wednesday wake up call

New Owen Pallett track entitled "Song for Five & Six", taken from Pallett's upcoming album, In Conflict, out on May 27 through Domino and Secret City.

she was walking on the tables in the glass house she was walking on the tables in the glass house

Miles Kane of The Rascals and Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, aka The Last Shadow Puppets, are set to release their debut record on April 21st in the UK & Europe and on May 6th in North America. I am quite excited to hear it because it features tracks recorded by the 22-piece London Metropolitan Orchestra, which were arranged and conducted by Owen Pallett! The duo visited New York earlier this year and recorded a couple of stripped-down versions of tracks from The Age Of The Understatement, make sure you check them out below!

My Mistakes Were Made For You (Acoustic)
The Age Of The Understatement (Acoustic)

i’ll beat on my drum till i’m dead

It is just impossible for Zach Condon to create anything bad as this young talent has given nothing but quality music to the public releases after releases. With Beirut, Zach Condon has proven that he is one of the most brilliant young artists in music today. Just only a year after releasing his groundbreaking debut Gulag Orkestar, Beirut is back with his sophomore entitled The Flying Club Cup. With the brand new record, Beirut brings forth a bigger, more romantic, and more ambitious approach. Gone from Gulag Orkestar is the intimate, modest, and amateur sound; The Flying Club Cup is notably epic and dramatic, the sound is grand and it gives the effect of an overall communal feeling. Beirut filled the record with layers after layers of bold and marching band-istic instrumentations. Condon’s vocal has noticeably improved as well; it is sharper and more confident sounding. Indisputably, working along with Owen Pallett made The Flying Club Cup even more promising. Pallett’s bright string arrangements and humble vocal can be heard on tracks such as "Cliquot", "Forks And Knives (La Fete)", and "In The Mausoluem". With so much originality, there seems to be an element of surprise with each Beirut release. In this case, Zach Condon’s immeasurable vision made The Flying Club Cup a musical spectacle!

Nantes [wicked-cool song]
Cliquot [super-wicked-cool song]
St. Apollonia [wicked-cool song]
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The Flying Club Cup comes out on October 9th, you can pre-order it here

let's sing a song about a woman's rage

It seems like forever since I have seen Final Fantasy live... well since last April... and yes, that IS a long time considered that I saw FF live 3 times in 4 months during the first quarter of 2006. Anyways, seeing FF yesterday afternoon at Tranzac reminded me why I think Owen Pallett is the best live performer in the world. Like the last time I saw Owen live, he featured the projection art show thing in the background again... the string version of This Lamb Sells Condos is priceless and he also played 2 or 3 new tracks. So, not that I need to say it, but the show was again pretty damn great! Everyone who has not seen Final Fantasy, you are indeed missing out!! You really need to catch him the next time he comes to your city... even if you are not the biggest fan of his music, seeing a Final Fantasy show is something that everyone must experience at least once!

see more photos from the show here

there is no hope for the village

I was cleaning up my room today and found this article from the University of Toronto Magazine on Owen Pallett, aka Final Fantasy.

from Has A Good Home, 2006
This is the Dream of Win & Regine [wicked-cool song]
Furniture [wicked-cool song]
Please Please Please [super-wicked-cool song]

from Young Canadian Mothers 7", 2006
This Is The Dream Of Emma & Cam
Peach, Plum, Pear (Joanna Newsom) [wicked-cool song]

from Many Lives -> 49 MP Single, 2006
Jars Of Lars

from He Poos Clouds, 2006
This Lamb Sells Condos [super-wicked-cool song]
Song Song Song [wicked-cool song]

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Sorry folks, the Young Canadian Mothers 7" is now out of print... but you can...
buy Has A Good Home here.
buy He Poos Clouds here.
buy Many Lives -> 49 MP Single here.

new final fantasy video!

Here's the new Final Fantasy video for "He Poos Clouds":

why do i always post stuffs at like 4 in the morning?

I just had a lengthen conversation with Millie (still in Japan) on MSN. It was really good talking to her, she showed me a bunch of really cool pictures - so jealous!

