Phew, It's Over!

So in the midst of final exams and packing up more stuff than I even thought I had I now realize, sitting in my home in Toronto, that I have not updated a while. Unfortunately, since my presence is demanded by friends, family and the pile of clothes seems to grow rather than shrink, I'll be frank.

It will be May 1st on Friday, which will bring more sunshine, the beginnings of a summer job and many, many highly anticipated CD releases. I Feel Cream, the latest album from Peaches will be released on May 5th. Her first single from the album "Talk to Me" was released earlier in April and if it's any indication of what is on her new album, I think its safe to say we can expect more good things from this music veteran.



MP3: "Talk To Me" - Peaches

Best Band T-Shirt In The Tri-City Area

As I was doing the final updates on Facebook for the group I had created for my radio show this semester, I realized I had blog gold that I had yet to share. My radio show was on Radio Laurier and called The Feature, a show that featured up and coming local bands from the Tri-City area. That's Guelph-Waterloo-Kitchener for all you big city folk. One of the bands that I featured and saw a few times this year was The D'Urbervilles, who have been on the rise as of late. Originally from Oshawa and then students at the University of Guelph, The D'Urbervilles, as described on their myspace, came into being "equipped with little more than a borrowed amplifier, an Echo & The Bunnymen cover and a band name lifted from a 19th century British novel." In 2007, they finished recording their full-length album We Are The Hunters, which was released with critical acclaim within Canada on Toronto indie label Out Of This Spark in February 2008 and is currently available for digital download on iTunes.

The last time I saw the D'Urbervilles was at the end of February with other local acts Green Go and Bocce and was absolutely blown away by their live show. Not to mention I got the coolest band t-shirt ever which I wear more than I should to rep small-town Ontario. It was the last one they had left, but even better than that was the drunken conversation I tried to have with the adorable lead singer who shocked and amazed me with a voice that sounded like the singer from The National.

"Hot Tips" - The D'Urbervilles
"Dragnet" - The D'Urbervilles

Living The Canadian Dream

More than once I've heard that the few years ahead will be the best time of my life and after listening to this song I realized they might just be right.



"Canadian Dreamz" - Andrew Vincent

Don't Go Out Tonight

Like with much of the 80s, I have a torrid love affair with retro pop. Alphabeat is a Danish pop band that have had major success with their first two singles, "Fascination" and "10,000 Nights" in both Denmark and the UK. North American must of caught on because "Fascination" is featured as #15 out of 20 of the best songs from 2008 by Spin magazine, not to mention that the Spice Girls offered them an opening spot on their reunion tour, which they turned down in favour of playing other shows with fans that were already familiar with them. Their sound is retro 80s melodic pop, with distinct male and female harmonies featured in every song. They've got music videos for six singles off their album This Is Alphabeat, all of which feature creative, fun to watch images, not to mention the lead singers Anders SG and Stine Bramsen are just absolutely adorable.

Here's the video for their most recent single, "What Is Happening", which I would have killed to been an extra for!

Best of Blondie

In honour of buying the Best of Blondie on vinyl for $2 yesterday at Orange Monkey, here is the War Child Heroes album cover of Blondie's "Call Me" by Franz Ferdinand.

Et Moi Je T'aime Un Peu Plus Fort

While I know many curse the days spent in French class in high school, I couldn't be happier that my limited comprehension of the French language is enough to be able to listen to and appreciate French music. Coeur de Pirate, also known as Béatrice Martin, is a Quebec artist who released her first self-titled album in September 2008. Her debut album was nominated for the best Francopohone Album of the Year in 2009 at the Juno Awards and her song "Comme des Enfants" landed the #1 spot on the Canadian Billboard Charts in February, which is only the second French-language song to do so. Her first single "Comme Des Enfants" epitomizes Coeur de Pirate's sound, which mostly features her singing and playing piano. Her video for "Comme des Enfants" is enough to make me believe that spring will once again bring the careless freedom of falling in love.

Stella, Stelllaaa!

The visibility of successful European artists is seriously lacking in North America, otherwise I would have loved and adored Norwegian rock musician Ida Maria already. Ida Maria has gained considerable success in both her native Norway and the UK, with her first album Fortress Round My Heart landing the #39 spot on the UK Billboard Charts. She first released Fortress Round My Heart in 2008, but re-released the album again in February 2009 with new brand new songs and artwork. She's released quite a few singles of her album including "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked" and "Oh My God", which both landed in the top 100 songs on the UK Billboard Charts. And because, I seem to keeping with the theme, she is also playing this weekend at Coachella. Ida Maria is also reported to have the neurological phenomenon of synesthesia which, in her case, means she envisions colours when she hears music. Pretty cool, huh?

