The New Pornographers | Top 15 Songs

I feel kinda cheap, because I've only just gotten into The New Pornographers, but I have to say they're already one of my favorite bands ever. I've told many already that out of their 40+ song catalogue, there's only a handful I actually don't like, and their Mass Romantic and Twin Cinema albums are safely nestled in my list of all-time favorites.

Unfortunately, these guys never tour with the full complement of performers, because as a side project and "supergroup," the individual parts are so busy with their own primary musical ventures that they don't have the time to get on the road together. Add that to the fact that they haven't put anything out for two years, and count on the chance they probably won't ever again, I'm pretty bummed that I got in on the phenonmen that is The New Pornographers so late.

All that aside however, there's still room to celebrate the absolute musical genius that is this band. Again, it's very hard for me to attach a genre to their music, because there's bits of folk, rock, pop, twee and damn near everything between that goes into every one of their four musical trips disguised as albums. In a tip of the hat to that, my Top 15 includes at least one song from each of those compilations, and not just out of necessity; The New Pornographers may have had one of the best debut albums ever with Mass Romantic, but the quality surely didn't stop after that, and every album has a slew of hits you can listen to again and again.

Just a couple notes before I get started on the list.

- The band evidently writes all the songs and only then decides who sings the vocals. When you consider that any of these brilliantly-written and eternally-poignant lyrics could have been sung by either the likes of Neko Case, AC Newman or Dan Bejar, it just adds to the happenstance aspect that goes to make The New Pornographers such a pleasant breath of fresh air and innovation.

- The New Pornographers have an astonishing knack for crafting almost perfect gems of songs. Nothing is too short, nothing is too long, and there's rarely ever a lull in a song let alone a full album. It's a shame more groups don't follow their example - but then again, they wouldn't be so special if everyone was as capable as they were.

- I'm not posting links to any of the songs in case I get another one of those annoying crackdowns/post deletes, but the majority should be easily accessible on hypem, and even moreso at your local record store. On to the list:

15. | "All For Swinging You Around" | Electric Version | With all the above being said, I do list Electric Version as my least favorite of the four NP albums. I don't know why that is, but they just didn't showcase all the same things on Electric Version that made me fall in love with their unique brand of music on the other three releases. That's not to say there isn't still good music; there most certainly is, and "All For Swinging You Around" is one of those highlights. Neko Case's voice is (as usual) put to good use, and the song starts with a flourish reminiscent of The Weakerthans' more upbeat numbers. A stranger track in that the chorus is where the music actually lets up a bit and gives you a rest to digest what's going on, but no less a great song.

14. | "My Rights Versus Yours" | Challengers | Challengers overall for me was a bit of a slower album, and a little more mature-sounding, so "My Rights Versus Yours" reflects that a little bit. As opposed to the previous tune, this one begins slowly and builds with the chugging guitar going at it bit-by-bit, the "oohs" picking up in the background, and Neko joining in to sing with who I think is AC Newman (I say that because I'm pretty sure Dan Bejar's voice is a little weirder - a bit nuanced and even lispy). There's a yearning to "My Rights Versus Yours" and almost a melancholy that's not there with the more excited-sounding Pornographers' tunes.

13. | "The Body Says No" | Mass Romantic | Part of this entire list, let alone the order I'm placing these songs in, is a bit haphazard. It's hard to say which of The New Pornographers' songs are really that much better than any of the others, so in going through my iTunes library, I picked the titles I knew I loved the most, and then threw them into a playlist of their own. I'm pretty sure I know what the top of the list is going to come out like, but in a testament to the overall quality of their work, "The Body Says No" could easily be in someone else's Top 5. It's insanely catchy (I've went entire days repeating "man, can you beliiiiieve?/that she didn't need meeee/any more than I, needed her too?"), inexplicably meshing given all of its differing instrumentation, and as up-and-down of a journey as the band can give you.

