Arhive etichete: 2cellos

Review: 2CELLOS – On The Road

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2cellosA long, long time ago, I was a Gleek, and this is how I stumbled upon 2CELLOS. At that particular moment I thought “man, these guys are awesome” and me, being the lifelong fan of everything about that bass (no treble!), was instantly hooked. This happened somewhere in January 2012, when Glee had that Michael Jackson special episode, and until now I almost gave up hope of seeing them soon.

Except only the fate had something else in stores for me, and that something else was a 2CELLOS concert in December 2014, after almost 3 years of constant listening and 2 albums released under the moniker.

Last night’s concert was rushed, and intense, young, and free, and old at the same time. Everything was filled with soul, and peace, and sadness, and completeness, and my heart was once again filled with music. And since I love music, beyond words and definitions and concepts, I’ll let the beautiful duo speak for itself.

As usual, Luka and Stjepan started with Benedictus. Maybe for some of you this might seem like an odd choice, but this song does the greatest thing ever: it builds up on emotion and raw cello, chasing away introspection while inviting curiosity in. This song will forever be one of my favorites.

I was never a big U2 fan, nor was I a Sting fan, but the covers for Where the Streets Have No Name and Shape of My Heart, respectively, are so hauntingly beautiful on their own, they deserve to be at least mentioned. Where the Streets Have No Name brings on an intense peace, while Shape of My Heart seems even darker and sadder than I used to know.

The Resistance is a great song on its own, but given the cello combination, it receives a little more depth and introspection and power, all the while keeping the same alert rhythm that Muse introduced us to.

I must admit I am not one of the biggest fan of The Magnetic Fields (I only started listening to them a few years ago), but The Book of Love has been long covered by other artists and it’s a well known piece. However, these boys manage to shape it into beautiful poetry, savage and free, and it’s such a pity that we missed this… And it’s such a pity we got to listen to Viva la Vida instead, which is a great song on its own, but I prefer The Book of Love better. Also, Californication was heard, but I was never a fan of this particular piece, and it fell kinda short next to the other songs.

Another U2 cover, this time With or Without You, the one that always screams “WE WERE ON A BREAK”, the one that always spells true love and the most beautiful U2 song I have ever heard.

The Michael Jackson duo – Human Nature & Smooth Criminal raised us all from our seats, and thank god for Welcome to the Jungle, Thunderstruck, Voodoo People, Smells Like Teen Spirit, You Shook Me All Night Long, Highway to Hell and (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction kept us all standing, dancing and clapping, because these guys know what they’re supposed to do, and they do it so god damn well.

For the encore, Luka and Stjepan got back on stage to unleash the monsters within us, with Back in Black (well, who’s a little AC/DC fan, huh?!) and finish with Fields of Gold, one of the best songs Sting has ever created.

A few comments on the side: I wish I’d see them recreating some Marilyn Manson (circa Mr. Tom Skold) or some good old fashioned KMFDM. Peter Gabriel, at the end of the concert, especially Don’t Give Up? Not bad at all. Somebody yelled several times Mombasa, but no one cared. Stjepan is the joker of them two, but Luka is the hard working guy I always imagined he was.

My final conclusion? Money well spent. But I still feel that something’s amiss – this year I haven’t seen yet the concert to end all concerts, except for Mr. Peter Gabriel. He’s always amazing.

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Review (and disappointment): 2CELLOS & Naya Rivera – Supermassive Black Hole

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I am late to the party, yet again, but I can’t help it! Life gets into the way everyday, so… Some news just arrive a lil’ bit late.

First of all, I love 2CELLOS. Who does not know what 2CELLOS are, please check their Youtube channel for further information on the matter.

Next, I love Naya Rivera. If you don’t know who this lovely lady is, then maybe you’re not a Glee fan (like yours truly), so I’d go ahead and suggest one of her songs in the TV show. Mostly covers of Miss Tina Turner, Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse. Regardless, she’s kept in the background, used when the producers want to teach us about mean & vile things to say, or about LGBT, or when they want an awesome number on the TV show, spiced up with some Latina sexyness.

I also love Muse. Ever since I was a little girl, Muse was among my favorites, and that didn’t change a bit through out the years.

I also love „Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse. It’s one of their songs that always had a place in my playlists, and rare were the moments when I used the power of skipping songs when the song came up.

So I thought „hmm, „Supermassive Black Hole” covered by 2CELLOS and Naya, this MUST be awesome!”

Except it wasn’t. The video looks kitsch-ey, Naya Rivera looks like a trashy Catwoman, even though her level of hotness is usually over 9000. 2CELLOS blend ok in the futuristic background, I don’t get what’s with the 3D chess game, but ok…

The song is the worst part of this combo. I haven’t heard a song so bad by 2CELLOS (not counting the weird collaboration between them and RHCP). Naya’s vocal abilities aren’t used full power. We’re given some weird auto-tune or whatever that is, in a lame atempt to copy whatever Matt Belamy managed to make out of „Supermassive Black Hole” something incredibly awesome.

Muzica

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Muzica e pentru orice. Asa cum in filme avem soundtrack-ul care mentine echilibrul psihologic al personajelor, asa trebuie tratata muzica si in viata reala.

De multe ori aud fraza „I can relate to that!”, auzind o piesa. Uneori sunt eu persoana care o gandeste.

Am muzica pentru plans. Muzica pentru ras. Muzica de dormit. Porn music. Sexy music (which is different). Angry music. Drive-insanely-fast music. Sports music. Muzica de stat. Muzica de facut treaba. Muzica de linger.

Cineva mi-a zis o data ca toata viata mea e un soundtrack. Si da, este. Si am nevoie de sunetele astea, si am nevoie de cuvintele de pe ele, si am nevoie de toata galagia lor, ca s-o acopar pe cea din mine, si pe cea de-afara, si pe cea din lume…

Muzica nu e galagie. E sentiment. Si imi place cand mi se zbarleste pielea. Imi place cand simt ca inima imi bate mai repede si respiratia mi se intretaie, ca dupa o fuga lunga. Iar uneori ma intreb daca fug de mine, atunci cand fug in muzica…

Muzica nu e galagie. Deschide ochi si deschide inimi si, in timp ce ma inchid in mine mai adanc, simt cum ma deschid, mai pura si mai fara pata.

Muzica nu e galagie. E suflet si e putere si, daca nu e putere, ti-o da, ti-o arunca cu totul si te loveste cu ea, fara mila si fara tagada.

Cum as putea sa ignor strigatele din muzica, tacerile lungi si suferintele aprinse? Ma simt atat de atinsa de tot ce e nota, tot ce e cuvant, si-mi place s-o absorb in mine secunda cu secunda, pana ce toata fiinta mea devine sunet. Si stiu ca, orice s-ar intampla, muzica e acolo, perete intre mine si lume, caci lumea mea e departe si lumea mea e sfanta si lumea mea-i curata. Aici nimic nu e negru, e liniste si pace si sunt acasa.