Merry Christmas

Eye-opener

I recently posted about the killer cover of "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin, from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the original being a sort of proto-punk anthem that still stands up today.

Blast this while you're brushing your teeth this morning :)

This is an absolute dynamite track. One of my friends (I think it was Ian) recently mentioned that Jimmy Page totally re-recorded all of his guitar parts on every Zeppelin record. I have no proof of this as yet but the fact remains that this is a killer song, and when you consider that this track was released in 1973 it makes it all the more impressive. Say what you will about Mr. Page's guitar parts, but the fact remains that this is a great song.

New Bowie video "unearthed"

I'm calling bullshit on this one... apparently some BBC cameraman "discovered" he had this video in his personal collection... and then someone generously posted graphics on it stating the very same thing. Readers of this blog know how much I love Bowie so I hesitate to say anything negative about brand new material, but really...

Decide for yourself...

Thanks to Jian Ghomeshi for the link

New Weeknd album literally just dropped

I'm about to listen to it...

This is pretty cool as this completes the 2011 album trilogy, and just in time for Christmas.

An overdue Prince concert review

Alright, this is overdue, and the further we get from the show the less I want to write about it, so let's get this post going!

I realized that maybe I didn't want to do a review at all. The main reason for that was the way we totally got the shaft. Let me explain.

Prince played two shows at the Air Canada Centre, November 25 & 26. We went to the Saturday show. On the Friday, Prince and the NPG played probably one of the most epic sets of all time. The Purple One once made Toronto home, so he has a special place in his heart for the city. Which is great, if you went to the first show.

Check out these two setlists:

• November 25
• November 26

Taken individually, these are two amazing shows. Taken together, and you can see why the people on the second night got a bit of the shaft. Thanks to social media & the web, we knew going into the show that there were six (6!) encores on Friday, and that Saturday was going to be a hell of a show. Well, the weight of expectations sort of brought that down and we couldn't help feeling disappointed. Which is kind of shitty, actually. If Prince had only played the Saturday show, I could easily have said it was one of the best shows I'd ever been to. But with the knowledge of what the audience got the night before, I can still say it was one of the best shows I've ever been to, but that's tempered with the mild bitterness of having missed the show the night before. The cynical side of me thinks this was due to the fact that every journalist would be out in full force on the first night, giving effusive praise, and that the second show would be basically ignored by the same press.

Wait... I guess I should write about the music too, right? Of course. Well it was phenomenal. His Royal Badness can still play the fuck out of the guitar, and his band is absolutely dynamite. They played a bunch of hits, but the surprising thing was all the cover songs the band played. Lots of classics, as you can see from the setlist link above, but the one sort of oddity was Sarah McLachlan's "Angel", which a couple of the lady backup singers came out and sang while Prince did a costume change. You will notice the Friday show did not get to enjoy such a treat. So take that, suckers! The second night also got "Mountains", so there's that small victory.

A bunch of random notes, and things I enjoyed about the show:

-"I'd like to call a special guest to the stage... my guitar!"

-"Turn the house lights up, I want to see all you people!" - this happened about 15 times during the show. Seriously.

-Prince finishing a guitar solo at the end of a song (I forget which one), then handing the guitar to one of the ladies from the audience who had come up on stage... the lights went down, and shadowy figures came on stage and quickly retrieved the guitar. Tough luck!

I hardly remember the way the show ended, and the alcohol was only partly to blame. He came out and jammed on the piano with some backing tracks... which is fine, Prince can do whatever he wants, but it was out of place given the killer encores from the Friday show. It felt like everyone in the building was expecting more than one encore (greedy!), and after about 10-15 minutes of the whole building chanting "Prince!", a voice came over the PA to tell everyone where the after party was being held, effectively letting everyone know that the skinny man had left the building.

Sort of an anti-climactic ending, but really it was our own fault for building up expectations instead of just going with the show.

But, like I said, a great show, maybe one of the greatest I've been to, and perhaps time will take the sting out of seeing the second best show of two, when the first was up there with the Artist's greatest shows ever.

The moral of the story is: Prince is so awesome that he can make one show of a lifetime pale in comparison to another show of a lifetime.

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo opens today

I'm actually pretty excited about this one. The book was great, and so was the first movie. Of course, the big draw for me is the soundtrack, done by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The movie was originally scheduled to come out Wednesday, but they bumped it up to a day early, I guess so it wouldn't compete with the Tintin flick.

I picked up the soundtrack recently, and the closing track is sort of curious. It's a cover of Bryan Ferry's "Is Your Love Strong Enough", which was from the movie Legend by How to Destroy Angels, which is basically the two guys who did the soundtrack plus Mr. Reznor's wife Mariqueen Mandig. I had never heard of Legend or that song before. Given the subject matter and story of the movie, it seems like this would be an odd choice for the closing credits, but I'll reserve judgement til I see it in context.

It's not a great song, but it is a great production and I've been listening to it quite a bit lately.

Also check out this great cover of Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" by Reznor and Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs:

The soundtrack album itself is interesting because its total running time is about three hours. I'll take a wild guess and suggest that the movie itself probably isn't that long. The physical version of the soundtrack album will be spread over three discs, but the download advance copy I have lays out the track sequence as 1 to 39, rather than 3 sets of 13. I like this, because it treats the entire thing as one whole piece of work, a sort of ambient rock opera. Of course, none of this lends itself to casual listening, but that's not really the point. I imagine the whole thing playing out as the Ghosts album set to the movie, which is just fine by me.

Beach Boys reuniting!

The original lineup... the guys that are still alive, anyway.

[link]

Tool concert - January

Landed some Tool tickets today... they're one of my favourite all time bands, and the thought of getting a new album this year practically gives me shivers.

Sugar Plum Fairies on Glass Harp

[via Neatorama]

Austra's Feel It Break

The band Austra has been getting a lot of press lately, appearing on a bunch of Canadian 'best of' lists for 2011. They were also nominated for the Polaris Prize earlier this year.

I don't think this band really deserves all this glowing press. They're pretty good, don't get me wrong, but it's not original or fresh enough to warrant the gushing praise for a relatively new band that hasn't found its own distinctive voice quite yet.

I find at this point, they're taking a lot from Ladytron. I will certainly be following this band as they continue to make music, but I can't agree with what appears to be the popular opinion on this group. I'm sorry I missed out on their recent Toronto performance, cause I imagine them as a performance-first type of band.

From their new album, the track "Lose It" also seems to get the most chatter. I prefer "The Beat and the Pulse", as it's the defining track on the album and contains the lyric from which the album gets its title, Feel It Break. It also has a killer build to through the song to the chorus, and the track just sounds amazing.

Decide for yourself:

Also, I can't decide whether this video is unbelievably precious and pretentious, or just low budget:

I'm going to say a little bit of column A, a little bit of column B.

Interesting post on music in political campaign ads

Alex Ross: More on campaign ads, as a follow up to this post

The context of the stuff he mentions makes a lot more sense if you've read his great book The Rest is Noise.

Hey, let's all go to Burger King in Russia

No, seriously, let's go:

Makes you wonder if this is real, or just a viral campaign for North American BKs.

Drake - The Homecoming

Here's a recent show I worked on, doing audio post for Muchmusic.

The video doesn't seem to want to load in Firefox, but it works in Safari. Skip right to the end of part three for the credits ;)

Drake - The Homecoming

Back to the blog

I've sort of fallen of the consistency wagon, which really is a basic requirement of maintaining a blog. Falling of said wagon means that I have notes and notes for great post ideas but lately just haven't getting them to virtual print.

