"Red Eye" Ben Kweller

I love Ben Kweller. I had the opportunity to see him in Ann Arbor, MI in the fall and it was one of the most intimate (although jam packed) shows I've been to. I find some artists to be a bit boring to watch alone, but Ben Kweller really does well, if not better solo.

Hear the tune "Red Eye," which I really like recorded. It's my song of the moment:

"This Will Be Our Year" The Zombies

Such a good new year's song! I can't believe I thought about this seventeen days in! Quite optimistic.

"You Really Got A Hold On Me" The Zombies

I'm a total sap in saying that I love this song. Every version and revisit of this tune I tend to really like. Especially the fusion of Sam Cooke's lovely "Bring It On Home To Me" and Smokey Robinson's "You Really Got A Hold On Me." You can really feel the lust and desire in the blend of the two tunes.

Mazzy Star, the OC

Since returning from California, I've really taken to the OC again. It's sort of nice to hear the music in it, they were really on the ball with song picks. MAZZY STAR:

On another note:

"Happy Birthday Girl" Sondre Lerche

I was all high on my horse for finding a Beatles cut of "Happy Birthday," but I completely forgot my favourite birthday related tune. It's a song called "Happy Birthday Girl" by Sondre Lerche. The music in the tune is very unattractive, but for some reason his voice overrides the cacophony of guitar sounds made. I recall him regarding it as one of the prettiest songs he's ever made.

The Radio Dept.

I have these moments when I feel as though there is absolutely no music to listen to; while other times I feel as though there is so much.

Meet the Radio Dept., an artist I had always passed by in the record stores. The cover always reminded me of an old Bob Dylan album:

People always described it as great poppy music, I'm not sure if I'm feeling it, or not. I first heard "Heaven's On Fire" this morning and I really loved it. Still looking for something better!

Go see 'em Monday February 7, 2010 at Lee's Palace.

Cursive

No one writes tunes like Tim Kasher:

Cursive:

The Good Life:

Cycling

Great new photo bike blog.

Talking Heads "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)"

I've been trying to get over someone lately. There are certain things that remind you of that person. This reminds me of him.

Beyond that, the Talking Heads have really become a band that I really admire. I instantly liked "This Must Be The Place," but it wasn't until I saw the film Stop Making Sense that I really fell for David Bryne and co. The concert film was directed by Jonathan Demme, the Director of the film Rachel Getting Married. Another film very close to my heart.

'Stop Making Sense'

Why "Stop Making Sense"?

Why a movie? Why tour?

Why do the musicians come out gradually?

What will the band do next?

Where do the odd movements come from?

Are live concerts better or worse than records?

Why no "special effects" in the movie?

Why a big suit?

Why was a digital system used for the sound?

Taken from the liner notes of the CD recording of the Talking Heads' DVD Stop Making Sense.

California

A few more California inspired tunes -

"Does He Love You?" by Rilo Kiley
"California" by Wave
"Tiny Vessels" by Death Cab for Cutie
"405" by Death Cab for Cutie

Goodbye Cold Weather!

Happy Birthday

Benoît Piolard

Thanks Chels,

I love artistic people, Benoît Piolard is exactly that. Thomas Meluch (his given name) is only 26, which I know is kind of scary because I'm getting progressively older. But what really wows me is that he's only a few years older than me. I remember the good 'ol days when I would lust for celebs like Nick Carter who was eight years older than me. Now, more than ever people my age are doing great things.

I suppose I'm due.

Piolard is definitely not shy to cash in on his versatility as an artist. His website showcases the words:

Read

Write

See

Hear

Know

Love

Get

Travel

Clever.

I wish I could jump on his music better than I have. But some of the sounds he uses are really great, some times tranquil, sometimes eerie. This is the shit movies are made of. Explosions in the Sky are the poster children for mood enhancing, accompaniment music.

I don't think this guy'd have the same effect because he just isn't that consistent in sound. I think his 2010 released album Lasted really lacks that. But it's really hard to say not listening to the album the way it was recorded, song by song, in order and with the intended delays between tracks.

My favourite track is the title tune "Lasted" off of the album by the same name:

Which reminds a bit of Mark David Ashworth's tune "Eggs":

'60s eyeliner beauties!

