Round Letters

Round Letters is moving

2009-05-23T12:15:00.004-04:00

Hi guys,

I've decided to move RoundLetters over to an easier blogging system, WordPress.

From now on, for all of your music updates and trademark Jess storytelling, please visit

roundletters.wordpress.com
roundletters.wordpress.com
roundletters.wordpress.com
roundletters.wordpress.com
roundletters.wordpress.com

I'm updating more often there, with concert listings, news, reviews and more! Check it out!!!

Thanks for following me on Blogspot, I hope you can do the same for me over at WordPress, please add me to your RSS Feeds!!

Abbey Road: Don't Pass Me By...

2009-04-10T09:24:00.007-04:00

On Tuesday, my childhood best friend Ashleigh who's also on exchange in London (deep breath) and I went to go visit Abbey Road.

It was a beautiful day, the sky was so ridiculously blue, just like when I was in Gothenburg, Sweden, not even a week before. In this part of Westminster, the buildings give off a warm glow in the sunshine. Flowers were in bloom, everyone had their sunglasses in tow and I was walking with a jump of excitement in my step. I was finally going to such an iconic place in the history in music.

Abbey Road -- the studios -- have housed acts (besides the Beatles) such as Radiohead, Green Day, U2, The Killers, Morrissey, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sigur Ros, and a handful of acts I never assumed deserved to record there, but oh well.

But really, this place is ONLY about the Beatles. It is not acknowledged anywhere else on their outdoor premises of any other musical entity. The studios painted over their front gate white so over the years, devoted fans and tourists could scrawl their "Imagine Peace" and "All You Need is Love" mementos all over. There's a bus stop right in front of the studios, and everyone in the bus always looks amused or confused.

After gazing at the wall for a while, Ashleigh and I found a spot on the side of the gate to write our thoughts. I chose to write the song title, "Don't Pass Me By" along with "...09" and "Jess + Ashleigh". Ashleigh then signed her name above it along with "Buffalo, NY" in a heart. Taking after her, I decided to write "Jessica L. 09 CANAM" down the side. Fully represented.

Then we saw the timid other tourists standing on separate sides of the intersection, looking nervous. After all, it's quite the busy intersection, mainly filled with taxis looking grumpy. But they have to stop for anyone, even if they're just standing there looking like they want to cross it. But we got our turn.

Visiting Abbey Road was a huge part of my life, and one of the greatest moments of being in London. I'm moving back home to the States/Canada in less than two weeks, and I'm glad I've been able to check that off my life list. Like any child growing up in the 80s/90s my dad blasted the Beatles as early as I could remember. I remember sitting in the car on the way to Long Island or somewhere, going over a bridge, my brother singing Yellow Submarine when he was a little tot. It wasn't until a couple of years ago I was fully able to appreciate the band on my own, but since then it's grown into a huge, delightful history lesson, and Abbey Road was a field trip of creativity and daydreams.

Going home, I saw the moon, and realized I could document it for you, readers at home, the moon a la the other side of the world.

Behind the Scenes (sort of) with ONCE

2009-04-10T08:43:00.008-04:00

I was in Dublin this past weekend with a group of my friends. While we had loads of fun in a pub named Gogarty's, going out for meals, walking around sight-seeing and going to the Guinness Storehouse, the one thing that was playing through my head the entire weekend was the soundtrack to Once.

I hadn't watched the movie in a long time, but I knew it took place in Dublin and that it happened around where I was walking to and fro three times every day from the hotel to town and back. I kept playing the situation: guy is busking, girl comes up to him, they fall into a confused love, and they make beautiful music.

Dublin is wonderful for music. There's a busker every five steps, in all sorts of genres. Whether it's traditional irish, rockabilly, that heartfelt guitar tune, or a full out orchestra. There's plenty of record stores there too, but I didn't get a chance to go see them. I did get to go see a traditional irish music pub crawl though.

Here are some buskers I saw:

I thought I missed out on some joke -- everyone and their mother seemed to be outside busking. But it was beautiful to see. It really livens up a part of a city that otherwise is merely focused on shopping. Busking really has been a staple of my UK life.

Anyways, here's what I have to show you about ONCE. Click any photo to enlarge.

The movie starts out with Glen Hansard "Guy" playing his guitar on Grafton Street at night.

Here, Guy is chasing after a lowly theif who ran off with his guitar case of change. They just ran into St. Stephen's Green, a lovely little park at the top of Grafton Street that winds its way into ponds full of birds, blooming flowers, fountains, and pathways.

As were the last two photos, this next photo is mine; of where Glen chased the man through the HMV.

Here, Guy is busking to a crowd on Grafton Street, similar to the photos I showed above of other buskers.

Guy is busking and the Hare Krishnas come past him with their own music. Funny story... when I was in Dublin, at one point I was waiting to cross a street towards my hotel and one one side of the corner there was a big guy dressed up as a leprachaun, on another side there was a line of people linked together shouting through a megaphone at a fur store, and then coming through the middle were the Hare Krishna's all jolly, skipping, banging their tambourines to "harreee krishnaa haaaareee krishna!" It was maybe the most stand out moment of the weekend I have.

And here, Guy and Girl walk off into Grafton Street, happy to be with the other.

You must have fallen from the sky
You must have come here in the pouring rain
You took so many through the light
And now you're on your own.

If you're an avid reader of the blog, you'll remember my post from when I went to go see Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova play as the Swell Season, the band that formed from the movie, back in the fall. You can see my videos and read my review here.

RSS Reads: As of March 19

2009-03-18T17:16:00.004-04:00

I haven't updated your musical news in about a month or so now, so here's an ultimate update. Read on.

In celebrating the new release of Hazards of Love by the Decemberists, here are two awesome write ups of the rock opus. Charts, haikus, and all. Talk about album review. (Paste)

Broken Social Scene are keeping themselves in the limelight by having a book written about them and also managing to sing in a movie. (Chart)

However, Nashville band Kings of Leon are taking their publicity to a new level, by starting a complete uproar backstage at the BRIT Awards. (NME)

But Lily Allen always takes the cake. They freak out when she pukes (NME) and they absorb her lyrics to find out the obvious, especially when it's the name of the album (NPR).

Snoop Dogg is picking up on it as well. He recently converted to Islam (NME) but probably rebuked it after trying to rap with Paris Hilton. (National Post)

The more I'm writing this, the more I'm realizing how attention-grabbing each of these stories are made to be. And with that, I present to you Iggy Pop's jazz album. (Pitchfork)

Wait, wait! It gets better. Noel Gallagher had won the Best Blog at the Shockwaves NME Awards a few weeks ago, but admitted he has 'never' used a computer. Hmm... (NME)

I'm really getting ahead of myself now. Pete Wentz is afraid someone's trying to kill him. Really? I could say so much about this, but I'll spare you. (Chart)

Actress turned rockstar Juliette Lewis has spoken out about ditching her band The Licks because it just didn't work anymore. She now is backed by The New Romantiques. Classy. (NME)

Oh, here's another... Ryan Gosling has turned to music, maybe from being so confused about Rachel (forget her! p.s. someday i WILL see you on the streets of T.O.) and recorded quite a spooky video with a bunch of kids -yikes- named "In The Room Where You Sleep". It really says so much. (Chart)

Jack White has a new band. I liked this mainly for the opening line: "You first have to wonder just how many side projects one musician needs." (Paste)

Jens Lenkman doesn't need the spotlight, but he's upset about how much attention his ukelele is getting. Therefore, what's a man to do but cast his iron steed aside? (Exclaim)

In slight well-deserved news, Klaxons have been forced to completely redo their second album because their major label wasn't a big enough fan. Boo urns. (Exclaim)

And if they're looking for a modest-model award, The Cribs have got it. (NME)

Coming back from... hiding... The Beatles now are still in the fore-front of your memory because if you go to Liverpool Hope University, you can tooootaaallly study them and come out of school... what... what job would you get?! (NME)

Oh, I'd so much rather study things like music vs. sex (NME) and music vs. pain. (CBC Radio 3)

CBC has figured out how to really get into bands on Twitter. (CBC Radio 3)

And even if you're a nobody, but know technology, you can be cool too. This is just... ridiculous to me though... (National Post)

And even if you're technology, you can try and be hip like your older brother. Is this good or bad? (CBC Radio 3)

Now I'll leave you with a couple good fights. Besides the fake Ben Folds and Torquil Campbell argument, there's these, which are soo much better.

Radiohead versus Miley Cyrus AND Kanye West - so great - you can also listen to what started Miley's side here, but don't for one second mistake I'm rooting for her. Radiohead all the way. (Chart and Pitchfork)

And then there's Wayne Coyne and Win Butler, which proved to be sad and hilarious at the same time. (Pitchfork and CBC Radio 3)

And that's it! Phew. A lot of stars looking for attention in the last month, that's for sure. Now let's do them all a favor and send them mental hugs. Or you can just whine more about Rihanna and Chris Brown, ask for advice over how you should feel about it, anything really to Jess at roundletters@gmail.com!

In the daylight anything feels like home

2009-03-07T07:28:00.004-05:00

I'm going to have a good day today. How do I know this? Because I fully woke up this morning while watching Matt and Kim's video for "Daylight".

I knew "Daylight" was a fantastic way to start an album, but now a day, wow!

You can see that this couple has changed so much since their last album, and not just their music. Since when did Matt get contacts? Kim's dressing a little better, and looks a more healthy weight. They're finally not denying they're a couple.

But all in all, if their cuteness doesn't brighten up your day, please let me know and I'll try and find something that does. Challenge?

Infectious, much?

SPIN updates

2009-03-06T15:50:00.002-05:00

Hey all, if you're somehow wondering what I've been up to, I can give you a little bit more of an insight here. But for a bigger insight, please visit my abroad blog.

Pretty much the extent of the music I'm getting here is very little, surprisingly. I recently saw Passion Pit play an in-store and Elliott BROOD play, and neither of these bands are British.

Passion Pit was an interesting experience. It was right after I had to drop off my boyfriend at the airport after he visited me, so I wasn't in the best mood, but I needed the music to make me feel better. PP was a good choice, as I love their upbeat tracks off Chunk of Change. I started really listening to them when I got here, so it was a little bit of meaning. Anyways, I got there early so I waited forever. It was an in-store at this place called Pure Groove Records (fun fact, there's a street scene in my video, and that same street was featured in About a Boy, because that movie takes place in my neighborhood) which actually isn't really a record store ... it had like, 20 records behind their bar. Strange, but cool, in a weird way... Anyways, I somehow made friends with the store's intern and we chatted. I ended up bugging PP's people about getting an interview and lo and behold met Columbia Records (UK) Senior Press agent, he gave me his card. This other reporter told me he was grumpy because he was hungover, so be nice, but as soon as I mentioned SPIN he was quite jolly. So ... watched the band, filmed my stuff, and then waited forever again to get an interview. Ended up talking to drummer Nate Donmoyer.

Result: HERE.

Elliott Brood was a great time, one of the best since I've been here. Why? Because it was all about CANADA. Besides having the most random opening acts (The Barker Band -- good live sound but if they just pushed a little more, would be much better, also the lead girl looked way miserable and bitchy // Punch and the Apostles -- ridiculous! also the accordion player looked like a corpse ... ps their new single is called "I'm a Hobo") I was worried that nobody would dance or get into the Brood, because, how would they know who they are? But I was so wrong. Mainly because the place seemed to be ridiculously all Canadians, or just super enthusiastic drunk British people. Every time someone from the band mentioned Canada, the place went wild. It was awesome. It made me feel like I was at the Horseshoe, and I miss it so much. Anyways, I also wasn't expecting the Brood to put on that great of a show. They did a great job and rocked out as much as you can on a banjo and ukeleles (actually thats a lot). This crazy man totally destroyed their set and upset the Brood, but they pulled through.

Result: HERE.

Feedback would be great! How do you like what I'm doing for SPIN Earth so far? What should I be doing different? (No use suggesting anything about equipment, really.. I'm stuck right now). Also, if you're a Twitter-er, follow them here and while you're at it, follow me. Oh, and follow Muted Magazine! New issue out soon.

Paint the Blackhole Blacker

2009-03-06T15:42:00.006-05:00

Alright. So I listened to St. Vincent's newest song, "The Strangers," before I watched the upcoming video. I'm listening to it again because I need to get this video out of my head.

I ~~watched~~ listened to all ten minutes of it. Blasphemy.

Really, points of obsurdity:
-Miley, herself.
-' "Sex on Fire" is one of the greatest songs eeeveeeer!'
-The boy that cried when he met her because he was her biggest fan, was all "I LOVED your last episode" and she said "oh yeah which one?" and he said "um.. the one with your dad... wait... I dont remember..."
-How many people can you have talk at once? for god sakes.
-Count how many times Miley says "like" and please tell me what you got.
-Right at the end, purely, "i looove weiiirdos"
-Also ... this just makes Radiohead x10 cooler.

taking a moment to appreciate

2009-02-15T08:47:00.004-05:00

I'm in the magazine business whether I like it or not. Some days I'm imagining doom falling in forms around me as I watch the failing process continue. When Chart ceased its' magazine format, it hit me pretty hard. Glossy paper, while not as great for the environment, has been my love. And seeing it go down like this, especially when I (still) hope to get a job in the industry, is hardly any fun.

So today, I'm taking a positive approach (except for a bit later on in this entry).

The other day, I received a package from my grandparents. They sent me the three magazines they know I'd like to have: Paste, SPIN, and Rolling Stone.

I noticed two trends in the issues that came: their ways of taking on a recession and still being original, and.... Lily Allen.

