5 Best Albums of 2008

I've decided to write one category which focuses on the five best albums (in my opinion) released in 2008. I have justified my list to myself by listening to all these albums once more and appreciating them again like I did previously in the year.

So here they are...

Best Five Albums of 2008:

Lykke Li - Youth Novels
Released: June 2008

Lykke Li was no doubt my favourite artist of the year. Her album, Youth Novels, was introduced to me by two of my favourite Swedes. Since then, I've posted six blog posts revolving around her.
This album, along with her performance and style, is innovative and irresistible. Even though she had a hard time starting out at first, I believe her motivation and passion have paid off and I think will continue to do so.

Lykke Li - Breaking it Up


Metronomy - Nights Out
Released: September 2008

This album was unexpectedly well-done. Via Hype Machine, I mainly focused on Metronomy's remixes when I first started listening to them (which are usually always good). Then, I got a hold of "Heartbreaker" and became obsessed. I just recently listened to all of this album and I was very impressed. It takes its listener through scenes of medieval electronica to modern love-dance melodies. This album doesn't appear to be on anyone else's "end of the year" pieces but I think it definitely deserves a spot in my top 5 best albums of 2008.

Metronomy - A Thing for Me


Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Released: May 2008

One of my close friends introduced me to Cut Copy's second album, In Ghost Colours. This band has been frequently played at the clubs I attend which has made me enjoy their music even more because it's ideal for dance parties of any type. This album will forever remind me of Vancouver now. Even though they hail from Australia, the Vancouver "scene" has submitted this album deep into its roots.

Cut Copy - Lights and Music



MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Released: March 2008

Surprisingly, I discovered MGMT on the Canadian music channel, Much Music, when their song "Time to Pretend" was released as their first single in March. I immediately looked them up and discovered the rest of the album which I digged right away. Since the release of this album, MGMT's fanbase has grown extremely.

MGMT - Electric Feel (Youtube Link)

Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue
Released: February 2008

I was introduced to Plants and Animals while listening to CBC Radio 3 (oh so Canadian). This band was short listed for the Polaris Music Prize and I had fate that they would win but unfortunately, they did not (though, Caribou was a fine choice anyway).
Parc Avenue has been a critically acclaimed album of this year. The acapalla arrangements, numerous instrumentals and nature-like lyrics supply this album with an original sound.

Plants and Animals - Feedback in the Field


Now, we're ready for 2009!

Did you take tram #7 to heaven?

Oh yes, I did.

It's been difficult trying to keep my blog up-to-date with new music while travelling the south of Sweden. To be honest, I'm liking Sweden. I really enjoyed Gothenburg; their diverse shopping and easily accessible transit could be potential reasons for this. I was told that the transit system in Gothenburg was a lot better than Vancouver's. At first, I took offense to this but I soon realized this statement was very true.
One of my friends who is currently travelling with me told me that Jens Lekman wrote the song, "Tram #7 to Heaven", about one of the best trams to ride in Gothenburg (I say "one of the best" because tram number seven took me from where I was staying to downtown very easily).
Jens Lekman isn't new, but he's pretty nice to listen to and has deep roots in Sweden; hence the existence of this song and other songs like, "The Cold Swedish Winter".

Splendid Interview with Lekman

Jens Lekman - Tram #7 to Heaven (live)

Don't get any big ideas

Until we bleed

This is a short post due to my presence in Sweden at the moment. But I feel that acknowledgment of this song is necessary. I've written so many posts about Lykke Li that I will mainly write about Kleerup for this post.
Kleerup's real name is Andreas Kleerup and he comes from Sweden. I couldn't find much information about him but here is a link to his blog which is sort of in English and Swedish.
This song is full of lot's of cello and Lykke Li's voice which both add to its beauty. Apparently, this song was produced some time ago before Lykke Li took off (in North America, anyway). So I seem to be kind of behind on this one but give me a break, I'm Canadian...eh?

