Tag: song

A Rockin’ Librarian Ignites the Web With Her Third Song

Will this rockin’ librarian’s debut song be a hit? Hopefully, because if kids don’t get the message, then we have a public service warning for you about a “beautiful and talented librarian” so upset that she’s ransacking hallways in an effort to locate overdue library books.

Looks like your school library books—from Harry Potter Books to The Hunger Games (Yes, even The Magic Tree House books), all have to be returned to librarian Mary Evelyn Smith at Liberty Elementary in Worthington, Ohio, before school lets out on May 22nd, or else!

If you’re concerned right now, don’t be. It’s a music video called “Bring Back Your Books” that parodies Walk the Moon’s hit song, “Shut Up and Dance.”

This isn’t the first music video Mary Evelyn Smith has created. Her first music video entitled “All Them Books Video” and was a parody of Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass.” Calm, cool, it’s great music made with a stellar video.

Don’t believe me? Watch it below!

This 2015 song is really neat, and it was such a hit that she made a second one entitled, “Sorry,” a parody of Justin Bieber’s song of the same name.

It’s great, it’s funny, it’s got a slow but melodic beat. The only problem is it came out two years ago. In an email Mary Evelyn Smith wrote to 10TV, “I usually see a little rush of books coming back the day after the video is released… but regardless of the books, I’d say it’s 100 percent effective when it comes to building a positive and fun community here at school.”

So obviously she had to make another one.

This one is a bit different. It starts off on a subtle note by parodying a news broadcast with two students, an unnamed girl and boy sitting side by side with the phrase “Change Your Mindset” behind it.

They speak in what I can only describe as Newscaster-speak, something that reminds me of the fish from Spongebob SquarePants.

Fish newscasters on Spongebob

Image Via Youtube

The jokes are corny but cute, the standout one being, “Today’s forecast calls for a high temperature of your ice cream melts before you can eat it”.

The boy could definitely be an A-lister one day, something like Chris Pratt in Guardians of the Galaxy or Bill Tannen from Back to the Future, but the girl is so fun to watch, furiously chewing gum a la Violet Beauregarde before taking it from her mouth and rolling it between two fingers right in front of the camera. They both play off each other, which builds up to the tension when-

A GOOSE COMES IN WITH A MESSAGE! And guess what? It’s the iconic goose from the second music video.

What could be the urgent message? It’s far worse than any of us could ever imagine: a mad librarian looking for books!

The children are shocked and frightened, especially as reports come in about teachers doing “dance moves that they definitely are not cool enough to be attempting”. It’s funny and deflates any awkwardness from the music video that rolls in…

Check the video out below! The music starts about a minute and ten seconds in and while its a rockin’ song, the students give the perfect set up.

 

 

Mary Evelyn Smith also told 10TV: “The teachers have a blast being in front of the camera. It is nice to have fun and be silly together at the end of the year.”

Let’s hope they had as much fun as we did!

 

 

Featured Image Via Lamont Elementary.ca

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These Book Covers Inspired By Popular Songs Will Sing to Your Soul

Songs certainly tell a story and thanks to one company, some of the most iconic lyrical stories are finally unfolding on page. 

 

The Online Pen Company reimagined fan-favorite songs as novels, in a move to celebrate the incredible stories their lyrics tell.

 

“Songs are lyrically skilled and if you stop and spend the time carefully listening to the words, you may be surprised at some of the epic stories they could be turned into,” according to their website. “We decided to [create] book covers based on the nation’s favourite songs and when you see them, you’ll never be able to hear favourite tunes the same way again.”

 

Check out them out!

