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..."

10-18-11 - "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..."

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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.

10-8-11 - "Gimme Sympathy" ~ Metric

(if anyone's keeping score, this is my second late post in three days... I blame Canada.)

The Peak came through with a bunch of good tunes during my time in Vancouver, and here's another one. A little bit electronic, a little bit pop, a little bit egocentric...?

And of course you know by now that if there's an unplugged version, I'll add it for good measure:

"After all of this is gone

who would you rather be,

The Beatles or the Rolling Stones...?"

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..."

10-4-11 - "God or Man" ~ Ivan & Alyosha

This is gonna be quick because I'm heading out of town tomorrow, it's late, and I need to rest before a long day of work then travel.  Posts for the next ten days will likely likewise be quick.


My friend Jake told me about this band who are playing in Seattle Friday; I'll be in Vancouver for work and then headed to Seattle but not sure I'll make it in time for the show.  But I checked out the band, and they're pretty great.  A lot of symbolism in the band's moniker, "Ivan & Alyosha."  Worth reading.


This song gripped me most out of their live-in-studio sessions with KEXP (Seattle), which Jake recommended to me.  Give it a go:

"somewhere I got lost along the way…"

9-30-11 - "Hayloft" ~ Mother Mother

You may find this song strange.  But you may also find that you like it.  I found both.  It's quirky (both musically and lyrically) and fun, and with it Mother Mother ushers a stern warning to frisky kids in an amusing way.  Now, there may be some deeper meaning, but the bottom line is, if you're going to fool around with the farmer's daughter, choose a spot that's not on his property.

"My daddy's got a gun
my daddy's got a gun
my daddy's got a gun
you better run..."

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..."

6-15-11 - "False Creek Change" ~ Said The Whale

Here's a song about the loss of innocence.  A town grows up, a boy grows up there, and he's looking back at memories of his childhood and mourning the way the special elements of the neighborhood he remembers were gradually erased by industry and the expansion of the city.  The first part of the song refers to the 1986 World's Fair, which catalyzed the transformation.


When I was in Vancouver last year, I drove through this area, and it's easy to see that while some of the unique and charming stores and parks still exist, they're lost in the hustle and bustle now.  Kind of a wistful commentary about the sacrifices made in the name of "progress".

Live acoustic session for those so inclined:

"I've watched the walls of Yaletown

growing up over my mountain view
My old horizon under the clouds
I'll be sad when I'm thinking of you
I'll be sad when I'm thinking of you..."

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..."

1-20-11 - "Execution Day" ~ The New Pornographers

This one's a bit weird musically (maybe lyrically, too).  But I like it.  And it was in my head tonight.  So there you go.

Live:

"Oh blast, I drank the wrong draft down,
two sips from your crown;
the drops you left for me,
am I so easily appeased?"

1-7-11 - "The Light Is You" ~ Said The Whale

A little late tonight, but here ya go.  Just a catchy little love song.


"The Light Is You" ~ Said The Whale (youtube link to band's music video, embedding disabled so go check it out!)
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UPDATE (10-18-11):  Said The Whale played an intimate show in Pittsburgh last night, and I got this song on video.  Check out the live performance:

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.."