50. Super Tarantas- Gogol Bordello
WonderlustKing

49. Return to cookie mountain- TV on the Radio

48. Pixel Revolt- John Vanderslice

TranceManual

47. Beirut – The Flying Club Cup
Nantes

46. Emotionalism- Avett Brothers

45. Sung Tongs- Animal Collective
LeafHouse

44. Vespertine- Bjork

43. Andrew Bird and the mysterious production of eggs- Andrew Bird
TablesAndChairs

42. Quiet is the new loud- Kings of Convenience
IDon’tKnowWhatICanSaveYouFrom

41. Michigan- Sufjan Stevens

40. ( )- Sigur Ros

39. Yellow House- Grizzly Bear
Easier

38. Hazards of love- Decemberists

37.Extraordinary Machine- Fiona Apple

NotAboutLove

36 Broken Social Scene- Broken Social Scene
7/4Shoreline

35. Antics- Interpol
NextExit

34. Eraser- Thom yorke

33. Lifted orthe story is in the soil- Bright eyes
LoverIDon’tHaveToLove

32. Boxer- The National

31. Everything all the time- Band of Horses
TheFuneral

30. Visitor- Dodos
RedAndPurple

29. Illinois- Sufjan Stevens
Chicago

28.Apologies to the queen mary- Wolf Parade
YouAreARunner

27. Plans- Death Cab for Cutie

26. You forgot it in people- Broken Social Scene
AnthemForASeventeenYearOldGirl

25. Neon Bible- Arcade Fire
AntiChristTelevisionBlues

24. Sea Changes- Beck

23. Feels- Animal Collective
PurpleBottle

22. Mignonette- Avett Brothers

21. Is this it?- Strokes
Someday

20. 3 rounds and a sound- Blind Pilot
OneRedThread

19. Hissing fauna, are you the destroyer?- Of Montreal
HeimdalsgateLikeAPrometheanCurse

18. Fold your hands child, you walk like a peasant- Belle and Sebastian
There’sTooMuchLove

17. Alligator – The National
AllTheWine

16. Dear Science- TV on the Radio

15. Armchair Apocryphia- Andrew Bird

14. Chutes too narrow- The Shins
KissingTheLipless

13. Kid A- Radiohead
NationalAnthem

12. Sharpen your teeth- Ugly Casanova
ThingsIDon’tRemember

11. Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes
WhiteWinterHymnal

10. Turn on the bright lights- Interpol
NYC

9. Hail to the thief- Radiohead

8. Give up – Postal Service
SuchGreatHeights

7. Takk- Sigur ros
Hoppipolla

6. Yoshimi battles the pink robots- Flaming Lips
FightTest

5. In rainbows- Radiohead
HouseOfCards

4. Moon in Antarctica- Modest mouse
3rdPlanet

3. Funeral- Arcade fire
RebellionLies

2. For emma, forever ago- Bon Iver
ForEmma

1. I’m wide awake, it’s morning- Bright Eyes
FirstDayOfMyLife

Originally ran March 2009 in ENVY Magazine

Charles Spearin’s album, The Happiness Project, is a social experiment. It almost fits into the music criteria of “Sesame Street” while taking hold of the most discerning music lover. This cadent collection of interviews arranged as songs has been in incubation for a while. Spearin toyed around with the idea for years until he was able to get it to come together.

“It kind of was a social experiment; a linguistics experiment,” he says. “I wanted to present what I thought was a healthy neighborhood. I didn’t talk to these people because I thought they were wise; I talked to them because we had common interests, ’cause it was kind of a random cross section of the neighborhood.”
His close-knit life in Toronto made it easier to pursue his folkloric notion, and the album became populated with the likes of “Mr. Gowrie” and “Vittoria,” members of his community who lent their voices to make the music. “There is a saxophone and a harp and a trumpet and all that stuff,” Spearin adds. “And then just take those melodies and sort of arrange them into songs.”

Spearin has had the good fortune to be in on one of the more reliable bands of the last 15 years, Broken Social Scene. “It’s luck,” he says. I mean, I’m doing what I love doing. Like, right now, I have some free time, but I’m filling it up with more of what I love to do.”
—Alma Verdejo

I feel with each of these albums the whole is greater than sum of its parts. Transformative for the artists as well as myself. Here’s my top 5…

5. The Clientele: The Violet Hour

4. Sufjan Stevens: Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lakes State

3. Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

2. The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

1. Broken Social Scene: You Forgot It In People

Honorable Mentions:

Weird Tapes: Get Religion

Sébastien Tellier: Sexuality

Memory Cassette: Rewind While Sleeping

Justice: Justice

Goldfrapp: Felt Mountain

Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes

Doves: Lost Souls

Peter, Bjorn & John: Writer’s Block

Les Savy Fav: Inches

Cut Copy: Bright Like Neon Love

Dungen: Te Det Lugnt

Strokes: Is This It

The Avalanches: Since I Left You

Röyksopp: Melody A.M.

Radiohead: Kid A/In Rainbows

Diane Birch me lembra Antena 1 e música de elevador. Mas eu gosto.

Da Emily eu sou suspeita pra falar toda e qualquer coisa. Ela é linda e foda com Metric ou sem Metric, com Broken Social Scene ou sem. Enfim. Amor.