In the coming weeks I hope to get some of these wonderful ideas on the blog. Here are a few posts that will hopefully be forthcoming:

-Prince concert review (way overdue)
-Best___ of the year
-Top tracks of the year
-Attempts to reach 190+ posts on the year (this will be 168).
-A review of National Novel Writing Month, which I could say left me to drop the ball on the blog, but is not true, comparing the post count for this month and last month.
Thanks for reading, and I'll be sure to flood your RSS feed with outstanding posts in the coming weeks.

Merry Xmas from Scott Weiland

Mr. STP himself filled with holiday cheer. This odd, creepy take on the Xmas classic replicates what Weiland's day to day haze must be like. This is very weird.

Cool mashup

Walking in your mind (live mashup) from Ithaca Audio on Vimeo.

[via Buzzfeed]

What a day for hockey

Here's an ode for both Leaf fans and Hab fans... who now are both part owned by BCE.

He ain't heavy man, he's your brother.

"We were dubstep before there was dubstep,"

Hahahahahahha!!

Korn's Davis: 'We Were Dubstep Before There Was Dubstep'

An extremely lame attempt by Korn to try and make themselves relevant. The music really is terrible and you'd have to be missing a sizable chunk of your brain to enjoy this kind of garbage. This coming from a guy who had at least a mild interest in this band back in high school, when I presumably did have a sizable chunk of my brain missing.

via Hipster Runoff

A sunny track for a rainy day

Thank goodness for that

Musical Around Bowie's Discog Gets Denied…

Hopefully it stays that way... I'm not a fan of musicals and I'm a huge Bowie fan.

Prince concert tonight

Not much to say, but apparently last night's show went over three hours! There's not much to link to on the web in terms of Prince's music, so here's one of his best known songs... enjoy it while the video is still up:

Album covers from Google Street View

Eleven Seminal Album Covers As Seen With Google Street View

via Daily Swarm

Timelapse from the ISS

Breathtaking, watch this in full screen:

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

The Doors sing the Reading Rainbow theme

Update: Apparently this video is no longer available so... Use the Googles, amirite?

Jimmy Fallon's got quite the career going with his music legend impersonations... this is great:

I really got into the Doors this past summer when I read Ray Manzarek's book, and I listened to most of their albums for the first time. I definitely got a new appreciation for the band and their music after that experience. They were a band I had a hard time taking seriously before, most likely because of their association with classic rock radio, and being played ad nauseum... but these guys were true art rockers, and were really immersed in the counter culture of the time. The group's name comes from opening 'the doors of perception', and one way to do that was by taking LSD.

So to see the above video, and the juxtaposition of a group whose musical journey was toward higher levels of consciousness, and the theme song for a children's show that did a bit of consciousness raising in its own way, is nothing short of brilliant.

Let's play spot the product placement

It's indistinguishable from a trendy clothing commercial, or her Gillette commercial.

Sailing right into the MLB

If you're not a baseball fan you may have missed this epic-est of epic promo videos for Cuban phenom Yoenis Cespedes:

The tracklist for this video is absolutely stellar, as Mr. Cespedes rides the seas of smooth from Cuba all the way to an MLB stadium, with the help of Christopher Cross' "Sailing"... seriously though, have you ever seen such an epic/hilarious/wtf video?

There's an excellent play by play of the video here... I know at least one non-baseball person who would become an instant fan if a certain local club added this guy, thanks to the now notorious pig roast scene at the end of the video.

Saigon Sunday

For those lonely Saturday nights

Drinkify - generates a pretty clever drink suggestion by musical artist

via

Did you get any funny ones? Try putting in Cannibal Corpse.

Toro y Moi - Light Black

Dynamite live clip from the band here... it absolutely destroys the album version, which is pretty unusual in and of itself. I tried embedding the clip, but the code was a little wonky. Looks pretty good on that page though.

The consolidation continues

Hot on the heels of announcing that CDs may be phased out altogether next year, there's this bit of news that the major label pool just got smaller (again)...

Super-Conglom Vivendi Buys EMI's Recorded Music… Publishing to Sony…

Saigon Sunday

Yesterday I picked up The Stranglers' Greatest Hits from the library... they're a band that I've heard about before, but never really got in to... and holy crap I'm glad I picked up that disc... check out this great song, that I've known for a long time, but only today learned the name of, it's the "Skin Deep", and check out this clip from Top of the Pops... it's obviously canned, so it's basically the same as the studio version... enjoy.

Literal MS Paint interpretation of a Chris Brown song

Lots of humour posts today... here's an absolutely hilarious Microsoft Paint interpretation of some terrible Chris Brown song:

This definitely makes the song more enjoyable and intelligible. The chorus is perfect.

From the Tosh blog, via Elizabeth

8-bit TTC game

Check out this lo-fi TTC subway riding browser game with a killer 8-bit soundtrack:

Ride the Better Way

via blogto

Finally, a kitten blog I can get behind

The Kitten Covers

Sports anchor wins the lottery; on-air reaction

Canadian Sports Anchor's Kent Brockman Moment

I usually like to post music stuff, but I had to share this one... An internet pet peeve of mine is the ton of videos of news anchors caught saying or doing stupid things, so it's nice to have a feel-good clip go viral for once:

Wither the compact disc?

A couple people mentioned this story to me yesterday... Apparently the major labels are planning to stop mass producing compact discs some time next year.

This article appears to be the original source of the story.

I don't think compact discs will disappear entirely until another format, possibly Blu-ray, takes over as the dominant audio delivery format. There will certainly be demand for high quality audio... Perhaps places like HD tracks will take off. There are a few problems with a site like this... files won't necessarily play on all devices, and even if you could, what's the point if you're going to be listening off of laptop speakers? You'd need a proper player, cables, speakers, etc etc.

Too bad for the CD, but the labels really shot themselves in the foot when they didn't drastically bring down prices with the rise of digital downloads... for the big picture on that story, you should read Steve Knopper's Appetite for Self-Destruction. Great book on what happened to the industry.

Glass Candy - Halloween

In time for Hallowe'en, here's a new track and throwback video from electro pop group Glass Candy:



via Gorilla vs Bear

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo viral campaign

Kind of like the alternate reality game done by NIN for Year Zero... one of the pictures was found right near where I work, which is kinda spooky/cool.

What is Hidden In Snow

On not totally dismissing the band Fucked Up

I surprised myself by enjoying most of Fucked Up's new rock opera/concept album, David Comes to Life. I didn't love it top to bottom, and it's not something I'll be listening to all the time, but there were a few standout tracks, including this one:



The non-stop scream-singing isn't usually my cup of tea, but for whatever reason I dig it on this song. The gruff vocals contrasting with the melodic instrumentation sells it for me.
You can also grab this disc, as well as their previous effort, the Polaris Prize nominated The Chemistry of Common Life, at the at the Toronto Public Library.

Halloween Rock Anthem

Awww yeah!

Thanks to Elizabeth for this one

Klosterman on 'Lulu'

Spot on as usual, Klosterman takes down the forthcoming Metallica-Lou Reed abomination album, Lulu

Avril Lavigne: No spin zone

Avril Lavigne, what went wrong between us?

Toronto Star rock/pop music critic Ben Rayner "has been denied a reviewer’s ticket for Lavigne’s concert Monday at the Air Canada Centre because of allegedly unflattering things he has written about the singer in the past."
Ha.
“I’ve been working as a professional critic for more than 15 years and I’ve given some people some pretty vicious reviews, but I don’t think Avril Lavigne is one of them,” said a perplexed Rayner. “I’ve been a lot kinder to her than a lot of other critics.”
This made me laugh.

The Pogues - Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah

I'm sorting through some tunes, and making an iTunes playlist of this Edge 1002 songs of all time chart from the turn of the millenium. It has an ultimate playlist feel, and the fact that it cuts off at 1999 makes some of the poorer tracks worth listening to for kitsch/retro value.

