"All This Love" The Similou

What's happening to me? When did I start digging twinky scandinavian electro-pop? If my sixteen-year-old-self could see me now he would puke all over his Bad Religion t-shirt. Forgive me.

"All This Love" The Similou (BUY)

2006 Top Ten

It's been a good year. And now that I'm a music blogger, it's my god-given right, nay duty, to summarize it (musically speaking) in a good ol' top-ten list. Here goes...

2006 Best Albums

1. Hot Chip - The Warning
2. TV on the Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain
3. The Knife - Silent Shout
4. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
5. Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
6. Junior Boys - So This is Goodbye
7. Girl Talk - Night Ripper
8. Ladyhawk - Ladyhawk*
9. Grandaddy - Just Like The Fambly Cat
10. Danielson - Ships

*Just a week into the new year, I really have to add Grizzly Bear's Yellow Houses to this list. Probably at the expense of Ladyhawk. Sorry guys.

And just cause I can't resist, here are my favourite songs of the year.

1. Never Be Alone - Justice vs Simian
2. Over and Over - Hot Chip
3. We Share Our Mothers Health - The Knife
4. Playhouses - TV on the Radio
5. In The Morning - Junior Boys
6. The Greatest - Cat Power
7. Beng Beng - Gyptian
8. Waters of Nazareth - Justice
9. Lowlife - Scanners
10. All Fires - Swan Lake
11. Launch Yourself - Adem
12. Chillout Tent - The Hold Steady
13. Ross Ross Ross - Sebastian
14. My Love - Justin Timberlake
15. Funeral - Band of Horses
16. LDN - Lily Allen
17. Ghetto Story - Cham
18. Notorious - Turbulence
19. The Dugout - Ladyhawk
20. The Devil - The Rapture

"Big Money" Lexicon

I gotta up my boys Lexicon from LA. First of all, they're brothers. Second of all, they've been plugging away at this shit for like ten years. Third of all, their new ep, Rapstars, kills. It's the same sharp, funny rhymes we've come to expect, but they're riding over classic-rock, punk and even disco inspired beats. Good one.

"Big Money" Lexicon

"Over and Over" Hot Chip (video)

I've been hyping Hot Chip since I started this thing but I hadn't seen this video until today. It's pretty much the best music video ever. My eyes were laughing and cumming at the same time.

The Pixies on SNUB tv (1988)

YouTube sure is fun for music fans. Search Guided By Voices or Pavement or N.W.A. and see how many videos come back. Or The Pixies. Well, I've saved you the trouble of sifting through the hundreds of mediocre cel phone recordings of their 2003 show in Des Moines by posting this little jem. It's an appearance on a late-night BBC show called SNUB TV, circa 1988. They play Dead and I Bleed in promotion of their forth-coming album, Doolittle. And there's some funny interview footage with Kim trying to explain the name of the band.

"Rick Rubin (White Girl Lust Remix)" Spank Rock

White Girl Lust is the best band name ever. You know I'm right.

"Rick Rubin (White Girl Lust Remix)" Spank Rock

TV On The Radio on AOL Music

AOL is the best. They're repping indie-rock till they fuckin die. They just have to unplug the guitars so the soccer-moms can get the kids to the game in one peice. For real though, this is a very nice recording from AOL Music's "alternative" platform, The Interface. Brooklyn's finest play three acoustic (almost psychedelic...) pieces and then have an entertaining chat with a star-struck host.

TV On The Radio on The Interface

"Don't Be Shy" Spektrum

I thought I was transitioning out of my disco phase. But alas, all it takes is a sick-ass bassline and a hot girl with a gap in her teeth singing about getting a facial (not like a spa facial...) to pull me back in. Oh well... Get used to it, Hitler.

"Don't Be Shy" Spektrum

"Burning" The Whitest Boy Alive

Thanks Matty. Another melancholy rainy-dayer. With a beat. The Whitest Boy Alive is Erland Oye's (of Norway's Kings of Convenience) new band. Do you think Canada will ever be invited to become part of Scandinavia? We could really use some new friends.