Tem mais de um ano que toda vez que eu escuto o cd do Fleet Foxes eu penso “como eu adoro ouvir música boa!”.

So, you missed out on tickets for the Pavement curated ATP festival and you’ve cried about this non-stop ever since right?  Yeah me too.  Well, I’d recommend you look away now as the following list of bands added to the festival will only make you feel worse.

Taking place the weekend of the May 14th at the Butlins holiday-camp in Minehead, the festival will take place over three days and has now totally sold out.

Taken from ATP’s official website, the full list of bands added is as follows… and it’s just a bit good;

Broken Social Scene, Mission To Burma, Calexico, The Raincoats, The Fiery Furnaces, The Walkmen, Omar Soulyman + Sublime Frequencies, Atlas Sound, Grails, The Drones, Saccharine Trust, The Clean, Wodden Ships, Sic Alps, Pierced Arrows, Spiral Stairs, Blitzen Trapper, The 3D’s, Marble Valley, The Authorities and Wildbirds and Peacedrums.

Every time a 0 is involved with the turning year, people tend to go crazy over “the best _____ of the decade”. Lists come out about music and movies and tv shows and whatever. Well, I decided to do that. Because I’m a dork. What I ended up doing is a list of things for every year since the year 2000. I will talk about some of them and leave links to others that I think are fantastical and that I belive you (whoever you are) might enjoy. So. Here we go. Expect to see some bands that repeat, and some that you know I like, if you like me:

2000
Does anyone remember how fantastically catchy ‘Bohemian Like You’ was? The silly video with the karaoke-thing, etcetera? There was a lot of decent music coming out around this time, and I remember being consistently barraged by good albums. This wouldn’t continue through the rest of the decade. Californication would be the last time I would enjoy RHCP as a band.

Dandy Warhols (song – Bohemian Like You); Red Hot Chili Peppers (album – Californication); Smashing Pumpkins/Foo Fighters/A Perfect Circle(show – Summersault – Winnipeg Stadium); Nine Inch Nails (video – Into the Void)

2001
In 2001 I succumbed to sexy pop for a favorite song. Seriously. That song is awesome. Frusciante’s album was magical, and I think my video of the year is really the only choice.

Kylie Minogue (song – Can’t get you out of my head); John Frusciante (album – To Record only Water for Ten Days); Tragically Hip (show – Winnipeg Arena); Fatboy Slim (video – Weapon of Choice)

2002
Dave Grohl makes the list twice as a drummer in this year, and probably would have taken the album too, but from out of nowhere came what would change my mind about Canadian music in that I ended up following almost every project that Broken Social Scene had outside of it’s main band after hearing the album and seeing them live.

Queens Of The Stone Age (song – Go With the Flow); Broken Social Scene (album – You Forgot it in people); Broken Social Scene – (show – Pyramid Cabaret); Tenacious D (video – Tribute)

2003
I remember the moment I fell in love with Sit down Stand up. It was on the eve of the album coming out, and Radiohead played a live show that was broadcasted to Silver City theatres in Canada. When that song reached the crescendo into the fast ‘raindrops’ part, I was almost on the edge of my seat. Which I could also say about the Metric show. They were second on a bill of three that featured Hot Hot Heat as the main act, and were still relatively new, but downright sexy and exciting to watch. I’ve since seen them six more times.

Radiohead (song – Sit Down, Stand Up); Mars Volta (album – De-Loused in the Comatorium); Metric (show – Pyramid Cabaret); Buck 65 (video – Wicked and Weird)

2004
The second time a John Frusciante album makes my favorite albums. This album is widely regarded as his most ‘mainstream’ and is a fantastic, great-amazing thing, just like the Bowie concert, which was the last concert I ever saw at the ol’ Winnipeg arena.

Secret Machines (song – Nowhere Again); John Frusciante (album – Shadows Collide with People); David Bowie (show – Winnipeg Arena); DFA 1979 (video – Black History Month)

2005
I’ll never forget how many phone calls I got when Nine Inch Nails annouced that they’d be coming here. It was the first time I was going to see them, after being a fan since 1994. My phone rang off the hook, and for one song during that show, so did my emotions. I kinda quietly, completely lost it, and felt like a dummy. Ha! By the way, that Esthero video’s freakin’ hot, and I agree with every sentiment in it.

Sufjan Stevens (song – Come On! Feel the Illinoise!); Fantomas (album – Suspended Animation); Nine Inch Nails (show – MTS Centre) Esthero (video – We R in Need of a Musical Revolution)

2006
I saw Wintersleep by myself in front of about 30 people, and skipped work to get there. When I talked to the singer about this, he dedicated a song to me. How nice. As far as Nausea goes, I don’t know what it is about that song, but something in it drives me nuts. It’s way too good and it doesn’t even realize it.

Beck (song – Nausea); Regina Spektor (album – Begin To Hope); Wintersleep (show – The Collective); Eagles of Death Metal (video – Boy’s Bad News)

2007
National Anthem of Nowhere has become my most listened to track on last.fm, and I think the Wintersleep album has since become one of my most listened to albums. They will both continue to rise in numbers. If I did a song by song and album by album breakdown, these two would make somewhere within the top three. And it’s pretty cool that I got to see Mike Patton in any of his 34i83902439024 bands, but Peeping Tom blew me away.