Kleerup - Until we bleed (feat. Lykke Li)

British people love the Kings of Leon

When I arrived in England, I noticed that my friend's roommates really liked the song "Use Somebody" by the Kings of Leon. They played it on repeat as a warm-up song before going out.
A little later, I bought a Q magazine (which is a British music magazine) due to its cheap price compared to the Canadian one. It turns out that their number one album of the year was listed as the Kings of Leon's latest album, Only By the Night. I was really surprised to see this considering Under the Radar and myself gave the CD a mediocre review. But apparently, the Brits really like it.
This album has consumed my England experience.

Kings of Leon - Closer
(the best song from Only By the Night)

Everybody gonna say "You, K"

For the past couple of days, I've had Estelle's "American Boy" stuck in my head. I think it may be because I keep thinking "I'm in the UK." And then, Kanye's rap sequence comes into my head; the part where he says "Who killing them in the UK? Everybody gonna say 'You, K'". It's not a very good line but it keeps getting stuck in my head these days.
I decided to YouTube the song and an impressive cover by Sam Sparro came up. In the middle of the song, he does his own little rap; it's entertaining.
Check it out.

Sam Sparro - American Boy

Metronomy

I hadn't listened to all of Metronomy's album, Nights Out, until I was in England, traveling from the Heathrow airport to a city full of students. The album is a lot better than I had expected (hence why I hadn't listened to it yet). It's fairly abstract electronic rock which is refreshingly groovy. It's a perfect album to listen to when you're worn out heading somewhere where you don't know what to expect.
I definitely suggest checking out this album before Metronomy comes to Vancouver. According to their myspace page, they are going to be playing at the Biltmore on January 24th.

Excellent.

Metronomy - Radio Ladio


Metronomy - Heartbreaker

Vancouver, I'll see you next year

I will miss you but I'll be back later, little one.

This song will forever remind me of you:
Cut Copy - Strangers in the wind

A thing for me

This song has been stuck in my head since my good friend came into my room this morning and told me stories that automatically linked my brain to this song.

To be honest, I don't really like the original of Metronomy's "A thing for me" but I do like most of the remixes of it. I've posted two: one is remixed by Sinden and is fairly fast-paced. The other is remixed by Breakbot and is slower and funkier.

Metronomy - A thing for me (Sinden remix)
Metronomy - A thing for me (Breakbot remix)

More "A thing for me" remixes on HypeM

Metronomy - A thing for me

Go Brodinski, go DJ Mehdi

After DJ Mehdi came to Vancouver, I unfortunately never got around to writing about it. This sweet remix reminded me of how awesome that night turned out to be. I wasn't really feeling it at first but soon after I arrived, DJ Mehdi played some intense beats, and got me moving and feeling better.

Brodinski has remixed DJ Mehdi's "Pocket Piano" and has displayed the true value of piano keys. He isolated the piano bridge in the middle of the song and it really got me appreciating that pocket piano.

DJ Mehdi - Pocket Piano(Brodinski Remix)

DJ Mehdi - Pocket Piano

Kilometer

You know a song's good when you don't notice the girl moaning in the background...

I actually didn't notice the background moaning until the second time I listened to this remix. Surprisingly, I didn't mind it. Usually I don't like songs with sexual moaning in them but this one is different. Maybe it's because this remix is so good. Moulinex did a really good job of hyper-sexualizing this already sexual Sébastien Tellier song. I've listened to it on repeat all day today. I canNOT stop.

Sébastien Tellier - Kilometer (Moulinex Remix)

Sébastien Tellier - Kilometer

Dancing is the way to go

It's December.
Time for a break.
Time for the holidays.
Time for a vacation.
Time to bust out that fancy footwork.

Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (Death to the Throne Render)

Death to the Throne MySpace
Chromeo MySpace

Before it hits December

I watched both of these the other day in the midst of writing a paper. The first one left me feeling a little disgusted. And the second one, which is a parody, left me trying to silence my laughter in the library. The original is way too serious for me so this video parody made me feel a lot better after watching the original.

Enjoy

Justice - Stress


Justesse - No Stress (Parody)

I don't care what nobody says...

This wonderful remix/cover of "Knocked Up" is from the Kings of Leon's Use Somebody single. Like stated in other blogs, it's hard to determine whether or not this is a cover or a remix. I guess it's a bit of both. But whatever it is, it's excellent.
The combination of Lykke Li's voice and Caleb Followill's voice is soothing and perfect. Whoever put this together did a good job putting a Lykke Li twist on it.
The original (which was released in 2007) is also excellent; brings back nostalgic memories.

