saturday wake up call

"Shed" by Title Fight, from the album Shed, out through SideOneDummy.



Be sure to check out Title Flight's Daytrotter session here.

friday wake up call

"F·U·Y·A" by C2C—one of the coolest videos I have ever seen!

thursday wake up call

Watch this beautiful video directed by Christian Sorensen Hansen for the song "The Cascade"
by Moving Mountains.

my 30 favourite songs of 2011

#30 "The Copper Top" by Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat, from Everything's Getting Older




#29 "Surfer's Hymn" by Panda Bear, from Tomboy




#28 "Queen Of Hearts" by Fucked Up, from David Comes To Life




#27 "V.E.N.O.M" by Pulled Apart By Horses, from Tough Love — out on January 23, 2012

wednesday wake up call

"Numbers in Action" by Wiley, taken from 100% Publishing

tuesday wake up call

New single/video from The King Blues for "Does Anybody Care About Us?":



The single, along with a live accapella version of "Five Bottles of Shampoo" will be out on digital download on February 12th. In the meantime, buy Punk & Poetry here.

monday wake up call

Here's a video for Crowns debut single for the song "Kissing Gates":

holiday spirit

For today only, you can download any La Dispute records for free or any donation you see fit—all proceeds go to 826michigan, go here for more details.

I highly suggest you check out Wildlife, my favourite album of the year!

sunday wake up call

Here's a roundup of some awesome Christmas songs:

"Fairytale Of New York" by The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl




From A Charlie Brown Christmas, "Christmas Time is Here"




From Christmas in the Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album, "R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas"




Anamanaguchi's cover of "All I Want 4 Xmas Is U" by Mariah Carey

saturday wake up call

Happy Christmas Eve! — Check out The Front Bottoms' cover of "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses:

my 30 favourite albums of 2011

#30 Esben And The Witch: Violet Cries
You can really get lost in the mysterious and ghostly atmosphere of Violet Cries,
it is the perfect winter album.

#29 Future Virgins: Western Problems
A punk record with a hint of old-school garage sound... wonderfully fast and messy!

#28 Kuedo: Severant
This ultra mellow and futuristic/spacey sounding album can really expand your imagination.

#27 Patrick Wolf: Lupercalia
Refreshingly happy and wonderful.

#26 Mamaleek: Kurdaitcha
A crazy drone black metal album with electronica/industrial beats—think of Suicide meets Sunn)))—Kurdaitcha is one weird, but amazing sounding album.
Download the album for free here!

#25 Bangers: Small Pleasures
Raw and catchy skate/pop-punk album by a band from Cornwall.
Download the album for free over the Banger's Bandcamp page!

#24 James Blake: James Blake
It's crazy how such minimalistic vocal style and downtempo beats can convey so much emotion.

#23 Weekend Nachos: Worthless
Wickedly loud hardcore album!

#22 The Streets: Computers And Blues / Cyberspace and Reds
While I have included two separate albums here—a mixtape, Cyberspace and Reds released shortly before the official album, Computers and Blues—they feel like one big album for me. Both records are equally great and feature some of the catchiest beats and wittiest lyrics by The Street.

#21 Zomby: Dedication
Dark and mysterious grime beats make Dedication feel like something out of a dramatic thriller movie.

#20 Fleet Foxes: Helplessness Blues
I love this band and their incredible live shows! Although not nearly as good as their masterpiece debut, Helplessness Blues is still a damn fine folk album with unforgettable lyrics. The title track is one of the best songs of the year!

#19 Caves: Homeward Bound
Homeward Bound feels intimate and honest for its DIY and aggressively raw sound. It is fast, catchy and one of the most energetic records of the year!

#18 PJ Harvey: Let England Shake
Gorgeous up-beat music juxtaposed by some ironic and horrific lyrics.

#17 Sharks: The Joys Of Living 2008–2010
A great compilation that shows off the band's talent and potential; can't wait to hear their proper full-length debut, No Gods, out on March 20, 2012!

#16 Basement: I Wish I Could Stay Here
An album that echoes the melodic riffs, pounding drums and aggressive vocals of 90s emo... absolutely LOVE this record!

#15 Touché Amoré: Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me
20 explosive minutes of shouted vocals and sincere lyrics over some ridiculously flawless production. Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me features some of the most memorable lyrics of the year in "Condolences": "If you fantasize about your funeral, I understand / I've been there before / If what's more important, is the music played / Than who'd attend / We are the same..."

