Paul Simon: Still awesome after all these years
(via Techdirt) If this doesn’t make you smile, well, I got nothing at this point: At a recent show in Toronto, Paul Simon was about to play the song “Duncan” when he heard someone in the crowd say “I learned to play guitar on this song.” Instead of just letting the comment pass, he invites … Continue reading
Potential Polaris Pick: The Luyas – Too Beautiful To Work
Pro: “Too Beautiful to Work” (the album’s title track) is just about the best four minutes of indie pop I’ve heard this year. It’s exactly what you would hope for from a popped-up version of Torngat (french horn and organ man Pietro Amato is in that Montreal three-piece) and Belle Orchestre (Amato again and drummer … Continue reading
Potential Polaris Pick #1: Dirty Beaches – Badlands
(With the first round of Polaris Prize voting rapidly approaching, I’ve decided to post some thoughts here on albums that’ve been tossed around for consideration, in no particular order. If there’s something that came out between June 1, 2010 and May 31, 2011 that you think I’d be a fool to ignore, just drop me … Continue reading
Overlooked album: The World/Inferno Friendship Society’s Addicted to Bad Ideas
Watching The Maltese Falcon again a few weeks back reminded me of The World/Inferno Friendship Society’s Addicted to Bad Ideas, a fantastic slice of cabaret-punk that manages to push most of my film- and music-geek buttons. Concept albums in general tend to intrigue me, but a concept album about 1940s and ’50s character Peter Lorre, … Continue reading
30 Day Song Challenge, Day 10: A Song that Makes You Fall Asleep
Seven minutes of bubbling pianos, gorgeously warm synths and subtle textures… Yeah, I could fall asleep to this. Really, anything on Riceboy Sleeps, the ambient side-project from Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi and his boyfriend(?), Alex, would work here. It’s a beautiful album that didn’t get anywhere near as much attention as it probably should have.
30 Day Song Challenge, Day 9: A Song You Can Dance To
Believe it or not, although I am fully capable of cutting the occasional rug, I’ve never been one for dancing. But something in this beat is (appropriately enough given the song’s title) pretty unfuckwithable. The video is oddly terrifying for some reason, but then again, so are most dancefloors, so it’s probably appropriate.
30 Day Song Challenge, Day 8: A Song That You Know All the Words To
Or maybe I’m just being a dick. Also: Oh my God, their mouths and his eyes are the same!
30 Day Song Challenge, Day 7: A Song That Reminds You of a Certain Event
Plastic Bertrand – Ca Plane Pour Moi Oh man. I’m only a week into this and this is already the second wedding anecdote. If ever there was a sign that I’m getting old… But I’ve been wracking my brain trying to come up with an event that wasn’t a concert or music festival, since that … Continue reading
30 Day Song Challenge, Day 6: A Song That Reminds You of Somewhere
This song will always remind me of Toronto. OK, this one might need a bit of explanation. A few years back, I moved to Toronto. It didn’t really take. I had gone there for the wrong reasons — it was half because of a girl, and half because I thought it was a fairly bad … Continue reading
30-Day Song Challenge, Day 5: A Song That Reminds You of Someone
It might be harder to find one that doesn‘t remind me of anyone, so for good measure, I decided to go with something that reminds me of two people. First, former Fast Forward sales rep and all-around awesome lady Liz Collins and I bonded by belting this one out in her car on the way … Continue reading
The Consumption 