In this episode, Seattle’s “The Soft Hills” share the story behind their song, “Molten Change.”

Molten Change consists of two parts: A and B. In part A there are several layers of experience juxtaposed together, happening all in the mind of a man named, Ashely. The story begins with Ashely peering into his psychic landscape of madness, teetering on the verge of collapse. He realizes that his fear is founded upon a false image of himself, which is merely an illusion. The realization comes to him in a moment of darkness and despair.

In the 2nd verse he is mesmerized by a woman’s eyes. His desire for her drives out feelings of loneliness. This new found love opens up a vault of things to be discovered within his heart. The second chorus, “Man is not alone, so why’s he paying the fee?” suggests that human suffering stems from one’s feeling of isolation. But the irony is that we are actually connected to everything around us, at one with the whole universe, so why are we causing ourselves misery? Metaphorically, the “molten change” might be thought of as a state of mind that comes through catharsis. It is something equivalent to being struck by a ray of illumination.

Part B lifts off into a space and points towards a new horizon, a different way of seeing things: consciousness transformed. It poses a reflective question, “Are you happy?” It seems that many of us are constantly running around, looking for distractions, expending our energy in all directions, chasing a mirage which we call happiness. The lyric asks the listener to stop for a moment and think about their motives and actions, to ask themselves if they really are happy. What is happiness? Is happiness this blind pursuit of some far off future where we never fully arrive at? I think that when we really stop and look at ourselves, it becomes clear that our life is overrun by a kind of madness; it is as if we were caught in the cogs of a monstrous machine whose wheels never stop turning. It’s a shame that we spend our whole life wasting away in the treadmill. So why not get off the treadmill?

Molten Change is about overcoming fear and abandoning the old, stagnant way of life and finding a new way of living where we are one and at peace with ourselves. Ultimately, it is a song of healing.

Molten Change

Ashley was looking deeply into the chaos of his soul
He fell like a crumbling ceiling through a vast sea of holes

Why do you fear for your limited life?
The solution seems clear in the dead of the night
You’ll awaken to the molten change

Her eyes were a fascination like rubies on fire
You’re no longer feeling lonesome as your heart visions fly

Man is not alone, so why’s he paying the fee?
Through the lens of delusion you’ll be following me
You’ll awaken to the molten change

Are you happy?

While thinking about Thanksgiving and music, the first and most demanding song to make the rounds of being stuck in our heads on a loop was “Thank You” by Led Zeppelin. Before we transition fully into posts about the December holidays and the music they inspire, here’s a last nod to Thanksgiving and the lyrics to this great song:

If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you.
If the mountains should crumble to the sea, there would still be you and me.

Kind woman, I give you my all, Kind woman, nothing more.

Little drops of rain whisper of the pain, tears of loves lost in the days gone by.
But my love is strong, with you there is no wrong,
together we shall go until we die. My, my, my.
Inspiration’s what you are to me, inspiration, look… see.

And so today, my world it smiles, your hand in mine, we walk the miles,
Thanks to you it will be done, for you to me are the only one.
Happiness, no more be sad, happiness….I’m glad.
If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you.
If the mountains should crumble to the sea, there would still be you and me.

During an athletic performance of her new song “Louboutins,” Lopez walked up the backs of five dancers, who were assembled like steps, then attempted to leap off — and fell right on her rear end.

and

“She walked off the stage absolutely fuming,” an unnamed insider told Fox News. “She was so upset, and ready to kill. Jennifer was a perfectionist about that performance and practiced hard.”

Singer Adam Lambert also made an impression with a performance MTV says divided critics. According to their article:

A kind of mash-up of the top awards-show shock moments from Britney, Madonna and Christina Aguilera over the past 15 years, complete with faux-oral sex (which was edited out of the West Coast feed), S&M play, bondage, crotch-grabbing, same-sex make outs, serial hip-thrusting and even an accidental stumble, Lambert made it clear that he’s not the kind of safe pop star typically churned out by the “Idol” machine.

