The Second Second Coming

If you're like me, you like a good bit of British comedy.  Here's a great caricature of some of Britpop's most recognizable icons.  Enjoy!

New Sounds For A Split Personality

I'm always on the hunt for new sounds, but I sometimes find it difficult to discover new music.  It's not physically hard for me to discover new music, not with this little invention known as the internet.  No, difficult in the sense that I have tastes that are a lot like russian roulette.  I never know what I'm going to be into tomorrow.

Have you ever gone through a phase where you're into listening to a band or a type of band or a particular genre, and you a hear a new song that you should like, but it doesn't immediately grab you, but when you rediscover it (so to speak) at a later date, it's like a auditory epiphany?  That's me and music discovery in a nutshell.  My musical choices are very much driven by my mood, time of day, weather, etc.  For example, if it's late in the evening and I'm trying to wind down, I might be in a, oh I don't know...Massive Attack sort of mood.  If I'm surfing around and discover a band who is the second coming of Led Zeppelin, I'm probably going to listen to their song (or part of their song) and move along.  When I discover something that's in line with what my brain says is a-okay, it can be life changing.  Seriously.  Other times, it's just right time, right place to discover a new tune that moves me, for whatever reason.  

Tonight, I stumbled upon a band named Broken Hands and, in particular, their song 'If You Need To Lie'.  Now, I couldn't say that their sound was what I was on the prowl for, but when the drum fill kicks in, I was definitely curious.  By the first chorus, I was hooked.  It's a sound that I can best describe as a slab of early Black Rebel Motorcycle Club meets catchy-as-fuck.  It's a definite improvement over having the theme song for Jake and the Neverland Pirates stuck in my head, but don't worry about that.  Check it out for yourself:

Digital vs. Physical Music Collections: A Rant Of Sorts

Why are some albums on iTunes only available in certain regions or certain iTunes "stores"?  How frustrating!  A while back I was on the hunt for the very awesome debut record from Miles Kane, The Colour Of The Trap.  You might remember him from his partnership with Arctic Monkeys' frontman Alex Turner as The Last Shadow Puppets.  His record has been out in the UK since May of last year.  Sure, I can stream it on Grooveshark, or torrent it , but I'm old-school (everyone always says "just torrent stuff".  I've never done it, so I feel it's the equivalent of saying "just speak swahili" to someone who only speaks english.  Is there a Rosetta Stone to learn to torrent?).  I like to properly buy my music (generally).  I like collecting music and, until not long ago, the packaging that said music came in.

Recently (okay, it was a little over two and a half years ago), I made the switch from CDs to a digital catalogue.  At first, I was staunchly against it.  I had spent the better part of twenty years acquiring music on CD (a large majority of it was bought twice after a former roommate turned crackhead ransacked my collection and pawned it).  I prided myself on my huge collection of music and that it was all alphabetized by artist and organized chronologically by release date.  I've always been a fan of buying a record (the word "record" will hereby refer to CDs for the most part - it just sounds better) and ripping the wrapping off of it, and listening to it while thumbing through the liner notes.  I even like the smell of brand new liner notes.  It's all part of the experience.  What can I say, I'm a music geek and I celebrate it!

When my wife and I were expecting our first child, I had originally planned to just move the record collection from the spare bedroom in our apartment to the living room in preparation for our son's arrival.  Long story short, that didn't happen.  The record collection as I knew it was being shelved (or more specifically, boxed up).

Fast forward two years and I've adjusted to digital life, for the most part.  Of course, there are certain aspects of a physical collection that I miss; the foremost being the experience of actually buying music.  There really is nothing like walking into a record store (or even better, a used record store) and thumbing through CDs and vinyl for that missing piece of the collection or rare single from yesteryear, while tunes play on the store's stereo.  When I was younger, my friends knew I loved these aspects of "the hunt" and when the movie adaptation of Nick Hornby's High Fidelity came out, they were convinced I was going to end up like John Cusack's character later in life (or Joe from Empire Records) and own a record store.  That hasn't happened...yet.