PASTE

Paste is probably my favourite magazine, and has been for a while. In this issue, their 50th, titled the Lovefest, it's PACKED with goodness. In the matter of four pages you can read about sleek new earphones, an Italian chair made to hold books in every crevise (I want it SO much), an ad for their first book, "An Indie Rock Alphabet Book" ('story time is cool again!') a bit about Kevin Drew directing Feist's "The Water", and the nice list "The Paste 7", which is bits and bobs (look at me being all British) that are SO COOL that the editors find (Nick Marino found LeafCutterDesigns.Com and it looks awesome.) I'm drooling, can you tell?

Paste is great for finding out about new bands -- it's rare I know the band they have in their breaking section. They don't focus on the obvious.

A big thing Paste did this month was take their Sampler CD that comes with every issue and make it digital. At first, I was upset. Then, thinking clearly, I realized this was a fantastic decision. "This is great," I said to my boyfriend as I leafed through the issue for the first time. "With all of these magazines making cuts or going under right now, this is an amazing way to save money and make sure that doesn't happen." Paste said it for themselves. "Each year, Paste ships more than 2 million cds. That's over 100,000 pounds of poly-carbonate plastic and paper sleeves, shipped millions of miles." Really, as Paste boasts themselves to be a green magazine, ("After you've read every single word of this magazine and shared it with all of your friends, please recycle it -- or add it to your leather-bound collection of Paste magazines and save it forever" says under their contributors list) this brings up their level of respect.

Check out this issue -- in theme for Valentines Day, there's Neko Case reporting on her 17 favourite things (1 being CANADA), "so and so loves this" with every article, and a spread of musicians posing with their beloved instruments.

SPIN

SPIN is very close to Paste in my books. Not only is it my newest employer, but I generally enjoy reading it and approve of the choices of artists they cover. They have fantastic visuals, quick and quirky Q&A, and an ear out for catchy songs. Sometimes they get too close to Rolling Stone, but on slow months, it's hard not to completely stray away from the only big things (such as when they both covered Amy Winehouse almost identically.) And sometimes they go with more pop culture acts (like when they covered Fall Out Boy, Paramore, etc, but hey, I used to love both of those bands too. Brandon Flowers is big in this issue though, and I'm not a fan.) This issue they have Big in 09, featuring Ladyhawke (the girl), Cut Off Your Hands, Glasvegas, Bon Iver, Andrew Bird, King Khan, and Animal Collective. None of them are breaking, but SPIN's probably right; these bands established themselves towards the end of 08, so therefore they'll still be talked about a great deal in 09.

**This month, I saw both SPIN and Paste have done another great thing in terms of recession, going by the way of how the public reads, and technology. They have incorporated the digitial issue. It's actually something the Eyeopener considered months ago, but never followed up on. I think that SPIN and Paste doing this was a good idea.

ROLLING STONE

Rolling Stone made a change a few months ago to a different format of pages. I actually like this a lot more, as the big pages always stick out from my MegaMag (missing it a lot right now ... and oh man blast from my blogging past) and it just looks cleaner. This is probably the only thing about Rolling Stone I like these days, and even still the fact that they changed their layout means they just jumped on the bandwagon.

There's hardly any originality in this magazine anymore. I haven't read a feature and been like "hm, that was really good" or found an interesting new band I wanted to check out, in god knows how long. It seems that RS is not only slow on the uptake, but they keep choosing the same people to profile, are a bit too obvious with their political sides, and really, they've made their move from the music magazine it once was glorified in Almost Famous to the pop culture rag it prides itself to be now. What's up, Jann Wenner? Since when did you just want to please people? I really don't see this magazine pleasing anyone lately, anyway.

This month, they even let Patrick Stump review an album, because it was his dream to do so. Why on earth would you let him review an artist he loves so much, though? How is that fair? Yes, we all report on artists we love, but if we want a higer opinion of Stump, I'm not sure if this was the way to go.

Their podcasts have been lacking (and not even been done), their breaking artists past their breaking point (not in Pop music standards though, I guess) and they're not bringing up any new boundaries. I used to idolize this magazine. I used to have a subscription. People used to laugh and say "someday we'll read your articles in Rolling Stone." Now, I hearing they're auctioning off their internships, and I've decided I'm done with it.

LILY ALLEN

Now, for Lily Allen. She is everywhere and I love it. I think she's ridiculous, beautiful, and talented. Yes she sings about sex. Yes she sings about drugs. Doesn't everyone these days? Haven't they for ages? Why is she getting so much flack for being honest, and well, normal?

Rolling Stone's scathing review says: "No longer content to be a quirky confessional songwriter, Allen has decided that she is a 'social critic,' a job that she lacks the insight and the maturity to pull off."
--Really, RS? REALLY? You're critiquing a pop star, which is all you show these days, and you think she's doing it wrong? Lily's probably laughing about you right now.

SPIN's editorial says: "Allen is also a mass of contradictions: an unapologetic extrovert who loathes the tabloids and paparazzi, and a critic of celeb-centric culture who's not at all above indulging in same. It all makes for a wild read." And their review of her new album is the complete opposite to Rolling Stone's: "But unlike Winehouse, Allen has turned fame's lemony side into fresh new songs."

It's clear to see RS is Team Winehouse and SPIN is Team Allen, now.

Paste has their own Lily Allen paper doll! With boozed up party dresses, a mac computer, and cute jewelry. This is the true Allen.

Phew. I know it got negative towards the end, but the fact is I still love magazines. I love everything about them. The noise you hear when you flip the page (and that sometimes you have to lick your finger to get it to move), the bold layout, the section titles, and even the subscription fliers that fly out with every shake. I know I'm in the right business and to leave it would hurt, a lot. The industry can still count on me as an avid fan, but I'll always be critiquing and reading. Paste, SPIN, and Rolling Stone give me quite enough of substance, as you can see.

RSS Reads: As of Feb. 9th and it's a doozy

2009-02-09T17:46:00.002-05:00

Alright, so I haven't updated my music news in a while and I won't in another long while as Ryan's finally coming tomorrow!

So, in light of me being exhausted already (weekend in Manchester, check it out on my Abroad Blog) and that I'll be bringing so much news to you right now, it will be very brief. Enjoy!

Alright, so everyone's going nuts over Twitter..
-David Bowie denies any ties with it (NME)
-Erykah Badu births to it (Pitchfork)
-Pitchfork gives you guides to the rockstars who use it (Pitchfork)
-So does CBC (CBC Radio 3)

Now, here's some awards announcements:
-Independent Awards announced, pretty good (National Post)
-Grammy performance videos (Pitchfork)
-These two missed out on the grammies for lameness (National Post)

UK things:
-Pete Doherty to teach. At a University. In Dublin. (Pitchfork)
-New evidence on the Sid and Nancy debacle in film. [it's playing in London soon, yay!] (Exclaim!)
-The two inches of snow caused insanity in London last week. So much so that Coldplay, Blur, and Radiohead canceled an event they were going to have there.
-Sigur Ros gave away music in a London newspaper, bringing happy commercial-like times to all. (Pitchfork)
-Amy Winehouse's soon to be former house in Camden Town was messed up more than she could do herself. (NME)
-The Virgins managed to offend the most powerful British popstars in one hit. (NME)
-Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) is coming back to London. (Londonist)
-Noel Gallagher thinks he can be Britains future Prime Minister. Better name than Boris, at least. (NME)
-London-based artist thats everywhere, Lily Allen, has admitted to being normal. Again. (NME)
-Guy that was sacked from Arctic Monkeys was depressed. ORLY? (NME)
-Famous Beatles cover band played on the iconic rooftop before the Bobbies came. (NME)
-Yet somehow John Lennon's sons still don't know how to share. (NME)

Canada things:
-Ticketmaster, why, whyyyy? (National Post / Exclaim!)
-Seeing Toronto (AND RYERSON) in the headlines feels good: for putting on the first deaf concert. (NME)
-The Acorn must be so giddy right now. (National Post)
-Whatever @ recession, record labels won't die! (National Post)

Fun things:
-NPR makes fun of SongSmith. (NPR)
-Now Thats What I Call Music is made into TV. (NME)
-NPR makes more fun at bands with strange names. (NPR)
-Best Week Ever shows off the remix for Christian Bales meltdown. (BWE)

Oh, and watch what you blog. (Exclaim!)

Questions, concerns? So upset about Chris Brown and Rihanna and you need someone to talk to? Or still laughing at Christian Bale? Email roundletters@gmail.com.

life just got a little busier

2009-01-31T10:16:00.005-05:00

Recently, I've acquired two new jobs that are pretty exciting.

Some friends from Ryerson put together an online music magazine about a year or so ago, named Muted Magazine.

Another classmate and I are now the new Features editors for the site. Make sure to check it out sometime in February! I'll have more details soon. And if you want to write for Features or have a band you'd like to see covered, let me know by emailing jlewis@mutedmag.com.

Back in September, I heard about SPIN Magazine looking for new International Correspondents in Toronto, supplying video reports on concerts and all musical happenings in their cities. In October, I made two videos, the longer versions can be seen here and here. Since then, they've been edited down.

It took a couple of restless months, but I can now say I am one of the Correspondents for SPIN's new program, SPIN Earth. I'll be bringing you concert footage from London and Toronto. It's not public yet, but when it is, I'll be sure to let you know!

So it's safe to say blogs might get fewer and far between as I'm taking on these two tasks with full force, beginning my heap of work for City over here in London, and you know, trying to be normal. I have a lot coming up though; more album and concert reviews, RSS news (this past week or so has been ridiculous for music geeks), and more. Stay tuned! (I've always wanted to say that.)

Take A Look: The Dodos

2009-01-26T07:03:00.003-05:00

I've been meaning to write about this band from San Francisco for a while. I purchased their album "Visiter" back in November and have been listening to it A LOT since then.

It's simple why this record is so great. It's a formula. Pretty basic, but somehow it works in its own way for The Dodos.

Catchy, fast drum beats
+
Toy keyboards
+
Simultaneous strumming
+
Soft vocals, laced with quiet harmonies

Really. Just listen to "Red and Purple". Download the track here.

There's nobody here
To tell us a joke
We tear off our ears
The fire that we stoke
You wrote me a note
The pages were blank
And I, I should have known
Invisible ink
I know that I am yours and you will be mine
Come and join us in the trenches
Red and purple by our side
Say you'll never leave us In this company of mine.

And if that's not enough, just listen to the album and you'll find you won't be able to press pause. The songs roll into one another as if they were just waiting to be played on a road trip or on a day when you just want to stay in your room and listen to music, lying on your bed with your eyes closed.

It's not just red and purple that you see when you close your eyes. Try it out.

My second favourite track off of this record, after "Red and Purple" and before "Fools" is the bashful guitar-picking "Park Song". It's delightfully cute and will be stuck in your head for days. Download it here. And for the lyrics, go here. You're going to want to sing along.

Went to the park today
Watched all the dogs as they played
None of them barked, they just hanged
Think I'll buy a dog when I get paid
Saw the girl I know from my job
I think that she must think that I'm retarded
I act so dumb when I get started
Time to cut my hair and get it parted

RSS Reads: As of January 23rd

2009-01-23T08:06:00.005-05:00

It's been a while since I've updated the RSS Reads section, and now that I am, boy do I have lots of good music information for you. So I'll try to keep it brief.

Well, last time I talked about Zooey & Ben getting engaged. Since then, I've found this and realized the hilarity all over again. (Best Week Ever)

Whether Lily Allen is buying a beach, making out with lesbian twins, or terrorizing paparazzi here in London, (seriously I see her face at least twice a day, but not personally) she's accidentally sending nudie pictures to the Kaiser Chiefs. (Chart)

I still love Lily, though. I don't care how crazy and out of hand she gets. It just gets funnier.

Speaking of London, the BRIT Awards were announced this week, with the front runners being Coldplay, Duffy, and Radiohead. (Chart)

I just have a couple problems with the nominations though: Radiohead nominated for British Group but not British Live Act, all the International Albums are the same nominations for International Act (and fooey on all of them anyway), and Coldplay in general.

Cheering me up though is the fact that M.I.A. was nominated for an Oscar for the song "O...Saya" in Slumdog Millionare. I saw the movie yesterday, loved it. (Pitchfork)

Remember the O.C. and their 'prime music taste'? Well, creator Josh Schwartz is working on a new web series that include four-minute episodes with 15-second bits of bands playing. (CBC Radio 3)

In more collaboration news, members from the Constantines, Attack in Black, and Miracle Fortress have started a new label named You've Changed Records. Clever, eh? And of course their first release is the Attack in Black side project Baby Eagle. (Exclaim)

And now onto a new release: Cadence Weapon, with his new pay-as-you-want album, Seperation Anxiety. I don't really like whenever bands do this and the press is all "ooh they pulled a Radiohead" -- is this really Radiohead's claim to fame? (National Post)

Anyways, I haven't gotten the album yet, but am planning on it. Cadence is slick.

As much as I love John Mayer (yes, still, although just not as much as I used to) and his one-episode of John Mayer Has a TV Show back in 2004, apparently someone else wanted him back, as he might be getting his own variety show. (NME)

Remember when Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse were targeted on a terroris hit list? Turns out it was planted. (NME)

I just liked this picture of Donovan and his crazy imagination. (Exclaim)

Now, I'm actually bringing you some "rap" news.
Lil Wayne: I just loved this headline. "Lil Wayne Works On Rock Album, Horror Movie". It's like that rock film IS the horror movie. (Paste)

And then Bob Boilen from NPR decided to go gangster with his new look. (NPR)

And finally, the joke of Joaquin Phoenix. (National Post)

Am I providing you good music highlights? Or do you have something else to say about it? Sick of Lily Allen and Lil Wayne, or wishing the O.C. would come back to life? Well then, email Jess at roundletters@gmail.com.

