One of my favorite bands, all the way back when I first heard "Yellow" when I was in the UK, have decided to give away a 9-track free CD titled, "LeftRightLeftRightLeft". It'll be made available on their website starting on the morning of May 15th. If you're lucky enough to be attending one of their concerts this summer, make sure to grab your own copy of CD, ya know those silver discs that you use as coasters?
1. Glass of Water 2. 42 3. Clocks 4. Strawberry Swing 5. The Hardest Part/Postcards From Far Away 6. Viva La Vida 7. Death Will Never Conquer 8. Fix You 9. Death And All His Friends
"Fix You" is one of my favorite tunes and is wonderful as a live track.
Joystiq has confirmed the rumours of the unliking pairing of Lego and Rock Band. Looks like an interesting go to make it more family friendly? Also for any "Arrested Development" fan, this becomes a must buy with its inclusion of Europe's "The Final Countdown" in the game.
With the Grammy's over and my Top 10 lists out of the way, here are some other worthy awards that should be given out this year. Maybe call these the OMA's...
Best Live CD: John Legend - Live From Philadelphia (Close second: Linkin Park's Road to Revolution Live at Milton Keynes)
Top Albums Missed from 2007: Against Me - New Wave & Once OST
Best Band That's Been Around That You've Probably Never Heard Of - The Perishers, a Swedish indie band with three CDs out since 2002
Best TV OST & Comedy: Move over Grey's Anatomy, HBO's Flight of the Conchords rules the roost in 2008.
Best Movie OST: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist OST (Close second: 21 OST)
Most Disappointed Albums by: Keane, Mobile, and Kathleen Edwards
Best Re-release: Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American (2001)
Best Mash-up/DJ: Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
Web/Online OST: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Best EP: Coldplay - Prospekt's March EP
Best Title: Martha Wainwright - I Know You're Married But Ive Got Feelings Too
Cool Word that Band Names Must Have in Order to Show Everyone that They're Cool: Against (Against Me & Rise Against)
Coolest Duet - Jack White & Alicia Keys - Another Way To Die (Theme to 007 Quantum of Solace)
Coolest Featuring - City and Colour featuring Gord Downie - Sleeping Sickness (from Bring Me Your Love)
Best Concert: VirginFest Calgary, saw almost 20 bands in two days, made up for all the ones that I passed on in 2008. Concerts by NIN & Feist were also very entertaining.
Tonight is Grammy's night, so here's my recognition of the best music from 2008. My exposure to music is continuing to decrease and so is my time for listening to tunes. But I still managed to pick out some great stuff that's still worth listening to. Please feel free to include your "Best Of" list in the comments. Enjoy, O.
Honourable Mentions:
Kings Of Leon - Only By The Night
The Verve - Forth
Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak
Common - Universal Mind Control
10. The Killers - Day and Age: Great comeback after their previous disc. I think they do a better job in channeling David Bowie for this album than Bruce Springsteen who they (unsuccessfully) tried to do with Sam's Town.
9. Weezer - (The Red Album): Great singles with "Troublemaker" and You-Tube inspired video for "Pork & Beans". Rest of the album shows their diversity. "Everybody Get Dangerous" chorus feels lifted from OK Go.
8. Glasvegas - (self-titled): These guys could be the NBT from Scotland, which has exporting some of my favourite bands of all time (Snow Patrol, Franz Ferdinand, Del Amitri, and Simple Minds just to name a few). "Geraldine" has to be my most favorite tune of 2008. But the whole disc is pretty good, hence no mention of these guys (and gal drummer) in my singles list. Lots of potential here folks...
7. John Legend - Evolver: Kanye West's protege actually passes his master this year with his third studio album. With his talent, he can recruit the best in the biz with contributions by Kanye West, Brandy, Estelle and Andre 3000. "Green Light", "Everybody Knows" and "Cross the Line" show his take on love from different angles.
6. All-American Rejects - When The World Comes Down: I should have banned these guys (or put them on my dead-to-me list) for canceling their Canadian tour this fall. Their excuse was this album, so I have mixed feelings about it. Their use of an orchestra/strings is getting a little bit excessive.
5. The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing: Just like the White Stripes, how can a duo make such good music? Yeah, I know they cheat with looping samples etc. Front woman Katie White, who actually plays the guitar during their shows, picks up the rock gal crown (that Shirley Manson abandoned) in an imaginary title fight with Karen O of the YYYs. Very infectious tunes. Very much a guilty but admit-able pleasure.