Kings of Leon - Knocked up (Lykke Li vs. Rodeo Mix)

Kings of Leon - Knocked up


P.S. Lykke Li is taking over

You got me pushing imaginary buttons

In the beginning of last year, I was slurping on a caramel macchiato at the good ol' local Starbucks where I noticed a CD that had the image of a blonde girl with colourful marks all over her face. I was mostly interested in the artist, Sia, because of her unique album art. I only got to check out one of her songs, which was "I Go To Sleep". I soon forgot about her for some reason. Then, out of the blue, she surfaced again. But this was more so CSS re-surfacing and remixing her song "Buttons".
No offense to the original song but I think the CSS remix is structured a lot better. It progresses nicely and of course, there's a nice dance beat to groove to.

Sia - Buttons (CSS Remix)

Sia - Buttons (Original Video)

Recently, Sia has released the third single, "Soon She'll be Found", off her latest album, Some People Have Real Problems; this album also contains "Buttons" and "I Go to Sleep"

Any way you choose to give it (Boy 8-bit remix)

AHHH!
I blogged about this remix (and other excellent remixes of this song) last June. The Boy 8-bit remix has surfaced again in my music library and I'm loving it - why did McDonald's have to ruin that phrase?

First things first, I think the original song is amazing. It's mainly the lyrics and the beat that I really seem to enjoy. I also love the different interpretations/remixes of this song. I would say that this one is the most "playful" out of all of them.

I can't find much info on Boy 8-bit. All I can state is: 8-bit music consists of crazy video game sounds which is what Boy 8-bit seems to enjoy. Here is a link to his podomatic.

The Black Ghosts - Any way you choose to give it (Boy 8-bit remix)

The Black Ghosts - Any way you choose to give it

She Loves Everybody

Consisting of two people (D.A. Wallach and Max Drummey), Chester French is a band that has freshly graduated from Harvard University. They're just starting to successfully seed into the music world with their single "She Loves Everybody." Even though I'm not a big fan of the lyrics, I will admit that this song is damn catchy.

Chester French - She Loves Everybody

Arcadia

I surprisingly discovered this video (and the artist, Apparat) on YouTube. I listened to the song before fully watching the video. At first, I thought the song was pretty good; it kind of reminded me of Röyksopp. Then, I watched the video which left me feeling a little confused and sad. I watched it again, and again, and again...I seriously couldn't stop watching it. Now, I can't stop listening to "Arcadia." I feel like this song and video hypnotized me into loving them (which I have no problem with at all).

Little bit of info on Apparat:

Apparat is essentially a German man named Sascha Ring. He has released three LPs (according to his official website but Wikipedia states otherwise); his LP released in 2007, Walls, features this song, "Arcadia". I've listened to the rest of Walls and it's relaxing yet full of irresistable dance beats at the same time.

The video and song are well-produced and synchronized nicely with one another. The video can be interpreted differently by different people so I won't do an analysis of it and leave that up to the viewer. All I'm going to say is; poor crow.

Sucked into the supermassive black hole

Looking for a sexy remix?
Look no further.
Muse - Supermassive Black Hole (Phones Control Voltage 7 Mix Edit)
I'm sucked into it.

Muse - Supermassive Black Hole

Gallery Piece Remix

By coinciding the music with the lyrics excellently, this Minitel Rose remix takes this lustful Of Montreal song to the next level of intensity.

Of Montreal - Gallery Piece (Minitel Rose Remix)

Cobrastyle

"Cobrastyle" is a song originally done by a Swedish band called the Teddybears. Swedish "pop" star, Robyn, did a cover of this song. Then, the Bloody Beetroots remixed that cover. And out of all of them, I enjoy the remix the most (but that's what usually seems to happen with me - remixes rule my life). Once the remix gets past the first 3 seconds (which sound like the beginning of "Paper Planes" by M.I.A), it's blissful.

Robyn - Cobrastyle (Bloody Beetroots Remix)

Link to Robyn YouTube video

Teddy Bears - Cobrastyle (original version)

Pass this on...

