i'm moving

my blog to wordpress. i'm sure there will be a few growing pains and i'm slowly figuring out that all my posts aren't transferring properly, but if anyone actually reads this, you can find me here: http://r0ckmej0e.wordpress.com

cheers!

isn't there something about those lights?

jon-rae fletcher's oh maria is the best thing i've added to my iTunes in a long, long time. bold statement, i know. however, it's nothing but true. it's honest and simple and hauntingly beautiful. it's a january record, for sure. january records are the kind of records that make you want to curl up in your bed and cry over the things you wish you had but don't. (january is the only acceptable month to do that, by the way.)

don't get me wrong. the whole record doesn't make you want to cry. but songs like "city lights," "big talker" and "oh, maria" do. they're just so honest. they're the kind of songs that make you feel like the artist is sitting there, on the end of your bed, playing those songs to you.

"big talker" is probably my favourite track. it's heartbreaking. it's so heartbreaking, it almost makes you angry, in a way.

the album draws on country, gospel and roots foundations. the gospel shows up in the soulful harmonies and melodies, like in "downtown," and the traditional country shines in tracks like "no dancing." it's utterly nostalgic, in the best way possible.

oh maria is the most well-rounded album i've listened to in ages. again, simple beautiful, front to back.

watch "big talker," and jon-rae's interview with the National Post below.

all i ever wanted help with was you

i'm not really up on the whole 'podcast' thing. however, my friend suggested i check out cbc radio 3's best songs of the 2000s. she then suggested i create my own list, as i consume a healthy dose of canadiana myself. so, seeing as i'm laid up with a sprained knee that will hopefully (fingers-crossed) heal itself overnight so i wake up tomorrow and don't have to use a cane, i've decided to spend a bit of time blogging to pass the time. (longest. sentence. ever.)

now, i'm in now way implying that this list is the be all and end all in canadian music. frankly, i didn't even start listening to canadian indie until relatively recently. i definitely enjoyed my canrock in the 90s, but that was when you could hear great canadian tunes on mainstream rock radio. when 102 stopped playing it, i stopped listening. i didn't get back into canroc until arcade fire hit with funeral. i missed out on a lot, unfortunately. so, with that in mind, here are my favourite canadian songs of the last decade

10. hey rosetta - there's an arc

beautiful album, hands down. there are a number of bands or songs i could have placed here, but i think there an act with a very bright future ahead of them.



9. land of talk - some are lakes

another hillside find. great rock tune. the kind that makes you swing back and forth while you listen.



8. rural alberta advantage - frank, ab

i love emusic. i found this album there about this time last year. it's been in heavy rotation since then. frank, ab is one of the best tracks on the record and as far as i'm concerned, it's one of the most exciting records pressed North of the boarder in the last ten years.



7. born ruffians - hummingbird

born ruffians were my favourite show at hillside '08. they're not everybody's cup of tea, but they're mine, for sure. hummingbird is another one of those songs you just have to see live.




6. feist - intuition

in my opinion, it's the best song on the record. hands down. simply stunning.



5. stars - the night starts here

romantic comedy is a close second to this track. i'm not sure which i like more, to be honest. there wasn't a good video for romantic comedy though, so "the night starts here" won the coin toss. as of late, i've lost touch with stars. there's that whole solo thing, and another band called broken social scene that some people are into, however, their first three records were brilliant and i hope the rope me into a few more.



4. new pornographers - challengers

i love pop music. i love rock music. i love canadian music. the new pornographers define all three. a new album will be out this spring called "together," according to the cbc's grant lawrence. i can't wait.



3. wintersleep - miasmal smoke & the yellow bellied freaks

intense. the first time i heard this record, and i had been a wintersleep fan for a couple of years when welcome to the night sky was released, it was like hearing the band for the first time. it blew me away. i've seen a lot of shows - a loooooooot of shows, but nothing, not even seeing "with or without you" with bono's crotch in my face, will ever beat hearing "miasmal smoke and the yellow bellied freaks" live. it's epitomizes what going to concerts is all about.

and, they've got the best drummer in the business as far as i'm concerned. again. a must-see live band. i should put about 5 songs on this list.



2. arcade fire - wake up

anthemic, overwhelming, and as i've said before, changed my iTunes library forever.



1. patrick watson - the great escape

beautiful. it's the only word i can use to describe this song. simply beautiful.



honorable mentions go to: dan mangan - fair verona, serena ryder - little bit of red, the dears - lost in the plot, sebastien grainger & les montagnes - meet new friends, arkells - ballad of hugo chavez and miracle fortress - maybe lately. just consider those my top 16.

i'm such a liar

i know i promised a plethora of new posts. i didn't deliver. my holiday was filled with too many drinks, too many pity parties and one new haircut. isn't that what the holidays are for?

though, i did download a whack of new tunes though and i'm slowly making my way through them.

most recently, i randomly came across the finnish band, rubik. one: i've got super band crushes on every dude in the band. see below. i especially like the one on the end in the yellow sweater. don't listen to anything otherwise, boys. beer bellies and beards are hot.

two: the music is rad. dada bandits is chock full of indie-rock dance anthems. think stars - if stars had balls. sweet bass lines, solid synths and soaring vocals. wow. that was some alliteration. it's only because i'm sitting in my basement, drinking 50, prepping for a night of skeezy karaoke at the bar down the street from me. translation: i'm getting tipsy.

fuck me. stupid blogger has somehow underlined that whole previous paragraph. and I can't get it off. i hate this program.

anyway, check out "wasteland" below. and visit their myspace for more wicked tunes.


Rubik - Wasteland

rubik | MySpace Music Videos