#14 Yellow Ostrich: The Mistress
Alex Schaaf's soft and layered vocals make for a beautifully gentle album; "WHALE" and "Mary" are two of my favourite songs of 2011.

#13 Sundials: Never Settle
A fantastically nostalgic sounding album— it's like all my favourite punk/indie bands from the 90s merged to form a super band... think Jawbreaker + The Promise Ring + Guided by Voices + Pavement... so fucking good!

#12 Starscream: Future, Towards the Edge of Forever
The ambient and experimental chiptune rhythm make the album dynamically mesmerizing. Future, Towards the Edge of Forever is my favourite instrumental album of the year.

#11 Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat: Everything's Getting Older
A brilliant avant-garde jazz album full of soothing piano lullabies and minimalistic percussion. The best part about Everything's Getting Older is the fascinating lyrics and Aidan Moffat's wisely sounding voice provides engaging spoken-word stories, philosophies and rants.

#10 Cult Of Youth: Cult Of Youth
This strange record sounds like something out of an epic, medieval or fantasy adventure movie; the dark-theatrical-folky-raw-punk style make it he most unique sounding record of the year!

#9 Grieves: Together/Apart
A fascinating album that features some very sincere, personal and relatable autobiographical lyrics backed by smooth and minimalist production by Budo.

#8 Joyce Manor: Joyce Manor
Fast, youthful, energetic and catchy as hell style reminisce of mid-90s punk bands such as Jawbreaker and The Promise Ring. There is not one bad song in this S/T debut... the only setback is that it is over way too quickly!

Stream the entire album here.

"In your new leather jacket, you're somebody else. / It's not nice to meet you in a fortress of self. / Thanks to your new leather jacket, we're nobodies now."

#7 The King Blues: Punk & Poetry
What singer/writer Itch does so entertainingly well is his ability to include humour (often in a mocking fashion) to his serious subject matter. Punk & Poetry is filled with punk attitudes, folk passion, it is inspiring, angry and lively; and even if you don't pay attention to Itch's great lyrics, you would enjoy the album simply for its insanely catchy chorus!

#6 Timber Timbre: Creep On Creepin On
Creepily clever post-relationship lyrics and wonderfully strange arrangements produce an eerie sounding, yet very soothing folk-pop album.

#5 Bright Eyes: The People's Key
I think this is the most entertaining album of the year simply for Denny Brewer's spoken word contribution. In addition, this sounds like early Bright Eyes—Fevers & Mirrors with a little bit of Digital Ash In A Digital Urn. The People's Key features great lyrics and sharp (but not overly produced) production.

"I was dressed in white, touched by something pure / Death obsessed, like a teenager / Sold my tortured youth, piss and vinegar / I'm still angry with no reason to be..."

#4 The Front Bottoms: The Front Bottoms
Hands down the catchiest album of the year. The remarkable chemistry between the two members Brian Sella and Mathew Uychich makes this album ultra enjoyable! Together, they've created an youthfully fun and energetic sing-along record.

#3 Night Birds: The Other Side Of Darkness
Awesome fast classic surf-punk sound (Agent Orange) combined with the raw attitude of hardcore (The Shitty Limits). This one is pretty obvious based on my love for both 80s surf-punk and hardcore.

#2 Iceage: New Brigade
If you ever wonder what Hüsker Dü music with Ian Curtis-like vocal sound like, this is it. I just love the explosively noisy, raw, and carefree sound—really reminds me of old punk music. FUCKING BRILLIANT!





#1 La Dispute: Wildlife

The intensely emotional journey provided by Jordan Dreyer's vocal and lyrics is enough for me to choose Wildlife by La Dispute as my favourite album of 2011! It is full of engaging and compelling narratives like "King Park". A song about a drive-by shooting and the death of an innocent a boy, which eventually led to the killer contemplating suicide:

"Can I still get into heaven if I kill myself? / Can I ever be forgiven cause I killed that kid? / It was an accident I swear it wasn't meant for him!" —Very powerful stuff!

Perhaps the most memorable lyrics are the ones that sound like they came from Dreyer's subconscious; which in many ways, feel remarkably personal and frighteningly relatable.

"I know I never used to feel like this. / I used to never think of death or hear voices. / I used to feel like everything was perfectly in order, a normal life, / but I guess then came a departure."
—from "a Departure"

"I think the thing is that I shut off from everything. / From friends and family and my own ambitions. / From having fun. / I just shut off from everything."
—from "a Letter"

Wildlife is one of the most passionate and intimate albums I have ever heard and it features some of the best melodic hardcore music in recent years.