"Hey cuz, wanna produce some remixes?"

John Dahlbäck and Jesper Dahlbäck are cousins from Sweden with similar interests and initials. They have created their own label (Dahlbäck Recordings) and identity (Hugg & Pepp - this name was inspired by nicknames and potential names that the Dahlbäck's fathers thought of or dreamed for the boys). Both boys are DJs and producers. John bases himself out of London while Jesper prefers to base himself out of his home country.

In this remix, they don't change the song much which I think is good. They do lessen the amount of mermaid drums in the remix which I like (mermaid drums is a false term I made-up for steel drums). They also speed the song up and add more elating sounds, which make it easier to dance to.

The Knife - Pass This On (John Dahlbäck & Jesper Dahlbäck Remix)

The Knife - Pass this on

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Most of the lyrics of this song aren't very relevant to the current affairs of the news but I can't get it out of my head after last night's American election. And what's mainly in my head is; "Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes."

David Bowie - Changes

Excuse me while I get lost in this beat

"A heartbeat, a flicker, a line; it's just a line"
I blogged about how awesome Late of the Pier was a couple of months ago. And now, Hot Chip has provided a sweet remix of "Heartbeat."

If you aren't into this remix at first, wait until the song is about halfway through. The "Sandstorm"-like ambiance and electrified guitar riff creep up unexpectedly and really coerce you into the music (this is a good kind of coercing...). I also like how Hot Chip made the remix mainly focus on the lyrics; "it's just a line."

Late of the Pier - Heartbeat (Hot Chip Remix)

Late of the Pier - Heartbeat

One day, we're gonna live in Paris

After seeing the Friendly Fires perform with Lykke Li, I can't stop listening to "Paris"; the Aeroplane remix and the original.

I had heard the remix before I went to the concert but I had never heard the original. Until after the concert, I didn't appreciate the song/remix the way I should've.

Both the original and the remix have a surreal aura to them which goes along with the dream-like lyrics of the song. And I can totally picture someone wandering the streets of Paris with amazement in their eyes and this song (or remix) playing in the background.

Friendly Fires - Paris (Aeroplane remix feat. Au Revoir Simone)

Friendly Fires - Paris
The video's pretty trippy as well.

Friendly Fires Myspace

This still counts as Halloween

Spooky

TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me


Justice

But we can Dance, Dance, Dance

Date: October 28th, 2008
Where: Richard's on Richards
Who: Friendly Fires & Lykke Li
Why: Because we like good music and good dancing

The opening band for Lykke Li was a band from the UK called Friendly Fires. Their set was full of energy (I think they said something about being on the road for 2 hours so that explains why they went nuts on stage). The singer was literally everywhere; busting moves all over the place. At one point, he got down in the audience and performed down there. Everyone backed away and gave him a nice little circle to perform in.
All in all, Friendly Fires was a pleasant surprise. They got the audience pumped up and ready for Lykke Li.
Lykke Li's band started off the show with the intro to "Melodies & Desires". Lykke Li built up her entrance by coming out when they were transitioning from "Melodies & Desires" to "Dance, Dance, Dance."
"Dance, Dance, Dance" was exciting because they made it really intense live (most of the other songs were intensified as well). Besides some minor sound quality issues, I was very impressed by the overall live performance of the show. Every song they performed from her album, Youth Novels, was performed with more energy and a heavier beat; they all had a different live twist to them. She also added a kazoo to some of her songs (this kazoo was hanging around her neck in the bundle of necklaces she had on; very stylish).

She was also all over the stage dancing away, busting many moves. She did a cover of Vampire Weekend - "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" which was interesting. She also covered A Tribe Called Quest - "Can I Kick it?" which seems to be a solid cover she regularly performs now. "Can I Kick it?" was played in her encore and it was a great way to leave the stage. To be honest, her show has been the best show I've seen in a while. I still find it hard to believe that she had a hard time starting off her career at first.













Peep at the show: A short video of "Window Blues"

Rock Show at the Rio Theatre

Bend Sinister is a band from Vancouver that deserves your appreciation. Their music is like modernized glam/old school rock. They released their newest album, Stories of Brothers, Tales of Lovers, on October 21st. The official CD Release party occurred at the Rio Theatre in Vancouver (an interesting venue for a rock concert) on October 25th.

