Tag Archives: YouTube

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Lindsey Stirling’s New Music Video Brims with Joy

Stirlingites everywhere rejoice, for Lindsey’s music video for the song Guardian off her last album, Artemis, is out on YouTube! And it’s absolutely fabulous.

This is classic Lindsey showcasing everything she does best, but at the same time with every new shot we’re wondering what will come next. Viewers will know from past behind-the-scenes videos that this uniquely talented dancing violinist and composer takes her location scouting very seriously indeed! This is once again obvious in this music video, because the opening shot immediately took my breath away. Considering I just spent several days walking around my home city snapping every tree with autumn leaves on it, it’s an additional bonus to see these amazing backdrops here. OK, it’s not like we really did the same thing, but I can relate!

A lot of thought has clearly gone in to how the colors in these breathtaking landscapes work with Lindsey’s gorgeous costumes and ALL the visuals in this music video are simply stunning. It’s amazing how Lindsey translates her music to imagery, and the joyful notes in Guardian, equal parts delicate and strong, fly around the trees and mountains we see here. Lindsey’s video editing skills are also utilized to great effect, with seamless transitions between shots. Considering all the restrictions still in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, this video does a terrific job of conveying a soaring sense of freedom and space. The landscape theme also takes me back to Elements, one of my favourite songs and music videos ever.

Lindsey’s dancing while she plays (and not only then) is a jaw-dropping performance every time. The fluidity, the precision, the beauty, the strength, it’s all there. While we see those killer back bends and twirls throughout the video, I have to say, I’m floored by those precise energetic moves in ballet slippers on rocky terrain and the forest floor.

I think WOW is the only appropriate response. I’m off to fangirl some more.

 

 

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Santa Baby covered by Lindsey Stirling

Both the song and the music video have been up for a while, but I’ve been listening and watching on repeat, that’s how much I love how this cover by Lindsey Stirling turned out! And now it’s time to pour out my feelings. My favourite line is I want a yacht and, really, that’s not a lot, just the way she says it with that saucy look, and the dance moves match it perfectly. It might become a daily quote. Oh, and I want that shower cap with sequins on it and, really, that’s not a lot. Of sequins. I just love how they catch the light…

Focus!

Since being uploaded on November 29 the music video has already had almost 2.4 million views at the time of writing this blog post, way to go Lindsey! There are so many things I love about the video, where to start…

Lindsey co-directed and her trademark attention to detail and concepting, not to mention her individuality, are all immediately obvious. From the colour palette switching between pinks, lilacs, whites and blues in various intensity, to the nods to her inspiration sources which she talks about in this behind the scenes video, it’s three and a half minutes packed with gorgeous, fun images.

The opening notes that repeat themselves throughout the song click at once with the imagery of  floating soap bubbles, balloons and lights and lend a modern touch to a classic. And then Lindsey sings! She does, and what a great job. In this inspiring interview on the Build series she talks about her vocal work in particular, saying that she ended up liking her voice on the demos she recorded at first and sticking with it.

I love her confidence as well as the whole tone of her singing, how it ties with the music in her interpretation, the balanced execution and the coquettish, feminine vibe. The fact that she went on to do her own vocals also makes me incredibly excited for what she will produce in the future. In addition, she spoke about the challenge of covering a beloved Christmas classic that many others have covered before as well and coming up with a way to do it that had her mark on it.

Just when you’ve managed to digest it is indeed Lindsey singing Santa Baby, she makes my jaw drop even more by dancing en pointe in ballet shoes! She’s been known not just for her mind-blowing simultaneous violin playing and dancing, but also as an amazingly talented, sharp dancer, especially after her season on Dancing with the Stars in 2017. Her movements are precise and beautiful, you can tell she’s trained, but at the same time the choreography doesn’t look studied or mechanical. Her enjoyment of what she is doing shines through in the scenes, which I’m in awe of even more now that I have a (very) slight inkling of how hard ballet sequences can actually be.

Been an angel all year… Merry Christmas!

