"Kids These Days" ~ Fur Trade

You guys.  I know next to nothing about this band.  It seems to be the rebirth of Hot Hot Heat, a Canadian group (yep, another one from B.C., just like Said The Whale, The Zolas, Hey Ocean!, and Mother Mother, all bands with whom I am slightly obsessed...) who I must confess I've never gotten around to, but may have to check out after this.  I've listened to this track at least twenty times today... maybe thirty.  Yeah, probably at least thirty.  I can't even put my finger on what it is that makes it so awesome... sweet little funky guitar riff, the dirty piano counter-riff, a brilliant line or two, or maybe the girl dancing in the video - speaking of things I can't explain, this girl's moves... she just exudes confidence.  Blends some raggedy ballet with street moves, and it just... works.  I wish I had that kind of confidence when I was thirteen (I'm guessing that's about how old she was at filming)...

Anyway, check out the track, and tell me what you think:

Ridiculously simple, yet amazing, music video:

Soundcloud:


"There's a melody I hone that no one wrote..."

11-13-12 - "We Are 1980" ~ Said The Whale

Friends, I'm incredibly excited.  One of my favorite bands (OF ALL TIME), Said The Whale, are coming back to Pittsburgh tomorrow!  As in Wednesday, November 14, at Howler's.  You should probably be there, unless you have a really good excuse, because it's going to be a blast.

My pals over at Draw Us Lines were kind enough to post my big wet sloppy kiss of an article raving about the band; have a read if you like.

It's always tough to pick just one song to feature when I like a band this much, but since it seems I've gone with STW's more folksy / sentimental tunes (like such as The Light Is You, Black Day In December, and False Creek Change) in the past, and they've released a brand new album this year that I've yet to mention here, I'd go with one of the pop/rock leaning new tunes, and the leadoff from April's "Little Mountain" fits the bill:

(by the way, the band made music videos - and not weak, lame ones - for all 15 tracks from the album.  You can find them on saidthewhale.com)

Methinks you'll find some intriguing and thought-provoking social commentary here...

"We’ve got Mandarax and loveless sex 

And information passing right through our skin and bones..."

2-15-12 - "Prophets" ~ A.C. Newman

Here's a pretty sweet song I heard on a rerun of How I Met Your Mother.  I'm not too snobbish to discover tunes through TV shows, so if you're that kind of hipster, deal with it.


A.C. (Carl) Newman may or may not be a familiar name to you (he wasn't to me, but that's just because I hadn't done my research until tonight).  This guy is a founding member of The New Pornographers (hmm, I can tell from listening to this song, now that I know...) and what's more, he's CANADIAN.  Just like Robin in the show, eh?


Anyway, I like the song.  It's catchy, but not too catchy; has pretty solid / motivational lyrics, and anchors a poignant scene in the show (but definitely stands up without the show... just sayin', it's one of those songs... like how "Rivers and Roads" was used in the final scene of the show Chuck.)

"I was a silent partner, I know
the part of the forest where you shouldn't go..."

1-3-12 - "Snow" ~ The Zolas

I have several good reasons (at least in my own mind) to post this song tonight:


1)  Today was the first day with a legitimate snowfall in Pittsburgh since last winter.  Just my luck it was the morning I had to go to work... I swear, people in this city forget how to drive in inclement weather every summer.  But I love snow even when it means extra traffic headaches and waking up earlier to shovel.  It's better though when you can go sledding and whatnot, so who wants to quit our jobs and just enjoy the best part of the year, eh?


2)  One year ago today, I posted a song by The Zolas, and I love symmetry.


3)  There's an awesome video of Zach Gray playing the song with a children's choir singing along (the St. James Music Academy in Vancouver):


"Snow" ~ The Zolas featuring the St. James Music Academy Choir (on vimeo.com)


Along with the acoustic+kids video, here's the recorded version:

And a concert video, if that's more your thing:

"and it's hard not to call you
when it starts to cover the road
...'cause we kissed in the snow..."


PS - I found a sweet stripped down version of "Green Light" by Leisure (originally posted 8-26-11).  Check it out!

12-20-11 - "Crash Years" ~ The New Pornographers

It's been precisely 11 months since I last posted a New Pornographers song.  Not sure how that happened, but here's a fun one for you.  Maybe not their most original, stretch-your-limits track, but quite entertaining and catchy, with a visually enjoyable video.


Beyond the hook, there is some fodder for introspection here, which might explain why I like the song so much.  Accompanying the catchy tune are some fairly deep and somewhat obscure lyrics.  I'm sure there are a plethora of valid interpretations, so I'll leave you to consider the following and draw your own conclusions:

"The skirts go up before the war

among the madding crowds

they're ruined like the rest of us ruined..."