"Burning" The Whitest Boy Alive

"Are You The One" The Presets

One of my favorite things about this whole internet music movement is the crazy amount of remixing going on. I played a party recently where I mixed four different versions of The Knife's "We Share Our Mother's Health" together. How fun. Perhaps it's a phase but I don't think so. It's almost like there's no such thing as a finished product anymore. Everything is a work in progress, zipping back and forth as ones and zeros, evolving though time and space. To illustrate my point, I'll enlist the help of Sydney duo The Presets who have been at the centre of a flurry of re-edits. Their song "Are You The One" is a certified party starter. But why stop there? Throw a james-murphy-disco-beat underneath it. Or strip the drums right down to the raw hi-hat and kick and see if it still moves asses. It's like lego, except you can get laid doing it.

"Are You The One" The Presets

"Are You The One (club edit)" The Presets

"Are You The One (Van She NYC Tech Mix)" The Presets

"Are You The One (Simian Moblie Disco Remix)" The Presets

"Lazy Eye" Silversun Pickups

Here's a good one for a rainy vancouver afternoon. LA's Silversun Pickups have been described as a "90's revivalist" band (when is this shit gonna stop?) I guess because they sound a little like the Smashing Pumpkins. Yeah, and the Smashing Pumpkins didn't sound like anybody. Jerks.


"Lazy Eye" Silversun Pickups

Hornby Island

I'm on the enchanted island of Hornby (which the Haida refused to settle on because it was sacred but the white man had zero problem settling on)doing a music/writing session with my brother, Ty. So, sorry for no new posts. I'm a little obsessed with this old Cat Power song though, if you're interested. I'm also a little obsessed with the old, damaged, boozed-up Cat Power. She was so...bloated.

PS There was for real a rainbow over hornby on the fairy ride in. Good omen?

"Drop It Like It's Hot (DatA remix)" Snoop Dogg

Shameless, I know. But people dance to this thing like a thing that people really like to dance to. At first they humour it because they know the Snoop song and it's almost been long enough to like it again. But by the three-minute mark, they've never heard of Snoop or The Neptunes or rap music; they can't even remember their own name. All they know is that those bleeping, popping, whining synths and that boner-inducing bass-line sound better than Phillip Glass on acid. (you're on acid, not Phillip Glass) I'd like to learn more about DatA, but try googling them and you'll see how difficult that is.

"Drop It Like It's Hot (DatA remix)" Snoop Dogg

"Whites Only Party" The Dears

The Dears are finally getting fawned over like they deserve to be. No Cities Left got a little lost in the shadow of a record called Funeral by another Montreal band who's name I forget. But their new album, Gang of Losers, is topping college charts and LastFM lists the world over. They just released this clever little video for the second single, Whites Only Party.

"Whites Only Party" The Dears

"I Wanna Bite Ya" & "Bolton Wanderer" Planningtorock

Two Planningtorock posts in a row. What can I say? The spell is cast. Janine Rostron is a Berlin-based musician/ performance/video artist, with what can safely be describe as a singular vision. Like Bjork (or her hubbie Matthew Barney) her focus is on self-portraiture, twisting her body and voice into bizarre and uncomfortable positions to see where they break. She makes videos for most of her songs, which seem less like promotional tools than missing puzzle pieces. I highly recommend youtubing her when you've got about half an hour to kill. And here are a couple of tracks from her debut LP, Have It All.

"I Wanna Bite Ya" Planningtorock
"Bolton Wanderer" Planningtorock

"Heartbeats (planningtorock remix)" The Knife

The Knife are fascinating. Brother and sister duo from Stockholm, they've built quite a mythology though their reluctance to play live, their firm anti-corporate stance and their masked press photos. None of which would matter if their music wasn't brilliant; sprawling clickety dance beats, thick bass, insidious melodies and those angry/hopeful/scandinavian voices. A lot of people have had a go at this song. You may be familiar with Jose Gonzalez's simonandgarfunkeled cover which is better than warm milk for insomnia. Planningtorock (the new bjork, but british) gets all stringy and spacious on this remix. I'm amazed at how malleable The Knife's vocal melodies are. It seems like you can recast their songs in almost any key and it fits perfectly. Weird.

