Fire Sam Mitchell.... dot com

Thanks to Bill Simmons I found FireSamMitchell.com.

This is funny... because about halfway through the season I checked to see if the Fire Sam Mitchell blogspot address was taken. I didn't end up doing it, but I'm all over this campaign. In fact, I think I'm going to end every post with the Fire Sam Mitchell banner.



Update: This post on the site has made me want to learn how to use photoshop.

Youth Novels by Lykke Li ... reconsidered

I've gone back and forth and back on Lykke Li (who I'm pretty sure shares a name with a Street Fighter character) 's Youth Novels since I first heard it at the beginning of March. After I heard a couple of outstanding singles "Let it Fall" and "I'm Good, I'm Gone" I was very excited, and thought I might be in for some type of quirky and much more Nordic version of Lily Allen. The album, after my first time through, wasn't quite as catchy as I was hoping it would be... so, naturally, I gave up on it.

For whatever reason, maybe listening to another Swedish female (Sally Shapiro - in case you care, I don't particularly care for Shapiro's Disco Romance) was enough of a reminder to give YNs another shot.

I'm glad I did, because in addition to having a number of outstanding and horribly catchy singles (the two previously mentioned plus "Dance Dance Dance" "Little Bit" "Breaking it Up") it also has a more atmospheric, ethereal?, and kind of haunting side. The intro "Melodies & Desires" as well as "This Trumpet in my Head" have some lyrics, while not particularly profound or meaningful, that are really sticking with me.

From "Melodies & Desires":
'Love is the harmony/Desire's the key/Love is the melody/Now sing it with Me' ... its better if you just hear it...

[mp3] Lykke Li - Melodies & Desires
[mp3] Lykke Li - Let it Fall

It's the CD-R EP! by Dave Norris!

The singer-songwriter/guy with a guitar market is pretty competitive, and it seems like it takes a lot to get noticed - like, say, a couple of surf videos and a connection to another prominent singer-songwriter. So, suffice to say, in this kind of market I find it pretty rare to find someone that I'm genuinely excited to listen to (maybe its the exclamation mark after his name).

Dave Norris! (Ottawa, On) traces over some pretty familiar territory (isn't all singer-songwriter about girls, or trying to get girls?), but does so with great sincerity and feeling. Wow, that sounded cheesy. Sorry. But, in all seriousness, he shows some range with some toe-tappers ("Howl") and some 'bubble bath' songs ("I Was Made a Fool"). On the whole, the CD-R EP (which is a great title I think), is good enough for me to forgive him for borrowing the song title "I'm on Fire" from the Boss, which is my favourite Springsteen song ever. It's also good enough to stand out against any singer-songwriter material that I've heard in the last while. And its also good enough for me to seriously recommend (Paul, Ack, Allan I'm looking at you).

I'm hoping Dave! will make the trip to London some time soon. It'd be great to see him live... especially at the Alex P. Keaton (hint! Chris if you're reading this).

My favourite:

[mp3] Dave Norris! - A Streetcar Named Malice

I'm told the CD will be available soon through CDBaby.com.

Babies Dream Big by Alan Wilkis

Maybe a week ago Alan Wilkis (Crooklyn, NY) sent me a note asking if I'd check out his album Babies Dream Big; since he asked nicely, and addressed the e-mail to me and not the title of the blog, which I thought was courteous, I did. Also, if the E*Trade baby and the Telus monkey have taught us anything, its that babies and animals sure can sell... so the title of the album and the artwork didn't hurt either.

My initial impressions of the album are very positive, as the album is just about a perfect one for sitting outside, relaxing on the balcony at night and having a cup of tea (this is, in fact, what I'm doing now). At times, he reminds me a little bit of Stevie Wonder or Jamie Lidell, but mostly I feel like this is what a Flaming Lips album would be like without the acid.

I'm not sure exactly how I'll feel about the album as a whole in another week/month/year end, but I've got a couple of tracks stuck in my head that will surely end up on some mixtapes for friends. My favourites:

[mp3] Alan Wilkis - Astronaut (Would You Be One)
[mp3] Alan Wilkis - It's Been Great

The album is available through CD Baby or iTunes.

Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell... Wow. Awesome.

Tokyo Police Club's Elephant Shell was released a while ago on-line, is supposed to be released in hard copy on April 22 (today). I mentioned a little while ago that I think the album is a little bit more subdued than their previous efforts (A Lesson in Crime, Smith EP, etc.), which were, at times, great, but getting nearer to something like Alexisonfire than I'd care to venture.

On this album the TPC manage to stay upbeat, punky, but are calmer, more accessible, and produce an album that I'm convinced will be my favourite of the year... if not of the last couple of years. Maybe its because the album is so short, but there aren't any songs I want to skip over and there are a pile of memorable singles "In A Cave" "Graves" "Tessellate", etc.

In short, TPC are the next big thing - maybe they're all over MTV now, it's impossible to say really.

[mp3] Tokyo Police Club - In a Cave
[mp3] Tokyo Police Club - Juno

An acoustic version of 'Tessellate' which is very cool, and makes the Colin Meloy (The Decemberists) comparisons make sense.

First there were Snakes on a Plane ... now there are Zombie Strippers

Zombie Strippers? Wow.

The best part of this whole thing is that the Rotten Tomatoes synopsis of the movie describes adult film star Jenna Jameson as a "worldwide media sensation"... yeah, I bet she is.

The trailer:



And... the wikipedia entry.

[mp3] Sufjan Stevens - They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhhh!
[mp3] Sufjan Stevens vs. Kanye West - Zombies Walk

An Early French Open Prediction...

For those of you who have been around long enough you may remember me correctly picking Novack Djokovic to win the Australian Open. Well, I've been saying to anyone who will listen to me lately that I think this is Federer's year to win the French. A couple of reasons why:

1. Since 2004 there has been one stretch where Federer has gone 2 tries without winning a Grand Slam (2005 Australian - had a match point in the semis, 2005 French semis).

2. He's had a little bit of a rest, granted it was because he had mono, but I'd suggest that this 'rest' is more beneficial mentally than anything else.

3. Federer has started to come out of his slump, making the Final of the Estoril Open (to play Davydenko on Sunday). I realize he hasn't played anyone in the top-50 enroute to the finals, but, half the battle here - I think - has got to be for him to re-gain some confidence, especially on the dirt.

4. Fed's got a new coach, Jose 'George Hamilton' Higeuras and some tennis insiders (here and here) seem to think its a good fit. George Jose has coached more than a couple of French Open champs (Michael Chang, Jim Courier, Carlos Moya, Sergi Bruguera), and maybe can give the Fed some inside as to how to crack Nadal.

5. Speaking of Nadal, Bjorn Borg is the only person to win 4 FO titles in a row in the Open Era (see the list of Men's singles Champs). Nadal, who currently has 3 in a row, has had progressively more injury problems over the last few years; he typically plays a pretty rigorous clay court schedule, and will (presumably) have Djokovic in the semis, which, should take a lot out Nadal.

That said, it may be a little (or a lot) early to call this, since the French is more than a month away...