Internet Famous
I was digging through a bunch of my old electronics a bit ago and I came across my Panasonic miniDV camcorder. It's been sitting on my desk for a couple weeks now as I slowly go through the handful of old tapes I still have on hand. I haven't tried it out yet, but I am pretty sure it probably takes some really good video.
The fact is, everything has mostly moved to digital today, so this camera that I probably spent some decent money on back in the day is nearly worthless. I'd be shocked if I was even able to get enough money to take @mrsbozz to a decent dinner off EBay.
It's interesting how disruptive technology can be. There was a time when small camcorders like this were bucking the trend of the traditional VHS or BETA rigs. I remember my dad's old camcorder that you had to hoist up onto your shoulder to use.
We've seen a similar pattern in the music world. I can't think of anything that has been more disruptive to music in general than technology. Perhaps the advent of being able to layer multiple tracks, but technology has also made that easier than it ever was.
Technology gave the RIAA fits during the birth and surge of MP3s. I'm actually happy I lived through those times. It was eye opening and quite honestly a piece of history. I have a feeling it's very rare the cases where someone knows a moment is going to be historic when they are in it. MP3's definitely weren't one of those moments, but looking back now, it's interesting to see how paradigm shifting it was.
Obviously, The Internet, but more specifically YouTube have also changed things in the music world. Have you heard of Kane Brown? There's a good chance practically no one had ten years (or whenever) when he was first starting his YouTube channel. Now he is a major recording artists with fans all over the world and more money than I will probably ever see in my lifetime.
With all that in mind, this #threetunetuesday sponsored by @ablaze is going to be dedicated to those YouTube stars that you have maybe never heard of. Artists that started small and then blew up into something bigger. Either that or they started small and stayed small.
Whatever their path, there is no doubt that YouTube has brought them more attention than they likely ever would have gotten in the past.
Besides Kane Brown and a few others, Walk Off The Earth is one of the best examples of how amazing YouTube can be for young artists like this. The members of the group have changed (or passed away) over the years, but they still have the same passion that got them started years ago.
Their schtick used to be doing unique covers like the one of "Royals" that I shared above. If you have never seen the cover of Gotye's "Somebody I used to Know" where they all play on the same guitar, you should.
This group of artists from Toronto Canada (I think) doesn't just do covers though, they also make a lot of their own music. Even though you still may have never heard of them, they have become popular enough to do world tours at some of the hottest venues on the planet.
They have also had a couple spots on national television shows. I just found out the other day that now they even have their kids performing with them which is pretty cool. If you want to check out more of their stuff, I highly recommend "Gang of Rhythm" or "Red Hands".
IMY2 is a band that just recently came on my radar a couple of months ago. I'm not going to lie to you, the main reason they grabbed my attention was because of the female lead. I don't know much about the band at all, but a quick Google search tells me the lead singer's name is Annalise Mahanes. The band is based out of Nashville Tennessee, and though I can't pin it down for sure, I think IMY2 means "I miss you too".
If you know me, you probably won't be surprised that the other thing that drew me to this band was the fact that they were covering a Bon Jovi song. "Living on a Prayer" is so iconic that it is hard to beat the original. Sometimes you just have to stop and listen to a cover though. If only to see how badly they screw it up or how much they slay it.
In this case, I think IMY2 did the latter. In fact in addition to the numerous covers they nail on their YouTube channel, they also have a decent list of original songs. The band has a mission of encouraging self worth and acceptance, so you might find some of their original songs directed in the vein. However, I didn't really mind them and I have added their small but growing catalog to my Spotify account.
There's something about a good cover that just gets me right in the feels. In the past (and still today), most artists get their start playing in cover bands. Eventually, they start sprinkling some of their own originals into the mix and hopefully you get noticed. Before the Internet, that happened in bars and small venues across the world, but now we have YouTube to bring us new artists in a different way.
