i'd look psychotic in a balaclava.

there is so much new music on the front, and so much work to be done, that i haven't had the time to evaluate it all! ack! but it'll get done, i'm sure. at one point or another... now that that is cleared up, moving on...

them prepsters (preppy+hipsters)/indie kids have done it again. Vampire Weekend will be releasing their sophomore album in January, but already their single "Horchata" has me anxiously waiting for more.

this time, the boys have brought a little more spice to their music, with sounds from Africa or the Caribbean or some other exotic place (so they say) influencing their music. it is evident in the drum beats in this song, but not in their other newest release "Cousins" (which is way more upbeat and fast-paced).

on a side note from their music, their album artwork also has this air of...something or other in it. (again, i think it's the hipster thing. not sure.)

read this blog's post on it - and also take a listen to it too. it's fun.

Muse & The Resistance.

alas, my dearies. here is the long awaited Muse review (as it has been out for quite some time now.)

ahhh...okay. here it goes.
now to be completely and utterly honest, this new album is not one of my favourites. this album, with all its hype and press that it's getting seems to me just excess (overrated perhaps?).
i love Muse. i really do. but...with this album i was somewhat expecting something more.
and, i was hoping for something that was more like their second or third album.
that being said though, coming off of their fourth album (Black Holes and Revelations) it comes as no surprise that their sound is almost in the same vein: stadium rock-pop, with a tinge of space-age stuff.

yes, this album has much adhered to the likes of "Knights Of Cydonia" or "Supermassive Black Hole" - two of their biggest songs on Black Holes... - and so, it has also (I PERSONALLY BELIEVE) become muchmuchmuch more pop-oriented.

the way i see it: "Supermassive Black Hole" really only had re-surged and skyrocketed into charts because of (dundunduhn) Twilight. and the followers and obsessors of that film (myself not included) are teens and pre-teens - a large and important fact to this whole argument here.
yay, good for Muse that they have one of their songs featured in one of the biggest grossing romance- films of the past like...5 years. good on them.
their exposure though to the likes of kids 10 years or younger and for these young guns to keep listening to their music...well, there is really only one thing that Muse would have to do. and that would be to make some more pop-rock music - more...consumer-friendly? commercial? i s'pose.
(take a listen to "Guiding Light", "Undisclosed Desires",

this is all just speculation. and my own personal opinion. (which hardly seems to matter, given the fact that The Resistance has topped the charts everywhere.)

now, what i would've liked was for Muse to go back to making some of their great stadium rock songs, like on Absolution (i have in mind "Stockholm Syndrome")
some of the songs do, in fact, hearken back to those sounds ("Unnatural Selection").

i do remember reading this one review, that had said "United States of Eurasia" was the Queen song that Queen never wrote. agreeably, it is. you can't not head-bang to this, or sing-along to "Eura-SIA. SIA. SIA."

and this album does have one of the most amazing rock 'symphonies' i have every heard: the last three songs, each titled "Exogenesis," are the highlight of the album for me. Each Part certainly features some of the best piano parts, especially Part 3, which also ends with a pleading Bellamy singing "Let's start over again..." (Oh, should mention here too that the ending of "United States of Eurasia" features the bonus "Collateral Damage" - which is basically Chopin's famous and beautifully written "Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2")

to wrap up my ramblin'...it's a pretty decent album. one that only they could've made. and i'm not saying that i didn't like it...it'll just have to grow on me.

break chains, make change.

a band you need to know about:
Bike For Three!

a perfect blend of mister Buck 65's (aka Rich Terfry) hip-hop-rap-storytelling style and Belgian musician Greetings From Tuskan's dance-pop-synth beats. they are a rare and unusual pair who have together used their skills and talents to create something unique and fun. a pair that have never exactly met before - using the interwebs as their means of communicating with each other.

worth listening to:
Lazarus Phenomenon
All There Is To Say About Love (watch a fun, live video)

ALSO for those Buck 65 fans:
Dirtbike. (very worthy of checking out if a fan of lo-fi-indie-hip-hop-rap-turntable-stuff)

walk with me, moby...

i've never really listened that much to Moby before...until his new release of "Wait For Me".
and let me just say that i am quite impressed.

