Best Songs of 2009: Monsters of Folk "Temazcal"

For the last couple of years I've created a "Best of 200_" playlist on my iTunes and everytime I hear something really catchy, I copy it over to the playlist. More often then not, most of the songs on the playlist are great songs from my favourite albums of the year; other times, like today, they happen to be standout songs on albums that are marginal, not very good, or that I just haven't listened to all that much.

The Monsters of Folk (Bright Eyes, M. Ward, the guy from My Morning Jacket, and another guy) and their self-titled album, considering the pedigree of the group, is a little bit underwhelming. This, I think, probably has a considerable amount to do with the group having very little to prove. Every member of the group has had a pretty substantial amount of success (save perhaps for the mystery man), and while I'm sure getting together was fun, I'm not sure the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. You just don't get the sense that these guys were really pushing each other the way they might have, more that they sort of got together and wrote an album.

I guess what I mean to say is that the Monsters, collectively, don't really have a distinctive sound as a band. The songs on the album tend to rotate around, B.E. gets a song, MMJ's Jim James gets a song, and M. Ward gets a song and the others play Ringo (the other guy is Ringo the entire time). So, given my distaste and/or general lack of enthusiasm for the last couple outings of all the artist it should be unsurprising that I'm luke warm, at best, on the Monsters of Folk as a full-length, 15 song album.

Having said that (Curb reference!), I wouldn't have mentioned the album, particularly under the auspice of "Best of 20__" if there were no redeeming qualities here. And so: the one thing this album has done, IMHO, is brought out flashes of the coherent, but still sort of tortured, Bright Eyes. The best example of this, as you may have guessed, is on "Temazcal" the slow, strum and stop, song that makes you feel as though your in the middle of the denouement of an Old West love story. B.E. shows flashes of the lyricist that he was, and why early in his career people were calling him the next Dylan (probably not happening so much anymore), though that comparison, I think it goes without saying, was probably a little much to say the least.


The video (song sung by M. Ward):

[mp3] Monsters of Folk - Temazcal

I'm going to try and do one or a couple of these every week until the end of the year, though I'm not sure I'd hold your breath and wait for it to happen.

Pick of the Week #47: The Acorn

With all that's been going on lately I haven't been listening to a whole lot of new stuff and rather than forcing a Pick of the Week -- picking something that I can't completely get behind -- I've opted to go with something from archives...

If you're a regular around here you'll likely recall me discussing Ottawa's The Acorn at one point or another, but often I find that it takes me hearing a name 2/3/10 times before I actually get around to giving something a try. So, more than anything I was hoping with this week's pick would remind you how excellent this group of Ottawanians is.

Their last album, Glory Hope Mountain, was released in 2007 and I ranked it as my 19th favourite album of that year. And certainly that isn't a bad ranking, but looking back at my list I'd be inclined to re-rank it inside the top-5 with the note that it is likely my most listened to album from 2007.

Wouldn't that make it my favourite you'd ask? Well, I dunno. I guess the way I look at it is that there are albums on the list i.e. Kanye, The Besnard Lakes, Panda Bear, that have, in my opinion, higher highs and more 'wow' moments. So, the others may be more interesting, at times, but you've really got to be in the right frame of mind to listen to them. I mean, I thought No Country for Old Men was a great movie, possibly my favourite of 2007, but I haven't watched it nearly as many times as I've seen, say, Role Models, mostly b/c with NCfOM you've got to be in the mood for a movie that demands that much attention.

Now, I wouldn't suggest that Role Models is the musical equivalent of the Acorn or Glory Hope Mountain, but it could be. And by that I mean that Glory Hope Mountain is constructed in such a way that you can shut your mind off, go on auto-pilot, and enjoy the gentle guitar picking or you could turn up the volume in your car and tap away to the tribal drums. The album might be background music while you do whatever is it you need to be doing (sleeping, driving, it, etc.), but it also has the ability to be something that you could really sink your teeth into. The album, which is a tribute to the lead singers mother (R.I.P.), also has the emotional weight of albums like Funeral, Everything All the Time, and the new (and excellent) album by the Wilderness of Manitoba Hymns of Love and Spirits.