So I was walking down Queen St. tonight and saw Final Fantasy on the cover of Exclaim!... very cool... go pick up a copy or read the article online here. I guess I should to go bed now, bye.

new final fantasy single

Tomlab is releasing the first (?) Final Fantasy single for "Many Lives -> 49 MP" from He Poos Clouds. It features two unreleased tracks:

The Miner Becomes Forgetful
Jars Of Lars
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I was listening to both Has A Good Home and He Poos Clouds today, and in my opinion, He Poos Clouds is a far better album, but it just seems too short!!! ...I want more Final Fantasy!

buy the Many Lives -> 49 MP single here

old money stinking, send those faggots back to forest hill

Ok, where to start??... So, Final Fantasy last night was again, pretty great! It was my third time seeing FF live in 2006, and I must say, all three shows were quiet different and amazing in their own ways. (you can read about the first two shows here) Last night show was at the Music Gallery, which is basically a church. Seriously, artists and bands should do more shows in churches; the atmosphere is always amazing and they produce the best sound. So, like the New Amsterdams show, the opening acts sucked! They were all pretty boring, especially the second act: Matias. I swear half of the people were sleeping during their performance. They were horrible... totally unbearable! I think they only played for like half an hour, but it felt like 2 hours!!! Shit, talking and thinking about them makes me want to go to sleep. I don’t know if I want to see the opening acts for Yeah Yeah Yeahs show tonight?!?! Anyways, back to Final Fantasy. He had this whole projection art thing in the background throughout his entire performance yesterday. They were like random drawings and silhouettes of castles, kings, the CN Tower, etc. I thought those were very neat.



So, here’s the weird part: During the wait for Final Fantasy, this woman, who ended up being Owen’s friend, sat beside my friend Liam. She was filming the performance on her super8 or something. So, Liam gave her a glance and she started talking to him. So, to make this long story short, she was like, “do you want to come backstage after the show and I can get Owen to sign your CD...” I thought she a little crazy aka bullshitting, but after the show, she came to us and brought us backstage. (which was very nice of her) We meet Owen and Liam got He Poos Clouds signed. After, we just stood there, not knowing what to do... it was extremely weird and awkward!!!!
Nonetheless, go here to see pictures from last night show. They are kind of blurry as I was too scared to use the flash.

exclusive download

Ok, here’s the HUGE music update: Final Fantasy’s new album He Poos Clouds. I hope I don’t get into trouble by uploading this. Well, it’s not like anyone I don’t know visits this blog, so I think uploading this will be alright! Anyways, this is just for people who just can’t wait for the release of the album and absolutely have to listen to new Final Fantasy right now. Please, go buy the thing when it comes out on May 9! Support indie and local music!! Enjoy!

Final Fantasy: He Poos Clouds
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taking a break and updating this blog

So, I’ve been locked up in my computer room for the entire day today trying to get my opera essay done. As soon as that’s done, I have to start my symphony essay; they are both due on Thursday! I actually contained myself from signing onto msn, stopped watching Howl’s Moving Castle, and only looked at porn once! Right now, I am taking a break so I can post four songs from the Final Fantasy Young Canadian Mothers 7". I received my copy of the 7” a few weeks ago (despite the fact that I preordered the goddamn thing in the middle of December 2005!) Anyways, the thing features a fine remix of “This is the Dream of Win & Regine”, now entitled “This Is The Dream Of Emma & Cam”, a new arrangement of “The Sea” (I prefer the original way more), a new song “Spell For A Weak Heart”... well, not really new for those who’ve been attending Final Fantasy shows, and lastly, the lovely cover of Joanna Newsom’s “Peach, Plum, Pear”. Enjoy!

This Is The Dream Of Emma & Cam
The Sea (Tenderizer)
Spell For A Weak Heart
Peach Plum Pear
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buy the 7 inch here. you can also purchase a copy from Rotate This and Soundscapes in Toronto.

CMW... the aftermath pt. II (full report)

May 3
The first CMW show I went to was Andy Stochansky at the Mod Club on day 2 of the festival. I don’t remember the name of the opening act, but the keyboard/singer’s name was Michael Johnston. It was actually a duo act, with the other member playing on drums. They were more like entertainers than musicians. By that, I mean they belong more to the Tin Pan Alley/Broadway genre. They made a few bad jokes and played in a Sinatra/Bare Naked Ladies style of music. Overall, they were very enjoyment to watch, but I don’t think I will be going to buy/download their music any time soon.