"Heartbeats (planningtorock remix)" The Knife

Here's a bonus link to a demo version of their latest single...

"Like A Pen (demo version)" The Knife

Justice Minimix

Admittedly, I’m a little bit obsessed with Ed Banger Records out of Paris. Especially Justice. I’ve been playing a lot of them at parties lately. About 15 people go nuts while the rest of the floor dances politely, waiting for me to play another Bloc Party remix. I don’t know about this DJ stuff. Here’s a nice little minimix of Justice material.

Justice Minimix

"Chips Ahoy" The Hold Steady

To celebrate the release of The Hold Steady's new album, Boys & Girls In America, here's the first single, "Chips Ahoy." I haven't heard the whole album yet but if the critics are to be believed, it's better than Dark Side of the Moon, OK Computer and Pet Sounds put together.

"Chips Ahoy" The Hold Steady

Also, I was pleased to find a free download of this instant classic from their last album on their website. Thanks guys.

"Your Little Hoodrat Friend" The Hold Steady

"Launch Yourself" Adem

Fridge was these two guys who started making interesting experimental (post-rock?) music in the late 90's when they were super young. They were very pretty and spacious and unpredictable and challenging, like Tortoise on valuum. When they broke up, one of the guys went on to become Four Tet, the brooding, chain-smoking, increasingly pretentious laptop star. I always wondered what happened to the other guy; the guy who didn't go on to become Four Tet. Well, it turns out, that guy (Adem Ilhan) went on to become Adem. This video is so up my alley I kinda want to strangle him. Great song.

"Launch Yourself" Adem

And if you like that, Hot Chip did a fun crazy little fun remix. Those guys...

"Launch Yourself (Hot Chip Remix)" Adem

"All Fires" Swan Lake

All fires have to burn alive. Sometimes it's good to remind ourselves that fire possesses 8 of the 9 characteristics of a living thing. But who's counting. Three of our most treasured countrymen and freak-out singers, Dan Bejar (Destroyer), Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade) and Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes), have gone and cut theyselves an album under the name Swan Lake. It doesn't come out till the fall (on Jagjaguwar, who seem to own Vancouver now), but they released a sneak-peak to get the hype-machine warmed up. If this song's any indication, the cd will be a good one to break up with your girlfriend to. November 21st. Plan accordingly.

"All Fires" Swan Lake

Mad Decent Radio Podcast

Mad Decent is (hot shit Philly-based DJ) Diplo's label. He's been releasing these excellent podcasts for about a year. They're mostly just short little mixtapes with 6-8 songs on them but his taste is so diverse that you never know what you're gonna get. He breathes new life into R&B, Dirty-South, UK Grime, and Dancehall bangers while single-handedly hyping obscure sub-genres like "Baltimore Club" and the Brazilian ghetto music, "Baile Funk" to the Pitchfork crowd. You can subscribe to the free podcast here, download or stream them from the website, or hit the link below to hear my favourite episode, New Orleans Ain't Dead, Its Just Got a Limp. It's a mix of current New Orleans music and clips of the musicians talking about the state of the city after Katrina.

Mad Decent Worldwide Radio #5

"Paul Cries" Think About Life

Okay, Montreal. You win. Relax. Eat a piece of fruit.

"Paul Cries" Think About Life

"Dancing Girls and Dancing Men" Robert Pollard

I already posted this fucking song. Way back in the beginning when no one read this thing. But then I discovered a free download and I couldn't deny my new readers this gem from the aging King Shit himself. Bob Pollard was the front man and back bone of the greatest band of all time. Now he's fifty-something and trying to nurse his liver back to health while recording weird little pop songs in Dayton, Ohio. If you're a GBV fan it's worth checking the sounds page on his website. There's a bunch of early demos of great songs like Things That I Will Keep and Official Ironmen Rally Song.

"Dancing Girls And Dancing Men" Robert Pollard

"In The Morning" Junior Boys

When did skinny, sensitive, Canadians start making all the dope beats? If I’m Timbaland or Pharrell, I’m getting nervous. Junior Boys definitely have a way with the drum machine but their song writing isn’t too shabby neither. Their first full length, Last Exit, drew on influences as disparate as Prince, Depeche Mode and Christian Fennesz to build a complex but oddly smooth pop opus. This is the first single from their highly anticipated second LP, So This is Goodbye. Turn it up.

