Some New (And Older) Music

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As is often my habit, I was playing music videos on YouTube yesterday. I was looking for a new one that I knew had been posted, and came across another couple of recent posts from bands I enjoy. This got me thinking back to when I had first started playing their music, and it seemed a good idea to give you a little something for the weekend: the three new ones, plus the first from each that I had played.

I have often said that one of my favourite video bands is Walk Off the Earth (WOTE). Their videos – both of their own songs and the many cover versions they do – are often very inventive and funny. Their latest is played straight, but as it is a song from one of the all time greats I thought it worth playing for you:

As I said, they play that as a straight cover, but it highlights for me that they have a lot of musical talent within the band, and their harmonies are great. I’m not alone in liking them – they have 4.15m followers on YouTube and that video, which was posted yesterday, is already past the 90k views mark. I’ve been following them for a long time, ever since the first video of theirs that I saw. Yes, it was THAT one:

That was posted in January 2012, and I think I first saw it a few months after that. I’ve been a fan ever since, and have probably watched most of their output – which is vast! That one became an internet sensation, and now stands at over 191m views. Not bad for a band that isn’t a mainstream chart act. They do have a loyal fan base, though, and when pandemics permit they sell out concerts wherever they go around the world. I had a ticket to see them but it was at the time my illness first hit me, and I wasn’t able to go: one of my great regrets.

The song I was looking for was the new one from a musician I have been following for a while – about eight years in her case. Nina Nesbitt isn’t a household name here or anywhere else, but is another with a loyal following. I follow her Facebook page and am always impressed by the humorous, natural way that she interacts with fans: in effect, she is just being herself. This new song, which I recall reading was prompted by personal circumstances, is beautiful:

Nina is 27, and has the maturity at that relatively young age to write a song which speaks profoundly to so many of us. She released her first record at 17, and her first album, Peroxide, in February 2014, when she was still only 19. That reached #11 in the UK, and her follow up album The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change, came out in February 2019, and made #21 here. I have featured her a couple of times before – as part of a post on one of the oddest social crazes – with this song, which was the first of hers I can recall hearing, and have loved it ever since:

I think that shows a lot of the personality she also shares in her Facebook interactions, and the social comment in it is quite cutting. She isn’t afraid to poke fun at herself, which is for me always a good trait for a popular musician to have, though I guess it helps to get away with it if you are stunningly beautiful! Looking back through my archives, it seems I have posted this song three times before in various guises, so I apologise to anyone who has already seen it. But if you are a newish reader, or just want another chance to see me having a mild rant, you’ll find the most recent post here. A fun fact about Nina: she was for a time Ed Sheeran‘s girlfriend, and his song Nina, on his album x, was written for her.

The final new video is from a band I first came across a couple of years ago, from one of YouTube’s more successful recommendations. They are a covers band who, like Nina, started off when they were young. They are very prolific, posting a weekly song plus many others at various times, including their acoustic sessions – which are opened up for interaction with fans. This is their latest, which came out on Thursday:

Go on, own up: who’d join the queue to take up Audra’s kind offer? First To Eleven are a very talented bunch, and are well worth following: more than 1.3m have already subscribed to their YouTube channel, and that video has nearly 79k views in its first two days. Three of them (i.e. not the bass player) have recently branched out into a new band, Concrete Castles, who write their own songs. Their debut album, Wish I Missed U, was released last September, and is very good. The original version of this song dates from 1998, when Sixpence None The Richer had a massive worldwide hit with it, reaching #2 in the US and #4 in the UK, and many other top tens too.

First to Eleven are from Erie, Pennsylvania, and the first of their videos I can recall seeing is this one, in which they hosted a street party in their home town:

I love the way everyone is having so much fun in that, though I’ve still to work out how it suddenly became night time around the 4.50 mark, and Audra had a complete change of outfit! The video was posted in June 2019, a couple of weeks before she turned 18 – she is the youngest member of the band, two of whom were school students of the fourth member when he set it up. Audra joined a couple of years later, at 15, when the original vocalist left. I think I first saw this one not long after it was posted, and have been a fan since then: you may recall them from a couple of previous plays in my Advent Calendar.