Moby was inspired to create this album while listening to filmmaker David Lynch speak at the BAFTA Awards in February 2008. Lynch’s message – creativity for its own sake is a beautiful, wonderful thing – was a simple one, but it hit Moby with force. “At that moment, I decided to just make records that were more personal, maybe more experimental, and a little more challenging, maybe not as easy to like, but things that I found to be artistically and creatively more satisfying. That was the idea behind making the new album.” (from here)

it is one of those albums that you can leave on, and either a) just listen to; or b) put on as background music (which, is not really a bad thing).
it is also one of those albums that you should listen to entirely - from the moment you hit play right until the last second of the last song.

in some ways, it has this cinematic quality to it: some of the 'instrumental' songs sound as if they belong to some sort of drama film. (Division, Shot In The Back of the Head, A Seated Night...Slow Light)
*good to note here, the music video for Shot In The Back Of The Head was directed by David Lynch. huh.

the rest of the 'non-instrumental' songs (if you will) all feature vocals from moby's friends...and are unknowns who could very well have a future in the music industry. Moby himself though lends his singing talents on the pop-esque 'love' song, Mistake.

a great listening experience, even for those who are not fans of techno or electronic music.
added bonus: the cover art is of a cute little alien drawing looking wistfully at the moon. it really is cute.

songs worth listening to: Shot In The Back Of The Head (video), Walk With Me, Study War, .

worth checking out: film music - from moby.com

it's been a while !

it's been quite a while actually since i've written anything on here !
i keep forgetting to publish my posts to this blog from facebook...dear me.
meh. can't really say a whole lot has been happening. haha.

although, here's some worthwhile things to write upon in near future:

1) new releases/newly purchased albums: Pilot Speed, Patrick Watson, Sebastien Grainger (more below)...White Rabbits
2) Franz Ferdinand's concert in TO...and trip to The Hour.
3) summer movie blockbusters to look forward to.
4) summer concerts to look forward to.
5) Chuck Palahniuk's newest novel, Pygmy. and Chuck Palahniuk in general.

but, here now is a wee blurb (as i kind of had nothing else to say except for "LISTEN TO IT.") on Sebastien Grainger's album that i had picked up:
[published a while ago.]


after the sad and sudden break-up of Death From Above 1979, both members - Jesse Keeler and Sebastien Grainger - moved onto their own individual projects. Keeler went onto MSTRKRFT.

and...well, Sebastien Grainger joined with the Mountains to form Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains.
which...brings me to my whole discussion on his album (not exactly newly released, but newly purchased.)

from the get-go (DFA 1979) i've had a liking for Sebastien Grainger's voice. it is different. it's definitely a voice that one can recognize, after hearing it.

i'm not sure exactly how to describe his voice on DFA's album You're A Woman, I'm A Machine (which, for those punk-rock-listeners out there...this is definitely an album worth listening to, if you have not yet listened to it.)
but on his new (solo) stuff...his voice is quite...soulful, really.
that does not go to say though that Grainger discards the punk-rock genre-style from DFA. he still maintains an edge in his vocals.

so, Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains the album is pretty solid. there are maybe one or two tracks that sound almost similar...but they're still great.

best tracks: (but not necessarily the best videos)
(Are There) Ways To Come Home?
By Cover of Night (Fire Fight)
Renegade Silence

ahhhh yes, the White Rabbits.
that six-piece band...with two drummers. (i'm always intrigued by this notion...)

loved them since i first heard their song "The Plot".
i love their jangly-ness.
their songs on their debut album are a lot of fun - indie rock goodness that just gets me going every. single. time.

now, with their new song from a forthcoming album - Percussion Gun starts off with even some more fun drum rhythms...that you cannot possibly deny moving any part of your body to.

i seriously cannot describe their sound, other than being fun.
listening now to their "Cotillion Blues", which is yet another one of those songs that you simply have to move to. it's one of those that sounds like it should be in some sort of high-end burlesque show.

hmm...maybe burlesque is not the right word.
anyways, there's just this sort of sexiness from it...that makes you...swagger.

RCRD LBL has these weekly free downloads, see...
and by gosh, people should not take such things for granted.

Percussion Gun is one of those free downloads.
take a good listen. or at least stream the song. these guys are definitely worth the listen.
if you also want some more live, free tracks of more indie/obscure bands:
Daytrotter Sessions. - although these free downloads don't really last a long time !