"In The Morning" Junior Boys

Largo

Largo is a dinner club on Fairfax Ave in Hollywood. Five years ago, my good friend John W dragged me along to see a young film composer named Jon Brion who played, and still plays, a weekly residency there. He performed the entire show on his own, with a scattering of instruments, a sequencer, and a microphone. He would build these towering walls of looped sounds and then sing beautiful melodies that cut right through them. If it ever was, Brion's talent isn't a secret anymore, having written some of the most inspired film scores of the decade (see: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I Heart Huckabees and Punch Drunk Love) Now that he's mastered that form, he's moving into more original songwriting with his new CD, Meaningless. All this is to preface my recommendation of Largo's website, which has a plethora of really nicely recorded performances by artist like Elliot Smith, Aimee Mann, Grant Lee Phillips, Tenacious D and, of course, Jon Brion. I suggest starting with his song from the Punch Drunk Love soundtrack, Here We Go.

Follow this link and click on "Audio - Video":

Largo Website

"Funeral" Band of Horses

A relationship is a two-way street. And yes, over the years, we've supported the music of our sister city to to the south. But what have we done for them lately? They listen to Black Mountain and The New Pornographers, so it's only fair that we should pay close attention to Band of Horses. This song, from their debut, Everything All The Time, is another goosebumper. I guess that's my steez these days. If you like it, they have more free downloads on their website. And my friend Nathaniel knows what bar they hang out at.

"Funeral" Band of Horses

Media Update

I've been catching a lot of flak about all the dead links on my blog. If someone knows of some free hosting for me to post mp3s more permanently, do tell. But in the meantime, I'm gonna link to existing free downloads on label sites whenever possible so the tracks will be available indefinitely. I went through the last 20 or so entries and either fixed the links, added new links to another song or video by the artist, or labelled them dead. So, I encourage you to go back and explore, but if you get to Michael Andrews, you've gone too far.

Hope everyone's summer is going swimmingly.

PS If you haven't met the grape lady, say hello to fucking hilarious...

Grape Lady (video)

"Lowlife" Scanners

This song is killing me. Killing me. I've had goose pimples for three days straight. Downloader beware. You may experience sprawling whimsy, tingling daydreaminess and severe melancholly while listening. Thanks to Tony P for hipping me. I get the one in the blue dress.

"Lowlife" Scanners

"Cowbell" Tapes 'n Tapes

I like these guys. They're from Minne- apolis. Like Bob Dylan, and Brother Ali, and Jerry Lundegaard. So, points right there. Plus they write lyrics like, "Even now/ In solitude and stress/ I've been a better lover with your mother." Whatever that means. As long as they're not talking about my mother, I don't give a shit. This track is from their debut full-length, The Loon. If you like it, they have a bunch more free mp3s on their website.

"Cowbell" Tapes 'n Tapes

"Night Rider" Girl Talk

I don't like posting stuff that Pitchfork is currently hyping because, you know, why bother. But I couldn't sleep nights if I didn't draw as much attention to this record as possible. Girl Talk is this dude from Pittsburgh who has taken the mash-up form and pushed it into the realm of the mentally unstable. He samples riffs/verses/beats from a retarded number of sources and crams them into dancefloor bangers, making Z-Trip look like a lazy fuckin deadbeat. Night Rider, is his third release and I suspect you'll be hearing a lot of it this summer. Here's your head-start.

PS I'm going to start linking to existing mp3 downloads whenever possible (label sites, etc.) so the tracks will be available indefinitely.

"Smash You Head" Girl Talk
"Bounce That" Girl Talk
"Hold Up" Girl Talk

"Playhouses" TV on the Radio

In case you ain't heard, TV on the Radio's new album, Return to Cookie Mountain, is out. I haven't been listening to much else for the past week. (Why go out when you got the good shit at home?) This will be the record that nudges them into householdnamedom. So, if you want to feel like you're in on the secret, you better hurry. They have some funny video promos on their website. David Cross is in one and the kid from Me and You and Everyone We Know plays the President in another. Nothin wrong with that.

