Bit of a different review today, but I'm hoping you'll like it!
As a response to my last review, a guy I [kind of] know called Joe Joiner (@JoeJoinerr on Twitter) suggested I review something I wasn't particularly familiar with.
I liked this idea, so I asked him for suggestions.
And this is why I'm reviewing 'Madeon' for you today.
"Strike a pose"
I'd never heard of Madeon, much to Joe's horror, but I listened to some of his songs on YouTube and read up on him, and now I'm much more knowledgeable about him than I was before.
Basically, if someone asked me who he was I could tell them, but that's about it.
Yet, I think that's enough to base a review on for all of you to read.. I hope it's enough anyway.
Madeon is a 19-year old electro house/pop music producer from France, and in this country, he is something of a marvel, to both professional and novice music producers alike. He started composing music at the age of 11, so you could say he was a bit of a kid genius. Either way, he now makes a career out of doing what he loves, and I have to say, he's pretty good at it.
Although electro pop/house music is not my music of choice, since listening to Madeon and other similar music mixes, I've started to like it a bit more. I've never been a fan of club music - it's alright in the moment, but to me it's just noise. Yet, listening to some of Madeon's tracks and seeing some videos, you can really see how much work goes into producing each one. It is not an easy task, and I began to appreciate that kind of music.
The first song I listened to was 'The City' but if, like me, you had never heard of Madeon, then I don't think this is the best song to start with. Go a bit further back, and maybe start with his YouTube video 'Pop Culture'. It was this song that got me interested.
'Pop Culture' - Madeon
It's been almost 2 years since Madeon posted his video 'Pop Culture' on YouTube, and in that time it has had over 19 MILLION views. That's a lot of views for a song a 17 year old boy made in his bedroom.
It is a mash-up of 39 songs, covering many different genres including pop, house and club music, and Madeon puts his own twist on all of them, whilst mixing them together at the same time.
The video itself is only 3:26 long, yet it is, in it's own way, a masterpiece. Watching the video you can see it took a lot of time and effort for him to make it. God knows how many takes it took to get it perfect, but it shows he has skill.
Then I listened to a few more songs including 'Finale'. 'Finale' sounded familiar to me, I think it might have been used on TV or something, so you might recognise it too, but it's definitely worth checking out. Completely different to 'Pop Culture' in the fact that it is all his own work, not just a remix of other people's songs. It features vocals from Nicholas Pertricca from Walk The Moon, and it's brilliant.
'Finale' - Madeon
'The City' was even more different to 'Pop Culture' and 'Finale'. There were more vocals used, and the computerised elements of the song didn't have as much focus. Some would say this is a bad thing, but I disagree. Despite all his songs having, essentially, the same electronic features, he manages to make every one sound completely different. This shows he's versatile, and will propel him to where he wants to go within the music industry. Also, 'The City' (which was released in the October of last year) had a proper music video, which was very creative in itself. The colours used in the video and the feel of the song match perfectly, and despite not being overly convinced about it at first, I grew to really like it. 'The City' - Madeon
All in all, Madeon has gained himself another fan, and I hope you guys will check out his music. It might be different from what you're used to, but just do it! Get out your comfort zone every once in a while, you might find you quite like it!
Madeon also really likes The Beatles as far as I can tell from photos and Twitter, so I think we can trust him when it comes to music..
I'm sorry I didn't write a blog yesterday, I was super uber busy getting the house ready to have friends round, so I didn't have time to write a blog. So instead, I'm going to write a general blog for yesterday and today combined.
The reason this blog is called 'International Friendships' is because I want to talk about the international friends I have, and how having friends from different countries can really broaden your horizons.
Currently I am very close friends with a girl who I met in September. She moved to my town from Italy to stay for 10 months; she goes to school here and everything, and it was all her own choice to do this.
Last night, I had a belated birthday gathering, which she came to, and it's getting towards the end of her time over here, so it did get a bit emotional. She has become really close with me and all my friends, and she doesn't want to leave us. I get the impression that she may even be better friends with us than she was with her friends back in Italy.
We're all going to miss her so much, as she has become such a big part of our lives. She is so bubbly, enthusiastic and energetic all the time, and although it seems tiring, she really brightens up everyone's day.
This summer me and 6 friends are going to stay for a week in her mountain house in Italy; so that should be exciting!
She is hoping to come back next year and actually live with one of our friends and her family, and I really hope she does because she enjoyed herself so much this year.
I think it's really good to be friends with someone who is from a different cultural background. My friend was fluent in English as well as Italian, but we were able to teach her words and phrases, and she taught us things in Italian as well.
Plus, it's good to be culturally aware, so you know what to expect from people if you visit different countries around the world.
My other international friends are Spanish, and I am taking part in a Spanish exchange again in just over a month. I did it two years ago, and it was amazing. For 2 weeks I had a student live with me, and although it was awkward at first (due to the language barrier and the year age gap) we soon became very good friends; we're still in touch now.
After Tamara (my student) stayed with me, I went with my school the following October to visit her. I lived with her for a week, and it was a wonderful, if sometimes bizarre, experience. Her mother could not speak any English, so used hand gestures for everything, which was sometimes quite amusing! Haha!
She didn't live in mainland Spain- the school we exchanged with was an 'English' after school programme on the small island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands. The weather and surroundings were gorgeous, and I had such an amazing time.
La Gomera has recently suffered from some forest fires, which means the beautiful landscape I saw and enjoyed out there has been partially destroyed. This is shocking and sad, but it is still a wonderful place to visit. There isn't physically a lot to do, but if you want a relaxing holiday with not many people around, La Gomera is the place to go.
Although I am having another student this year, I am not going back to La Gomera. I really want to, but I am travelling a lot this year, and it just isn't feasible. Also, me and my best friend share a lot of memories of our first trip, so we want to go back together and visit everyone we had previously met.
Overall, having a student to stay might seem daunting, but it can really help you learn a language or inform you about a culture. You are giving them so much at the same time, showing them things they never thought they would see, and taking them to places they never thought they would go to. And, at the very least, you usually gain a good friendship out of it. A lot of people only have friends abroad if a friend they knew at home has moved away, but it is also good to have actual foreign friends too- you can teach one another so much, and have great fun in the process.
If you want to make international friendships, I strongly suggest asking your school about any programmes they may run, or perhaps finding a pen pal. There are many sites that organise these things, including Postcrossing. This is less of a 'pen pal' exchange of letters, but more of receiving postcards from complete strangers all over the world. I did it for a while and I really liked it- it's especially good if you a) like collecting postcards and/or stamps and b) if you like getting things in the post. I don't do it at the moment as I find myself so busy and forgetful. I'd write a postcard but forget to send it for weeks, so I'm taking a break. Postcrossing's site explains what they do way better than I can, so go there if you're interested: http://www.postcrossing.com/
I hope this blog has maybe inspired you to make some more connections with the world- it's a big place, and we are tiny in comparison, but the more of us that join together, the more important we can feel.