(EDIT: just checked on Daytrotter, annnnd...they've just recently changed things. you now gotta Register to get the downloads. soooo, if you reeeeally wanna...then by all means. or just be happy that you can stream them instead!)

the Genre Fiasco.

remember when genres of music used to be quite plain and simple?
you had your jazz, you had your pop, you had your rock, you had your country, you had your rap, folk, classical, dance, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera...

nowadays, though...oh my.
it seems that the list of sub-genres in the music industry keep getting longer and longer nd longer every single day.
it seems that almost every hour there is a new type of music being fused with other genres to make way to new sub-genres.

it may be getting a wee bit out of hand, perhaps?
i can understand bands that would like to be categorized as being different from others - especially, when they want to differentiate/disassociate

their sounds from other bands.

let us look at an example, shall we, to try to put this into some sort of perspective.
say, a new band comes into play...and they have to describe their sound. let's say that they would fall under the rock category.
now, what other category would they also be put under?
rock-pop? punk rock? country rock? electro-rock? prog rock? indie rock? classic rock? glam rock? soft rock?

or say they were a jazz group. what kind of jazz, then would they be? classic jazz, soul jazz, brass band, New Orleans jazz, rhythm & blues...

that is the trouble with genres and music, nowadays - there is just too many genres and sub-genres out there, which makes it even more difficult to place each artist or band into a certain category/genre.

at times though, it will be extremely obvious as to what genre a band would be put into though - like...Britney Spears. definitely pop.

but i am talking mostly about the other musicians out there that usually don't get enough airplay on the radios. bands that are usually unheard of by the general population.

experiment: pick an artist/band/group/whathave you - one that is not so obvious as to what what genre they fit into - and then try to describe what their sound is.

(personally. i wish that music genres would be just simply "good", "bad", "fun", or "terrible".
but then that would bring about a large quantity of debates over subjectivity.
and thus would not work.)

the 51st Grammy Awards

so this year's Grammy Awards Ceremony was so last month, i know.
but i was just going through some old videos, and i thought i'd post this. i would've earlier as well too, but...just didn't.

i do have to say that this year's ceremony was the best i've ever seen, with a few exceptions.
here's just a short list of things that i noticed whilst watching the awards.

1) impromptu performances are not always terrible, nor do they appear to be not not rehearsed either. (ya'll know what i'm talking about.)

2) Jonas Brothers are fakes. 'nuff said. (if you really do feel like challenging me for some reason, watch the one brother there who is supposed to be playing the guitar. he is in fact not. FAKE.)

3) Justin Timberlake does have a lot of soul in him.

4) Coldplay's jackets were amazing. and their performance was also amazing. i loves them.

5) Radiohead should now take that same marching band with them whenever they go on tour.

6) Katy Perry needs to hone up on her dance moves. Seriously. And also, not use any sort of giant fruit on her tour.

7) Katy Perry may actually be overrated. (Sorry to all those who do in fact listen to her. Sorry!)

8) If you are indeed due to give birth the night that you are supposed to perform on stage, you probably still can - if you're M.I.A though. She still looked awesome with the "Rap" Pack. Schwagger like that.

9) Jennifer Hudson is definitely up there with all those great singing 'divas' - Whitney Houston, Tina...umm...Whitney Houston....

10) Paul McCartney is still great. Of course. And Dave Grohl is Animal. No doubts.

11) T.I may be the only rapper out there that i can understand. He's also hot. Oh, and JT can play piano? huh.

12) Get a washed-up old rocker and a country-folk singer together, (and also one of the best producers too) and you're guaranteed to get a few grammy's.

13) Neil Diamond may be hiding something from us all...(hahaha.) Either way, he still reminds us that "Sweet Caroline" can get stuck in our heads for days.

14) Come backs & Re-unions should be definitely be said whilst on live air, on stage.

15) Where in the world did Robin Thicke come from, and who would've known that he would be a good choice for a duet with Lil' Wayne?

and last

16) No one should ever cut off Stevie Wonder. Ever.

the Radiohead complex.

