5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #16

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week is a feature I run on Young Ears, Fresh Perspective on Sundays/early hours of Monday morning where I pick out 5 tunes that I think are notable and tell you a bit about them. The point is to give you some rocking music to help you deal with your weekday blues. You can either listen to one each day, listen to them all at once, or any other combination that you feel. As long as you can get through the week without the man getting you down, that's all I care about. Without further ado, here are the 5 tracks I've picked out for this week:

1. Theme From Star Trek, by 331Erock

As many of you know, Leonard Nimoy who portrayed Mr. Spock on the hit TV show and series of movies Star Trek recently passed away at the age of 83. Having inspired fans of multiple generations, many were impacted by his loss. Many tributes in the past week and a half have been made, but one of the most notable is that of YouTube guitar sensation 331Erock, who made a heavy metal medley of the original TV show theme as well as the one from the movies. Though the volume and intensity has been raised, it still keeps the same kind of wonder, excitement, and heart of the original songs while also adding a bit of a Steve Vai kind of vibe to the interlude.

2. Since You've Been Gone, by PelleK

Speaking of YouTubers doing their own take on classics, I couldn't pass this up. Made famous by Rainbow in 1979 Norwegian metal vocalist PelleK did his own version of the song in 2013 with friends Karl Golden on bass and guitar and Lion on drums. It stays pretty true to the original overall, though there is a lack of keys. However, theses guys more than made up for it with the energy and passion that they put into this fun pop rock tune. Plus, you can definitely tell that PelleK is NOT trying to copy former Rainbow vocalist Graham Bonnet in his performance.

3. Heaven and Hell, by Motion Device

Motion Device which is a band I've mentioned a time or two on this blog before is another band which garnered much of its fame through YouTube. In this video they do their take on Heaven and Hell; Ronnie James Dio's signature song from his time in heavy metal pioneer legend Black Sabbath. Their 12 year old singer Sara (who was a little younger when this video was made) shows her true passion for the work of her idol and for rock and metal music in general. The whole band does an excellent job paying tribute while showcasing their own talents.

4. Friday, by Mike Walter

Remember a few years ago when that Rebecca Black song Friday was all the rage for being so awful it was amazing? Many people did their own take on the song to make it more bearable, but my favorite version has to be an 80's hair metal version done by YouTuber Mike Walter. The lyrical content is still pretty stupid, but it becomes much more melodic and easy to listen to; especially when the rapping section is replaced by a very commendable guitar solo and the vocals are done by someone with the vocal range to properly sing it. Either way, it's a fun version of the song and it translates into poppy hair metal quite well.

5. Eruption, by The Cellonator

Just when you thought Eddie Van Halen's legendary guitar solo Eruption couldn't get any cooler than it already is, The Cellonator comes and blows it out of the water with his electric cello rendition. Although the video is already 8 years old, it is still as astounding as the day it was posted. What Van Halen did with two hands on the fret board, this guy was able to do with only one; making it sound almost exactly alike. It just goes to show you that classical instruments can be used for more than just music for old fuddy duddies.