Howl

and more detached females

2012-01-21T16:21:00.000-05:00

I've had a newfound appreciation for this group after my brush with them at last year's NXNE. This song may go on for a longer than necessary period, and their editing may need some more active pursuit but the sighing emotiveness of this song overtakes the cutting. Emotion without effort. A brush with a deeper void that one is only given a glimpse of. This group holds back enough to maintain a dignity that is backed up by their black lace ensembles and performances.

the time i got sucked into another dimension

2012-01-21T16:15:00.000-05:00

...otherwise known as the dec-jan period of exams, vacation and tilting from one extreme to the other.

Come to my musical attention have been the likes of Lana Del Ray whose song Video Games has been eclipsed by the more varied Born to Die. Of mysterious origins and with a remarkable presence she has floated unto the music scene without a single disruption. She makes the desire in me to go South in the States and road trip through Arizona, Colorado and New Orleans that much more tantalizing.

british youtube musicians

2011-11-18T02:23:00.000-05:00

Covering Radiohead's Creep, Sons of Admirals disbanded after getting into the charts. Reason for disbanding? Record label pressures apparently, as well as mainstream conformity issues. These guys aren't just musicians, they're entrepreneurs.

bambambam

2011-11-18T02:10:00.028-05:00

local talent should not go unnoticed!

After my shot at stage managing for Indie Week here in Toronto, I got to knock a few more locals to my much too short list.

Cai.ro

Lots of reverb, lots of wavy vocals and swayable rhythms. mildly smoldering

http://www.myspace.com/cai.ro

BlueVenus

Jazzy and trumpet-filled, with vocals that hold on to a tension just before the oooh.
http://www.myspace.com/bluevenusmusic

Brad Fillatre
*Indie Week finalist!

Technically speaking a Newfie. What caught the attention of Indie Week judges and audiences alike was the soul he inserted into his vocals. he not only strummed his guitar but put out music so raw it made you hurt inside.
http://www.myspace.com/bradfillatre

Alissa Vox Raw

In one word: loops. low almost raspy voice layering over itself in a dizzying pattern of 1940's meets synth
http://www.myspace.com/alissavoxraw

this is the ultimate music orgasm.

2011-11-18T01:25:00.001-05:00

Codex - Radiohead from King Of Limbs (2011)

Every time Yorke leans into the microphone and lightly parts his lips, the sound that escapes is not a voice but a whisper of melody. A melodic shadow. Try as one might, anticipating his entrance is virtually impossible to predict, and every time his voice freezes you on the spot. Reverberating, this song fully takes control, no questions asked.

Inspired by my South Asian Lit class

2011-11-03T01:44:00.000-04:00

From the talents of Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij

the curse of 27

2011-07-26T12:57:00.001-04:00

Amy Winehouse.
Another tragedy of the curse. Is it the 27 year curse? Maybe. But what i want to write about is another curse. Is it really true that an artist must give up something of themselves in order to properly and truly convey their art? Sacrifice anything asked. Of all the people who have contributed amazing and "out of this world" art, how many have succumbed to madness, lost limbs, killed themselves? Sylvia Plath, Vincent van Gogh, Jimi Hendrix...the list is almost infinite. Can artistic creation really be so potent as to drive their creators to madness and death, like a powerful child killing its mother?
Amy Winehouse had soul and sang out of sincere feeling. Her life was laid out for the public eye. Interviews were tinged with sadness and honestly people should have seen this coming. But to make something so beautiful out of so much tragedy and pain...her last gift to the world.
Rest in Peace Amy.

Sunday!

2011-07-01T21:43:00.000-04:00

For some reason or another all the international bands[the u.s. don't count] ended up on this night.

Miri from Iceland --> http://www.myspace.com/mirimusic

The Star Department from Dublin --> http://www.myspace.com/thestardepartment

Bensh from Vienna --> http://www.myspace.com/benshmusic/music

and Keram from California. --> http://keramsongs.com/

Apparently NXNE had a sense of flow int he festival and ended the week on a rather heartacheingly powerful note. I actually had tears in my eyes during Miri's set. Hauntingly invoking the atmosphere of Iceland in their melodies and whispering guitars :'( even thinking of it strikes a chord.