The show started with The Old Familiar which appeared to be Jon Bunyan's band (the former guitarist for Bend Sinister). It was pretty much Jon Bunyan performing with another guy who occasionally played a stand-up bass. It was pretty good but like he warned us before almost every song he played, it was very "mellow" (especially compared to the following bands).

Then, The Green Hour Band hit the stage. Accompanied by psychedelic visuals of oil on an overhead projector, they rocked out like a blatant version of old BRMC and Oasis mixed together. When they were playing, I felt like I was in a movie. At the front of the stage, a group of people smoking weed, cigarettes and drinking beer; were dancing around. And with the stereotypical hippies in the front, the crazy visuals and rockin' music, I felt like I was in a different decade.

Bend Sinister started their show off with the same song that starts off their album, "The News". They played Stories of Brothers, Tales of Lovers from start to finish along with entertaining visuals from old movies throughout the whole show (minus the encore). At first, I was surprised at how well everything was put together; the visuals matched up perfectly with the music but then, I remembered that I shouldn't have been surprised considering Dan Moxon (vocalist/keyboardist) is a film major from SFU and enjoys film scores.

Along with the visuals, the band was rocking out hardcore on the theatre stage. At one point, Dan Moxon lost his headband due to head banging and hammering on one of the three keyboards/organs he was playing on. Jon Bunyan played with the band in a couple of songs; he mainly performed with them in the song he wrote, "Because Because." They also had two women dressed in similar attire singing back-up vocals and a set of string instrumentals in the back.

I felt a little lost at times; only because I was at a rock concert in a movie theatre. I wasn't really sure how to act. I wanted to rock out but I felt like I had to conform to the comfort of my theatre seat. Some audience members went to the front of the stage but they were mainly taking photos or just getting a closer look. Even though I felt restricted, I think this added another element to the concert (I also think it was something the band was going for). Audience members were coerced to rock out to the music in their heads with the visuals standing by. I kind of liked how this messed with my head at one point. When "Dr. Lee" was playing, I was completely absorbed in the visuals and actually forgot I was at a concert. About halfway through the song, extra lights came on and I snapped out of it. I came back to the concert amazed.

Overall, the concert was very good, unique and entertaining. Besides the occasional sinking mic, the concert flowed smoothly and was performed very well. I was especially impressed with the visuals and the intense onstage performance.

I suggest you definitely check out Bend Sinister's MYSPACE and when they play Vancouver again, check out their show.

First Half
Intermission
Second Half
Encore

Monster Hospital

Halloween's coming up fast

You have to admit, this is an amazing remix. I'm a pretty big Metric fan but I think out of all of their songs, "Monster Hospital" was my least favourite. Then, MSTRKRFT remixed it and my mind changed quickly.

Back in the day, the DJ group, Sex Attack!, used to play at the Modern in Vancouver on Thursday nights. They would play this remix; and with the lit-up dance floor, cheap PBR's, warped mirrors and good company, it was probably one of the best dancing moments of my life.

Last night, my friend got Sex Attack! to play this remix once more and nostalgic feelings consumed me (for the hundredth time this month).

I need to lay off the nostalgia...

Metric - Monster Hospital (MSTRKRFT Remix)

Boys Noize knows how to remix

Boys Noize is comprised of one and only one person, Alex Ridha. Coming out of Germany while developing his own record label (Boysnoize Records), this guy was apparently ready for success at a young age (Wikipedia claims that he started producing music when he was 16).

I first encountered Boys Noize last spring. I downloaded a remix he did of Feist's "My Moon My Man" and fell in love with it. The remix extends the song into a blissful dance promenade. I used to listen to this song a lot while walking to and from work.

Feist - My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix)

Then, I encountered Boys Noize's remix of Sébastien Tellier (which I have already blogged about). "L'amour et la Violence" was already an amazing song but Boys Noize gave it a steady beat while maintaining the song's overall ambiance.

