Stuff In My Ears

New Blog!

2007-09-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

If you're checking this blog to see if I spontaneously decided to start writing again after many, many months, you are eerily prescient. However, I decided to start up a new one for musical writings as well as whatever else I deem worthy of the internet. Check it:

http://superfluism.blogspot.com

Thom Yorke

2006-05-31T13:04:00.000-07:00

Alright, I said I'm on vacation, but I couldn't leave without mentioning that Thom Yorke's new solo album just got leaked! It's available for download here, and probably on about 1,000 other websites around the internet.

I've listened to two songs so far... my verdict? Fantastic.

Travel break

2006-05-31T12:45:00.000-07:00

I'm on vacation! I'll be back in Canada on July 7th, but until then you can check out my travel blog if you feel so compelled:

Bryce's Travels

Later!

Best ever

2006-05-31T12:42:00.000-07:00

Here is my nomination for best band name ever:

Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza

The best part? They are a hardcore metal band.

I been rappin' for about seventeen years, ok?

2006-05-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

First thing:
Ratatat just finished a new album! I was a big fan of their first album, which was like a heavily processed downtempo electronica album recorded with tons of guitars, bass and drums. My one complaint would be that a lot of the songs, while very good, had a tendency to sort of blend together. The exception to this is the opening track, Seventeen Years, which sounds like a bunch of robots (Transformers? possibly...) started a band and just TOTALLY rocked out. If you see me driving down the highway with a really intense look on my face, drumming on my steering wheel like a robot, I am probably listening to Seventeen Years.

Ratatat - Seventeen Years

In any case, I'm very interested to hear what their new album "Classics" is going to sound like. It's due out on August 15th.

Second thing:
I'm going on vacation next week to go wander across eastern Europe for a month, so odds are I won't be updating this site for a while. I'll probably be keeping a travel blog though, and if so, I'll post the link here so you can see pictures of me flashing goofy smiles and double thumbs in front of impressive buildings.

News and Tributes

2006-05-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

The new Futureheads album is out! And by "out", I mean it's been leaked. This is one album I can download with a completely clear conscience, 'cause there ain't no way I'm not buying this one when it's officially released.

This album's a lot less non-stop-ass-kicking-high-tempo-rock-and-roll than their first. Luckily, that is not to say that they've lost any of their creative spark. The catchy 4-part vocal harmonies and spastic guitar lines are still there, just slightly less frantic.

I've listened through the album 3 or 4 times now, and I've found a new favourite song each time. Here's the current contender, "Face".

The Futureheads - Face

Bizzaro-world

2006-05-18T20:05:00.000-07:00

So I just played a show with A Day For Kites, which was fun as usual, with one insane twist. It was a house party, and HAWKSLEY FREAKING WORKMAN was in attendance. Mind you, he didn't stick around for our set, but for a few brief seconds, he totally watched me tune my bass. I'm pretty sure that makes me a big famous rock star by association. Sweet. If only I could've worked up the nerve to strike up a conversation without making some sort of over-excited squealing noise. Alas, next time.

Sigur Ros

2006-05-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

I made the trip up to Toronto on Saturday to check out Sigur Ros and, as expected, had my mind completely blown. I managed to snag a couple of third row seats, which means there were exactly two (2) people between me and an Icelandic musical powerhouse.

Seeing Sigur Ros live is as much a show as it is a concert. The lighting and stage setup is all done to enhance the band's epic, massive sound. Their setlist ran the gamut from incredibly sparse, intimate songs with maybe 5 or 6 notes per minute (including one lit by simulated candlelight flickering in sync with the keyboard), to giant crushing rock-outs that are, as far as I can tell, the musical equivalent of the apocalypse. Sigur Ros has completely mastered the art of atmosphere.

Also, due to our amazing seats, I managed to snap a few good photos while I was there.

New Review, Times Two (For You)

2006-05-12T15:25:00.000-07:00

I made it to two shows this week, and it just so happened they wound up being pretty much polar opposites.

First show: Hawksley Workman at the Sydenham St. United Church on Tuesday, May 9th. First off, what an amazing venue. I'd never been there before, but it is beautiful. It has semicircular seating, a huge balcony, and fantastic architectural detailing overall. Also, the acoustics were perfect for a Hawksley Workman concert. Vocals echoed and hung in the air for seconds after they were sung, and the piano was deep and clear.

His stage setup was much more sparse than the last few times I've seen him, which featured full band arrangements. On Tuesday night, it was just him and Mr. Lonely (his piano/backup vocals accompanist), which fit the venue just fine. The set was phenomenal, drawing about equally on material from his new album "Treeful of Starling" and his more popular live staples from earlier records. Also, his time was split almost equally between singing and post-song audience chatter.

If this were most bands, I'd probably be a bit upset that potential music time was being filled with stage banter (that, let's face it, is rarely insightful or entertaining), but Hawksley Workman is a strong contender for the single most entertaining stage presence I've ever seen. I would have gladly paid the $20 just to hear him talk all night. He told ridiculous stories about soap and bees and old couples and teachers and Sir John A. MacDonald so elaborate and mesmerizing that it was impossible to tell where the truth ended and where his imagination was spicing things up.

The music itself was fantastic too, especially Tarantulove (one of the best live songs ever) and No Sissies (which was the very first Hawksley Workman song I ever heard, way back in grade 11). He also threw in some great 30-second covers of "Blow At High Dough" (to intense Kingstonite approval) and "The Logical Song". All in all, I'd say it was one of the 5 best concerts I've ever seen (and I'm a bit of an addict).

----------------------------
Second show: Drums and Tuba at The Elixir on Thursday, May 11th. The Elixir is no match for the Sydenham St. United Church when it comes to otherworldly atmosphere, but I've done my fair share of grooving there, and I had high hopes for Drums and Tuba. I'd seen them twice before, once in first year and once last year. Their last two shows were excellent, mixing jam-band grooving with tuba-playing novelty, abstract-Johnny-Greenwood-esque guitars and crushing drums.

Last night's show, on the other hand, wasn't all that great. I'm not exactly sure what it was, but it really seemed like they'd lost their creative spark. I could count on one hand the number of times their songs actually acheived any sort of unified groove, and their drummer's newfound penchant for singing tended to be too much of a not-so-great thing. You know, it used to be about the tuba, man...

Ah well, 1 for 2 ain't half bad. Actually, it's exactly half bad, but no worries. I've got Sigur Ros tickets for Saturday that I'm pretty confident will push this week's outings to a respectable 2 for 3.

Just... awesome.

2006-05-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

Go ahead and act like this isn't the happiest song ever. I dare you.

You can't do it. It's too happy.

Junior Senior - Happy Rap

This picture? Totally not a joke. That's actually what the guys in the band look like. Also, this picture is from 2005.

+/-

2006-05-08T13:42:00.000-07:00

I downloaded a song by this band called "+/-" a few months ago, and forgot about it until it popped up on my iTunes today. It's like a more sinister Postal Service, with some guitar and morose vocals. Damn if that chorus wasn't stuck in my head all day.

Oh, you've got a surprise waiting for you.

Plus minus - Surprise!

Side note: I hate non-word band and album names. Examples: "+/-", "!!!", "()"etc. Seriously. Any band that does that should be forced to name their first kid "

Greatest Request Ever

2006-05-06T22:41:00.000-07:00

I was DJing a party tonight for graduating and incoming MBA students, which was hilarious in and of itself (picture awkward 30-somethings in novelty hats), but the variety of requests I got made the night even more interesting. Here's a sample:

-Deep house
-Underground hip-hop
-Mainstream hip-hop
-"Good 'ol rock and roll"
-Merengue
-"good beats"

Also, one guy came up and requested that I play "all the latest hits", which might be the most awesome request I've ever heard. At least until someone requests "the best of the 80's, 90's and today".

Live Music Round-up!

2006-05-04T20:44:00.000-07:00

The Futureheads have been one of my most-listened-to bands lately (I still can't stop listening to Skip to the End), and they are going on tour! Not only that, but they're touring to Canada while I happen to ALSO be in Canada (not like those jerks in Radiohead).

They'll be playing the Phoenix in Toronto on July 26th. The opening act is Tapes 'n Tapes, who are also amazing. Sweeeeeeeet.

As for local shows coming up, Hawksley Workman's in Kingston next week on May 9th, Drums and Tuba are in town on the 11th, and Sigur Ros is in Toronto on the 13th, but that show's sold out. Unless you have tickets like me. Suckers. Jimmy Swift is playing here in Kingston on May 25th, and for those of you still around in Kingston next month, Danny Michel is playing The Elixir on June 22nd. I love the summer concert season.

I have too much free time

2006-05-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

I started another blog today, to go along with my summer mission: eat at every restaurant in downtown Kingston. It's called the The Ghetto Gourmet, since I love alliteration. Also, because my house looks like it was built by a few drunks and a nailgun, but that's another story altogether.

So: Stuff in my Ears for music, Ghetto Gourmet for food. Maybe someday I'll start a blog about nasal issues and combine all three into an Ear-Nose-and-Throat blog.

Maybe not.

You might call it "Synergy"

2006-05-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

It's well established by now that I'm a huge music geek, so when I say that I constantly expend huge amounts of energy finding the perfect song for a given situation, much like a child with ADD might search for the shiniest object in their vicinity, no one should be very surprised.

With that in mind, I recommend that you grab a cold drink (perhaps a mint julep?), some sunglasses, and a comfortable chair, and go enjoy the sunshine with the accompaniment of the following song (yep, I'm on a Jolie Holland kick this week). It's like finding the shiniest thing in the playground, and then finding out that it's filled with sugar.

Jolie Holland - Sascha

Spring

2006-04-29T22:11:00.000-07:00

In honour of impending 20 degree weather, here's a song about spring by Jolie Holland. She's like a jazzy, folky, mellower version of Fiona Apple mixed with some Be Good Tanyas (probably because she was in that band for a while, too).