Drool-worthy 2009 Albums

2009-01-21T11:21:00.004-05:00

I'm already ridiculously excited for the rest of 2009 in terms of music. We already know that despite the list I gave for 2008, it was a pretty disappointing year compared to 2007.

But now, I've got my hands on some new albums for this year, and I'm going gaga over them.

Coconut Records -- Davy
I love Jason Schwartzman. Seriously. When Nighttiming came out in 2007, I was so into it. It was also around the time when The Darjeeling Limited was playing, and I had a chance to see Jason and Wes Anderson on Canada's MTV Live show. I remember he passed out gum to everyone and Wes was wearning funny socks. Anyways, Nighttiming was this jem that came out of something nobody remembered: Phantom Planet. Jason went back to his music love, bringing future indie darling Zooey Deschanel into the limelight and even Kirsten Dunst. The songs were cute, simple, and on his sleeve. Now, with Davy, he gets a little deeper. Starting out with "Microphone" you know the rest of the album is going to get good. You are my voice, my microphone, he sings. He's letting you do the interpreting. Now, it's only 9 songs. But it's enough to tide me over with his little guitar strummings and toy piano toilings until maybe another year and a half from now.

Matt & Kim -- Grand
As I was listening to this album yesterday, I thought "wow, their first self-titled was fun and cutesy, made you remind of great childhood times, but this you can tell is the evolution into a more mature version but it's like when the grown-up learns how to find their inner child." And then today, I see two reviews, one in Paste and one in Pitchfork, that basically lay out the same idea. This pair really knows how to work their fans, but you can tell they put a lot of thought into this album and how they were going to beat a sophomore slump. Songs like "Daylight," "Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare," and "Don't Slow Down" are my favourites so far, and definitely on repeat already. (P.S. Want to read a two year old interview I did with the band? Go here. They detail their meaning of fun: Kim: We should make t-shirts that say “pursuit of fun.” Matt: No, that would be cheesy.)

M. Ward -- Hold Time
I can't believe I've been missing out on M. Ward all this time (besides She & Him.) His sleepy voice and intelligent lyrics are too close to too much I can handle. Today I listened to his 2006 album Post-War and it was beautiful. Now onto this album, which I don't believe is out yet, and 20 seconds into the first track I already love it. I loved him since I saw She & Him play and witnessed the way he gazed at Zooey in a friendly loving way. And when he sang one song that night, the crowd went nuts. Now I know why. "Never Had Nobody Like You" will have you swooning.

Franz Ferdinand -- Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
They may have been disappointing in Toronto's concert in December, but this album is promising. "Ulysses" is fun, has a fantastic yet similar beat to my favourite "40'" off of their first album, and opens the album feeling intimate as Alex whispers "come on, let's get hiiiiigh" into a ascending riff. This is similar to their other albums because all the while you're listening to it, you just picture your feet stamping the ground. Maybe even a little fist punch? Or maybe just some hip shaking. Take your pick. (Also, I love they way he says Ulysses... more like U-ly-sees). I find a new way, baaaaby.

Okay. That will feed your music fix for now. But I still have four more albums to asses. They're not 2009, but still good. There's some British talent I'm looking into via Broken Family Band, The Wave Pictures, The Hoosiers, and then there's of course the newest hype-band, Passion Pit.

P.S. For a more in-depth update on what I'm doing in London, check out my Abroad Blog.

Rock and Roll Tour

2009-01-14T20:49:00.002-05:00

Today I Saw:

One of the birth places of rock and roll in London, near Chinatown.

Where Paul Simon used to Busker.

Where Bob Dylan used to be popular.

Where nobody recognized Elton John and Mick Jagger.

Where there's a road named after a Lou Reed song.

Where, on that street, is a recording studio that housed Bowie, Beatles, and more.

Where the Rolling Stones met one another.

Where Jimi Hendrix had his last show.

Where Judy Garland had her last show.

Where all the Harry Potter premieres are.

Where the Sex Pistols were formed under Vivienne Westwood and Malcom McLaren's watchful eyes.

Where Pink Floyd used to play all the time.

Where Paul McCartney's offices are.

Where the Beatles played over Apple Studios for the last time.

and more. It was a good day. Then I went to go see Edward Scissorhands, the musical/ballet. Beautiful, beautiful day.

Ahoy from Londontown!

2009-01-14T20:44:00.003-05:00

I have a short blip for you.

Yesterday, I visited the city of Bath. For the recap, go to my new Abroad Blog.

In the city, right before I entered the Roman Bath Houses, there was this busker. He glowed like the rest of the people in the city.

He was singing "Imagine". I thought it was appropriate in so many ways.

There were other nice buskers around the city that evening, but this guy stood out.

Top Albums of 2008

2009-01-04T16:54:00.003-05:00

Finally, here's my top ten albums of 2008 post! I'm keeping it short description this year because let's face it, I'm lazy. And tired. And getting ready for London. (Two days!) Also, I'll be adding on my honorary list, haha.

Here goes.

10. The Danks -- Samples
I saw these guys play twice this year (review 1, review 2) and even though they're pretty much Two Hours Traffic's other half and yearning to be closer to the Strokes, their energy is infectious. Samples, just a little EP of seven songs, is charming, gritty, and has the raw charm that a first EP should have. I see big things in the future for them. Check out "Treaty Connector" and "Sold Me Out".

9. Woodhands -- Heart Attack
This record is amazing, basically. I didn't really get into it until later on in the year, which is why it's further down my list, but it's just so. much. fun. They've earned top honors with NOW and Exclaim (and probably more that I missed) and Eye Weekly in March during CMW. It's so deserved. It's one hip-nerd beat after another. Check out "Dancer" and "I Wasn't Made For Fighting".

8. Sam Roberts Band -- Love at the End of the World
You knew I couldn't leave this album off the list, it was pretty obvious. Now, I don't think this record was as good as the others, but it definitely held its own. It seemed that Roberts was more focused on the lyrics than the music, but it's not a big deal. It had a grown up vibe. I saw Roberts play these songs three times this year, and it was never dissapointing. Check out "Lions of the Kalahari" and "Detroit '67".

7. Girl Talk -- Feed the Animals
This was another obvious choice for me. The mashing has gotten better; bringing back the forgotten 90s rap is always fun. This was my summer/fall party record, definitely. You don't need a playlist, just put this record on. I don't know how long this fad will last, but it was a fad I graciously accepted this year. Check out "No Pause" and "Like This".

6. The Ting Tings -- We Started Nothing
I really don't care that these guys are iPod darlings. This record was cute, fun, and jammin'. Their harmonies really work well together, but each shine on their own just as well. Katie's voice sounds like one that could get annoying, but it never does. She's dead on, pop, and loving it. Jules' drumming is the kind that's lazy dancing, but knows its cool. And his vocals always come in at the exact right time, like in the end of "That's Not My Name". Check out "Shut Up and Let Me Go" and "We Walk".

5. She & Him -- Volume I
Really, this list is turning into more than obvious if you've been following my trends this year. Zooey is my one and only woman crush, and M. Ward is just as ooey gooey. This record fills you with warmth, love you've never noticed, and a desire to be a musician if you aren't already. These two combined their talents and really made magic this year. I can't wait to see what's next. Not to mention, their live show was the cutest show I've ever seen. Check out "I Thought I Saw Your Face Today" and "Sweet Darlin'".

4. Tim Fite -- Fair Ain't Fair
Oh Tim, my friend, you've done so well. This record was so much fun but I could sense a twinge of sadness. It's one thing to entirely use samples, but it's another to really input what you want to convey onto someone else's work. It's the best form of recycling. This record played a huge part to my summer, and seriously, between this album and his others, there are some notes or vocal chords i hear in other songs always thinking its Tim. Therefore, good factor of stickability. Anyways, if there's any way to make a great record even better is how you display it on stage, and Tim was the best with this. He upstaged every band he played with this year, and well deserved. Check out "Big Mistake" and "Yesterday's Garden".

3. Cut Copy -- In Ghost Colours
Holy music to get your heartbeat going, Batman! This was another spring/summer favourite of mine. I saw them back in May and I swear I left the ground many times in the crowd. This was the record I blasted in my room when my neighbors were being annoying and loud, or even if I just needed some dance moments to myself (always the best, and least choreographed). This was a headphone favourite as well. Man, the Australians know how to do the new wave+new new wave best. Check out "Lights & Music" and "Hearts on Fire".

2. Foals -- Antidotes
Beautiful, carefully placed rock. I still can't get over how great this record is. Just one hit after another. It's messy, but worked out that way. It's like they happened upon all of these songs by accident, like they didn't even know the level of their talent. I played this record so much this year. It just seemed to far away, mystical, and imaginative. Where one piece puts together another piece and it just always, always works out. I saw them in May and it was their first Canadian show, but also one they didn't think they did too well on, but I thought it rocked. They're playing in London in March with Bloc Party, and I'll go only for them. Check out "Red Sock Pugie" and "Electric Bloom".

1. Plants & Animals -- Parc Avenue
Beauty, just... beautiful. So much is packed into one record, and it doesn't sound cramped in the slightest. This is my number one album for so many reasons... because countless times did I play this record, talk about this record, etc. I saw them play only once after missing them twice, but it was great. They had a huge part in my musical of 2008. I'm not going to go into more detail of this record, because I already described it here. Check out "Bye Bye Bye" and "New Kind of Love".

And now for the honorary list members, which all were really amazing and I wish could be on my top 10 but just slightly didn't make the cut. Here they would be if added on after 10.

11. The Dodos -- Visiter
12. My Morning Jacket -- Evil Urges
13. Human Highway -- Moody Motorcycle
14. Winter Gloves -- About a Girl
15. Hexes & Ohs -- Bedroom Madness
16. Of Montreal -- Skeletal Lamping
17. Sigur Ros -- Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
18. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club -- The Real Rarities
19. Mardeen -- Read Less Minds
20. Little Joy -- Little Joy

More honorable mentions...

black keys
born ruffians
brendan canning
cadence weapon
chad vangaalen
contantines
death cab for cutie
elliott brood
jason mraz
jim noir
the kills
land of talk
mother mother

My RSS Reads: As of December 29th

2008-12-29T20:27:00.004-05:00

Hey Kids! Here's the year's end RSS Reads ... bringing you the wacky, the charming, and the gasp-a-licious news.

Alright, let's start off with the wacky.

I'm getting more and more excited to move to London. Why? Because Star Wars the musical will be coming to the o2 Arena. My roommate Clara is going to be so jealous. (NME)

Of all the strange "Womanizer" covers there are lately -- emo-pop jock straps the All-American Rejects took their shot at it. And it's HORRIFYING. Oh, Tyson Ritter... wipe that smirk off your face. I'm siding with Britney on this one. (Chart)

John Lennon will be 'starring' in a new 'advert' for the One Laptop Per Child Foundation (im sorry, does anyone else think the name of this organization is hilarious?), and of course permission was granted by Miss Ono herself. (NME)

Now, here's the charming. Year-end recaps.

Ben Rayner listed his thoughts on the rock music that stuck. I like his simple explanations, like for Foals: "Impossibly intricate strangeness. Makes you move, makes you think." Hm.. reminds me of this fabulous time. (The Toronto Star)

NPR's Monitor Mix, by the ex-Sleater Kinney member Carrie Brownstein, is my new blog discovery. After listening to the year-end podcast by the heads of the NPR Music section and being intrigued by their theories, I checked this out. On this entry, Brownstein explained how this year as been more in the favour of songs, not albums. And she says their time theme is 'teenage'. (NPR)

And of course, another Wall-E + National Post ... post. "What Wall-E the robot taught us about love." *giggle* And it's not just about Wall-E. It's about this year's movies & their themes of togetherness. It taps on Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist and Young People Fucking, too. Genius. (National Post)

And the last year-end list I'll show you holds a nice soft spot for this RSS Reads issue. Because my own name showed up in my own feeds. It's Chart's annual contributor's top 10 lists. Find mine! Now that you've got the list ... I'll explain them soon. (Chart)

But now, here's the kicker. The gasp-a-licious news.

Just days after solidifying my love for Zooey Deschanel once again, she's announced that she's engaged to Death Cab for Cutie's front man, Ben Gibbard.

This is awesome. But mainly hilarious for a few reasons. Pitchfork posted this, and they must have typed it so fast in indie glee (and sadness) that they even spelt her name wrong in the headline. But it did end in an exclamation point.

"Cue the sound of thousands of blogger hearts breaking... Isn't that just the most indie-in-2008 thing ever? It almost seems a little too perfect, as if we made it up in some kind of fantasy indie rock love connection."

Sigh.

Questions? Comments? Crying over the loss of Zooey and Ben? Or did you make a cover of Womanizer that you think is better? Send all thoughts to Jess at roundletters@gmail.com.

And don't forget to partake in the poll on the right side of the page! What will you be doing for New Years Eve?

Anyways... that sums up the end of the year in My RSS Reads. Stay tuned for a new Take a Look as well as my Top 10 of 2008 post. I still have two more days, you know!

treating myself

2008-12-28T22:35:00.003-05:00

So yesterday was my birthday. Finally legal all over the world! Anyways, I definitely treated myself to some new music before i leave for London. Here's a peak at what I bought yesterday (Soundscapes has a boxing week sale!), but shhhh about how I'm a bit slow on the uptake.

