The Shins and Soul Surfer

Today I have music for you by a band called The Shins. The first time I heard this song was in a movie trailer. Now the movie itself has not come out, but this song really got me. This is one of those songs that makes you think of wide open skies and sunsets on the beach. It reminds me of scenes from movies where people are actually having a good time and are living life to the fullest. They are with family, exploring the world, and learning more about themselves. This song has a really good sound to it for a lot of reasons. For one, this song uses the conventional rock instruments to make the background audio. You can clearly hear the guitar, drums, keyboards, and synth. Each sound is so distinct but they come together so well. One thing that I thought was kind of cool was the fact that the chorus is what we hear at the beginning. Normally songs do not open with the chorus, but this song does and it serves as a great introduction. This song is a really special one when it comes to instrumentation. This has a very ambient sound to it, but there are so many emotions you can take away from this song. For me, I get the swirling synths which turns into feelings of me turning my face to the sun and enjoying total freedom on the beach. This song definitely has a dreamy sound to it which serves as something pleasing to the ears, but also to take us away from everything surrounding us. This song is really interesting because there is no one melody line. Every instrument takes a line and repeats it, but when layered, they come together to have a general melody. The bass guitar repeats its note pattern, the electric guitar has the same length of notes, and the keyboards have the same sound repeated over and over again. One part of the chorus that gives me chills every time is when the keyboard and synths take a major third pattern. It sounds so incredibly amazing because this does not add a slight darkness to the song, rather it adds a more grounding sound through the swirls of every other sound. The lyrics of this song really compliment the movie subject. From what I grasped from the trailer, this song fits the movie perfectly. This is a very well done song and I am super excited to see the movie! It was directed by Zach Braff and is called Wish I Was Here. Go check it out! Today's instrumental song is from the movie Soul Surfer. This was actually a very good and inspiring movie. This score was very well done and in particular, this song has a very relevant theme. The motifs in this song all point towards the brighter and more inspiring things in life. This song does have an ambient nature and I really like the way the beginning sounds. I hope you enjoy the music and please feel free to comment!