Nay, this isn't a song about spring, this song is spring time, condensed and encapsulated in song form.

Jolie Holland - Springtime Can Kill You

Beirut

2006-04-28T00:02:00.000-07:00

So there's this band called Beirut. There's also a city called Beirut in Lebanon, but this post is about the band.

Beirut made an album called The Gulag Orkestar. As you might infer from the internationality of the band and album names, it's a bit eclectic in its influences (despite the fact that it's actually just one kid from the states). There are about a billion instruments on the album, but no guitar. There is ukulele, though. It's sort of like a music pie made with equal parts Magnetic Fields, Neutral Milk Hotel, Rufus Wainwright, and gypsy folk music. It is a strange and delicious pie.

Give it a listen if it sounds like something you might like. If you do, there are 2 free mp3's on the official website linked above, and a few more floating around the internet looking for a home.

Beirut - Postcards from Italy

Auto-Speed

2006-04-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

I just drove from Cornwall to Kingston, and along the way I decided that I have figured out the single worst idea in automotive accessory design. Automatic volume compensation.

I'm not used to it, but apparently this feature is becoming commonplace in new cars. Basically, the car recognizes that as you go faster, the engine gets louder, thus drowning out your music. In an effort to combat this auditory nightmare, they have designed stereos which automatically turn up your music as you speed up, which is a good idea except for one major problem: they do a terrible job of judging just *how much* your stereo needs to be turned up.

Today, I was driving an Oldsmobile Alero. I'm pretty sure that the engineers at Oldsmobile, rather than measuring the actual volume in an Alero at highway speeds, just assumed that the noise level would be roughly that of a few chainsaws cutting apart a jet engine. As such, the volume increases WAY MORE than the engine noise. Now, of course you can always compensate for this effect with the volume knob, but let me outline the biggest problem I have had with this feature... Speeding encouragement.

Picture this: you're driving along at a safe, conservative 110 km/h, but you have to pass a semi-truck moving just a wee bit slower than you. So you pull into the passing lane and accelerate a little. Your stereo sees this, and it is playing "RPM" by Sugar Ray. It turns it up a little. You get a bit more into the driving, and speed up a little more. Your stereo responds, taunting you. Prodding you. "Come on," it says. "You can do better than that, pansy." So you lean into the gas pedal to show that wise-ass stereo who's boss. The next thing you know, you've got intense rock music blasting out of your speakers, you're drumming along on the steering wheel and belting out the lyrics, and your relatively conservative Oldsmobile Alero is HURTLING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT 160 km/h.

Or does this only ever happen to me?

Sugar Ray - RPM

Goodbye, 4 years of uninterrupted hedonism

2006-04-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

As of tomorrow at high noon I will be officially and completely done my undergrad degree. In honour of this monumental occasion, here is a song with some lyrics about the end of a party.

Shifty - Innocent Girl

"It's sinking in, 'cause you know someday the party has to end."

Tomate Potate/WSATS

2006-04-23T00:11:00.000-07:00

Tonight marked the end of yet another two landmark bands in the Queen's/Kingston music scene. Farewell, Whiskey Steve and the Steves/Tomate Potate.

In all seriousness, Tomate Potate was totally my pick for the next band at Queen's to find a niche and make it big. Basically, they write incredibly catchy melodies, and then bury them under a mountain of bass-and-drum weirdness. I love it.

"Said the master to disciple/
we could use some better rifles/
and we're cutting out some eyeholes/
in what used to be my shirt"

Tomate Potate - Rock Bottom

P.S. Dear Tomate Potate: I am sorry for stealing your music and posting it online. It's too good not to share.

New Futureheads!!!

2006-04-19T22:44:00.000-07:00

I just found the first leaked track from next month's new Futureheads release.

Maaaaaaaaaan, is it good. I am in love with this song so hard.

The Futureheads - Skip to the End

Islands

2006-04-12T22:54:00.000-07:00

I've been in a bit of a new music drought over the past few weeks, which might be a function of a non-stop string of farewell parties in which I have spent most of my time saying goodbye to both my career as an undergraduate engineering student, as well as some of my liver. In any case, it seems like this week good music has been jumping onto my hard drive... uh, by which I mean jumping onto my legitimately-purchased CD shelf.

Seriously though, it's some Bert-and-Ernie-fishing type stuff... I just sit here and yell "Here, music music" and the tunes just jump on in the boat. Don't even try to act like you don't know what I'm talking about.

One of my new discoveries is "Return to the Sea" by Islands (who used to be The Unicorns). It's a fairly varied album, but on the whole it's an offbeat indie pop record with lots of damn catchy songs. There are also some more eccentric tracks present, including some guest vocals by Busdriver (superfast rapper extraordinaire). I haven't been able to stop whistling the melody from "Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby" all week, so I present it here in the hopes that it'll get lodged in someone else's brain and let me get some work done.

Islands - Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby

Wolfe. Freaking. Island.

2006-04-07T23:33:00.000-07:00

So I just got what might be the best music-related news of my life:

Fat Robot is playing the Wolfe Island Music Festival on August 12, 2006.

Why is this so awesome? Well, check out this ridiculously insane lineup:

-The Constantines
-Jon-Rae and the River
-Wintersleep
-Great Lake Swimmers
-Holy Fuck
-us

We are sharing the bill with the freaking Constantines, along with some more of the most interesting bands in Canada right now. I have no idea how this could have transpired, but you will not hear any complaints from me.

I am in CANADIAN INDIE ROCK BAND NIRVANA.

Details.

New Music Season!

2006-04-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

It looks like the next few months are going to be jam-packed with potentially awesome new music releases. Here's a rundown of a few of the albums I'm looking forward to in the near future (mostly just to help me keep track of them).

The Flaming Lips - "At War with the Mystics" - April 4

Built to Spill - "You in Reverse" - April 11

Tool - "10,000 Days" - May 2

The Futureheads - "News and Tributes" - May 29

Boards of Canada - "Trans-Canada Highway EP" - June 6

Also, as-yet-unannounced release dates have been speculated for new albums by Radiohead (!!!), TV on the Radio, The Arcade Fire, Incubus, LCD Soundsystem and The Shins, all before the end of the year!

On a side note, thanks to everyone who came out to the Grad Club last night and rocked it to the ground. Our broken kick drum stands as a testament to the pure rock power collectively generated. Also, if you missed out on what is apparently becoming our traditional post-show bonfire, make sure you show up next time, it was crazy awesome (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Bonfire. Not pictured: sparklers, s'mores, inevitable police intervention.

The Radical Dudez/Pat Benatar

2006-03-30T16:30:00.000-08:00

The Kingston music scene is about to lose one of its best bands next week. The Radical Dudez have sadly fallen prey to the unavoidable university-band-killing disease of growing up. If, by some odd chance, you live in Kingston but have yet to see the Dudez live, their Kingston finale show next Wednesday, April 5th at Clark just might be your last chance ever to catch their awesome-good-times-party-rock live.

Also, April 5th is my birthday!

Also, Fat Robot is opening!

Also, I'm going to be playing a few covers with the Dudez, one of which just happens to be one of the most rocking 80's songs ever. You guessed it...

Pat Benatar - Love is a Battlefield

April Fools

2006-03-28T21:03:00.000-08:00

Fat Robot's playing a show at the Grad Club this Saturday, April 1st. And no, this is not some sort of April Fool's prank publicized in advance.

In fact, I may be so bold as to suggest that if you are not in attendance, it is YOU who is the fool.

Coming to our shows automatically makes you friends with everyone in the band, and who couldn't use a few more friends?

Mostly, though, this post is just an excuse for me to use this sweet picture.

The Most Serene Republic

2006-03-27T23:47:00.000-08:00

Tonight, we (Fat Robot, that is) had the opportunity to open for The Most Serene Republic, a pretty rocking indie band on Arts & Crafts records (of Broken Social Scene fame). The crowd was decent, but not overly huge. Some people seemed like they were really into it, but in my opinion, Alfie's is one of the most awkward venues in Kingston for live music. It's like playing a concert in the middle of a really oblong cave. Bizarre.

Anyways, aside from the acoustic issues, and a sound guy who apparently wanted to make the show so loud that it almost peeled my ears off, I really got into the show. The lead singer had an intense stage presence that was a mix of extravagant arm gestures, trombone flailing, and crazy eyes. While not singing, he would give these wary, shifty-eyed glances towards the microphone like he wasn't sure if it was going to sit there ready to receive and transmit sound waves, or coil up and launch itself at him with venomous fangs. The rest of the band (a total of 6 members) got right into it too, which made the stage a big energetic mass of people.

I was really impressed with the vocal harmonies provided by the band's one female member (Emma Ditchburn, according to their website). She has got some serious vocal chops. Though, once again, the deafening roar coming out of the PA system meant it was pretty hard to hear her vocals.

The band is currently selling a tour-only EP, "Phages", at all of their live shows. I picked one up, and have been very impressed. It's kind of similar to their debut album "Underwater Cinematographer", but more cohesive, and consistently fantastic. Of course, it's a tour-only EP, which means if you don't already own one or have tickets to go see them soon, you might be out of luck. However, if you're in Kingston, and you ask real nice, I just might lend it to you.

Mr. What What?

2006-03-22T00:38:00.000-08:00

Mr. Something Something is coming to Kingston this weekend, Saturday the 25th at the Grad Club! I'm very pumped. Given the lack of Grand Theft Bus shows these days, Mr. Something Something is a serious contender for my new favourite "heavy grooves, funky jams and goofy dancing crowds" live band. Their shows are jam-packed with energy and good times.

Check out some tune samples here if you're not yet familiar with their particular brand of African-influenced dance funk.

Seriously, these guys rock the gourd rattles that rock the party.

Nickelback

2006-03-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

This is hilarious.

