Just because...

Arcade Fire from an Obama rally sometime this year.  

-Courtesy of Pitchforkmedia.com-

Song of The Week - #2 (Run)

This weeks selection of song of the week is "Run" by Leona Lewis.  This is a cover of Snow Patrol's original version.  It is absolutely beautiful.  At first, I doubted that Leona was the "new Whitney".. but now I am starting to believe all the positive reviews.  This song just touches the soul and especially at the end gives me chills!  I have downloaded the live version and it is really good as well.  

check out the song here...

Happy Listening

Ray

Kanye West - 808's and Heartbreak

I friggin' love this album.  It is certainly a departure for Kanye who usually writes the pop hits that we all sing at parties.  This is a more introspective record filled with regret and emotion.  It sounds far more like an indie record and it is just perfect for those of us who stay up really late at night.  It's really easy to hate on Kanye but this album was a real risk and it shows that he is a true artist, even if this album fails commercially.  I think it's just wonderful and a surprise standout at the end of the year!  

at the very least, download the songs Heartless and Robocop. 

Click here for the Pitchfork review of the album 

Happy listening

Ray

No Time

Hi everyone, I have no time to post on this for the next little while because I have papers and exams due.  In a little while I will be posting a lot again, so don't worry.. I'll be back.

I just thought I'd leave you with a pick of Britney Spears, who seems to be taking control of her life.  Makes me happy!

Happy Listening

Ray 

Finding the joy in music again...

Hi everybody, I took interest in this wonderful little band from Sweden called "I'm From Barcelona".  They released their wonderful first album Let Me Introduce My Friends in 2006 and I followed the story of the band (which I do for a lot of bands) but didn't really listen to their music.  Finally I decided to download some songs today and they are simply WONDERFUL! Imagine Broken Social Scene without all the pretense.  Their claim to fame is that they have 30 members, and it's a wonderful full sound.  The thing I love is that it feels like they are all friends and there is this wonderful community spirit to the band.  Their lyrics speak of very childlike things like oversleeping, collecting stamps, building treehouses and catching chicken pox.  I just love their music and it just makes me want to leap for joy in the air!  Some songs to download are: Jenny, The Painter, Oversleeping, We're From Barcelona, Collection of Stamps, Treehouse and Chickenpox (these are the only songs I know)

(yes I realize i said the word "wonderful" probably 30 times in this blog, and I'll say it again, WONDERFUL!)

Happy Listening Everybody!

Ray

Cure Me

Ok, I am not supposed to be blogging right now.  I am at the library "researching" for a Canadian History project about the expansion of Evangelicalism in Canada.... oh well :)

I am friggin' in love with The Cure.  They are a band from the 1980's who write very melodic and dark pop and new wave.  Their songs are absolutely beautiful and I can't stop listening to them.  I just dived into the Cure's discography so I have only listened to a few songs: Love Song (zomg), Friday I'm In Love (zomg zomg), Why Can't I Be You, Lullaby, etc.  I plan on listening to a lot more, I just love it!  Also, their "look" is absolutely hilarious!  Robert Smith (the lead singer) has this big poofy black hair and dark makeup... I just love it!  So strange!  Download any of the songs mentioned and you will have a good day, guaranteed!

Happy listening

Ray 

The Pitchfork 500

I want this book sooooo bad!!!!!!  Pitchfork's list of the 500 best songs of all time with essays for each song!  Drool worthy!  Check out the website for the book here where there is a playlist of 24 songs featured in the book that you can listen to on that site!

I need cash for these sorts of situations :)

Happy listening (and reading)

Ray

Rolling Stone's Top 100 Singers of All Time

Click here for the  list of the 100 best singers of all time according to Rolling Stone magazine's best singers of all time.  You can also check out individual write ups for each singer chosen and listen to song clips on www.rollingstone.com.  Here is the top ten to save you the effort:

1. Aretha Franklin

2. Ray Charles

3. Elvis Presley

4. Sam Cooke

5. John Lennon

6. Marvin Gaye

7. Bob Dylan

8. Otis Redding

9. Stevie Wonder

10. James Brown

As with Rolling Stone.. they have to pay tribute to the past... ALL THE TIME. They are so stuck in the past that they are refusing to be relevant anymore.  And of course Bob Dylan had to be on list, because a Rolling Stone list without Bob Dylan is impossible right (sarcasm intended). In my mind, Bob Dylan is HIGHLY overrated.  And #7 best singer ever, that is absolutely laughable!  Have they ever listened to him ever?  He might be a good poet but he can't hold a melody worth shit.  I was pleased that there were a few contemporary singers on the list (very low on the list I might add) like Mary J Blige (100), Mariah Carey (79), Morrissey (92), and Bjork (61).  And YAY Tina Turner was number 17, Rolling Stone got it right.  And I can't argue with Aretha Franklin being #1, she's got a beautiful voice.  Nuff Said. 