Little Joy, Santogold&Diplo, Bon Iver, Tusks.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

I also bought this year's edition of Best Music Writing. This year, Nelson George was the guest editor, and his introduction was really interesting. It says a lot for who I am and who I want to be.

Here's an exerpt:

"The most exciting, vital role of the critic is to identify and advocate new movements, particularly those that serve minority taste and grow organically out of a community of like-minded individuals, be they a collective of DJs, music loving druggies addicted to the same substance and sounds, or bold dancers looking for their particular perfect beat. In many cases it is from some combustible combination of these elements that a true movement is born. I think that the ability to give voice and definition to such communities can be what makes or breaks a music journalist."

It's a pretty big deal.

P.S. I also saw Yes Man, mainly for my love of Zooey Deschanel, but oh man. Such a funny movie! But she is great. And so damn pretty.

Getting in the spirit

2008-12-21T19:09:00.002-05:00

In the spirit of moving to London -- IN SEVENTEEN DAYS -- I've got a post for you all about really cool or just plain weird things going on in my new favourite city.

Kanye West is going to be moving there too ... to be a fashion magazine intern. God almighty do I want to run into him & make him angry, just to see another CAPITALIZED BITCHY BLOG POST. (Chart)

This is definitely a self-made tour I plan on doing once I get there. All around a London-style "Tin Pan Alley" which turned into a place where the Sex Pistols, Beatles, Elton John, and the Stones would record. (Londonist)

Speaking of those names, a recording studio that's housed those names, and is currently home to U2 (euch) might be closing because of the rough economic times. (NME)

And a London concert venue, Nambucca, which has seen the likes of The Pidgeon Detectives, The Black Kids, and The Libertines/Babyshambles, was hit by a fire. (NME)

My RSS Reads (new name!) as of December 21st

2008-12-21T18:47:00.004-05:00

Hey all -- here's my second installment of My RSS Reads (grammatically and stylistically rearranged from Reads of my RSS... took me long enough.)

There's quite some interesting stuff going on actually, so these are good reads you should check out.

First, one of my favourite bands (and album of 2007), The National, are gearing up for their next album! Tres excited. (Exclaim)

Kevin Barnes is readying a new Of Montreal record already, as well as working with MGMT on a sideproject named Blikk Fang and that the soundtrack wonderman John Brion might work on it too. (Exclaim)

But in more unfortunate album news, Ben Gibbard has explained that a new Postal Service record more than likely won't ever happen. He even compared it to Chinese Democracy. That's when you know it's crazy. (Pitchfork)

Lily Allen got herself into more trouble recently with her record label when she covered Britney Spears' "Womanizer" track. I love the Lilly, but .... why'd you cover it already? I don't even see how that could have been much fun. And way to go Mark Ronson for screwing everything up. (Chart)

For Jack White, apparently newest job under his belt is journalist. That is, if you can count having a conversation with Cate Blanchett for Interview magazine at all journalistic. Cool, he interviewed her, but when it got to the point where the story became more about him, that's where the cred goes back down. (NME)

Hey all you metalheads and hardcore emo fans! Turns out headbanging can cost you your life. BEWARE. (Exclaim)

Here's some fun -- LEGO + Music = LEGO Album Covers. (Pitchfork)

Something I forgot to post last entry was this.. Rachael Maddux is awesome, I've delt with her last summer about internships (unfortunately I didnt get it, but I still love the mag and will someday try again) and I love Zooey Deschanel. Put them both together and this is what you get! (Paste)

Final note, goodbye Torontoist. I'll miss you.

Questions? Comments? Bent over Coldplay breaking up or getting back together? Giggling over the Lonely Island? Need help with your Top 2008 list? Contact jess at roundletters@gmail.com.

my last Toronto show until the summer was...

2008-12-17T14:30:00.004-05:00

Human Highway. Aka Jim Guthrie, grandson of Woody Guthrie, and Nick Thorburn, front man of band Islands and now defunct-Unicorns.

I've never been to the Tranzac before... but when we (Yahlehly & i) finally found the place (It's on Bloor! No, it's on Bathurst!) we entered, it just started snowing. there seemed to be two rooms, visible with people, guitars, listening. There were posters for Human Highway all over, but we didn't know where to go. Then I pushed open a door, right into the concert. It felt strange to see everyone else was in on the secret but us for those long seconds. But as we filtered through the hipsters, upon us was The Magic. They played a pretty sweet set, they looked like they were having fun, harmonizing nice and all, but I found a few too many moments to zone out.

Then it was time for Human Highway.. who in fact borrowed two of the members from the Magic. Brothers Geordie Gordon (front man) and Evan Gordon (who seriously looks like Ed Westwick, you know... Gossip Girl... Son of Rambow..) Anyway. The set was pretty great... for their first tour. Their first tour! And I got to see their first Toronto show. Sweet, eh?

Watch "The Sound"

They played most of the songs off of Moody Motorcycle. It was unfortunate that my favourite songs seemed more forced & awkward then some of the others played, but I didn't mind. Yahlehly whispered, "it's the band, not them."

Either way... it was just cool to see they were having fun. Guthrie and Thorburn have a brotherly, cousinly, kind of vibe to them. They didn't look at one another very often, so focused on their guitar strumming sychronization, but it was obvious they were very conscious of this baby project they've produced and how much they wanted it to go well.

Guthrie joked continually about his cats. "I've got to go home and feed them... pet them, you know?" Thorburn responded "Oh Jim, it's fine." Jim: "This isn't a very good place to be making a joke, is it?"
(Of course... my translation's probably not 100% accurate.. but you get the idea.)

Watch "Moody Motorcycle"

By the time their short set was over (I mean really, they only have one album's worth of material) and we exited (after waving farewell to Thorburn), there was a good amount of snow on the ground. We just looked at it for a moment... astonished that in two hours something like that would happen. Who's used to snow anymore?

After we got over the pretty sphere of Brunswick avenue... and trekked to Spadina, the snow more in our face than anything, we sat warming up in the subway car pondering the greatness of Human Highway's album cover. I got home... excited (to my surprise) to walk through new snow that was untouched. Pondered the subway yard in front of my house in its snowy wonder, and retreated inside. This was my last Toronto show... until it's warm outside again.

Reads Of My RSS: as of Thursday, December 11th

2008-12-11T13:35:00.006-05:00

Here's the first edition of a new feature, Reads of My RSS.
Bringing you news of the past week (or so) that's a) hilarious b) interesting and c) at least worth noting.

First off, let me explain how much news there's been this past week about the Arcade Fire. Seriously, it's like they injected happy bubbles into their PR person, possibly worried about being forgotten. Don't worry Arcade Fire, you may not be on best of 2008 lists because you ranked so high in 2007, but it's still hard to forget the track "Neon Bible," at least for me.

So, not only have they given up rights to the Benjamin Button trailer and given out cryptic hints about releasing a film, titled Miror Noir, but members of the band that are also in Bell Orchestre have announced that they're now signed to Canada indie powerhouse label Arts & Crafts, and will release their second album next year. (Pitchfork)

Keeping it on a Montreal tone, Plants & Animals have created a new video for the song "Feedback in the Field." It looks awesome, but too bad Firefox is hating on me lately with audio. (Pitchfork)

More Canadian collective news, and this time it's the ever-growing Broken Social Scene. Last week, they played a couple shows in Toronto that I unfortunately missed (although, it was more choice, I can't stand the Sound Academy) but one night included Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse and Elizabeth Powell from Land of Talk, while the next night had Emily Haines from Metric. (Pitchfork)

But, it gets worse in terms of "holy crap i can't believe i missed this show." Why? Maybe you'll start kicking yourself in the face too when you continue reading, finding out that the other night here in Toronto at the little Dakota Tavern, was Broken Social Scene, Jason Collett, Metric, Stars, and Gentleman Reg.

Yeah. Fuck.

The National Post got the scoop (and the cell phone pictures), and even though their account sounds really fangirl-ish and makes an almost horrifying comparison to a night with the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Buzzcocks, and the Damned, it's still a good portrayal of the night in the sense that you can tell everyone was also thinking "holy crap." (National Post)

A few months ago, it was announced that British rock group the Long Blondes were forced to disband after Dorian Cox had a stroke that paralyzed his right side. Sad news, right? But there's a glimmer of hope. It was announced that Cox will be getting a SaeboFlex glove that will give him use to his right hand, and therefore he will be able to go back to playing guitar.

Pitchfork put it in a new light though. "based on the way it looks, we're kind of hoping Cox forgets about music and decides to start fighting crime." (Pitchfork)

Alright, now last music-related news before I get to some other random good stuff. Grant Lawrence of CBC Radio 3 posted a few days ago a recollection of the transmission fair, where all of the top music executives got together in British Columbia for discussions. Though Lawrence may have found some mental pain in the matter, the tips he brought back were either duh-points or actutally pretty interesting. He recalled how Seymour Stein said "I signed the Ramones because they reminded me of the Beach Boys." Oof. (CBC Radio 3)

Alright, now my last three news bits are courtesty of the National Post. I personally think they have the best Arts section in any Canadian newspaper, or any other paper I've seen as a matter of fact. They're witty, daring, and overall affective in what they find to cover.

They discussed how animated features should just be nominated for Best Picture at this point. I whole heartedly agree, as any mention of Wall-E makes me all silly and giggly.

They dwelled on the fact of how J.K. Rowling's latest tale, The Beetle and the Bard, (I can't believe I don't own it yet...) is most likely going to be made into a film. Can't say I didn't see that coming. But this is good, as I've stuck it to Twilight these past few months as a true HP fan. Representin'...

And lastly, you cannot just skim over Steven Murray's hilarious Extremely Bad Advice column. Here's today's post... on how he got into giving advice in a bloody way.

That's it for this week's Reads of My RSS. Comments? Questions? Think I'm missing something huge? Too concerned about MIA's baby or Jennifer Aniston and Britney Spears's decreasing mental stability? Contact Jess at roundletters@gmail.com.

P.S. Look to the right (if you're on the page, not your Reader) --> new poll! Get voting!

darts of pleasure

2008-12-05T11:46:00.004-05:00

When you hear a lot of talk about how a show sold out within minutes, you expect said show to be pretty insane, right?

I wouldn't consider last night's Franz Ferdinand show to be insane, or anywhere near it.

However, the Scottish lads put on a great performance, and played all of the songs I was hoping ("Take Me Out," "40'," "The Dark of the Matinee," "The Fallen," "Do You Want To," etc...). It's just... to me, a show isn't just the band playing. In order to critique the experience, you need to take into account the audience.

Watch "Dark of the Matinee"

That being said, why the hell did I only see less than ten arms flailing about until the final song of the encore, "This Fire"?

I've seen Lee's in more of a hopping state. Granted, they were more dance oriented shows and Franz is more rock. But come on. I feel like Toronto's lost the meaning of rocking out! We need to get it back! Especially if you've been talking about the show for weeks. Even more especially for the fact that they played Lee's, not the Sound Academy or even Kool Haus.

Even so, last night it was clear how Franz takes dance beats and bass beats that can be used in any pop or electronic song, but they incorporate it into rock. This is amazing.

In October, front man Alex Kapranos explained their upcoming album Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, out next year. (This tour was actually a pre-album one, but they only really played maybe 3 or 4 new songs, they sound awesome though.) Here's what he said:

It's "music of the night: to fling yourself around your room to as you psyche yourself for a night of hedonism, for the dance-floor, flirtation, for your desolate heart-stop, for losing it and loving losing it, for the chemical surge in your bloodstream."

Watch "The Fallen"

So, for the love of god Toronto, by the time Franz Ferdinand come back, you better be ready to dance.

Let's not forget... the band itself was fantastic. I was thinking Kapranos was a little awkward (I dont think he wears the leather jacket and pants the way a video costume design person must have told him he did back in 2004) and his voice could have used a little work, until 45 minutes in the set he whipped out his inhaler. Guitarist Nick McCarthy was obviously doing most of the work as he ran between guitar & keyboards, and the sometimes Big Foot-esque, sometimes pummel through the tunnel beat relationship between Bob Hardy & Paul Thompson was top notch.

Watch "Take Me Out"

Also, coming out of that night, I have rekindled my love for [now] Toronto-based band Born Ruffians. If you're one to get past Luke LaLonde's vocals, you'll find them amazing as well... brains lie behind tracks like "Hedonistic Me," "Coldness Hot," "Hummingbird," and "Badonkadonkey."

newsies

2008-12-04T12:04:00.007-05:00

Hey! There are new things on RoundLetters if you haven't noticed yet!

Take part in my weekly poll. This week -- who will you be leaving off of your 2008 best of list?

Check out a number of live shows in Toronto via my YouTube channel stream, but you can also head on over to the site itself right here.

Twitter's been on here a while, but if you haven't yet, follow me here.

I just updated my links -- many new friend blogs to creep!

Have something you want to tell me? Well now you can keep it between us if you want.
Contact Jess at ROUNDLETTERS.GMAIL.COM.

Soon to come themed posts: Take A Look (well, first one is below this post) and twice weekly Reads from My RSS. BestFirsts will continue. And the creative process isn't over yet!

Let me know if there's something cool you think I should be updating on, take the new email address for a spin.

Take a Look

2008-12-04T11:44:00.004-05:00

So remember that beautiful woman I mentioned in my last post that was singing when Sam Roberts walked past me at my local pub?

Her name is Romney Getty.

She's a local too, except she's long distance.

Checking out her MySpace, her music doesn't exactly sound like what I remember from Tuesday night, but it's still enjoyable. While her guitar leans like a teeter-totter from country to folk, her deep voice never falls off. It's warm; it's the accompaniment to a hot chocolate by the fireplace in your cabin.