I have far less time these days to spend hours upon hours searching through music store bins.  For that reason, I have come to, for lack of a better word, enjoy shopping for music online.  Maybe tolerate is more apropos.  In any event, I also like that I can buy the one song from some long forgotten one hit wonder.  But it frustrates me to no end that when I want to spend money and support an artist, their catalogue (or parts of it) aren't available in my country.  If I can order a hard copy and they'll send it to me from wherever, why isn't it the same for digital purchases?

I understand why there's a Record Store Day.  It's for those people that still enjoy "the hunt".  It's for people that like to physically buy a piece of history.  It's for people that like to buy albums because they like the album cover, having never heard a note of the music held within it.  Let's face it, a record store is a cool place to hang out!  It's a sort of home away from home and it's always welcoming, regardless of how fucked up you might be.

While I've physically moved my music collection in a different direction, there will always be a part of me that loves a physical, tactile item, be it cool coloured vinyl or a CD.  One day I'll have the room again (and the time) to proudly display my collection.  Naturally, I'll have a few pieces to buy to replace my digital copies.  A small price to pay for auditory bliss.

Thanks for reading.

Showing A Little Love For: The Stone Roses

The Stone Roses are a band I've always loved.  Their eponymous debut album, released in 1989, is frequently mentioned as one of the classic British records of the last 25 years.  Their story is one fit for a Behind The Music episode, complete with supreme highs and lows, record label squabbling, drug problems, the difficult sophomore album, founding members leaving and the inevitable breakup.  They've buried the hatchet (somewhat?) and have kicked off a tour that includes some monstrous gigs in the UK and Europe this summer (sadly nothing on this side of the Atlantic, but I'm used to that).

I was too young at the time of its initial release.  My first experience with The Roses came in the mid-90s during the Britpop period that spawned Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Suede and many others.  Being the anglophile (especially when it comes to music) that I am, I absorbed anything and everything to do with that "scene".  You have to remember that this was before a little invention known as the internet, so my primary source of information was magazines such as Vox, Select, NME, and Q.  These magazines weren't cheap (and still aren't, but are well worth it on most occasions) and initially I had to travel from my parents suburban home to all corners of the city (Ottawa, in case you were wondering), to procure these periodicals.  One of the bands that was continually mentioned, as an inspiration to many of the Britpop era bands I was listening to, was The Stone Roses.  I had to know what they sounded like!

Today it's easy to know everything about a band (or anything for that matter), including what they sound like, within seconds of hearing about them.  In the not so distant past of 1995/96 it really was a scavenger hunt to find certain records.  I tried all my usual haunts (both new and used "record" stores) until I finally found The Roses debut album as an import for some exorbitant amount of money.  Of course, I had been on the hunt for this record for what felt like months by that point so I probably would've given my left arm for it had I needed to.



The record itself was dazzling, combining the dance oriented grooves of late 80s house music with the chiming guitars and pop melodies of 60s groups like The Byrds.  As soon as the slow building swagger of "I Wanna Be Adored" kicked off, I was hooked.  As one song led into another, I had that weird "I swear I've heard these songs before even though they're brand new" connection with the music.  "She Bangs The Drums", "Waterfall", "Bye Bye Badman", "Made Of Stone", and "This Is The One" are all classics.

I had my iTunes on shuffle the other day and "I Am The Resurrection" came on.  Cue the instant flashback to my late teens.  Sure, the first half of the song is a great slice of guitar-pop, but the genius of the song kicks in at the 3:39 mark.  The bass line gets funky and the band (with the exception of singer Ian Brown) get to jam the record to its conclusion ("Fools Gold" wasn't on the original release but was added as the last track on subsequent re-releases).  I still get shivers listening to this record, some 16 years after first hearing it.  Pure brilliance.

Thanks for reading.