Apostle of Hustle (song – National Anthem of nowhere); Wintersleep (album – Welcome to the Night Sky); Peeping Tom (show – Trocadero); Feist (video – 1234)

2008
God, In Rainbows is great. And Secret Machines live, that’s something so completely underrated, I don’t even know how to describe it to you. The power that they have to get an audience going, is a sight to behold and yet there were so few people there that I was kind of disappointed in the turnout. Oh, and yes, I realize that Feist gets the video 2 years running for the same album, but they’re both great videos.

Kaki King (song – Montreal); Radiohead (album – In Rainbows); Secret Machines (show – Pyramid); Feist (video – I feel it all)

2009
I know, it hasn’t been that long, but Them Crooked Vultures was exactly the album I wanted it to be. So there.  And as far as Spookey’s song goes, this is the second time I’ve talked about it in my blog. Previously appeared in my “songs you won’t see in Guitar Hero or Rock band“, and it’s just something to behold. Metric’s video was perfect, it was the video that I wanted them to have. Something sweet and cute instead of overtly dorky like all of their other videos. As far as Leonard Cohen’s concert goes, I hadn’t been a huge fan beforehand, but was introduced, and BECAME a large fan because of how amazing that concert was. Everything he did was perfect. The singing, the sounds, the engagement with the audience was fantastic. Top five concerts in my life, that one.

Spookey Ruben (song – Mechanical Royalty); Them Crooked Vultures (album – Them Crooked Vultures); Leonard Cohen (show – MTS Centre); Metric (video – Gimme Sympathy)

A group of young friends sat around a coffee table the front room of a one-bedroom apartment. The group, with drinks in hand, listened to the thick waves of sound and soft crackling disruptions resonating from speakers as the vinyl record spun on the old turntable. The scene could have taken place in the 1970’s, but it happened last week.

Danielle Ezell, 20, invited me and a few other guests to a house gathering to celebrate music on vinyl. Ezell and other guests from Chicago brought records to her Lakeview apartment to share in this seemingly old musical platform.

A UIC student listens to an old Sears turntable as it plays Lackthereof's new album, "Your Anchor," released in 2008.

Vinyl record sales increased 89 percent between 2007 and 2008 up from 85.8 percent from 2006 and 2007, according to Nielsen SoundScan, who provides records of sales data in the U.S. and Canada. Sales data for 2009 is expected to reach more than 2.8 million.

Ezell, a Colombia College student, first began listening to music on the vinyl after she researched the vinyl community at Dave’s Records, a vinyl only store on Clark Street in Chicago’s north side, for a class assignment.

While studying the costumers at Dave’s Records, she noticed what owner Dave Crain said he has notice for the past five years. Younger people are visiting his record store in greater numbers.

“A lot of young people would go, ‘Oh, you’re vinyl only?’ and walk out.” Crain, has been in the record business for 25 years, said. “Now they say, ‘that’s cool.’”

While vinyl may only account for a small percentage of the music industry’s total sales, around 1 or 2 percent, its sales are on the rise. Nielson SoundScan predicts vinyl sales will reach 2.8 million units in 2009, up from 1.9 million in 2008.

Most sales are digital singles and albums

“When I download music I download millions of songs at a time.” Ezell said. “Vinyl has more meaning because when I buy a record its because I like it and I can hold onto it. Its not some invisible file.”

In the mp3 age, music listeners have an infinite number of songs at their fingertips, giving a new meaning to collection.

Crain agrees. Younger people missed out on the physical connection to music with CDs because they are smaller and indicate a digital era. Album covers are less tangible and listeners connect to them in a less physical way.

MP3s are even less physical, a music listener can obtain collections of music larger than all the tracks on every album in Crain’s vinyl store all on the hard-drive of their computer.

“It’s more personal when you’re collecting vinyl than 200,000 mp3s,” Crain said. “There is something about taking a collection in a physical way. A lot of kids connect to that part of it.”

While their collections may not include as many vinyl records as mp3 files, young people are collection their favorite songs on vinyl. About 30 percent of the top 200 artists are available on vinyl, according to Crain.

“Even if I have all my favorite songs on my iPod, I like to have the record because it’s a physical form.” Ezell said. “I like leafing through my records rather than scrolling through my iPod.”

What happens to CDs?

As for CDs, Crain believes they are on their “last, last leg.” Crain cites limited shelf space in retail stores as a clear indicator.

The music industry told consumers in the late 80s through the 90s that CDs were the new and right platform for listening to music, according to Crain. Vinyl sales dipped because of that. But in the age of Limewire and iPods, CDs are obsolete. And because the sound quality varies with digital music. Vinyl’s authentic sound, ripe with crackles and fuzz, makes them excellent options for listeners looking for genuine sound.

“Music was meant to be recorded on vinyl,” 19-year-old Carol English said. “I think there is no emotional connection to CDs. CDs are shit; they’re worthless.”

English began listening to her mother’s turntable vinyl when she discovered her Grateful Dead albums.

The vinyl platform is here to stay

Whether teens are dusting off a turntable that formerly belonged to a parent or buying a new MP3 capable turntable, Crain says its great they’re are buying records for them. He will continue to stock vinyl records only.

“If there are pressing plants around, then they’ll keep pressing vinyl.” Crain said. “I think there will always be vinyl stores even if they stopped pressing vinyl. There will still be people collecting.”

