The Performer



 Bibliography 

    Pentatonix is a Cappella group from Texas(Wikipedia). They are well known for their covers of a variety of songs from a variety of genres. The group began in 2012 with their debut album EP PTX, Volume 1. They formed because of a program called a sing-off, which is presumably a big singing talent show. They ended up winning and then created their band. After the competition, the group's bread and butter were catchy songs like Christmas music. They also released many songs on their youtube channel, which one them many rewards. In 2023, they were given a star on Hollywood's walk of fame. For this, we will look at their song radioactive, including the highly talented Lindsey Stirling. The second one is titled Hallelujah.


    This is a Cover of the Hit song radioactive by Imagine dragons. In this song, Lindsey Stirling plays the violin while dancing. Pentatonix all sing and make different vocal sounds. This song is played at 134 Beats per minute. Every Lindsey Stirling song is fantastic; she carries the show on this one.


    The original song was written by Leonard Cohen in 1984 (rsrevision.com). Most people recognize the song from Shrek. The original is simple and has a required taste. Pentatonix's cover is good and brings the music to people who might not be into the original style. This song is known for its change in dynamics at specific emotional moments. It is slow-paced, at only 89 beats per minute. 


The role of the performer
    
    Many musicians make their own music and also do covers. Sometimes these covers are tremendous or add good updates to the songs. Sometimes they can even dramatically change the meaning of a song through their reperformance. Performers can often give essential updates to songs that may need to be updated. They can expose new people to music and even allow music to move from different genres. Great examples of songs getting updates so they can be easier to listen to could be Pentatonix Hallelujah as shown above, or even the band Disturbed's variety of covers from the sound of silence to the land of confusion. Disturbed's sound of silence exposed millions of people to the beautiful lyrics originally composed by Simon & Garfunkel. Often the best Covers add something to the song to create something new and unique. 

My opinion of Pentatonix

    It is funny because I chose them as a topic, but I'm not the biggest fan. I generally don't enjoy Cappella groups. I prefer music with a variety of instruments. The additional instruments add to the unique timbre of the piece. I also am not the biggest fan of their covers. Not enough of them offer a unique spin on things. It seems like a cover to translate a song to Cappella, not something unique. Some of their songs are unique, but it often feels like a reskin. This may be because I dislike Cappella groups that it sounds uninteresting, and maybe to a Cappella enthusiast, Pentatonix is revolutionary. With covers, there is a worry that the music can be lazy. It could be a copy and paste of someone's music but with a slightly altered sound. More choices can't be harmful, even if I don't always understand their necessity.

Sources

“BPM for Hallelujah (Pentatonix).” GetSongBPM.com, https://getsongbpm.com/song/hallelujah/Brq4g2.

“BPM for Radioactive (Pentatonix).” GetSongBPM.com, https://getsongbpm.com/song/radioactive/mOxnXn.

Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen's Lyrics with Modern Versions and Explanations, http://www.rsrevision.com/hallelujah.htm.

“Pentatonix.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Mar. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentatonix. 

Comments

  1. Joseph ThomasApril 2, 2023 at 8:38 PM

    Hello Orren,
    This band is very cool! I really enjoyed the violin in the song Radioactive! The lyrics and harmony were so vibrant, and I enjoyed how you brought forth that some older songs that are covered by modern performers have updates or other influential meanings given to the song and music! Good job!

    ReplyDelete

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