Devil's Eyes

2006-03-14T21:04:00.000-08:00

Buck 65 is an east coast rapper (that's Halifax east coast, not NYC or Philadelphia east coast) who writes odd, rap-but-almost-spoken-word songs that come across as stream-of-consciousness rants over top of eclectic old school hip hop beats. I'd heard some of his early stuff, and thought it was kind of neat, but nothing particularly mindblowing. Then he went out and recorded a new album called "Secret House Against The World" last year with even crazier, more eclectic music, and some actual singing instead of rhythmic-ish talking. And it is goooooood. The album's really varied, so it'd be hard to pick a representative song, but this one, "Devil's Eyes", just blows my mind. Apparently this song's a cover of a song by mid 90's east coast band Rick of the Skins, but despite about half an hour of intense searching, I couldn't find a copy of the original. Damn music-related OCD. In any case, here's the (awesome) Buck 65 version.

Buck 65 - Devil's Eyes

Radiohead/Vanilla Ice

2006-03-12T14:17:00.000-08:00

Some things are so strange they simply defy explanation... this Ice Ice Baby/Idioteque mash-up might be one of them.

Radiohead & Vanilla Ice - Vanilla Idiot

The Best Idea Ever

2006-03-07T21:43:00.000-08:00

I'm starting a new band. We will cover 1980's TV theme songs using afro-cuban percussion instruments.

We will be called B.A. Maracas.

More TV on the Radio

2006-03-02T22:49:00.000-08:00

Man, I cannot get enough of this leaked TV on the Radio album. Every time I find a new song, it's twice as awesome as the preceding song. At this rate, the last song on the album will be, uh... exponent... times 2, divided by... pi... It'll be good.

Here's another track, but be warned... don't download it unless you are willing to accept the inevitable consequence: rocking right out.

TV on the Radio - Playhouses

TV on the Radio

2006-03-01T13:52:00.000-08:00

I've been lazy. I'm sorry. School and vacations have got in the way of posting stuff here, but I promise I will make it up to you, as long as you like TV on the Radio, because that's what this post is about.

TVOTR have been working on a new album for a while, and apparently they've finally finished it, since it got leaked to the internet a few days ago. I've only heard a few tracks so far, but what I have heard has been FANTASTIC. Their first album "Desperate Youths, Bloodthirsty Babes" was a good album with some really great songs. This album so far sounds like they've taken the best moments from their first effort and built on them to produce an entire album of soulful, crazy indie music. I don't even know what to call it in terms of genre, but it's damn good.

Check it:

TV on the Radio - Tonight

Grand Insights!

2006-02-26T11:42:00.000-08:00

Fat Robot

2006-02-12T13:38:00.000-08:00

Once again, I'm using this space to shamelessly plug my band.

Did I mention we have a web site? We do! http://www.fatrobot.ca

Also, we're playing 2 shows of note in the next few weeks.

#1: Tomorrow (Monday) at Clark Hall Pub, we'll be playing the Queen's Entertainment Agency's Battle of the Bands finals, along with The Intangibles, Mass of Distraction and The Laginsky Reunion. Cover is $5. We go on at 11:30, but it might be a busy night, so you may want to show up early. Showing up early also increases your bands-to-cover-charge ratio. It just makes financial sense.

#2: We're opening for The Diableros at the Grad Club on March 3rd! The Diableros are a rock band out of Toronto that play fuzzy, indie alternative pop music, a wee bit like Wolf Parade and/or The Arcade Fire. You can listen to their whole album on their website, which I recommend doing. Especially "Sugar Laced Soul".

Constantines/Jon-Rae and the River

2006-02-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

The Constantines played two shows here in Kingston this weekend, and I went to both. I had fairly high expectations, but the Constantines met and exceeded them with two fantastic sets. They've got some seriously intense stage presence which, coupled with the Grad Club's uh, cozy proportions, made for some hot, sweaty rocking.

Both shows were opened by Jon-Rae and the River, who I'd never heard of before Thursday night. It's tough for opening bands to get people to forget their impatience to hear the opening band and get an enthusiastic reaction, but this one definitely did. Which is all the more impressive given that they are about as straight-up country as you can get. I'm not usually very appreciative of country, but when it's done right, it is some powerful, heart-breakin', boot stompin' music. It helps that their sound is more rough-wild-west-saloon than top-40-pop-with-slide-guitars.

They also had an overwhelming presence on stage. The lead singer gave the impression that he had indeed been through every bit of suffering and hardship that he was singing about, and needed to scream about them at the top of his lungs.

All in all, I was blown away. I'll definitely be checking them out the next time they roll through town, and if you're a fan of Cuff the Duke-style countrified indie rock, I'd recommend them. I bought their CD (mysteriously cheap at $10 considering its awesomeness), and this song's one of my favourites. I've got a soft spot for ballads and sad tales of woe.

Jon-Rae and the River - Young Man Meets Old Death

Bell Orchestre

2006-02-03T18:04:00.000-08:00

Handclaps and trombone and stabs of violin!

Bell Orchestre is, as the name would imply, a densely instrumented band with orchestral leanings, but they've got some pretty solid indie rock sensibilities too. I just got their album "Recording a Tape the Colour of Light", and I'm really digging it. It's all instrumental, and some of the songs take a few minutes to really get going, but it's really interesting music, and about as rocking as 9 minute long songs with french horns and trumpet and drums and violin and bass guitar and xylophone can be.

Bell Orchestre - Throw it on a Fire

Bonnaroo

2006-02-01T09:15:00.000-08:00

Noooooooooooooo!!!!!!

I knew I wouldn't be able to make Bonnaroo this year, so I was really hoping for a mediocre lineup that I wouldn't mind missing in the least. They finally announced the lineup today, and freaking RADIOHEAD is headlining. RADIOHEAD. Thanks for nothing, Bonnaroo.

Also, here's a sampling of SOME of the other bands: Tom Petty, Beck, Elvis Costello, moe., Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes, Ben Folds, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, G. Love and Special Sauce, Medeski Martin and Wood, Blues Traveller, Gomez, Steve Earle (Copperhead Road is one badass tune), Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Soulive, Rusted Root, Mike Doughty, Dungen, and Seu Jorge.

Damn you, Bonnaroo. Damn you.

Official Bonnaroo Website

Harmonica, tiny mouth harp of the Gods

2006-01-31T21:04:00.000-08:00

I bought my first harmonica this past weekend, and I'm determined to get good enough at it to bust out crazy blues solos and/or lonely cowboy songs.

Basically, I am trying to emulate this guy.

John Popper, the guy from Blues Traveller, is like the Yo Yo Ma of harmonica. Seriously, check out the solo at 2:41 into "Hook" and tell me that's not some crazy mouth-harpin'.

Blues Traveller - Hook

New Streets Album!

2006-01-31T09:19:00.000-08:00

The Streets (a.k.a. Mike Skinner, the whitest, Britishest rapper around) are releasing a new album, "The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living" on April 25!

Details here: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/06-01/31.shtml

Early in the mornin', rughfastumblaranaaaa

2006-01-27T08:47:00.000-08:00

I was organizing my music today and came across a track I haven't listened to in years: "Guerilla" by a band called The Terrorists. Which, incidentally, is a name that I don't think very many record labels would be eager to back these days. It's a good thing they never went on tour with synth-pop duo I Am The World Trade Center.

This amazing gem of a song is dub reggae at its best: groove-heavy, upbeat, and completely indecipherable. I'm pretty sure no more than 50% of the lyrics are actual words. This was pretty much the anthem of my first year of university, and I heartily recommend it as crazy party music, as long as the partiers don't mind gruff mumbling in place of real vocals.

Terrorists - Guerilla

Mountain Goats

2006-01-22T20:41:00.000-08:00

I was watching some more Weeds tonight, and one of the songs really caught my ear. It's called "Cotton" by a band called Mountain Goats.

I hadn't heard of the Mountain Goats before tonight, but I really dig this song, so I'm in the process of downloading some of their extensive back catalog. Looks like they're very prolific. The sound is sort of like The Weakterthans, but a little rougher around the edges, and more low key. They share the same articulate lyrics and nasal-ish vocals

Anyways, if you're into The Weakerthans, or well-spoken acoustic music, check it out.

The Mountain Goats - Cotton

Side note: Well-spoken they may be, but their animal identification skills need work. See Fig. 1.

Fig. 1: Cows, not goats.

The Hold Steady

2006-01-19T23:42:00.000-08:00

I just picked up a copy of "Separation Sunday" by The Hold Steady, and it's some very solid rock and roll. It's not very complicated or exotic, but it's got some simple rock charm about it. Also, there's not much "singing", per se, but the lead vocalist does have a very intense talking voice which occasionally says things in key. Good lyrics, too.

I'd recommend "The Cattle and The Creeping Things", which I've made available through the magic of WEB (follow the link, click download).

The Hold Steady - The Cattle and The Creeping Things

More Pherotones

2006-01-18T12:38:00.000-08:00

If, like me, you are thrilled and excited by the advanced science of Pherotones and their powerful cacophonous micromelodies, you may be interested in the blog of pherotones discoverer Dr. Myra Vanderhood.

Keep in mind that pherotones are TOO HOT FOR MAINSTREAM SCIENCE. Proceed with caution if you are an established scientist with a cushy university job who is afraid to offend the sensibilities of your uptight colleagues.

Discovering Pherotones

Pherotones - Too Hot for Mainstream Science!

2006-01-18T12:08:00.000-08:00

This is possibly the funniest thing I have ever seen.

PHEROTONES!!!

That's right, ringtones that contain secret subsonic signatures designed to attract the opposite sex.

