Loading ...I came across this a few weeks ago, and I’ve probably watched it a dozen times… There’s nothing particularly fancy in the first two minutes, but if you’re into time-lapse video at all you’ll appreciate the work that went into the second half.
Archive for the 'Random Music' Category
(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)So, here it is! These are the top nine albums I listened to this whole year. Note that the albums may not be from 2009, but rather this is the year I listened to them the most:
Against Me! – Searching for a Former Clarity
When I first listened to Against Me! I wasn’t quite sure what to think about it. I didn’t like it to be honest. But this album changed my mind. Songs like Don’t Lose Touch, and Miami kept me coming back to this album all summer long, and wanting to participate in some anarchy like I did in high school. The energy, and raw east coast punk sound are the reasons why this album is in my top 9.
NoFx – Coaster
I wanted to take 2009, and use it to start building my cd collection again. I hadn’t bought a cd in years, aside from one or two here or there. So one day at Futureshop I decided to give it a shot, and see if I still had what it takes to buy a cd. Coaster was one of them. I didn’t even know NoFx had a new album, so I grabbed it without a second thought. It’s straight up NoFx, no doubt about that. Its crazy riffs, fast drums, and Fat Mikes unmistakable vocals makes Coaster one of my favourite NoFx albums ever.
Rancid – Let the Dominos Fall
I’d been waiting for this for over a year. Ever since their last album, Indestructible, I wanted to know what Rancid would do next. And I’m not disappointed. Rancid has always been good to have that wicked, west coast punk/ska mix that makes you want to move your feet and bob your head. You can hear the age in Tim’s vocals, but it doesn’t take away from the album at all, and only adds to the overall Rancid experience. I was absolutely disappointed I could not see Rancid play while I was in Toronto during the summer.
Hilltop Hoods – The Hard Road Restrung
When I first started talking to a girl I would spend a lot of the summer with, she suggested I listen to this album. I looked them up first, and wasn’t quite big on the hip hop thing, but was intrigued that they were from Australia, so I grabbed the album. Since then I’ve listened to it countless times, and opened my play list to more hip hop. Not only is the album great, it made me actually like hip hop albums, instead of a few random songs here and there.
Playing for Change – Songs Across the World
I love this album. It is possibly the best idea for a musical project I’ve ever encountered. The album features some 75 musicians (including choirs), most of whom have never met in person. The album was recorded all over the world by taking a recorded track from an artist, say, in New Orleans, and recording another artist over it from, say, Amsterdam. It’s incredibly inspiring, and amazing music.
Flogging Molly – Float
At first I was nervous about getting a new Flogging Molly album. I was a little disappointed with Whiskey on a Sunday, and even though Flogging Molly doesn’t play traditional songs, some of them had grown to be traditional to me. Turns out, this album has a whole slew of “new traditional” songs. Soon after hearing Float I was obsessed. They toured across Canada, and I was lucky enough to go to their show in Moncton with Nitro. Potential highlight of the night: Drinking Flogging Molly’s Guinness. Closely followed by leading the crowd in a chant of FLOGGING. MOLLY.
Broken Social Scene – You Forgot it in People
Ok, so I listened to this album before 2009, but winamp is stupid, and didn’t tell me it was an album. ITunes is great for that. Anyway, I was at a coffee shop one day when I heard them playing this album, and thought “There are a lot of songs on this album that I like, I’ll listen to it when I get home.” And I did. And I didn’t stop for a week or more, and it’s still on my iPod, and still gets regular play. My favourite thing about this album is the fact that it’s almost, with few exceptions, one long track. It’s an older album, but it’s great.
Good Lovelies – Self titled
I already spoke about this album is recent business, but it’s on the list. Good Lovelies have a sound that I thought was long gone, never to return. I’m so glad I found these ladies, and that they invited me to come to their show. They’re entertainers, and damn good ones. I can’t wait to see the ladies again, and you can be sure that when I get the chance, I am going to.