12. | "Sing Me Spanish Techno" | Twin Cinema | Never judge a song by its title. Even though the Pornographers are one of the very few "indie" bands that actually titles their songs based on actual lyrics in the songs (I'm looking at you Fall Out Boy/Panic At The Disco), I thought this track would be an exception. Go figure, it's not, and as one of the myriad hooks in "Sing Me Spanish Techno," it strangely works. In reference to those hooks though, there's everything from "listening too long/to one song" to the guitar itself providing rhythms that just latch onto your brain and won't let go. An easy example of how the group can craft something so likeable out of something so seemingly benign.

11. | "Challengers" | Challengers | One of the more restrained NP songs out there, Neko Case puts on probably her most underrated performance as a member of the group. Whereas she's usually yelping and eccentric (all in a good and likeable way of course), "Challengers" provides her with a chance to flex the more mellow pipes she went on to showcase in this year's acclaimed Middle Cyclone, her most recent solo effort. "Nah-nah-nah"s and "oohs" abound here, and the track is stripped down to a bit of guitar and an uncharacteristic lack of percussion, but the vocals more than make up for that void. It's heartfelt, and would've been the perfect album-ending number had they chosen to place it as such. Not just for Challengers, but if you listen closely enough, maybe even The New Pornographers career together as well.

10. | "The Fake Headlines" | Mass Romantic | As probably the third New Pornographers song I'd ever heard, I was suprised at how much this song spoke to me. And as one of the few in their catalogue with a false ending, it wasn't just the words themselves that appealed to me. As the shortest of these 15 tunes at 2:46, it does leave you wanting a little bit more - not desiring a little more, because its satiating enough - meaning you wouldn't mind it going a little longer. It's straightforward while still giving off the heartfelt vibe of someone left to linger in their sorrow. Though instead of wallowing in that sorrow, he decides to write "the catchiest words I could find." If only every break-up sounded so good.

9. | "Mutiny, I Promise You" | Challengers | This on the other hand was one of the first two songs I'd heard by NP - I can't say definitively which was the actual first one, but this could've been it. Though the rest of the song may not be quite as engaging as that chorus, the echoing going on once the latter hits makes me reminisce about elementary music class, and the guitar blasting away back there is as good as any modern rock song's. When it slows down for a moment around the 2:30 mark, it comes back and hits you at full-steam within a matter of seconds, and reprises itself with a new vigour. Though the lyrics may be a tad on the ridiculous side, it's certainly more fun to decipher into your own meaning than other more sparsely worded odes to abstraction.

8. | "All The Old Showstoppers" | Challengers | For as much as I didn't think I liked Challengers in context with the other NP albums, it's got just as many tracks on here as Twin Cinema - but that may be because it wouldn't make sense to create a Top 15 of just Twin Cinema and Mass Romantic tracks (just kidding, it's all great). There's a rustic quality to "All The Old Showstoppers" that harkens back to a traveling band at a country fair (maybe it's that jangling guitar), seemingly only lacking someone playing that classic jug. Though there's persevering reference to "numbers" throughout, there's everything else from princesses to paupers to grab your attention and make for a fun little jaunt through that yearly tri-country affair.

7. | "The Laws Have Changed" | Electric Version | As much as I love Neko Case and her otherworldy vocals, a surprising number of songs on my Top 15 don't feature her predominantly. I guess that speaks to the great balance of The New Pornographers, and proves that they're so multi-faceted that it doesn't really matter who's singing those lyrics, as mentioned at the outset of this list. Neko and AC split the duties on this one to my knowledge, and do a swimming job of it. Not only that, but AC's vocals seem to be drowned a bit, while Neko's are presented naked and without filter, a further testament to the myriad ways in which NP can present their perfectly crafted musical pieces.

6. | "Twin Cinema" | Twin Cinema | The title track does well to set the mood for a great NP album, all in a concise 2:59. The pitchy guitar right off the bat, the louder-than-usual percussion, and impassioned vocals all make their debut, laying down a tone that's carried out well throughout the rest of the compilation. There's a rare breakdown just about halfway through, where the singing and instruments both slow it down a tad, but don't let that fool you - they're right back at it in a minute, setting the table perfectly for probably the most critically acclaimed album offering from The New Pornographers.