But apparently, I don't every song in the universe after all... this one comes in at 111 on the list:



This song is a lot of fun, and will make a great addition to my collection. Hearing this definitely makes me want to get unlazy and start doing those Saigon Sunday posts again... In the coming weeks/months, if I decide to keep plugging holes in the chart, I will share more songs that I come across. A bunch of these tunes are extremely tough to come by, through legal methods or otherwise. Some of these cuts were mid-80s vinyl tracks that were never released in CD format. I may end up spending a fortune on imported and rare CDs on eBay though...

Caribou shills for Lexus in new commercial

Check it out, one of my favourite musicians working today landed himself a high-end car commercial, in the form of the song "Odessa" from 2010's Swim album:


Like: People finding out about Caribou
Dislike: Morons finding out about said musician. "Oh, is that the guy from the car commercial?"... Grrrr...
Like: Mr. Snaith bankrolling more amazing music thanks to the automobile industry.
Dislike: Not enough people buying his records so he doesn't have to sell out to a car company. But I guess if Henry Rollins can announce for Infiniti then all bets are off, right?

Do the Carlin Step

I forget if I've posted this before... This is a pretty funny George Carlin auto-tune mashup video... the bit that serves as the source material is absolutely perfect for this type of thing.  Five stars.

NIN track in the Avengers trailer

In what's becoming a pattern, the new trailer for next summer's Avengers flick features the Nine Inch Nails track "We're in this Together".

Here are the other trailers I'm referring to -
Captain America
Resident Evil Extinction

Maybe it's just coincidence, and the people who are producing these films and trailers grew up with the music and perhaps it made an impact on their lives at some point.  Or it could be that these artists are having their music co-opted by the mainstream movie industry... Or in the case of NIN, now that Trent Reznor is an Academy Award winner, the group's music is being re-examined with the air of prestige.

I think there's something of a pattern here, and though I'm not quite sure what it is, I will be continuing to look out for the answer.

Watch the trailer for the Avengers here

via NIN Hotline

Carles' commentary on the new Feist album

Interesting commentary from the author of popular weblog Hipster Runoff, Metals and Feist's Escape From the Mainstream

Metals isn’t made to introduce new people to her brand — it’s for people who already like Feist enough to go on an artistic journey with her.

Return of the Pink

Pink Floyd pig flies again to mark albums reissue

Apparently they're re-releasing 14 of their albums... I guess they want to get one last cash grab in before the physical media market for music completely tanks. To be honest I'd probably pick up the Animals reissue if it's an improvement over the original.

Geez, they're really going to town on this campaign. Check out all the details here on Wikipedia. I think I'll pass on the 7-disc version of The Wall though.

Radiohead on SNL

The band takes SNL in the show's season premiere... typical horrible sound for bands on the show, but the Moog and Prophet synths are pretty sweet.

Tempered enthusiasm

Might as well give away the whole movie, eh?

As you may know, I'm a bit of a NIN/Trent Reznor geek, so I will probably enjoy this film at least for the score, from the Oscar winning composer... The movie itself - looks decent enough, and I trust Fincher to handle the material well. The thing that bugs me is that it'll be an American crew with largely British actors tackling a story set in Sweden. I think people had their doubts about The Social Network, but that turned out not too shabby...

I would be interested to know if they are in fact adapting the book straight from the book, or in fact re-making the original movie. This trailer looks much more stylized than the original film... much more promising sound track too...

Getting Reacquainted with the Deftones

While clearing out my '2010 second listen' playlist in iTunes, I came across the Deftones' Diamond Eyes. This led me through the digital rabbit hole to the other Deftones albums in my collection... White Pony definitely stands up as a great album, it even featured a Grammy award winning song.
It's been interesting listening to these albums again... It's like I've unlocked a digital time capsule... This was one of my favourite bands in high school, and to go back to them after so long was like getting in touch with an old friend.
The group has gone through a few sonic and stylistic changes over the years... This is "Root" from their first LP, Adrenaline. The song draws mainly on thrash metal, and has a pretty heavy sound. In fact, this would have qualified under the brutally titled 'nu-metal' moniker.

Two albums later the band is into some much more complex emotional territory on this track featuring Tool's vocalist Maynard James Keenan, "Passenger":

On this 2003 lead single from their self titled album, the band touches the Pixies and My Bloody Valentine with the loud-soft and layered sound of "Minerva":

Teaming up with producer Bob Ezrin for their 2006 album Saturday Night Wrist, the band really gets close to power pop with this melodically clean and sonically concise lead single, "Hole in the Earth". This song is definitely geared for radio... listen to how the lead vocals are restrained, and pitch corrected, compared to the rough, raw vocal production of "Root" above.
Which brings us to "Diamond Eyes" from 2010. This song is a culmination of everything they've done in their career... Crushing verses, melodic, layered choruses, solid build in the bridge and a noisy outro all set to a prog time signature. Could be the perfect Deftones song.
The band is in fine form, Chino's back to good health (see above video), Chi has returned from his devastating car accident, and the drummer's wearing a backwards baseball cap. It's all here:

As for the rest of the album? Above I mentioned it was on a second listen playlist I created, so that should give you an idea of what I think about that album.
It's been pretty fun the past few days to check in with this band that I used to listen to a ton back in the day, but have listened to less in lately. Hopefully there will be more features like this to come.

WTFunny for a Friday

Umm... presented without comment I guess. It's an ad, so there's that. I guess that's a comment.

Thanks to Elizabeth for the video.

Disliking Justin Timberlake less and less

My Google Reader just informed be that Justin Timberlake Secretly Cosplayed as Ernie at San Diego Comic-Con 2011... How the hell about that, eh?

This coming after he was on TV at the MLB All-Star game, possibly (likely) drunk, and sarcastically praising the insufferable broadcast host, Joe Buck.

What's not to like?

Commentary on grunge revival

Grunge revival shows rock'n'roll is not dead – just tired

hipster nostalgia makes a crazy sort of sense: rather than summon the energy for a defining statement of anger or outrage, Gen Y has only mustered a shrug, and waited as the consumerism that grunge initially fought off washes over.

(via Daily Swarm)

Digging the new Bon Iver album

Here's a great song, "Calgary", from the group's self-titled album, released earlier this year. Definitely in contention for my year end top 10...

The album reminds me a lot of Destroyer's Kaputt, with a throwback, smooth music sound. 80s synths and vocal production, that sort of thing.

New Symphony of Science

Now with Morgan Freeman!

Money for Nothing - Still illegal on Canadian airwaves

CBSC Releases Decision on Song "Money for Nothing"

Fun with Googling yourself

I'm on imdb! Fuck yeah!

"Golden Age" song analysis

Hey, it's the song that's in that Heineken commercial!

Asteroids Galaxy Tour "Golden Age" Song Analysis

Also: 'Heinekin' shows up as a spelling error while 'Heineken' does not. I guess Blogger has a brand-spelling dictionary too?

Reading Jay-Z's decoded

I recently picked up a copy of Jay-Z's Decoded, and I'm about halfway through reading it. The book works as a bit of biography, and a bit of hip-hop history, offering some serious insight into his writing process and his mindset while writing songs.
One particular story is about the writing of "Big Pimpin'", and how he was going through some legal issues at the time with an assault charge. The song was a way to triumph when it looked like the deck was stacked against him.



He's a compelling storyteller, and the lyric notes are especially enlightening. These sections are the nitty gritty of the 'decoded' part of the book. I was somewhat worried that the notes would take away some of the mystique of the words, but frankly, I'll be listening to his lyrics, and certainly all hip-hop and rap lyrics, with a different ear after this book.
I'd recommend against getting the e-book version though, it's kind of a pain in the ass to jump back and forth from the lyric to notes on an e-reader.