He also pre-emptively declared that anyone who criticized his display of sexual liberty was endorsing a double standard that says straight women can explore their (bi)sexuality onstage, but gay men can’t. However, not everyone agreed.

The Los Angeles Times’ site features photos of the awards show, including what they call Lambert’s “ultra-lewd” performance.

Taylor Swift was a big winner last night, this time without interruption from Kanye West when accepting any of her five awards, which included the top prize, “Artist of the Year.”

Whitney Houston’s big comeback performance is getting very positive buzz on the Internet. FilmyFair says:

What made Whitney different from the other performers at the AMAs, was the fact that she only let her voice do all the performing – figuratively speaking. She did not get into anything bold, nor headline grabbing worthy nor seductive, but she let her powerful voice win over the audience.

And Gather.com says, “It’s official: the Queen of the Night is back!”

For a complete list of winners and links to their award winning songs, check out the Events section on MetroLyrics.com by clicking HERE!

Did you hear the one about tween star Justin Bieber’s fans causing a near-riot that shut down a Long Island mall? According to the Associated Press:

Police on Long Island had to shut down a mall appearance by teen pop singer Justin Bieber after thousands of young girls showed up, and got a little too wild.

Girls and adults in the Friday crowd of nearly 3,000 started pushing and shoving as they waited for the 15-year-old to show at a clothing store at the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City.

Bieber’s appearance was still two hours away when things got out of hand. Five people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.

The young singer got started by posting videos of himself singing on YouTube, and now he’s shutting down malls and making prime time TV appearances. Here’s a hilarious interview the confident 15-year-old gave E’s Chelsea Handler recently on Chelsea Lately:

Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune says:

there was hope that “For Your Entertainment” would be the first post-“Idol” debut to break the mold of industry-manicured pap. Instead, it’s a series of hedged bets. It stuffs Lambert into a box of formulas that keep his musical flamboyance in check.

Rob Cavallo, Dr. Luke, Ryan Tedder, Max Martin — among the most successful songwriters and producers of the decade, experts at manipulating the industry machine — keep him firmly in the middle of the road. The most exciting moments arrive when he veers off, little explosions of individuality that suggest Lambert has a lot more to give than this album and his small army of handlers will allow.

Pop & Hiss, the LA Times Music Blog says of the first single from the album:

The first single and title track from Adam Lambert’s soon-to-be-dropped debut album couldn’t be more of an announcement. “For Your Entertainment” strides into the room, snaps its fingers and declares 2010 the year of Our Gorgeously Airbrushed Overlord.

With a toy whip in his hand and a glittery gleam in his eye, Glambert croons familiar phrases about making it hot, getting rough and staying in control. Scandinavian hitmaker Dr. Luke wrote and produced the track, and it has that compressed, noisy rock ‘n’ roll circus sound he’s created for others, including Britney, Pink and that other neo-vaudevillian troublemaker, Katy Perry.

Some Glamthusiasts may bemoan the restraint (and processing) applied to the song’s vocal, but Lambert is making another move in this song, one likely to become a signature. He sings with an arched eyebrow, executing a come-on that wryly takes the pffft out of itself.

And Rolling Stone said of the previews available earlier this month:

Based on the half-minute previews, For Your Entertainment seems to be evenly divided between glam stompers like the title track, “Sure Fire Winners” and “Strut” and big ballads like “Broken Open,” “A Loaded Smile” and “Soaked,” which was written by Muse’s Matt Bellamy and sounds similar to the band’s own “Unintended.” You can definitely hear the influence of Lambert’s all-star songwriters as well. “Music Again,” penned by the Darkness’ Justin Hawkins, serves as a glamtastic opening track that both welcomes listeners to For Your Entertainment and has us wishing the “I Believe In a Thing Called Love” rockers would reform.

What do you think? Are you a member of “Glambert Nation”?

5. Bella and Edward, New Moon: If you’ve read the Twilight series you already know that the second installment is not pretty for America’s current favorite vampire/mortal lovers.