 

1. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”

 

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Image Via The Online Pen Company

 

2. David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” 

 

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Image Via The Online Pen Company

3. Adele’s “Someone Like You”

 

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Image Via The Online Pen Company

 

5. Ed Sheeran’s “The Shape of You”

 

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Image Via The Online Pen Company

 

6. Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana”

 

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Image Via The Online Pen Company

 

7. The Eagles’ “Hotel California”

 

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Image Via The Online Pen Company

 

 

Featured Image Via The Online Pen Company

Schoolhouse Rock

5 Schoolhouse Rock! Songs That Taught Us Everything We Know About English

If you grew up in the US in the past forty years, you probably can’t say “conjunction” without then singing an entire song. We all have a show called Schoolhouse Rock! to thank for that. Covering topics like math, U.S. history and politics, science, and, of course, grammar, Schoolhouse Rock! has been an important part of every teacher’s toolbox—especially if they want three minutes of rest.

 

For kids, though, Schoolhouse Rock! nestles into their heads. I’m not sure if it’s a great way to teach, but the show turned out some killer tracks. Setting aside the grammar songs for a second, “I’m Just a Bill” and “Three Is a Magic Number” are straight classics. The grammar songs deserve especial thanks for their contributions to our collective mastery of the English language.

 

1. “A Noun Is a Person, Place or Thing”

 

 

Written by Lynn Ahrens (Academy Award-winning songwriter for Anastasia), this is a catchy, Dolly Parton-esque tune that walked me through what exactly a noun was. The song calls out to then-relevant musical acts like The Beatles and Monkees, and it’s just very endearing.

 

2. “Conjunction Junction”

 

 

This bluesy song would have been written by Randy Newman if someone had called him. Kidding, but really, it sounds like a Randy Newman song. Also, if you know Schoolhouse Rock!, then you know this song.

 

3. “Lolly, Lolly, Lolly Get Your Adverbs Here”

 

 

In this song, three generations of the Lolly family own and operate a store that apparently sells adverbs. I’m not sure it’s a sound business model, but they do have a great jingle. Also, I think whoever was animating this had a tough time drawing faces head-on because all of the faces are facing sideways.

 

4. “Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla”

 

 

That’s a name. This song’s great, and it’s all about pronouns. Also, it features a girl falling in love with an aardvark. The aardvark shares the love. It’s very Shape of Water-esque.

 

5. “Interjections!”

 

 

“Hey, that’s not fair, giving a guy a shot down there!” Reginald says, after being injects in the butt by a mysterious doctor, without the doctor even introducing himself. Without even a hello, the doctor sticks little Reginald with a needle in his buttocks. But besides that, this song is also about interjections. Yikes!

 

Featured Image Via MeTV

Literary Songs

10 Rockin’ Songs That Reference Classic Literature

It’s a little-known fact that to be a good songwriter, you’ve got to be a good storyteller. To pull something from within you that reaches other people ain’t an easy task. Sometimes you need a little help—a little inspiration, if you will. This is exactly what some of music’s most talented people, and some of my favorite rock ‘n rollers, have done.

 

There’s nothing quite as grand as when you hear a story within a story. How meta, right? Below are ten musicians and groups that’ve dropped some of the greatest authors’ literature into their songs. It takes a legend to understand a legend and they fit books into tunes better than anyone could. Check out these classics and their lines that paid homage to, well, the classics.

 

 
1. “Sympathy for the Devil” by The Rolling Stones

 

What it references: The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

 

Please allow me to introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
I’ve been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man’s soul and faith
And I was ’round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain

 

2. “Thieves in the Night” by Black Star
 
 
What it references: The Bluest Eye by (the incredible) Toni Morrison

 

Not strong (Only aggressive)
Not free (We only licensed)
Not compassionate, only polite (Now who the nicest?)
Not good but well behaved
(Chasing after death, so we can call ourselves brave?)
Still living like mental slaves
Hiding like thieves in the night from life

 

3. “Brave New World” by Iron Maiden

 

What it references: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

 

What you see is not real, those who know will not tell
All is lost sold your souls to this brave new world

 

4. “Pigs (Three Different Ones)” by Pink Floyd

 

What it references: Animal Farm by George Orwell

 

Big man, pig man, ha ha, charade you are
You well heeled big wheel, ha ha, charade you are

 

5. “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane

 

What it references: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

 

And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you’re going to fall
Tell ’em a hookah-smoking caterpillar
Has given you the call
Call Alice
When she was just small

 

6. “Ramble On” by Led Zeppelin

 

What it references: The Lord of the Rings series by J. R. R. Tolkien

 

Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor
I met a girl so fair.
But Gollum, and the evil one crept up
And slipped away with her.