"Playhouses" TV on the Radio (dead link)

"Ya Playin Yaself (Mugwort)" MF Doom vs Jeru The Damaja

When Jeru dropped his second album, Wrath of the Math in '96 with the epic Premiere beats, the playa-hatin lyrics and that oh-so buttery flow, me and my Maple Ridge friends decided that as long as we had a big bag of weed and the CD on repeat, we would never have to leave my parents garage. Alas, the spell wore off and the last of us left the garage some years ago. But, thanks to guys like MF Doom, that dank, resin-stained, concrete box lives on in the 2G, if only in our hearts. Here's a track from one of Metal Face's numerous instrumental/accapella Special Blend releases.

"Ya Playin Yaself (Mugwort)" MF Doom vs Jeru The Damaja (dead link)

"Did I Step On Your Trumpet" Danielson

Look at these upstanding young citizens. They don't want to kick your ass. They just want to play you some really eccentric pop music. The dude in front is Daniel Smith from Clarksboro, New Jersey. He and his revolving-door collaborators record under the name Danielson. (which I choose to believe is a clever Karate Kid reference) And their new album, Ships, is receiving quite the critical rim-job. Allow me to toss my humble tongue into the mix. This album is full of surprises. A new song jumps out at me with every listen. You can safely file it next to your Arcade Fire, Decemberists, Frog Eyes and Sufjan Stevens albums. Just don't tell Daniel. I think he'd prefer to live beside Wesley Willis.

"Did I Step On Your Trumpet" Danielson

"Still Life" The Russian Futurists

The Russian Futurists is this kid, Matthew Adam Hart, from Toronto. I don't go in for nationalism much but this guy has me scarfing down canadian flags smothered in maple syrup. Trying to describe his sound is an exercise in futility. Maybe...Sufjan Stevens produced by Mad Lib? Ugh. I knew I shouldn't have tried.

"Still Life" The Russian Futurists (dead link)
"Paul Simon" The Russian Futurists (permanent link)

"Knock That Door" Enon

Enon is one of those bands. Those bands you know you'll probably like but choose to ignore because you don't want to be into a band called Enon. Well, I'm hear to tell you to get over it. Try to not like this song from their 2005 release of b-sides and rarities, Lost Marbles and Exploded Evidence. If you can do it, I'll never mention them again. And yes, that's the girl from Blonde Redhead.

"Knock That Door" Enon (dead link)

"Everywhere" Paul Devro

You have to have pretty sublime taste to pull off mash-ups anymore. And even more sublime taste to pull off a mash-up of Hollaback Girl; the most relentlessly, violently, annoyingly remixed song in the history of the universe. So, rats off to local DJ, Paul Devro. You know Stevie doesn't hollaback. Love the bird.

"Everywhere" Paul Devro (dead link)

PS Lots of great mixes on his website.

"I Need Love" LL Cool J

This is the first rap song I ever slow-danced to. Come to think of it, this is the only rap song I ever slow-danced to. How come we don't get more slow-dance rap songs? Maybe it's because love-searches make us bug.

"I Need Love" LL Cool J (dead link)

"The Dugout" Ladyhawk

In honour of their debut CD, which hits stores tomorrow (o6-06-06), here's a song from the next big thing out of East Van; Ladyhawk. This first single is surprisingly clean and accessible. I kinda miss the ear-bleed guitars and yelping vocals of their live show but I guess it's cool to actually hear the melodies and lyrics.

"The Dugout" Ladyhawk

"Llorando (Crying)" Rebekah Del Rio

Remember?

"Llorando (Crying)" Rebekah Del Rio (dead link)

"The Spell" The Black Heart Procession

A lot of people don’t know that San Diego is actually the saddest place in the world. Don’t let the leaping dolphins and swimsuit models fool you. It’s a soul sucking hell-hole. At least that’s what I take from The Black Heart Procession’s music. These guys can out melancholy bands from Berlin, Reykjavik, even Seattle. Although, my suspicion that this was something of an affectation was confirmed when I saw them play live and they kept cracking corny jokes about their beer guts. It was a bit of a relief to know that no one was really that depressed. No matter what their motivations, BHP have been remarkably consistent in the quality and character of their music over the past decade. And here, on their 5th full length, they continue to make the sexiest suicide music going.