Sébastian Tellier - L'amour et la Violence (Boys Noize Remix)

And today, I found a Boys Noize remix of Justice's "Phantom Part II". Justice is definitely a band that doesn't "need" their stuff remixed but when other artists like Boys Noize pull it off well, these remixes are pleasing to the body and ears.

Justice - Phantom Pt. II (Boys Noize Remix)

Ratatat

If you like electronic rock, you need to check out this band (if you haven't already checked them out). I'm listening to their Classics album and lovin' it.
They can also do awesome remixes; they did an amazing remix of The Knife's "We Share Our Mother's Health" and to be honest, I like it a LOT more than the original.

Ratatat - Wildcat

This song actually has a background outcry of a wildcat throughout it and in my opinion, it's pretty intense.

Under the Rotunda Interview

Since I've been loving you

I just remembered this song today and how amazing it is. I think it's safe to say that it's my all time favourite Led Zeppelin song.


The stimulating guitars of Jimmy Page, the raspy voice of Robert Plant, the banging drums of John Bonham and wistful keyboards of John Paul Jones (poor John Paul Jones, he's so neglected). So powerful, so climactic.

Led Zeppelin - Since I've been loving you

I also used to watch this movie all the time when I was 15.

Emergency! Another excellent Reckoner remix!

Reckoner (Diplo Wreck remix)

After I discovered Diplo's blog entry on his record label's website, Mad Decent, I became very interested in the policies this label believes in when promoting or selling music via the internet. Many bands and labels seem to dispute the notion of free downloads from music blogs. But Diplo posted his own remix on his record label's blog feed. Obviously his label believes in sharing a little bit of music for free, unlike some other labels that will remain unmentioned.

The link below will direct you to Diplo's blog post where the mp3 is located. You can explore the record label's website if you wish.
Enjoy.
Diplo/Mad Decent Blog

The Virgin Suicides

When I was in high school, The Virgin Suicides was a book and movie I really enjoyed. I loved the book for its dreamy and mysterious attributes. And I loved the movie for the same reasons...but really, I mainly loved it for its soundtracks; it had two available soundtracks. One of them was a film score completely constructed by the band, Air. The second one was a compilation of mostly ethereal songs from the 70s that were used in the film. Both soundtracks for this movie were, and still are, awesome compilations and productions.

"Playground Love" from the film score by Air


Live performance of "Crazy on You" by Heart (studio version on compiled soundtrack)

UH YES!!!

Cut Copy and The Presets Concert

The concert I made such a big deal about and still am making a big deal about

My friend and I arrived at the Commodore Ballroom too early (once again). We chilled out for a bit and tried to take pictures of ourselves but failed every time so we decided to get some redbull. After we got our redbull, the first band, Heartbreak, started to play. They consisted of two people, one guy who appreciated anonymous Canadian dance music and another guy who just played around with his laptop, synths and occasionally contributed the odd back-up vocal. They were pretty good but what made them so good and entertaining was the singer. He was dressed in tight dress clothes and knew how to dance. This guy was really getting into his music; so into it that I couldn't help but laugh a little (but I was laughing with him, not at him...).

After Heartbreak played, the crowd started to move closer to the stage and The Presets came on within half an hour. They started off with "Talk like that" and followed up with "Down Down Down"; these two intense songs started the concert off nicely and it got more intense as the night went on. The Presets had hypnotizing lights and images of creepy skulls on a video screen which went perfectly with their chilling, electronic music.

Once the Presets finished up their set, Cut Copy got to the stage in due time. But once they came on, it was really hard to dance in the crowd. All we could do was jump around and hit other people. So we decided to move to the back so we could dance to our full potential. Once we got there, we could appreciate the concert and music a lot more because we didn't have someone's elbow on our shoulders.
Cut Copy was excited and ready to take on the crowd with their melodic dance music. They also had captivating lights and interesting, colourful images on a screen. Out of all the songs they played, I enjoyed "Out there on the ice" and "Lights & Music" the most (maybe because they are my two favourite songs). Cut Copy's live music produces more feelings of elation than I thought possible.