Jay-Z – Blueprints 3
A lady, the same one who told me about the Hilltop Hoods, told me that Jay-Z’s album was leaked, and that it was good. I liked a couple of his songs, but I didn’t go out of my way to get it right away. My roommate was watching Much Music one day during the hour a day when they actually play music, his video for Run This Town was on. Rihanna’s chorus was what grabbed me at first, then it was Jay-Z’s clever lyrics. Kanye West is a dick, but he’s in there too. Once I got the album, it had a few good songs that quickly jumped up my iTunes top 25 tracks. Jay-Z does have some song writing skills, and I’ll hand it to anyone who can rhyme that fast, and make it sound good.
If you’d like to check out my top 8 of oh 8 you can follow this link http://m-tothe-at.livejournal.com/2008/12/18/
A friend of mine pointed me towards this guy a few days ago. The sound is a fusion of my favorite parts of James Taylor, Counting Crows, and Blues Traveler, and it’s really got me hooked.
I’ll hopefully be doing a review of his album Solidago next week, but for now I just wanted to say that he’s playing in Moncton at Plan B on Sunday night… I’ll be there, and you should to.
So we all have them, we’ve either gotten one from someone, or made one for somebody else. It’s a staple to anyone who has a music collection that consists of more than one album. Maybe it’s just a compilation of one bands awesome songs, maybe it’s songs you like, but could only record off the radio, you know, the songs you’ve never heard the first fifteen seconds of. A CD for certain moods, happy, sad, angry. Maybe it’s a group of love songs made for that sweetie you dated last summer. No matter what’s on it, they’ve been around for ages. It’s the mix tape.
I remember my first mix tape. I made it at home on an actual cassette. My brother had a lot of Cds, and all I had was a walkman, and blank tapes. So I put on some KISS, some AC/DC, topped it off with Guns and Roses, then added a bunch of crap from the radio in between, and listened to it on the bus to and from school. After that, my mix tape creations went wild. I once got someone to record a KoRn album for me, because it was the only one I hadn’t gotten second hand from a friend. They also put some Limp Bizkit, and Kid Rock on. The music I liked at the time, I might write more about these in a future post.
Once I had this mix tape or rap rock, it took over my life. After school on weekdays, I’d sit and listen to my mix tapes, forever making more. Recording a song from one mix tape to another quickly became a hobby for me. Plus is was fun to listen to Fred Durst is double fast dubbing.
After I got my first Cd walkman, or diskman as I knew them, the tape all but died out for me. Sure, they stuck around, and I’d pop one in once in a while, but the writable CD took over.
I didn’t have a computer of my own, so I had to give out five bucks here and there to get my friends to download the music I wanted and burn it for me. This went on throughout high school, until finally, after graduation, I goy my own computer. I spent most of my time downloading songs from ARES, and burning them to rewritables. It was the dawn of the new mix tape for me. It copied the standard formula, all of one bands awesome songs, or a bunch of bands that sounded good together. I started dating a girl shortly after that, and we exchanged Cds when we were able to get together.
Nowadays though, even the mixed CD is dying out. For a good four years I’d been listening to an mp3 player, which, as much as it’s the same as any older version of a mix tape, it didn’t have that quality to it. There’s just something missing that I can’t put my finger on. Maybe it’s the coldness of technology. Ipods can’t feel the love?
Recently I was excellently surprised by a girl I spent a lot of time with when she made a mixed CD for me. Fantastic! It took me back from the modern day song selection, and random plays to, “I wonder what song is on next!”
So, here’s my task for you. Go out and buy a pack of blank Cds, find some good songs, and add them to the track list. Burn it, scribble a title on it, and pop it into your stereo. Or give it to a special someone. Keep the legacy of the mix tape alive.
Either way, later.
So while I was on summer vacation, making my way to Winnipeg for a week, I happened into Toronto for a night. I was pretty excited about being in Toronto, but that isn’t the point of this story. While I was in Toronto, I stayed with a couch surfing host who was well into the music culture. And being in her fifties I was impressed with her musical choices. We sat, and chatted about music for a few hours. I was originally in Toronto for a concert, which sadly I couldn’t get to, but she got me a clip out of an interview with the band I was meant to see.
I could go on for pages about how good of a person my host was, but the point of my article is not her, but rather a CD she leant me to copy to my laptop while staying with her. See, while on tour through Canada, a band called The Contortionist and the Wandering Boy Poets surfed her couch, and gave her their album, In Broken Morse Code.