A Return To Pumpkinland?

I've been in a Smashing Pumpkins sort of mood these last few days.  The band are set to release album number eight on June 19th.  Oceania is an album within the mammoth 44 song concept album Teargarden By Kaleidyscope.  

Probably my favourite song off of the self-released Teargarden is a song called 'Owata'.  I should clerify.  The live version you find below, is my favourite song.  The version that ended up being officially released lacked the edge this live version brings to the table.



Bassist (and all-around babe) Nicole Fiorentino had this to say about Oceania:
"I think we delved into new territory for sure, but what I love about this record is that it has that familiar old-school Pumpkins feel to it, with a modern twist. The cool thing is he was able to capture the energy of the old material without ripping it off. Billy's definitely found his way back to whatever he was tapping into when writing Gish and Siamese Dream".  

So more psychedelic spaced-out rockers like 'Starla' then?



The Pumpkins have been actively performing songs from the new album live over the past six months.  Here are a few of my favourites from what I've heard so far.

'Quasar':




'Pinwheels':

Showing A Little Love For: Sloan

Hailed as Canada's answer to Nirvana and all things grunge, Sloan shot out of the underground in 1992 with their debut album Smeared which featured future classics "Underwhelmed", "500  Up", "I Am The Cancer" and more.  Fast forward two years and Sloan had moved away from the noisy, feedback drenched sound of their debut and had embraced a more classic pop sound (although the pop songs were always there on Smeared, they were just disguised a bit).  1994's Twice Removed is consistently hailed as a one of the best Canadian records of all time, and rightfully so.



My first memories of Sloan are a little hazy.  I moved to Europe in the fall of 1992 and wasn't aware of their meteoric rise on the Canadian music scene. When I returned to North American shores a few years later I was fully immersed in the burgeoning Britpop scene that was coming out of England.  Even still, I remember seeing the video for "Coax Me" and thinking it was a great song.  The same can be said for "People Of The Sky", with the half sung, half spoken vocal delivery of drummer Andrew Scott.  In a landscape of post-grunge, post-Nirvana clone bands, the songs really jumped out.

The follow-up to Twice Removed arrived in the form of 1996's One Chord To Another, a  contemporary throwback pop/rock record (does that make sense?).  It wasn't until early 1997 that I became a full fledged Sloan fan.  Something just clicked and I got it.



It was around this time that I became really interested in independent record labels and, to my delight, I discovered that Sloan had their own label, murderecords.  Originally created to release their debut EP, Peppermint in 1991, Sloan had resurrected the imprint after their subsequent split from DGC (who released Smeared and Twice Removed).

Another intriguing aspect of the band is that they're all songwriters.  Listening to their records for the first time is always interesting as you're never sure who's song is up next or which member will have the most songs on the record.  For the most part they divvy up the songs in equal parts, but there have been anomalies.  In concert, watching them switch instruments so every member has the opportunity to take centre stage is something to see.

Some of my favourite memories ever involve Sloan shows.  The first time I saw the band live was at Edgefest '98 (a huge outdoor travelling festival).  There was a signing tent where fans could line up and select bands would make appearances and meet and greet with fans.  Much to my dismay, Sloan were scheduled in the tent at the same time Foo Fighters were on stage.  Suffice it to say, the line wasn't moving as fast as I would have liked and I began screaming at the top of my lungs "Get out, get out, get out" along to the Foos tune "Alone + Easy Target".  Yes, I was that guy.  Everyone in line ahead of me does a one-eighty and I even managed to draw the attention of a couple of the Sloan guys.  Woops.