This website is way too good to be for real, but something tells me it's actually a serious business venture. Here are my favourite excerpts:

***
Q: Are Pherotones dangerous?
A: Yes, absolutely. Unleashing pent-up sexual attraction is a risky business. You never quite know where it’s going to lead. The only danger is that you might not be able to keep up with the ravenous desires of your new partner.
***

***
Description of the "My Lil' Pony" Ringtone for Women:
Everyone needs a very special friend, a playmate to take them for a ride on a rainbow to the outer limits of their imagination. This Pherotone is specially calibrated with cacophonite micromelodies to stimulate interest from the only man in the room who makes you feel young again.
***

...you heard right... CACOPHONOUS MICROMELODIES!

***
And finally, the piece de resistance, the "Wizard's Sleeve" Ringtone for Men:
Just because you are a fourth-level cleric-warrior-elf with a bag of gold, four soul daggers, and a magic fire emerald doesn’t mean you can’t also be lucky with the ladies. This Pherotone is more powerful than a 25-year-old Dungeon Master. So drop that book, turn in your 20-sided die, untuck your t-shirt and start casting your own spells for a change.
***

Amazing. Oh, there are also Pherotone samples on the page, but try not to play them too loudly lest you unleash the secret animal desires of those around you.

Pieces of Africa

2006-01-18T01:19:00.000-08:00

I like weird music. That's just a disclaimer in case you may not be into string quartet interpretations of traditional African music. Because that's what this post is about.

I love rocking out to guitar-and-drum-based music, a lot, but I also love music that is so free of convention that it forces you to really pay attention and listen to what is going on. Pieces of Africa is just such an album. It's by a group called The Kronos Quartet (a string quartet) whose mandate is to stretch the boundaries of the conventional western art music string quartet.

It's an album full of rhythms and melodies that are at the same time fresh and interesting, and also primal and familiar. I guess I'm biased since I've got a huge African music obsession, but to me, traditional African music sounds like the soundtrack to the birth of civilization. Pure, joyful, creative. It's the polar opposite of cynical, ironic modern rock.

Also, I've decided to move from limited, text-only music blogging to an mp3 blog format wherein I post direct links to songs I talk about. After all, music itself will usually do a much better job of explaining itself than I can.

In that spirit, check out the following track off of Pieces of Africa.

Kronos Quartet - Saade (Happy).mp3

You in Reverse

2006-01-16T15:53:00.000-08:00

Built to Spill has been working on a new album for well over a year now, which was originally supposed to be released last fall. Today they finally announced that the new album, "You in Reverse", will be released on April 11th. Better late than never!

Now if only Radiohead would get off their asses and finish their new album.

The Constantines

2006-01-12T09:40:00.000-08:00

The Constantines' new album, "Tournament of Hearts" is not quite as overwhelmingly rocking as their previous album "Shine a Light", but both albums are great in their own right. "Soon Enough" off of Tournament has been getting a lot of play on my iPod lately. Seeing as how I only have 3 more months of guaranteed student lifestyle, it's an eerily prescient song.

According to The Grad Club, The Constantines are going to be playing TWO back to back shows here in Kingston on February 2nd and 3rd.

I've only seen them live once before, but it was intense. Their show came across as a sweaty, driven, flailing party and rock machine stuffed with punk rock energy and just a wee bit of hard working blue collar sensibility.

If you're in town, GO TO THESE SHOWS.

This post brought to you by the letter "K"

2006-01-06T22:37:00.000-08:00

I made my way back to Kingston, armload of new music in town (thanks for the suggestions). I'm digging the Great Lake Swimmers right now, very sparse and mellow. Also, they're playing here in Kingston this Thursday at the Elixir, if you're so inclined.

Also, I rediscovered a bunch of records (of the vinyl variety) that I bought when I was in New York City a year ago, including a few by a really, really good band called Karate, that I had completely forgotten about.

They're very mellow, but not in a put-you-to-sleep sense. It's laid back with a bit of funkiness, the occasional rock-out, and a whole lot of jazz flavour (a la Grand Theft Bus). They were around for about 10 years or so, and put out a half-dozen full length records (my favourites right now are "Unsolved" and "Some Boots") before they broke up a few months ago.

Specifically, check out the tracks "Airport" and "Sever" for laid back jazzy funk-rock, and "The Roots and Ruins" and "The Halo of the Strange". The Roots and Ruins in particular sounds very early Grand Theft Bus-ish.

While I'm on the subject of things that start with K, why is Kanye West so good? Grab a copy of "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" and I defy you to disagree.

The Numbers Lie!

2005-12-31T00:19:00.000-08:00

Cornwall's starting to get a little dull, so I decided to download a bunch of new music based on the most popular torrents at Torrent Spy that I hadn't heard yet. The most popular torrent in their "Rock - Indie" category is an EP by a band called Kind Robot. I let their obvious name-stealing ripoff of Fat Robot slide and downloaded the EP.

It's terrible.

I don't understand how hundreds of people could have spontaneously decided to download and share this album in numbers usually reserved for huge acts (at last check, there were something like 240 seeds and 800 downloaders). It's strange, electronic vocal-centric music, like a really misguided attempt at ripping off TV on the Radio, but without talent. I listened to the entire EP on the off chance that there might be some tiny gem of interestingness buried in the rough... no dice.

I guess the moral of this post is that I need new music. Any suggestions?

2005 in Review, wrapped up

2005-12-28T13:40:00.000-08:00

The last installment of my favourite albums of 2005.

"The Edge" by Mr. Something Something - Fantastically funky afrobeat from, in my humble opinion, the best afrobeat outfit in the world right now. Sorry Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra. You guys are good too, but nothing beats the sweaty, protest-while-partying vibe of Mr. Something Something.

"Takk" by Sigur Ros - I'll admit, at first I was a bit disappointed that this album wasn't all 10 minute ambient jams that sound like angels underwater. It's got a lot more concise songwriting than any previous Sigur Ros work, but after a few listens this album really caught on with me. They're still extremely talented melody writers, and it turns out you can make a totally rocking song even if the vocals sound like cherubs.

"Ghost Reveries" by Opeth - Granted, melodic Scandinavian death metal may not be for everyone, but this album has got some FANTASTIC guitar work, and you do eventually get used to the rabid-bear vocals. This is some of Opeth's best work, in my opinion. It's got the same vaguely middle eastern, medieval tinge to it (underneath the CRUSHING GROOVES, that is), of which I'm a big fan. I have no doubt that the band practices on fine Persian rugs of some sort.

"You Could Have It So Much Better" by Franz Ferdinand - This album is missing a bit of the rawness and originality of their first album, but it still produces a satisfyingly rocking listen. Also, these guys put on a hell of a show.

Now, all of the albums I've mentioned so far were unranked, because ranking all my favourite albums of the year would be hard, and of dubious value. And by dubious, I mean it would serve absolutely no purpose at all. But I definitely have a #1 favourite album of the year.

"Illinois" by Sufjan Stevens - Damn, can this guy write songs. Perfectly crafted and arranged "pop" music, though I use the term pop with hesitation, and only because these songs are so catchy. These songs be deep, yo.

2005 in Review, Part 2

2005-12-20T21:29:00.000-08:00

Looks like I took a bit of an extended break, what with exams and all, but here are some more albums I really liked this year.

"Apologies to the Queen Mary" by Wolf Parade - A bit Modest Mouse-y, but not so much as to be derivative. The good songs on this album (which is most of them) are really, really good, but the not-so-good ones are pretty boring. Really, there's only one song on the album I don't like. The why-did-they-make-the-most-boring-song-on-the-album-the-longest-song "Dinner Bells". However, the intensely earnest "I'll Believe In Anything" covers up for it with a shaky wall of urgent vocals and pure greatness.

"Guero" by Beck - I thought this album was a great return to "Odelay" form for Beck. Not quite as fresh and original as Odelay, this album is still packed with quality tunes.

"The Campfire Headphase" by Boards of Canada - Another consistent album of scratchy, glitchy layered techno from Boards of Canada. Sounds like they recorded a techno album with 70's synths, re-sampled it in 2005, then travelled back in time to the 1940's and melted it in a bowl with old wax recordings of analog instruments.

"Late Registration" by Kanye West - This album is on here entirely because of Golddigger. I haven't even listened to the rest of the album yet, but word on the street is that it's good.

"Extraordinary Machine" by Fiona Apple - I'm referring to the original, Jon Brion-produced version here. It was full of dark strings and monstrously fat piano chords, all quirky instruments and earnest vocals. The official release takes the sprawling original and cuts and squeezes it until it fits in a much more boring mold. Boo.

Pump Up the Jamz

2005-12-15T20:40:00.000-08:00

I've got some pretty well-defined exam habits that I've been locked into since first year. I always bring two backup writing utensils to exams, since I apparently have very little faith in the mechanical pencil industry. I always eat peanut butter the night before an exam (protein is good for the memory, according to science).

Most importantly, I always listen to the same songs immediately before an exam. I like to go into exams with a "ready to kick some ass" mentality, and these songs do a pretty good job of getting me into that mindset.

Here it is, my three song Pre-Exam Pump-Up Playlist (in this order, always):

#1)"The Power Is On" - The Go! Team
#2)"Down Rodeo" - Rage Against The Machine
#3)"Bring The Pain" - Mindless Self Indulgence

Mogwai Fear Leaks

2005-12-13T17:17:00.000-08:00

Huge-fuzz-noise-rock band Mogwai finished recording a new album, Mr. Beast, due out in March, and as is pretty much inevitable, it leaked to the internet. If you are clever and resourceful (read: know how to use Google), you can probably find it.

It is huge-fuzz-noise-tacular!

2005 in Review

2005-12-09T22:30:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems like the year end"best of" list is a mandatory requirement of music writing, so here's mine. I'm going to post a bunch of my favourite albums of the year in groups of 5 (no particular order), and then my top 10 favourite songs of the year. Mostly it's just an excuse to go back through my music and listen to the songs I've heinously overplayed this year without feeling bad about further overplaying them.