If you get a chance, check her out live. I guarantee you'll like it even more than just listening to her tracks.

For a twang party -- listen to "Ain't No Mistake"

My favourite song though is "All Along," for it's one-two punches of lazy guitar spirit. It can be heard on her MySpace.

Romney's album, Ramblin' Girl is available now. iTunes and everything!

Check her out here:
Dec. 16 -- J.D.'s -- Collingwood, Ont.
Dec. 22 -- The Hess -- Hamilton, Ont.
Dec. 27 -- Craigleith Ski Club -- Craigleighth, Ont.
Jan. 3 -- Alpine Ski Club -- Thornbury, Ont.

hope : born in a flame ; carried through a gate

2008-12-03T21:55:00.007-05:00

Mood was anxious... frightened for the future. I was ignoring it anyway. But somehow, I stumbled upon my lost friend Fate, who gave me a very significant clue to something that would help me for something I am writing. I thought, like a bit of a cynical journalist, "great. I hope people will at least be a little nicer this time. And I better get a lot of anecdotes." Turns out... I got what I wanted and more.

I did many interviews, all with locals who are in love with the walls they were in between at that moment. Amazing stories of the past fluttered around me, to the beats of the beautiful woman who was playing guitar in the back of the room.

As everyone became merrier, and I started to sink into my 'fly on the wall' position (besides the "are you the party biographer?" or "hey, you want my autograph?" in response to the fact that I had my notebook out) I started daydreaming if every person around me were a rockstar but I could never surely tell.

It was then that a very familiar face walked by me, and then two more. I thought, "hey.. now THEM i am SURE of."

James Hall. Sam Roberts. Eric Fares.

I must have looked pretty silly. And after I ran out to call my roomate who's been in love with the middle man for ages, I hitched my high journalistic horses and proceeded to get my interview with Sam Roberts.

"I don't know if I walked in on the average night or the best night of the year," he said. "Just from the photographs on the wall to the beer that's good, to the food on the table, everything seems to be top notch, you know?"

He told me he'd give me a better impression of the place after his first Polish beer.

"First of all, what I've gathered anyways, this is a very musically oriented place," he said. "Aside from the fact that there's live music playing, people can live and work and call this place their home away from home, their lives revolve around music. It means that I already feel more welcome than I otherwise would."

By this time, I felt like I had already drank a few beers myself. (Did not!) I was high on journalistic life, and I haven't had that feeling in a while. Fate may have brought me there, and him there, but it's journalism and the art of questions that kept the conversation going (I can't just reveal ALL of it to you now, can I?)

P.S. Try and imagine how great this was to me. It's not like I've never talked about him before.
Examples: A, B, and C.

P.P.S. Thanks Vanessa for taking the photos.

P.P.P. S. I obviously missed Winter Gloves & Levi Weaver. HOWEVER, I am guaranteeing you coming up will be a new BestFirst and a review of the sold out Franz Ferdinand concert in Toronto!

the purging of itunes

2008-11-26T23:10:00.004-05:00

since my last post, i've had some confusion as to if Plants and Animals "Parc Avenue" and Cut Copy's "In Ghost Colours" came out in 2007 or 2008.

Turns out my iTunes thinks it knows more than I do, and in my haste to post the blog, i didn't take a second to double check. I also believe there were a few albums I in fact really did like a lot this year that weren't labeled in the player too... so maybe all hope is not lost (sigh, still not as amazing as '07 though.)

Therefore, it's safe to say these two albums are resting safely on my upcoming Best of 2008 list. More to come in the future...

P.S. -- Hooray! EDIT:: this link was supposed to go to -- this story. but hey, i'm all for promoting R3.

P.P.S. -- Saying goodbye to North America & hello to jolly ol' UK on January 6th!

getting into the ho-hum spirit

2008-11-24T20:11:00.004-05:00

i'm staring at a half-finished essay on the effects of television onto children. i am waiting for pages of my newspaper to be finished; the last issue i will be contributing to. i've got one week left of Ryerson classes until my fourth year. i wish that caffeine would hit me when i drink it, not four hours later. every day i'm concerned over a summer internship. i must continue working on my final feature.

i decided to begin working on a 2008 top ten albums list, and when i spun through my itunes, i found that there were actually ONLY TEN albums i really loved this year. i'm saddened by this, but really, 2007 was so much better.

Here were my top 2007 albums, with no explanations, as my computer screen is stressing me out.

1. The Shins -- Wincing the Night Away
2. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club -- Baby 81
3. Wintersleep -- Welcome to the Night Sky
4. Jose Gonzales -- In Our Nature
5. The National -- Boxer
6. MIA -- Kala
7. Arcade Fire -- Neon Bible
8. Coconut Records -- Nighttiming
9. Feist -- The Reminder
10. Of Montreal -- Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

Now, here are my favourite albums of 2007 that I unfortunately discovered in 2008:
1. Plants & Animals -- Parc Avenue
2. Spiral Beach -- Ball
3. Cut Copy -- In Ghost Colours
4. The Cansecos -- Juices!
5. Office -- A Night at the Ritz

Really, all 15 albums were pure beauty and provided my only joy of 2007, it's safe to say.

You're going to have to wait for my fave 2008, basically because I'm going to need some time to get jazzed about them again.

Here, I'll leave you in good spirits with a trailer for a movie I watched last night & thought it was amazing, as well as below that, you'll find a bit from a movie I saw the night before.

whatever it takes

2008-11-16T17:51:00.011-05:00

Alright, so I'm at work bored... waiting on an article to be finished so I can layout the page & get back home to begin a new book (Londonstani ... prepping!) and then fall asleep.

UPDATE: I guess Londonstani is not what I remembered it to be when I bought it, so for me to say "prepping"... this is not true. It's about a South Asian gang-type in London, and I'm hardly near any of that. But... it's based in London! And this clever packet I got from my new school suggested me to read London-based books before I arrive. In fact, here's an excerpt:

"Reading a London based novel is a good way to begin thinking of the diversity of London life and its inhabitants, if not to predict your experience. A wide range of contemporary fiction set in London is available. These range from Zadie Smith’s White Teeth or Monica Ali’s Brick Lane bringing the city’s ethnic diversity into focus, to Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’ Diary, satirising a single London girl’s life, Tim Lott’s White City Blue, detailing the woes of a single London man, via urban fantasy such as Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere." /END UPDATE.

I forgot to mention in my last entry that I went to go visit the set of Degrassi (I guess because it's not exactly musically related.) But it was a ton of fun. Back in my high school days, I was pretty obsessed with the Toronto TV show, and when I found out I was moving here, I took it upon myself to make my goal be to get on their set. And lookie here, I did.

I went because I was writing an article for The Eyeopener, as four of the stars go to/went to Ryerson. Over a week's time, I interviewed all four (Evan Williams "Kelly", Nina Dobrev "Mia", Charlotte Arnold "Holly J" and Raymond Ablack "Sav.")

On a Wednesday, accompanied with my photog pal Andrew, we trekked an hour out to the North York set to hang out during lunch time with the cast & crew. We sat in their set's cafeteria, saw all of the rooms they film in (for the most part like dorm rooms, class rooms, bed rooms, fun rooms), and hung around on the school's famous front stoop looking over the fake street set where the crew gets to park their cars in order for it to look real. It was scary quiet as it was their last day filming, but still the high school girl in me was just too excited. Seeing things up close that I've seen on screen for years, and being able to report on it, just redeemed my love of Toronto & of journalism.

Anyways, for the story, go here.

hey stranger

2008-11-15T21:40:00.009-05:00

In terms of where priorities lie, I'll never get it point straight.

Since September, like everyone else, I've been coordinating trying to get good grades in university, do well at my job, see my few different groups of friends on a regular basis, be a good girlfriend, a good roommate, and write. But what's happened so far is I've gotten alright grades, managed to hand everything in on time, do an alright job at the Eyeopener but not as well as I had hoped, rarely see my friends, have actually been a good girlfriend and roommate (i hope), but I've barely been writing, for Chart, Round Letters, or for my own.

Enough with my pity party.

Nothing's terrible, I'm just tuckering out. However, I do need to buck up though, as I got my final yes to move to LONDON, ENGLAND! I'll be leaving this continent for one I've always longed for in January, and will not be back until May. But rest assure, I will be bringing you hopefully just as many musical musings from the good ol UK. I'll miss my precious Canada and just as precious national musicians. I hope they come visit and play some gigs I'll be able to show you. But, the great British bands I will see! Hooray.

Anyways, in the time since SPIN video #2 (haven't heard back, by the way, in a while..) I've seen Wynton Marsalis, Of Montreal, Shout Out Out Out Out, and Sam Roberts. I've also volunteered at Canzine and now a whole new world is open for me.

Of Montreal was pretty good, but not as amazing as they were a year ago at the Opera House. Kevin Barnes gets more insane with age. He stripped down to bare a shiney orange speedo capped off by a huge purple belt for most of the show, while back up dancers were grinding up on one another and the rest of the musicians just having this slightly brainwashed smirk on their faces. Needless to say, it was still enjoyable. But I really can't handle all ages shows. Insane fifteen year old emo kids don't really know much about Of Montreal, I'm sure, and when it came to songs like "Disconnect the Dots", hardly any of them knew what to do with themselves.

Shout Out Out Out Out was pretty fun, even though I was by myself. You can check out my review for it here. And my photos for it here (apparently more people hate my photos than they like them...). Also, if you haven't listened to Not Saying/Just Saying, do it. RIGHT NOW. and proceed to have a party.

Of course Sam Roberts was awesome, seriously. I was a little miffed at paying 40 bucks to go see him instead of seeing a free Spiral Beach show that night, but I guess it all worked out. I'm still sad I missed SB but i hope they come to London when I'm there. Anyways, The Stills opened, and they actually really weren't good. I saw them a few months ago at the Horseshoe, and that show rocked. But this, I don't know whether it was the venue (haha, read this), or just first-show of the week jitters, or something. I just couldn't jive to it, and the guys in the bands seemed to be making a lot of egotistical moves. The music's still good, so they can pride themselves on that. Anyways, SR was awesome, but I've got to say, the two times I've seen him free in Buffalo were way better. But whatever! Played moreso off of Love at the End of the World, but a few classics like of course "Mind Flood." Yesterday, two of my roommates and I went to go see the band play a small set at Sonic Boom, and that pretty much made my day. So close, so awesome, and they genuinely looked like they were having fun playing the songs and talking to their fans.

Canzine was awesome, I met all of the really amazing people from Broken Pencil, bought some amazing little treasures, and felt to be a good part of something so creative in Toronto.

Till next time (hopefully not another month later...) This week I'll be going to see Winter Gloves and Levi Weaver. Also, I hope to get another BestFirst in soon. However, this might not be a while because as my priorities lie, I've got to get to work on a big English paper, my final feature on a sweet coffee shop, as well as a few other deeds.

Here are some more videos:

Cadence Weapon -- "Black Hand"

Wintersleep -- "Weighty Ghost"

Woodhands -- "Under Attack"

Spin Video #2

2008-10-14T15:08:00.004-04:00

Check out my video about Cadence Weapon and Woodhands in Toronto on October 9th.

NYC was pretty great, but not blogworthy at this moment; dealing with feature pitches, post-exam meltdowns, competitiveness, work lameness, getting my papers ready for London, and more. sigh.

anyways, video time. Let me know what you think.

Hope(s)(ing)

2008-10-06T11:41:00.003-04:00

So I've been getting busier by the minutes. And just today did I finally consider maybe I'm taking on too much. But.... meh. It's all fun. Who needs sleep? Or apparently much of a social life?

Anyways. Here's a video I made for SPIN Magazine with hopes to be one of their new Toronto International Correspondents. They liked it there and I hope you do too. It covers the Brian Borcherdt, The Wooden Sky, and Wintersleep concert last week at the Phoenix.

And you get to see me in action too.

More updates soon from my NYC trip (just got back at 6am) and more.

Live: Two Hours Traffic: Pop to Go

2008-09-28T00:27:00.012-04:00

Nobody wants to get stuck for the summer. Nor do they want to miss Two Hours Traffic.
Okay, that sounded lame. But you shouldn't have missed this show.

Thinking i was about to miss The Danks, Ryan and i rushed over to Lee's Palace last night only to find out that yet again, whenever i think i'll be late for a show, i'm so, so not. first of all, we didn't miss the danks (yaaaay), second of all, they are awesome, and third of all, i finally got to purchase their first EP, Samples, after chatting with their lead singer Brohan about their North by Northeast set for a bit. (i reviewed it, check here)(he also remembered that i gave them a good review, good enough it landed them on ChartAttack's highest marks for that festival). oh Brohan and company, your tunes please me so.

next up was the i spies. gah, not so fun. their lead singer was entertaining whenever he reached the climax of the songs, but other than that, i don't remember anything besides thinking they all looked way too much like an american apparel ad as well as trying a little too hard. they have a solid following, and their songs aren't bad, but... meh.

but Two Hours Traffic of course brought the party. this polaris prize-nominated band carried all of their poppy tunes to their even hoppier-crowd. they played all of the solid tracks off of Little Jabs, such as "Nighthawks," "Stuck for the Summer," "Backseat Sweetheart," "Jezebel," and "Whenever We Finish." They also played their new song "Drop Alcohol," which i already love. i want! Oh, and i can't get enough of "New Love." so much fun. if i was to ask for something from THT, i would ask for them to show a little bit more personality in their sets, but i can live without as their energy is pretty high. i don't think they'll be winning the polaris, but they definitely deserved to be nominated.

fun fact: jian ghomeshi came on stage to play tambourine for a song. random? yes. awkward? yes. but guitarist alec seemed to enjoy it very much so.

so, as i was serving as ChartAttack photographer for the night, i will now show you the rest of the show. (sadly forgot my other camera in my rush to catch the danks, so no videos.)

