MuchMusic Doesn’t Suck, You’re Just Old

If you haven’t already heard, CTVglobemedia laid off 105 employees earlier this month. The bulk of the cuts occurred at the company’s arts and entertainment channels, MuchMusic, MuchMoreMusic and Bravo. MuchMoreMusic had its staff gutted, and Much canned two of their best shows, the NewMusic and Going Coastal (and my friend and former Going Coastal host Paul Brothers with it).

Fittingly, EYE WEEKLY’s cover story last week concerned the ongoing fortunes of “The Nation’s Music Station.” Some say it sucks, others say those viewers that believe that line are just too damn old. Whichever side of the arguement you come down on the story, written by Chandler Levack (with a pair of nifty sidebars written by yours truly), is worth reading.

No Internet for you!

That is if the RIAA has it’s way. It seems that after waging a five-year litigation campaign against it’s own customer base, the music industry’s playground bully lobby arm is changing course. With the cooperation of certain ISPs the RIAA wants to cut people caught sharing music illegally on the internet off. You can read the details over at wired.com’s Epicenter and Threat Level blogs.

While I’m hardly in favour of anyone getting their online acces cut, this does seem  to be a bit more of a sane (though still incredibly arbitrary and ineffective) way of dealing with illegal downloading. That said, I think this does present a slippery slope for ISPs, and hopefully here in Canada providers like Rogers, Bell and Shaw will recognize this and tell the CRIA to fuck off.

Also, the RIAA’s strategy to use screen caps as their only evidence of wrong doing seems a little fishy. Hopefully some judge with half a brain will deem this whole thing illegal (I hope).

Best Albums of 2008

In which I pick my favourite albums of the year.

Best Album with a guy yelling about impending middle age

Stay Positive – The Hold Steady

Best Album from a Boss-aping band not called the Hold Steady

The ‘59 Sound- The Gaslight Anthem

Best Album available exclusively for free download

Strictly Leakage – Atmosphere

Best EP that I hope becomes a Best Album

TIE

Yes I Smoke Crack – Salem

No Way Down – Air France

Best Album made by a band with the word “Fuck” in its name

The Chemistry of Common Life – Fucked Up

Best Album made by a true gentleman

S/T – Gentleman Jesse and His Men

Best pop-rock Album made by a bunch of hippies from the Gulf Islands

O My Heart – Mother Mother

Best Album not sung in English

Meo suo i eyrum vio spilum endalaust – Sigur Ros

Best Album of 2008

Dear Science – TV on the Radio

Top 5 Songs of 2008

In which I choose my five favourite individual tracks I couldn’t stop listening to this year.

5. “Teenage Love Affair” – Alicia Keys

The record came out last year, but this wasn’t released until April, so I’m sneaking it in. The old school Motown vibe, the Boyz II Men style breakdown,  the School Daze inspired video – this was hands down my guilty pleasure pop-tune of ‘08.

4. “I Told Her on Alderaan” – Neon Neon

This song is so stupid-catchy it’s not fair to the rest of music.

3. “Dance Wiv Me” – Dizzie Rascal w/ Calvin Harris

Five years on from winning the Mercury Prize, Dizzie finally lands his first number one single.

2. “Pork and Beans” – Weezer

Weezer get their mojo back to deliver their best song since “El Scorcho.”

1. “Sex on Fire” – Kings of Leon

The Followill brothers penned the best straight ahead rock tune in years and all the girls swooned.

Album covers recreated with Lego

A lot of people probably already saw P4K’s post about Format Magazine’s recreated hip hop album covers made with Lego, but I love both music and Lego, and some fool has actually taken the time to combine the two. There’s also “The Lego Album Covers Pool” on Flickr. Hats off to that person.

I have to say, I find the ones that use Lego to recreate the background far more interesting than the ones that just photoshop the Lego men into the frame. Here are my favourites…

What the Fuck Happened?! Joy Division and the Pixies

From urbanoutfitters.com 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is no way the bands were involved in this, was there? Aren’t there a legal issue around this? 

Live Review: Love Is All, Crystal Stilts @ The Horseshoe

Gothic bluesmen, Brooklyn hipsters and no-wave Swedes make strange bedfellows, so maybe it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that a pair of ball-cap wearing ass-hats found it necessary to harass a group of girls while taking swings at the bouncers during Thursday night’s show at the Horseshoe Tavern. Not that the crowd noticed the half-dozen police officers snaking through the bar though — they were too busy grooving to Gothenburg group Love Is All’s screeching sax lines in the back.

Opening the night were Tropics, a local duo that ostensibly exists as an excuse for frontman Slim Twig to inflict sonic freak-outs on an audience. Anchored by Simone TB’s rock-solid drumming, Slim let loose, looping bursts of guitar over squelching feedback moaning and howling into the mic. Rumour going ‘round is that their set was recorded for a live cassette so keep your eyes and ears to the ground kids.

Much buzzed/blogged Brooklynites Crystal Stilts managed to live up to their own hype as a terribly unengaging live act, a frustrating fact since their music is really quite good. The quartet is by no means reinventing any wheels, but they did an excellent job of marrying slinky Suicide rhythm lines to ’60s surf/psych/garage guitars — think the Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psychocandy minus all the feedback and fuzz. These songs could easily fit into any Quentin Tarantino soundtrack if it weren’t for lead singer Brad Hargett’s monotone delivery (is it possible to be pitch-perfectly tone-deaf?). Holding the disparate elements together was ex-Vivian Girl Frankie Rose, who dropped heavy, rudimentary beats on her stand up drum kit a la Mo Tucker. Still, it would have been nice for at least one of the group to feign interest in their own show. 

