The year is more than half done and there’s been far too many posts that I’ve been meaning to write but never got around to. Here’s a bunch of songs Ca Va Cool didn’t mention that it probably should have:
DeVotchKa - “Transliterator”
You probably heard DeVotchKa on the soundtrack to Little Miss Sunshine, and if you haven’t, get on that. Their new album, A Mad & Faithful Telling, takes their gypsy/folk/rock style to dizzy new heights.
Cajun Dance Party - “The Race”
There was a time when good british guitar bands came in handfuls. Now they’re few and far between, but it’s nice to know that there’s still bands like Cajun Dance Party releasing some classic guitar pop.
Caesars - “Boo Boo Goo Goo”
These guys are way too good to just be known as the band that had one of their songs in an iPod ad, even if it was the best iPod ad. Their new album, Strawberry Weed, and it’s first single prove that they can pump out more hits.
Dizzee Rascal feat. Calvin Harris - “DanceWiv Me”
This video is absolutely ridiculous. I can’t take the song seriously, but I still love it. After seeing Dizzee Rascal at the Rogers Picnic in Toronto, I found out how much fun he is live, even when performing to a crowd that has never heard of him at 2 in the afternoon. Who likes to rock the party?
M83 - “Graveyard Girl”
I’ve coined this “hardcore pop music”. Anthony Gonzalez has created another pseudo-shoegaze (because of the almost absent guitars) masterpiece with the help of his computer on Saturdays = Youth.
No Age - “Eraser”
I could care less that this duo is part of the apparently somewhat important punk rock / noise pop / experimental music scene living at The Smell in downtown Los Angeles, but this song rocks.
Scarlett Johansson - “Falling Down”
She may not be a very good actress, but her movies are good. She may not be able to sing, but this album is great. This is mostly due to the very atmospheric and melodic production by Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio, and the starlet may have had something to do with it too. I just like it, so sue me.
There is no timely reason for this post, only to inform you that E is a genius and anyone who dislikes the Eels loses some serious cool points in my books. I defy you to listen to the album Electro-Shock Blues and tell me that is not a mind-altering piece of art. Beauty, love, sorrow, life, death. This album covers all of that. Well, mostly death, but still, this is one of my desert-island albums, if it came to that.
Plus, the video for Last Stop: This Town features a singing carrot. That’s what being signed to Dreamworks Records got you, when it existed.
I have no idea what Wild Beasts are on about, but if that isn’t a catchy song title then I don’t know what is. I’ve recommended this on many occasions and no one seems as struck as me. Granted it’s not very traditional, sounding as if Tiny Tim of “Tip-Toe Thru’ the Tulips With Me” fame took over lead vocals for the Archie Bronson Outfit. Oh, and throw in some of those coconuts banged together from Holy Grail. It just, well, goes. It’s so unusually good that I have to love it. If you like it, then check out out all ten tracks on their new album Limbo, Panto.
My favourite Labrador artists - The Radio Dept. - are back at it with a new EP: Freddie and the Trojan Horse, and an upcoming new album (titled Clinging to a Scheme) due September 10. At least, this EP was freshly released when I first started to write this post… damned summer apathy.
These Swedish sweethearts slapped us with sincere shoegaze (holy alliteration!) with their 2003 album Lesser Matters. This delicate collection of melodic pop-rock reminiscent of The Field Mice on horse tranquilizers was praised as being not only an achievement in the genre, but a gem of the year. I had a really hard time only choosing one to post. Get this album, I mean it!
Following with Pet Grief in 2006, the boys (as they were now lacking their female vocalist) changed the direction of their music by introducing a drum machine and upping the focus on 80s-toned synth. They still retained their characteristic fuzziness but I think it lacked the charm of their debut disk. Despite this, “The Worst Taste In Music” is seductive for championing the indie-sentiment that a true love could abandon their beau based on their sub-par music preferences. Ah, the indie-kid superiority complex. So cute.
“Freddie and the Trojan Horse” introduced some heavy piano and followed up on the sad-sack mentality, but I’m still loving it. I tossed the new one on here for your perusal, as well as some old favourites and the video to the EP-only “Pulling Our Weight”. As a sidenote, I think that clouds are completely appropriate for a dreampop vid.