Live: Sigur Ros: A Mystical Adventure

2008-09-27T23:44:00.005-04:00

Alright, second review of the day. This was Sept. 22 at Massey Hall.

"How many cardigans do you think are in this theatre?"
"Probably 90 per cent."

Yeah folks, I saw so many colourful and slick sweaters and rad buttons. But what I also saw was a lot of icelanders.

It was actually quite nice that i didn't know any of the words for the entire night. it made for an interesting zone-out period, and thus i realized how mystical Sigur Ros sounds. mystical in the sense that a) if aliens were to exist, they were not terrifying-looking, and they were to come to canada, they would be just like sigur ros and b) they also sounded like mermen. not the kind in harry potter, but... close.

openers Parachutes, also from iceland, had a nice sound as well, but too similar to their main act. it was like, if you were to imagine your dreamworld that had an airy chorus, they would be it. just not with the same vocals. too high! they were cute though.

anyways, sigur. amazing! such a thrilling and yet meditative show. i loved the video aspects they did (like radiohead) except these were larger (therefore i could see) and watching a close shot of singer jonsi push his e-bow back and forth on his guitar was special. they powered through a two hour set without any stops and no english words thrown around until the end, (fancily enough, swear words). they did an encore of gobbledigook, and it was magical with rainbow lights shooting up to the ceiling, parachutes playing huge drums, and plenty of confetti (that even reached me on the top balcony). so great! as my roommate said "it's like the best kid in the world's birthday party!"

i'm glad i saw them.

one thing i noticed during the show, as i was on the top balcony facing straight forward, as i could see both sides as everyone was turned towards the stage how everyone's face was half-illuminated in the mystical glow of sigur ros. it's safe to say by the end of the night, everyone had a sigur high.

Live: The Swell Season: LoveLoveLove

2008-09-27T18:50:00.006-04:00

If you've seen the movie Once, you know that if a European couple has melodies and electricity, they're bound to become not only the cutest couple ever but also quite successful.

Now, i've seen the movie, only once (sorry), and it was a while ago so i wasn't as highly anticipating this show at Massey Hall as much as i should have. But as soon as they began, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, their spark of light was infectious and i was captured in the glow for two straight hours, never falling into the dark.

But let's back up here for a second. Opener Bill Calahan = ghastly. Within his first song i already dozed off for a few seconds, his baritone more than i could handle (and i already get enough of it from The National). he had a few good songs, but i couldn't grasp onto his lyrics i.e. something alond the lines of: "i love my momma, my poppa, my sisters too. but i bought this guitar to sing about my love for you". yeah. So, he's actually formerly known as Smog and had a song on the High Fidelity soundtrack. therefore he has slight props. but as Bill, he didn't do it for me. it was quite funny after the set my roommate and i turned to each other, as i said "uuuurgh that was terrible" and she said "really? i thought it was amazing". conflicting tastes.

i want to gush about The Swell Season now. Yes, they're an actual real band, they're not just playing around after they made a movie. There's four other members: electric guitar, bass, drums, and violin. Together, while Marketa's on piano and Glen's on acoutsic guitar, they made beauty.

there were two things about this show that i want to share with you:
1 -- the amount of love that filled the room as glen and marketa wove their melodies together (i.e. "The Moon" will make you cry and "Falling Slowly" will make you stop what you're doing) was so powerful. the entire crowd that filled massey hall's crazy seats at even crazier steep heights was still for the two hours that they played. couples everywhere. aww's floating about. now, normally i would be all "euuuch" but that day i was just so happy off of some other people's warmth. (ha).

2 -- glen hansard feels music in his bones. this man lives and breathes musical notes and lyrics and his life experiences that he shared can prove it, along with the way he yells during some songs as he stomps the floor. it's not pain, it's something greater. it's emotion and dedication. he can make anything into a song (i.e. an entire story about a dog that would watch cars go by on the street for years). he explained almost every song, which made the concert so much better. you can just feel the shakes he shoves as he pushes out the notes from his throat. it's like nothing i've ever seen.

Here are some videos up on YouTube by other people with better views: (i really just wish everyone could have seen this show)
To see "Go With Happiness", click here. Also, at the end, you'll see what i was talking about with Glen. oh, and here too: "I Have Loved You Wrong"
"Back Broke"
the effect of Glen's storytelling with "Low Rising"
"Say It To Me Now"

Live: Plants & Animals: Among the nature of French Canadians

2008-09-20T13:10:00.006-04:00

As promised, here is a short review of Thursday's Plants and Animals concert at the Horseshoe Tavern.

Well, i had a pleasant surprise of finding out the Ruby Coast was opening. i was excited because i've been hearing so much about them lately and missed a couple shows. They were fun, young, and poppy. i'll definitely look into getting their album soon. They may have had too many hand claps and the girl in front of me didn't stop hopping for the entire set (a friend said "too much red bull?") and some other girl who ran into me was all "oh my gahd, this is like an aerobics class!!!", therefore that is one high-energy set. It was fun, a strange pairing with P&A, but i'm glad i saw them. i later saw them heading across the street to McDonalds. Late-night concert jonesing, boys? Nothing gets you hopped up like a good cheezbugah.

But what i've been waiting for for months, Plants and Animals, finally came. i have been spinning this record with adoration for a while now (ahem, last post) and the triplet (but not really) from Montreal did not disappoint. Their performance didn't really sound like Parc Avenue, but that didn't matter. Each member brought amazing old-school energy, but the first thing i noticed was their drummer, Matthew Woodley, and the way he moved while playing. i have never seen anything like it! Who knew someone sitting behind a drum set could move like that. And what's better, with a pineapple shaker while he only drummed with one hand. It's like he's destined to salsa dance. ANYWAYS, they played all of the songs that i mentioned in the last post to my delight. the best part of the evening was at the end during "Faerie Dance" when Warren Spicer and Nicolas Basque were trying to coordinate the synthesizer's light dings with Warren's vocals and it just didn't work. So funny and innocently charming. It may not have been the beautiful wisps of the album, but it was raw, honest, and fun.

Go here to watch a video done by Jen White for ChartAttack during March's CMW with the band, and you'll get a glimpse of Matthew's drum dance, Nicolas's cute French-Canadian accent and hilarious quip about tasting a raccoon, and Warren's uncomfortable-looking position in the van.

Here's a video of "Mercy" and a little bit of a jam session in the middle.

Coming up: Live reviews of The Swell Season & Sigur Ros.

BestFirsts #1

2008-09-15T16:17:00.009-04:00

So today is special. It marks the day that i finally begin my editorials, BestFirsts. Here's what it is: an album review, basically. But it's all about an artist's first album that trumps all the rest of the albums.

But with each editorial, i won't do just that. i'll also include an album review that's either not the first but an artist's best, or the first while the artist still doesn't have any left (but if they didn't make any more, i would be satisfied, although sad).

i know many bands produce their bests first, and this is often debated via the "sophomore slump", but i decided to take my own spin on it. Why are they better than their later albums? Are you often dissapointed with their second albums, thinking "whyyyy?" Well, i do.

Today's edition: This Day & Age and Plants & Animals. Two bands that win in the conjunction category.

BestFirsts #1:

The Best First: This Day & Age -- Always Leave The Ground

A band from Buffalo, New York who sadly don't exist anymore. This album was released in 2004 on One Eleven Records. i enjoyed this record for much longer than it seems until their second release, The Bell and The Hammer, in 2006, right before their unfortunate demise. i lost track of how many times i went to see this band play tracks off of ALTG, and every time i sang almost every word. (i'm not perfect). Anyways, this album contains tracks such as the fast and slow beats and ticks of "Hourglass," ('we used to be afraid / but we found our way'). There's the ballad of basementy-yet sophisticated keyboard laiden "Second Place Victory," (i heard you say it's enlightening to think of the breeze / to believe in things that we cannot see / so here we go / let's show them how to live, accept the pain, always forgive / watch the sun go down, learn the sound of following all that's complete). The happy but tinge of regretful "Slideshow," (in the movies / on the big screen / i'd make you mine / if this were high school or just homecoming / we'd dance all night). One of my favourites was "Seven-Eighty," because it got me going with it's quiet hand claps, cute lyrics, and great combination of the band's use of beats and heart-felt twinges. (if i was talking to you and not writing this / maybe i could show you something you haven't seen / my lips would fight my mind / i'd say things at the right time).

This album showcases Buffalo's short era of pop-almost-punk but love for happy beats while still calling themselves "maybe emo". It not only highlights the better of my high school days (while the lyrics are closer to my not so nice days) which made me love it that much more, it was something i could relate to for two very interesting parts of my life that were happening at almost the same time and it was music coming straight from my hometown. The reason why i like this album better than their second and last (by the way, the members minus singer Jeff Martin can be found in the band Reign of Kindo) The Bell and the Hammer is because every song on ALTG is memorable to the people who grew up with the band and myself, while TBATH has a few amazing tracks ("Always Straight Ahead," which i listened to every day for a long time and have recently just gotten back into, and "Second Star To The Right..." because of it's catchy piano paired with Martin's voice) but it falls short, and i'm even having a hard time recalling it right now.

This Day & Age is a band i miss with a huge pang in my being. But i am so grateful that i at least knew about them, saw them a crazy amount, and can hold onto albums like Always Leave The Ground.

The One and Only: Plants & Animals -- Parc Avenue

Whereas for my Best First i chose a band that wasn't very well kn0wn outside of their hometown community, for this edition's One and Only i've chosen a band that are succeeding in the pace of word-of-mouth in canadian press and others (blogs, ahem) and are hopefully destined for a long and pleasant journey. (Disclaimer: P&A have had EPs, but i'm counting this because it's their first full-length).

This album will most definitely be on my best of 2008 list, no lie. The goodness that drips from "Good Friend" for the pure sadness of (i wanna dance / i wanna dance / i wanna dance), to "Faerie Dance" because of its hypnotizing guitar sways and dream-like area that seems to encompass me wherever i go whilst listening to this track, to "New Kind of Love" and the beautiful lyrics (there's a river so we go where it goes / and get covered in dirt and rainbows / we're giving it up again / we're giving it up again/ we're givingggggg it up again), the bells, the breaths, and the euphoric yet slightly messy ending that seems to summarize its title, to the racing beats behind the sleepy vocals (and literal calls) of "Mercy".

i don't want to reveal too much about this album now though as i was able to get a ticket to their show at the Horseshoe Tavern on Thursday and you will for sure be hearing all about what i thought of it.

This blog is open up to discussion about both of these albums and i will gladly listen to every point of view! i also encourage comments to let me know what you think, to see how my first edition of BestFirsts went.

anew!

2008-09-15T00:26:00.004-04:00

hooray for changed layout (or at least tweaked). check it out!

as for editorials, tomorrow I will be starting the first of the BestFirsts line. Make sure to come and visit again Monday night!

sincere apologies

2008-09-14T22:17:00.010-04:00

i've decided that since i'm lame at blogging, i'm not going to even bother updating on much that's happened since my last post. i'll just hand you some links.

Final Fantasy show review here.

Boats! interview here.

An article about some guys in TIFF here.

And here's a video from a while ago (June) during North by Northeast (i actually wrote about it here) that i can be seen in a few times.

Oh, wait, here's a Q and A i did with Cute is What We Aim For a couple months ago that was just put up on (the new) ChartAttack.

ANYWAYS,
Life's been good. Tiring of course, this is me, but very good. It's the first time in my life that i actually have 99% of what i want all at the same time.

i am so grateful to have amazing friends who are there for me whenever i need and don't hesitate to put a smile on my face; a boyfriend who can't be any more perfect and has brought me so many things i've never had before and more; a great job at the campus newspaper as an Arts and Life editor that feels rewarding at the end of the day whether it's an article of mine or just creating a section my entire school can read and hopefully enjoy; and classes that might actually make me learn some things with teachers i actually appreciate. Not to mention just enjoying my time here for my first semester of my third year of university.

All of these things are what keeps me from updating this more often than i promise. But that's alright, I'm out enjoying life and even though sometimes it wears me to my bones, i don't regret anything.

However, when it comes down to the blog i must say this: i doubt anyone's really reading, but i still want to continue with it. Please let me know what you think. i still will create a new layout, do editorials (in the works!), and review concerts, etc etc. That's all still coming up, and more.

Such as this weekend i'm going to see Plants and Animals (hopefully!), The Swell Season, and Sigur Ros! Lots to tell you about!

P.S. i realize my grammar sucks in this entry, but fuck i'm tired.

P.P.S. Ryan took me to a TIFF movie this week, and it was awesome. If you ever get a chance to see "Sounds Like Teen Spirit: A Popumentary", please do. You'll love me for suggesting this. It's the cutest movie ever.

lagging tales: New York, Teletoon and Radiohead

2008-08-21T17:59:00.015-04:00

Time has come again to just make me realize on how far behind on this blog i am, AGAIN. Well, as i'm sitting on my couch almost-bored but moreso exhausted from doing nothing and everything at the same time, i decided now's as good a time as ever to fill you in on what i've been up to the last couple weeks.

New York

I headed back to Buffalo for a few days before my dad and i ventured together across the state to Huntington, Long Island. it's something we've never done before, and it was pretty great. my dad and i have bonded the last few years because of music, and the entire nine hours there was spent listening to tunes off of my iPod and discussing the bands that came with it. (On the way back less than a week later, we listened to his iPod and played the game of 'mine' and 'name that band' for almost every song the last four or five hours as half of the music on his player is from me, but i'm terrible at naming bands as i hear them right away).

