this One And Only, Adele confirms she has much more to give than a fire in her heart.

21 has received several nominations and respective awards. During the last years, she've received awards for Critic's Choice - Brit Awards, UK Musician/Solo Artist of the Year - Glamour Women of the Year Awards, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance - Grammy Awards or Best Art Direction in a Video - MTV Video Music Awards and other number of nominations for some of the most respectful companies and nominations there is like BT Digital Music Awards, MTV Europe Music Awards or MOBO Awards.

Despite what's said, this song is not about a previous relationship. Adele wrote this song to a close friend that she always loved.

"I dare you to let me be your, your one and only,

Promise I'm worthy, 

To hold in your arms"