song of the moment

Download a remix of Born Ruffians' "What To Say" by VOWLS below:

Born Ruffians: What To Say (VOWLS remix)

zola jesus: stridulum ep

I did not know who Nika Danilova (aka Zola Jesus) was until about a month ago, when I first started listening to the incredible Stridulum EP... and when I saw her played a spectacular set at Sneaky Dee's during NXNE 2010. The Stridulum EP features six atmospheric and moody songs. The EP has the mysterious quality of Fever Ray and the dream-like mood of Bat For Lashes; however, Zola Jesus’s songs are more gothic sounding. Each track is highlighted by Danilova’s incredibly powerful voice over the hauntingly sinister build-ups of synths and drum machines. The Stridulum EP is a fantastic teaser of what Nika Danilova is capable of... I cannot wait till the next Zola Jesus full-length!

I Can't Stand [wicked-cool song]



visit Zola Jesus' MySpace here
buy Stridulum EP here

song of the moment

photo by Giulia Mazza

Women recently released "Eyesore", the first single from the band’s upcoming sophomore album Public Strain. The digital version of the album is out on August 24th while the physical version (LP/CD) is out on September 28th.

Women: Eyesore

if you were given the option of dying painlessly in peace at forty-five

Los Campesinos! will release a brand new EP next week (July 19th) featuring four alternate versions of tracks from the band’s most recent album. Go to Wichita to pre-order the 10" All's Well That Ends EP. Here's the tracklisting of the EP, along with a free download of "Romance Is Borning (Princess Version)" via loscampesinos.com

1. Romance Is Boring (Princess Version)
2. Letters From Me To Charlotte (RSVP)
3. Straight In At 101/It's Never Enough
4. (All's Well That Ends) In Medias Res

Watch the making of the All's Well That Ends EP by Ellen Campesinos!

perfume genius: learning

The music of Mike Hadreas has been very therapeutic for me as of late. Mike Hadreas, aka Perfume Genius recently released his brilliant debut record entitled Learning. Perfume Genius is like the male version of PJ Havey (on White Chalk) and Grouper. He is White Chalk’s PJ Havey because of the haunting piano ballads/arrangements and Hadreas’ vulnerably delicate voice throughout Learning. On the other hand, he is Grouper because of gorgeous ambient track like "Gay Angels", and despite all of the darkness and sadness that derived from the album, Learning is quite comforting. Perfume Genius’ Learning is hands down the most beautiful record I’ve heard this year and it is now on the top of my list, along with Avi Buffalo’s S/T and These New Puritans’ Hidden as my favourite records of the year of far.

Learning [wicked-cool song]

visit Perfume Genius' MySpace here
buy Learning here

happy pride!

Diamond Rings—July 4, 2010 @ Alexander Parkette (Pride 2010)

everyone everywhere: everyone everywhere

I don’t know how else to explain Everyone Everywhere’s S/T debut other than it is a great straightforward indie rock record! For the most part, the album is very melodic sounding; most of the songs comprise of dynamic instrumental layers and Brendan McHugh’s passionate singing. I am really enjoying it at the moment and I highly recommend it—maybe because Everyone Everywhere sounds like one of my favourite bands from the 90s, The Promise Ring. ...and kids, this is what real emo sounds like, very different from those whinny pop-punk and wannabe hardcore bands you are bombarded with.

Raw Bar OBX 2002 [wicked-cool song]
I Feel Fine by Everyone Everywhere [wicked-cool song]

visit Everyone Everywhere's MySpace here
buy Everyone Everywhere here

happy canada day!

Hey everyone, HAPPY CANADA DAY! To celebrate, here are some of my favourite songs from the past year or so by Canadian artists:

The Acorn: Slippery When Wet from No Ghost
Born Ruffians: Retard Canard from Say It
Diamond Rings: All Yr Songs from Diamond Rings/PS I Love You Split 7"
Great Lake Swimmers: River's Edge from Lost Channels
The Hidden Cameras: Underage from Origin:Orphan
Japandroids: Art Czars from Art Czars 7"
Propagandhi: Dear Coach's Corner from Supporting Caste
Timber Timbre: We'll Find Out from Timber Timbre

...and The Thermals: Canada, they are not Canadian, but it’s a wicked song about Canada!

this is not a music post; rather this is a post on my adventures during the g20 weekend in toronto and how I was detained in the heavy rain for 4hrs

Sorry I haven’t updated for a while, but I have been caught up with all the G20 craziness. I decided to go out on Saturday to check out the various protests solely for the purpose of taking some photos.





However, as time passes, I slowly realized that there is something terribly wrong with the city—no, I am not talking about those who used the black bloc tactic to destroy the city I love, I am talking about ordinary citizens, Toronto residents, who had their rights taken from them during the G20 weekend.





The streets were filled with police in their riot gears, randomly stopping people to look at their IDs and freely going through their bags and belongings; public streets were blocked off and part of the city were fenced in... it felt like some dystopia novel.

I am not really a political person and I usually keep my views/opinion to myself. However, by midway Saturday, I joined in on various peaceful rallies with fellow Torontonians and Canadians to voice our concerns about the state of the city during the G20 Summit. Contrary to what most of the world saw on TV, the protests/protesters were 99% peaceful and confrontation-free!





Sunday comes and it was a beautiful day. I was not aware of any official protest other than the bike rally. I decided to take a walk around the city. I saw a couple of “sort of protests”, but mostly just a gathering of curious on-lookers like myself. After a while, I started to walk on Queen West, planning to visit my favourite record store. As I came close to the intersection (Queen & Spadina) near where Criminal Records is located, I saw hundreds of people just standing around, walking by, and some sitting on the ground. People were just talking to each other, some singing... sort of a quite demonstration.



I walked around to take some pictures, as I made my way up north, I was greeted by lines of riot police telling me to move South… so I did. As a bunch of us made our way back to the intersection, we were asked by another line of riot police to move back South. By now, hundreds (maybe around 3/400) of us were trapped in a circle of riot police. They would not let us leave and started to arrest random people in the crowd. As this point, I put my camera away as ironically, I was concerned about my safety. To make things worst, it started to rain heavily, and for the next 4 hours, I was detained—with hundreds of ordinary people that were doing ordinary things like shopping, walking their dogs, and riding their bikes—by the police without informing us on the situation the entire time. Half of the people (including reporters) were arrested without an explanation, while the other half were released after standing in the cold hard rain for 4 hours. I went home, on one hand, glad to be free, but on the other hand, extremely confused and still confuse at what had happened and what I experienced.

let's listen to the songs of discontent

The G20 Summit begins today in my home city Toronto. While the first major demonstration happened peacefully yesterday, today is the real test for everyone in and around the city as at least two key groups will embark to march down the streets of Toronto in the afternoon. I think this is an incredible opportunity to capture some extraordinary images, but my friends had advised against any participation in the demonstrations due to the possible danger. At the moment, I am still undecided on whether I will get involve or not... in any case, I hope the protests today go peacefully and I wish all the demonstrators, police forces, and everyone involving to make smart decisions and be safe!

Here are a handful of my favourite protest/political songs:

At The Drive-In: Invalid Litter Dept. from Relationship Of Command
Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore: Only A Song from Dear Companion
Bloc Party: Helicopter from Silent Alarm
Bright Eyes: Old Soul Song (For The New World Order) from I'm Wide Awake It's Morning
Bob Dylan: Blowin' In The Wind from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Refused: Protest Song '68 from The Shape Of Punk To Come
Cat Stevens: Peace Train from Teaser And The Firecat
Strike Anywhere: Sunset on 32nd from Change Is a Sound