And now, I can't stop listening to the Presets or Cut Copy. I'm mostly loving "Talk like that" by The Presets. The alluring beat and inappropriate lyrics keep me moving and working on lame school work I've procrastinated.
"Talk Like That"

The Knife

I was introduced to The Knife a couple of months ago and when I first heard them, I was like, "wtf is this?" I had heard their song, "Heartbeats", in the club before but ignored the hype it was receiving. I just recently discovered how sweet that song is, and I've discovered the rest of their album Deep Cuts which was released in 2003. I can't stop listening to it. The electronic beats, computerized uni-sexual voices, bizarre lyrics; I can't get enough of it.
I knew nothing about the creators of this music until about a minute ago. I assumed they were pretty weird but I just discovered how weird they are.

Some weird things about them:

Apparently, they don't really like playing live shows because they are still trying to figure out how to portray their music in a live performance. They don't like showing their faces; they wear masks that they believe represent their music (crow people in the north of Sweden or weird monkeys, sure...I guess those could work). They boycott musical awards shows.

Some cool things about them:

They are brother and sister who work mostly together with no one else. They have their own record label called Rabid Records. They sincerely want to portray their music properly hence the reason why they come off so weird; wearing masks, not really performing live, all that stuff in the weird section.

So pretty much, they're cool. But at the same time, I wish they would lighten up a little and perform live more often. In a way, they're contradicting themselves because they seem to be taking themselves really seriously but then there's this video they made...

When I found the Knife

But I guess this video sums up their music very well.

The Knife: Weird, cool, and faceless.

Heartbeats (again)

L'Auberge Espagnole...ou Campus Saint-Jean, La Pocatière

Vidéo de Daft Punk sur l'écran à la Pocatière
Daft Punk's "Aerodynamic" will forever remind me of my time spent in La Pocatière, Quebec; a small town about 100 km from Quebec City. I think the second week we were there we watched this movie called L'Auberge Espagnole. This film featured a bunch of young adults from different parts of the world living in an apartment together.
This movie reminded me of our situation in La Pocatière; bunch of young adults from all over Canada (ok so maybe it wasn't as culturally diverse) thrown into dormitories, trying to understand each other and a different language. The best way to bond in this small town was to go to Café St-Louis which was a fairly good club for the size of the town.
This scene in L'Auberge Espagnole totally resembled us in La Pocatière. Intoxicated, listening to Daft Punk, trying to make the most of our time with each other.

Note: This scene is much more epic in the actual movie

But when I was in La Pocatière, Daft Punk seemed to be our soundtrack because they don't usually have words (we were prohibited from listening to music with English lyrics) and most importantly, it made us move.

Full Video for Aerodynamic

DFA 1979

Best band to listen to after a cup of coffee.

Twice now, I've been highly caffeinated and I've had an itch to listen to Death From Above 1979. No need to worry, I scratched this itch and got crazy in my head with DFA 1979.

Romantic Rights

Sian Alice Group Remix EP

I fortunately got a chance to interview Sian Alice Group when they played at Vancouver's Biltmore Cabaret. I really liked the persona of the band members and their live performance. They gave me a vinyl record of their Remix EP (which is only available for sale on tour and online for download, but will soon be available in select record stores). Remix has 3 remixed songs: “As the Morning Light” by Alexis Taylor from Hot Chip, “Murder” by Brian DeGraw from Gang Gang Dance and “Way Down to Heaven” by Spring Heel Jack (a band that Rupert, the drummer of Sian Alice Group, produces).
The remixes were fairly intriguing. I liked Alexis Taylor's remix of "As the Morning Light". Though, I thought it was more like a cover than a remix. I kind of wish he had kept Sian Ahern's voice in there. "Murder" by Brian DeGraw was another interesting spin on Sian Alice Group's music. At one point, he really made Ahern's voice high-pitched which, in my opinion, may have overdone the 15 minute remix.
Overall, it was definitely a cool and enticing EP to listen to. Remixes are always interesting to listen to whether you think they're good or not. Rupert explained, “in a way we get to live vicariously through their interpretation of the music we write.” Since I'm so obsessed with remixes, I really liked this quote. I never really thought of remixes as an outlet for listeners and artists to live vicariously through an interpretation of music by another artist.