"The Spell" The Black Heart Procession (dead link)
"Not Just Words" The Black Heart Procession (permanent link)

"I Need Somebody" Iggy and the Stooges

It must have been fun to be Iggy Pop. It probably still is, but you know, in the 70's. You get to parade across the stage, jeans hanging off your perfect ass, growling into the mic while every single person in the audience simultaneously wishes with all their heart that they were just a little bit like you. But nobody is anything like you so you got nothing to worry about.

"I Need Somebody" Iggy and The Stooges (dead link)

"The Animal World" Grandaddy

Oh, Jason Lytle! How can you leave us at a time like this? We aren't ready! I don't mean to sound ungrateful. You've been good to us. And what a swan song. I think you finally nailed the form you practically invented; the sprawling, tear-jerkin, blissed-out, pop song dreamscape. Don't forget our countless hours of ceiling-gazing, the steering wheel drum solos, the drunken singalongs. I won't cry if you won't. Birds come and then they go.

"The Animal World" Grandaddy (dead link)

Can't find any free mp3 links to the new album, but if you haven't seen this video, you haven't lived.

"Nature Anthem" Grandaddy (video)

"Way Out" Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Wow. I really like this album. Way better than Fever to Tell. I was ready to be thoroughly unimpressed. Huh. Sophomore slump be damned. And look at this chick. Who else can do this? Nobody.*

"Way Out" Yeah Yeah Yeahs (dead link)


*I stand corrected. This dude comes pretty close...

Cheated Hearts (video)

"It's For You" Out Hud

Out Hud are some of the kids from !!! who wanted to do something more "electronic" or "studio based" or something. They have funny names for their songs, like, "Dad, There's a Little Phrase Called Too Much Information" and, "The Song So Good They Named It Thrice." As the rock kids continue their conquest of dance music, I like the Out Hud plan of attack. They're taking indie/punk/funk aesthetics and applying them to more traditionally electronic forms, rather than the other way around. This song is from their second full length, "Let Us Never Speak Of It Again."

"It's For You" Out Hud (dead link)

"I Need You" No Means No

Every 3-5 years I break out my No Means No cds, expecting to bask in teenage nostalgia. But to my surprise, the songs sound different, new. This is the mark of a truly visionary band; their music grows with you. The layers of complexity were always there, waiting for you to catch up. This is starting to sound a little lofty. Basically what I'm saying is that No Means No were my favourite band as a teenager and I still love them.

"I Need You" No Means No (dead link)

"Marquee Moon" Television

I'm pretty down with Television these days. Early art-punk-rockers from New York, they recorded two great albums in the 70's and promptly broke up. You could probably bury this song, from their debut, Marquee Moon ('77), in a Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! or Wolf Parade cd and no one would bat an eyelash.

"Marquee Moon" Television (dead link)

"Fraud In The 80's" Mates of State

Hard to believe that the cutest couple in indie-rock have released four full length albums already, not to mention several solid ep's. The work ethic is killing me. Mates of State are a married duo from the Bay Area (they now live in Connecticut or something?) who play pared down prog/emo/indie prettiness. They're easy to fall in love with. She plays an organ and he plays drums and they both sing like the mics don't work. Plus they have babies and tour like dogs at the same time. This is the first single from their new album, Bring It Back.

"Fraud In The 80's" Mates of State (video)

"Boy From School" Hot Chip

Hot Chip are from London and they're wierd. Their stuff is all over the place. From glitchy techno-soul to new-wave disco. This is a single from their upcoming album, The Warning.


"Boy From School" Hot Chip (dead link)

Check out this fancy little sampler of Hot Chip's newest.