And now, 5 of my favourite albums of 2005:

"LCD Soundsystem" by LCD Soundsystem - Spastic, synthy dance with a strong fuzzy punk vibe. Also, lots and lots of cowbells. "Daft Punk is playing at my house... My House."

"Mezmerize/Hypnotize" by System of a Down - Two solid albums of very catchy, well-written alternative metal. There's some much poppier stuff on here (if the term "poppy" can ever be applied to ethnic-Armenian -inged metal), but they still know how to lay down a heavy groove.

"The Futureheads" by The Futureheads - I'm cheating, since this was released in 2004, but I only heard of them this year and I listened to it so much I feel it deserves a mention. (Four-part vocal harmonies) + (frantically energetic songs that feel like they pack 10 minutes' worth of ideas into 2 minutes) = a very high alone-in-car-singing-along-as-loud-as-possible-and-drumming-on-steering-wheel-like-a-robot factor.

"Gimme Fiction" by Spoon - Spoon's latest album is nothing revolutionary in terms of genre-defying music or anything, it's just a really, really well crafted album of indie rock. Great background music for pretty much anything.

"The Mysterious Production of Eggs" by Andrew Bird - I was a bit underwhelmed with this album initially. Andrew Bird's previous stuff (with his band, the Bowl of Fire) was smoky, sinister swing music, the kind of thing you'd hear in a prohibition-era speakeasy at 3AM. I was expecting more over-the-top theatrics from this album, but it turned out to be straight-up singer-songwritery stuff. After a few more listens though, this album revealed a lot more depth than I caught on my first time through. And damn, can he ever whistle.

Kreucht & Fleucht

2005-12-07T19:57:00.000-08:00

I just picked up Kreucht & Fleucht, which is essentially a mix tape by German techno guy Dominik Eulberg. I don't usually go for straight-up techno, I have a hard time getting by the stereotypical boom-tssh-boom-tssh drum machine beats, but this album's got me grooving about as hard as I can, sitting here at my desk editing a technical paper on interfacial bond performance.

The album consists of 2 CDs, "Kreucht" and "Fleucht". "Kreucht" is a little darker and minimalist, and "Fleucht" is a bit more in-your-face, but both are mixed insanely well. Since I put the album on, the only way I've been able to tell that the song has changed is by checking the track progress. Considering the fact that every track was written by someone different, that says incredible things about Dominik Eulberg's skills as a mixer.

It's the kind of techno that makes me wish I was a hacker back in the early 1990's, when you could say things like "hack the mainframe" and "cyberspace" without sounding completely ridiculous. I could sit at my computer at 3am with my nose ring, flannel shirt and spiky hair, hacking away at secret government servers, drinking Buzz Cola and totally damning the man.

Instead, about the closest I can get is turning off my lights, drinking a big Starbucks coffee, and trying to hack Microsoft Word to display my damn page numbers correctly.

Damn the man.

Appropriate Celebration

2005-12-07T11:20:00.000-08:00

It's Tom Waits' birthday today!

To celebrate, I'm going to start hanging out with a motley crew of shady characters, each more disreputable than the last, until I wind up in trouble with the law and spend the rest of my days living a drifter's life filled with whiskey and cigarettes, the only things I could ever truly love...

...or, you know, maybe I'll just send him a card.

Beck

2005-12-05T07:50:00.000-08:00

If you liked Guero as much as I did, it might be worth your while to go check out Beck's website. In the Discobox section, he's got 4 new unreleased tracks available for listening. You can't download them, which kind of irks me, but I guess I shouldn't be complaining about extra free music.

The songs themselves are pretty good... well, except for "Premonition". That song is just downright messed up. Overall, I'd say the tracks aren't quite as interesting as the stuff on Guero, but then I guess that's why these ones didn't make the album.

The Books

2005-12-04T14:32:00.000-08:00

I've actually been too busy to listen to new music this week, which is very depressing.

I did manage to grab one new album, The Books' "Lost and Safe". Luckily, what this week lacked in new music quantity, it made up for in new music quality.

The Books are a mostly-electronic band whose previous albums were very densely layered collages of found sounds, samples, blips and noises and stuff. Their new album takes that foundation and uses it to write actual songs, with more prevalent structure, melody, rhythm and extremely articulate lyrics. I really like the result. It's a bit Postal Service-y, but way less shiny and poppy, and more eccentric.

Some good tracks:

"An Animated Description of Mr. Maps" - Partway through this song there's a vocal sample of some guy from an early-20th-century era audio recording describing someone (presumably, Mr. Maps). Then it's got layers of percussion synched up with the rhythm of the guy's speech, and it sounds very, very cool.

"Smells Like Content" - This song is relaxation incarnate.

"If Not Now, Whenever" - Awesome tempo change around 1:47.

One more note: the whole album sounds way cooler in headphones. They clearly paid a lot of attention to the stereo mixing.

Jens Lekman

2005-11-29T12:44:00.000-08:00

I just picked up a few tracks by Swedish singer-songwriter Jens Lekman on the recommendation of Pitchfork and they're not too shabby at all.

The songs themselves aren't actually Swedish. On the contrary, Jens Lekman writes some fairly interesting lyrics for us English-speakers. He's also got a pretty distinctive voice (with the exception of the guy from The Magnetic Fields, who sounds exactly like him). His songwriting style is sort of melancholy, big and orchestral-ish at times, with boomy Phil Spector-ish drum production. It's the kind of music that would fit very well in a Wes Anderson film.

Check out "Pocketful of Money", "Black Cab" and "I Saw Her At The Anti-War Demonstration" if you're interested.

The Ice Storm

2005-11-27T19:31:00.000-08:00

"The Ice Storm" by The Go! Team doesn't actually have any lyrics, so technically I guess it's not ACTUALLY a Christmas song, but it's got sleigh bells, and using sleigh bells in a song pretty much automatically makes it a Christmas song regardless of the rest of the content. Incidentally, it's also a really good song.

You can find a copy here if you're interested.

Are there any other instruments strongly associated with holidays? I can't think of any right now. That's sort of strange when you think about it. I, for one, am in favour of holiday-linked instruments... that way you can think things like "Ah! The bassoon... must be Valentine's Day!"

I nominate the kazoo as the official instrument of Groundhog Day.

Yo yo, you know the spot/where you order frozen treats and they rip your heart apart

2005-11-26T16:25:00.000-08:00

These be the illest interior-decoratin'-book-readin' badass rhymes ever laid down.

The Heist

Is it caffeinated, cuz?

Fat Robot

2005-11-24T13:09:00.000-08:00

SELF-PROMOTION!!!

My new band, Fat Robot, is going to be laying down some fresh jams at Clark this Friday around 10:30PM. It's a fundraiser for War Child, so not only do you get good tunes, you also get good karma.

Also, it's our first show, so if you come out you get full "I was there from the beginning" bragging rights when we're gigantic rock stars in a few months.

That last sentence had an above average amount of g's.

It's a Sufjan kind of Christmas

2005-11-22T14:01:00.000-08:00

I just found not one, not two, but THREE albums of Christmas music by Sufjan Stevens! Given my predisposition towards Christmas music and pretty much anything written by Sufjan Stevens, I have no idea how I didn't hear about these earlier. I just found copies of all three, and they're every bit as good as I would expect them to be.

There's a banjo-and-voice cover of O Come O Come Emmanuel on Volume 1 that is awesome beyond words. If you're a fan of Christmas or extremely well-written music, you just might want to check these out.

If you're so inclined, this guy has done all the hard work and has all three albums available as zip files.

Blood

2005-11-20T17:19:00.000-08:00

Instead of being productive today, I watched the first few episodes of "Weeds", a cable-only show that airs on Showtime in the States. It's pretty good so far... very dark comedy, drug dealing single mothers, social commentary on the hollowness of suburban life, and a mountain lion. But most importantly it has a great soundtrack.

"Blood" by Sons and Daughters is played at the very end of one of the episodes, and it blew me away. It's got this wicked lo-fi, urgent, something-is-about-to-go-terribly-wrong feel to it. It took a lot of effort to track down a copy, but if you're interested I just might know a guy who knows a guy who could hook you up. (Get it? It's a subtle play on the fact that the show is about drug dealing. Man, I am witty)

Pandora

2005-11-19T13:29:00.000-08:00

http://www.pandora.com is pretty much the best and coolest web site ever made. It's a mind-bogglingly large database of songs (hundreds of thousands of them, by over 10,000 artists) that can all be streamed for free. That is cool by itself, but that's not the really, really cool part.

The people who started the site also started a project called the Music Genome Project, where they attempt to characterize any given song based on a set of musical "genes", like the types of instruments used, major or minor tonality, groovy or rocking or ambient, etc. That in and of itself is a really neat idea, but by cross-referencing that with a streaming audio player, they've produced an insanely powerful system for finding new music based on the characteristics of music you already like.

I've already spent 3 hours finding new music today, and I don't see myself stopping anytime soon. Damn you, internet. You and your fancy websites.

More System

2005-11-16T22:49:00.000-08:00

Just in case I wasn't emphatic enough in my last post... the new System album is so good I don't think I can turn off my computer until the album is done. I just can't turn it off.

In the words of SOAD's lead guitarist/singer Daron Malakian, "I felt like the biggest asshole when I killed your rock 'n roll".

System of a Down

2005-11-16T22:26:00.000-08:00

System of a Down just released a new album 5 or 6 months ago, and yet here they are releasing another album already. Well ok, to be honest the new album, Hypnotize, only gets released next Tuesday, but thanks to the magic of the internet, one could listen to it right now if one were so inclined.

For starters, I am a huge System of a Down fan. I was a big metal head in high school, and SOAD is one of the few bands that I loved then that has managed to still kick ass several years after I stopped wearing a wallet chain. But back to the two records...

I think this method of album release raises an interesting question: are double albums really a good idea at all?