5. | "The Bleeding Heart Show" | Twin Cinema | This is where it starts to get really hard, and the order starts to matter that much more. "The Bleeding Heart Show" hints strongly at how Challengers ended up being mood-wise, but it was a departure at that time for Twin Cinema I'd say. It's got a bit of that heartstring-tugging feeling that's so prominent on NP's final album, but which isn't really there on the more upbeat and outright fun Twin Cinema. Then at exactly 2:40 in, the whole song switches it up on you, and comes around with the most damned triumphant showing from not only The New Pornographers, but possibly any song within the last 10 years (since everyone seems to fond of doing those decade-ending lists right about now). It's no wonder the University of Phoenix uses "The Bleeding Heart Show" in their ads; I'd go to university in freakin' Chechnya if they blasted this song on campus every morning. For as much as I may have written, you really just have to hear this one. It's uplifting, moving, and everything you'd be pleasantly suprised to find out The New Pornographers are too.

4. | "Slow Descent Into Alcoholism" | Mass Romantic | It's quirky, it's fast-paced, it's about drinking. I could just finish this particular review with that singular blurb, but it deserves so much more. The vocals are dragged out in the catchiest of ways, there's the triad of choruses that NP does so well, I'm pretty sure there's some brass involved, and the harmony between the male and female singing is an underrated aspect that makes this ditty one of my favorite. Around 2:40 (again?) the song takes on a bit of a different flair, but this time becomes only more fervent and the instrumentation that much crunchier, before it stops for a split-second and proceeds to blow up in your ears. The vocals start to lean to the visceral side, and then it's over just as quick with a few "uh-huh"s. Uh-huh indeed.

3. | "Mass Romantic" | Mass Romantic | Who does great title tracks? The New Pornographers obviously do. "Mass Romantic" is like the mission statement for their careers. It's a bit unconventional, it's unmistakably Neko Case, the lyrics are as non-sensical and fun as they get, and the instruments are banged out in a garage band-ish way The Strokes popularized around the same time, albeit in a decidedly more lacksadasical and lo-fi way. "Mass Romantic" is bursting with exhuberance, and if there's any better track to get you in the mood for a good listening session with one of Canada's best supergroups (we do tend to have a lot), there may not be a better place to start than their first - discographically speaking that is.

2. | "Use It" | Twin Cinema | I lied earlier. "Use It" is in fact the first New Pornographers I remember hearing. As the theme song for the first few seasons of CBC Televison's The Hour pop culture show, I'd been unwittingly listening to one of the band's best tracks night in and night out, rapt by the feverish drumming, poignant piano and ever-so-distinct guitar. When "use it toniiii-iiii-iiiight" closed out the show's intro, little did I know just how great the rest of NP's songs were - I just knew that that song was some damn catchy. Unfortunately, I never really acted on those feelings until this summer, but I can say without hesitation that I was incredibly dumb to wait this long. Even when a friend played NP's stuff for me last summer, I kept going back to "Use It" over and over again. I think back then I thought they were almost too diverse and "all over the place" for me, but as my tastes have solidified a bit, and my thirst for Canadian music increased, I've had the hindsight to dive into a great catalogue that features "Use It" as one of its best tracks. By the way - any song that states "two sips from the cup of human kindness/and I'm shitfaced" in a totally un-ironic way, definitely has my stamp of approval.

1. | "Letter From An Occupant" | Mass Romantic | A brief riff, and you jump right into possibly the best Neko Case vocal performance ever. She has a brilliantly unique voice and delivery, and nowhere is it showcased any better than on "Letter From An Occupant." There's a shrill and campy quality to it that would make most other artists cringe to reach, let alone showcasing it on a song so well-crafted as this. I'm sure many listeners may even cringe at the quirkiness of Neko's voice here, but for anyone who truly likes her or any of the Pornographer's work, "Letter From An Occupant" has to be the epitome of the band firing on all cylinders. There's a bubbling guitar line through the break of the song, pinpoint drumming throughout, and even the infrequent and faint exclamations you can hear in the background sound so authentic you'd think it was those in the studio at the time whooping at how well the whole piece coalesces. There's virtually no weak points, and I'll be damned if this tune doesn't stick in your head for more than a day or two. As the best New Pornographers tune, you should expect no less.

this was one of the more normal photos of Camera Obscura

When I say "endearing Scottish pop music" what do you think of? I wouldn't blame you if you just drew a complete blank, but Camera Obscura, a group from Glasgow, probably has the market cornered. My Maudlin Career is their fourth proper-length album, and though it's been out for a bit and I've heard bits and pieces of it, I've really fallen in love with "French Navy."