It works as a broad autobiography, but not strictly a humble-beginnings-to-superstar sort of way. He jumps around a bit in service of grouping songs together thematically.

Here are a couple excerpts from the book in an MTV article published around the time of the book's release.

A good read for hip-hop enthusiasts, great read for Jay-Z fans.

Wire - Ex Lion Tamer

I've been listening to Wire's Pink Flag quite a bit lately... here's a standout track:

Braids - Lemonade

I recently picked up this album by Braids from the Toronto Library. After a couple listens, I definitely like what I hear.
Take a listen. I'll have an album review of Native Speaker and a couple other Polaris Prize albums soon.

25 Best Pharrell Hooks

Link, with samples!

via Daily Swarm

New Weeknd mixtape

Already! The first one, released earlier this year, is easily on my top albums of the year so far. Supposedly there's a third on the way. The Prince comparisons will probably not slow down if he keeps up this pace of output.

Link here

Battle looming over termination rights

Interesting article about termination rights...

“When copyright law was revised in the mid-1970s, musicians, like creators of other works of art, were granted “termination rights,” which allow them to regain control of their work after 35 years, so long as they apply at least two years in advance. Recordings from 1978 are the first to fall under the purview of the law, but in a matter of months, hits from 1979, like “The Long Run” by the Eagles and “Bad Girls” by Donna Summer, will be in the same situation — and then, as the calendar advances, every other master recording once it reaches the 35-year mark.”

In the next few years, the rights to some of the biggest selling albums of all time will revert back to the songwriters... not a promising thought for the major labels.

Summertime social club

I was in Cuba earlier this year, and we'd hear lots of music like this-



From the album Buena Vista Social Club. Great album, great sound, perfect for beating the summertime blues.

30 Harshest Musician on Musician Disses

Total link bait article here... lots of Morrissey hate, which I can totally get behind. For example:

9. Robert Smith on Morrissey “If Morrissey says not to eat meat, then I’ll eat meat — that’s how much I hate Morrissey.”

Edit - Forgot to link to The Daily Swarm

Sunday night blues

Last week I mentioned I saw some posters advertising the Spirit of the Edge... Must have been some extra posters lying around from five years ago, cause I tuned in last night to the usual music I've come to expect from the radio station.

So now, in an effort to distract you from whatever it is you had planned on doing for the next couple hours, I present a link to the awesome CFNY fansite Spirit of Radio. 

Check out their chart lists... the 1989 chart is especially interesting because the station went to a top 40/pop format after being a truly alternative station for most of its existence.  By 1991 they seemed to be back on track, and we probably have Nirvana to thank for that.  Then again, 1997 has Our Lady Peace... Not that I can complain, they were actually one of my favourite bands at the time. 

The Spirit of Radio also has the epic 1002 songs of all time chart from 1999, which is pretty fascinating, as it features a lot of very cool artists, (Bowie, Devo, Tool, NIN, Talking Heads) among other more obvious choices (Pearl Jam, U2, The Hip, U2, Nirvana, U2...) 

It's an interesting document as it shows the way people were viewing alternative rock music at the time, right before Y2K and of course, before Kid A.

This is what MC Hammer has been reduced to

Defeats Juggalos with MESMERIZING Dance Moves

Hat tip Elizabeth

Radiohead to play SNL

Radiohead to perform on "Saturday Night Live"

I wonder what they'll play... King of Limbs isn't exactly prime pop material

Where to find good concerts in Toronto

When looking up concert listings, I usually check a few places:
First, I'll check Rotate This. They have tickets that cover a wide range of events, but don't expect to find the Madonna concert there. Listings are in chronological order.

I also check Soundscapes. Their listings are by artist name, so that's helpful.

A while ago I came across a site that aggregated a bunch of Toronto concert listings, but I can't seem to find the link anywhere, and web searches have been fruitless.

Of course if you really want those Madonna tickets, you can always check with the evil empire.

Great Bowie album, or Greatest?

It's a close, four way tie between Ziggy Stardust, Low, and "Heroes", and Station to Station.



Caught myself singing this in the shower this morning. It's a great way to start your day, I highly recommend it.

Return of Spirit of the Edge?

On Queen Street West there are a bunch of posters on the lamp posts advertising the return of the Spirit of the Edge, aka Saigon Sunday, aka one of my favourite radio programs of all time. 

The Edge-CFNY website doesn't mention the show, and it still lists the Dr Drew radio show as holding the Sunday night slot.  However, the poster says Lori Alan is the host, and she doesn't appear on the host list on the website. 

Going to the live to air show was a university staple for me, and those nights were about the extent of  the "clubbing" I've done.  Part of me wants to check out the event just to see if any of the old crew were there... those nights certainly could draw interesting crowds for damn sure.

I think bringing this show back would also help soften the blow of losing long time personality Alan Cross... but that could just be me, oh so tired of hearing Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, or Nirvana every single waking hour of the broadcast day.  Those are fine, fine bands, but let's cut down on their play, you know... maybe ten percent?

Anyway, back to the point - Sunday night will be exciting for me if I tune in at 9pm and hear a song like this instead of the Foo Fighters....

On repeat: Gui Boratto - Beautiful Life

Highly recommended minimal electronic/techno artist.  Check out the album, it has an amazing 8:31 version of this same track.  The whole album is great actually.  Lots of 4*s and a couple 5*s in my iTunes.

Here are a few mp3 blogs that I follow

Most of these I've discovered pretty recently.  A couple aren't strictly 'mp3' blogs but do supply an interesting stream of music in other formats.

Deleted Scens, Forgotten Dreams (ambient, drone)
Did Y'all Hear That? (electronic, dubstep, techno)
Joy Division Bootlegs (JD and New Order bootlegs)
Potholes In My Blog (electronic, hip hop - thx Angry Robot)
The Unheard Music (rock, pop, lots of Prince, everything else)
we like it lossless! (electronic, ambient, all .flac or .wav)

New Das Racist song

Listen to "Michael Jackson" here.

Not bad... not great.

Concert review - The Weeknd

Damn, I wish I was there for this one...
A perfect Weeknd

"After months shrouded in secrecy, Abel Tesfaye, best known as The Weeknd, made his public debut Sunday night in his hometown of Toronto. It was the perfect live start to what will be a thriving career, if he keeps up like this. "

Blogto commenters prove once again that no one reads Blogto articles

Today's exhibit: Steely Dan shows how a rock band ages gracefully

I could spend all day picking apart the comments section of this article in particular, but it would make me unnecessarily angry, and hate all the people who live in my city.

So to be brief - it's obvious that the first and third commenters didn't read the article at all, since what they are saying makes no sense... the article says the exact opposite and is, in fact, agreeing with what they are saying. 

This is why I usually avoid reading comments on articles online, as it really pains me to be faced with the realization of something I already know - there are a lot of really stupid people out there walking around, driving cars, making food that I eat, etc, etc...

Copyright history of the birthday song

You Say It's Your Birthday

[via Daily Swarm]

Horrible Bosses Trailer features obvious song choice

Really? Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Can't Stop"? Why Bother?
I thought about referring to this as a horrible song choice, but that's not really accurate. It would make a good tie in to the movie title, but that just doesn't make that much sense. The song choice really is more like obvious, and lazy, the more I think about it. Warner probably said - "here are a bunch of songs we own the rights to, pick one, and there's your trailer." Boom. Mystery solved.

Ghostfaced Pixels

Safety Words are a mashup duo, and that's about all I can find out about them right now, mostly due to the fact that they have an ungooglable name... anyway the album 'The Ghostfaced Pixels' is a bunch of Wu-Tang raps mashed with 8-bit NES music... it's pretty awesome, you should check it out:



"Hygiene Tips from the Planet Zebes" is hilarious, and it plays out exactly like it sounds.