If there is a ying to Crystal Stilts’ yang, it’s Love Is All. The Swedish quintet oozed youthful vigor, offering playful banter and an enthusiastic performance. Live, Love is All’s music is stripped of the heavy reverb that marks their recordings, revealing a songwriting sensibility that sits comfortably between late ’70s New York no wave and Bow Wow Wow’s “I Want Candy.” Their set leaned heavy on just released sophomore album A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night, opening with “Wishing Well” and “Give It Back” before ripping through “Talk Talk Talk Talk” from their 2006 debut Nine Times That Same Song. Guitarist James Ausfahrt and bass player Johan Lindwall played Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard to lead singer Josephine Olausson’s Diana Ross chanting “one more time” in between Olausson’s speak-sing verses. An all too brief 45-minute set that included a deconstructed take on A Flock of Seagulls’ “I Ran” was capped off with a two-song encore. That the audience left wanting more seemed fitting for a band with such lofty pop ambitions.

This story originally appeared on EYE WEEKLY’s website. 

CanRock 90s: Rusty – Misogyny

Welcome to a special edition of “CanRock 90s” taking a look at the video for Rusty’s “Misogyny.” What makes this edition special? Well, “Misongyny” copped most of it’s footage from the movie Hustler White, which screened at the Royal this weekend as part of their Bruce LaBruce retrospective. LaBruce, a leading light in the early 90s Queer Cinema movement, also has a new movie out called Otto; or, Up With Dead People, a gay zombie porn film screening at the Royal until Thursday. Why did Rusty decide to use this footage? I have no idea. But I seem to remember that he also directed the band’s video for “Empty Cell” though I can’t seem to find it on the Internet anywhere. Anyway, Rusty were a Toronto band who scored some big hits on MuchMusic with singles from the records Fluke (“Wake Me“) and Sophomoric (“Oh No Joe”) but kind of fizzled after their third album Out of their Heads (with it’s very cool “Soul For Sale” vid). It’s a shame because this was a rare case where the CanRock 90s group deserved their success (I think so at least).

Incoming new music: The First Aid Kit

The First Aid Kit are a bunch of young college types that oranized themselves over in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They’re great, and as the new tracks they’ve posted on their myspace show, they keep getting better. You can download their 5-track debut EP for free here. They’re looking to put out another one in January. How about some shows out here in Toronto guys? You could bring the lovely ladies in the Rhythm Method along for the ride…

Bad Time Worse Time:

if the music’s loud enough: Top 5 Gigs of 2008

5. My Bloody Valentine @ Kool Haus, Toronto. Sept 25.

The return of My Bloody Valentine was probably the least expected, and most appreciated comeback of the year. Legendary for the volume of their of their shows, the gig at the Kool Haus gave me permanent hearing damage – during the Holocaust section of “You Made Me Realize” I could feel my pants moving and I was standing near the back. I probably should have used the free ear plugs the bouncers were handing out, but you know, it’s My Bloody Valentine.

4. ?uestlove DJ set @ the Marquee, Halifax. April 2.

?uestlove’s appearance in Halifax this spring had a definite “what the fuck is he doing here” vibe to it. But as soon as he started spinning it was clear -  with a mere weeks to go before his main gig, drumming for the Roots, released their new record, he was spreading the gospel. Prior to the show he gave a history of hip-hop tutorial in Hell’s Kitchen, then proceeded to give the aural portion of the lecture with his set. I’ve never seen a DJ put so much of his personality into his record choices.

3. The Hold Steady @ Phoenix, Toronto. Nov 11.

The Hold Steady’s sing-along-songs are best experienced in a communal setting, so naturally, seeing the band live is nothing short of revelatory. Lead singer Craig Finn flailed around like a man possessed, spitting out acerbic lines about Charlemagne and hoodrats. His demand to “raise ‘em up” after the line “Here’s a toast to St. Joe Strummer” in “Constructive Summer” was the most heartfelt and personal off the cuff moment I saw all year.

2. Neil Young @ ACC, Toronto. Dec 4.

This was Neil Young doing what Neil Young does best – rocking out and loving every minute of it. He pulled out almost every classic you could want – “Hey Hey, My My”, “Cinnamon Girl” and the Harvest trifecta of “Old Man,” “Heart of Gold” and “Needle and the Damage Down” – and mixed them in with some choice nuggets from throughout his 40 year career. The most amazing part was that he played every song like he meant it. Not a single note came off as obligatory. To top it off, he finished the 2 hour plus set with a cover of the Beatles “A Day in the Life” just to show he could.The only reason this isn’t number one is because we were sitting at the back of the ACC in the nosebleeds.

1. TV on the Radio @ Phoenix, Toronto. July 2.

TV on the Radio tested out a bunch of new tracks from their at the time forthcoming new record and damn did it ever sound good. Lead singer Tunde Adebimpe sang like a pastor preaching to the congregation and the crowd showed their appreciation. The rest of the band, including super-producer Dave Sitek showed why they’re one of the most consistently amazing live bands around.