Lettice Rowbotham

Lettice Rowbotham, (Yes, that IS that correct spelling), was a violinist on the most recent season (Series, for those in the UK) of Britain's Got Talent, and she blew everyone else away. I love the violin, but even I have to admit that it can sometimes get tired, so I love it when someone like Lettice comes along and brings something completely new to the performance.



I love her personality, her sense of humor, and everything about her, but I have to admit, the first time I watched her, I 100% expected a hilarious trainwreck when she started playing. I loved the interview, and loved her, but when she readily admitted that she hadn't even practiced, and she was too hungover to be nervous, I braced myself for the worst. I was thrilled to have my fears assuaged, and her previous admissions made her performance all the more impressive.

Her second performance was even better.



I loved that she used "Trust In Me" as part of her performance, and despite Simon's dislike of the second half, I loved it. I've grown to love dubstep if it's done right, and Lettice did dupstep right, not too heavy, and as part of the background, not the focus.

Lettice made it all the way to the finale and managed to literally drop my jaw.



I was amazed when she opened her mouth. I don't know that I've disagreed with Simon more when he said it didn't work. Thankfully the entire audience disagreed as well. Inwardly I cheered for their booing.

Sadly, Lettice didn't win, which is one of the single greatest tragedies of our time, but I have no doubt that she'll go places. I now follow her on both Twitter and YouTube, so I'll know the second she announces any new projects. I can't wait to see what she does next!

Video Blitz 3

First off, I'm just going to get this one out of the way, even though anyone who is anyone has already watched this thing like a million times already. Or just once, because they hated it. Those are some sad people.



I watched this video only a day or two after it was released. It only had around a thousand views, and I said at the time that it was destined for viral-ity. I was even more right than I knew, and it blew up BIG time. It is currently at almost 200 million views.

This next video has two different versions, and I love both. It's a collaboration between two of my favorite YouTubers, Peter Hollens and MysteryGuitarMan.



I think I prefer Peter's acapella version, but they are both so great.



This cover of Imagine Dragon's "Radioactive" is a perfect demonstration of what I said last year in my POST about Dupstep. When it is paired with something else, in this case a piano, it is so much better than when it is by itself.



As an aside, this video was shot by Devin Graham, one of my favorite cinematographers on YouTube.

I usually try not to have too many repeat artists in these posts, but I have to share another video by Peter Hollens. I loved this song so much, I bought it immediately, and it has climbed all the way to number 4 in my top 25 most played songs on iTunes in less than a month. And that's not counting all the times I've watched the video.



After I watched this video, I had to find out more about Alaa Wardi. I looked him up on YouTube and immediately subscribed. He is amazing.



No video post of mine would be complete without a Lindsey Stirling video. This one isn't one of her better videos cinematography-wise, it's essentially an ad for NBC's new Dracula show, but I'm sharing it because the music itself is BEYOND fantastic! I loved her original Debstep version of "Elements" but this new orchestral version? It is SO much better! It make me hope that eventually she'll do orchestral versions of all her music, because it's amazing!



And finally, today Pentatonix released their second album, which I had preordered ages ago, so it was waiting in my iTunes for me this morning, and they released this video to go with it. I can't stop watching it. The whole thing is just mesmerizing. This video is the perfect example of why they are my favorite group on YouTube.

Dubstep - Love It or Hate It?

Dubstep seems to be one of those polarizing forms of music. One usually either loves or hates it. I'm probably a rare case because I am on the fence. I don't hate or love it. I can definitely see why people hate it. At first it can be mistaken for techno, which I do not hate, but as it goes on, it just gets weird, and usually dissolves into something that can barely be called music. It usually sounds more like some bicycle chains and a small army of piglets getting caught in the cogs of a giant automobile factory's assembly line. However, it is interesting to watch people dance to it.



As I said, I am on the fence. Why? Normally I would probably be on the hating side. There is nothing about it that makes me WANT to listen to it. I like techno and electronic music that makes me feel like moving or just brightens my mood. Like Owl City :) Something that has an exciting or just happy feel to it, and Dubstep has neither. Why then am I still on the fence? Lindsey Stirling, that's why.



I realize, that this still isn't enough to make a lot of people like Dubstep, but for me it has at least made me tolerate it in hopes that it gets better. I can see the potential. When paired with the violin, and used in a cool video, it becomes so much more tolerable. Plus I just love Lindsey Stirling and I don't think she could do anything that I would hate. :p

Dubstep in and of itself is still quite annoying though, and there is no way that I would choose to listen to it on its own without a video accompanying it. This video that my brother shared on Facebook the other day pretty much sums up what plain old Dubstep sounds like. It was SO funny. I've watched it three times in a row tonight, and I just can't stop laughing.



It's a good thing I don't have a respiratory disease, or I'd probably have some kind of an attack from laughing too hard.