Fist bump to Adam for the tunage.

Sesame Street-Beasties rap

Ahhhh these never get old!


Sesame Street breaks it down from Wonderful Creative on Vimeo.


[link]

Grammar Lesson with Weird Al

(link)

Today in awful

Can you fucking believe this shit?

Dance Party '93

Remember this one?  Robin S' "Show Me Love"... totally unrelated to Robyn's "Show Me Love"



Jason DeRulo (who always starts off his songs by singing his name), samples this one on his new song, as well as butchering Harry Belafonte's "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)"

The Dark Knight Rises poster

The Teaser Poster for The Dark Knight Rises!

I'm pretty excited this movie, and especially another score from the genius Hans Zimmer.  Inception and The Dark Knight were amazing films with outstanding soundtracks.

Friend linking

Check out my friend Tony's blog, and photos of his trip to Italy.  A must for both photography and cycling fans.

Soundgarden concert review - July 2, Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto

Here's a late concert review, I've been busy enjoying the summer and haven't had time to put all these thoughts swimming in my head about this concert down in words. 

I admit to being a bit skeptical at first.  How would the band's chops hold up?  Would the chemistry still be there?  Would they favour new material, or would it play like a greatest hits?  Will Chris Cornell nail those stunning vocal parts from Superunknown?

Let me put it mildly: there was no rust on this machine.  The band was as sharp as you'd expect from the first night of a major tour, and a comeback one at that.  I didn't bring earplugs, this being the lawns and all.  I was definitely not expecting the band to be that loud.  They were extremely heavy, loud, and energetic through the entire set.

The setlist did not disappoint.  They allayed my fears instantly, opening with the comeback single "Black Rain", which from the parking lot sounded like it could have been from Badmotorfinger.  Getting the new material out of the way, they played a punishing set that would satisfy the 'greatest-hitters' and the long time fans... check out the setlist, via setlist.fm:

Black Rain
Searching With My Good Eye Closed
Spoonman
Gun
Rusty Cage
Blow Up the Outside World
Let Me Drown
Jesus Christ Pose
My Wave
The Day I Tried to Live
Outshined
Beyond the Wheel
Fell on Black Days
Ugly Truth
Burden in My Hand
Superunknown
Black Hole Sun
4th of July

Encore:

Face Pollution
Like Suicide
Slaves & Bulldozers

I have an idea for a post about how awesome setlist.fm is, which I will hopefully hammer out soon.

The biggest surprise of all was the vocal performance by Chris Cornell.  My friend Matt remarked during the show that it was one of the greatest vocal performances he had ever seen, and I tend to agree.  Not just jazz, classical, or rock, but vocal performances, period.  Absolutely breathtaking.  We couldn't believe our ears.

The combination of an amazing performance and a stunning lightning show made this a very memorable performance.  Massive rain kinda put a... damper on the exit, but what can we say?  Soundgarden is back.

Polaris 2011 Long list announced

2011 Shortlist

Arcade Fire made the best album, but they've already taken home Grammy hardware this year.  My pick would be outstanding debut from The Weeknd.

I've only heard one other album, Austra's Feel It Break, and let me tell you, I am shocked to see it on the short list.  Long list for sure, but seriously?  I've given the album a couple listens and it feels like B+ Ladytron, and possibly the weakest sounding synth I've ever heard open an album.

So there it is, two months to bone up on the other albums.  The Toronto Public Library has 9 of the 10 albums, so go on, help yourself!  Edit: 8 of 10, but you can get The Weeknd for free on their website

Soundgarden Inadvertently Reunites At Area Cinnabon

Onion link here.

My review of last week's Soundgarden show is forthcoming, I swear!

Great songs in the Zookeeper trailer can't convince me to part with my money

 This post was originally titled "Awful looking movie trailer features two awfully good songs", but in an effort to increase page views, I'm trying an experiment and changing the title.

Because Google loves when I do these types of posts, I'm going to subject you to a fairly weak analysis of the latest piece of shit movie trailer "starring" "funnyman" Kevin James, Zookeeper.  I suppose I should italicize the title there, but I don't want to encourage these people.

Yep, the trailer uses some remix of the Doobie Brothers "Listen to the Music", then backs it up with a predictable choice, the Talking Heads' "Wild Wild Life", which itself is a weird and somewhat perverse jaunt through a visual medium.  Go on, watch it.  At least so you can see Jerry Harrison dress up as Prince... and, for some reason John Goodman shows up.  Think about this video when considering how great the Talking Heads were, and how it easy it can be for great bands to go into a creative tailspin. 

Anyway, what was the point of this post?  Right, seo bait.  Here ya go:



Zookeeper in theatres Friday!!!11zomg

McGrath speaks

Writer Denis McGrath returns to his blog, with comments about the government's recent slashing of Summerworks' budget.

Definitely worth a read.  It also makes me miss his blog.

Hipster Music Venn Diagram

Hipster Music Defined

Canada Day Canadiana

Taking a look at my iTunes library, among the top played Canadian songs are these ones:





Obviously the play counts favour the amazingly good and the amazingly new, especially since I rebooted my library somewhat recently. 

There ya go, a nice juxtaposition of new and classic, rock and pop.

Happy Canada Day! :)

Captain America trailer features Tool song

From Tool's Ænima, here's "Forty-Six & 2" (now 15 years old!!!) employed like some sort of blunt instrument to bludgeon the movie-going public into watching Captain America.

I'm all for hearing more Tool in popular culture, but it seems sorely misused here.  Maybe it's just the thought that the film is set in the 1940s, and it's weird for me to hear my favourite music from high school chopped up and edited in such a perverse fashion.

Tool, A Perfect Circle and Nine Inch Nails seem to be the current shorthand for conveying aggression and masculine energy in trailers. 

Here's the mind-numbing non-stop action-packed sequence:



There's an alternate trailer with a different song... I have no idea what the name of that track is.

I wonder what it's like for a 15 year old kid watching this trailer and finding out about these artists for the first time.  From that perspective, then by all means, I'm all for it.  My guess is that "these kids today" will just download the music for free or just listen to individual tracks, thereby missing the enriching experience of the by-gone album era.

As for the movie itself... meh.  My wild guess is that this trailer distills all the best parts into 2:30.  Works for me.

Modem slowed down 700%

Pretty cool.

via Wire to the Ear

Summer jam of the year

Check out this pretty funny song and video from Da Gryptions, who I'm guessing are from Montreal, considering the major amounts of Expos paraphernalia exhibited in the video.

These guys are in the same franco vein as electro-pop-hip hop groups Misteur Valaire and Radio Radio, an interesting quasi scene that's developing over there in French Canada.



It could just be my speakers, but it feels like the mix is a bit off, and even with the creative use of auto tune, there seems to be some tuning issues.  Ahh, the charms of amateur musicians!  Heck, I don't know, maybe it's supposed to be like that. 

Anyway, tell your friends.  The Expos connection is enough to get me to tell people about them.

Also, check out their song about Bixi, which is also pretty clever.

Soundgarden - July 2nd

Long weekend... Amphitheatre... this Saturday.  What could go wrong?  Well... perhaps the weather, apparently.



I'm stoked!

"Hey, you like orchestral?"

Garage Orchestra Hands Out Demo At Boston Philharmonic Show

Top 10 Harshest Pfork Disses of 2011

Top 10 Harshest Pitchfork Disses of 2011 so far

Always more fun reading negative reviews than middling reviews!