4. Vampire Weekend - (self-titled): Managed by the same manager as the previously mentioned White Stripes, these guys are awarded my Rookie Disc of the Year trophy. Better attempt at fusing Congo/African rhythms than anything Paul Simon put out. Do they poke fun at themselves with "The Kids Don't Stand A Chance" or the doubters out there?
3. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs: I still regret not being able to see these guys live. But at least the next time I do, I'll get to hear them jam to "I Will Possess Your Heart" which reminds me a bit of "Roxanne" with its stalker overtones.
2. Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns: I was actually a little disappointed when I first listened to this album. They seemed to fall into their Grey's Anatomy groove with their mellow side of things, but the more I listened to it, their more energetic side did show through on "Take Back the City" and "Crack the Shutters". This is their first album in a while not to take the top spot. Am interested in Gary Lightbody's rumoured solo album though
And the winner is (drum roll)...
1. Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends: These guys don't seem to rest on their laurels. They could have just slapped something together and have their iPod ad and magazine reviews do all the work, but Chris Martin and the boys holed themselves up in an old bakery to work on their latest effort. "Lost" defiantly starts off with stating that, "Just because I'm losing, doesn't mean I'm lost". "Viva La Vida", the video for "Violet Hill" and even the album artwork all have subtle or not so subtle religious or political references and undertones. They joke about giving their fans a choice in what to call this album with its long title. Grab the Prospekt's March edition if you haven't picked this up yet or just add the EP as a supplement. It even has an appearance by their label boss, Jay-Z.
The Grammy's are this weekend, so it's time I try to round out all the tunes that I've been listening to from the last year. This is the tunes I dig (in no particular order), should have my annual Top 10 CDs out this weekend (which will have some bands that would have been listed here, but I don't want to reference them too much).
The Kooks - Always Where I Need To Be Cold War Kids - Something Is Not Right with Me Time To Pretend - MGMT [Too catchy / guilty pleasure] Estelle - American Boy (Featuring Kanye West) [Great beats & hooks] Feist - My Moon My Man (Grizzly Bear Remix) [Fav remix] The Submarines - You, Me and the Bourgeoise [Fav indie] Jem - It's Amazing [Fav 'should be on Grey's Anatomy' tune] The Fratellis - Mistress Mabel Rise Against - Re-education (through labor) [Fav punk] Nine Inch Nails - Discipline [Best Free Tune] Stills - Being Here Hawksley Workman - When You Gonna Flower? Raconteurs - Salute Your Solution [Most rockin'] Kathleen Edwards - I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory [Best hocky reference] Hayden - Barely Friends [ConCan]
For those that grabbed the latest version of GH head over to http://freemusic.guitarhero.com/ for 5 free DLC (downloadable content) tracks.
Here's the fine print though: - Only applies for those that bought the GH:WT bundle (a version that comes with either the guitar or guitar/drums/mic) not just the disc (for those folks that already have RB/RB2 instrumentrollers. - Sorry Wii folks, only for PS3 or XBox 360 versions - Will need the serial number from the manual and the guitar. Supposed using the serial number from the drums will get another 5 tracks. - DLC isn't instant, will have to wait up to several weeks for email (I presume the email will contain codes to enter for each of the tracks) - Offer only valid before December 31st, 2008 so enter before heading out to your New Year's Eve party.
Here are the available tracks as of a few days ago (not sure if this list will change, or if more tracks will be added to the list):
* Blind Melon - No Rain * Boston - Rock and Roll Band * Foreigner - Hot Blooded * The Killers - Human * Nirvana - Silver * OASIS - The Shock of the Lightning * R.E.M. - Supernatural Superserious * Raconteurs - Salute Your Solutions * Rick Springfield - Jessie's Girl * The Smashing Pumpkins - Everlasting Gaze
Would have made an 8tracks mix, but could only find 6 of the 10 tunes on there...