So here is the official website of Sian Alice Group's record label, The Social Registry (it's a pretty good label website) and a video that proves to me once more that this band is flawless when performing live. Just ignore the shaky camera work.
Sian Alice Group - Motionless

My last entry of September 2008

September is over? Already?

September seems to have been an unbelievably busy month for everyone. But I'm pretty sure every September of every year is like this. It's just one of those lovable characteristics September seems to attain.

Songs that kept me going this month:

The Knife - Heartbeats
Dandy Warhols - Sleep (me and my bed's theme song)
Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentleman We Are Floating in Space
Klaxons - As Above, So Below (Justice remix)
The Kaiser Chiefs - Never Miss a Beat (Cut Copy remix)

So about "Heartbeats"...
I used to not really like this song but when I was writing a boring research paper, I had an irresistible urge to listen to it. It helped me get through the dreadful paper. And now, I love it.

So I've decided; out of all the music I've discovered and re-discovered this month, I'm going to say that The Knife's "Heartbeats" is my September 2008 song because it got me through my first research paper of the semester.

The Knife - Heartbeats

Winner of the Polaris Music Prize - Caribou

The winner of the Polaris Music Prize was chosen and announced yesterday. After months of narrowing the nominees and the journalists down, they finally came to the conclusion that Ontario's Caribou is the worthiest of them all.

I wrote about the short list nominees back in July and I really thought Plants and Animals would take the prize. I'm not disappointed or angry that Caribou won. They deserve it or should I say, he deserves it. Caribou is essentially Daniel Snaith who used to perform under the name Manitoba but was forced to change his name because of Handsome Dick Manitoba from the band, The Dictators. Complicated story but in the end, Manitoba turned into Caribou.

So what did Caribou win? He won the title, Polaris Music Prize Winner, and $20,000 that he may save for space travel in the future.

The album that won him the prize was Andorra; an album full of psychedelic instrumental euphony and soft vocals. Overall, it's a fairly unique and creative album.

Check out as much as you can below.

Caribou - Melody Day

Caribou - She's the One


Caribou's Official website
Caribou's Myspace

Mother Mother

Band of the dayI couldn't stop listening to this B.C. band today. Even when I thought I should listen to something else, I would put something else on for two songs and then switch back to Mother Mother's new album, O My Heart. The beats and vocals in this album are so addicting. I just wanted them to pound my eardrums forever. And you should want them to pound your eardrums forever as well.
I definitely recommend this band to anyone who is looking for a better, modernized version of the B-52s.

Mother Mother - O My Heart


Check out their myspace!
Mother Mother Myspace

Never miss a beat

As I was mindlessly researching for a mandatory course, I was listening to Cut Copy's remix of The Kaiser Chiefs - Never Miss a Beat. After about four minutes into the song, I had an unavoidable urge to start dancing in my computer chair. I thought, "that was pretty sweet" then continued on with my research. The playlist was on repeat so when it came to that song a second time, I found myself unintentionally dancing in my chair again. That's when I knew; I must write about this remix.

This remix starts off pretty good but it doesn't get amazing until it hits around four minutes. As you can see from my previous statements, that's when the real dancing gets started. It's almost like:

You're sitting in a chair at a dance party. You don't know anyone at this party and you're shy. You're just there because you are (no questions). You're grooving to the song wishing you had someone to dance with just because you wanna dance! Then all of a sudden, this excited, animated person grabs you out of your chair and starts dancing with you. You guys have this unprepared, synchronized dance routine that surprisingly works perfectly. And the rest of the night goes down in dance history.

That is, this song in a nutshell.

Paris is burning

So here are two different songs with the SAME title that are made by two different artists! Shizzle my nizzle.

St. Vincent
A lady who I saw perform with Arcade Fire in 2007 (right before her album Marry Me was released). She comes from Brooklyn, New York with melodic "indie" music. So nice.St. Vincent - Paris is burning
Ladyhawke (not to be confused with the Vancouver rock band, Ladyhawk)
Apparently the alter ego of Two Lane Blacktop's Pip Brown and coming from New Zealand, she describes herself on myspace as a lady who likes to play and sing, "'nuff said". As Ladyhawke, she creates music that can be categorized as electro-pop. So let's dance!
Ladyhawke - Paris is burning