Whatever you want to do with/to Glory Hope Mountain it's certainly an album that, if you give some time, you'll enjoy more on the 50th spin then you will on the 1st.

"Dents"


[mp3] The Acorn - Crooked Legs
[mp3] The Acorn - Glory (live)

Pick of the Week #1: Ketch Harbour Wolves
Pick of the Week #2: Rah Rah
Pick of the Week #3: Glasvegas/Animal Collective
Pick of the Week #4: Bruce Peninsula
Pick of the Week #5: The Antlers
Pick of the Week #6: The Darcys
Pick of the Week #7: Ohbijou (Swift Feet for Troubling Times)
Pick of the Week #8: Gentlemen Husbands
Pick of the Week #9: Chris Whitley
Pick of the Week #10: Alela Diane
Pick of the Week #11: K'naan
Pick of the Week #12: TOR/Sufjan Stevens
Pick of the Week #13: Timber Timbre
Pick of the Week #14: Justis
Pick of the Week #15: Hibiscus & Rosehips Compilation
Pick of the Week #16: Patrick Watson
Pick of the Week #17: Olenka and the Autumn Lovers
Pick of the Week #18: The Liptonians
Pick of the Week #19: Sunparlour Players
Pick of the Week #20: Black Hat Brigade
Pick of the Week #21: Howie Beck
Pick of the Week #22: Pink Mountaintops
Pick of the Week #23: Still Life Still
Pick of the Week #24: Hayden
Pick of the Week #25: Snailhouse
Pick of the Week #26: Dog Day
Pick of the Week #27: Ohbijou (Beacons)
Pick of the Week #28: Dog is Blue
Pick of the Week #29: Parkas
Pick of the Week #30: The Wooden Sky
Pick of the Week #31: Bowerbirds
Pick of the Week #32: Miss Maya
Pick of the Week #33: Ben Folds Presents ...
Pick of the Week #34: Mantis
Pick of the Week #35: Diamond Rings
Pick of the Week #36: The Wilderness of Manitoba
Pick of the Week #37: Asher Roth
Pick of the Week #38: Julie Doiron
Pick of the Week #39: Chad VanGaalen
Pick of the Week #40: That's the Spirit
Pick of the Week #41: The Ghost is Dancing
Pick of the Week #42: Dan Mangan
Pick of the Week #43: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
Pick of the Week #44: Said the Whale
Pick of the Week #45: Noah and the Whale
Pick of the Week #46: Mos Def

Talking to Americans...

Sorry, but this is just too hilarious not to pass along, though I expect some of you may have seen it. Not all Americans are this ridiculous (dear lord, I hope), and obviously they're taking the most extreme interviews for effect, but it's kind of heart breaking to me that people are that belligerent about stuff they are so uninformed about.

Sick a camera in someone's face and unless they're practiced at interviewing they're going stumble, mix their words, whatever, but to be so aggressive about things you have no knowledge about... scary... also, kind of hilarious...

At any rate, some actual music-related content up tomorrow (PoTW #47), I'll have another email exchange up at the beginning of the week, and now that I'm back and healthy things should get back to business as usual.

Let's Book Club!: The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons

I'm not sure I want to spend any sort of time writing a "review" of The Book of Basketball mostly because this Deadspin review says just about everything that needs to be said about Simmons and TBOB (thanks, Wasko).

But, a few random sort of thoughts on the book:

• A better title for the book probably would've been Everything I've Ever Thought About Basketball.
• There has been a lot of manufactured discussion by Simmons/ESPN/whoever about the length of the book and my thoughts are this: length isn't an issue if you have 700 pages worth of stuff to say. Simmons, in my opinion, did not have 700 pages worth of stuff to say. This becomes VERY apparent if you read the book all at once. It is highly, highly, repetitive.
  
• An extension of the second note: don't read the book all at once, keep it in the bathroom.

Grade: D (probably a B- if I hadn't read it all at once)

Next Up: Probably going to get back and try and finish The Dumbest Generation and/or the last three essays in DFW's A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again.