To coincide with this weekend's Grammy awards, here's my seventh annual Top 10 albums of the year. Went through my Facebook CD list last night and had 15 CDs that I rated at least four out of five stars from over the hundred or so that I have listened to in the past twelve months. After much deliberation, these five just missed the cut (better luck next time) but are still recommended listens (listed alphabetically and all rated 4 Stars out of 5):
Icky Thump - The White Stripes
On a Clear Night - Missy Higgins
Send Away The Tigers - Manic Street Preachers
Twilight of the Innocents - Ash
Zeitgeist - the Smashing Pumpkins
So now without further adieu, run the SportsCentre cue... Here's my Top 10 of 2007:
10. Year Zero - Nine Inch Nails [4 Stars out of 5]: Lived up to the hype... Coolest packaging with the actual CD changing colours when played. Also pick up Beside You in Time to get a glimpse of Trent Reznor live which is my top concert DVD of the year.
9. The Con - Tegan & Sara [4 Stars out of 5]: Good to see these hometown twins get some U.S. exposure
8. Graduation - Kanye West [4 Stars out of 5]: Some solid hits, but a few filler tracks this time, but Kanye still gets his degree. Who else releases an album on 9/11? Oh yeah, 50 Cent did too...
7. As I Am - Alicia Keys [4 Stars out of 5]: Like Jone Stone, she's way better than her age would indicate.
6. Era Vulgaris - Queens of the Stone Age [4.5 Stars out of 5]: Most rocking album
5. In Our Bedroom After the War - Stars [4.5 Stars out of 5]: Yeah there's Feist and Arcade Fire that get all the press, but this is the best Canadian album of the year.
4. The Story - Brandi Carlile [5 Stars out of 5]: Just took 11 days of recording to produce this raw masterpiece
3. West - Lucinda Williams [5 Stars out of 5]: Her intensity still draws me into her sorrow and pain every time.
2. Finding Forever - Common [5 Stars out of 5]: The beats and lyrics are as good as what Kanye does on his own stuff, but without the ego.
And the Winner is [Drum Roll Please]...
1. Chase This Light - Jimmy Eat World [5 Stars out of 5]: With the infamous Butch Vig helping out at arm's length as executive producer, the tracks all hit the mark. The energy of "Big Casino", "Electable (Give It Up)", "Let it Happen", and "Here it Goes" mixes with the angst of the title track, "Carry You", and "Dizzy" to make this my most favourite CD of the year.
More notes about 2007 music scene:
The latest efforts by favourites Dashboard Confessional, Foo Fighters, Josh Ritter and Rilo Kiley were disappointed considering their respective bodies or work. They just can't rest on their laurels and expect to make my list every time. This year's best EP is by the self-described folk-comedy duo Flight of the Conchords' Distant Future. Check out their HBO show too if you can.
Most folks know my love-hate relationship about soundtracks and comps. Juno produced the best movie OST with its indie tracks and Grey's Anatomy's third volume holds the bar compared to its previous editions. UK's Radio 1 joined Cities 97 and Triple J in releasing some awesome live compilations. Best video (not that I saw too many) was probably the aforementioned OK Go's treadmills dance in the catchy Here It Goes Again.
Another great year for concerts with Snow Patrol and Jimmy Eat World playing at the local university venue. I had great seats for the re-united Crowded House show, however it was at a venue of the same name but in another town. Luckily, I was heading up there anyways. Took my gf to see Chantal Kreviaczuk on Valentine's Day. Also caught great shows by QotSA, Stars, and Lucinda Williams, which makes that 4 out of my top 10 if you were keeping track. Also managed to catch The White Stripes, MCR, Taking Back Sunday, Joss Stone, and OK Go (who opened for Snow Patrol) too. Plus the announcement of Calgary hosting its own VFest will give me something to look forward to in 2008.
Here are a few tunes that I enjoyed from the past year... This is usually a warm-up to my Top 10 Albums list. There are several singles left off here that will end up on that list, so don't freak out if you don't see any of my Kanye West or Jimmy Eat World favs here. In no particular order... enjoy, O.
Powderfinger - I Don't Remember (Disappointed in the rest of the album)
Foo Fighters - The Pretender (Same witty remark as above)
Green Day has not gone on record, but everyone says that the 6-song (Downloadable) Stop Drop and Roll!!! EP by a band called The Foxboro Hot Tubs is indeed a GD side-project.