At first I thought it was a bit weird, and I wasn’t impressed really, but the more I listened to it, the more I liked it. I still think it’s weird though. I think the reason I wasn’t impressed with them at first was because the whole album sounded like it was recorded with a 4track in a basement. Turns out it was recorded with a 4track in a basement. The band is unsigned, and did the whole album themselves, which, while listening to some of the tracks, is actually pretty impressive.
There’s nothing really incredibly complicated on the album, but the music is light, the vocals are fun, and it all around sounds pretty good. This basement, UK band is definitely a band to keep your eye on. This album is pretty good, but I think more so it shows the potential that this band could have further on in their career.
The Contortionist and the Wandering Boy Poets came randomly into my lap, and it accented that stop over in Toronto.
Also, to anyone reading from Canada, Happy Thanksgiving! I’m off to get stuffed like the turkey I’ll be eating.
Either way, later.
http://www.myspace.com/thecontortionist
So, when I was growing up, I heard a lot of music. I mentioned in my influences post a while ago that my parents introduced me to a lot of music. Country, rock and roll, Irish and celtic, etc. etc. My Father listened to everything from Hank Williams to the Beatles, Patsy Cline to Harry Hibbs, to Al Jolson.
I have memories of all of this music, and from time to time I get looking for a certain sound that only some of this music can cure. Lately, for about six months or so, I’ve been looking for a certain sound.
When I was young, we always had a huge radio in the living room. It sat in the opposite corner of the living room from the tv, and it was always turned to the island station. It came in clear as a bell, even though we had the entire Northumberland Straight between the station, and our radio. The station mainly played country music, mostly newer stuff, from popular artists at the time. Sundays were different however. Every Sunday night, if there was nothing on the Wonderful World of Disney on CBC, or after wards if there was, we’d turn on the radio, and listen to a few shows that really stand out in my memory.
The first hour long show was the kitchen party. It played celtic style music, lots of fiddles, and traditional songs. This was probably my Fathers favorite, since he owned, and played a fiddle. He would sit, and whistle along to the songs, while reading a Louis Lamore book. Once the Celtic hour was done, the bluegrass show would come on. This was always a fun hour, because almost every week someone would call in and request The Good ‘Ol Mountain Dew by Grampa Jones, so we’d all sit, and listen, and wait for that one to come on. The banjo really struck a chord with me as well, though I wouldn’t realize it until earlier this year that I wanted to play it. Sometime during the Bluegrass show, Mom would usually come into the living room, from the kitchen, and suggest going into town to Tim Hortans, and ask me if I wanted a hot chocolate. I was young, of course I wanted hot chocolate, and Dad would dog ear his page, and get his boots on.
By the time we got into town, the Bluegrass show would be ending. After that was the Golden Oldies. I remember the announcers voice from this show, slow and deep, but always cheerful. This show was a lot of jazz. Songs from the ’30s. Big bands, and singers whose names you probably wouldn’t recognize. This would play as we’d drink our hot chocolate and drive around town for a few minutes. I remember this mostly during the winter, since it was always dark by this time. The jazz would play on our way home, and usually by the time we got back, it was time to start getting ready for bed.
Those three shows, even though they were all very different styles of music, all had that one old sound. I’ve been looking for something like that lately. Not necessarily celtic, bluegrass, or jazz, but that uniquely Old sound. I’ve been thinking over the last while, ‘where can I find music that sounds old?’ Of course I found certain things that worked for a while. A golden oldies internet radio station, the Oh! Brother Where art Thou soundtrack was pretty close.
Then, just by chance I was checking an email I’d signed up for, but always deleted instead of reading. It shows events going on in Fredericton, and I noticed a group playing at Crumbs, so I checked out their myspace. I’ll post my review of the show, and their album, Monday night.
Either way, later.
If you were interested by iamawildparty’s review of The Motorleague’s new album, here’s the first video, “Hymn for the Newly Departed”.
Enjoy!