I heard good things about The Star Department so I was kind of disappointed with their set...Didn't seem to be putting in a lot of effort or energy

Bensh! I was psyched to see them and they delivered! Upbeat synth-laden sweet choppy vocals from Austria.

and finally as Keram began playing his acoustic and soulfully nostalgic tunes the backstage crew shared drinks and sat down thinking over the past nights. corny but true.

Cheers NXNE 2011, and see you next year :)

Saturday

2011-07-01T21:17:00.001-04:00

sorry for the delay! diligence was postponed in the presence of a new kitten! and some extra housemates and general grudging back to work glum.

SO, saturday was from my experience the best day overall at the Elmo for NXNE. The bands' sound was alt rock and the energy was amazing! Evident in the howling vocals, like those of The Copportone's lead singer/guitarist Amanda Zelina.

The night started with the throb of The Schomberg Fair [http://www.myspace.com/theschombergfair]

Was kept ablaze by the men of Harper Blynn [http://www.myspace.com/harperblynn/music]

Carried over by Gentlemen Husbands [http://www.myspace.com/gentlemenhusbands/music]

the speakers almost got blown over by The Coppertone [http://www.myspace.com/494192749]

To be extolled by special guests The Royal Bangs [http://www.myspace.com/royalbangs/music]

and finally finished with a flash by Montreal band Honheehonhee [http://www.myspace.com/honheehonhee]

Let's just say I thought the music would do the talking.

Friday at the NXNE

2011-06-25T23:31:00.000-04:00

Fuck Montreal : http://www.myspace.com/255448282
Indian Handcrafts : http://www.myspace.com/indianhandcrafts/music
New France : website currently non retrievable
Rusty : http://www.myspace.com/therockbandrusty
Saint Alvia : http://www.myspace.com/saintalvia/music
The Dum Dum Girls : http://www.myspace.com/dumdumgirls/music

Ah friday. The night most of western society accepts as an equivalent to what sunday was for god. a day of rest and binge-drinking to loud rock music. rock on. Well Rusty was on full display as they played their last show in the venue they used to work in, back in the day the stage wasn't in the former kitchen. And if that wasn't a hell raiser! Let's just say I didn't even try to part the crowd to get to the other side of the bar. Uh-uh. I wouldn't even be able to tell you whether or not there was definite moshing action. But crowdsurfing I saw.

Not knowing who Rusty were and not being the biggest admirer of the style I was confused as to why this stripped down rock music was sooo well received. The last show certainly put a buzz to the set but the popularity in general was striking.

Fuck Montreal was a shoutout from my once dear and near town of Halifax. And post-punk/rock or not, music that comes from Hali sounds like Hali. Which is a good thing, I think.

Following the East Coast troopers were Indian Handcrafts and New France. Metal infused rock lined with psychedelic and punk[for Handcrafts] and melancholic vocals[for New France]. I was particularly impressed with the drummer for New France. Good accent and contrast to the quieter and sombre vocals.

Saint Alvia was more of the pop/punk scene and lifted the atmosphere to a very drunk and Rusty fan-filled audience. The Dum Dum Girls were killer. Personally I could not tear my eyes off the bassist who unlike the other 3's enthused jumping and energetic playing simply swayed to her own pulse the whole show.

PART DOS

2011-06-25T22:47:00.000-04:00

...Then came Thursday. A night of, for inexplicable reasons, psychedelic/ambient/low-fi/electro/rock/pop. If that makes any sense...

Brothertiger : http://www.myspace.com/brothertiger
Woodsman : http://www.myspace.com/woodsmanman/music
A Lull : http://www.myspace.com/alullmusic/music
Tape Deck Mountain : http://www.myspace.com/tapedeckmountain/music
Gauntlet Hair : http://www.myspace.com/gauntlethair/music
P.S. I Love You : http://www.myspace.com/psiloveyouband/music

Lots of noise, lots of echoey reverb from drawn out guitar riffs and- well, reverb. This was predictably my kind of night. The noise was louuuuddd and had a lot of power. Standing on the main ground or leaning against the walls especially you could FEEL the soundwaves colliding with your body, and shaking you like a guitar string. Impact, made.

This night I have something to say about everyone. First off, Brothertiger made a shy but wonderful nonetheless performance. My interview with him can be found, oh 2 posts down, or on Gold Soundz here --> http://networkedblogs.com/jz8oI . More so on this site, but a fraction so on Soundz too you can read everything you want to know about my stance on the talented Ohio artist.