Don't get me wrong, I bought Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness like pretty much everyone else in my age group, and it was a major factor in the growth of my musical taste. But is it really such a good idea to release so much music at once? The more that I think about it, the more I think System may have stumbled upon the perfect formula for releasing a whole bunch of music.

First off, human attention spans are not that long. Even if it's a phenomenal album, I start to crave something different after about an hour or so. A double album demands a fairly extended attention span to fully appreciate it. In the case of Mellon Collie, I definitely listened to both albums many times, but usually I thought of the second CD as "the other CD". I wonder if I would have a more positive opinion of the second CD if it were released on its own.

System has circumvented this attention deficit by recording a double CD (and really, Hypnotize and Mesmerize gel amazingly well together) but at the same time giving people enough time to digest the first volume (Mesmerize) before giving them the second half (Hypnotize).

If this is what they actually intended to do then it worked fantastically, because I think both albums are mind-blowingly good. System of a Down do not get enough credit as musicians. They're phenomenally talented songwriters, and "Hypnotize" continues the trend with very little disappointment.

In particular, the song "Hypnotize", along with "Soldier Side", "U-Fig", "Kill Rock 'N Roll", "Holy Mountains", and pretty much the rest of the album, are all excellent tracks.

Guitar Wolf is Way Too Prolific

2005-11-15T11:34:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in a post a month or so ago, Guitar Wolf is one of the most entertainingly bad bands I've ever heard. Sadly, their bassist, Bass Wolf, died last March and for a while it looked like the band would, uh, disband.

Not so! They replaced their bassist with a guy named UG (yep, UG, the letters) who apparently never picked up a bass before joining the band. This is a band that has released like 8 albums, and yet somehow, I don't think the addition of a completely inexperienced musician will change their sound much.

Also, Guitar Wolf (the guitarist, not the whole band) is now the host of a new Japanese TV show called (of course) "No. 1 TV Jet Rock and Roll Friday". If you thought the show couldn't get any more awesome than the title, keep in mind that Guitar Wolf describes the subject matter as "motorbike, outer space, leather jackets".

Have I mentioned they have a song called "Murder by Rock"?

Afrobeat and Folk Covers

2005-11-14T21:23:00.000-08:00

The Mr. Something Something show on Saturday was insane. They were laying down jams so funky and densely layered that it was physically imperative that I dance. No strength of will could have contradicted those grooves. Also, everyone in the crowd was getting right into it, dropping their most intensely goofy dance moves without really caring about said goofiness. Such is the nature of afrobeat music: liberating.

The band's stage presence is monstrous. They're like a big 7-armed octopus just rocking out... or, if you will, a Rocktopus. Their singer in particular was very engaging, and to his credit, he was dancing the hardest of anyone in the room for pretty much the whole show. My two complaints about the show are as follows:

1) Opening band: you were good, until you started bitching at the crowd for talking during your songs. Guess what people do at bars? They talk! I know it's hard trying to play over a crowd, but telling everyone to be quiet and listen to you pretty much kills your cool.

2) Mr. Something Something's set was not long enough. By which I mean it was less than 4 hours. Actually they played two sets, and both of them were about an hour long, but I wanted more when they were done.

I picked up their new album after the show, which is phenomenal. All in all, one of the best shows I've seen in a while. Check them out if you get a chance.

As for folk, I checked out the Sun Kil Moon album of Modest Mouse covers ("Tiny Cities"), and it's pretty good. Some songs (Ocean Breathes Salty, Neverending Math Equation, Convenient Parking, Dramamine) stand on their own as great songs. The fact that they're reinterpretations of radically different songs adds a bit of interest, too. The rest are all interesting as covers, but sometimes I catch myself just wishing I was listening to the original instead. The album as a whole does have a pretty cool vibe though, I'd definitely check it out if you're either a Modest Mouse or a Red House Painters/Sun Kil Moon fan.

Also, hearing Mark Kozelek state (in a laid back, sleepy folk-rock cover of "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes") that he's "Gonna punch you in the glasses" is pretty awesome.

Saturday's Forecast...

2005-11-11T10:25:00.000-08:00

...calls for heavy grooves with a moderate to severe chance of funk storms. Relative awesomeness: 100%.

Mr. Something Something is coming to the Grad Club!

Yessssssss

2005-11-10T21:56:00.000-08:00

Today was the first day I saw real snow, which means one thing: it is no longer weird for me to listen to Christmas music. Make fun if you wish, but look at it this way: by starting now, I get almost two full months of Christmas season.

That, in turn, means three things are going to get some heavy iTunes play time in my room:

#1) "Wonderful Christmas Time" - Paul McCartney and Wings: A Christmas song so synthy and un-traditional that it makes it all the way back to awesome.

#2) "A Soulful Christmas" - Aaron Neville: As a kid, I think I probably listened to this album six or seven thousand times. It's still great. "Louisiana Christmas Day" and "Such a Night" in particular.

#3) "Christmas Eve Sarajevo" - Trans-Siberian Orchestra: Nothing says "Christmas season" like a wailing 80's guitar solo. Even the traditional Carol of the Bells is the most take-no-prisoners, ass-kicking Christmas carol out there. Add some distortion, and you've got yourself one peace-and-goodwill spreading juggernaut.

The New Pornographers

2005-11-08T20:05:00.000-08:00

I had this band recommended to me by Jamie McIntyre, a man with consistently good taste in music, so I got a copy of their album "Twin Cinema". Damn, it is good stuff.

Generally, I'd say it's catchy power-pop with enough quirks to keep it really interesting. Also, stellar vocal harmonies = check.

I spent most of today listening to the album, and my two favourite tracks are currently "The Jessica Numbers" and "Sing Me Spanish Techno", which is an awesome song with an even better name.

Indie Rock Overload

2005-11-07T22:25:00.000-08:00

I think the indie rock universe just collapsed on itself. Sun Kil Moon (critically acclaimed indie band) is releasing a folk-rock-ish album of Modest Mouse covers, which is like (indie rock)^2 by itself. Then I found out that the singer for Sun Kil Moon is Mark Kozelek, who used to be the lead singer/songwriter for the super-mellow indie rock band Red House Painters, who I listened to obsessively in first year. Crazy!

Now I'm listening to "Cruiser" by Red House Painters on repeat. It's 8 minutes of one of the most mellow, relaxing songs I've ever heard. It's an audio tranquilizer dart.

I'm really interested to see how they cover Modest Mouse. Could be cool, could be not so cool. I'll probably write about it.

P.S. Yeah, I used exponential notation to write about indie music. That pretty much makes me (geek)^2.

La Poupée de Porcelaine

2005-11-06T21:08:00.000-08:00

I've got a thing for minimal songs with lo-fi acoustic guitar. I love when songs have mistakes and blemishes in them, it adds character.

"La Poupée de Porcelaine" by Jean Leloup is an awesome lo-fi acoustic song. I've also got a thing for songs where I can't understand all the lyrics at first glance. It lets my brain just assume that the lyrics are brilliant, even if it's just a non-English equivalent of "Who let the dogs out?" or something. The lyrics to this song actually turn out to be pretty good if you give it a closer listen, so that's kind of a bonus. Also, the guitar line is damn catchy.

Trying not to think

2005-11-02T00:08:00.000-08:00

In between midterms, research papers, science formals, jobs and breathing, I haven't had much time to talk about music this week. In that spirit, I would like to nominate my choice for the best song to listen to while trying not to think about time:

"Trying Not To Think About Time" by The Futureheads.

Railhead towns feel the steel mills rust

2005-10-30T21:31:00.000-08:00

"Straight to Hell" is one of my favourite Clash songs. Most of their songs have pretty solid lyrics, but this one in particular seems to have a bit more resonance. Also, the drum beat is great through speakers, but toss on some headphones and the stereo mixing really kicks some ass.

This song is also covered extremely well by Danny Michel. He never professionally recorded a version of this song, but there's an mp3 floating around of a live performance he gave of this song in Fargo. The quality could be a wee bit better, but he does such a good job you stop noticing after a few seconds. Danny's version is more stripped down and raw than the Clash's synth-washed original, which makes the song feel a bit more personal. I love 'em both though, it would be hard to pick a favourite.

Speaking of Danny Michel, he is coming to Kingston! The last time he was here he played a solo show at The Grad Club. Usually I'm not a huge fan of solo music acts. There's only so much you can do with one voice and one instrument. Danny Michel, though, managed to put together a really entertaining show through a mix of great songwriting, loop sampling and plain old rock star charisma. He's playing the Elixir on Nov. 10th.

7/4 (Shoreline)

2005-10-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

Broken Social Scene's new self-titled album took 2 or 3 listens to really grab me, but it has definitely got me by the ears now. The closer I listen to it, the more I find to like about it.

My absolute favourite part on the entire album, without question, is the last 40 seconds or so of "7/4 (Shoreline)". The entire song is energetic and catchy, but the ending in particular has got this horn line that just blows my mind. It's so upbeat and optimistic, I don't think it's possible to listen to it and not think that everything's gonna be just fine. I do have one serious complaint with it though: It is way too damn short. I hate overplaying songs, but I keep rewinding the last part of the song just to get my fix of those horns.

Do do dooo da do do dooooo....

John Wayne Gacy Jr.

2005-10-27T23:02:00.000-07:00

I've been listening to a lot of Sufjan Stevens over the past day or two. The more I listen to his stuff, the more I appreciate how kickass a singer-songwriter he is.

In particular, "John Waynce Gacy Jr." is a great song. The first few times I listened to it passively I thought it just sounded like a really great piece of music. Then I stopped and actually listened to the lyrics. This song is creeeepy.

I guess that's about as appropriate as this song could possibly get. John Wayne Gacy Jr. himself was a successful Illinois businessman who entertained hospitalized children, gave to his community and was beloved by all. Turns out he was actually an intensely deranged serial killer. This song does an incredible job of mirroring the "beautiful-on-the-surface/dark-and-twisted-underneath" dichotomy present in Gacy's story.