Ida Maria has released over five singles from Fortress Round My Heart, but my favourite has got to be "Stella", which also made it onto the UK Billboard Chart in 2008.

The Spirit of Apollo

If you're going to have to show off all of the famous people you're friends with, you might as well make some great music to do it. Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon have come together to create N.A.S.A, which stands for North America/South America, collaborating with a number of superstar artists to make an album, The Spirit of Apollo. The album was created with the goal of bringing people together through music and art, with unexpected collaborations and pairings of artists throughout the seventeen-track release. The album features over thirty artists and include artists like Kanye West, Karen O and Nick Zinner of theYeah Yeah Yeahs, David Byrne of the Talking Heads, RZA, Lykke Li, George Clinton, Tom Waits, M.I.A., Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, Nina Persson of the Cardigans, Barbie Hatch, John Frusciante, RZA of Wu-Tang Clan, Gift of Gab of Blackalicious, Santogold and Ghostface Killah, just to name a few. N.A.S.A. will be joined by many of their superstar guests this week when they play Coachella on Friday, April 17th, 2009.

The project has spilled out into a full-length documentary, which is nearing completion and includes interview with many of the artists who collaborated on the project and behind-the-scenes footage from The Spirit of Apollo recording sessions. Until the full documentary is completed, N.A.S.A. has created a trailer to continue the hype for the album which was release in February 2009.



Their goal to bring together people through music and art is particularly apparent in their music videos, all of which include Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon's favourite fine artists paired up with animators to create visual masterpieces to compliment the music off of The Spirit of Apollo. My personal favourite video is for "Way Down" featuring RZA of Wu-Tang Clan, Barbie Hatch and John Frusciante.



N.A.S.A MySpace

Swoon

There's nothing quite like hearing that a band you thought was lost to the wind has now reappeared from hiding with a new album. Silversun Pickups, the band who brought us "Lazy Eye" and "Well Thought Out Twinkies" off their debut album Carnavas in 2006, has come together yet again to create their second full-length album Swoon which was released today, April 14th, 2009. The band has toured with Wolfmother, OK Go and Snow Patrol and played Coachella in 2007 and will playing there again this year on Friday, April 17th, 2009.

Their new album Swoon, according to lead guitar/vocalist Brian Aubert, does not have straight forward mid-tempo sound, stating that "some songs are very quiet and delicate, others are just fucking loud." Their first single "Panic Switch" has reminded indie audiences of the subtle brillance of the Silversun Pickups that captivated them in the first place.

We Used To Be Four Ordinary Teenagers...

Dinosaurs, space and fighter jets, what more could you want in a cartoon?



I wish I could have been around in the 80s when every show's theme song was metal.

Feels Like Home To Me

In the midst of essays and exams, I find myself missing home and summer memories. It may be April, but I feel like so much has to happen before I can actually embrace the warmth and freedom of summer. So many of my memories are of driving with the windows down, on those beautiful, bright days that turn into warm, breezy summer nights, with Bruce Springsteen playing as the soundtrack of my summer.

Maybe because it's April and yet, it's snowing outside that I'm struggling to hold onto some hope that those summer days and nights are coming soon. My favourite melancholy covers of Bruce Springsteen seem to epitomize my reminiscent mood, enjoy.

The Actor/Singer/Songwriter Done Well

Much rarer than the Pinta Island tortoise is the Hollywood actor/singer/songwriter who actually has some talent in all categories, a true triple threat. So I am ecstatic to present to you, direct from Canadaland, Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields who have come together to make Dead Man's Bones. Described as gothic/gospel/showtunes, their album, which will be released this summer, is a concept album about the supernatural, featuring massive children's choirs as their backup singers of choice. In their already released music videos for live versions of "Name In Stone" and "In The Room Where You Sleep", you'll see Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields leading a bunch of kids dressed in Halloween costumes through a creepy and haunting lament of epic proportions.

I anxiously anticipate the brilliance of this album as a defining soundtrack to my summer nights.

Let's Get Dancey!

I have a thing for remixes. I'm a fucking sucker for clap tracks. The remix masterminds who have recently made sweet electronic love to my brain is the Brazilian DJ duo, The Twelves. They formed in 2006 and had a breakthrough hit with their remix of M.I.A's "Boyz", which became one of the most popular remixes in 2007. These days they've been touring with some big names like Justice, LCD Soundsystem and another one of my favourite DJ's, Van She.

Here are some of my favourite The Twelves remixes to get you grooving.

Fuck You Operator!

In celebration of all things interweb, I bring you this blog, my own personal online soapbox. Here you'll find me shouting about anything of interest, whether it be music, art, politics and all things cultural I want to share with those who are willing to listen.

As one blog amongst a network of billions, welcome and enjoy.