Anyways, the trip in itself was great. i spent time with my family, visited a friend i haven't seen in two years, and above all, made two day trips to New York City. Now everyone describes the city as magical, and it is. Within twenty minutes of my first trip, I walked past Michael Ian Black in a subway station. Now of course I gaggled and turned into an utter fan girl afterwards, but celebrities you walk by in New York seem even a little bit more magical than they do in Toronto, and that's a hard feat as i've had plenty a chock-full-of-chance times here. Anyways, NYC firstly boggles my mind as i don't think i could ever not get lost there, but there's nowhere to unstick your eyes from. I've yet to take in a concert in that city, but it's always been a dream of mine. How will it feel different than Toronto, even Buffalo? I remember when i moved to Toronto, wondering how the concerts would feel after being so acquainted to the ones in Buffalo, and they are in fact very different in terms of crowds, how they act, and venues. What's the magic like in New York music?

Teletoon and Spiral Beach. The connection?

Visual creativity, and lots of it. Spiral Beach has become one of my favourite bands within the last season, and you can see that from previous blog posts. These kids never cease to amaze me, and last week I got to partake in a little of the fun with them. Teletoon has a new stop-animation show coming out September 1 called Life's a Zoo about seven animals that are picked to play in this reality show to win a mansion in a wheatfield in Saskatchewan. It may not sound thrilling to you, but where it comes at you is the catty amount of swearing, dirty jokes, and unexpected ones too. Where Spiral Beach comes in is the first episode. Each episode has a music video from a Canadian indie band, and SB were lucky to be the first. The show will later on showcase bands like Joel Plaskett, Attack in Black, and Plants and Animals. I wish i had Teletoon. Anyways, I got to go to visit the studios that is working on the show. It was the nicest studio i've ever been to! (er, none, but still, so nice!) they were warm in their greetings, made me the best coffee i've ever had, sat me down on a couch in the swanky lounge next to a television playing the channel, and soon after i was interviewing Maddy and Daniel of Spiral Beach with a girl from Dose.com. Maddy and Daniel were fun, classy in their own way, and interesting, and the Dose girl was nice. After our half an hour, the four of us went on a tour of the studios with two Australian creators. We saw everything from how they fix the broken puppets and all the different pieces to each different scene an animator works on. Each person is only expected ten seconds of stop-animation today! Their jobs seem so amazing yet demand very hard and skilled work that only the most dedicated can do well. That day was one that made me rethink of the magic of Toronto.

You can read my news story about this here, and watch a preview of the show here.

Radiohead

How can i NOT say this was epic? It was and in more than just the band, but the proportions of people and rain. this was a concert my dad and brother were both looking forward to so much so, more than i was, and i was pretty damn excited, but it was so surreal right up until the end. radiohead is this huge band in my head, and of course in reality, but to see them felt like i had an exclusive ticket to walk by a roman god or something. the masses of people, however, disproved this, and made me wary on the ridiculousness of exiting the molson ampitheatre. they put on this amazing light show that i couldn't take my eyes off of; a crazy amount of tubes hanging from the ceiling all the way until the floor radiating colours between red, pink, green, and blue. behind and to the side were screens that have shown the most beautiful shots of a concert i've seen. each screen focused on a different musician; up close, personal, from angles you wish you've seen of thom yorke's head before. the cooing, the drawls, the electronic noises that throw shivers up and down your spine repeatedly. it was a beautiful experience even if i was being bitter because of how drenched i was since getting lost in the Ex and waiting in line. it was an experience of concerts to help finish off my 2008 summer.

(this is five minutes of the same thing, the encore Everything In Its Right Place, but i didn't have the greatest view, so relish the sounds my friends.)

Coming up: Tomorrow I interview Boats! and next week I'll be covering Final Fantasy's show at the Danforth Music Hall.

Also to look forward to: I'll be starting some editorials soon and making a new layout! Funfunfun.

a light goes out before your eyes

2008-08-03T16:49:00.007-04:00

returning to my hometown of Buffalo, New York is never exactly an exciting time for me. nothing has lasted long enough to keep me there once i discovered Toronto, and each time i spend my days comparing the two polar opposites. after this two-and-a-half day adventure, my biggest observation was how suburban drivers are far worse than any urban pedestrian i've seen. driving is one of the things i look forward to the most upon my returns, but it was completely dampered last week as countless drivers pulled out in front of me on the busiest streets of my suburb. another observation: the ridiculous amount of blonde-haired, hummer-driving, whiny voiced, Hills mentality that exists in Western New York. what the hell? this is almost the top reason why I don't like it there anymore. yes, this species definitely exists in toronto, but they're much easier to avoid.

Anyways...

my main reason for this short return was to see Sam Roberts Band play at the beautiful ArtPark in Lewiston (pretty much a town named for me.) It wasn't as fun as the first time I saw them (also happened to be another free show in buffalo last summer, but at thursday in the square) but it was still mind-blowing. that's a standard for you! the concert was on the gorge, just above the river that connects america to canada. it happened to be so close my phone went back to Rogers, so of course that was a plus. Brooklyn band Hymns opened, who looked just like Kings of Leon. they were pretty good, but their set got tired after a while. by the time SRB came on stage, the entire gorge was full (probably mostly Canadians) but it filled me with pride. They played a great balance between their three records (however the latest still isn't out in the States) but missed a few of my favourites. i think i'll forgive them. For their shows, it's mostly Roberts and guitarist Nugent that are the show, as the other members are more stationary but find pocketed times to burst. all in all, the performance lasted around three hours with two encores.

the next day, i read a review in the Buffalo News, and one thing that caught my eye was about how SRB have yet to blow up in the states. i don't think they will, at least the way they have in Canada. yes they're getting bigger as they go, and that performance gathered a heck of a crowd, but we're close to the border. Do you think they'll ever get huge in the states, or is their sound an acquired Canadian-esque?

Here's a video of "Brother Down."

lagging tales: too many to count

2008-07-27T13:45:00.016-04:00

so i've gone slack. but i'm back.

in this entry, you will be updated on tim fite, no age, the rogers picnic, and she & him. it's been an eventful past few weeks. and i'm just keeping up with my theme of life being slow and beyond the radar, of course. so, here we go!

Tim Fite -- July 15 @ Lee's Palace
Arriving to Lee's Palace thinking we were late (as always) realizing we were so not because nobody was even there took me by surprise. Tim has been gaining a lot of press lately, as have the Watson Twins. Eventually people crawled in, and they were lucky. Tim put on an even better show than when he played with Adam Green, and to a crowd of probably twenty, five of them being my group. But he didn't hold back, if anything there was even more personality because both him and his brother Greg aka Dr. Leisure could single out people in the crowd (yes, it happened to us, and you can see it here.) I cannot gush enough about his performance, so great. Afterwards, my group and I crowded his merch table asking too many questions and buying the lot. Tim and I chatted for a while, which was great. He's pretty different from when he's on stage, especially if he's as tired as he was that day. We ended up taking him and Greg to Futures for cheesecake. Greg was, to say the least, rambunctious to a woman in a big hat and also our waitress, but it was pretty funny at the time. Tim told stories of Brooklyn and New Jersey. But they had to depart to their hotel so sadly the night was over. However, I have talked to him since then, and we'll hopefully meet in New York next month when I'm there. If you don't know much about him then you'll be surprised. He had a hit on MTV in 2001 as part of his hip-hop duo Little T and One Track Mike titled "Shaniqua Don't Live Here No More." They also had a song on the Scooby Doo movie! Since then, as Tim Fite, he released blues, hip-hop, and now his folk record. He really is a chameleon. Anyways, watch "Shaniqua..." because it is the greatest thing you will see all week, and you probably have seen it already but haven't realized...

Tim is one of my favourite people ever, how can he not be?

No Age/High Places/Abe Vigoda -- July 16 @ The Horseshoe Tavern
I covered this show for ChartAttack, which you can read here. (Note: also my photographic debut for them!) So, for a short recap, it was a pretty good show. A good mix of punk and off-kilter pop. Some of it was either a hit or miss, but overall it was a fun time (minus the ridiculous people that were standing next to me. I swear, every show I go to, I end up next to the crazies.) My favourite of the night was Abe Vigoda, who were the punk equivilant to a band I dearly love, Foals.

The Rogers Picnic -- July 19 @ Old Fort York
Rain, rain, rain it did. The raining was actually fun, but being unable to sit and being wet and muddy was not so much. Let's see... so The Carps started out. I keep thinking maybe one day they'll take me by surprise, but...no. They're really not all that groovy. Born Ruffians, however, who were next up, ruled. Crazy personality, hooks, and sound. We had a little unashamed fun giggling at the drummer's unflattering man-boobs as he drummed enthusiastically and also laughed at his own back-up vocals. Dizzie Rascal was fun for a while, but so terribly out of place. "Everybody say oy!" he yelled. I responded "my people!" Vampire Weekend was delightful but didn't put on much of a memorable show. I still enjoyed it at the time; it sounds a lot like their record (not always such a compliment for a live show, but take it for now.) By that time, my friend and I had realized we were able to go into the press pit for photos, so that was my highlight of the day (until my camera died and I pretended to still take pictures.) Animal Collective was a joy to finally see, but as only Avey Tare and Panda Bear were there to perform, they were more focused on their duties that were shared than on the crowd, making me ponder their effectiveness as a festival band, but fuck it. They were solid and eventually got the crowd moving, and just so good anyway. Chromeo was the most fun and danceable time, but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to them. "Fancy Footwork," maybe. Tokyo Police Club bored me after a while and I've found after seeing them a couple times now that their short songs usually just blend into one long one of ups and downs. Fun for a while, but not an attention grabber. Then came Cat Power, the diva. She kept going off the stage to talk to someone and then also spent the entire time fretting over the volume of her microphone. While her band looked old, bored, and exhausted, she walked around looking that just not old. She's very pretty, but boy that attitude can overlook. People were walking around saying "cat power be fucking done already!" Sigh. She'd be so much better in a smaller club, I'm sure. Then we stayed for three songs from City and Colour and all I remember was that he had a band, which was a plus, but just not enough for me.

Here's a video of Vampire Weekend:

And a video of Animal Collective:

She & Him -- July 23 @ The Opera House
So this is pretty much the cutest band EVER. I really wish I was either Zooey Deschanel or just gay for her. She's beautiful! So shy and timid, she seemed so shocked that the crowd loved her. It's odd because she's an actress and obviously fine in front of the camera, but she warmed up as she got through a few songs. But one of the greatest parts was the way M. Ward was looking at her, with such admiration, it was adorable. Together they have created such a nice sound and it's definitely been what I've been looking for lately. I've always loved both of their voices. Ward put together a fantastic band for them as well, with a angelic looking back-up singer who looked like she hailed from the 70's, an old-but-frazzled guitarist/pianist man with hair everywhere, a lazy looking drummer, and a pregnant but amazing bassist. But the show was purely Ward and Deschanel, especially when they took a few songs to just them and his guitar. Other songs I really enjoyed seeing were "Sweet Darlin'," "You Really Got A Hold On Me," and "Sentimental Heart." Aw hell, it was all amazing. I can't wait to see them again.

Up soon: tales of a short travel to Buffalo to see Sam Roberts, tales of a week's worth of Long Island (and maybe New York City to see Tim), hopefully still being able to meet Darren, and Radiohead will soon be after that. But I assure you, there will be much more going on in between. Ta! oh and sorry for such a long entry.

if you ain't got the cash, use credit!

2008-07-10T23:21:00.004-04:00

I interviewed Tim Fite on tuesday, and it went sooo well. At first it was like pulling teeth from a reluctant kid, but he slowly dropped his odd act and showed off his smart and funny side. One thing he said I thought to be really interesting was this:

"There’s a difference between a show and a party and music is a fucking lame ass excuse for a party. It’s a great excuse for a show. Parties don’t generally get a lot done but shows kinda do because you can expose things. If I show something to you, that’s an exposure, if you show something to me, that’s an exposure, and that’s an exchange. Parties are consumptive and I like shows better than parties and I feel like a lot of the shows I go to have been misnamed because they’re more like parties. And that doesn’t always work out."

He's playing here on Tuesday with the Watson Twins. You can be sure to find me there doing the head-shoulders-knees-and-toes dance. You can read my story about Fite here.

As for other concerts, I'll also be reviewing No Age on Wednesday. I'm stoked because for once I'm going to a concert with a big group, I'm getting back into taking pictures of shows, and the band's just really sweet too, you know.

I also went to go see a band called Recovery Child today, too. I wrote about them in first year for the Eyeopener, and that was a great experience. The singer Ryan recently got in touch with me after he saw my name on Chart's North by Northeast report cards, haha. It was a little bummer because not many people showed tonight, and also it's newer material therefore they weren't as comfortable on stage as when I last saw them, but I see good things in their future. (P.S. as I just looked at the link I've posted above, I realized he wore the same shirt today as back then. Ha.)

I tried reading This Is Your Brain On Music, but it's a little too textbooky for me right now. Hm, what else is on my shelf ....

we can dance if we want to!

2008-07-06T00:26:00.004-04:00

hehehehe. i love this. blasted it getting ready for work today, the roomates thought i was a little nuts. but, i'll show them... with crazy white girl dance moves!

i thought i saw your face today.

2008-07-05T00:23:00.004-04:00

i said i would tell you more about Your Secrets Sleep With Me, and boy, will i tell you.