Joe’s post about the effect of the digital era on music got me thinking a bit… And I realized that its biggest effect on me was that I don’t look at my collection anymore. I used to be able to stand in front of that wall of CDs, tapes, vinyl, and 8-tracks and see my music. Albums could jump out at me, or I’d spot a record I hadn’t heard in a while and throw it on. I have my entire collection ripped to MP3s, shared so I can listen to it from anywhere with a wifi connection, but it’s hard for an old record to catch your eye when you have to browse through three different file folders to see it. There’s no spontaneity anymore. It’s sad to admit, but the digital convenience I’m so fond of is probably the reason I don’t listen to old music anymore.
I’ve decided to start looking at my old music racks again. Every Friday, I’m going to find a record I’ve had for at least 10 years, pop it on, and write about it. I’m curious to see how my tastes have changed, how well the music’s stood up, and I hope I encourage a few people to do the same in the process.
Go listen to Black Moor. Full review coming soon but for now, prepare yourself.
Short version: My parents encouraged my to find my own music. And I did.
Long version: Music is important in my family, but my parents are older than most of my friends’ folks: Dad started high school in the late 50′s, and mom graduated from Moncton High in 1971, so by the time I started listening to stuff more grown-up than Fred Penner and Raffi, dad’s golden oldies were too “uncool” for a kid my age. The majority of my early musical exposure came from my mother. John Denver, James Taylor, Chris de Burgh, Huey Lewis, Elton John, Michael Jackson, CSN(Y), and Mary Chapin Carpenter were all staples in my house. Supertramp, Genesis, and the Doobie Brothers were probably the “heaviest” stuff I was exposed to. There was a lot of celtic music like the Barra Macneils and the Rankin Family, too. Aside from the myriad of oldies I was forced (at least that’s how it seemed at the time) to listen to in the car, the only things I can specifically remember dad exposing me to were Bobby Day’s Rockin’ Robin, a Harry Hibbs 8-track, and his favorite song: Axel F.
I might not have gotten into their music right away, but the biggest influence they had was encouraging me to explore the musical soundscape and share my findings with them. They loved it when I shared new discoveries with them, and let me form my own opinions, and I thank them both for that.
The majority of my discovery was probably thanks to Weird Al. I loved that guy. Still do. His albums threw stuff from every genre at me, and I soaked it all in. I’d hear his parody, go find the original, then the rest of the album, then related bands… This has the added effect of making his words stick in my head better than the original’s, and I’ll still catch myself laughing at songs that aren’t funny every now and then.
Sometime in middle school I went on a country kick. Came out of nowhere… Mom hated country, and dad never listened to it around me, but when I was 12, I’d stay up every night to hear the Top 10 At 10 on CFQM. I can still remember most of the words to Alabama’s Give Me One More Shot. It’s not my favorite genre anymore, but I still love twang.
I can still remember the night that changed my musical life changed forever, though… It was late summer of 1995, and a couple of friends and I had pitched a tent in the back yard for a camp-out. One of them brought over The Offspring’s “Smash”. I bought it the next day, and haven’t looked back since. From them, I found Green Day and Bad Religion, and eventually dove head-first into west coast punk. NOFX, Dead Kennedys, Social Distortion, Pennywise, Rancid… The list goes on. That night is the focal point of my musical creativity, and pretty much every piece of music I’ve ever written is influenced in some way by the 90′s west coast scene.
High school was a musical whirlwind for me. New friends meant new music. From classic rock like Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and the Stones, to newer stuff like Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. Rammstein pointed me towards Metallica, which pointed me to Iron Maiden, Slayer, and Megadeth. Eminem led me into rap and hip hop, the Night at the Roxbury soundtrack started me down the road towards trance and house (and eventually DJ’ing). George Thoroughgood got me into old delta blues stuff. I started enjoying my mom’s folk music and my dad’s oldies. A trip through Cape Breton and across Newfoundland reignited my traditional celtic flame.
Probably the most surprising thing is that I didn’t know Black Sabbath existed until I was 19. I knew Ozzy through his solo career, but it wasn’t until my friend Matt went on a huge Sabbath kick around the same time we started the Ammon Republican Army that I found them. After west coast punk, the unique blend of blues and rock in their early stuff is the second biggest influence in my music.
So here I am… At this point there’s not a lot of music I don’t like, and I owe it to my parents for encouraging me to keep an open mind, and to everyone that’s left a musical impression on me.
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