Camera Obscura - French Navy

It receives a bit of airplay on CBC Radio 2, but it's far from anything you'd hear on any mainstream radio station. Sadly, there's not a very good reason for that, other than the fact there's no decent radio stations anywhere east of Montreal here in Canada. This is the kind of pop music that would thrive on a channel like that, full of shiny and lush instrumentation, picturesque lyrics, and the lead singer's flighty and extremely distinct voice.

The song screams "sunny day" to me, and when the chorus picks up, you can't help but imagine yourself standing in a grassy field, the girl of your dreams running into your arms. Why in the world much of modern radio insists on playing air-headed pop and empty, same-riffing rock when there's such evocative music out there is really beyond me. But thank God for the internet: where "endearing Scottish pop music" happens.

Arkells - Jackson Square album review

First things first. I'm breaking down this album old-school: track by track. Secondly, to give a bit of perspective on the band, I always tell people that Arkells sound like The Trews...if The Trews were better. Basically, they take all that catchy, in-your-face, two-guitar, bass, drums and keyboard assault, and subtract all the cock-rock and dumb lyrics. The final product ends up being a really pleasing and almost cathartic experience in modern "indie rock" music.

These guys have been playing shows all over Canada recently, and it's only a matter of time before they blow up on the national scene. Their live shows are packed with energy, and they play great sets full of songs off Jackson Square, along with some improvisations and crowd-involving gimmicks that just add to the fun that accompanies catching these guys in concert. On to the album though:

"Deadlines" | As inauspicious of an album-starter as you could pick. The slow drumming build-up, a few crashes, all the instruments coming in, and then Max's voice giving a little intro of what it's like to work the corporate life. This song actually sets the theme pretty well for the album, as it's a very working-class band putting together a very working-class album. "Deadlines" is fast and short, but if it doesn't pump you up for the rest of the album, you might want to check your pulse.

"Pullin' Punches" | This one picks up right where "Deadlines" trails off, albeit with a much happier tilt. "Pullin' Punches" is a bit of a heartfelt rocker, a little ode to that truthful girl in your life, with a hint of sympathy in there for all she's been through. There's a few good break-downs of the song, a lot of pacing changes, and a sense of urgency throughout - which sums up Arkells pretty well in fact. This is a group that performs with a sense of urgency, like they know the spotlight could fade any minute, and they make the best of it while they can. Of course, that could also be because the last time I saw them, they only had a half-hour to belt out their set...

"Oh, The Boss Is Coming" | OTBIC veers off a darker road, but keeps that same fast pace and worker's mentality set out before it. This song is probably lead singer Max Kerman's most impassioned vocal performance, with his yelps and throaty singing conveying perfectly the very literal anxiousness of an office worker who's probably not up to much, and is constantly looking over their shoulder to make sure the boss isn't catching them doing so. OTBIC is one Arkells have taken and extended a bit live, with Max leading a neat call-and-response with the audience during the "punching in/punching out" lines.

"Ballad of Hugo Chavez" | I may have mentioned "Ballad" on here before, but it's certainly one of the stand-out tracks on Jackson Square. Arkells aren't one of those groups that put obscure names to their songs for art's sake; this is quite literally a lyrical re-telling of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez's trials and tribulations preceding his rise to power...all told over the scat of a saxophone and pop-y piano chords. Again, I'm a sucker for piano, so this song can do no wrong by me - and between the "hey hey hey!"s and "in the niii-iiight/of the sun"s that establish the catchiest chorus these guys have, I don't see how it ever could.

"Tragic Flaw" | It's a debut album, so there's gonna be some filler in Jackson Square, but thankfully, they built the album so that it comes in after four rousing jams. Some people might like this song a little more than I do, but it just doesn't do anything for me. It's a bit of a downer in some parts, but what it does the worst is pander to a lot of what's out there already on the radio, in terms of Canadian rock groups who are trying just a tad too hard to make it. It still has some of the signature Arkells melodies, but it's certainly nothing special.