11-3-11 - "Marionettes" ~ The Zolas

So I haven't posted any tracks from The Zolas in quite a while.  Here's a track of theirs which weaves allegorical themes of life and relationships crumbling from apathetic indifference.  It would seem the message is to not take the good parts of life for granted, and not take what's being imposed upon you lying down... break free from the puppeteer's strings, if you will, and fight for your life, your love, your liberty.


Or something like that.

Also check the stripped version complete with piano breakdown:

"Sometimes an empire doesn't fall

As masked invaders climb the walls

Or spreading fires or rising floods

Sometimes it dies within..."

10-20-11 - "Morning Song" ~ We Are The City

So you've already read about the band whose show I attended on Monday night.  An unexpected benefit of being there was discovering these guys along the way.  Hailing from British Columbia just like tourmates Said The Whale, We Are The City brought an engaging brand of progressive indie rock with keyboard (which of course gets them a +1 in my book).  The downside was that I really only caught their last song, due to a prior commitment.  But that was enough for me to check them out further.


Morning Song is the back half of a just-dropped EP, and happens to be the song I caught at the show.  (The front half is called Mourning song, and leads into this one quite well - check it out too!)


The piano style reminds me a bit of Keane, but the guitar and vocals differentiate them from the brit piano-pop group.  Evocative lyrics will draw you in, with imagery of the ocean and the frailty of human life.  Asymmetrical phrasing generates an unsettled mood, making the resolution all the more powerful.  The song's subject matter is the suffering in the world, and the hope that burns within us despite the pain.  


Sweet video of the band performing the song out in nature in - you guessed it - the morning:

Perhaps the best part?  You can download the track FREE on Bandcamp!  (but if you like it, I highly recommend going back and buying the $2, 2-song EP to support the further endeavours* of this talented young group...)


* - see what I did there?  I spelled it like a Canadian would, eh?


Morning Song ~ We Are The City (bandcamp)


"Do you feel fine? 

Please pull me like the moon pulls the tide 

And if I'm set to walk on land then my sandy bones will turn to glass and I'll wait for them to crack..."

10-18-11 - "Black Day In December" ~ Said The Whale

I know it's not December yet, but I'm going with this song because it's probably my favorite by Said The Whale, who played an intimate show in Pittsburgh last night.  They actually didn't have this one on the set list, but I sweet-talked singer/guitarist/songwriter Ben into an encore, and it was spectacular.  He was standing right in front of me with his acoustic guitar, and Jaycelyn added some restrained notes from the xylophone while Spencer and Andrew (drummer from fellow Vancouver band We Are The City) worked in some gentle percussion, punctuated by a single water bottle cap explosion from Tyler (songwriter/guitarist/singer of many other tracks).  I'm honestly not sure if bassist Nathan was playing for this one or just standing there looking pretty, but either way, he was a big part of the evening as well!


I'm rambling, but it was one of the most fun shows I've been to, made all the more special by the bands' willingness to talk with me and some other fans (who drove 2 hours from Punxsutawney to be there) afterward.  Their month-long round-the-continent road trip is impressive, with shows just about every night (sometimes to less than packed houses, like a Monday night in a town 2500 miles from their home), and I'm sure they were tired, but they still went out of their way to interact with the audience.


The song tells the tale of a storm in December of 2006 which ravaged the old-growth forest and other parts of Stanley Park (my favorite part of Vancouver).  It's a sad story, but there's a hopeful glimmer shining through the darkness as the mermaid and old man characters pray for the park, its inhabitants, and the city.  


Album version:

Live performance in Stanley Park:

"She sees the worst is yet to come

A big wave on the horizon

The first wind blowing in

Left Stanley's soldiers felled and broken...

Her own sisters and her brothers

And ten thousand friends and lovers

A black day in December..."

______________________________

BONUS:  I posted "The Light Is You" way back in January, and last night I got a video of the band performing it - check it out.

10-12-11 - "I Should Be Born" ~ Jets Overhead

Another from the radio whilst on my travels.  Jets Overhead hail from Victoria, BC, and this track is just groovy.

"Don't lose sight of the eyes that you're given
no conflicts, conditions can take your sight away..."

10-7-11 - "Big Blue Wave" ~ Hey Ocean

Another one from 100.5 The Peak.  Local Vancouver band Hey Ocean! are on form with this track, and hey, David Beckham is in the band!

...wait that's David BeckINGham in the band, not the soccer player... my bad.  But he's pretty cool too!


Anyway, the song is just swell.  Catchy and hopeful, this fits the bill of indie rock-pop brilliance.  And I found an amazing acoustic version as well, which brings out the harmonies and emotive depth in a spectacular way...