Andy Stochansky
Before this show, I have actually never really heard anything by Andy Stochansky. The reason I went to this show was because my friend Robin really likes him and there weren’t really any other shows I wanted to check out until around 10 anyways. Stochansky played a very solid show and the audience was very into his performance as well. At one point, he walked toward the edge of the stage, turned around so that his back was toward the audience, then, he fell backward into the audience and crowd surfed for a few seconds. The sound of the show was great and the show lasted for a long. Not only did Andy do the traditional encore, but he came out for a second encore. At this point, the lights had already come back on and the tech people were starting to clean up the stage and equipments. He did an additional song unplugged on his acoustic guitar; I thought that was really cool of him to do that! Overall, Andy Stochansky’s show was decent, but again, I don’t think I will be rushing off to buy any of his CDs nor would I be dying to see him live any time soon.

Great Lake Swimmers
It was now time to head to the next show: Great Lake Swimmers at the Reverb. Haha, I love concert hopping! We got to the Reverb just when the members of GLS were setting up their equipments. After only about 5 minutes of waiting, they started their set. During the show, I have come to a conclusion that the singer/song writer of GLS, Tony Dekker, has one of the most mesmerizing singing voices ever. In fact, after the show, I purchased the old GLS CD, the first CD I bought since May/June of 2005.


May 4
So, my ‘Last Gang’ adventure started at around 9 pm when met up with my friend Robin and we started walking from her place on Jarvis and Queen to the Horseshoe Tavern. This was the show we were originally going to attend since I figured there’s no way we would get into the Last Gang show at Lee’s. I wanted to see Elliott Brood at 10 and Robin wanted to see Wintersleep at midnight. However, by the time we got to Horseshoe, there was already a lineup. It wasn’t too bad though, there were probably only around 15-20 people in front of us. But as we were waiting in line, we were thinking to ourselves: “it is only 9:30 and the place had already reached its capacity… no one would leave since the show has just started at 9, and we would most likely miss Elliott Brood (the act that I wanted to see).”

So, we decided to leave and go find a NOW or EYE to see what other bands are playing. After looking at NOW and had no clue what-so-ever on any of the bands playing at the other venues, we decided to head over to El Mocambo. However, when we got there, we decided not to head in because we saw a bunch of underage kids just hanging around outside smoking. In addition, we saw this really lethargic girl who just walked out from the El Mocambo asking someone for a cigarette. This is when I suggested that we should just go to Lee’s Palace. As we were walking, I kept saying to Robin, “what are we doing, we are never going to get in… but we should still try…” Anyways, when we finally got there, we went up to the bouncer and told him we wanted to get into Lee’s for the concert. He said that the show’s sold out and they’re not selling any tickets at the door. Without a doubt, I was disappointed, but not surprise at all. So, at this point, Robin and I were just hovering around the front of Lee’s, discussing what we should do instead when we heard a voice (and I thought it most have been the voice of God) asking, “do you two need tickets?” So, not making this any longer, we got two tickets from this girl for $10 each, high-fived each other, and went into Lee’s Palace!

The Lovely Feathers
When we got inside, this band from Montreal called The Lovely Feathers had already started playing. We walked up to the front of the stage and started watching the show. All of the members in the band had so much energy, especially the guitarist. In fact, he was so energetic that at one point, he tripped and actually tumbled off the stage. It was great! Oh, and it really helps that the music was extremely catchy!

Sounds like: Motion City Soundtrack, The Unicorns

From Fiction
The first Last Gang band that took the stage was From Fiction. They were nothing really special: the music was average and their performance was kind of dull. Actually, their performance seemed like a jamming section between the band members. The songs had minimal vocals and they were lengthy… I think their last song lasted for about 10 minutes.

Sounds like: The Mars Volta

Tricky Woo
As I was having a conversation with Robin while the members of Tricky Woo were setting up for their set, I noticed this really familiar looking guy standing maybe 5 people away behind Robin. To my surprise, it was Owen… Owen Pallett from Final fucking Fantasy. Well, at this point, I wasn’t really sure. I was like, “Oh my god Robin, I think Owen from Final Fantasy is standing behind you! …is that him? …I don’t really know, shit!” So, that went on for a while, and I eventually came to a conclusion that it WAS him… well, I was like 99% sure! So, like a typical shy pussy I was, I made Robin go up to Owen and asked if he was indeed Owen from Final Fantasy. He said yes, and I asked if I could get a picture with him. Here’s the photo of me with Owen and some other dude that Owen said was also in Final Fantasy.

Okay, back to the show. Tricky Woo took stage with all the members dressed in some hippie/70s outfits. Their performance was incredible! People were so into it… I mean, I have never seen so many people doing the air-guitar in my life, it was fucking hilarious! My friend Robin started to mock the whole air guitar thing, but in addition, she added an air-drums and air-bass in the mix. The funniest thing was, she started the whole air-instruments off as a joke, but by the end of it, she was so into it that she became part of the air-community herself.

