An Animated Short – WAR IS OVER!

      We are smitten by this video to the point that it overcame our reluctances to post Holiday-related songs or to post videos that have the likelihood of becoming viral (we prefer to leave high-profile songs and videos for high-profile blogs).
 
     WAR IS OVER! was written by Sean Ono Lennon and Dave Mullins. It features John Lennon & Yoko Ono’s iconic anti-war holiday song “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).”  Quoting the YouTube description:
  “Set in an alternate WWI reality where a senseless war rages on, two soldiers on opposite sides of the conflict play a game of chess. A heroic carrier pigeon delivers the soldiers’ chess moves over the battlefield as the fighting escalates. Neither soldier knows his opponent as the game and the war builds to its climatic final move. Whoever wins the game, one thing is for certain: there are no winners in war.”

     For a more complete understanding of the project and its purpose, go to the YouTube site https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W68-XaFepOg

Lyric of “Happy Christmas (War Is Over)
So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
 
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young
 
A very Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
 
And so this is Christmas (War is over)
For weak and for strong (If you want it)
For rich and the poor ones (War is over)
The road is so long (Now)
And so happy Christmas (War is over)
For black and for white (If you want it)
For yellow and red ones (War is over)
Let's stop all the fight (Now)
 
A very Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
 
War is over
If you want it
War is Over
Now
 
Happy Christmas! [Repeating]

“Shadow Stealer” and “Inadistantmemory” by GIFT – Song Features

 

      GIFT garnished their 2025 album “Illuminator” with two new releases and five remixes of the original tracks. The album, “Illuminator (Deluxe),” features “Shadow Stealer” and “Inadistantmemory.” The band explains, “‘Shadow Stealer’ was born out of a jam during soundchecks while we were touring our first album Momentary Presence. It’s been around in various live iterations over the last few years.” 
 
     “Inadistantmemory” is an instrumental track. The musicians are vocalist/guitarist TJ Freda, multi-instrumentalists Jessica Gurewitz and Justin Hrabovsky, drummer Gabe Camarano, and bassist Kallan Campbell, They are a neo-psychedelia/shoegaze band based in New York, but with membership connections to Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Brazil, and Boston.
 
      “Shadow Stealer” by GIFT

Website: https://www.gift-music.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/giftbandnyc
Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/gift_nyc
 
     “Inadistantmemory” by GIFT

“Echo” by Amber Jade Smith – A Song Feature

 

     “Echo” opens in cinematic darkness, its thunderous chest-rattling percussion leaving the first imprint - and rightly so! But the listener quickly learns that the song from Amber Jade Smith offers far more. Her commanding voice cuts through, almost untouched by the force of the percussion. And the many shifts in vocal tempo heighten the impact of the intelligently crafted lyrics, with quicker passages injecting urgency and slower phrasing creating moments of calm. The shifting is particularly effective starting with the verse at 2:55. 
 
    The song is about the pains of a love relationship. Amber Jade Smith explained:
  “’Echo’ is an ambient and emotive reflection on love, fear, and self-awareness. Written in the middle of the night during a period of deep reflection, the song explores unhealthy attachments, the fear of abandonment, and the ache of wanting love to be returned even when it hurts. Through honest vocals and atmospheric soundscapes, I tried to turn vulnerability into beauty and creativity, transforming my desire to be loved into a moment of raw, honest expression. ‘Echo’ was produced by the amazing Josiah Manning, hitting sticks on the studio floor and creating soundscapes with recorders and keys.”
 
     The mention of turning “vulnerability into beauty and creativity” most likely relates to composing “Echo” as a whole, but the turn to beauty also describes the entrance of strings (or synth-generated violins) at 1:10, when the the percussive intensity temporarily exhales. But, much like the shifting vocal tempo, the strings are most affecting near the song’s end, as their gentle beauty offers a striking counterpoint to the percussion’s fierce weight and the echoing anguish in the vocals. 
 
     Amber Jade Smith was born in South Wales and is now based in Plymouth, UK. She has always been highly interested in music, influenced by artists such as Stevie Nicks, Daughter and The xx. 
 
     “Echo” by Amber Jade Smith

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ambersmithofficial/
Streaming sources: https://amberjadesmith.ffm.to/echo

Lyrics of “Echo” by Amber Jade Smith 
I don't wanna fight,
Nothing I ever say seems to come out right,
And even if it did, I have nothing left to give.
 
We ended up hollow, my love was never intended to be borrowed,
I wanted you to take it from me, keep it from me,
Like you needed it to live.
 
Because I needed it like water needs to flow,
Like a river needs somewhere to go,
Reaching for somewhere that I don't feel alone.
Oh my love, it was always yours to keep, you know.
We were never in too deep at all.
All I ever wanted was your echo.
 
Your echo….
Your echo….
 
You were always gonna fly,
But you and me were looking at two different skies,
The sun never shone in mine,
But don't you dare tell me that I didn't try.
 
Because I needed it like water needs to flow,
Like a river needs somewhere to go,
Reaching for somewhere that I don't feel alone.
Oh my love, it was always yours to keep, you know.
Hold on till your knuckles start to glow,
All I ever wanted was your echo.
 
Your echo…..
Your echo….
 
Well I guess that it's naive to wear my heart upon my sleeve
I can't believe that it meant nothing after all.
Maybe I won't ever know what happened to me long ago
I thought that you'd be there to break the fall.
 
Because I needed it like water needs to flow,
Like a river needs somewhere to go,
Reaching for somewhere that I don't feel alone.
Oh my love, it was always yours to keep, you know.
We were never in too deep at all.
All I ever wanted was your echo.
 
Your echo…..
Your echo…..