Small town lovin' in 'All the Real Girls'

I just finished watching and a bit of snoozing through the film All The Real Girls. I was instantly taken in by the soft words of Will Oldham (aka Bonnie 'Prince' Billy) in the opening credits:

To the closing tune, "Say Goodbye Good" by the Promise Ring:

And in the middle with Explosions in the Sky's "The Moon is Down":

Small town films have such a distinct feel to them. It was really nice to see Zooey Deschanel play an out of normal dead pan character role for herself!

Elephant 6 do Toronto

I'm hum hawing over buying an Elephant 6 ticket.

Elephant 6 is a music collective of the 1990s, comprised of artists of Neutral Milk Hotel, Music Tapes, Apples in Stereo, Elf Power and the Apples in Stereo. I'm a little if as to whether if I should get a ticket in the whimpering hope that Jeff Magnum will make an appearance in Toronto. Pitchfork doesn't seem too hopeful:

During the 2008 tour, reclusive Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum put in a few appearances. Considering that Mangum has been warming to the idea of showing his face in public lately, there's at least a remote possibility that he'll rejoin his old crew for a show or two on this tour.

Tops of 2010

A wee bit late, but better late than never:

Top Artists

1. Bahamas
2. The Black Keys
3. Zeus
4. Saves the Day (!DKFLSJ i'm really surprised!)
5. Elliott Smith
6. Kings of Convenience
7. M. Ward
8. The Beatles
9. Jason Collett
10. Camera Obscura
11. Beach House
12. Bon Iver
13. Radiohead
14. She & Him
15. Broken Social Scene

Top Songs:

1. "House Built Around Your Voice" The Darcys
2. "Southern Drawl" Bahamas
3. "Let the Good Times Roll" Bahamas
4. "Hockey Teeth" Bahamas
5. "Already Yours" Bahamas
6. "Till the Morning" Bahamas
7. "Greater Times on the Wayside" Zeus
8. "Whole, Wide, World" Bahamas
9. "Silver Soul" Beach House
10. "Heavy On Me" Zeus
11. "Everlasting Light" The Black Keys
12. "Try, Tried, Trying" Bahamas
13. "Lonely Loves" Bahamas
14. "Sunshine Blues" Bahamas
15. "You're Bored, I'm Old" Bahamas

This was drawn from my Last fm so it was straight off of my computer. I think it gets a bit off my portable too. But most accurately reflects what I listened to at home. Pretty impressive Bahamas ripped through my charts. Can you imagine listening to a song for four hundred minutes in one year, one single song. Impressive.

"Brennan's Theme" by Mushman

Mushman is quite possibly the most ridiculous band name I've ever heard. It is Patrick Fugit's band, who got good fame off of off beat movies like Almost Famous, Saved! and Wristcutters.

This song was actually featured in Wristcutters. I really dig it.

"Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder

Son House "Grinnin' In Your Face"

John Zytaruk and Collette Savard

The crappy thing about the Dakota gigs is there are so many artists being presented to you. Here are a wonderful couple i had the pleasure of seeing:

JOHN ZYTARUK & COLLETTE SAVARD

Campaign Against Piracy

I frequently have a funny little conversation dealing with the ethics of downloading. It usually goes a little something like this:

Me: I really, really like to buy music. I love CDs a lot for the packaging and the artwork.

Other person: Oh, you must be totally against downloading.

Me: No, not really. I just choose not to do so because I've had really bad virus-related exeriences in the past.

So, with that being said. I have absolutely no reservations towards downloading. I've stumbled upon some really brilliant musicians from file sharing online.

With that perspective in mind, it troubles me to think about IRIS Distribution's new campaign against 'illegal' file sharing online. They're aiming at our impressionable youth with the intention of teaching them good internet practice.

I think they should save that one for the parents -

Hey 2011:

Elliott Smith on 'Everything'

A while back I got into a discussion about Elliott Smith's album Figure 8. My whole point was that it was silly to have the two songs back to back with such similar sounding titles:

"Everything Reminds Me of Her"

"Everything Means Nothing to Me"

The person I was talking about it with suggested that it was intentional. Clever!