English, whose collection includes more than 100 vinyl records, says she will keep collection vintage and new vinyl records for the rest of her life. Like many young teens she feels a nostalgic connection to the past, even though she admits nostalgia is not the right word.

“Want to hear “Sounds of the Humpback Whale?” English asked while she put the vinyl version of the album “Bee Hives” by Broken Social Scene on her vintage turntable. “Nothing gets the party started like putting on some vinyl.”

I think I’ll just continue listening to all the bands that spawn from Broken Social Scene without actually listening to Broken Social Scene:

“An Anniversary Away” by Reverie Sound Revue:

High school and college. God, how I miss them already. Now I’m 22, In fucking Korea, and I work a nine to five.

Sometimes, all I want is to be splayed out next to the warm lake back home with my high school boyfriend. Or pummeling down highway 71 with my brother in his Supra. Or smoking cigarettes in stretches of desert with friends.

The angsty pain and adrenaline associated with those year is tied, inextricably, the the music I listened to.  It’s sad that this decade –  and formative chapter of life – is closing. These may not be the best albums of the 2000’s, but they’re my best albums.

2001 - Hedwig and the Angry Inch OST.

 #1)   My dad gave me this movie when I was in high school, but I never appreciated it fully until, at 17,  the first boy who dumped me forced me to watch it one January under his covers. Whenever I’ve broken up with boys, I always find myself driving through neighborhoods singing “Origin of Love.” The soundtrack is  a full-blooded, raw, sincere ode to love in its many, many forms.

2003 - Erland Oye, Unrest

#2)  Electronica music helped to build the foundation for my music appreciation, and no album (or artist) had a greater impact on me than Erlend Oye. After the death of trance/house, Oye  pumped new blood into the genre: an album that was organized, subtle, and minimal, capturing the autumnal isolation of Nordic life and blending it with restless, steady energy in modern pop.  I am in love with this man.

2004 - Animal Collective - Sung Tongs

 #3)  I blame Animal Collective for the fact that I dressed like a Native American stuck in 1970 in college. I blame them for all the weed I smoked, too.  Sung Tongs wasn’t like anything I’d every heard:   It was primitive, sensual almost, like a wild animal you could hear through headphones. They were, and still are, one of the only bands with a distinct, inimitable  style to emerge after 2000.

2006 - Joanna Newsom - Ys.

 #4) God, what the hell is that?

My first impression of Joanna Newsom, mewling and shrieking to the velvety crescendo of a harp. But her childlike lyrics and nymphette demeanor infected me, badly. Ys was a weighty album, each song a storybook. Newsom was a role model to me, so small, so powerful.

2002 - Broken Social Scene - You Forgot it in People

 #5 I almost can’t listen to this album. If I do, I’m transported back to high school. I’m still crying over Jeff Holman. I’m still drunk at an anime convention.  I’m playing Tetris in the hallway. I’m still sitting in a truck bed after marching band practice. I still have black hair and fake glasses and low self esteem. I still want everyone to notice me so badly, my skin hurts. It’s an Anthem for a 17 Year Old Girl.

2000 - Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica

 #6  Like BSS, It’s hard for me to shake the memories any Modest Mouse album dregs up.

The Moon and Antarctica is maybe the point when Isaac Brock went off the deep end, droning on darkly like chubbier Thom Yorke in a denser mood. But Modest Mouse transformed and adapted with this album.

Just as life was really getting bleak at 16, so was Modest Mouse. Serendipity?

2002 - Chemical Brothers - Come With US

#7) Dear Cooper: Thanks for showing me one of the greatest albums ever. I remember the poster you had in your room, and the way it sounded through the speakers in your car that I accidentally melted lard all over. It makes my ribcage shake, my heart undulate, my blood go fast, my head turn to stars, my emotions ebb and swell.  It’s a brother and a sister, at 90 mph, 110 bmps.

2001 - Daft Punk - Discovery

#8 It’s not that Daft Punk made every sucessful  dance party that I ever threw. It’s that Daft Punk made me want to dance.

I could never dance in high school. I was too busy thinking people were watching me. Discovery was so good, my body told me it was a crime not to move. And it did. And it still does.

2007 - LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

#9 This is the end of college. Like angst coincided with Isaac Brock, so fear does with James Murphey.

For me, SOS is about fear. Fear of getting old, fear of losing your friends, fear of failure, fear of being too late. And as a lot of those things happened to me towards the end of college, I held onto this.

2009 - jj - JJ N 2

#10 No one knows about, much less appreciates JJ. If this album were a color, it would be a frost covered, cobalt-blue.

Maybe I found this album right before I biked across Germany, and it lays a soundtrack for first seeing the world.  Maybe its dynamism is what appeals to me. I’m not sure sometimes. But it’s never leaving me.

Honorable Mentions:

The Books – The Lemon of Pink

Brian Wilson – Smile

Alan Braxe & Fred Falke – The Upper Cuts

I’ve been meaning to post this here for ages, it’s a collection of songs that myself and JP Keenan churned out during our time working together. We shared a keen interest in a good handful of bands, Mogwai, Redhouse Painters, Wilco, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Broken Social Scene and Sigur Ros. It was one of the most productive periods of music making I’ve been involved in, JP is a hard taskmaster and he milked all kinds of music from my finger-ends and I like to think I returned the favour.

