if you want to sing out

Saturday, June 27, 2009

discovery: lp

There is something about the excruciating heat wave and the blinding sun in the summer time that makes me particularly want to listen to pop/dance music. There is Kate Bush’s classic Hounds of Love, Annie’s Anniemal and probably my all-time summer favourite, The Tough Alliance’s A New Chance. I don’t know why I listen to those records more during the summer, maybe it is the cheerful and upbeat songs that act as temporary reliefs for the sometime vicious scorching weather (I am NOT a summer person!)

So, what is my new medicine the season? It is Discovery’s debut full-length simply titled LP. Discovery is a side project by Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend and Wes Miles from Ra Ra Riot. The half an hour of awesome auto-tuning vocals and cheerful dance beats make up for one tremendously catchy album! I have only listened to LP handful of times (and absolutely loving it so far!), but I can already tell that it will become a personal summer favourite!

Osaka Loop Line [wicked-cool song]
Can You Discover? [wicked-cool song]
I Want You Back (Jackson 5 cover) [wicked-cool song]

visit Discovery's MySpace here
LP comes out on July 7th, pre-order it here

Thursday, June 25, 2009

a very sad day

Michael Jackson—one of the greatest musicians ever and probably the greatest pop star of all time—has passed away.

R.I.P Michael Jackson.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

nxne09, awesome links

Are you tired of seeing my photos/hearing about my experience at this year's NXNE? Well, head over to the blogs below for some excellent NXNE coverages:

Singing Lamb

Countless interviews with NXNE bands + awesome photos from the BSS show at Courthouse!

Chromewave
In-depth day-to-day reviews with many fantastic photos! The Patrick Wolf review is just perfect!

For the 'records'
Another place to read highly detailed posts of each NXNE date... one of my favourite music blogs!

MW Music Review Blog
The guy behind this blog takes some amazing photos!

just greenery and humid air

Today was the hottest day ever in Toronto... well, not quite, but it was the hottest day of the year so far! I almost melted like the bad guy did in the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark!

Native Korean Rock: Indian Summer
Animal Collective: Summertime Clothes [wicked-cool song]
Hüsker Dü: Celebrated Summer [wicked-cool song]
Belle & Sebastian: A Summer Wasting
The Rural Alberta Advantage: In The Summertime
Death Cab For Cutie: Summer Skin [super-wicked-cool song]
Fake Problems: Heck Yeah Summer!
Seabear: Summer Bird Diamond
The Billionaires: The End Of Summer Song
The Pogues: Summer In Siam
JFA: Beach Blanket Bongout [super-wicked-cool song]
Jens Lekman: Another Sweet Summer's Night On Hammer Hill

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

battle without war

Do you need more photos (yes, I have too many) from the P.Wolf show in Toronto last Wednesday?

I think so!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lewolf011/sets/72157620415422244/

where the frak is the toronto date?!

OMFG: according to Sub Pop, Sunny Day Real Estate are reuniting for a 20-date North American tour in September... but come on, only one Canadian date and it’s in Vancouver?!

Thursday, September 17, 2009 @ Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver Canada
Friday, September 18, 2009 @ Crystal Ballroom, Portland OR (Music Fest NW event)
Sunday, September 20, 2009 @ Murray Theater, Murray UT
Monday, September 21, 2009 @ Ogden Theater, Denver CO
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 @ First Avenue, Minneapolis MN
Thursday, September 24, 2009 @ Metro, Chicago IL
Friday, September 25, 2009 @ St. Andrew's Hall, Detroit MI
Sunday, September 27, 2009 @ Terminal Five, New York NY
Monday, September 28, 2009 @ House of Blues (Boston), Boston MA
Wednesday, September 30, 2009 @ 930 Club, Washington DC
Thursday, October 1, 2009 @ Trocadero, Philadelphia PA
Saturday, October 3, 2009 @ CW Center Stage, Atlanta GA
Monday, October 5, 2009 @ Granada Theater (TX), Dallas TX
Tuesday, October 6, 2009 @ Warehouse Live - Ballroom (TX), Houston TX
Wednesday, October 7, 2009 @ La Zona Rosa, Austin TX
Friday, October 9, 2009 @ Marquee (Tempe), Tempe AZ
Saturday, October 10, 2009 @ House of Blues (Anaheim), Anaheim CA
Sunday, October 11, 2009 @ Henry Fonda Theater, Los Angeles CA
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 @ The Fillmore, San Francisco CA
Thursday, October 15, 2009 @ Knitting Factory - Spokane, Spokane WA
Friday, October 16, 2009 @ Paramount Theater, Seattle WA

Sub Pop will also reissue Diary and LP2 with bonus tracks and liner notes in September 15th! I hope these are available on vinyl, even though Diary is one of the greatest albums of all time, I don’t think I need another CD version of it!

Song About An Angel [super-wicked-cool song]
Pheurto Skeurto [super-wicked-cool song]

Now, let's hope that Jawbreaker will also reunite and come to Toronto!

Monday, June 22, 2009

nxne09, the end

Here’s a little write-up of my NXNE experience:

This year’s festival was probably one of the most (if not THE most) lively music events I have experienced in Toronto... congrats to the folks who put the festival together! The sheets were buzzing with remarkable music each night and I saw countless enthusiastic/cheerful music lovers wandering from venue to venue till late at night/early morning.

Highlights from NXNE/bands I would see over and over again:

Patrick Wolf
Absolutely spectacular! Quite a few of you knew of my dislike/disappointment of the new record prior to this concert. I have listened to The Bachelor no less than 10 times since then!

The Daredevil Christopher Wright
Hands down my favourite discovery in this year’s festival.
Get their debut full-length, In Deference to a Broken Back here... or if you are in the Toronto area, it is available exclusively at Criminal Records.

Crystal Antlers
High energy and very entertaining, more reasons to love Tentacles!

Japanther
Another high energy band—good old punk music!

DD/MM/YYYY
This band was a surprise; I didn’t think they would be this amazing live! Their music makes more sense in concert form, but I still love Black Square!

Ghost Bees
What an astonishing set at Bread and Circus Saturday night! Not only are the two sisters extremely talented musicians, they are frakking hilarious as well!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

nxne09, day 4 | pt iii

Ghost Bees—June 20, 2009 @ Bread and Circus
Oh, what an incredible ending to the night/festival... Ghost Bees were absolutely wonderful!

Ghost Bees: Erl King (Live @ Bread and Circus, June 20, 2009)