"No Champagne Socialist" | Still continuing the worker trend of the album, NCS starts with a great harmonica blast, and then slows down for Max to set the scene: "let the record show, it's 1964/in the city of New York." Another sympathetic song, but this time for the guy trying to live on "both sides of the track" - a well-to-do Jewish kid who doesn't want the same life his family's had for so long. You'd think the subject matter would certainly curtail the tune from being played at concerts with any amount of success, but between the impassioned harmonica playing, the well-done southern rock (these guys know their rock, and don't just stick to one kind of it), and the awesome guitar solo closing the song out, "No Champagne Socialist" is kind of Arkells' ace in the hole.

"Abigail" | I guess this is how a rock ballad like "Tragic Flaw" should've been done. Which is really saying something for Arkells - they may make mistakes as a young group, but within the span of one song, they've already corrected it. The instrumentality of all their tunes really keeps them going, even when the lyrics are busy painting a story or telling a cautionary tale. "Abigail" tinges with sorrow for a girl who doesn't quite understand why the guy in her life does the things he does, and may be feeling a little lost, as evidenced by "where did all the good plans go?" Add to the mix a bit of a heartstring-tugging go at the guitar, and Arkells save yet another sappy tune from coming off all too emo and self-pleasing. I can't really recall them playing "Abigail" live, but they certainly have the tools to turn it into something concert-worthy, even in its present form.

"Heart Of The City" | Probably not one of my favorite tracks off Jackson Square. A little too earnest and lyrically stuttering for my liking. It also veers off the path the rest of the album sets out, meaning it's a bit abstract and doesn't really follow the story-telling/workforce/down-trodden girl routine the rest of the album touts. "Heart Of The City" wouldn't be so bad if I actually knew what singer Max Kerman's trying to get at in the big picture, and also if the rest of the band was able to elevate the song to the level something with this kind of title deserves.

"I'm Not The Sun" | These few songs right here point out I guess, the, uh, "Tragic Flaw" of Jackson Square (sorry). Whereas most albums would just be hitting their stride around the mid-point, it becomes clear right about here that Arkells did that with the first half of the album, and sadly the second half suffers for that. "I'm Not The Sun" is too much of a slow-burner, coming down to a level even Kings Of Leon on painkillers might feel is a tad too lethargic. For anyone familiar with Only By The Night, this is Arkells' version of "Closer" or "Cold Desert," those largely instrumental and emotive jaunts into territory best reserved for groups who know how to do that better (think Coldplay). Otherwise, KoL and Arkells should just stick to the straightforward rock that got them to where they are in the first place.

"The Choir" | By this point, it's like they're slapping you in the face. You were really pumped up by the first half of the album, waiting to see where these rising stars were going to take it next...then they slow it down for "I'm Not The Sun" and keep it at that pace yet again. Max just sounds sad and forlorn here, and the track really only moves in fits and bursts. The sappy-sounding chorus is a zone Arkells should stay out of, and the church-and-death tinged lyrics don't do them much justice either. There may be great intention behind this song, but the execution is sadly lacking.

"John Lennon" | Just as it's all becoming a bit too much to bear, one of my favorite tracks of 2009 shows up to save the album. Like a lot of the songs I like the most, it's sometimes hard to put into words what it is that makes me love it so much. There's a bit of saxophone jumping in and adding the right amount of diversity, there's the rousing "I'm John Lennon/in '67" chorus, the persistent keyboard stabs, the pick-it-up-and-rock-it-out interludes, the slow-it-down "I'm so lost...and I live just around the corner!" right before the chorus, and the side-to-side sway of the band during the chorus itself. "John Lennon" is full of everything that's right about Arkells, and has the most diverse presentation of their skills on Jackson Square. In concert, the false ending is that much better, the actual ending is the high point of their shows, and Max looks like he's possibly having the most fun of anyone up there relaying the story of a drunken night on the town.