 

7. “Richard Cory” by Simon and Garfunkel

 

What it references:  Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem “Richard Cory”

 

They say that Richard Cory owns one half of this whole town,
With political connections to spread his wealth around.
Born into society, a banker’s only child,
He had everything a man could want: power, grace, and style.

 

8. “Tom Sawyer” by Rush

 

What it references: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

 

Though his mind is not for rent
Don’t put him down as arrogant
His reserve, a quiet defense
Riding out the day’s events
The river

 

9. “The Catcher in the Rye” by Guns ‘N Roses

 

What it references: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

 

Oooh, the Catcher In The Rye Again
Won’t let ya get away from him
(Tomorrow never comes)
It’s just another day…
Like today

 

10. “The Ghost of Tom Joad” by Bruce Springsteen

 

What it references: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

 

The highway is alive tonight
But nobody’s kiddin’ nobody about where it goes
I’m sittin’ down here in the campfire light
Searchin’ for the ghost of Tom Joad

 

 
How’s all that for a little crossover? Rock on bookworms.
 
 
Feature Image Via Yaroslav Blokhin on Unsplash
f scott fitzgerald and jacobim mugato

Jamie Dornan Sings as Christian Grey on ‘Fifty Shades Freed’ Soundtrack

The Fifty Shades franchise has always scored killer soundtracks, but the newest movie is set to have a slightly unexpected addition. 

 

Image Via CBS

Image Via CBS

 

According to Digital Spy, Jamie Dornan, Mr. Grey himself, will sing a cover of ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ by Paul McCartney. Prior to his acting career, Dornan fronted a band called Sons of Jim, so he’s not a complete stranger to the world of music. 

 

 

Dornan’s song appears at number twenty on the track listing, which includes some heavy hitters such as Hailee Steinfeld, Miike Snow, Danny Elfman, and Ellie Goulding.

 

  1. ‘Capital Letters’ – Hailee Steinfeld x BloodPop
  2. ‘For You (Fifty Shades Freed)’ – Liam Payne & Rita Ora
  3. ‘Sacrifice’ – Black Atlass feat. Jessie Reyez
  4. ‘High’ – Whethan & Dua Lipa
  5. ‘Heaven’ – Julia Michaels
  6. ‘Big Spender’ – Kiana Ledé feat. Prince Charlez
  7. ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ – Bishop Briggs
  8. ‘The Wolf’ – The Spencer Lee Band
  9. ‘Are You’ – Julia Michaels
  10. ‘Cross Your Mind’ – Sabrina Claudio
  11. ‘Change Your Mind’ – Miike Snow
  12. ‘Come on Back’ – Shungudzo
  13. ‘I Got You (I Feel Good)’ – Jessie J
  14. ‘Ta Meilleure Ennemie (Pearls)’ – Samantha Gongol (of Marian Hill) feat. Juliette Armanet
  15. ‘Deer in Headlights’ – Sia
  16. ‘Diddy Bop’ – Jacob Banks & Louis the Child
  17. ‘Love Me Like You Do (Fifty Shades Freed Version)’ – Ellie Goulding
  18. ‘Freed’ – Danny Elfman
  19. ‘Seeing Red’ – Danny Elfman
  20. ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ – Jamie Dornan [Bonus Track]
  21. ‘Cross Your Mind (Spanish Version)’ – Sabrina Claudio [Bonus Track]
  22. ‘Pearls’ – Samantha Gongol (of Marian Hill) [Bonus Track]

 

Will you be seeing Fifty Shades Freed?  

 

Featured Image Via B1039