1. The Inner Game of Tennis | Timothy Gallwey (134 pages) | A
2. The Last Shot | Darcy Frey (240 pages) | A+
3. The Road | Cormac McCarthy (287 pages) | A+
4. Outliers | Malcolm Gladwell (299 pages) | C+
5. The Last Season | Phil Jackson (304 pages) | B-
6. The Sunset Limited | Cormac McCarthy (160 pages)| B-
7. The Education of a Coach | David Halberstam (288 pages)| B+
8. Downtown Owl | Chuck Klosterman | (288 pages)| B
9. Can I Keep My Jersey?| Paul Shirley| (336 pages)|C-
10. Then We Came to The End| Joshua Ferris| (416 pages)|B+
11. Friday Night Lights| H.G. Bissinger|(400 pages)|A++
12. Strokes of Genius| L. Jon Wertheim|(208 pages)|B
13. Who's Your City| Richard Florida|( 345 pages)|C
14. Brief Interviews with Hideous Men| (336 pages)|A
15. The Book of Basketball| Bill Simmons|(736 pages)|C-

Pick of the (last) Week #46: Mos Def

Yeah, a little late, I realize, but I've been sick so if you could all give me a break that'd be great...
On the bright side, I've got a great album for ya'll (expect a little more slang this week).

I certainly wasn't expecting The Ecstatic, the mighty Mos Def's fourth album (fifth if you include Black Star w/ Talib Kweli), to be any good. Why? Well, mostly because he hasn't released anything worth hearing in a decade. Yes, actually a decade -- this isn't me exaggerating to make a point:

• 1998: Black Star (with Talib Kweli)
• 1999: Black on Both Sides
• 2004: The New Danger
  
• 2006: True Magic
• 2009: The Ecstatic

Granted that's only two albums The New Danger and True Magic that really stunk (or, were marginal if you're in a generous mood), but when you don't release anything that's good either and you spend most of your time making movies your fans are going to ask some questions.

The thing that I always wonder, is that after someone has a certain degree of success - as Mos had with Black Star, Black on Both Sides, and the pile of guest spots he did on other albums - whether they have the motivation and/or inspiration to do anything worthwhile. I mean, when was the last time someone's 7th album was better than their 2nd or 3rd? Usually, people get complacent, things get formulaic, and artists tend to avoid rocking the boat. And Mos' had a pretty successful movie career over the last 5-6 years, so, what does the guy have to prove?

Well, it seems like he wanted to prove that he's not some Hollywood-douche-actor. The Malcolm X quote at the outset of the album on "Supermagic", and the deep, ominous sounding tuba that drives the beat on on the second track "Twilight Speedball", set the tone for the album so by the time the ruler, Slick Rick, makes his guest appearance on the third track "Auditorium" it's been established that not only is Mos going to try, but that he may be as 'on' as the 25 year old Mos who gave us the classic Black on Both Sides.

The Ecstatic isn't going to be that iconic, in this music landscape those kind of albums basically don't exist, but it's very good. It's probably too experimental to cross over and gain Mos a whole lot of new fans (rapping in Spanish on "No Hay Nada Mas" doesn't exactly make me think I'm gonna be hearing anything of this album in da klub), but if you ever found yourself missing Mos Def... he's back.

Pitchfork has a good review.