Just Like You Imagined

2005-10-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

Nine Inch Nails' "Just Like You Imagined" is a crazy industrial rock fest. You turn it on and it's all like "ROCK ROCK ROCK ROCK ROCK" and then the song's over and you're out of breath.

Afrobeat in a Nutshell

2005-10-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

I probably wouldn't have developed an interest in afrobeat music if it weren't for Mr. Something Something. They were playing at Clark Hall Pub (wherein I am a DJ, for any non-Kingston readers I may have) and I happened to be doing sound that night. They set up their stuff, and promptly blew my mind. By which I mean they changed the way I thought about funk and world music in the space of about 20 seconds.

Apparently afrobeat has been around since the 70's, ever since a guy named Fela Kuti started cranking out albums in Nigeria, but I'd never heard of it before. It's a blend of funk, traditional west african polyrhythms, punchy horns, tight guitars, more polyrhythms and typically un-subtle lyrics about "the man" (or alternately "the government") and how he (it) is consistenly doing something of which the singer disapproves.

Fela Kuti stopped making music quite some time ago (he died in 1997), but modern afrobeat is just as (if not more) fantastic as it was in the 70's. Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra and Mr. Something Something are two of the biggest modern afrobeat bands around right now. I had the chance to see Antibalas in New York City this summer (they're from Brooklyn), and their stage presence was a slap in the face of pure funk and anti-government sentiment.

Mr. Something Something takes what Fela and Antibalas have done and refines it into a polished, shiny gem of Afrobeat Perfection. Live, they mix in a bit of jam band influence, and produce 10 minute epics of hot, frantic dance action. Check out the samples on their website (http://www.mrsomethingsomething.com/music.htm).

Oh yeah, I just realized I could put links in here.

In particular, listen to the sample of their song "The Edge" and tell me that's not some genius stuff right there.

The reason I picked this as a post topic is that MR. SOMETHING SOMETHING IS COMING TO KINGSTON ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12 (@ The Grad Club). If you like music and/or crazy dancing at all, I *highly* recommend coming out and getting your groove on.

Did I mention I realized I can put links here? http://www.pbfcomics.com/temporary/PBF035BCShitashi.html

Oh yeah.

Do Make Say Think

2005-10-22T22:07:00.000-07:00

If you're currently in a similar situation to mine (buried under a mountain of work), you could probably use some good music to toss on in the background. Do Make Say Think is that music.

They're an instrumental band from Toronto with 8 or so members, and they write some awesome music. The melodies aren't in-your-face, and there aren't too many dramatic buildups or total rocking out, the music just kind of sits there and does its thing. Not too distracting, but somehow awesome. The songs sort of sneak into your brain while you're not paying attention and set up camp. Then they just hang out, grooving along while you write, or calculate, or study, or do whatever else you happen to be doing.

Recommended Tracks:

"I Love" - I'm not going to bother with descriptions for these songs, because they'd all be pretty similar. Long songs with lots of atmosphere, complex arrangements, and plenty of subtle groove.

"Goodbye Enemy Airship" - See above.

"Chinatown" - Same deal.

Lament for my iPod (A Haiku of Despair)

2005-10-22T00:16:00.000-07:00

iPod, my iPod
Battery: kicked the bucket.
I weep for my tunes.

Live: Franz Ferdinand/TV on the Radio

2005-10-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night, I went to the Ricoh Centre in Toronto to see TV on the Radio opening for Franz Ferdinand (both fantastic bands). Unfortunately, we did a terrible job of estimating set times, and made it to the show halfway through TV on the Radio's set.

Luckily, we did get there in time to see some fantastic TVOTR material. They played a few new songs I haven't heard yet, and if they're any indication of the quality of the material on their soon-to-be-released new album, it'll be a good listen. One of my favourite quotes about music is from the TVOTR blog in which they describe their new album as "suitable for makeout sessions with the sky". Fantastic.

They closed their set with "Ambulance", which is, as I mentioned a few posts ago, currently one of my favourite songs. The recorded version is a really intimate song with four or five layers of a capella vocals. The live version on the other hand shuffled and exploded off the stage with looped vocal beatboxing, stretched and distorted guitar and bass, and a whistled melody that grabbed me by the brainstem and just made me sort of sit there and stare at the stage. It was good.

After a short break, Franz Ferdinand came on stage. Shortly before they came out though, they cut the in-between-bands music and played "The Fool", by Neutral Milk Hotel. That pretty much instantly won me over. I'll post about Neutral Milk Hotel sometime soon, but suffice it to say they're one of my favourite bands of all time.

Their set consisted of a pretty good chunk of both of their albums, with the only omitted song I was hoping to hear being "Eleanor Put Your Boots On". They made up for it with tons of other intensely rocking tracks though. This was a Rock Show, with a capital R. And S, I guess.

Highlights included "Jacqueline", which was a perfect choice for an opening song. Also, I wasn't expecting to enjoy "Take Me Out" at all since I've heard it about 2 billion times, but they did such a SOLID job of playing it, and the whole crowd got really into it. I really enjoyed it.

I think the best song of their set was "Outsiders". It started off rockingly enough (yeah, rockingly is definitely a word), but part of the way through it broke down into a drum-and-bass fuelled crazy dance groove. Then the drummer was joined on his kit by the guitarist and some other guy who was touring with the band. Three drummers + 1 drum kit = crazy primal wall of rhythm. It was an overwhelming wall of percussion.

All in all, I was very impressed with the show. Definitely check out either Franz Ferdinand or TV on the Radio if you get the chance.

P.S. Note to the incredibly sweaty jerk who kept throwing himself into me and everyone else around him: please don't ever go to a concert again.

Get Down Girl, Go 'Head Get Down

2005-10-19T21:30:00.000-07:00

I'll be damned if "Gold Digger" by Kanye West isn't the catchiest song ever.

That is all.

Oh yeah, I saw Franz Ferdinand and (some of) TV on the Radio on Tuesday, and bought 4 new CDs yesterday, so I've got lots to post about in the near future.

Guitar Wolf

2005-10-17T13:34:00.000-07:00

Guitar Wolf is a Japanese 3-piece rock band, whose three members have legally changed their names. Their guitarist changed his name to "Guitar Wolf", their bassist to "Bass Wolf", and then there's "Drum Wolf". Bet you can't guess what he plays.

This band is almost-so-terrible-they're-good, but not quite. They're still terrible. Apparently they were given a recording contract, but then had it revoked for refusing to turn down their screechy guitars in the recording studio. I guess "the man" just wasn't ready for their revolutionary sound.

The only reason I mention them is that I'd like to nominate them for the simultaneous awards of "Most Hilarious Rock Song Title" as well as "Worst Actual Rock Song".

The song in question: "Let's Kick Ass All Night", off the album "Missile Me!" Man, this song is bad. Really, really bad.

Built to Spill

2005-10-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

I got into Built to Spill in first year, shortly after hearing about, and loving, Modest Mouse. Built to Spill's music shares a few stylistic elements with Modest Mouse, like the whole offbeat indie rock vibe and slightly nasal vocals.

One major difference is that Modest Mouse's music, while awesome, is pretty straightforward in terms of complexity. Built to Spill, on the other hand, is headed up by lead singer/guitarist Doug Martsch who happens to be a PHENOMENAL guitar player. It's easy not to notice, since he doesn't bust out crazy wailing solos or anything, but after a few listens through a Built to Spill album, you start to appreciate how intricate and layered their guitar lines are.

Recommended Tracks:

"Time Trap" - This song is packed tight with song ideas, and all of them are awesome. It just progresses from one catchy melody to another for the entire duration of the song.

"Carry the Zero" - Another very solid indie rock tune. The guitar part that kicks in towards the end (around 4:41) totally kicks my ass.

"You Were Right" - The lyrics to this song are almost entirely classic bits and pieces of other rock songs, but they jam them all together in a song that doesn't feel pieced together at all. It's just one big cohesive block of pessimism and awesome guitars. Especially the part that kicks in about 1:22 into the song.

"Temporarily Blind" - Yet another song with an excess of great musical ideas. Especially the buildup at 1:45 that leads into one of my favourite Built to Spill riffs immediately afterwards.

"Distopian Dream Girl" - This one's got lean, punchy sounding guitars and bass, vocals that are great to shout along to whilst alone in a car, and super-distorted guitar fills sprinkled throughout.

Tom Waits addendum

2005-10-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

One more Tom Waits note:

"I Don't Wanna Grow Up" just might be my pick for the ultimate about-to-graduate-and-have-no-idea-what-I-want-to-do-with-my-life song of all time.

Tom Waits

2005-10-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

I have no idea how Tom Waits actually became a successful recording artist. Don't get me wrong, I love his music. It's just not the kind of stuff you'd expect to receive major label backing. His vocals sound like a troll who's been gargling thumb tacks, and half the time his instrumentation sounds like offbeat out-of-tune circus music. I'm not sure how he manages to do it, but his music is at once cold and alienating, and oddly comforting. Like sipping whiskey with hobos around a trashcan fire, underneath a highway overpass.

Recommended Tracks:

"Earth Died Screaming" - Tom Waits tracks fall into two categories. Dirty blues tracks, and crazy two-step tunes with eccentric percussion and guitar work. This is about as close as he gets to a mix of the two. If you like this song, it's a good bet you'll like everything Tom Waits does.

"Gun Street Girl" - This is a more straightforward dirty blues tune, with lyrics about unsavoury characters and being on the run from the law. In other words, typical Tom Waits subject matter. This tune should be included on every dark, suspicious mix CD ever made.

"Singapore" - A combination of the two-step feel of Earth Died Screaming, and the lyrics of Gun Street Girl. This one's a tale of shady characters of dubious moral fiber combined with exotic locales and strange-yet-intriguing instrumentation.