My favourite track is probably Tick Tock with Sleep a close second. All tracks are offered as a free mp3 download, just click the relevant button.

The project eventually morphed into a live band that I couldn’t commit to, they’re alive and well and writing some amazing songs. You can find out a little more about them at heatvslight.co.uk

I shuffle BSS and Kevin Drew when I do math. This is a recent favorite. The video is cool too. Enjoy!

Admittedly this post is a tad early, but I’m ready to get these holidays started! I’m actually not traveling this Thanksgiving, but I figured you might be traveling … even if it’s just be from Big D to Funkytown. (That’s Dallas to Ft. Worth for you non-DFWers.)

And what does a good road trip or plane ride need besides great company? Good tunes, man. So in honor of the turkey that sacrificed himself (or tofu for all you weirdos), here’s some tryptophanic tunes. Bon Appetit!

1. Half Way Home • TV on the Radio
2. Two Weeks • Grizzly Bear
3. Shiny • The Decemberists
4. Hideaway • Karen O and the Kids
5. Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want • She & Him
7. Turn a Square • The Shins
8. Albatross, Albatross, Albatross • Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
9. Lisztomania • Phoenix
10. Dashboard • Modest Mouse
11. Shampoo Suicide • Broken Social Scene

………………………………………………………………………………………

Want more mixed well? Check the archives here.

  Being the young age I am (under 30) this last decade was really the one where I can intensely focus on new releases, critically analyze and find real magic in modern music.  As much as I wish I was cool enough to say I bought “Slanted and Enchanted” on vinyl the day it came out or smoke a joint and sit around with my friends about to listen to “The Bends follow-up album” with everyone saying “this better not suck!”  But since I never saw Nirvana in a basement and didn’t hear “Loveless” until Billy Corgan recommended it I’ll just stick to this last decade and share what got me through the last ten years.

10. The Unicorns – Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone?

     Not a horribly popular top ten of the decade choice but I’m still baffled at why not.  Jump-starting an explosion of lo-fi, boyish child rock in the underground, the year following saw bands like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Boy Least Likely To taking notes from the drug hazed, short attention spanned rock that reminded everyone of easier, much more careless times.  Everything about this album is unexpected at first listen.  The old analogue synths, the fighting within lyrics vocals, the friggin recorder?!  WWCOHWWG spans from life to death in 12 sweet tunes and by the end I remember feeling the same way, subdued and ready to die.

The Unicorns – Les Os

9. Electric President – S/T

     So here’s another selection very unlikely to be absent from lists and I feel sorry for all those lists.  Guiding me through 2006, S/T is the self retrospective view of young Ben Cooper and every other confused young male in the world.  Songs like Insomnia tackle depression with uncompromising lyrics that find every emotion and leave it our to dry.  The album is soothing and instantly relatable, and Ben’s shy vocals and unique percussion roll you through the journey and dump you right off at the end.  By then you might feel as if you’re in the same place but with a simplified clarity.

Electric President – Insomnia

8. Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?

     Kevin Barnes is the gayest straight man on earth.  And god damn, he should write every album in solitude in Northern Europe.  The genius in this album will never be something Barnes will be able to exemplify again (shown evident in the self absorbed Skeletal Lamping, an album where Barnes basically chews on his ego like bubblegum bugging everyone to watch him blow bubbles.)  The centerpiece here is obviously The Past is a Grotesque Animal, a bi-polar freak out of sorts with all of Barnes A-list lyrics jammed tight in its epic 12 minute sprawl.  Every track is interesting in its own way, and Barnes does a great job of making the album a single statement while never repeating himself.

Of Montreal – We Were Born the Mutants Again with Leafling

7. The Arcade Fire – Funeral

    What can I say that hasn’t been said a million times about this little gem?  This album wasn’t so much about the great songs inside of it but more about its perfect timing.  It was like the momentum of modern rock music was impatiently waiting for this album in order to push forward.  The 7 zillion arcade fire copycat that managed to squeeze their subpar disco beat driven garbage into the remainder of this decade still doesn’t take anything away from the happiest moments of Rebellion (lies) or the saddest moments of Neighborhoods #4.  I look forward to this band continuing to take us to new places in the next decade.

The Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)

6. Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight

   If you’ve never experienced real heartbreak, if you’ve never sat alone in your bedroom feeling ultimately hopeless and desperate, then you’ll never relate with this album.  Scott Hutchison perfectly describes heartbreak from start to acceptance in a power, real, and naked way.  No emotion is held inside here, no disturbing thought bottled up.  Songs like The Modern Leper and Keep yourself Warm much of the time hit too close to home for comfort, but their harsh realities keep you revisiting because when it comes down to it, we all wanna feel something.

Frightened Rabbit – Floating in the Forth

5. The National – Boxer

     In 2007 I knew early on that Hissing Fauna was my album of the year.  No one album was gonna change that, especially not some dark, professional looking, baritone led band called The National!?  But like any National album, repeated listens bring on a fierce addition.  Boxer for me was like cocaine for a confused 19 year old girl saying “I’m only gonna do coke on the weekends” and spiraling into an everyday occurrence.  It’s melodies are haunting, led by Matt Berninger’s deep, hypnotizing baritone.  Matt’s lyrics have always been satisfyingly selfish, but here he seems to take to others, and although hard to clearly identify with what he talks about each line paints his own portrait, colored perfectly by the band of brothers that provide a solid blend of melodic ecstasy, topped of by Peter Katis’s dark production.   