This past week I watched the season finale of CSI: NY as well as the movie Collateral (Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx). Both were about shady cab drivers who might just kill you for shits and giggles. So when I stumbled upon the ominous image above, I was naturally quite fearful that the site BlackCabSessions.Com would feature amateur videos of a London-cabby getting his Hannibal Lecter on. After entering the site however, I realized that I’d discovered a sweet sweet gem. No death - pure indie goodness.
The site features videos of a variety of different indie artists performing in the back of “an iconic London-paradigm: the London Black Cab.” The results are “fleeting and beautiful and surprisingly romantic. I’m totally hooked,” says Aaron Dessner of The National. I totally agree with Mr. Dressner.
Here are some of my favorite videos posted so far:
After an extended hiatus, the musical lexicon has returned! I’m having cognition issues today (probably due to seasonal affective disorder, bloody blizzards) so I apologize for the lack of witticisms.
Progressive Rock
Ah, the awesomely indulgent genre of Prog Rock, one of the vestiges of the early 70’s (other than streaking and pet rocks). Many listeners and critics view Prog to be synonymous with “pretension”, and they’re not off the mark. It started with noble intentions… to change the disposable feel of common pop rock into artistic statements. The concept album – an LP tied around a theme, story, or sound – found its roots in the progressive movement. Often appropriating from classical music, the disciples of prog often incorporated a more lush, orchestral sound into their tunes. A few examples at the time included the Moody Blues, Frank Zappa, Genesis, Yes, and of course, Pink Floyd. While most Prog came out of the UK, there are a few very notable exceptions. Miles Davis and his contemporaries could also be considered among the finer progressive musicians, and some neat stuff came out of Brazil (ie. Os Mutantes) and Italy (ie. Banco del Mutuo Soccorso) among other places.
Where did everyone go? There were some indie hipsters here a minute ago…
A sweet recent demonstration of prog is School of Language’s Sea from Shore. SoL is side project for David Brewis of Field Music, featuring a few members of The Futureheads (who have a new album coming out in a few days, actually). With guitar work reminiscent of a combination of The Stills’ somber strumming and twee-like jangle but without the Prozac, combined with Brewis’ s occasionally high-pitched warble and a lush layering of noise, Sea from Shore is pretty ensnaring. True to its progressive form, School of Language takes a theme & a sound and run with it; by the end of each song, the mood has been built up and brought down as smooth as waves from the ocean (okay, the water simile was a little corny). Here’s the vid for Rockiest Pt. 1 and one of the best tracks from the album.
Dubstep originated in the early days of house music, within the UK Garage phase of electronica. Stylistically, the genre borrows elements from dub reggae, but with a considerably darker sound. The focus of the tracks revolves around a stark, drum-machine beat, with accents of synth and (usually haunting) sampled vocals. This is all pieced together in a minor key (that’s the sad key, for the non-musically inclined). House experts will be able to tell you more about the characteristic beats-per-minute and all that jazz.
Once of the most recent and lauded albums in this field is Untrue by Burial. I’m not going to lie; I’m not really the biggest fan of this album. I can appreciate it as a piece of creative work of music, but it just doesn’t appeal to my taste (similar to my sentiment toward Prince). It’s worth mention though, since it got a fair bit of coverage last year. It’s good to stay informed, I say. Also, I had this entry half-written since late January, and a few of the songs have actually grown on me. And, who doesn’t like an anonymous musician? That’s half the reason that Prozzak got anywhere. Here’s a sampling:
Also, I got thinking about Prozzak again and for nostalgic reasons looked up the video. I forgot how bad they really were.
It does suck to be Simon, I guess.
Shoegaze
Okay, okay, I’ve done this one before. Basically, I loves my shoegaze, and I feel that it’s my responsibility to keep the Ca Va Cool community afoot of the new releases in the genre. So, let’s skip the Oxford Dictionary definition and go right to the common usage. That would be – A Place To Bury Strangers. I was a bit late to pick up this one (it’s been around since August). In my opinion, this is the best recent album in the genre since Serena Maneesh. They did take their liberties with using Jesus & Mary Chain as an influence though; their “I Know I’ll See You” is eerily reminiscent of JAMC’s “In a Hole”. But, let’s face it, I’d borrow from JAMC if I could play an instrument too. And they haven’t had any riots yet, that’s good!
Today is such a wonderful day. My favourite record label, Ed Banger Records, is turning 5 years old!! Yay. And to add to this wonderfulness, some hardcore Justice fans made their own music video for Phantom II — one of my favourite songs on the album — and it’s kind of good. The whole video concept is some little girl’s birthday party. Her cake says Justice on it and the pictures on the wall dance — like in Harry Potter. I posted la chanson a while back but here is the video for your viewing pleasure.