"Blueprint" | This along with "John Lennon" really dispells the bad taste in your mouth coming from the middle third of the album. Again, I don't think they play it live (probably because the sax is featured a little more prominently here, and they don't tour with a sax player) but there's no reason they couldn't. The stadium-rock ready chorus of "No I ain't/gonna fear/the new year!" and the chugging band behind Max make for a most optimistic end to a great debut album. With the catchy choruses, great musicianship, and attention-grabbing concerts they have going for them, Arkells certainly have no reason to fear anything, let alone a new year for the boys to prove themselves to rock fans all over Canada.

Arkells on MySpace

Jackson Square on Amazon

fun game: do they make music that sounds like what they look like?

I had a rough night yesterday, so no song was posted, but "Shout" by The Points would have been it. Disclaimer: this isn't usually the kind of music I like nor listen to. But there was just something about this song that really hit a chord with me.

It's plain and simple rock music, with some shouted lyrics, a lot of distortion, feverish drumming, a chugging guitar keeping everything in line...and then two minutes in, everything calms down, you get a "Seven Nation Army"-ish march going on, and suddenly all the instruments, from the drums to the guitar to the singer's voice take their own places in the song. It's a bit of an evolution, as it all goes from being a jock-rock jumble, to a head-bobbing slow burner. The step-downs on the guitar are the real hit at this point in the song.

The Points - Shout

At around the 4:15 mark, the song seems to slow to an end, but the beauty of this 5:43 rocker is that it picks right back up when you start thinking it's going to fade away. There's nothing better than when a song is already something great, and then you remember every time you hear it, "oh yeah, there's another minute or two left." Sometimes that can be an annoying feeling, especially if you get one of those seven-minute long remixes of songs you already like that are ruined by pointless beeps and synths for a deadzone of like two or three minutes. "Shout" definitely doesn't suffer from that.

I've been way too tired all week, and busy with my last summer course, so I haven't really been able to post much. I have been reading pitchfork every day though for their Top 500 Songs of the 00's, and it's a really, really good read for anyone interested. I was surprised at how mainstream they got towards the top, and also at the fact that I knew so many of the 500 picks. Anyways, good thing to check out (especially when I'm being slow like this).

As a means of an update, I'm hoping to get a lot of my album reviews done over the next week. I'll probably start with the Arkells, and then see if I can't get the Sunset Rubdown and The Most Serene Republic ones done. I've been listening to all of them pretty consistently, but I'll have to do it a little more thoroughly to get a good review of each done.

I also just bought Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains' first album (he's half of the now-defunct but much-beloved Death From Above 1979 - the other half went off and formed MSTRKRFT) and I'm getting Lightning Dust's album Infinite Light sometime next week, so I'll probably have some quick reviews of those ones too.

I would post a song right now, but my uploader is conking out, so I'll have to do it later today.

whoa

I've never really said I was a music-only blog - I'm only fashioned as such. Above is a long-term forecast from MSW for the waves around Cow Bay in Nova Scotia, where I like to surf. I'm posting this as much as a point of interest as for my own personal memento that I can come back to later if I want.

The five star ratings mean it's "classic surf," so I can only hope the forecast stays the way it is until the weekend comes around. The waves are being generated by Hurricane Bill, and can only be descrbied as "epic" if they hold up. Here's hoping. I'll try and put pics up if I'm not in the water those days.

when you're behind, it's good to...

...catchup

In anticpation of Pitchfork putting out an expansive remembering of the last decade that was in music (including a 4-day roll out of the Top 500 Songs of the 2000's) I've undertaken both a personal and music-related project to try and immerse myself in music I would've missed because I was either:

a.) too young to appreciate [I was in grade 6 when Radiohead's Kid A came out]

b.) too stupid to appreciate [my aforementioned affinity for rap music for most of my teens]

c.) too lazy to appreciate [hearing bits and pieces of great albums, but never bothering to delve deeper]

d.) too weirded out by names to appreciate [The New Pornographers...I can be forgiven I think]

e.) all of the above for the balance of 7.5 years

Among my choice listening over the next few days and weeks will be Radiohead's Kid A - widely regarded as one of the best albums in recent memory, if not ever - and OK Computer, which may not have been quite as highly regarded, but that I wanted to get a feel for anyways. Given that aside from a few quick cuts, all my musical Radiohead knowledge stems from In Rainbows, I figured I'd do myself a favor and get a bit of a back-education on what some think is the greatest group since The Beatles. I just finished my first go-through of Kid A, and it's certainly something I'll have to give a lot of more listens to before I can give a real good opinion on it.