The National – Brainy

4. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

   A billion things have been said about this album, from its difficult release to its beautiful drug tinged americana.  But it will never be enough.  Jeff Tweedy struck fucking gold with every track here.  Every song seems to get better, and the idea of mixing folk rock and sonic electronic noise seems insane (and is!) and could never be pulled off like Wilco did early this decade.  Songs like Jesus Etc. quickly find a place in your heart, with simple yet powerful and brilliant lyrics like “Last Cigarettes” and “Our Love is All of God’s Money.”  

3. Broken Social Scene – You Forgot It In People

    Here is one of those fantastic albums that you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when you first heard it.  The amount of styles represented in this album are baffling, and prove of the large amount of brilliant songwriters at hand here.  Sexually charged and full of surprises, each song on here has its own style, flair, and fashion.  The jaw dropping Anthems For a Seventeen Year Girl is hypnotic and the lyrics are the perfect mix of vague and overlaid, mixed in and out of phase causing an almost unexplored emotion surfacing from the listener.  I’ve literally seen rooms full of people go dead quiet while this song was playing.

Broken Social Scene – Anthems For a Seventeen Year-Old Girl

2. Modest Mouse – The Moon and Antartica

   When I graduated high school I was religiously into Modest Mouse.  Obsessed, wished I was Isaac Brock.  TM&A is the pinnacle of Modest Mouse and as terrible as it is too say I truly believe if Isaac Brock would have killed himself directly after the release of this album they would have been hailed in a Nirvana like fashion, known for this and Lonesome Crowded West, there never would have been a Float On, and Johhny Marr could still focus on playing in his flavor of the month bands.  But even if isaac wrote Float On 63 times, it would take nothing away from the sheltered genius he created in this album.  Starting off with 3rd Planet, Isaac basical drafts his theory of the universe, and by track 2 you’re sold on it.  The drugged out drunken poetry never falters, becomes too indulgent or relaxes, climaxing up to the 8 minute Stars Are Projecters, a hallucinogenic sound scape of alternative theories, believes, and philosophies.  Even while isaac is busy re-writing the history of the universe he manages to find time to bring worthy singles like Paper Thin Walls into the mix.

Modest Mouse – What People Are Made Of   

1. RADIOHEAD – KID A

 There is absolutely nothing I can say about this album that hasn’t been said, yet no one has been able to properly describe it’s genius either.   Fuck this, I’m just gonna go listen to this album. 

Radiohead – Optimistic

Good teamwork here. Keep music in the schools. Makes this beloved tune sound like something that could be played in church, too. As Van, Rickie Lee, Lou, Nusrat, and the Feelies have suggested, repetition can get you somewhere. Get your dose of the original.

It’s that time of the year again – no, not Christmas (although some stores have their decorations out already, what happened to the rule of Remembrance Day?) – it’s the time of year when every music writer participates in making and voting on lists to determine to the best artist of the year. For my first list of the year, I participated in i heart music’s ‘Hottest Bands in Canada 2009′. You can check out his list here and now that the results are available, you can read my entire list below.

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10. Broken Social Scene – BSS definitely made my list because of their Harbourfront show in Toronto this past summer. A show that I will be kicking myself for a long time for missing. A show I missed because I knew they were playing another free gig in Ottawa the next night. Anyways, BSS has been one of my favourite bands for a long time and 2009 saw them expanding their vast Arts and Crafts label as well as encouraging other artists in unconventional media (in relation to the band) such as literature in ‘This Book is Broken’ and film with the forthcoming ‘This Movie is Broken’.

9. k-os – In 2009 k-os released his fourth studio album, the optimistically titled ‘Yes!’ which included singles ‘Burning Bridges’ and ‘I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman’ (definitely a candidate for best song title of the year). In support of the new album, he went on a cross Canada Tour called the ‘Karma Tour’ where he took his passion for getting his music to fans one step closer by having fan donations instead of selling tickets for his shows. k-os has demonstrated an amazing commitment to Canadian music and to Canadian music fans and for those reasons he belongs on a list of top ten Canadian Artists of the Year.

8. Bedouin Soundclash – The guys put out a solid EP and mostly spent the year touring, including a bunch of gigs where they opened for No Doubt. While ‘When the Night Feels My Song’ and ‘St’Andrews’ were huge hits for them, I know they could become more popular outside of Canada with more exposure and touring with a band such as No Doubt will help with that.

7. K’Naan – This is the fourth artist whose 2009 release is their second release and the third album that made the Polaris short list. I had originally been dreading listening to Troubadour but in the end I was pleasantly surprised at how moving and honest his songs are. Between the Polaris shortlist nod, touring with Jason Mraz and (most impressively in my opinion) having his song ‘Wavin’ Flag’ chosen as the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

6. Shout Out Out Out – In the last few years bands such as MGMT and Justice have paved the way for electronic/dancepunk bands. Shout Out Out Out put out their sophomore album this year and toured pretty extensively for it. I would love to see these guys become more popular outside Canada and there is definitely a market for them.

5. Chad VanGaalen – Soft Airplane is a great album and they made the Polaris shortlist. Need I say more? Okay maybe, but I am just getting lazy at this point. On top of that you’ve already heard my extended opinion of this album from the Polaris reviews.

4. Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker – These guys put on a ridiculous live show (OMG – life sized Bob Marley, Einstein and David Suzuki) and they are definitely having a break out year. They went from having a catchy but slightly irritating single on the radio to being everywhere and having a great song on the radio. So maybe I am biased, but these guys definitely deserve to be on the list.

3. Amy Millan – In 2009 Amy Millan once again steps out of the comfort of Stars to record her sophomore solo album. Masters of the Burial, is a beautiful album that is sadder than the last but equally wonderful. I managed two of her shows this year in the span of just a few months but it was her outdoor show at the Ottawa Folk Fest (a week before her album came out no less) that left me breathless and is the primary reason she ranks so high on my Best Canadian Artist list.

2. Joel Plaskett – Plaskett put out a career defining album this year. I love his all his records, with and without the Emergency but Three is an epic endeavour. I also really loved his Family & Friends tour in support of the new album which saw him performing with Bill Plaskett, maritimers Rose Cousins and Ana Egge and of course, the Emergency. I still think that he was robbed of this year’s Polaris Prize (and after he made the short list for the second time!) so he definitely deserves a nod as the Best Canadian Artist of 2009.

1. Coeur de Pirate – I realize that her album was actually released in September 2008 but 2009 was undisputedly her break out year, especially in the English speaking music community in Canada. She has a beautiful jazz-inspired sound and lyrics that make you think of walking the streets in Monmartre in the summertime – especially the song Berceuse. The saddest thing for me is that I only understand about half of her lyrics and missed a lot of her banter and jokes when I saw her in Ottawa on Canada Day.

There you have it – these are fun to write and I am definitely going to have to catch up on the albums I have been meaning to listen to so I can start working on my top albums for 2009. Speaking of top albums, if you have not already voted, you have just a few days left to make your voice heard in the first round of NxEW’s Canadian Album Hall of Fame, 2009 edition. You can enter your ballot on this page.

Sibling duo, Lymbyc Systym

PREVIEW: VISIT Lymbyc Systym’s MySpace
WE GIVE IT: 19/20 Watts

Instrumental, innovative and intrepid, sibling duo Lymbyc Systym returns to the airwaves this fall with their latest album, Shutter Release. The Tempe, Arizona, pair introduce fresh concepts that expand far beyond the constraints of genres or comparisons to similar acts. While not exactly electronic, yet not a traditional instrumental band, Jared and Mike Bell seek unadulterated originality on Shutter Release. Connections to bands like Ratatat and Broken Social Scene quickly break down as Lymbyc Systym set their own pace and present their own sound.

“Trichromatic” kicks off the album with an energetic, thumping drum introduction. A lush, reverberating guitar emerges from the sea of percussion. Stylistically, the first few bars resemble a modern take on Ennio Morricone’s Spaghetti Western anthems. However, Lymbyc Systym quickly negotiates the association as merely an influence, rather than a genre-binding tone for the entire album. Despite the instrumental nature of the album, “soundtrack music” hardly describes the feel of Shutter Release, with each track feeling as fresh as the last.

Elegant ballads emerge mid-album, reminiscent of a down tempo version of Ratatat’s LP3. However, Lymbyc Systym decides to trade Ratatat’s frantic, electronic pulse for a more delicate and mature sound. Jared and Mike Bell orchestrate each song so carefully that the continuity throughout the album is nearly seamless. While not a concept album, Shutter Release maintains a consistent tone throughout the track list without ever feeling tired. This bold point of difference helps Lymbyc Systym rise above a sea of nameless, uninspired instrumental acts.

As “Late Night Classic” fades out, a sample of a familiar voice to New York City subway riders warns listeners to “stand clear of the closing doors.” The simple message illuminates the cohesive nature of the album and works as the ultimate conclusion to Lymbyc Systym’s stunningly imaginative instrumental work.

Shutter Release works to push preconceived notions of instrumental-electronic music and is accessible for new listeners. Inviting and expansive, the Bell brothers have once again reinvented the wheel.

– Chris Parker

Uma mistura de várias bandas indie, é o som que essa banda paulistana faz, vale muito a pena ser ouvido!

Faixas do álbum:

1. Nelson

2. The Auction

3. Happily Ever After

4. War

5. Brand New T-Shirt

6. Surfing

LINK – The Green Valley

Parece com? Broken Social Scene, I’m from Barcelona, Pavement

Clipe da música The Auction.

Enjoy o/

It seems like such a long time since I’ve listened to anything from Arts & Crafts; a record label that was partly responsible for getting me into alternative music in the first place. Perhaps the forthcoming Broken Social Scene album will fully rekindle that particular love affair, but for now it remains a spark, in the form of the new video from The Most Serene Republic.

The Most Serene Republic are, again, a band that seemed to go off the boil. After releasing the wonderful Phages EP and debut album Underwater Cinematographer, two records that snapped, crackled and popped like any Canadian indie pop album should, I found the two succeeding albums a little disappointing. They were, however, not without their moments. Heavens To Purgatory is the latest single to be released from …And The Ever Expanding Universe, and has been wonderfully brought to life in the video below.