Duke Nukem Forever & Chinese Democracy

I had a whole post prepared about how the recently released 'Duke Nukem Forever' was the video game equivalent of Guns N Roses' similarly oft-delayed Chinese Democracy album, but I was a little late on the posting punch. 

So here's the AV Club's review of DNF, which says pretty much everything I wanted to say, except more clear and concise.  Better luck next time, me!

Two Worlds Collide

The Roots and Weird Al take on Madvillain's "Accordion"

I'm pretty sure it's real... It takes a very special kind of music nerd to appreciate this, I suppose.

via @DonaldGlover

Happy Father's Day

Here's a fun if wholly inaccurate/incomplete infographic on How Your Father's Music Influences What You Listen To

Devo - Live tonight!

Devo's live at Yonge-Dundas square for a free show tonight as part of NXNE... I may pass on this but then again it may be too tempting to pass up.  It's going to be pretty insane there, and there isn't exactly any bar service in a public square.  Improvisation may be in order.

Here's one of their most recent videos, featuring their typical camp:


Their Complete Truth About De-Evolution DVD is a pretty awesome watch if you're into video art and early music videos... they practically created the genre.

Polaris 2011 long list announced!

Check out the list here

I'm pleasantly surprised to see The Weeknd on there.  Arcade Fire is a no-brainer, but after their Grammy win I think perhaps the judges will defer the prize to someone who could use the promo.  The Polaris board likes to pick out of the blue choices.

Less than three weeks til the short list is announced... feels like I just finished my 2010 shortlist collection!

Nightclubbing

Iggy Pop/David Bowie cover by Trent Reznor and friends from 2006. 

Peter Murphy sounds spookily like Iggy.

Friday track - new Junior Boys

Because I'm a sucker, I still buy CDs... this week I picked up the latest from one of my favourite electro pop groups, the Junior Boys.

Check out this standout track from It's All True:

Misteur Valaire - Ave Mucho

So I'm away for a few days and Blogger totally changes its interface... what the hell? :)

Anyway, here's an artist I've been listening to lately:


Pretty fun electronic/hip hop/pop.  Reminds me a bit of Radio Radio, another Canadian band with some Franco flavour.

Joy Division - New Order bootlegs

This site came up in my Google Reader. Most of the bootlegs appear to be in .flac format... almost too much to take in all at once.

Fincher's Dragon Tattoo Lady trailer

Leaked version of the trailer for the upcoming US remake of the popular book The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo:



Looks pretty intense. It may also give more fuel to those people who say both David Fincher and Trent Reznor have sold out.

The track is a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song", sung by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and quite obviously a production of the aforementioned Reznor. The excellent track choice works on a couple of levels... The story itself is an immigrant, and the lyrics refer to Valhalla, which is kind of a big deal in Norse mythology.

Auto-tune for Guitars

There might actually be some very creative uses for this... see the article:
Auto-Tune for Guitars Doesn’t Have to be Like Auto-Tune for Vocals; The Digital Guitar Future?

Check out the demo video in the link... insane stuff.

Pop-up Video Returns!

In case you missed it... here's the link.

This may actually get people watching music videos again. Though I wonder if there's a place for this kind of content in the current media landscape. We shall see.

New music from The Weeknd

Link

BTW, you really should check them out...

Vintage Moog Ads Gallery

Check out this cool image gallery:

Gallery: Vintage Moog Ads, Vintage Bob Moog, from the Bob Moog Foundation Archives

50 greatest album covers

Link over at MusicRadar

Trust Google with your music collection

Google Music Beta to stream 20,000 songs for free, official!

Seems almost like they're laying a trap for pirates... but that's just me being paranoid I suppose...

Warren G & Nate Dogg - Regulate

R.I.P. Nate Dogg

Kanye West - Flashing Lights

The future of Canadian digital policies

Surprisingly optimistic column from Prof. Michael Geist here.

While there will undoubtedly be wins and losses, the majority offers the opportunity to move away from years of policies driven by politics where little actually becomes law to one driven by policy that results in true legal reform. Given the last seven years of minority Liberal and Conservative governments that achieved so little on digital policies, the chance to get something done probably represents the biggest change of all.

Graph showing music industry sales in the last ten years

Ten Years of Music Industry Change, In 10 Seconds Or Less... [via Daily Swarm]

For Cut Copy fans - Holy Ghost!

Here's Holy Ghost featuring the inimitable Michael McDonald, with "Some Children"... I first heard about these guys when they opened for Cut Copy in Toronto recently. And to my surprise, the last track on HG!'s album features one of my favourite vocalists of all time... enjoy:

Google Prepares to Eat Apple's Dust

Apple has finished building their super-secret cloud based music monster [PopMatters]

Maybe Google could regain level footing with Apple by buying the music industry...

TV on the Radio concert review - April 18, Sound Academy

That was a hell of a concert.

It's taken me a week to get this review together, but yeah. It was awesome. This was the fifth time I've seen the band, and probably a close second for the best performance of the five. Of course, #1 is the time I saw them in 2004 at the Horseshoe, back when their shows cost $10, not $32, and the opener was this unknown duo named the Junior Boys. You could say I'm "OG-TVOTR".

My enthusiasm for the group was bested only slightly by the guy standing to the right of us at the show, who was seemingly the only other person in the room who lost their shit more than I did when we realized that the group was opening the show with "Young Liars"... when the drums kicked in on that song and the whole Sound Academy began to shake, I knew we were in for a special show. So did Mr. Superfan, who knew every break, beat and chorus.

Jamming into every song, including the start of the show, extending parts and changing arrangements, the set was dynamic and well-paced. The biggest difference was the trombone player on stage, filling out the group's sound with his smooth playing and picking up the tambourine when there were no horn parts.

The lighting show also was above and beyond anything I've seen them do before, and it really enhanced the whole set, especially "Staring at the Sun" and "Red Dress".

All the new material fits really well into the live show, and they did a good job working the new stuff in with the old. If you are a fan of the band, you gotta check out the new album, Nine Types of Light. I got into the band in the early days, so I wonder what it's like for some of these kids (yes, kids, a couple of them couldn't have been older than 13) to hear their dense, mind-blowing early work in comparison to the slick, crystalline production of Dear Science and Nine Types of Light... It's a cool feeling to have been following a group since the beginning and seeing new fans come in along the way.

I've mentioned before that I've heard people gripe about the Sound Academy... last time I saw TVOTR play there, in 2009, the sound was indeed a bit flat. This time, however, it was damn near perfect. (Well, the guitars could have cut through a bit more, but, ya know...) Compared to the recent drum machine driven Cut Copy show at the same venue, I can say without a doubt that live drums make a huge difference. TVOTR's drums were earth rumbling, amazing.

Here's the setlist, via setlist.fm (which is an awesome site cause I don't have to fret about trying to remember the setlist after one or two barley pops):
Young Liars
The Wrong Way
Blues From Down Here
Caffeinated Consciousness
Province
Crying
Staring at the Sun
Will Do
Repetition
Wolf Like Me
Red Dress

Encore:

A Method
Forgotten
Satellite

===

The makeup of the group harkens back to Prince and Sly & the Family Stone... I can see them touring with female backup singers in the future, one which I'm sure will be bright.

There are few better bands out there recording and performing right now, the "genre-blending" (I hate that term) of the group puts them light years ahead of other groups and makes you wonder why you listen to much else of anything at all.

You have to hear this: The Weeknd

If you are into contemporary, fresh, modern sounding music that's atmospheric and mellow yet rhythmically intense, with a mix of rock, R&B and hip-hop unlike anything you've ever heard, do yourself a favour and grab The Weeknd's House of Balloons.

Excellent, just listen and let me know what you think... I'm going to go back and listen to this now it's so good.



Seriously, check out the album. Contains swears and sick grooves.

What a well-timed promo!

