Archive for the ‘Black Mountain’ Category
AWmusic’s Top Songs of 2008 pt 1: #76-100
Rest of the series:
Part 2: #51-75
Part 3: #26-50
Part 4: #1-25
I’m really late with my top songs list. There are far too many and it’s likely I missed a whole bit. In order not to just give a list of 100 songs, I’ll split it into four-parts with a 10-word limit describing each track.
#76 (Why Don’t You Go) Take A Hike by Thunder Power (myspace/video)
Even if she tells me, I’m not leaving.
#77 Wishing Well by Love Is All(myspace/video)
Josephine Olausson is a goddess. I’ll make her feel better
.#78 Take Me Home by Team Genius(myspace/video)
Most optimistic attempt to be Michael Jackson vocally?
#79 Clouds by The Rumble Strips (myspace)
“I’m lying on my back, looking at the clouds”
#80 Singer-Songwriter Anthem by Silver Speakers (myspace)
I think of this whenever I hear a singer-song writer.
#81 The Hollows by Why? (myspace)
10 words doesn’t do it here.
#82 Cherry Tulips by Headlights (myspace/video)
Pop at its finest.
#83 The Nun’s Litany by Magnetic Fields (myspace)
Fuel to the “dirty nun” fantasy.
#84 Black Satin by The Raveonettes(myspace)
Another simple yet effective Raveonettes song.
#85 California Girls by Magnetic Fields
Someone actually hates California Girls?
#86 Where Do You Run To by Vivian Girls (myspace)
A simple yet catchy song.
#87 You, Me and the Burgeoise by The Submarines (myspace/video)
I-phone commercial for the win?
#88 Bye Bye Bye by Plants and Animals (myspace/video)
Good song….album? ehhh
#89 Stormy High by Black Mountain (myspace)
A great start to a great album.
#90 Nothing Ever Happened by Deerhunter (myspace)
“Best song to play on a road trip”
#91 Constructive Summer by Hold Steady (myspace)
Me and my friends are like “constructive summer”?
#92 Ghosts by Ladytron (myspace/video)
Schizophrenia?
#93 House Music by Cadence Weapon (myspace)
Best song on Afterparty Babies.
#94 Creeper by Islands (myspace/video)
Video is odd.
#95 The Old Days by Dr. Dog (myspace)
“Let go of the old ones, we’ve got new ones.”
#96 Jodi by The Dodos (myspace)
Jodi my dear, this is a song you must hear.
#97 Battle Royale by Does It Offend You Yeah? (myspace/video)
A catchy instrumental for one of my favorite movies.
#98 I Wasn’t Made For Fighting by Woodhands (myspace/video)
They were actually made for dancing.
#99 Heaven (Narctrax Remix) by Health (myspace)
Health’s Disco has amazing remixes.
#100 Dawn Of The Dead by Does It Offend You Yeah? (video)
Critics hated on the wrong album.
Canada’s Hottest Bands of 2008
I contributed to last month’s blogger compilation to vote for the Canada’s Hottest Bands of 2008 edition on I Heart Music. In brackets is where the band was placed. I only contributed the top 10 as well and I included 5 more bands that should be at least considered.
1. Crystal Castles (11th)
Crystal Castles were ones of the hottest bands of the year after their debut release and at times the most controversial e.g the Chiptunes controversy and the “stolen” artwork on old EP. They seem to have survived the criticism and are stronger then ever putting on crowded live events all while laying low in the media. I think they were easily the big winners when it comes to Canadian artists.
Magic Spells by Crystal Castles
2. Fucked Up (8th)
Fucked Up’s Common Chemistry of Life has been receiving good reviews from most places. From a critical standpoint the album has been Canada’s most successful artist in terms of being liked critically. They also played a cover of Blitzkrieg Bop with Moby…. Even if we didn’t think too highly of Fucked Up ourselves doesn’t change the fact that they have taken some people by storm.
Looking for God by Fucked Up
3. Black Mountain (T13)
Black Mountain released In The Future at the start of the year and was on the shortlist for the Polaris Prize. Bloggers and publications lauded the band calling it one of the year’s best despite the year just kicking off. They definitely kicked things off with a bang.
4. Chad VanGaalen (1st)
He looks like the front runner for next year’s Polaris Prize. He’s released a top notch album which most bloggers have enjoyed. Other then Now Magazine which has delusionally given the album a poor score (and continues to call it a weak outing in subsequent mentionings), it’s been a general consensus that Soft Airplane should be making our year end lists. Other then some magazines liking his work and all around blogger praise, I felt like he could’ve been bigger and of course is much more deserving. I think it’s one of the first times I’ve been criticized for giving a 4.25 out of 5.
Bare Feet on Wet Grip Tape by Chad VanGaalen
5. Wolf Parade (22nd)
Wolf Parade’s At Mount Zoomer was released to a high level of anticipation as they made their followup to the great Apologies To The Queen Mary. While the press wasn’t as good for Wolf Parade, their newfound art-rock direction and the lack of hits still won over many critics and fans for a solid year by one of Canada’s top bands. I especially enjoyed the album.
The Grey Estates by Wolf Parade
6. Cadence Weapon (T27)
I personally thought Cadence Weapon’s Afterparty Babies would make it in the short list as the rap representative but then I was introduced to Shad’s The Old Prince. While Shad was soaking in a lot of the publicity, his album was still a success after years of anticipation..