Sounds like the Hives crossed with Green Day to me after the initial listen... Here's the track list:
1 Stop Drop and Roll 2 Mother Mary 3 Ruby Room 4 Red Tide 5 Highway 1 6 She’s a Saint Not a Celebrity
When the iPhone first came out, I couldn't wait for a version that was just an iPod, (basically an iPhone without the phone), but was disappointed with the iPod touch as more than just the phone was stripped out. For me, it was missing a few critical features that would justify this replacing my old PDA. But Apple finally fixed a major one last week with the announcement of the 1.1.2 firmware version. However, catching up on iPod touch developments, some folks had been using a 'jailbreak', which allows them to install their own fixes and third-party applications, including the ability to add or edit appointments which was one of the main concerns that I had that were address by the 1.1.2 firmware.
So do I do the jailbreak or have faith in Apple that more functionality will get added to the iPod touch?
The OLP frontman goes solo and for the video of the leadoff single, he goes busking in tdot to raise $30 grand for a school in the DRC. Youtube hosts a bunch of other clips caught by the public as well.
A very worthy cause indeed. He and his wife, Chantal Kreviazuk, have been great for War Child.
PS. This is my hundredth posting on my blog and have just started to link it to my facebook as well. It's been a while in between posts, but I had to move my server around the house and have finally put it behind the router.
When will music's Big 4 realize that they've lost the battle on this? Yahoo advocates that companies are spending too much money on developing DRM-related technologies while Jobs spins that most people are putting DRM-free (ie illegal?) tracks onto their iPods already.
One of my favourite bands, Snow Patrol (who are coming to town to play a sold-out show) has a new video coming out for the fifth single off their latest CD (which will definitely make my Top 10). Interestingly enough, they do not appear in it at all, as it is based on the footage from a 1976 cult-classic short film "C'etait un rendez-vous" by the French film maker Claude Lelouch. The film has a great history behind it as well.
I think I'm ahead of my music listening this year or was it due to me being more selective in the albums that I download? Either way, I should be able to come out with my Top 10 Albums in a timely fashion this year as I always try to have it out the same time as the Grammys. But for now, here's my fav tunes from the year (in no particular order):
Skinny Boy - Amy Milan (Best lyric: You got lips I could spend a day with)
Make Damn Sure - Taking Back Sunday (Best Emo... Could be DQ'ed cause it came out in 2005 tho)
When You Were Young - The Killers (Why didn't the rest of the album sound this good?)
When the President Talks to God - Bright Eyes (Best protest song that I've heard in awhile)
So Sick - Ne-Yo (Turns the ladies into butter)
In The Deep - Bird York (From a REAL double-threat... remember her from The West Wing?)
Hey There Delilah - Plain White Ts (Must listen while away from home/travelling)
Peace and Hate - The Submarines (Fav indie tune... another one is from The Museum Pieces called It Keeps Me Up)
Rock & Roll Queen - The Subways (Best Guitar Rock)
For You I Will (Confidence) - Teddy Geiger (Cheesy/Sappy but still good)
Here It Goes Again - OK Go (Best Pop & Video)
Oh Gravity - Switchfoot (Catchy Pop Rock)
No Orson or Snow Patrol here but their albums will definitely make my Top 10. Make sure to submit your Top 10 CDs here over the next few weeks.
With the next-gen console battle finally beginning with the launch of the Wii and PS3, XBox 360 released their killer game, Gears of War, to coincide. With their massive PR ad campaign, I came across an interesting read of about the music used in the commercial which nicely juxtaposes it with the gore of the game.
Haven't come across any comments by the singer about his song being used, but he is actually pretty good for those that like the mellow folk kinda thing (a la David Gray, Jude, or Howie Day). Check out his performance on KCRW last month.
Ya know we Calgarians always bash everything we can about that city north of us... But I do have to give them one thing... They have a better Alternative Rock radio station, Sonic 102.9 FM. For those fortunate enough not to live there, we can still check them out online at http://www.radiosonic.fm/. Check out a sample playlist:
3:04 PM - The Adventure by Angels And Airwaves 3:00 PM - Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) by Arcade Fire 2:56 PM - The Pot by Tool 2:52 PM - Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol 2:40 PM - Resurrection by Moist 2:36 PM - Martyr by Depeche Mode 2:32 PM - Pain by Three Days Grace 2:28 PM - The Red by Chevelle 2:24 PM - Today I Hate Everyone by Killjoys 2:20 PM - Perfect Situation by Weezer 2:16 PM - Call Me When You're Sober by Evanescence 2:08 PM - Natural One by Folk Implosion 2:04 PM - Use It by New Pornographers
Update: Our city may finally have a new worthy challenger in the new year... Join the XArmy and be there for the start of something that will hopefully be great.
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