Stream the entire album here!

friday wake up call

Cool animated video for the song "Change" by CHLLNGR.



Download "Change" for free here.

thursday wake up call

Toronto under attack in "Don't Bleed Me" by The Darcys.

wednesday wake up call

HOLY SHIT — Black Flag reunited to perform "Nervous Breakdown" at the Goldenvoice 30th Anniversary show!!!!!!!!!



Get the Nervous Breakdown EP, one of the greatest releases/songs ever over at SST.

please vote for me!

Hey all, I entered a bunch of photos to Exposure Competition, please check out them out here... and it would totally be rad if you vote for me!

tuesday wake up call

Watch this disturbingly beautiful video directed by Matthew Salton for Gem Club's "252".



"252" is off of Breakers, out now on Hardly Art.

monday wake up call

Brand new video from Heights for the song "The Lost And Alone".



"Dead Ends" is from the band's awesome debut record, Dead Ends.

sunday wake up call

Here are two wonderful videos for this wonderful Sunday morning — "The Look" and "Everything Goes My Way" by Metronomy:





Both songs are off of The English Riviera, you can get it here.

saturday wake up call

"Kathryn, My Love" by Pandit



"Kathryn, My Love" is off of Pandit's debut full length Eternity Spin.

If you haven't seen/heard "Artichoke", please check out my original post back in January... it remains as one of my favourite songs of the year!

friday wake up call

Pinata people stalked by a crazy hunter/murderer in "Arrows" by Fireworks



"Arrows" is taken from Gospel, released through Triple Crown Records.

thursday wake up call

Watch this kaleidoscopic video for the song "Fake Pretend" by Carter Tanton featuring Marissa Nadler.



Download "Fake Pretend" (from the album Freeclouds) for free here.

wednesday wake up call

Very cool — Pressed And have recently released a complete visualization/video project of their EP, Imbue Up. Check out the video below, as well as all seven over at Stadiums & Shrines.

tuesday wake up call

"Home Away From Here" by Touché Amoré



The video, directed by Derek Wood, is composed of still images taken during a 4-day period with the band. The track is off of Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me.

monday wake up call

"No Way" by The Naked and Famous, taken from the band's debut album Passive Me, Aggressive You.

sunday wake up call

"Came Out Swinging" by The Wonder Years, off of Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing.

saturday wake up call

"Edward The Confessor" by Breton

friday wake up call

"As Young As Yesterday" by Korallreven, featuring Victoria Bergsman (Taken By Trees)



Such a chill song... and I love that you almost never see the skateboard in the video.
"As Young As Yesterday" is off of An Album By Korallreven, you can download the track here.

thursday wake up call

My new favourite song: "I Wana Be Your Man" by Willy Moon



Willy Moon - I Wanna Be Your Man by Willy Moon

Go pre-order the I Wana Be Your Man 7-inch over at Luv Luv Luv Records now!

wednesday wake up call

An explosive and destructive video for Deer Tick's "Main Street", directed by Colin Devin Moore

tuesday wake up call

Gallows' first post-Frank Carter release, Death Is Birth EP is out now, check out the video for "Mondo Chaos" below.



You can pre-order the limited edition Death Is Birth EP 7-inch via 6131 Records... and go check out Gallows' Daytrotter session here.

monday wake up call

"Baltika 9" by Deleted Scenes, the 2nd single off of Young People's Church of the Air.

sunday wake up call

Here's the first single, "Read All About It" (featuring Emeli Sande) from At Your Inconvenience—Professor Green's latest/follow-up to last year's sensational record, Alive Till I'm Dead.

saturday wake up call

Trippy video for "Love Hitch" by Young Circles!



The video was directed by band member Adam Badlotto by using over 7,000 stop motion images; incredibly, none were generated by a computer.

friday wake up call

New Patrick Wolf video for the song "Together", directed by Mattias Erik Johansson.



"Together" is taken off of Lupercalia and P.Wolf's forthcoming EP, Brumalia, out on December 4th.

thursday wake up call

Here's a live recording of Fugazi's "Waiting" to celebrate the launch of Fugazi Live Series archive project!



Dischord Records launched Fugazi Live Series today with 130 show downloads for a suggested prize of $5 a show. The goal is to post new shows monthly with over 800 by the end. You can get all the show by buying a Fugazi Live All Access Subscription. Man, Dischord is still fucking awesome!