Recorded:

Acoustic Awesomeness:

"Sing until you have no voice
sing because you have no choice
sing until you float away
our love is like a big blue wave..."

10-6-11 - "Lights" ~ Ellie Goulding

So I made it 9 months without missing a daily post (although a few came an hour or two past midnight EST.)  But due to a combination of travel, a late night at the Penguins-Canucks game in Vancouver, and a crappy computer that wouldn't connect, I didn't get to post yesterday.  So here's yesterday's song, retroactively.


Heard it on 100.5 The Peak, Vancouver's awesome radio station, whilst driving up from Seattle.  One of a plethora of great songs they played, many of which will likely show up here in the coming days.  This trip is in some ways a mirror of the trip which originally inspired me to start this blog, and this station played a role in that.


This track is from a British songstress and is a bit on the dance/techno side, but it's enjoyable and has some interesting lyrics...

"...the queen has been overthrown..."

9-10-11 - "Winding Road" ~ Ryan McAllister

My friend Jake just moved to the Pacific Northwest.  I found out about Big Hurry thanks to Jake.  Found out about Liisten.com thanks to Big Hurry.  Found out about Ryan McAllister thanks to Liisten.com.  Ryan McAllister is from Vancouver.  Vancouver is a city in the Pacific Northwest.  Six degrees of Kevin Bacon, if you will.


After listening to McAllister's album a few times, this track seems to jump out at me the most.  It speaks of the fleeting nature of life and the situations we each face here on Earth.  Some of us wander, some of us stay more or less in one place; some of us shine brightly, some flicker softly.  Yet all of us are allotted only so many days... we each have a path to travel, and it's a glorious adventure along the way.


WINDING ROAD by rymcallister


Get 2 free tracks and stream Ryan's full album on Liisten.com!


"if the sun should call my name toward some far horizon

then I will follow every flame until the sun burns out..."

7-13-11 - "Body" ~ Mother Mother

Wow, I went six months without posting a second song by Mother Mother.  Wrecking Ball is one of their more accessible and poppy songs; this one is not quite so much (but it's not their weirdest, either... I may post one of those one of these days...) 


The band frequently deals with issues of self image, self worth, societal flaws, mortality, etc.  There's room for interpretation here, but the gist is that the nature of our physical existence is fleeting, and our bodies are imperfect and prone to decay and fail.  I suppose they're making a statement about the true value of a person being the mind and soul, and/or looking forward to an afterlife... what do you think?

"I've grown tired of this body
cumbersome and heavy body..."

3-1-11 - "The Great Collapse" ~ The Zolas

In honour of the band that should have won Album of the Year at tonight's Verge Music Awards (i.e. Canadian music...), here's one from The Zolas.  These guys blew me away when I first heard them last year, and I'm just waiting for the chance to see them play live.  So far, they haven't made it all the way to PA from their base camp in British Columbia... next time they hit Eastern Canada though, I'm there.


In addition to the groovy chords and syncopated piano rhythms, I love how they break it down for the chorus in this one.  The song is about short-lived relationship which burned brightly but fizzled, or perhaps the end of the world as we know it, or perhaps both...

"The seas rose to a terrible height,
but we survived, yeah we survived..."

1-26-11 - "Wrecking Ball" ~ Mother Mother

This is another song I heard whilst bumming around the Pacific Northwest last summer.  Mother Mother is an eclectic indie pop/rock band from the Vancouver area, and this song was quite enough hook to get me to check out the rest of their work.  They definitely have a healthy dose of weird (not so much in this song), but that makes them fun and differentiates them from some more, well, boring bands out there.


What's this song about?  Well, to quote the illustrious Daniel Ocean, "I got into a self-destructive pattern."

"You gotta see the artistry
in tearing the place apart with me, baby..."

1-3-11 - "You're Too Cool" ~ The Zolas

Here's my other newest favorite band from 2010: The Zolas.  Vancouver-based piano pop/rock genius.  First heard this one on 100.5 "The Peak" on my way into B.C. for the first time, and it's so insanely catchy I couldn't wait to check out the rest of their stuff.  My favorite of about two dozen great new songs and artists I found in just a few short days listening to that station.  These guys are definitely indie and not well-known, but I aim to change that.  The entire album is just plain fun, with a few poignant moments thrown in for your soul's sake.  


This song serves as a reminder that there's more to life than The Next Big Thing that the fashion/entertainment/whatever industries are pushing.  "Cool" is great, but our true passions should lie deeper than the superficiality of the scene.  Don't be taken in.

UPDATE (10-26-11) Just stumbled across a sick stripped down version of the song:

"On the road I dream of home and when at home I dream of action,
our apartments are all haunted by the ghost of satisfaction;
'cause we all want something that's bigger than fashion,
so spill out your heart brother, show me your passion.."