Another category of listening is Arcade Fire's Funeral, which falls into category c. I've heard "Rebellion (Lies)" and enjoyed it greatly on mainstream radio, and there's two other tracks I'd heard after that, but I never really bothered to get into the rest of the album. When I started doing a bit of reseach recently and seeing Funeral pop up on "Top of the 00's" lists everywhere, as well as being in the Top 5 or 10 of most lists for the year it came out, I figured it was time I went through Arcade Fire's acclaimed disc. After about two full listens of it today, my one-man jury (a judge?) is still out on it.

Fitting into both category d and a more personal reason, I made it a point this week to listen to the entire discography of The New Pornographers. In a way, this whole undertaking can actually be traced back prior to Pitchfork, and to PrettyMuchAmazing's listing of TNP's Mass Romantic as one of the top albums of the 00's over a week ago. Because 1.) I have a friend who is a huge fan, and I couldn't even tell her the name of which album it was that PMA named as the best, and 2.) it's practically my duty as a Canadian to check out The New Pornographers in some way, it was a two-fold thing for me. Let me tell you though, I've been far from disappointed. Mass Romantic itself may be one of my favorite albums ever already, and the entirety of TNP's catalogue has already made an inespacibly indelible impression on me in such a short time.

To expand on The New Pornographers a little bit while I'm here, there's some music that I find transcendant - that which I can't really attach a genre or a "this is why I like it" to. Most of Joel Plaskett's work I find to be like that, and The New Pornographers have joined his likes in my books. I just hear their music, I like it, I can't tell you why, and I look forward to hearing it over and over again. It's that easy, and that's how music you really love should be. It's also how real love should be...but that's neither here nor there.

Anyways, once Pitchfork's lists come out, I may have some feedback about them. I'll personally be better equipped to respond to the individual songs lists than the albums, as I've always been more of that kind of music listener, but hopefully I'll be able to offer at least a bit of perspective or criticism as to some of the choices. Or I may just simply appreciate the opinions of people who've vested much more time and interest in something I'm hoping to do the same with. Until then though...

Sunday Night Spotlight | No. 1

this seat is reserved for remixes

On my Top 15 of 2009 post, I listed Skream's remix of La Roux's "In For The Kill" as one of my favorite tracks of the year so far. Lost in my earlier filled-out-and-deleted post was the explanation of how truly epicly Skream's remix transformed La Roux's original. I'm a fan of her work as it is, enjoying her set at Osheaga, and I'm especially fond of "Bulletproof," the tune she closed her Montreal show to a few weeks ago.

So with that in mind, I approached the Nacey remix of "Bulletproof" on hypem with some hesitation - something common for remixes, as I usually don't like my favorite songs to be messed with. Nothing ruins a good track like some "up-and-coming" fart adding some deep bass and synth stabs to something that didn't need any re-working in the first place, not to mention dragging the track out to boredom-inducing lengths of 6 to 7 minutes. Add to that the fact that I've grown increasingly dubious of the top 20 on hypem and its tendency to overpopularize crappy dancefloor electro (as chosen by hypem member's number of "favorites" on a certain track), as well as my unfamiliarity with Nacey, and I didn't think this remix had much a hope.

La Roux - Bulletproof (Nacey Remix)

Imagine my surprise when I ended up with a song that was not only 5 seconds shorter than the original but...wait for it...better than Skream's above remix of "In For The Kill." The original "Bulletproof" is everything in a nutshell concerning La Roux's sound: it bleeds the 80's, brings her voice to the forefront (and she has decent pipes, especially for an electro-pop singer), throws in more than a fair share of keyboards and synths, and doesn't really do much for you on a deeper level lyrically.