"Thunder Road" is one of my favorite Bruce Springsteen songs. It's always interesting to see what kind of spin other artists can put on a song that moves you, and that is what led me to Emily Crowley. Unfortunately, based on her YouTube channel, it doesn't look like fame has touched Emily the same way it has the previous two artists. Maybe this was just something she was doing for fun and she has moved on to a full time job and career. Who knows.
I still wanted to share her cover of "Thunder Road". There is something really haunting about it and although she changes the tempo and the timing of some of the lyrics, it still lands really well for me. Plus she has a really great voice. Sadly, it looks like she hasn't posted anything in about a decade now.
Finally, as a bonus, I wanted to share this song "Sphinx" for you by Gojira, the darlings of the Olympic opening ceremony. With all the negativity I have heard about the opening ceremony, I think the inclusion of Gojira was pretty awesome. I'd never heard of them before the games, but a quick Google search showed that pretty much everyone in the world (except die hard fans and some French people) were trying to figure out who they were.
That's all I've got for you today. Be sure to check back tomorrow for some new content from me, and next Tuesday for another three fantastic songs!
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I'm just curious about that Leica lens on the camera. Their camcorda lense must be cheaper. I never used any kind of camcorder. In the camera world, even at my most successful, I could never afford a Leica camera (I mean I could have bought one, but I could never justify that price in my budget). That's still my dream. Have you see the M11? I would kill for this camera. https://leica-camera.com/en-US/photography/black-and-white
That's a great Bon Jovi cover!
That was actually part of the reason I bought that camcorder. I think they just used some of the patents and were able to put the name on it or something like that. I don't remember how much I paid for it, but I guarantee it wasn't cheap. I was spending money like crazy back then.
I was about to play the second tune when I saw the title and went Bon Jovi they aren't small (well apart from himself he is tiny), but then saw cover by IMY2.
Good cover and I must admit I have head of none of them!
I'm glad I could bring you some new stuff to check out. If you had to take a deep dive into any of them I would recommend Walk Off The Earth.
Yeah it is cool seeing your ttt, as I think we often see who can outdo each other by having stuff the other has not heard of!
MiniDV cameras were digital! I had a couple of them. My old PC had a Firewire port so I could copy stuff directly, but I don't have that on the current one. I have a load of footage of the kids that I ought to edit some day.
I've seen a few videos by Walk off the Earth and they are are amazing. It must take so much work to put them together, but it is quite a visual thing so they are made for Youtube.
I've performed Livin' On a Prayer on ukulele :)
Why were people negative about the Olympic ceremony? I thought it was fun and very French. These things are always ridiculous and have nothing to do with anything else really. I needed the commentary (on the BBC) to know what was supposed to be going on.
I know some people were really annoyed at how "inclusive" it was which really doesn't bug me. Some people in the US were annoyed that they picked Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning to be commentators. Finally, I think the big rub is the Backus dinner piece that I didn't see which people are calling satanic because they felt it was mocking The Last Supper. I don't really know, people will complain about anything and everything these days. Yeah, my camera has a firewire connection too. It seems most everything is onboard or cloud based these days though.
Is 'too inclusive' a bad thing? We didn't have those commentators. I wondered if it was about the dinner thing, but some people won't even realise that the Olympics date back to ancient Greece. I think the French are much more open to different forms of expression. Some people are always looking for things that offend them so they can make a fuss. I heard some performers had death threats, which does not seem very Christian to me.
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Great way for the new artists to get attention! Back in my day there wasn't internet or youtube! So sad those old devices that were once top of the line are now paper weights...
I really like the second one, they did a great job. Of course they are singing a great song with a pretty blonde up front. What could go wrong?
Emily did a great job too, but getting a huge following is not easy to do on social media. As we all know... I hope she has more success in the future, she has a good voice!
Great TTT! How are things in your neck of the woods?
Hot and humid! It's been horrible this week. Yeah, the stories from people like Bon Jovi on how they got discovered are a far cry from the options kids have today! IMY2 is pretty great.
Wow!