I’ve had fun putting this piece together, and hope that you have enjoyed the music as much as I have. Unless anything earth-shattering happens in the meantime you can expect to see me again on Tuesday, when another day of the week will be featured for its tunes. Until then, have a great weekend and I hope Monday is passable, too 😊🤘

34 thoughts on “Some New (And Older) Music”

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  5. Only just got round to reading your post. But I felt I had to comment on a couple of stunners in there i.e. Nina and Audra – and I’m not just talking about their music. I’ve heard Nina’s Selfies song before but I hadn’t seen the video. Auda’s version of Kiss Me is wonderful. I’m not sure about ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’. To me it always sounds corny and noisy when other artists sing it.

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    • Thanks for coming back to it, Paul.

      They are a couple of stunners, aren’t they, and both blessed with great voices.

      I think the video for Selfies really rounds the song out; she looked to be having a lot of fun taking the Mickey out of the craze and herself.

      Kiss Me is a great cover, and not a song that gets as much attention as Sweet Child. This is one of the best covers I’ve seen of the latter, and there have been many!

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  7. All great choices, Clive “Sweet Child of Mine” is a favourite of mine normally a cover doesn’t come close this one did its fabulous…The more I listen to First to Eleven the more I like them…Thank you for the intro, Clive 🙂 x

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    • Thank you, Carol, glad you enjoyed them. I follow First To Eleven on Facebook and yesterday received – and accepted – an invitation to join their new fan page. I included a link to this post in my ‘thank you’ message, so your comment may now be seen by a different audience from your norm 😊 x

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  8. wow -such a great rendition of a classic Bruce song.

    that first video of theirs is how I also discovered them. I think it is better than the original version…

    Nina has a powerful voice, and a great way with words. a wonderful combo… those two songs certainly show her range, from touching to humorous…

    perhaps First to Eleven will have the same success as WOTE… they certainly seem to have the talent and work ethic…

    enjoy the rest of your weekend, Clive…

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    • It’s good, isn’t it – proving they can sing and play without the fun and games stuff. Their cover of the Gotye one is fabulous, though I do rather like the original too – it has a great video.

      I think Nina is very underrated- her records should sell much better than they do. As you say, her range of songs is impressive.

      I wonder where First To Eleven will go. They are very talented, but clearly want to do more than covers, so will have some big decisions to make. They have youth on their side, though.

      Enjoy the rest of your weekend too. And before you ask, I won’t be giving up any of my sleep for your handegg cup final…

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  9. I have to pay a huge tribute to you this week, Clive. I have spent evenings in the last year doing nothing but watching Walk Off the Earth videos (either introduced to me by you or Jim) and First to Eleven (by you during your December bonanza of posts.) I LOVE both bands. I seldom say this, but I prefer many of their songs over the originals. It may be February, but I still listen to Last Christmas, and I still like it every time. I think you know by now that I’m more of a rock fan, and their songs are right in my sweet spot.

    If that wasn’t enough, I either missed your previous posts by Nina Nesbitt or didn’t give them a serious listen. She is fabulous too! I loved both of the songs you posted here, and I’m positive I’ll go looking for her music some night soon to see what I’ve missed. One of my nightly routines lately has been to do jigsaw puzzles (usually online while I’ve got some great music playing in the background.)

    You’ve hit a massive trifecta with me tonight.

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    • Thanks so much, Pete, I’m pleased to have scored so highly with this selection. There’s a lot of good stuff on YouTube, isn’t there! All three of these acts prove that point for me, and I’m grateful to have found them and to have been able to share them so others can enjoy them too.

      And online jigsaws save all that hassle of pieces getting lost 😊

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  13. Clive, love the cover of “Sweet Child of Mine” by First to Eleven. I love the female voice version, but it also shows the talent of Axel Rose to sing as high as he did. Nina Nesbitt is very good as well and is on a short list as one of the most beautiful singers. Thanks, Keith

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    • Their videos are full of creative touches. That guy was Mike Taylor, aka Beard Guy, sadly missed. They used that as a standing joke in many videos – he would just appear out of nowhere. A talented musician, though you wouldn’t know it from this!

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