Nacey's remix on the other hand starts off with the vast soundfulness of a church, and fills that with strings and a few repeated and haunting piano and keyboard chords. While keeping La Roux's original cadence, Nacey puts her voice a little further back on the track, and lets the strings and piano take over until a great beat drops in around 1:20 in. The percussion picks up at that point and you're treated to finger snaps, ambient wooshes and an overall epic sound that manages to be more immediate than the "In For The Kill" remix, as well as more focused and forward than that reworking. Add in the great strings solo at around 2:40, just to punctuate the antiquated feel of an orchestra in a church here, and I'm not really sure if this wouldn't surely nudge "In For The Kill" out of my Top 15 for the year.

an electro-rap duo from Toronto and Montreal? how could you go wrong

So this post serves two reasons. First of all, I'm really loving this song right now. And secondly, I'm really loving Yahoo Media Player. I keep trying to find new ways to make playing the music I post on here easier for everyone, and this is the latest and possibly the coolest. It stays at the bottom of the window no matter what (that little grey play button in the left-hand corner), and all you have to do is either click the links in the posts, or you can check out the full playlist to the right. I may have to sort out a few bugs while I have it for the first little while, but hopefully it's for the better.

Getting onnnn though. Thunderheist. I've gotta give The Coast props first of all, for putting these guys on the cover of their great paper back when school was in session...so like March or April of this year. (Yes I'm late. I was late for my own graduation. I was late so many times they once fired me from a job. I'm late a lot.) But since then I've heard them played everywhere from house parties to on CBC Radio 3 Sessions.

The duo is made up of producer Graham Zilla and rapper Isis, who's been featured on tracks by the likes of MSTRKRFT. They manage to marry throbbing, bass-heavy, dancefloor-ready electro with Isis' sometimes-raunchy, usually-well-delivered, always-catchy flows, and come out with something both inventive and easily accessible. I've maintained on here before that I hate rap, but this stuff is in a class of its own, and I've always at least appreciated hip-hop.

So at worst, call this an exception:

Thunderheist - Do The Right Thing

at best, call it your new jam.

More Thunderheist:

- Myspace

- Thunderheist on Amazon

- CBC Radio 3 artist page

Best Songs of 2009? let's try it again

Unfortunately, I added two or three too many links to my post yesterday listing the Top 15 songs of 2009, and it was taken down by the site's host.

It's such a big pain to rewrite it and I'm so peeved by the takedown that I'm not gonna bother posting it all again, though I will post my actual list of songs, just so they can be compared later on to my longer and more filled-out year-end list.

(and because evidently posting the same damn songs on hypem.com doesn't necessitate blog posts being taken down, head over there and search for the songs in this list - all but Japandroids and Handsome Furs should be on there for your listening pleasure)

15. Groove Armada - Drop The Tough (Twelves Remix)

14. Arkells - John Lennon

13. Handsome Furs - All We Want Baby, Is Everything

12. The Bloody Beetroots ft. Steve Aoki - Warp 1.9

11. La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream Remix)

10. Little Boots - New In Town (Emil & Friends Remix)

9. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Don't Haunt This Place

8. Japandroids - Sovereignty

7. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll

6. Phoenix - Lisztomania

5. Grizzly Bear - While You Wait For The Others

4. Dirty Projectors - Stillness Is The Move

3. Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks

2. Bon Iver - Blood Bank

1. Animal Collective - My Girls

I'd also offer all 15 for download again, but I'm sure that got me in trouble yesterday too. In the meantime, I still suggest checking out hypem for the above songs.

Day 2 of Osheaga in pictures

Busy/hectic week, but I'm only seven days removed from the actual festival. So this would make for like, amazing time if it was 1899.

Anyways, again: in order that I actually saw them, and pictures courtesy of osheaga.com and the photographers who took them.

Arkells

lead singer Max Kerman

the boys from Hamilton

Amazing Baby

...the boys from Brooklyn - notice the orange/Orange amps

and the orange guitarist...and his see-through guitar I mentioned!

"yes, yes I did go to music school for this instrument"

Arctic Monkeys

people were just smoking that much weed

great lightshow, though given the lack of headliners I watched, Coldplay and YYY's probably had better

lead singer Alex Turner

Crystal Castles

you'd get the impression it was just Alice Glass from these

World's Best Haircut?

...yes, yes it is

how to correctly use your microphone as an instrument