4. Michael Scott and Pam’s Mom, The Office: How would you feel if your boss was dating your mom & broke up with her on her birthday?

3. Rihanna and Chris Brown: She finally spoke out about the whole thing recently. What did you think?

2. Everyone, the new Melrose Place: This is not the best place to meet your perfect spouse.

1. Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt: I guess you have to give these two credit for knowing how to get themselves in the media (even here), but wouldn’t it be nice if they just went away?

- Hung Up by Madonna
- SexyBack by Justin Timberlake
- Groove is in the Heart by Deee-Lite
- Cyclone by Baby Bash
- Womanizer by Britney Spears
- Bad Romance by Lady GaGa
- My Humps by The Black Eyed Peas
- Umbrella by Rhianna
- Single Ladies by Beyonce
- Fever by Kylie Minogue
- Momma’s Boy by Chromeo

Thus concludes the road trip playlist series. What would you put on your fantasy road trip playlist? We know we left out a ton!

- Alive by Pearl Jam
- Pretty Young Thing by Michael Jackson
- Don’t Tell Me by Madonna
- Violet Hill by Coldplay
- Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi
- Hard Candy Christmas by Dolly Parton
- Blackbird by The Beatles
- Silent All These Years by Tori Amos
- Staying Alive by The Bee Gees
- Buddy Holly by Weezer
- Fields of Gold by Sting
- Maggie May by Rod Stewart
- Skinny Legs by Lyle Lovett
- Womanizer by Britney Spears (which also makes an appearance on the next playlist: Dancing to Stay Awake)

Everyone’s got their own ideas of what the best sing-along-songs for the car are, and we’d love to know yours. Did we miss something obvious? There are still a lot of miles to go before home!

When you’re driving across America, it’s difficult not to feel nostalgic for all of the famous cross-country road trips you’ve ever heard about before. Volume one of the playlist is inspired by the past: the dust bowl era, the wanderlust of the 1960s, the things you can imagine goofy parents singing in a car, etc. Here’s what we wanted to hear on day one:

- Moonshiner by Bob Dylan
- America by Simon and Garfunkel
- Riding in My Car by Woody Guthrie
- Big Rock Candy Mountain
- The Fishin’ Blues
- The Cuckoo
- I’ve been Everywhere by Johnny Cash

Tune in tomorrow for Volume 2: Sing-Along Songs…

Paramore’s song Ignorance is featured on the MetroLyrics home page this week on the Billboard chart, which is topped by Lady GaGa’s Paparazzi. After reading the lyrics to Ignorance, I wondered how difficult it would be to link the two in a lyrical game of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Here we go:

Degree ONE- From Ignorance: “Ignorance is your new best friend“

Degree TWO- From “My Best Friend’s Girl” by The Cars: “My best friend’s girlfriend“

Degree THREE- From “Girlfriend” by Avril Lavigne: “Hey, hey, you, you, I don’t like your girlfriend“

Degree FOUR- From “Pinhead” by The Ramones: “I just met a nurse that I could go for, Gabba Gabba Hey“

Degree FIVE- From “Lace and Leather” by Britney Spears: “baby let’s go, Watch me apply the pressure, all decked in lace and leather“

Degree SIX- From Paparazzi: “Leather and jeans, garage glamorous”

What do you think? Too much of a stretch? But did you ever think about The Ramones and Britney Spears being only one degree removed before?

In the most recent episode (review with spoilers here) of AMC’s hit show Mad Men, they re-created the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and it may be the most chilling and evocative dramatization of the event I’ve ever seen. It was definitely the first time I found myself realizing that for the people who lived through that moment, it was a real and raw and shocking thing– not something that had already accumulated dust on history’s shelf or started growing dim with distance. I could feel what the characters were feeling: vulnerability, surprise, uncertainty about the future, despair, etc. And as I caught myself empathizing with fictional people, I started questioning how they were spinning the web I was caught in. Through their clothing, and their hairstyles, and the dialogue, and the acting– and the music.