Pick of the Week #1: Ketch Harbour Wolves
Pick of the Week #2: Rah Rah
Pick of the Week #3: Glasvegas/Animal Collective
Pick of the Week #4: Bruce Peninsula
Pick of the Week #5: The Antlers
Pick of the Week #6: The Darcys
Pick of the Week #7: Ohbijou (Swift Feet for Troubling Times)
Pick of the Week #8: Gentlemen Husbands
Pick of the Week #9: Chris Whitley
Pick of the Week #10: Alela Diane
Pick of the Week #11: K'naan
Pick of the Week #12: TOR/Sufjan Stevens
Pick of the Week #13: Timber Timbre
Pick of the Week #14: Justis
Pick of the Week #15: Hibiscus & Rosehips Compilation
Pick of the Week #16: Patrick Watson
Pick of the Week #17: Olenka and the Autumn Lovers
Pick of the Week #18: The Liptonians
Pick of the Week #19: Sunparlour Players
Pick of the Week #20: Black Hat Brigade
Pick of the Week #21: Howie Beck
Pick of the Week #22: Pink Mountaintops
Pick of the Week #23: Still Life Still
Pick of the Week #24: Hayden
Pick of the Week #25: Snailhouse
Pick of the Week #26: Dog Day
Pick of the Week #27: Ohbijou (Beacons)
Pick of the Week #28: Dog is Blue
Pick of the Week #29: Parkas
Pick of the Week #30: The Wooden Sky
Pick of the Week #31: Bowerbirds
Pick of the Week #32: Miss Maya
Pick of the Week #33: Ben Folds Presents ...
Pick of the Week #34: Mantis
Pick of the Week #35: Diamond Rings
Pick of the Week #36: The Wilderness of Manitoba
Pick of the Week #37: Asher Roth
Pick of the Week #38: Julie Doiron
Pick of the Week #39: Chad VanGaalen
Pick of the Week #40: That's the Spirit
Pick of the Week #41: The Ghost is Dancing
Pick of the Week #42: Dan Mangan
Pick of the Week #43: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
Pick of the Week #44: Said the Whale
Pick of the Week #45: Noah and the Whale

Let's Book Club!: Open by Andre Agassi

For the record, I haven't read Open (yet, I'm planning on it), but there's been so much interesting commentary around the book that, being a tennis guy, I feel compelled to say something about my childhood idol.

By now you've heard (or you're hearing now) about his father chaining him to the court in the early mornings, the weave, the tanking, etc., etc., and oh... the crystal meth. I don't do a ton of reading on tennis stuff, but enough to hear that the likes of Safin, Martina Navratilova, and Nadal have come out and questioned why Agassi would make his crystal meth use public after all these years. Basically, their suggestion has been that: 1/that this hurts the game by damaging the public perception that the game is clean; and 2/ that this is a rather thinly veiled attempt to sell some books; which has led to the 40+ tennis playing community to think, why would he admit to this?

To me, while Safin's criticism comes off as a little bit of sour grapes, and I find it hard to hear Martina's from her high horse (she complains about everything), Nadal's concerns seem very reasonable. The thrust of Nadal's complaints against Agassi all seem to stem from his ability to taint the public's thinking about tennis as a 'clean' sport. His reasoning goes, if Agassi circumvented drug testing, why wouldn't other star players (potentially ones with bulging Popeye-esque biceps) be using drugs also? So, while Nadal's critique seems a little self-serving at first, at the heart of what Nadal is advocating for is honesty (Uncle Toni has raised him well), from Agassi and from the ATP.

That said, it doesn't seem to me that what Nadal is advocating for and Agassi's book is doing (coming clean) are really at odds. My impression is that honesty really is what is at the heart of this Agassi autobiography. He certainly doesn't need the money, particularly after having married Steffi Graf (and her accountant! BA-zing!), it seems like he just wants to tell the truth and get on with the rest of his life. Frankly, I'd be surprised if anyone watched him on 60 minutes and thought he was being anything other than completely honest...

And this is where Navratilova's Roger Clemens comparison is pretty out to lunch -- the reprehensible part about Clemens' behaviour was that, not only did he break the rules, but he lied about it afterward. Now Agassi, to his credit, is coming clean and we're upset about it?

I mean, I get what people are irked about -- particularly when people get into the he's so brave coming forward bullshit (should we be praising every athlete who doesn't do drugs and doesn't break the rules?), but that's not it either. I think the point being that everyone has their own challenges, and we ought to applaud people who are trying to improve themselves. He's trying to make up for past wrongs, and so good for him.

To sum up:

• Good for Agassi for coming clean, and kudos to him for all the do-gooding he's done post-crystal meth use.
  
• For someone without a G.E.D. he is very articulate and well spoken.
• To me the issue is not the type of drug use (recreational vs. performance enhancing) or even the drug use itself, it's that he was dishonest (a bad thing) and now he's being honest (a good thing).
  