Ah, Woodsman. The psychedelic-noise-rock band from Colorado. The whole time they played I was almost unable to get beyond categorizing their sound as drugs, drugs, DRUGS. Which is bad, and stereotypical this is true. But I couldn't help comparing their music to the progress of your average "trip". The constant presence, the gradual increase of speed and momentum, the buildup of noise, the climax-held for an almost saturated time. Then the general ease of pace to a smooth and lethargic finish. Yeah or sex would be another good description come to think of it. I feel obligated to mention and reference my paper comparing Otis Redding's recording of Try a Little Tenderness to that very same sexual diddy. Anyways, I did have a little more to say regarding them, such as their hallow desert wave of sound which is built up and suspended.

The surprising GEM of the evening was A Lull who blew me inside out. Their tribal rhythmic pounding, unbelievable chaotic and frenzied energy and let's not forget the galactic feel created by the bass riffs which plunge you into the abyss. HA. One moment you're just standing there, listening to a band you've never heard and all of a sudden YOU, not the ground, but you start shaking from the powerful rhythmic pounding. so. much. good. If you're into that kind of thing.

Tape Deck Mountain was a hell of a noise maker for a two person band. It was like once they were about to start playing the on switch was flicked and off they went.

Sigh, Gauntlet Hair was "supposed to be" one of the main features of the night, especially with it being the last show of their tour. They sound great....on recordings. That is, they're a very unique and talented group [another one from Colorado] who bring out the heartbeat reverb power rhythms I dig so very much. And I'm sure during the rest of their tour their live shows reflected that...alas this one did not. They were tired from playing another show the same night and fairly drunk. Their soundcheck took 10-20 minutes out of their set and they just weren't put together. Which is a dissapointment but one which could have been worse and it's something you can dismiss for you still have solid gold access to their recordings.

The special and unnanounced guest was P.S. I love you, who had also played another set that night...Which was preeeeety evident in their performance. They tried. But technical difficulties, various levels of inebriation and exhaustion left the crowd with a 20-25 minute set, cutting out half the glory.

NXNE 2011 reviews from Wednesday June 15 to Sunday June 19

2011-06-25T22:17:00.000-04:00

wednesday. ah the festival begins for a few locations across the sprawling city of toronto. one of such locales being the venue i was to be at all week, the El Mocambo.

Now I don't know nearly enough Toronto history to classify myself as a local but it is important to note the status of the Elmo. This 2 floor bar/stage place may seem washed out and dingy at first glance but important names have played there, including the Rolling Stones in '77[I may have mentioned this before...x a hundred] and if it's washed out, it's done so by history herself. Downstairs the area has been opened up for a bigger audience space and is charmingly lit by candles and lights held in hung paper/middle eastern styled lanterns. The tables may be wobblier than my comfort level needs but overall the good space is just that, good. It feels nice to be in it and as the Beatles put it, "a splendid time is guaranteed for all."

But enough about the venue. Each night the music seemed to be themed or at least half-frenziedly categorized starting off with an acoustic/alt-country/folk set. This, generally is not my thing. In fact, far from it. But I appreciate, or try to, all music, especially when performed live. It takes talent to be able to pour out your musical soul to a roomfull of strangers and do so earnestly and passionately. Having said that, these musicians did a wonderful job.
Chris Velan : http://www.myspace.com/47133765
Dave Hause : http://www.myspace.com/davehause/music
Chuck Ragan : http://www.myspace.com/chuckragan/music
The Cavaliers : http://www.myspace.com/thecavaliersmusic

That may have sounded campy and cheesy, but there's something about being in the moment that really makes this apparent.
Noteworthy sets included Chuck Ragan who belted a la Springsteen to a surprising amount of people. Unfortunate that Ontario group Cavliers' set was the last to go and hence very under appreciated. Not to mention that the sound settings were set for a much rockier sound than those guys needed.

Good way to start learning the ropes of being a stage hand..not much equipment to handle, but just enough last minute requirements to keep you on the edge of your toes [combining expressions, 2 at a time.]

Cults at Dundas Square!

2011-06-21T20:13:00.000-04:00

I ended up being able to catch Cults live at Dundas Square on Saturday and this is a crappy video I took commemorating the event. The song is Abducted and can be better heard here:

She really puts the emotion into her voice!