And in keeping with the theme of little girls in videos……
I am OBSESSED with Larry Tee’s new song, I Love You. Check out the video. Some people are totally loving it. Personally, I don’t understand why little girls in electro videos are all the rage right now….I guess being 7 is like the new ‘in’ thing.
Here is one of my favourite remixes from les Ed Bangers, tis slightly old…(way back circa 2007)…but I still love it and it’s never been cavacooled before.
I have to include this last song because it fits perfectly with the ‘cool 7 year old girls’ theme of my post. This girl, Cerise, was a French child pop star in the 80s. And she had really cool crimped hair.
Happy New Year (two weeks ago)! I finally got around to ushering in 2008 (a fortnight late) with a new volume of “Indie Lexicon”, aiming to volumize your vocabulary, plump your perspicacity, and straighten your senses relating to musical genres. Hopefully I can do this without stealing any more adjectives from my shampoo bottle.
Math rockers are a lovable, slightly abrasive, nerdy bunch of hipsters. Cousin to space- and noise-rock, its heavier big brother is known as mathcore (a name which amuses me to an extent where I can’t actually appreciate the music it encompasses). The definitive aspect of math rock is the rhythm. Instead of using 4/4 common time, math-ies usually play with asymmetrical time signatures. Also, most popular music will subtly switch the signature 2-3 times in a song, while math rock is known for frequent dissonant, jumpy transitions. What this means to us non-musical-non-math kids: instead of the tune playing over the regular beat of the drums, the rhythm becomes a large focus of the music. Usually layered with this geometric-sounding drum pattern are synthesizers, screechy guitar, and the occasional frenetic vocals, although a lot of math rock is instrumental. The overall effect is sometimes chaotic, often jarring, but almost always interesting.
I’m not completely versed with the genealogy of this field, but it all kind of started out with art-rockers like Frank Zappa, Yes, Rush, etc. When it developed into a more distinct category, some key contributors (bringing an edgier feel than its artsier predecessors) were Drive Like Jehu, Q and not U, and Shellac (Official site/Fan myspace). As for more recent examples: Last year Battles released a stellar album in the genre, “Mirrored”. Definitely worth more than one listen. Mahjongg are soon to officially release Kontpab, which I’ve checked out already. I don’t think it will stay in my permanent listening repertoire, but it fits in well with the category.
Finally, although they aren’t pure math rock, Holy Fuck’s 2007 EP and LP were certainly numerically influenced with their organic lo-fi electronic goodness. Here’s the vid for Milkshake, apparently directed by Chad VanGaalen (news to me).
Of course, most modern math rock is overshadowed by the satirical genius that was 2ge+her on their smash hit, “U + Me = Us”.
Okay, so maybe “smash hit” was a half-truth… at least watch it until they start singing the words “plus sign”.
Death Country
The first time I ever heard this term used in a musical description was as a self-descriptor within an article about Elliott Brood. As a matter of fact, they seem to be one of the only bands to label themselves as such, so maybe this is a bit of a cop-out on my part. But hey, we don’t feature country of any variety very often on this site, and in my opinion, the best kind of country is the macabre kind.
Death Country brings the banjo back into the darkness. Many country songs use the plucky instrument to implement a sense of sarcasm into their sad songs about heartbreak and loneliness. Here, it highlights the dark themes of the songs. The vocals often embody a harsher tone, as opposed to the cavalier twang of the traditional cow-person singer. At the root of it, it’s quite hard to separate Death Country from Bluegrass, except that you rarely hear chilling Bluegrass songs about hangings. And Elliott Brood do it well. They also throw a wicked live concert; I caught them in late 2007 at a small Kingston venue, and they created an atmosphere that was infectiously danceable and thought provoking at the same time. Here’s a sampling of some favourite tracks, enjoy!
British band Black Box Recorder have teamed with Art Brut’s Eddie Argos to release the best Christmas-themed pop song since Elton John’s “Step Into Christmas.” The group, called The Black Arts for their only 7′’ release “Christmas Number One,” is hoping to win the cherished number one Christmas spot this year, a victory which evaded Cliff Richards for so many years. Although this seems unlikely, let’s spread word and see if we can make their Christmas wish a reality.
I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes. Christmas is all around me, It’s everywhere I go.
