Monday Mixtape: Nov 19

I have been away from Steemit for quite some time because I've been occupied with work and a lot of stuff. So many things have happened which I should be writing about, but have been too lazy to get started on. Lol sorry about that! Will drag my lazy butt and try to get started soon!

For now, here's my #mondaymixtape entry for this week.

Some guidelines as you participate in the #mondaymixtape conversation:

1. Make a post with #mondaymixtape as your first tag
2. Post links to 5 songs you like
3. Tell us why you like them. Point out features that surprised you, stuff you learnt from the song, etc etc.

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1. Panic! at The Disco - The Greatest Showman

This is one of my favorite songs from The Greatest Showman's OST, which is why I am beyond stoked when I found out that one of my favorite artists will cover this song. Come release date, I can't say I'm surprised. Panic! nailed it! From that real smooth "Ladies and gents, this is the moment you've waited for!" to Brendon's sky-high adlibs, I am most definitely in awe! What's interesting though, is that the first few seconds of this version sounds like Panic! at the Disco's intro for Death of a Bachelor! Haha! So cool!

2. Sara Bareilles - Tightrope

Out of all the songs in The Greatest Showman OST, this was the one song that I didn't sing as frequent as I would sing the other songs. I guess I didn't connect to it as much during that time. But, when I listened to this version of Sara Bareilles, I feel so dumb sleeping on this song. Sara Bareilles did such an awesome job in making this even more beautiful than it already was. I revisited the original version of this song, and I feel even more dumb, because I couldn't believe I didn't appreciate Michelle Williams' version. These two versions sound so different, but interestingly, both sound so magical and so powerful. Ah, music, such a complicated, beautiful thing!

3. Zac Brown Band - From Now On

The first time I saw the announcement that Atlantic Records will be releasing a The Greatest Showman: Reimagined album, I immediately looked for who will be covering From Now On. From Now On is probably my favorite song in The Greatest Showman because this was the background song when P.T. Barnum (played by Hugh Jackman) had that momentous realization that he was messing up and he needed to "come back home". It was such a powerful scene, made even more powerful by From Now On. When I found out that a certain Zac Brown Band was going to be doing From Now On, I was both intrigued and excited. Intrigued, because that was the very first time I learned about Zac Brown Band, and I didn't know them before then. Excited, because this was my favorite song from the film, so I was naturally looking forward to how this song is going to turn out. When the album was released, a lot of people didn't like Zac Brown Band's take on the song. However, I think people need to understand that this is a single from The Greatest Showman: Reimagined. It's supposed to sound different, even deviating from what the original sounded like. I personally liked it, it's a different take that worked, and I really enjoyed listening to it. In fact, because of this cover, I have been exploring Zac Brown Band's sound and I must say, they sound quite good.

4. Imagine Dragons - Bad Liar

Those who have been following my Monday Mixtape entries would know that I have been obsessing over Imagine Dragons for quite some time now. Imagine my excitement when it was announced that they will be releasing a new album, Origins. Bad Liar is one of the first few songs that they released prior to the album release. I instantly fell in love with this song because it's an excellent example of reinventing gone real good. Bad Liar is such an appropriate prelude to what would eventually become the masterpiece that is Origins. I really like the studio version of this song, but the live version (which I have posted here) is something else!! Heads up, I may be posting songs from Origins often in my future Monday Mixtape entries.

5. Panic! at the Disco - Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen Cover)

Two weeks ago, I got to watch Bohemian Rhapsody, the Freddie Mercury biopic, which starred Rami Malek (who was ALL KINDS OF AWESOME!!!!). Rami did an awesome job but let's face it, no one can ever replace Queen, especially because Freddie Mercury's chops in this song (or, actually, in all of Queen's songs) are out of this world! I've grown an appreciation for Queen's songs after watching the film, but an even greater appreciation for the song Bohemian Rhapsody was birthed after the film presented the ridiculously-meticulous process of putting that 6-min masterpiece together. I've yet to see a decent cover of Bohemian Rhapsody, but, call me biased, I believe Panic! at the Disco gave nothing but a respectful nod to Queen through this cover.