Then, in 2001, at Barrymore's in Ottawa, the band were touring in support of Pretty Together.  I'm standing watching The Dears (how awesome is that for a opening band?) and look to my left and there, standing right beside me, is Sloan drummer Andrew Scott, taking it all in.  Being the fan that I am, I figure I'll never get another chance to ask him a question again.  Now, everybody always thinks "If I could only ask so-and-so one question, it would be (insert question here)".  When, on a seconds notice, you find youself in that situation, sometimes the results are less than stellar, as was my choice.  The drummer for The Dears is tearing shit up on stage and I turn to Andrew and think I'm asking a pretty "cool" question, not the usual drivel.   "Hey Andrew, how's it goin'?  Question for you: in a drum battle between you and George, who do you think would win?".  Andrew raises an eyebrow and very matter-of-factly states "Are you watching this, he'd fucking kick my ass!".  Better luck next time, I guess.

Thanks for reading.

Battle Born With Bonfires

The Killers have released a teaser trailer for their upcoming fourth record, now officially known as Battle Born.  It offers up very little of what the record might sound like, other than the classic synth sounds the band has used in the past.   It does, however, suggest that the members of the band like to get together and catch up at raging bonfires.  See what I mean:

Bring The Noise

Last night I watched From The Sky Down, Davis Guggenheim's 2011 documentary on the making of my favourite U2 album, 1991's Achtung Baby.  The documentary examines the crisis within the band during the making of the album as well as some of the socio-political issues going on in the world (namely the fall of the Berlin wall) during its conception.  


Coming off the commercial and critical success of 1987's The Joshua Tree, U2 quickly followed it up with Rattle And Hum, a tour film and double album, tracing the band's exploration of American music, specifically Rhythm and Blues.  It was panned by critics as being pretentious and trying too hard.  At the end of 1989's Lovetown tour, Bono and co. decamped to Berlin to "dream it all up again".  Unfortunately, reinvention was harder to come by than originally thought.  


I think my favourite part of the entire documentary was (SPOILER ALERT) hearing the chord progression that eventually became uber-ballad 'One' as a bridge in an early demo of 'Mysterious Ways'.  Really cool.  Achtung Baby was the album that got me into U2.  I quickly acquired all of the back catalogue.  I loved the first three albums (Boy, October and War) but found the middle period a bit, well, mainstream (which of course they were).  Achtung Baby was U2 reinventing itself from serious, mainstream behemoth into a modern (futuristic even), cool, alternative juggernaut.  For many years, I was in bands that used U2 and specifically, early 90s U2, as a template.  But, more on that later.  


Last June, U2 played the Glastonbury Festival and to celebrate Achtung Baby's 20th anniversary, they opened their set with five tracks from the album.  My particular favourite is the slightly re-imagined version of 'Even Better Than The Real Thing'.  Of course, 'The Fly' was always at the top of my list though.  Thanks for reading.

The Best Thing Since The Last Best Thing

Despite having one of the most un-googleable names ever, UK five-piece Toy are garnering quite a bit of buzz.  Formed in 2010, Toy are Tom Dougall (singer/guitar),  Dominic O'Dair (guitar), Maxim Barron (bass), Charlie Salvidge (drums), and Spanish keyboard player Alejandra Diez.

Their first single 'Left Myself Behind' is a nearly eight minute psychedelic shoegazing glam stomper.  Their second single, entitled 'Motoring', was released on April 9th.  Their debut record isn't even out yet and they've already supported The Horrors on a UK tour and played major European festivals!  The debut album is tentatively set for September of this year.  Check out the videos for 'Left Myself Behind' and 'Motoring' below where Tom Dougall resembles a young Brian Molko from Placebo, but with more aloofness.

Watch The Shins Live!

I was one of the lucky ones able to acquire tickets (thanks Julianne) to The Shins upcoming show here in Vancouver.  Of course, that show isn't until September, so watching them live at KCRW will have to do until then.  Maybe you have a long wait to see the new and improved line-up in action too.  Check it out:

Crouching Coldplay, Hidden Rihanna

The latest single off of Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto is 'Princess Of China' which features Rihanna.  As it's title suggests, there is a definite Far East CGI vibe to the video.  But, Chris Martin as a ninja?  Check it out for yourself.