• His honesty now (still a good thing), doesn't make up for his past dishonesty, but it certainly makes it better, and it also makes him... human...
  

... if you thought I had a lot to say about Open now, wait until I actually read the book...

Pick of the Week #45: Noah and the Whale

In part because I thought it'd be fun to have back to back picks of the week with the word 'Whale' in the title of the band name, and in part because I've been listening to Noah and the Whale's The First Days of Spring almost exclusively this week, I present to you... Noah and the Whale's The First Days of Spring...

Before seeing Noah and the Whale at Criminal Records a couple of weeks ago they weren't on my radar screen at all. I'm fairly confident they were/are a pretty hip/happenin' blog band, but I just never got on board -- I'm not a sheep! After seeing them and enjoying the 3/4/5 songs that they played, I was ready to give The First Days of Spring a few good listens, but I wasn't expecting it to light my world on fire or anything.

And it hasn't... it's not that kind of album. It is, after all, a break-up album. I see you're processing that whole Spring metaphor they've used... re-birth, new beginnings, very clever. Even it's not the world-fire-lighting type of album, it is exceptionally good at what it does do, capturing that post break-up moment that is often full of both hope and despair. In that respect, the album feels a little bit like the post-relationship reflection of a dumpee, looking back at all the relationship without remembering all the awful things that happened in the relationship that led to the break up in the first place.

What strikes me about the band and their album is how affecting I've found them both, particularly given that I'm in the opposite place in my own life (soon to be married -- sorry ladies). It's not just the symphonic string arrangements, although that's certainly part of the whole mood, but it's the way that the vocals - very somber, conversational, and almost hoarse at points - create this really beautiful contrast.

Hopefully with the success of The First Days of Spring they should have their pick of groupies so that the next album will turn out a little happier... I'm hoping a bikini inspired, beach themed, summer album... although I'm not holding my breath...

[mp3] Noah and the Whale - The First Days of Spring

Pick of the Week #1: Ketch Harbour Wolves
Pick of the Week #2: Rah Rah
Pick of the Week #3: Glasvegas/Animal Collective
Pick of the Week #4: Bruce Peninsula
Pick of the Week #5: The Antlers
Pick of the Week #6: The Darcys
Pick of the Week #7: Ohbijou (Swift Feet for Troubling Times)
Pick of the Week #8: Gentlemen Husbands
Pick of the Week #9: Chris Whitley
Pick of the Week #10: Alela Diane
Pick of the Week #11: K'naan
Pick of the Week #12: TOR/Sufjan Stevens
Pick of the Week #13: Timber Timbre
Pick of the Week #14: Justis
Pick of the Week #15: Hibiscus & Rosehips Compilation
Pick of the Week #16: Patrick Watson
Pick of the Week #17: Olenka and the Autumn Lovers
Pick of the Week #18: The Liptonians
Pick of the Week #19: Sunparlour Players
Pick of the Week #20: Black Hat Brigade
Pick of the Week #21: Howie Beck
Pick of the Week #22: Pink Mountaintops
Pick of the Week #23: Still Life Still
Pick of the Week #24: Hayden
Pick of the Week #25: Snailhouse
Pick of the Week #26: Dog Day
Pick of the Week #27: Ohbijou (Beacons)
Pick of the Week #28: Dog is Blue
Pick of the Week #29: Parkas
Pick of the Week #30: The Wooden Sky
Pick of the Week #31: Bowerbirds
Pick of the Week #32: Miss Maya
Pick of the Week #33: Ben Folds Presents ...
Pick of the Week #34: Mantis
Pick of the Week #35: Diamond Rings
Pick of the Week #36: The Wilderness of Manitoba
Pick of the Week #37: Asher Roth
Pick of the Week #38: Julie Doiron
Pick of the Week #39: Chad VanGaalen
Pick of the Week #40: That's the Spirit
Pick of the Week #41: The Ghost is Dancing
Pick of the Week #42: Dan Mangan
Pick of the Week #43: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
Pick of the Week #44: Said the Whale

Jay-Z w/ N.E.R.D., J. Cole, Wale @ the Air Canada Centre. Oct. 31.2009.