Sounds like: New York Dolls, The Darkness

MSTRKRFT
The main attraction of the night was MSTRKRFT. As I have mentioned before, MSTRKRFT is the team of Jesse F. Keeler from DFA1969 and AI-P from Girls Are Short. There’s not much to say about their performance… it was just two guys going stuffs on their turntables and programming on an i-Mac. I was actually a little disappointed because they did not mix any Bloc Party or Buck 65. However, they did start off the show with the Metric's 'Monster Hospital'... I don't really like the original song, but the MSTRKRFT remix is pretty damn good!They were also drinking nonstop. Owen Pallett actually came on stage twice: once holding a tray of beers like a waiter and the other time, bringing shots for Jesse and AI-P.Most of the action was on the dance floor, the audience was amazing – everyone was energetic, dancing and having so much fun! MSTRKRFT spin for a really long time. They started at around 12:50 a.m. and when we left, which was around 2:30 a.m., they were still spinning. Overall, my favorite performance of the night was The Lovely Feathers, while the funniest being Tricky Woo. MSTRKRFT was great too because of the energetic audience on the dance floor.

View photos from CMW here

CMW... Day No. 1

Today is the first day of Canadian Music Week. (the festival runs from March 1-4) To celebrate CMW, I will devote a huge portion of this blog to Canadian artists and Canadian music from now on until the end of the festival. I will be posting one or two (or ever three) featured Canadian artists each day. Well, it all depends on what I can dig up from my iTunes and CBC Podcasts as my knowledge of Canadian music is not that great. So, with that being said, please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and your recommendations of Canadian artists/bands in the comments section as it will be a great way to share and promote homegrown music! So, let me start off the first day with my favorite Canadian act right now...

Final Fantasy
I don’t even know where to begin with this band. I guess I’ll start by saying that Final Fantasy is not really a band, but it is a solo project by Owen Pallett. FF’s debut album, Has a Good Home was #4 on my 2005 top 20 list... if that means anything at all. Has a Good Home and the style of Final Fantasy is indie pop/rock influenced music and vocal style that features predominant violin instrumentation. (I think that is the best description I can come up with) Since I can only say so little about the musical style, I will tell you about my FF concert experience. I saw Owen perform twice so far, and I was blown away both times. In addition, the two concerts were completely different from each other. The first time I saw him, he brought along with him a string quartet. As a result, adding an orchestra feel to the songs. But really, he didn’t need any backups or extra members/players to accompany him because the second time I saw Owen, he performed solo for most of show. (with the exception of Lex Vaughn on drums for a couple of songs... oh Lex, she was so good!) The layers of violin music and the technicalities at this concert were just astonishing; I was staring in awe at Owen the entire time. He uses this foot pedal thing that loops his previously played musical phrases/melodies while he plays on top of that. (again, very hard to explain!) Final Fantasy’s second album He Poos Clouds is set for an early May release date.

Sounds like: nothing out there!

This is the Dream of Win & Regine
The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead
Peach, Plum, Pear (Joanna Newsom cover)
Illusion Song (live)
buy Has a Good Home here


Boys Night Out
Like many hardcore bands from Washington, D.C. during the early 80s had done, Boys Night Out made the transition from being a hardcore band to an ‘emo’-ish band. Their album Trainwreck is one of the coolest and most interesting concept albums I’ve ever heard! I won’t go into details here because I don’t want to spoil the story for you. But basically, the album deals with the themes of love and murder, dreams and reality, freedom and restriction… very cool!

Sounds like: Blood Brothers, Cave In, Finch, Scary Kids Scaring Kids

Medicating
Composing
buy Trainwreck here

i love this... probably the best answer ever!

Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy describes his music:

Q: How would you describe your music?

Owen Pallett: Well... I'd describe my music as being like the feeling you get when you meet your boyfriend's parents for the first time. And you're white and they're Asian. So you're really happy to be meeting the parents of the boy you love. But you're also on your best behaviour, you don't want to seem like a racist "white devil" or anything. So you're doing your best to not say anything insensitive or presumptuous. Then you realize that your caution is itself pretty presumptuous, and you're probably looking really distant and disinterested. So you're super happy, but also delicately trying to walk that line between being too comfortable and being too detached. That's how I'd best describe what I do.