Download: The Most Serene Republic – Heavens to Purgatory (Via Yellow Stereo)

Recently I decided to turn on the radio in my car (my iPod was acting up.) The sound of Jack White’s voice immediately filled my speakers and flooded my car with noise. This was not the White Stripes. It was a side-act. I do not like side-projects. They are almost never as good as the genuine product, which is understandable, because their purpose is (mostly) experimental. Jack White is the perfect example for my thesis: Side projects are not good (or rather, not as good as the original act that they are replacing.)

Case-in-point: The White Stripes (a band consisting of Jack and Meg White.) They have released six (6) albums, which I will rank in order of best to worst (according to my opinion- not aggregate sales):

1. (Best): Elephant (Best Track: I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself)

2. Get Behind Me, Satan (Best Track: My Doorbell)

3. De Stijl (Best Track: Truth Doesn’t Make a Noise)

4. White Blood Cells (Best Track: Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground)

5. Icky Thump (Best Track: I’m Slowly Turning Into You)

6. (Worst): The White Stripes (Best Track: Do)

At some point, Jack White decided he wanted to make music with a full band, and not just his percussionist (Meg White.) Enter: The Raconteurs. The Raconteurs are the most commercially successful Jack White side-project, as well as the most critically acclaimed. I understand why Jack decided to make music with them (the universal desire to explore his range as a songwriter with the addition of a bassist, keyboardist, back-up vocalist and guitarist, and a banjo.) The Raconteurs are (arguably) better than the White Stripes in some schools of thought, as their hit singles have become just as popular (if not more) as most of the the White Stripes’ material.

For instance, the following songs kick (fucking) ass: Old Enough, Level, Steady as She Goes, Broken Boy Soldier, and Hands, among others.

My gripe is not with the Raconteurs.

In exploring his desire to create music with other artists, Jack White became addicted to side-projects (to the point where the White Stripes have almost become neglected and forgotten.) I should note that their seventh (7th) studio album is in production, however. So, at the expense of the White Stripes, Jack White decided to create music with the following acts:

The Dead Weather, The Upholsterers, The Go, Loretta Lynn, Beck, Holly Golightly, Soledad Brothers, Alicia Keys

The success of these side-projects is mixed, at best. As a fan, it’s hard to quantify the way I feel about this. Yes, I love Jack White as a musician, and was (at first) interested and pleased at this newfound musical endeavors, but as the side-projects and collaborations pile up, and the 7th White Stripes album gets delayed, I find myself growing increasingly frustrated and turned-off to all these distracting duets and bands Jack has been flirting with.

Swan Lake: Better Than Sunset Rubdown

I have had these same feelings with Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade, and his subsequent side-acts:

Sunset Rubdown
Atlas Strategic
Handsome Furs
Swan Lake
Frog Eyes
Johnny and the Moon
Hot Hot Heat
Fifths of Seven

I would much rather hear a new Wolf Parade album, then another bizarre Sunset Rubdown single.

Side projects are not always bad. Sometimes they are AMAZING, and better than the original act. The best example I can come up with off the top of my head is The Postal Service. Ben Gibbard’s by-mail collaboration with Jimmy Tamborello has held up over time, and is (arguably) better than any album ever released by Death Cab for Cutie.

The case can be made for and against side projects all day long, but at the end of the day, I think artists should go the route of Ben Gibbard. Make one, solitary album that completely knocks critics out of their chair(s), while also knowing when to call it quits. Because, ultimately, if an artists strays too far from his flock, he will alienate his fan base (and probably his band mates as well.) This is why the Postal Service remains so awesome. They released one (1) album (which was incredible, and loved by fans and critics alike), and then went right back to creating music with Death Cab. Despite the (overwhelming) demand for a follow-up album, Ben Gibbard hasn’t budged. This is what makes a great artist. He knows how to toy with his audience (without upsetting them.) Ultimately, will there be a follow-up to 2003’s Give Up? Probably, yes. But in making us (the fans) wait so long, and by focusing on his primary band, Ben Gibbard has succeeded where Jack White has not: He created something amazing, took a step back, and went back to doing what his fans wanted – creating more albums with Death Cab for Cutie. I should probably also mention that Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley joined Ben Gibbard on vocals for this album – another successful side-act.)

Bravo.

Now let’s just hope that Mr. White “gets it” and the White Stripes‘ 7th album is better than their last effort (the progressive, experimental, and mediocre Icky Thump.) Also, let’s hope that the side projects end. Because, let’s be honest, The Dead Weather sucks, and will probably motivate tired acts like the Kings of Leon (who are already far too commercial) to set out on the side-act expedition (something that no one [see: the real fans] want.)

Final Note: Some of the best side-acts come from Canada. Leslie Feist (of Feist and Kings of Convenience, and formerly of Broken Social Scene and Wilco) is incredible.

The Canadian hardcore punk band Fucked Up will re-release the song “Do They Know It’s Christmas” with musicians from bands such as Vampire Weekend, TV On the Radio, Broken Social Scene, No Age, and … well, the band is looking for even more musicians to contribute.

Explains frontman Pink Eyes:

“I’m still waiting on confirmation from Feist, Jarvis Cocker and MIA. We wanted the biggest people we could get. If we could get a Jonas Brother on this, I would get a Jonas Brother.”

Money will go to charities such as Justice For The Missing.

www.myspace.com/epicsinminutes

Hey, if Rob Halford can sincerely do good heavy metal Christmas songs, why can’t Fucked Up do a nice remake of “Do They Know It’s Christmas.