The Warning

"Just Like Heaven" David Sugar

Thanks to a tip from Cam Blain I've discovered this prolific little community of 8 bit music enthusiasts. They compose mostly using old nintendo and gameboy sounds. Some of it's pretty boring, once you get past the inevitable nostalgia for your youth. But some of it is genuinely interesting and even moving. This is a cover of a Cure song by one of the main dudes, David Sugar. It's much more accessible than most of the work, but if you like what you hear check out their website. It's chock full of free music.

"Just Like Heaven" David Sugar

"Fuck The Valley Fudge" Grandaddy

The good news: Grandaddy have a new album coming out. The bad news: it will be the last Grandaddy album. This Modesto, CA quintet have been making me sad-happy (one of my favourite ways to be) for years now and it sounds like they've finally had enough of me and my moods. They will dutifully release this album (their 4th full length? 5th?) and then politely decline any and all touring opportunities. So, if you saw em at the Commodore a few years back, you saw their last Vancouver appearance. That is, until they do their Pixies-style reunion tour in ten years. This is a song from the excellent ep they released last year, Excerpts from the Diary of Todd Zilla.

R.I.P. you depressed bastards.

"Fuck The Valley Fudge" Grandaddy (dead link)

"The Gap" You Say Party! We Say Die!

These exclamation mark bands are gonna be really embarrassed one day if they aren't already. I'm sure it seemed like a great idea three years ago when they all formed. The unfortunate thing is that a lot of them are really excellent bands that don't deserved to be lumped in with some passing trend. I was gonna describe these vancouver kids as Le Tigre meets Pretty Girls Make Graves but then I went to their website and that's exactly what their blurb said! No shit. I guess they really do sound like that. This song reminds me of being 17 and packing into Pitt Meadows community hall to watch Submission Hold bang on their instruments and shout about western imperialism, which I like. (the memory, not the western imperialism)

"The Gap" You Say Party! We Say Die!

"Cold Hands! Hot Bodies!" You Say Party! We Say Die!

"When I Call A Name" Michael Andrews

Michael Andrews is the guy you want to score your film. He wrote the creepy-dreamy-pretty Donnie Darko score and the quirky-arty-spacey Me And You And Everyone We Know score, which is where this track comes from. One listen to these scores and you quickly realize just how much the music contributes to the tone of the films. It is the tone. I predict that Michael Andrews will become one of the top composers in the movies, but hopefully not before I can get my hands on him. It's hard to pick a track from the Me And You score but this one has Miranda July's monologue off the top and her voice has a way of making you feel like everything is okay.

"When I Call A Name" Michael Andrews

"Everyday Is Like Sunday" Colin Meloy

Colin Meloy is the genius behind The Decemberists. The dude can write a song. He can also sing a song. Even a Morrissey song. He's recently released a full studio cd of Morrissey covers but I've chosen this live cut cause I think it really shows off his pipes. Amazing how you could beleive this was a decemberists song if you had never heard it before.

"Everyday Is Like Sunday" Colin Meloy

"Oh! Brother" The Fall

For years, I've been naggingly aware of The Fall's immense influence on just about everything I've ever listened to but, perhaps out of laziness, I never got into them. So, I'm going through my requisite Fall period now. Better late than never I suppose.

"Oh! Brother" The Fall

"Dancing Girls and Dancing Men" Robert Pollard

T'was only a matter of time before this man appeared in my humble blog. Arguably the best songwriter of our time, Pollard was the centrepiece of the now defunct Guided By Voices. He has recently retired that name after 20 years of astoundingly prolific recording. This is his first solo album since the dissolution of the band and, really, it picks up right where they left off. So, for all intents and purposes, it looks like GBV is still with us.

"Dancing Girls and Dancing Men" Robert Pollard

"Friend of Mine" The National

I don't know much about The National. Just that this cd has been steadily growing on me for months now.

"Friend of Mine" The National

"The Ice Storm" The Go! Team

More exclamation marks! The Go! Team's debut cd "Thunder, Lightning, Strike" was one of my favourite albums of last year. Their music is difficult to describe but I can invoke the following references with some confidence: sonic youth, broken social scene, afrika bombata and sesame street. They were kind enough to release a new ep recently and it's just as good. This song is kind of an anomaly for them, in that there's no singing or rapping or even shouting and also no driving drum line. What it does have is the same joyful optimism that characterizes all their songs. Put it on repeat and write your first novel.

