Thursday, December 16, 2010

toppa ten

HI. I realize that we are not a music blog, per se. But I thought it would be fun to enter this music zeitgeist thing that Hypem does every thistimeof year, you know, participate?
So here 'tis, starting at the top.
Number one being the Suburbs by the Arcade Fire. I know this is typical history of art kid, but I love the song Rococo, mostly because it is fun to say. Hate the art period though. Bunch of fluff.
annnd number two will have to be Mt.Chimaera by our friends Brasstronaut, of Vancouver. Decent live show(at one point the keyboarder was hammering out notes on the trumpet and the keys At The Same Time), decent enough to make me buy the record anyway. Good West Coast indie sound without all that hip-ster nonsense.
And Number Three. I'mma say Wild Hunt by the Tallest Man on Earth. Mostly because I, too, want to be the King of Spain. But seriously he sounds like Bob Dylan AND his lyrics make sense. What more can a person ask for?
Number Four is going to be Behave Yourself Ep by the Cold War Kids. Because I love them. It sonds like they are smoothing things out a little, sound-wise which is nice too. They are maturing like good ol' cheese. And the lead singer is damn-tattooed. I reccomend you check that out. Also check out "Audience" if you don't feel like listening to the whole thing, at least do this one.
Five: Forgiveness Rock Record by Broken Social Scene. I have waited for 5 years for this. And not even listening to this record non-stop on a 14 hour road trip from Calgary will diminsh my love for it. My dad bought it as soon as it came out. Classic.
Six: Work by the Shout Out Louds, not to be confused with that other bands with a lot of shouting in the name. I feel like these guys too have matured into their sound. From snot nose teenage boys to men with arm tattoos and really expensive tshirts. And a nice sound.
ok and Seven: Heartland by Owen Pallett, previously named after his favourite video game. I always love albums in the form of little stories, especially when they are epic farming/pioneering stories, as this one and Midlake's The Trials of Van Occupanther of a few years back. Apparently Midlake put out a new one this year too but I haven't heard it yet.
Eight will be: Die Stadt Muzikanten by Woodpigeon. A charmingly German name for a charmingly Canadian band. Saw these guys at the Rifflandia festival last year with their hauntingly sweet vocals and their syncronized foot stomping. Very nice.
And nearing the end... Nine: Broken Bells' self titled debut. From the guy who brought you the vocals in the Shins comes a funky new sound. I swear at the beginning of the summer I was going to shoot every radio station if they played "the High Road" one more time. But gee Isure like it now. I'm serious.
And the last one! Ten: High Violet by The National. Since my brother has an addiction to men with very very deep voices (you should hear his roommate) he snatched up this album as soon as the ink had dried on the cover art. May I reccoment putting this on on a rainy Sunday morning? Maybe with pancakes? And loved ones? Then again that's my reccomendation for every album. If you are completely comfortable and reeelaxed than you will more fully enjoy what you are hearing. Believe you me.

And folks I am going home for the holidays tomorrow so I probably won't be writing as often. And lucky me: I get to sleep on the counch for two weeks as my grandmother is coming to stay. Lovely.