Bjork #61 on the 100 Top Singers List

This Album Changed My Life: [Live Through This]

So here is another section I thought I would try.. posting albums that have made somewhat of an impact in my life.  My first selection is Hole's Live Through This which is a classic from 1990's grunge.  Hole was Courtney Love's band in the 1990's and Live Through This is probably Love's best work in her career.  Strangely, I have a soft spot in my heart for Courtney Love, I secretly think she is really cool and I think she gets way more criticism then some of her male counterparts.  I love this album for the singles: Violet and Miss World.  However, the emotional catharsis that is "Doll Parts" which is the best song on the album and probably one of the heaviest songs of its generation. Many of the other songs on the album are just as good.  I love the tension between ugly and pretty on this album and also with masculinity and femininity.  Many say that Courtney Love's husband Kurt Cobain wrote the album and he can be heard softly in the background in a few songs.. but I chose not to believe that.  This is all Love's point of view, loudly presented and clumsily stitched together in this emotional masterpiece. 

Here is the tracklist:

1. Violet

2. Miss World

3. Plump

4. Asking For it

5. Jennifer's Body

6. Doll Parts

7. Credit in the Straight World

8. Softer, Softest

9. She Walks on Me

10. I Think That I Would Die

11. Gutless

12. Rock Star

Happy Listening

Ray

List Season is Here!!

I can't believe that magazines and blogs are starting to post their end of the year list for favorite albums of 2008 already.  Right now Blender and Paste magazines both have their annual lists up.

Click here to see Blender Magazine's Top 33 Albums of the Year.  It's a unique list and I like how they include some pop acts in the mix of mainly indie selections.  The top spot for Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III  is really predictable because they have been hyping it up all year and I know I have picked up at least 2 copies of their magazine with him on the cover.  However, some aspects of the list are a little sketchy to me.  Metallica and Fall Out Boy in the top ten..  really?  They excluded a lot of notable released too like Fleet Foxes or Wolf Parade.  Overall it is a very confusing list.

Click here for Paste Magazine's Top 50 Albums of the Year.  This list is just as bad.  Vampire Weekend number 3 on the list.... I don't really get it.  Sure their album was kinda fun, but it is really disposable and will not stand the test of time.  Also I am puzzled by their top pick She and Him's Volume One.  This is an album that I personally have not listened to, but the reviews for it in most major publications have been mediocre at best.  I don't understand why this would be chosen as the album of the year.

I can't wait for more lists from Rolling Stone (usually crap), Spin, Pitchfork and Stereogum.  This is my favorite time of the year!!!!! 

Happy Listening!

Ray

Song of the Week - #1 (Another World)

Hi all, because this blog is just in its birthing stages.. I'm trying to come up with some ideas of what to do with it.  The first thing I came up with is for me to post a song that I am loving every week so that you can check it out and maybe download more.

Todays pick for song of the week is Another World by Antony and the Johnsons.  This is the title single from his new EP of songs.  In 2005, he released the stark, beautiful album I Am A Bird Now which became one of my favorites.  His voice is very distinct and strange because he is transgender and although he is a man, he dresses and sings as a woman.  His voice has been compared to some amazing singers like Nina Simone.  On his last album he pursued topics of transformation and rebirth and on this new song, he talks about environmental destruction.  Another World is set of 5 songs which is a teaser for his next album The Crying Light that will be released in 2009.  

check out the song Another World here at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp23w0v-GB8  

remember, keep an open mind :)

Happy Listening

Ray

Chairlift

Hi everyone.  Last night, I discovered this wonderful new band.  They are called Chairlift and they write wonderfully dreamy indie pop.  It's the exact right mix of pop, psychedelia (think MGMT) and new wave.  

 

Their debut album is called "Does You Inspire You?" and it just got 4/5 stars in Spin magazine.

I've been listening to Bruises and Planet Health nonstop.  Check them out on myspace:

myspace.com/chairlift

Ray 

My First Post

Hi everyone, 

This is my first blog and will hopefully be the most boring of them all.  The purpose of this blog is to talk and share music that I enjoy.  My taste in music is really wide and eclectic.  What you can expect are lots of chats about pop and indie music.  Also, I only partially follow new music so I might talk about bands, artists or music that is not from the current moment.  

I really hope you enjoy.

Ray

p.s. - the photo is an Andy Warhol painting, it has nothing to do with anything... i just needed a shnazzy image so the blog didn't look so dull