(via muchmusic)

I was really kind of torn whether or not to write anything about going to see Jay-Z (or, the G.O.A.T.) at the Air Canada Centre on Halloween. If you wanted a recap of the show you'd be best off to check out the Toronto Star or some other legitimate journalistic outfit, and, frankly, I'm not sure if the "indie" (mostly) music blog readership was interested in hearing about the Jigga Man's delivery of "Big Pimpin'" or how the light hit his $50,000 gold necklace. That said, I've never been one to exclusively recap and I've probably driven away all the dirty hippy snobs (maybe it's the name calling?), so, some thoughts on Jay-Z and the arena concert experience:

• Liz and I walked to the ACC (nice!), grabbed a hot dog on the way (nice!), in retrospect we should've planned our route because it took us approximately 10 mins longer to get there than it should've (25 mins instead of 15, who am I to complain).
  
• It was absolute Zoo outside the ACC. In addition to scalpers there was a hoard of guys giving out after-party flyers -- Halloween, Saturday night, etc. I'm a little bit claustrophobic and this was a little disconcerting... we had to try 2 or 3 entrances before we could find one that wasn't horrifyingly crowded.
  
• When we finally got in line there appeared to be a scalper trying to talk the (very) young couple out of a pair of tickets and he (the scalper) pulled out a wad of at least $500 bucks. This may become a re-occuring theme, but this is 1.A. -- things you don't see outside Lee's Palace.
• Also, and I realize it was Halloween, but things were a lot skankier than I was expecting. I mean, I'm sure that Jay-Z has some fans that are strippers, but I'm pretty sure that there aren't that many strippers within driving distance of Toronto.
• B/c of the great hot dog detour and finding an entrance where we felt like we weren't going to be mobbed or mugged, we only caught the last 3 mins of Wale and J. Cole. I like Wale, the mixtape about nothing was one of my favs of '08, but most of what he was saying was completely inaudible. No big deal.
• Pharrell was great, but haven't listened to any N.E.R.D. since their first album ... In Search Of so I only recognized a couple of songs. I forgot how raunchy "Lapdance" was...
• Kudos, to Pharrell for bringing 20-30 girls/women to come on stage and skank it up. If he owns a strip club, this is for sure how he auditions the dancers. On an unrelated note my (future un-born) daughter is never going to a rap concert.
  
• By the time everyone had found their seats it began to occur to me how strange a group the crowd was at the concert. In the immediate vicinity of where Liz and I were sitting: 35-40 Black Man w/ appropriately aged Asian GF/wife (right); group of 22 -27 West Indian kids dudes and chicks (further right); group of 16 - 20 Black/White rapper kids wearing jerseys and straight brimmed NewEra hats with the stickers still on (behind); two teenaged girls who snuck in mickeys (plural) of Vodka, and had some pretty serious rapper hands (left).
• Jay-Z appears, through the bottom of the stage no less, and appears to be completely unfazed by the fact that 20,000 (or however many people fit into a sold out ACC) are screaming at the top of their lungs (less me, I'm half perplexed amazed that this many people are that excited about seeing a single human person perform some songs).
  
• To be fair, at that point I was kind of in awe b/c: 1/the response of the crowd; 2/that he is so cool about it; and 3/that he just possesses that je ne sais pas that you can just feel from the first row of the 300 level.
• Was really impressed with how they set up the stage, very simple, band way back (two drum kits, horn section, plus other instruments), large dark black stage w/ a sort of vertical tiled video screen in behind. Ornate and visually impressive, but definitely not gaudy or over the top. I guess that's what you get when you have a million dollar (estimated) set-up budget.
  