"The Ice Storm" The Go! Team

"The Fire In Which You Burn" Company Flow

Company Flow and El-P’s various off-shoots kept me interested in hip hop through the late 90’s and early 2000's. When this album finally made it’s way to my delicate west-coast ears it sounded so hard I started riding the underground part of the skytrain with it blasting in my headphones just to feel down. It was the first time I realized that some dudes could just make a hip hop record in their basement and it could kill anything else out there. I even love the tinny production and tape hiss. It sounds as fresh now as it did when it was released almost ten years ago, which isn't saying much for the state of the genre. El-P’s verse on this track is still my favourite in any song, ever.

"The Fire In Which You Burn" Company Flow

"Hounds Of Love (Phones' Wolves At The Door Remix)" The Futureheads

I have to admit to being a bit of a sucker for these indie rock dancefloor remixes. The Futureheads CD is amazing and I should really be posting a song from that album but this remix is so damn catchy, I'm powerless against it. Phones' is the guy (guys? girls?) who did the disco version of Banquet on the Bloc Party remix album. That track can get people on the floor like nobody's business. The trend is definitely teetering on the edge of annoying, but probably only because of the lazy contributions made by every dude with a laptop and a pair of chucks. These remixes shouldn't be relied on to get people dancing to rock songs (not now, just when we were learning to dance to real drums again) but if they stand up on their own I'm all for them.

"Hounds Of Love (Phones' Wolves At The Door Remix)" The Futureheads

"Chewing Gum" Annie

Honestly, I can’t delineate my appreciation of Annie’s sparkly pop from my school-boy crush on her. But I think I really like it. This song is silly but the production is really interesting and Annie’s little Norwegian voice is super hot, especially when she talks to herself. If this song doesn't grab you, try getting a crush on her by visiting her website. I recommend the video section.

"Chewing Gum" Annie

"Proposition 61" The Most Serene Republic

I saw these kids (and I mean kids) play their first Vancouver show at the Media Club last year and despite the terrible sound and noisy crowd I suspected I was hearing something great. Then I picked up the CD and found that I was right. All dreamy, weird and layered indie rock. Then I dragged some friends out to a little club in LA on a monday night to watch them systematically dismantle the icy silverlake hipster-stares until every face wore a smile. I felt proud. Best Canadian album of last year.

"Proposition 61" The Most Serene Republic

"Notorious" Turbulence

I suppose I owe my new-found interest in dancehall, however indirectly, to Geordie. He hipped Matt to this track. And Matt to me. And now it's my favotite song to drop at a party, especially parties with my stoner friends, who take surfing trips to Tofino and work in the film industry. They love this shit. It's all positive and about god and everything. Bo!

"Notorious" Turbulence

"Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood" my!gay!husband! vs Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!

Holy Exclamation Marks! Local DJ extraordinaire my!gay!husband! puts a little bang into this Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! song. Nothing too intrusive, just a few dance-floor accents in case you weren't jumping around your kitchen enough whilst listening to this album. If you're already familiar with CYHSY save this one for your next living-room party. If not, this will serve as a fine introduction.

"Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood" my!gay!husband! vs Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!

"Give the Drummer Some" Ultramagnetic Mc's

Kool Keith was cooler before he got so cool. Ultramagnetic can stand with Eric B and Rakim, 3rd Bass, BDP and any other late 80's sample-driven New York hip hop you care to mention but, somehow, they seem to have gotten lost in the shuffle. This song makes me want to grow a cameo and learn how to drop the needle.

"Give the Drummer Some" Ultramagnetic MC's

"Modern Art" Art Brut

In my lifelong quest to avoid any endeavour which could result in my life acquiring some meaning, I have started this MP3 blog. Enjoy...

I discovered this Art Brut album about a week ago, found it a little on the silly side (it's called "Bang Bang Rock and Roll" which could go either way) but something stuck and now I can't stop listening. I know I'll forget all about it in another week but in the meantime...rock out.

Hit this link and download the file from yousendit.com...

"Modern Art" Art Brut