A Guide to noticing the world like Brothertiger: An Interview from NXNE.

2011-06-21T19:55:00.000-04:00

Through my volunteering as a stage hand for North by Northeast I not only got to see around 27 free shows but even managed to score an interview with the Ohio musician John Jagos, alias Brothertiger. Opening the soundwave Thursday night [June 16th] at the memorable El Mocambo, Brothertiger played his first Canadian show and left to explore the busy city of Toronto.

It's hard to classify and categorize his music as it tucks in between and borrows from a multitude of genres including new wave, electronic, and pop. Listening to his music, one can definitely see why he cites Prince, Tears for Fears and Talking Heads as influences. There is an overwhelming presence of nostalgia which is expressed through influences of the synth-laden decade of the 80's. This retro feel is comparable to that of Arial Pink's Haunted Graffiti, though where Pink's vocals are stable and weighty Brothertiger has a translucent voice and the overall combination adds to a dreamy blend of soft synth sounds against a backdrop of constant pop rhythms. Songs such as "Feel" have a city vibe, a constant steady rhythmic pattern which he never ceases unless making a purposeful and precise pause for effect. As a result of the steady rhythm, his music can be a soundtrack to a moving train and the the view of the world outside, steadily but calmly passing by.

So how does he fit into today's music and culture scene? His pop, electro, indie-synth blend equals catchy tunes with a real goal of paying attention to life and recognizing happiness. It's a more peaceful approach to looking at life; plugging into to a deeper level of observing and participating within the world and plugging out of the mundane buzzing distractions we find in our lives.

After his set at the Elmo, we stepped outside to better hear one another through the waves of instrumental rock psychedelia happening inside, and I was able to ask a few questions:

How do you classify your style of music?
New disco and dream pop, though it's been called anything from low-fi to chillwave. Actually according to Pitchfork, I'm the new Prince of chillwave.

Where do your ideas start from and what are your inspirations?
I don't think people appreciate youth, or whichever age they find themselves in. People don't appreciate life enough. I find inspiration in daily life.

Do you find it easier to write from a positive event or from negative emotions?
Definitely positive. It's easier for me to write music fueled by happy events about happy things. My music is positive and I try to make music people can enjoy and which makes them happy.

That's very interesting as most people find darker emotions easier to write about. So do you write music for other people then or for yourself?
Other people. It's fun to make songs, upload them and see how quickly the number of people who like it increases in such a short time. It starts off with something personal in my life but then listeners take from it what they will.

There is a pulse to your music which is sort of like a heartbeat or the throb of a city, was that a conscious decision?
Yes! The city definitely has a pulse to it, it's why I want to move to Brooklyn, NY. I love writing about the city, the feel of the living city and the nightlife.

Where do you picture your music being played?
Places where you can dance and enjoy the music. People have told me that it's played in dance clubs, even in Amsterdam.

There are lots of benefits to playing in a church such as the echoey, haunting reverb effect. Would you ever consider playing in one?
Definitely. I love the idea. Atlas Sound played in a church for Northside and it was great. If the opportunity ever comes up, yes!

Random Fact: Photo from Point of View is of a park in New York and was taken by Jagos by a Minolta camera he found in NY for $2.

Lookout for his new album, to be released in September.

In Case you're wondering...

2011-06-05T17:52:00.000-04:00

I DO review music...and here are 2 published examples. Published in the U of T, Victoria College newspaper, The Strand.

Review of White Lies' Ritual: Habitual Lies Deliver Again

"Despite the experimentation with the studio, there are no big surprises or distinctions that make the band's two albums radically different or unrecognizable. Nevertheless, band members Harry McVeigh, Charles Cave, and Jack Brown seem to be sure of the band's direction and have planned out how they want to be perceived since its creation. After all, they were the band who abruptly changed their name, deleted their Myspace account, claiming that "Fear of Flying is dead…White Lies is alive," and postponed performing to build up hype."

Review of Get Fed by The Thundermonks: Thundering Monks

"This ultimate feel-good album is a must for weathering the long winter season and welcoming back long hours of sunlight. Its rhythms are heavily influenced by ska and jazz and the offbeat tempos are simply irresistible. Often times the ska-reggae elements, as well as the uplifting lyrics, allude to spring break fever and a coastal atmosphere."