Pursuant to yesterday's item, set the date: Weird Al drops his new album June 21!

Therapy for Radiohead fans

Spot-on comedy sketch from the BBC:



[via Create Digital Music]

New Weird Al tune

My Dad sends me this link for Weird Al's new parody, a cover of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way":



I wonder if Weird Al has a bunch of songs lying around that he could post/leak for our amusement, or if the legal repercussions might be too dire... Prince was another artist that rejected a parody/homage.
===
Update: It's approved!

New Malajube drops tomorrow

From the Francophone pop-rockers' new album, La caverne... I like what I hear so far...

Could Google buy the music industry?

Interesting article here: Why Google Should Buy The Recording Industry

the music industry is economically quite small and unimportant compared to the computer industry. And yet somehow -- through honed lobbying and old boy networks -- it wields a disproportionate power that enables it to block innovative ideas that the online world wants to try.

After that, Google could buy Spotify, then we'd be all set. I like the idea of paying for music like a utility, I wonder how well it would work in practice.

Byrne lyric on Wheel

How did that get there?

Meta-ness ensues.

Cut Copy concert review & setlist

I caught Cut Copy last week at the Sound Academy with some friends. Pretty great show... it's weird when you've been following a band for a while and you see them grow from being not very well known to playing on TV and getting a lot of media coverage.

I would have liked one or two more songs from the first album, but that's a pretty typical complaint from someone who saw them "before they were blog-famous". The concert was definitely a way to show off the new direction they took on Zonoscope... longer songs, more builds, all geared to have a greater impact in a live setting.

Opener Holy Ghost was also impressive, I'll have to check them out further.

The sound at the Academy isn't all that bad - I know some people have issues with the place, but the band was tight and the sound was decent.... no complaints.

Setlist, via setlist.fm

Visions
Nobody Lost, Nobody Found
Where I'm Going
Feel the Love
Corner of the Sky
Lights and Music
Take Me Over
Pharaohs & Pyramids
Saturdays
Hearts on Fire
Sun God

Encore:

Need You Now
Out There on Ice

TV on the Radio film

This seems to be the new trend with rock bands - see Arcade Fire and The Suburbs. Pretty awesome animation, worth checking out the whole thing if you're a a fan of the band.

The new album is pretty great too. Hard to top Dear Science, but after my first couple listens I'd have to say it comes pretty close.

Catch them on Monday at the Sound Academy - I've got my tickets!

Small Sins - Why Don't You Believe Me?

Check out this light little ditty from Toronto band Small Sins... amazing video too:



[Small Sins website]

RIAA lobbyist becomes federal judge, rules on file-sharing cases

[Link]

More from the puppet theatre!

The news, first reported in a piece at TorrentFreak, nicely illustrates the revolving door between government and industry. And it reminds us just how complicated questions of influence can be.

Can't buy me mp3's

Website pays $1M fine for selling Beatles tunes
My Dad sends me this link, saying "Compare what they sold and what they were fined."

Within the first week, more than 2 million Beatles songs were purchased online for $1.29 apiece and 450,000 albums were sold.

So let's do the math, and we're assuming US figures...
2,000,000 songs @ $1.29 = $2,580,000
Which alone is pretty crazy, unless we also assume that the 450,000 albums are separate from that figure, and assuming $10 per album... We're talking over $7 mil total here.

It makes you wonder how much money the big labels really lost by not jumping on the digital bandwagon earlier, and how damned desperate they've become to save their dying business model.

$1 million lawsuit for as much as $7 million actual damages... ties into how insane that LimeWire lawsuit was... $75 TRILLION? Really?

Really?

New Symphony of Science tune

[via Friendly Atheist]

Is it April 1st already?

Limewire Being Sued For 75 Trillion

"plaintiffs are suggesting an award that is more money than the entire music recording industry has made since Edison's invention of the phonograph in 1877.'"

Bieber-Slipknot mashup

This makes both artists almost listenable... very well done:


[via BuzzFeed]

Pretty Hate Machine in-depth analysis

Solid read for audio and NIN fans over at the NIN Hotline:
Halo Profile 02R: Pretty Hate Machine 2010 by Botley

And check this out: the 33 1/3 series of Pretty Hate Machine is finally shipping!

Henry Rollins shills for luxury cars

I heard this TV spot last night and went:
"Huh?"

Then I checked that the voice over was who I thought it was.

It's true: Henry Rollins, hardcore punk godfather, is voicing commercials for luxury cars. I guess this kind of thing shouldn't come as a surprise, considering Gang of Four recently sold a song to Microsoft.

Still, it's kind of disappointing. Reading through Mr. Rollins' bio, I noticed that he also voiced a commercial for Apple back in 1999. So, it's nothing new for him.

Maybe he owes lots of money to the government, like Nicholas Cage. It would be hard for anyone to turn down huge sums of cash to do that kind of work, but it kinda sucks that it has to be this guy.

Lupe Fiasco's mess

So this new album from Lupe Fiasco got a huge turd of a rating from Pitchfork...

I guess the writer hasn't been keeping up with all the hate and buzz going around this album, as Lupe himself hates it and blames the label for its terribleness.

I wonder how much of all this is Lupe trying to save face from making a bad album, and how much is the outspoken rapper once again speaking his mind?

James Blake - Wilhelm Scream

It feels as though this guy is providing the bridge for dubstep to crossover to the mainstream.

Perfect soundtrack for this rainy/wet T.O. weather.

The album is highly recommended.

My favourite podcasts

I've been meaning to do a post like this for a while, listing a bunch of podcasts that I follow. After just finishing the post, I can see why I've been putting it off... Jeez, so much work! :)

The URLs are copied right from my iTunes, so hopefully they'll work for you. Copying the name into the iTunes podcast directory should get you right to these podcasts.

Here they are, by some sort of categorical order...

Music podcasts:

CBC Radio 3
-From the national broadcaster, it's a weekly podcast of Canadian independent music. CBC Radio 3 has a bunch of great podcasts, but I find that one is plenty of listening. The R3-30 is a chart show of the latest Canadian tunes that's worth checking out as well.

[Show link]

Average length: 50-60 mins

NPR: All Songs Considered
-Pretty hip podcast that covers mostly indie rock and electronic music. They'll do theme shows like Holiday songs, Best of the Year, Best of the Year (so far), A nostalgic look at the 90s, and so on. SXSW is coming up, and their coverage is great.
Maybe I'm just not in touch when an era when this terminology was more popular, but everything is a "record" with them. An album is a "record". A single is a "record"... It does make the hosts sound their age, but don't let that hold you back, they know what they're talking about.

Average length: 35-50 mins for standard show, 60-90+ mins for special shows

[Show link]

---

Pro audio:

AES Journal podcast
-Short podcast from the Audio Engineering Society talking about the studies in their latest journal. Super technical stuff and really only for audio engineers.

Average length: 5 mins

[AES link]

Ryan on the Radio: The Producers
Ryan Drean interviews radio imaging producers and the top voice over talent. I love the tech talk and sometimes producers will post screen shots of their Pro Tools sessions and plugin sessions. Audio nerd stuff here.

Average length: 60 mins (in two parts)

[Show link]

Sound on Sound
An analog to the popular pro audio magazine, the two charming hosts talk about what's in the latest issue as well as answer listener questions. A light tone to some serious tech stuff.

Average length: 30-35 mins

[Magazine link]

---

CBC podcasts:

The Age of Persuasion
-Host Terry O'Reilly takes you on a tour through the history of advertising. A bit much on the side of ad-porn, but there are some interesting nuggets throughout, though I would prefer a more critical rather than whimsical look at the ad world. An entertaining and informative listen.