• Jay-Z is an entertainer and a businessman, which is something that goes without saying, but his show was certainly reflective of his business interests. Not only does he put on good show (that's probably the best business), and give opening slots to his proteges, but he really canvassed his catalog to make sure that people weren't walking away thinking, I wish I had heart "insert song title here". Of course this meant that with 11 studio albums that he was just going to give us snippets... fine, no biggie. Continuing on that Jay-Z is a shrewd businessman trend, he spent an incredible amount of time 'connecting' with the audience -- thank you for coming, pointing out people in the audience, etc.,... have never seen anyone do that, that much... very shrewd.
• Lastly, if I had one gripe, it was all of his "if you dream it, you can do it B.S." ... that's all well and good, but you're not really helping anyone with that crap. This is the modern version of the Michael Jordan syndrome - where kids forget school for dreams of playing pro basketball. Of course this is doubly bad when it has never been easier to put out any type of music recording, there has never been less money in the music business, and there has never been a better role model for young minorities (Barak Obama has made smart, cool).
  

Contest: The Wooden Sky @ Lee's Palace -- Friday November 13th, 2009

The Wooden Sky, Pick of the Week #30, the 17th hottest band in Canada (according to this country's music community), the 7th hottest band (according to me) and the authors of the album If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone will be playing at Lee's Palace in Toronto next Friday (Nov. 13th).

Anyways, if you want to go see the show with a friend ft. openers Brian Borcherdt (who I don't know) and the Hooded Fang (who I've seen once before and enjoyed), PLUS a copy of the Wooden Sky's excellent album If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone then e-mail me at: londononburgeoningmetropolisATgmailDOTcom.

As an aside: I haven't run contests before because, basically, I haven't been totally behind the stuff that people (PR companies) have wanted me to give away. As I've said before I think the Wooden Sky is great and I'm very excited about seeing this show... hope to see you (yes, you) there...

Pick of the Week #44: Said the Whale

Is it the 44th week of 2009 already? God that's depressing. But you know what isn't depressing in any way, shape, or form? This hilarious, hilarious, phone message... oh, and Said the Whale's Islands Disappear.

From the dramatic intro "Dear Elkhorn" I thought I might be in for another band similar to my new favourites the Wilderness of Manitoba, or one of last year's best blog bands, Fleet Foxes, which would've been a good thing, but it was not to be. Instead, Said the Whale progress through the rest of their album with an almost choral power-poppy sort of sound that is reminiscent of stuff like the New Pornographers' Twin Cinema, Band of Horse's Funeral, or even the latest poppier album from the Tokyo Police Club, Elephant Shell.

To a certain extent I'm surprised that I like Islands Disappear as much as I do. With no disrespekt to the band, I just haven't had much of a taste for the poppy sort of bands as they always seem like they're "on"... c'mon, nobody is that happy all the time. Said the Whale is a happy, poppy sort of band, but there are moments on the album that are quieter and show that they're not just churning pop songs, they have feelings (as a band) too. I think the outdoors/wilderness/travelling theme of the album helps in this respect, for whatever reason, their real (or potentially fictional) trip across Canada makes me feel like the quieter, more introspective moments come from honest experience and reflection rather than seeing the latest Michael Moore movie or reading the latest Naomi Klien book.

I think the albums biggest strength though is it's diversity (much like the New Pornographers at their best), their ability to pound out a really, really, catchy song like "Camilo (the Magician" (which may well be the best "pop" song of the year), but they balance that off with some softer songs "Dear Elkhorn" "Islands Disappear" etc. and sometimes, somehow, they manage to do both at the same time "Emerald Lake, AB".

It'd a little disingenous - although probably not unexpected - for me to suggest that this is one of the best pop albums of the year, particularly since "Santa" sent me this album roughly a week ago. That said, Islands Disappear was one of the most pleasant surprises of the year, and is the kind of album that makes me glad that I decided to start a (mostly) music blog. You really ought to go out and buy this album.