Et Voila

Radiohead - King of Limbs Review

2011-06-05T17:44:00.000-04:00

Credited to Ned Seager.
Brilliant review which however late must be posted. and read. and appreciated.

At least since OK Computer in 1997, Radiohead has made music that sounds like it comes from another planet, but never more so than on King of Limbs. It seems as though the musicians are following rules of music, they just aren't following our rules. This otherworldliness creeps in through the eccentric beats and haunting electronic noise, but the most alien sound here is Thom Yorke's voice. His melodies wheel about in endless circles, slipping constantly between falsetto and normal ranges. The notes held to their breaking point in "Bloom," and the verses in "Separator," "Codex," and the single "Lotus Flower," make it clear that nobody else can write melodies like this, let alone make them catchy.

There's a lot of praise to heap onto this unique album, so I'll get a complaint out of the way first. One song (and only one song) approaches disappointment: the penultimate "Give up the Ghost." If Limbs is a trip to another planet, then "Ghost" is a spaceship carrying Grizzly Bear and Fleet Foxes crash-landing on its surface. Taken on its own it's a fine song, but it's out of place next to more ethereal songs like "Codex," which sounds like the musical accompaniment to a space funeral. Minor piano chords and eerie horns back up Yorke's melancholy howl on this twisted version of a rock album's piano ballad.

Radiohead is unique not only in sound but in business too. They were hailed as visionaries when they released 2007's In Rainbows online and allowed the buyer to choose the price. Though this album was still released exclusively online (although a "newspaper edition" is coming), for King of Limbs the band abandoned the pay-what-you-will model in favour of a fixed price of $9. Perhaps they were tired of the freeloaders. "Morning Mr. Magpie," with its dark, driving rhythm section and refrains of "You stole it all / Give it back," "You know you should / But you don't," and "You took my melody," seems to demand that its listeners actually buy albums rather than pirate them. I suppose if any band deserves our money, it's Radiohead - they're just about the only ones actually testing out alternatives to a broken system.

Throughout Limbs, the listener can't shake the feeling that this is the Thom Yorke Show (perhaps with special guest Jonny Greenwood). Since Kid A in 2000, it has seemed to be Yorke's creative ambition steering the band, but the other members get their moments here as well. "Separator" is driven as much by the wandering presence of Colin Greenwood's bass as by the absence of it. When the deep notes drop away, it's as if the ground has been pulled out from under both the song and the listener. Phil Selway shines throughout the album in both his live drum work and his drum machine programming. The first five songs are all focused intently on their beats, which tend to be magnificently crowded and fast, especially on the Dubstep-influenced "Feral."
King of Limbs is an album (and Radiohead is a band) that doesn't sound like any other existing. That in itself is admirable, but it helps that Radiohead's members are all exceedingly talented and brilliant musicians. Really the only negative thing to say about the album is that it's too short - but maybe there's more to come. After all, closing track "Separator" tells us, in Yorke's ethereal voice, "If you think this is over / You're wrong."

ADDED: There wasn't a second album, as some fans had hoped for, but there were two more songs. And they were awesome. Dreamy and synth-y "Supercollider" is as good as anything on the actual album.

The Summer of Music!

2011-06-05T17:01:00.000-04:00

I have been horrible about writing reviews and keeping this up. But! It's a new month[still baffling] and soo much is going on that I have no excuses to abstain from reporting.

I'm a volunteer for the North By Northeast[NXNE] music festival here in Toronto which is going on from Mon June 13th- Sun June 19th. I'll be helping out as a stage hand at the main floor of the El Mocambo[historic venue where the Rolling Stones played a surprise set in the 70s] Wed June 15-Sun June 19. 6pm-4am every night!
Exciting stuff! This is a great opportunity to see little known bands, either up and coming or those playing in the outskirts of the mainstream machine. Bands on my venue's roster hail from Dublin, Iceland, USA and my current home and native land Canada. There are 27 of them so I won't list them all but I WILL include a link to the NXNE site where all bands playing at all venues can be seen along with descriptions of their sound. The genres are ranging night by night from country and acoustic rock to electro and alternative rock/punk. None of the bands at the mocambo are familiar to me but from a first glance these sound mighty interesting:

-Brothertiger [http://www.myspace.com/brothertiger]
-Harper Blynn [http://www.myspace.com/harperblynn]
-The Star Department [http://www.myspace.com/thestardepartment]
-HONHEEHONHEE [http://www.myspace.com/honheehonhee]
-Bensh [http://www.myspace.com/benshmusic]

The festival isn't only a celebration of music but of film and other interactive conference stuff. ch-ch-ch-check it out!