Radiohead, Radiohead, Radiohead...
are they not one of those bands that you either listen to and love, or listen to and hate?
[some exceptions here allowed, for those inbetweeners.]

as a self-proclaimed music snob, it is shameful of myself to say that i really have not listened to Radiohead until the release of In Rainbows. yes, i've heard their hits before then...Creep. Lucky. etc...

but i didn't really listen to them.
Thom Yorke was...(in my eyes) this pompous, arrogant singer. Jonny Greenwood? who? huh?
yeah. i do admit it, that...i was not fully into Radiohead way back when.
[then again, i was listening to the likes of BSB, NSync...all that great 90s pop music.]

more and more recently, i am finding that my appreciation for Radiohead is growing. as well as my appreciation for Thom Yorke. i no longer see him as that pompous, arrogant frontman from a band that i've never really listened to.

why this sudden change of thought, you may ask?
well, for one...i have been listening to In Rainbows quite a bit over the past couple of days.
[one word: genius. everything just goes together quite perfectly.]

also, i've been watching their live stuff.
and Thom Yorke live...is just awesome. take, for example, their live performance recently at the Grammy's. incredible.

ok. with Thom Yorke though, i think, at the start of Radiohead, he was less...charismatic?
[*note: i could be completely and totally wrong on this, and i will let anyone call me out on this.]
charismatic may not be the right word i'm even looking for...
but, definitely over the past years, he's become a much...better performer. i think.

again, i could be completely wrong. he could've been great from the get-go. and maybe this is just me thinking all of this.

so, to end off...to say the least, In Rainbow's is great. should've won the Mercury Prize. damn.
and Thom Yorke's lyrics are a piece of literary genius.
what's in store for me iPod: more Radiohead. definitely.

what was i thinking?

okay. this is just hilarious, so much so that i had to share.

"What Was I Thinking?" by Christine Lavin

Obama's Playlist - from CBC...

so, CBC Radio 2 had this thing go down: 49 Songs From North of the 49th Parallel.
aka, Obama's Playlist.

it is indeed a great playlist. great songs from some of the greatest Canadian artists.

so we have:
(as listed in alphabetical order, by artist; my fav's with an *)

*Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)
*Barenaked Ladies - If I Had $1,000,000
Beau Dommage – La complainte du phoque en Alaska
Ben Heppner - We’ll Gather Lilacs
Bruce Cockburn - Wondering Where the Lions Are
Buffy Sainte-Marie - Universal Soldier
Daniel Bélanger - Rêver mieux
Daniel Lanois - Jolie Louise
Daniel Lavoie - J'ai quitté mon île
Diana Krall - Departure Bay
Gilles Vigneault - Mon pays
*Glenn Gould - Goldberg Variations
Gordon Lightfoot - Canadian Railroad Trilogy
Gordon Lightfoot – Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
*Great Big Sea - Ordinary Day
Harmonium - Pour un Instant
*Ian & Sylvia - Four Strong Winds
James Ehnes - Barber Violin Concerto
Jesse Cook - Mario Takes a Walk
*Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now
Joni Mitchell – A Case of YouKarkwa - Oublie pas
k.d. lang - Hallelujah > as much as i love this song...her version...is just okay.
Leonard Cohen - Democracy
Leonard Cohen - Suzanne
Malajube - Montréal -40°C
Marie-Jo Thério - Évangeline
Marjan Mozetich - Affairs of the Heart
Measha Brueggergosman - I’m Going Up a Yonder
Mes Aïeux - Dégénérations
Michael Bublé – Home
Moe Koffman - Swingin' Shepherd Blues
Neil Young - Rockin' In the Free World
Neil Young - Helpless
*Oscar Peterson Trio - Hymn to Freedom
*Oscar Peterson – Place St. Henri (from Canadiana Suite)
Parachute Club - Rise Up
Raymond Lévesque - Quand Les Hommes Vivront D'amour
Rush - Closer to the Heart
*Sam Roberts - The Canadian Dream
Shad - Brother (Watching)
Stan Rogers - Northwest Passage
*Stompin' Tom Connors - The Hockey Song
The Arrogant Worms Canada's Really Big
The Guess Who - American Woman
The Tragically Hip - Wheat Kings
The Tragically Hip - Bobcaygeon
The Rankin Family - Rise Again
*The Weakerthans - One Great City!

wonder what he'll think of Sam Roberts: "S.O.C.I.A.L.I.S.M. is here to stay"?