Welcome to Bear. BEATS. Battlestar Galactica. the show where everything’s made up and the points don’t matter. Oh…Wait… That’s Whose Line is it Anyway… #midterms. Today we’re connecting Mumford and Sons with Mumford and Sons, but we’re not taking the easy way out! Stay tuned!

We’re starting today with the song The Cave by Mumford and Sons. Mumford and Sons recently worked with young singer-songwriter Birdy for a track on the Brave album. Birdy‘s self-titled album is primarily an album of covers and she applies her emotive style to each track beautifully. This next song is a cover of Young Blood by the Naked Famous. Birdy covered various other artists, including James Taylor on her album and while her version of Fire and Rain is amazing, Taylor’s is one that can’t be beat. While we’re on the Fire (and rain) theme, let’s listen to a song by Chilean artist Yael Meyer. Meyer’s 5-song EP was produced by Bill Lefler who has produced other artists, such as Ingrid Michaelson. Michaelson’s song Maybe gives a very hopeful tone to listeners, but the word maybe doesn’t always seem to connote that. Jack Johnson‘s song Flake implies that maybe pretty much always means no, which is not as hopeful or pleasant as Michaelson’s version.

Jack Johnson grew up in Hawaii and discovered a passion for surfing at the age of 5, but it’s his passion for music that has launched him to world-wide success. Johnson may be one of Hawaii’s most famous singers, alongside big names like Israel Kamakawiwoʻole a.k.a. IZ (or Bruddah Iz). Iz’s version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow is perhaps one of the most famous versions outside of the original and is one of the songs that launched him to fame in 1993 when he released his album Facing Future. Unfortunately, Iz died in 1997, but his music still lives on. Songs from musicals don’t typically make their way to bands or singers that are part of the radio charts, but Frou Frou (the duo of Imogen Heap and Guy Sigsworth) covered Bonnie Tyler’s Holding Out For a Hero, which originally appeared in the movie Footloose. Imogen Heap and Guy Sigsworth have both done their own solo work, so why don’t we check out Heap’s song Hide and Seek? The song is the epitome of how a vocoder should be used in music. Another arrangement of the song was used for Heap’s contribution to the album Songs for Tibet: The Art of Peace. The Album featured other artists, such as Alanis Morrisette, Sting, Regina Spektor, and Suzanne Vega. Suzanne Vega originally recorded her song Tom’s Diner as an a cappella piece and background was added later for radio-play. A cappella is a tough way to sing (and often sounds terrible when done wrong), but bands like Seminaarinmäen mieslaulajat have perfected it. The Finnish group sings primarily unaccompanied, as they do on their son Taina, but ocassionally uses odd instruments, such as the djembe, the didgeridoo, the kazoo, a toilet door, zippers in the flys of their trousers, and water-filled beer bottles to enhance their music.

Speaking of bands that use odd instruments in their music, Pink Floyd uses everyday sounds to enhance some of their music. Their song Money is a prime example of this. The sound of cash drawers and receipts ripping is a very prominent riff in the song. Pink Floyd has influenced much of music because of their musical innovation and some of the best bands in the world have been inspired by them. Queen, Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, and Smashing Pumpkins have all talked about Pink Floyd’s influence. The Smashing Pumpkins may be most famous for their 1995 song 1979. There are a lot of songs named after years and one of those other songs is 1901 by Phoenix. Phoenix’s song was covered by Birdy on her self-titled album and she really made it her own. Birdy will continue to remain popular is she keeps up her amazing work, such as this last song, Learn Me Right, which she performed with Mumford and Sons for the Brave soundtrack.