Sidenote pertaining to this being the summer of music, as I was heading from work to my first stage hand training session I was greeted by a musician samples from his unreleased cd for donations and I'm now the owner of Melodic Yoza's sampler cd for a measly 2.25 donation. His website: www.reverbnation.com/melodicyoza
sounds like: reggae, world music, with some undertones of r&b. Lyrics focusing on daily life problems and nostalgic memories of happier and younger days.

Working in a bakery means morning shifts and weekend shifts which makes it difficult to see shows like the one I will most likely be missing on thursday--> "dance celebration funk gypsy band" @ the Lula Lounge followed by sets from DJ's Medicineman and Nomadica. *shakes fist to air*

Reviews ARE coming up...tyler the creator's Goblin and some highlights from the NXNE of course. Warpaint perhaps...I was planning on reviewing Adele but she's been written to pieces by everyone and the feelings are pretty much mutual so maybe not. Alas, I am missing Cults who are performing at Lee's Palace and for free at Dundas Square but that will not keep me from giving a shout about their album 7".

peace & love.

NXNE -------------------> http://nxne.com <----------------------

Wishing my university offered majors in music history and culture

2011-05-07T19:16:00.001-04:00

Grades just came in and the difference between my music class and all the rest is beyond perceivable.

If anyone happens to go to u of t and is interested in popular music and the cultural significance behind it consider taking music, violence and war.

Otherwise I suggest you go elsewhere for your music interest.

In other news I've been listening to Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown after basically ignoring it for the time it's been out. Well it's definitely a themed rock opera. Pretty decent of its genre, whatever that may be.[contemporary cultural commentary via post punk rock opera?] It's interesting how some bands base their whole careers on criticizing certain politicians. Green Day was big prior to Bush but boy did they capitalize with American Idiot. Then the Dixie Chicks scandal. Bush was a horrible and is a horrible politician and human being but at least his stupidity inspired so many groups and artists. Protest music has come a long way since Bob Dylan.

Words In Song

2011-05-06T00:01:00.000-04:00

I was afraid this blog might sound too academic, but I guess there's nothing wrong with that. I'm listening to the new Peter Bjorn & John album in preparation for their appearance at Sonic Boom tomorrow 7pm and thinking about lyrics as well as song titles. Do people listen enough to lyrics to actually identify with their ambiguous poetic meanings? Obviously they[we] do, there are books and books about this. But why do we feel a special connection to words when someone sings them out as opposed to reading them off the page? A song can perfectly capture someone's mood if the theme and tone of the musical accompaniment fits the lyrics being sung, and the song becomes a symbol for one's mood. But we do more than use it as a symbol, we act as if it were made for us and in this specific instant we feel a kinship with it. We posses and befriend the music. Even a song's title can bias our interpretation of the song, instantly granting us a preconception of the song. It's as if our minds cross reference the name to see if it can possibly relate to an experience we've had in the past. So in a way we validate our emotions and experiences through the more physical aspect of music and song. In this physical representation of our emotions we try to communicate to others what we feel and how we perceive the world.

Next point of question, do song titles/and songs themselves create an artificial atmosphere in which emotions are created even if they are not warranted for the occasion? Can music create and control our experiences? Listening to certain types of music will affect your mood accordingly, whether to improve a bad day or to power an angry rant. But as everyone is affected by music differently, this is a power which is barely controllable and often unpredictable.

Anyways, enough of troubled me going off on philo-musical sidetracks..

Listen to the new Peter Bjorn and John. Song of worth[and probable single] : click to listen

The Birth

2011-05-05T21:45:00.000-04:00

Post no.1

The eternal quest to fill up a blank page with words. Hopefully ones that string together in a meaningful way and convey information. Maybe even invoke an emotional response. For my first post as an amateur music blogger I'm going to skip the words and go straight into a song. After all, this is all about music.

-->play me [Houdini - Foster the People RAC Remix]