 

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Lost Girls by Lindsey Stirling

Lost Girls is the first track on Lindsey Stirling’s latest album Brave Enough. It opens with tentative, probing notes that make one think of slow drops of melting ice or ripples on the surface of a quiet lake. And then, like most of the tracks on the album, it surprises you with the change of pace as you become absorbed in the story Lindsey is telling.

The story is of coming back from fear and loss. But not just that. Lindsey explains it herself in more detail, saying that the focus of the song and the video’s visualization is on what happens after recovery, the courage it takes to stay on the hard-won path. Lost Girls brilliantly picks up where Shatter Me from Lindsey’s sophmore album Beyond the Veil left off. It’s thrilling to see that the story can be further pursued, and thankfully in this case the sequel concept works flawlessly, building up on the solid base of the prequel and at the same time yet again drawing the viewer in to an immersive new world – trademark Stirling.

Fans will recognize some of the dancers from her recent tours, though they are transformed so convincingly thanks to costumes and make-up, that the creatures they are playing seem almost real, as well as terrifying. At the center of it all is, of course, Lindsey’s wide-eyed, but no longer helpless ballerina, lost and found again.

 

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Sunday Diaries, Means I Watched YouTube Videos and Loved It (As Usual)

Sunday is the day of rest! Actually, it’s the day of YouTube. Especially during winter. The temperature dropped only a few degrees below zero and my hibernation instincts kicked in to full gear.

Thanks to some links sent to me, this day of YouTube went incredibly well, and as I can’t resist sharing, here goes with some short reviews.

Ever felt like this? Sure! While it’s not always advisable to rip up your notes and pull this approach during actual exam study time, keeping the seriousness of a situation within reasonable bounds isn’t a bad idea and this video helps along with the ride. It’s also just really funny and further confirmation of how Disney’s Frozen keeps blowing people’s minds. Oh, and there’s humorous and sarcastic rewriting of lyrics, which I do on a daily basis, yay, there are others out there!

Some more Frozen inspiration to laugh at and maybe laugh at yourself in the process, if you have memories from the past that might pop up after this video. For the record, knowing all the digits of pi is impressive. My favorite line among the laugh-out-loud rewritten lyrics: “Here’s a lock of my own hair/ Honestly, I think I’m made for you…”

Watching videos inspired by the release of the full-length movie trailer for Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast (God, I cannot wait to see it) led me to this adorable gem. This was the trigger for the pure tears I may have needed to shed today. No words, just feels, all of them.

Has this day of YouTube been somewhat Disney-centric? Nah, come on.

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The Arena by Lindsey Stirling

The inspirational, home-hitting and ever relevant quote from Theodore Roosevelt about facing life and what courage really is opens Lindsey Stirling’s latest music video, The Arena. And Lindsey would know, through personal experience, and in thinking this I immediately go back in my mind to her autobiography The Only Pirate at the Party. Many will shout, only a few will do – an ongoing theme in her music.

Visually grittier than most of Lindsey’s previous music videos, The Arena shows a story set in a seemingly fantastic space, but immediately painfully realistic in the scenes it depicts. People are thrown in to the fray of life for whatever reason, and even without actual lions waiting to pounce, the frowning crowd watching emanates a threatening sense that this could get ugly, as Lindsey and her partner, played by Derek Hough, move towards the center of this arena.

Is it a dying circus? A gang? Steam punk meets tribal meets Western meets dystopia? As always in Lindsey’s videos, the myriad of genres, ideas, associations and styles blends together to create something unique and memorable. Stepping next to a partner (relatively new for Lindsey) who looks like one of the fastest ballroom dancers in the world, her petite form is more obvious, but her posture is both graceful and determinedly strong at the same time.

It’s like Roundtable Rival flipped over, a mirror version, but in a world grey and desolate. Something needs to be reclaimed here. Love? Self-respect? Bravery? Happiness?

The sharpness of Lindsey’s violin cuts through my hearing, matching the dizzying speed of the dance movements. Once again both take my breath away.

Welcome to The Arena.

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