"Diamonds and Gold" - Lilting, spooky instruments underscore what is, in my opinion, one of Tom Waits' most soulful, moving vocal lines ever.

If you like these tunes, seriously check out everything Tom Waits has ever done. It's all amazing.

Collective Soul

2005-10-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

I went to go see Collective Soul last night. I got free tickets, which is good because I probably wouldn't have paid to see Collective Soul otherwise. Don't get me wrong, they have some good tunes, but they're that brand of radio-alternative that I don't think would be particularly awesome live.

I never would have guessed it, but somehow a Collective Soul concert turned into an amazing party. It might have had something to do with the FOUR free beers we were handed on our way in, or the free candy, or the free massages and airbrush tattoos (yeah... weird) but the whole atmosphere was like some bizarre carnival for drunks. Everyone was just rocking out and having a good time. Collective Soul did their part too, sticking mostly to the songs that everyone knew with a minimum of filler. Hey, sometimes you go see a band for interesting and new material, and sometimes you go just to shout "Play Gel!!!" and rock out with 40 year olds in Iron Maiden tour t-shirts.

Aside from a bassist who looked like a really bored monkey in a sweater, they had some decent stage presence too. If you didn't listen to much Collective Soul in Grade 8 like I did, I'd recommend "Shine", "Gel", "Simple" and "The World I Know".

TV on the Radio

2005-10-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

I've got tickets to go see Franz Ferdinand next week in Toronto, and TV on the Radio is opening for them. Both bands are kickass, but one has not been blogged about by me. Yet.

Side note: Blogging is a ridiculous verb.

TV on the Radio is like post-apocalyptic Motown soul strained through fuzzy speakers, and somehow a robot is involved. In other words, I really don't have a good musical analog for them. Sometimes the vocals are super-polished and soulful, other times they're barely in key. Sometimes they've got drum machine accompaniment, sometimes it's a capella. Either way, it's really interesting music, and I'm excited to see how they pull it off live.

Recommended Tracks:

"Ambulance" - The first TVOTR song I heard. Entirely a capella, and hypnotizing. The part where the lyrics are "Sip slow from night's deep wells/And watch our gardens swell/Once the seeds are sown/Wild and overgrown" is to me what Desperado is to Elaine's boyfriend on that one episode of Seinfeld.

"The Wrong Way" - Fuzzy bass and a bouncing drum machine beat underneath rough soul vocals and wailing sax. Excellent.

"Poppy" - Falsetto vocal harmonies and scratchy guitars give way to a sweeeeet vocal riff about halfway through "Mmm bada mm da mm da mm da Mmm". Lyrics for the ages.

"Mr. Grieves" - Spooky. If I'm ever producing a film and I need a song for a scene where some people are walking down a dark alleyway full of strange, suspicious looking people snapping their fingers in unison, this will be that song.

Bonobo

2005-10-10T22:28:00.000-07:00

Bonobo pretty much singlehandedly got me into electronic music two years ago. Before that, I'd subconsciously written the entire genre off as either irritating dance music or irritating electronica (with the exception of The Prodigy, I've liked them since like grade 6). The truth is, there's a lot more subtlety to electronic music than thumping club beats, and it turns out I was just being an idiot by ignoring it.

Bonobo's music usually gets classified as "downtempo", which is a subgenre of electronic music that basically means, um, slow tempos. Slower than raging dance music anyways. Downtempo songs typically employ hiphop-esque breakbeats, but laid down under groove-heavy, chill instrumentals. Downtempo also uses a lot more real instrument samples than some other genres of electronic music.

Recommended Tracks:
"Silver" - This song is my favourite late-night highway driving song. Muted trumpet over deep bass, awesome breakbeat and faux-vinyl crackling.

"Terrapin - Can you listen to this song and not relax? The answer is no. Also, sitar samples = instant great song (see The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" or Beck's "Loser" for reference).

"Change Down" - Another great late night song. I always picture some big city downtown scene, late at night with neon lights and huge glass skyscrapers, but usually when I listen to this it's more like Kingston late at night with dirty streets and ghetto houses.

"The Sicilians" - Very Sicilian-sounding, if Sicily were populated by mandolin players and drum machines.

An Open Letter to Grand Theft Bus

2005-10-06T23:29:00.000-07:00

Dear Grand Theft Bus,

You are all fantastic musicians. Seriously. You guys jam so hard that it compels me to dance as goofily as possible. You also have two excellent singers at your disposal, who can (and do) lay down some fantastic harmonies. Which brings me to the point of this letter...

Stop letting Guy On The Left sing. Now, don't get me wrong... Guy On The Left is a very talented guitar player. I think some of his solos have actually melted parts of my brain. But dude cannot sing. I'm sure you all know this, but you may feel required to let him sing a few songs to balance things out. This strategy is not balancing things out. Someone needs to (very politely) tell him that he is a great guitar player and a lousy singer. Then you can fit more awesome songs into your sets.

Sincerely,
Me

David Bowie

2005-10-05T22:35:00.000-07:00

I've been getting more and more into David Bowie over the last few months, but I feel like I need to write about one song in particular.

"Life on Mars" might just be a perfect song. It starts out modestly enough, but then it hits the chorus, and it's all like...
"SAILORS, fighting in the dancehall... OH MAN! Look at those cavemen go... It's the freakiest sho-hooow"

And it seriously might be the best vocal line ever.

Fiona Apple redux

2005-10-05T22:11:00.000-07:00

So the "official" version of Fiona Apple's new album "Extraordinary Machine" was just released. Aaaaaaaaand... it's crap. What the hell, Fiona? The demos were quirky and full of mysterious, dark idiosyncracies. The new version is dumbed down commercial garbage. Ok, there are a few highlights, like the breakdowns in the new version of "Not In Love" (they rock pretty hard), but the rest of the album feels like they just sucked all the character out of it. Ah well, at least the demos got leaked.

Oasis

2005-10-05T21:42:00.000-07:00

What happens when you play Wonderwall at a bar after 11:30:

I SAID MAYBE..... YOU'RE GONNA BE THE ONE WHO SAVES ME...
'CAUSE AFTER ALL..... YOU'RE MY WONDERWALL...

TODAY IS GONNA BE THE DAY, mumble mumble mumble YOU.

et cetera...

Grand Theft Bus

2005-10-04T16:38:00.000-07:00

If I had to pick a single band that was most wrapped up with my university experience, it'd probably be Grand Theft Bus. I saw them for the first time in April of first year, after finishing all my exams but before moving back home for the summer. They played at the Scherzo, and totally blew my mind. They were so good that I ran back to residence between their two sets to bring friends back to see them. Since then, I've been to almost every single show they have played in Kingston, and a few elsewhere.

Their sound is sort of hard to pin down. It's got elements of rock, funk and jazz, but I don't know exactly what I'd call it. It is most definitely jam music though, and they frequently throw 10 or 15 minute funky, hypnotic instrumental stretches into their live shows.

I've listened to their first album, Birth of Confusion, so many times I'm surprised I haven't worn through the CD yet. "Don't Treat Me Like That", "Tanktop" and "Street Sleeper" (also a kickass staple of their live show) are some of my favourites, but I usually just listen to the album straight through.

Their second album, Flies in the No Fly, is a little more song-oriented (rather than crazy jams), and is also definitely worth a listen. "Silence", "Mannequin", "Plastic" and "Leader" are all great tunes.

Finally, they are playing here in Kingston this Thursday (Oct. 6th), so if you're in town, you should probably go check them out, ESPECIALLY if you haven't seen them live yet. Grand Theft Bus = good times and goofy dancing.

Franz Ferdinand

2005-10-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

When I first heard "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand, I thought it was great. Then, about 5 days later, once I'd heard it two or three thousand times on the radio, I was completely sick of it, and wrote off Franz Ferdinand entirely for almost a year. One day I finally decided to give the rest of their record a chance, realized I was being stupid and that I almost missed out on what is (other than one insanely overplayed track) a fantastic album of garage-dance-punk-rock. Their first (self-titled) album has got some solid tunes on it from front to back, my favourites being "Dark of the Matinee", "This Fire" and "40 ft."

Their second album "You Could Have It So Much Better With Franz Ferdinand" was leaked about a month ago, and comes out officially this Tuesday. It's a pretty rocking album, and a little more diverse than their debut.

Recommended Tracks:
"Eleanor Put Your Boots On" - This song is the biggest departure on the new album from the usual Franz Ferdinand material. It's a ballady breakup song (about Eleanor Friedberger, lead singer of the Fiery Furnaces) with some really good piano/guitar lines.

"This Boy" - Damn, this track has got some energy. The "yeah" part about 5 seconds in? Pure rock goodness.

Songs About Numbers

2005-10-01T00:13:00.000-07:00

"Pinball Number Count", The Pointer Sisters - This song is seriously funky, as well as being educational. It teaches the proper counting sequence for the numbers 1 to 12 inclusive. You may recall it from that crazy animated Sesame Street short where a pinball goes on all sorts of zany adventures through surreal landscapes while a 70's funk group shouts numbers in the background.

"Three Is A Magic Number", Blind Melon - Originally from a Schoolhouse Rock video, this song is also very educational, although slightly more complicated than Pinball Number Count. The chorus is the three times tables. It's also an extremely catchy song in its own right.

"Adding Up Numbers", Kompressor - Hilarious. For reference, Kompressor is a German concept artist who describes his sound as follows: "KOMPRESSOR sound is hard and angry, good words used for song and electronic." That pretty much says it all. ADDING UP NUMBERS!

"Bottle Rocket", The Go! Team - While not directly about numbers, the bridge in this song consists of the lyrics "Two, Four, Six, Eight, Ten!" so I think it qualifies. This song is like a party in a box. Oldschool hip hop meets 1970's TV show theme songs meets lo-fi harmonica solos.