Average length: 26:30

Backbencher
-A radio drama about a small town Nova Scotia MP trying to make it in the "snakepit" of Canadian politics. A bit cheesey (I'm sensing a trend here), but a solid show.

Average length: 26:30

Ideas
-The title says it all. Philosophy, religion, culture, technology, social issues. A must for thinkers. Some of the shows can be hit and miss, but the good ones are really good.

Average length: 53 mins

WireTap
-Probably my favourite radio show right now. Hilarious, dry, witty, and thought provoking. I've been listening to this show for years, and it just keeps getting better. Listen to at least a couple episodes, you'll thank me.

Average length: 26:30

The National: Rex Murphy
-A dose of cranky truth from Rex Murphy and his mind like a steel trap.

Average length: 3 mins

---

Baseball

Fangraphs Audio
-Unabashedly nerdy baseball podcast from a Sabermetric point of view. For serious baseball enthusiasts only.

Average length: 35-45 mins

[Site link]

---

Other

The Onion Radio News
-Maybe I should have put this one first. If there's one off this list you need to hear, it's this one. Hilarious.

[The Onion]

Average length: 45s

No Agenda
-Ok now, we're getting further away from the music pov of this blog, but I still think this is worth sharing. My friend B Matt suggested this show after we discussed a mutual interest in the crackpot site The Vigilant Citizen (which as of this writing appears to have been suspended). No Agenda is a similarly crackpot program. I find myself rolling my eyes at some of the content (ie vaccines = mind control), but it's entertaining and refreshing to hear a point of view that isn't just the usual MSM talking points.

Thoughts on the new Radiohead album

In case you missed it, Radiohead dropped their new album, King of Limbs, recently.

What's struck me about this is it seems to be a "post-review" release, in that the review matters less than what people think about the idea of reviewing this album.

Here are a few interesting articles I've read about the album:
How long does it take to “get” an album?
Radiohead, 'The King of Limbs' and Music Business Acumen in 2011
On Critical Zeitgeist and Contemplative Cows, Through The Lens of Some English Band…
Metacritic: Critics and fans love it, trolls hate it

It seems people are more interested in pointing out the band's possible decline rather than enjoying the music for what it is - textured and pensive, two adjectives that hardly relate to the cranky netizens of 2011.

I'll go out on a limb (see what I did there?) and say that this one will fit in as a 'transitional' album in their canon. Of course we won't know until the next album, or even subsequent ones, should they choose to keep making albums.

The people whining about King of Limbs (search twitter) strike me as having an awful sense of entitlement, and a feeling as though Radiohead owe them something, and frankly I find it offensive. Radiohead don't owe you anything. They made some seminal, genre changing and generation defining albums, and they nailed a zeitgeist.

To expect anyone to perform at that level indefinitely is remarkably unfair, and it's disrespectful to their great art and the band as human beings. Maybe people are just upset that the band made them pay for something well crafted and of a very high quality after years of getting things for free.

I'll finish with a quote from the Village Voice article posted above:

...I do think Radiohead are Objectively Important, in that they're the rare wildly popular band with wildly experimental instincts, capable of pushing the needle ever so slightly in terms of what the music-listening masses are willing to regard as normal and pleasurable (Kid A is enormous in that respect), I guess I have to admit that I take Radiohead personally. I am protective, I am selfish, I am defensive on both my and their behalves.

A night at the opera

[Image courtesy Canadian Opera Company]

Last Saturday night was my first experience at a "real" opera. Not a rock opera, or a compilation of arias from different operas (see Luminato 2007), but a bona-fide opera. A modern one at that.

Thanks to the Canadian Opera Company's discounted ticket program for folks under 30, the four of us in the group paid a mere $22 each for a fine dose of culture.

I first became aware of this work through Alex Ross' amazing book The Rest is Noise - Listening to the Twentieth Century, which helped me realize how and why classical music is and always will be important.

There's not much I can write in terms of a review, as I lack the basis of comparison, this of course being my first trip to the opera.

Here are a few thoughts:
-Surtitles are excellent. The libretto (the lyrics to an opera) is shown above the stage as it's being sung. I imagine the idea first came about so people could understand operas in languages other than their native tongue. Here, the opera is in English, and I still found it very helpful. Great for when you miss a line, and sometimes just because of the nature of the performance, the melody can take a back seat to clarity of enunciation.
One small drawback is that sometimes humour was lost because the line would appear above the stage before the line was actually delivered, and the audience reacted to the timing of the display rather than it actually being sung. But, what are you gonna do.

-The production design was pretty awesome. The TVs (see above image) highlight that this was a news event experienced around the world simultaneously. They can also be manipulated to show different images that reflect character's moods and thoughts. Very cool. Also: flashbulbs. The chorus took pictures during some scenes, mimicking the real events. This was not the case for the premiere.

-The cheap seats aren't that bad. We sat up on the 5th circle, and got a great view of the stage and orchestra. Not bad at all, especially for $22.

-This version (TVs and all), which I believe premiered in 2004, compared to the original 1987 premiere (see video below), is a major improvement. The performances and set design are so vibrant and stimulating. Time has served this opera well, and it only figures to get better as fact fades further away and this modern myth takes over.

-I find the third act to be a bit of a drag, and the whole thing ends on a subdued note after such bombastic and spirited first two acts. There's nothing wrong with that, but it just feels like there could have been a bigger payoff at the end.

So yeah. I'm going to take advantage of the $22 tickets until I'm no longer able, by which time I'll probably be addicted, which I guess has been the COC's fiendish plot all along. More material like this please, though. As my friend Adam says, you can swing a dead rat and find a production of The Magic Flute, but Nixon in China is far less common.

If you're thinking about going to the opera, check it out, the COC certainly puts on a good show.

===

Here's the broadcast of the opera's premiere in 1987, with introduction by Walter Cronkite. Don't just watch the first five minutes then shut it off, watch at least the first two parts. Obviously YouTube isn't the best forum for opera, but it'll give you a pretty good sense of what Nixon in China is about, even if the 2011 version blows it completely out of the water.

Saigon Sunday

From the awesome Stop Making Sense concert film - check out "Life During Wartime" by the Talking Heads:

5 seconds of every #1 song ever

It's pretty mindbending:
5 Seconds Of Every #1 Song Ever

Musical depression

The REAL Death Of The Music Industry

My friend Adam sends me this link, with fancy charts and graphics... The thing that stood out to me the most is that the charts resemble classic boom-and-bust cycles in economics. Take a look at that second chart there, "The Right Chart". There was a peak in the late 1970s, then another peak right around 2000.

The music industry is unlikely to ever replicate those kinds of sales again. As illustrated in the great book Appetite for Self-Destruction, the labels thought the gravy train would never end, and that business would boom forever. Big mistake.

Sheet music was supposed to kill live performance, recorded music was supposed to kill sheet music, radio was supposed to kill recorded music, video was supposed to kill the radio star (sorta did), and on and on. In human history the 20th century is kind of an aberration, never has so much money been invested into music. It was another bubble that was going to burst.

Radiohead album drops early!

I was going to buy it anyway, but well played in getting everyone to talk about it on a weekday, getting maximum coverage from the blogosphere...

Here's the link for North America! (now updated with link :)

One thing I will note though - $48 for mp3, $53 for the wav download. Because you get the physical CD in May, you're basically paying an extra $5 to 'rent' the higher quality version early, and to presumably help them pay for the server costs. I'd go with the mp3 version for now and upgrade from CD when the disc arrives.

The first track seems like classic Radiohead:

A look inside Trent Reznor's studio

Pretty intense setup he's rocking here, as he and his partner in crime Atticus Ross discuss The Social Network soundtrack:

Trent Reznor's Oscar-Nominated Score

[via Air Users Blog]