After updating last night, I googled Darren O'Donnell to find out more about his work. But instead I found his old blog that had his email address on it. I decided to email him to a) tell him that his book was really great and b) that it reminded me of a short story i wrote in 2005. I then attached the story for him.

He wrote back just two hours later.

"That's so nice to hear that. I'm really happy that you enjoyed the book, especially because you happened upon it. I have some reservations about the cover art, so i'm glad it's not scaring people away. And thanks for your story. I'm currently checking my email in a tiny school in a slum in Bombay with a 56/kps connection, so i've only got a second here; i'll read it when i have a bit more time and where other people need the computer less than me.

I'll drop you a line once I've read it and once I'm back in Toronto maybe we can grab a tea or something. "

Pretty neat. I can't wait to hear what he thinks about my story.

The story I wrote is titled "The Untold". i wrote it in eleventh grade but i don't remember why. It could have possibly been for my creative writing class, but all i remember is how much it consumed me at the time. every time i went to keep writing i felt taken over by something else. i had this image in my head but nobody ever got it completely.

If you want to read it, go here.

I'll leave you with another exerpt.

Pages 120-21:
"The sound of the helicopter fades.
After a short silence, Kaliope turns to Ruth. 'What makes you think everybody is going to want to dance to a universal groove?'
'What?'
'Would you want to attend a party attended by the whole world? Doesn't a successful party require some people to not be invited? Isn't that half the fun?'
'You didn't tell me you had family here.'
'So?'
'What did this aunt of yours do that was so worthy of arrest?'
'You know, you've got to know who you're not to understand who you are,' says Kaliope, backing Ruth up toward the futon.
Ruth sits on the futon. 'But you know who you're not only by virtue of who you want to be.'
Kaliope moves in. 'Which is just another aspect of who you're not.'
Ruth stands. 'It's who you're going to be!'
'You wish.'
There's a pause, then Ruth slaps Kaliope hard. They are both surprised.
'I can be anything I want to be,' Ruth offers as an excuse.

Oh, P.S. I will soon be interviewing a crazy man named Tim Fite. Excited!

a lullaby of sorts

2008-07-04T01:59:00.006-04:00

there's definitely more to come in future blog posts a la moi about a book i just finished reading titled Your Secrets Sleep With Me by Darren O'Donnell, a performance artist. A genuine find from the bottom shelf in the back of an Indigo because i judged it by its cover. This book made my summer. It not only takes place in Toronto, but has to deal with a world that is destroying itself with the CN Tower collapsing into the lake, massacres on the Gardiner, and most of all a strange sense of perversion that would always catch me off guard and proceed to make me slightly uncomfortable (which also always seemed to happen whenever I was reading it on the subway) yet it is above all, a contemplative piece of mastery.

For now, I'm just going to write out an exerpt. But later I will tell you so much more.

Page 112:

The City Holds
the sense that everybody could be doing significantly better.
There is talent, determination, lots of good ideas, but, for some reason, something is interfering with the city's ability to make a leap forward. Some say it's simply a lack of cold hard cash.
However, while there may not be the monetary resources to move the thing forward, there is enough dough to keep the population intertwined with circuits of energy that has been there for years and years.
The City is like a teenager who can't have access to the car until it does its chores. And there is always another chore.
Is the future as much of what is as the past?

P.S.: back to me now.
Here's a review of the book. Shoutout to the writer's connection to Jonathan Safran Foer's novel Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, because that was also a book that made my summer, but first. I don't know why, but I've been on a weird train of reading books with strange pre-pubescent protagonists. First EL&IC, then Running With Scissors, and now this. What's next? I was hoping to read This Is Your Brain On Music, but I don't think that has many kids in it. Too bad.

lagging tales: Spiral Beach and a band called Cute

2008-07-03T14:59:00.012-04:00

Wow, I am the world's greatest updater! This edition includes a quick recap of two shows: Spiral Beach at the Whippersnapper Gallery on June 20th and Cute Is What We Aim For at the Mod Club on June 24.

Part One: I went to go see Spiral Beach again a week after their NxNE performance, and that was an even better show with lights! pylons! sixteen year olds! okay, that last part sounded creepy, but the audience provided as much of an interestingly entertaining show as the band did. That sounded creepy too... but what I really mean is.. check out those dance moves!

But really. They put on a fantastic show. Most of my time was spent laughing about the kids with a friend and gushing over the bass player, but I still cannot get over their talent (as I'm wearing the traffic cone t-shirt I bought at that show). Check this out.

Part Two: Then came Tuesday, when I had to not only go review the Cute Is What We Aim For concert with Powerspace and Ace Enders, but I had to do an interview with vocalist Shaant Hacikyan and bassist Dave Melillo. I thought it would be awkward because I know the guys (minus Dave) from old Buffalo days when they were Cherrybing and Forget Last Year as well as the early days of Cute (omgz I was their first MySpace comment, and people actually find this out and message me because of it. Eesh.) The CBing and FLY days were such a huge part of my life and when Cute grew, it was strange, to say the least. I also don't take time out to listen to them..ever. I hadn't talked to the guys in years, so I was a little anxious about the interview. I took a little satisfastion in passing through the line of MORE sixteen year olds (seriously, it was my week!) to go into the Mod Club, feeling all cool, but I had to wait an hour for the band to be ready for their interview after their soundcheck. I get on the bus, Shaant is about to shake my hand, looks at me, takes a few seconds and goes "woah". Tom turns around, does the same. "Oh my god!" they both say. Later, the same happened with Jeff. Shaant was all "Jeff, are you kidding?" and Jeff was all "Oh my god! Hi!" And I was all "how did you guys not recognize me? I look the same." and Shaant, curled up in a ball on his seat, looked out the window of his bus to the fans lined up on the street and said "It's been a few years, dear." "Yeah," I replied. "It's not like you see hundreds of faces every day." Jeff groaned.

Anyways, the show was interesting. I didn't enjoy Powerspace as they were just too confused (but did enjoy watching Tom from Cute walk around the back of the venue putting green tape on many fans backs saying "Tom Wass Here") and Ace Enders put on a show I enjoyed more than I expected (I was nostalgic for The Early November, and he played "Ever So Sweet", which made me melt a little), and Cute's show wasn't exactly dissapointing but it was not good. It didn't seem together, rehearsed, or very enthusiastic. For more, just read this.

Also, after I became Facebook friends with Shaant, I've been getting weird messages on my old MySpace all "omgz are you dating Shaant" from creepy teenagers. What the hell.

lagging tales: NxNE day 3

2008-06-23T22:59:00.008-04:00

Day three of North by Northeast was somewhat of a treasure. Besides having worked eight hour days both Friday and Saturday off of two to three hours of sleep each night, I held up my strength for the festival's finale.

My retail job announced in the morning of that day that Wintersleep would be playing outside a free concert as soon as my shift was over. Needless to say, I was more than pleased as an easy-excitable person who's almost obsessed with said East Coast rockers. It was a short set, but made me a happy camper as they played all of the songs off of their latest album Welcome To The Night Sky. It also reminded me of how much I loved this city, with all of its opportunities (especially if they are free and unexpected). And it took away the pain of standing on my feet for two days just for that short moment. P.S. my retail job is NOT sears.

So, that night, I attended CBC Radio 3's showcase at the Horseshoe Tavern. The pain in my feet worsened with each band unfortunately and I wasn't the happiest concert-goer. However, the night was not terrible.

Rebekah Higgs played first, and she assembled a crew of talented folks for her back up including Laura Barrett and Paul Aucoin. She's beautiful and played just as beautiful songs for her opening set. What's odd is that she not only looks completely different in her pictures on MySpace but also her voice sounds different (and by that I mean on MySpace she sounds like Feist). But her set was nice, breezy, and collected.

Next up was a band I've been waiting to see for ages: Spiral Beach. I'm marveled at their talent at such a young age (rather, my age) and even though you could tell their set was pretty different from when they actually play (i.e. this was in front of industry people, family, older people/not their usual crowd) but they did their best with energy and charisma. Singer Maddy seemed to be holding back a little and drummer Daniel was covered by the antics of bassist and guitarist Dorian and Airick, but it was still a great performance.

Hm... Hey Rosetta! was next.. I don't remember much about them. They were all for the dramatics yet somehow everyone but the front man looked bored out of their minds, or at least really tired. Is it weird that every time I hear their name I think they're a hardcore band? And they are very, very not. The music was pretty and something I'd fall asleep soothingly to, but I still cannot figure out why everyone drools over this band. Even Grant Lawrence, whom I had the pleasure of meeting later on in the night (and actually asked my opinion about certain bands, for example Smothered in Hugs) introduced them as his favourite East Coast band. What am I missing?

By that point, my feet were in excruciating pain and I wasn't digging the hot atmosphere that took hours for me to be able to get to the bar and aquire a drink of water. But I wanted to see Matt Mays & El Torpedo. Who, for some reason, I also thought would be different than they actually are. As in for some reason I went thinking they were folksy but are actually pretty hard rock. The music was good and it was fun watching them and their audience's energy bounce (especially because Mays came dressed very blatantly as a trucker) but the crowd got a little annoying after a while as I was dodging beer bottles like it was that shooting ducks game for no reason.

Let's see... The D'ubervilles were next. They were pretty fun to watch, especially because they're all so fabulously goofy looking. There were colours, crazy grooves, and hand claps! That all makes for a good time. I'd see them again.

This last part might be slightly embarrassing, but I must say it. I fell asleep during Ladyhawk. It was only for a few minutes during their insane last song, but.. sooorrry Ladyhawk fans.

lagging tales: NxNE part 2

2008-06-23T22:36:00.004-04:00

Day Two (North By Northeast festival, Friday June 13), for me, wasn't as great. It started with Dallas Green look-a-likes and ended with a Bedouin Soundclash set I didn't catch. (The end for me was another man associated with Mr. CC).

My highlight: Moneen. I didn't have to write a report card, and was a little put down about it, because the set included a girl fight, crowd surfers that almost took down parts of the ceiling, insane asian boys moshing together, and quite a number of bruises. Oh well. Moneen isn't exactly a band I listen to often (or in the past year) but they sure put on one hell of a show, especially in a place such as the upstairs of the El Mocambo.

The openers I don't feel much like talking about: Songs From A Room, Casey Baker & The Buffalo Sinners, and Black Lungs.

Other highlights: A leaking ceiling, actually finding people I knew there to hang out with, being completely thrown off because I hadn't been to a hardcore show in a year, and a large fan. Oh and being completely drenched by rain afterwards.

lagging tales: NxNE part 1

2008-06-23T20:46:00.008-04:00

So this is more than a week after North by Northeast, the Canadian equal to Austin's slightly better festival. But I reviewed different shows each night for ChartAttack's report cards and wanted to go even further here on Round Letters. So this is my recap of night one: East Coast night at the Rivoli, Thursday June 12.

First up, Smothered in Hugs (seeing as I have already forgotten the first opener's name besides the fact that he played nice acoustic songs with about 20 people in the room after stalling as long as he could at the bar). For a band with such a cute and cuddly name, you'd think they'd be all power-pop, packed with energy, and above all, cute. All of this they were not. Yes they had some nice shoegazin' tunes that I remember tapping my foot to and thinking it wasn't half bad, but I gotta say, I was the most dissapointed by their name as they looked like they had either been smothered in too many hugs and now fear touching contact or they just wanted to be ironic. Not worth it, boys.

Second, Mardeen. One of the most talked about bands of the festival. They rocked and took me by surprise. Having a rotating cast of vocalists, all with different vocal abilities, was really refreshing to see. They're mostly pop-rock hooks, but catchy works well for them. Plus the fact that they were raging drunk the entire night singing in other bands' faces was pretty entertaining as well.

Thirdly, Two Hours Traffic. Fun times! I may have been a little miffed with the people crowding in front of me, but I eventually got over it and had fun listening and hopping (I might be the only person in Toronto who does that) to the pop that is not annoying in the least like the rest of pop music I hear. They're charming, sunny, and talented. No wonder these boys were nominated for this year's Polaris.

And lastly, The Danks. Most of the crowd made the horrific mistake of leaving after THT and missing what is the new band that actually contained half of the preceeding band. But for starting afresh and having a leader that looks like he wishes he could be in the Strokes, they were not only really great musically but of course, cute to look at. But past that, they were, after Mardeen for me, a great discovery.

don't you be a traffic light

2008-06-03T17:04:00.004-04:00

i have never wanted free time more. it pains me to watch my roomates relax. why is one measely history class and random retail hours consuming my life? it shouldn't, that's for sure. three more weeks. three more weeks. three. more. weeks. and this hell is over. i am being spoiled. but when i am consumed in a messy room, hearing the Simpsons on television upstairs, and daydreaming about how I'm going to London in January, thinking about writing a 2500 word history paper is not my cup o' tea.

i took a nap today on my office's uncomfortable couch with a child-like pillow and blanket with truck fabric. oddly enough, it was the best nap i've had in a while.

the kids don't know how to dance to rock and roll!

2008-05-29T14:38:00.004-04:00

oh sam roberts, i like to think i know how to dance to rock and roll, but you caught me. hands tied, face down, ashamed of her white girl dance moves that just happen to make her feel oh-so-good.

first blog post? not really.
*i've had at least 8 blogs. maybe this will be the winner?
i usually lack what some call patience and lead what others call a busy life. therefore, this is a challenge. i WILL blog.

i currently am in the middle of preparing for an interview with Sea Wolf that's in fifteen minutes, thinking about a history paper i have to write by next week, spinning mental webs of un-bloggable things, and yet all i can concentrate on is how much i want to dance to rock and roll.

we are the keepers of the backbeat.