Although the music during the average episode of Mad Men is subtle enough to fade into the background and just become part of the whole, each episode ends with a carefully chosen song that rises in volume as the credits roll and ties into the theme of the evening. This week’s song about not being in love anymore contributed to the sense of melancholy the show left me with, and it also inspired me to see who else was talking about the music of Mad Men.

You can buy a soundtrack CD on Amazon (see the cover art above), AMC keeps a running list of the songs they’ve featured this season, and they’ve got Mad Men-inspired playlists available on iTunes.

Music is such a huge part of the television and movies we watch, and Mad Men is definitely doing it right in their selection of tunes.

Sometimes while I’m looking around on MetroLyrics.com, I notice a trend. Today I noticed how often the word “baby” appears in song lyrics, and I decided to search for baby and see how often it came up. Pages and pages of baby-themed songs and artists came up, but as I was scrolling through the first page of results, I got distracted by Baby Bash’s “Cyclone” showing up on the list.

Have you ever read the lyrics to a song you liked and wished you hadn’t known what they were saying? That definitely happened here. I knew the lyrics had to be kind of sexist/sexual since the part I;d caught at the club was about a woman moving her body like a cyclone, but there are some kooky phrases in here. My favorites are “You gon’ hear it clack clack,” and “Ay! This is crazy, it’s amazing! It must be the way of the lady.”

Check out the lyrics here, and tell me about a song you ruined by knowing too much or a crazy phrase you learned when you read them.

Jay-Z has made the news repeatedly in October, first by making his debut appearance at London’s Alexandra Palace, then feuding with Oasis’ Noel Gallagher, and most recently by moving into Broadway with Will Smith. Since he’s also at the top of our charts (well, he’s in the number 2 spot, but that’s pretty close) with his song, Empire State of Mind, we thought we’d shine a light on him and ask for your favorite Jay-Z songs and moments. Are you a fan?

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon as Milk & Cookies

The celebrities are gearing up for Halloween, and so are we! Nicole Richie has her kids’ costumes planned, and we’re thinking about our own. Zombie bridesmaid? Madonna? Hmm…

While planning Halloween parties, though, the music is a big deal. MetroLyrics has plenty of halloween songs to choose from, so I started scrolling through them, and I found some gems:

1. This is Halloween by Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson PLUS Halloween??? Double scary!

2. The Monster Mash
I don’t know if this version by the “Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band” is the one they’d play at our elementary school Halloween parties, but it’s a classic– and pretty funny!

3. Thriller by Michael Jackson
Maybe the quintessential Halloween song. Since he passed away this year, I’m betting there’ll be tributes and Thriller mobs everywhere this Saturday!

What are your Halloween must-haves? What’s the scariest rap for Halloween or the darkest death metal? Tell us here!

Perhaps you’ve heard of this movie coming out next month called “New Moon”? I think it’s an indie film about a hot, young werewolf who gets pestered by a pale girl and a bunch of emotional vampires. Or something like that… Just kidding!

New Moon, the latest in the Twilight saga, comes out November 20th, and The Vancouver Sun just ran a story on the “spooky” soundtrack that inspired me to look up the lyrics to all of the songs deemed good enough to score the ultimate in teen/occult-love-triangle movies for 2009. MetroLyrics has the whole soundtrack broken down for us already, so here are just a couple of highlights:

Have you ever thought of Death Cab for Cutie as “spooky”? I hadn’t until today, but this sample from their track, “Meet Me on the Equinox” is pretty dark!

Let me give my love to you
Let me take your hand
As we walk in the dimming light
Or darling understand

That everything, everything ends
That everything, everything ends

The Killers also make an appearance on the soundtrack, with a song called “A White Demon Love Song.” My favorite lines from this one are:

White Demon where’s your selfish kiss?
White Demon sorrow will arrange
Let’s not forget about the fear
Black invitation to a place
That cannot change
Wild, strangely holey
Come for a break

Are you swept up in the Twilight frenzy? Have you got the soundtrack? Are you planning to get it? We love to hear from you!