[mp3] Said the Whale - Dear Elkhorn
[mp3] Said the Whale - Camilo (the Magician)

Pick of the Week #1: Ketch Harbour Wolves
Pick of the Week #2: Rah Rah
Pick of the Week #3: Glasvegas/Animal Collective
Pick of the Week #4: Bruce Peninsula
Pick of the Week #5: The Antlers
Pick of the Week #6: The Darcys
Pick of the Week #7: Ohbijou (Swift Feet for Troubling Times)
Pick of the Week #8: Gentlemen Husbands
Pick of the Week #9: Chris Whitley
Pick of the Week #10: Alela Diane
Pick of the Week #11: K'naan
Pick of the Week #12: TOR/Sufjan Stevens
Pick of the Week #13: Timber Timbre
Pick of the Week #14: Justis
Pick of the Week #15: Hibiscus & Rosehips Compilation
Pick of the Week #16: Patrick Watson
Pick of the Week #17: Olenka and the Autumn Lovers
Pick of the Week #18: The Liptonians
Pick of the Week #19: Sunparlour Players
Pick of the Week #20: Black Hat Brigade
Pick of the Week #21: Howie Beck
Pick of the Week #22: Pink Mountaintops
Pick of the Week #23: Still Life Still
Pick of the Week #24: Hayden
Pick of the Week #25: Snailhouse
Pick of the Week #26: Dog Day
Pick of the Week #27: Ohbijou (Beacons)
Pick of the Week #28: Dog is Blue
Pick of the Week #29: Parkas
Pick of the Week #30: The Wooden Sky
Pick of the Week #31: Bowerbirds
Pick of the Week #32: Miss Maya
Pick of the Week #33: Ben Folds Presents ...
Pick of the Week #34: Mantis
Pick of the Week #35: Diamond Rings
Pick of the Week #36: The Wilderness of Manitoba
Pick of the Week #37: Asher Roth
Pick of the Week #38: Julie Doiron
Pick of the Week #39: Chad VanGaalen
Pick of the Week #40: That's the Spirit
Pick of the Week #41: The Ghost is Dancing
Pick of the Week #42: Dan Mangan
Pick of the Week #43: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

Some Videos: "Camilo (the Magician)", "Raise Your Dead (Reprise)", "Demon Host"

"Camilo (the Magician)"


Band: Said the Whale (Vancouver, BC)
Album: Islands Disappear
Thoughts: I'm not entirely sure this song/video is representative of the album as a whole, though both the album and the video are pretty excellent. The song/video is power-poppy, while the rest of the album is decidedly more subdued, but if you were ever a fan of Death Cab/The New Pornographers/possibly Band of Horses at least watch the video.


"Raise Your Dead (Reprise)"


Band: Dog is Blue (Toronto, On)
Album: ... Makes Ghost Noises
Thoughts: It's certainly not a Michael Bay production (but what is), but it's a neat look at Paul putting together one of those cool dog skeleton art things... painting, is it a painting? Anyways, if you don't recall me talking about ...Makes Ghost Noises (Pick of the Week #28) it's a great singer-songwriter album which you should all buy from Zunior for $5.55.

"Demon Host"


Band: Timber Timbre (Toronto, On)
Album: Timber Timbre
Thoughts: This would've been much more appropriate to post on Halloween - seriously creepy sound - but better late than never!

Noah and the Whale @ Criminal Records. Oct. 31.2009

I'm a follower of Criminal Records' (Queen St. W., Toronto) twitter account and when I got up yesterday morning they tweeted that Noah and the Whale would be performing in their store in 20 mins. And since I'd seen the name (Noah and the Whale), but had never listened to any of their stuff before I thought I'd give it a shot. Although, there's the chance that I had never actually seen the name and was remembering the movie The Squid and the Whale (starring Jeff Daniels, good flick) or Canadian band Said the Whale (new record out now, very good, expect to hear more soon).

Either way, Liz got her Starbucks and we headed to C.R. to go check this unknown (to us) band. When we got there there was a pretty substantial line outside the store and not being one for crowds I suggested we walk for a minute and then come back to see how busy it was actually going to be -- we walked in to Urban Outfitters (where rich people go to look like they're poor) and then back to C.R.. It wasn't too bad. C.R. seems to be a little bit like a clown car in that respect -- I have no idea how that many people fit into such a (seemingly) small space.

At any rate, Liz was particularly impressed by the band and so was I. It could be that Brits (and their stupid sexy accents) just make everything sound so much more profound/important/significant. Perhaps a report on their latest album, The First Day of Spring, will be coming, but until then this video should give you an idea of their live sound (which is going to be better than any description than I could possibly right).




Noah and the Whale, duh.