7. Chromeo (no rating – seriously?)
Though technically not fully Canadian. Chromeo had an awesome year despite Fancy Footwork being released last year. They had a breakthrough year with the release of the Double CD Deluxe Edition as well as stealing the spotlights from festivals by being one of the better live bands. They are planning to release some stuff and even now are creating some news by remixing some Vampire Weekend.
The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance (Chromeo Remix) by Vampire Weekend
8. Women (12th)
Women’s record was produced by Chad VanGaalen and enjoyed by many, including Christian. I personally wasn’t introduced in checking them out after hearing Black Rice and that may have been a major mistake because it isn’t so bad after another listen. From what I’ve heard from everyone it seems that their debut record is worthwhile and has blown people away.
9. Tokyo Police Club (#6)
I actually kind of dislike TPC. They are quite famous though receiving mainstream radio and television airplay in addition to being loved by teens and being utterly annoyed by various fans during Rogers Picnic. It was our goal to stay objective by including TPC even if I dislike them.
Nature of the Experiment by Tokyo Police Club
10. Shad (9th)
Shad released The Old Prince last year however he really broke out with the video of The Old Prince Still Lives At Home. The parody of the Fresh Prince of Bel- Air Intro. He looked like the runner-up in the Polaris Prize sweepstakes (I thought he was going to win) and I was a little disappointed personally he didn’t take it.
The Old Prince Still Lives At Home by Shad
The honorable mentions:
11. Caribou (3rd)
12. Woodhands
13. Holy Fuck
14. Plants and Animals (even if I’m in the only one who hates Parc Avenue)
15. Feist – She didn’t really do anything…
Canada Day Playlist!
In celebration of Canada, it’s time for a all Canadian music list of our best artists. These artists make us proud to say we’re Canadian.
1. Wolf Parade – We Built Another World
2. Arcade Fire – Cars and Telephones
3. Avril Lavigne – Girlfriend (you didn’t think I was serious?)
3. Feist – Lonely Lonely
4. Lovesuit by Hilotrons
5. Milkshake by Holy Fuck
6. Metric – Soft Rock Star
7. New Pornographers – Bones of An Idol
8. Broken Social Scene – Stars and Sons
9. Cadence Weapon – Do I Miss My Friends
10. Black Mountain – Stay Free
Victoria Day Playlist
Kevin messaged me a little earlier today about him not being to do a post, obviously I had nothing ready so let’s just do a playlist for a holiday that I forget the purpose of. I know it’s to celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday but what did she do? At this point while reading through a bit of her wikipedia entry…I gave up due to boredom. I figure I can get away with doing a playlist despite having limited knowledge.
1. Queens Will Play by Black Mountain
2. Queen of The Nile by Dragged by Horses
3. Squalor Victoria by The National
4. A King and A Queen By Okkervil River
5. Some Things Last A Long Time by Beach House (long reign as Queen)
6. Fast Blood by Frightened Rabbit (first known carrier of hemophilia in the royal family)
7. Monarch by Feist
8. Song of The Sad Assassin by Why? (numerous assassination attempts)
SXSW Jealousy Playlist
I have not mentioned SXSW in any post… and for good measure. I’ve seen about 50 e-mails hyping the event and for a 19-year old stuck having to go to school there’s almost sadness that clouds around me knowing that I probably won’t be going down south to see SXSW until I’m older and out of school. Who knows when that’ll be…
There are probably 50 or so bands I’d like to see and while it feels dumb to list them in between the middle of the festival, a lot of blogs have taken a backburner and the promotional companies all seem to be quiet (times like these I miss the spamming).
Here the bands I’ve would’ve liked to see:
Simian Mobile Disco, Lightspeed Champion, White Williams, Okkervil River, Division Day, Shearwater, Peter Moren, A Place To Bury Strangers, Kate Tucker & The Sons of Sweden, Die! Die! Die!, Jens Lekman, Islands, J. Tillman, Emmy The Great, Evangelicals, Black Mountain, Holy Fuck, Vampire Weekend, Shapes Have Fangs, Fleet Foxes, Blitzen Trapper, Handsome Furs, Crystal Castles, Headlights, Shout Out Louds, The Raveonettes, Why?, Los Campesinos! and more I’d be iffy about.
Here’s my playlist:
Crimewave by Crystal Castles
Hearts of Iron by The Handsome Furs
Two Step Forwards by Emmy The Great
Innocent Son by The Fleet Foxes
Unless It Kicks by Okkervil River
Stormy High by Black Mountain
Streams of Whiskey by The Shout Out Louds feat. The Essex Green
That Great Love Sound by The Raveonettes
The Pulse by Holy Fuck
Country Caravan by Blitzen Trapper
2007, The Year Punk Rock Broke (My Heart) by Los Campesinos!
Black Mountain – In The Future Review
Black Mountain is a band out of Vancouver, British Columbia and I heard album being called amazing by some fellow bloggers so I decided to check it out (they were Canadian too so it couldn’t hurt). They dub themselves as being part of the Psychedelic rock genre which doesn’t tell you a whole lot. I really come to despise this name as it feels like anything can be “psychadelic” given that you are under the influence of something.
I would classify Black Mountain’s In The Future as an experimental band ranging from elements of progressive rock, math rock(?) or sometimes using straight simplicity and relying on vocals. Either way Black Mountain is as diverse as you can get when it comes to music and I definitely understand those that are calling this album amazing and comparing it to many classics.
However, this album in wide range of sounds is more of a miss with me. The track to track transitioning just doesn’t work for me. A good example is listening to the amazing 16-minute track Bright Lights transition to “Night Walks” a soft and somber track that captures Amber Webber’s beauty. “In The Future” has some stunning tracks that I would liken to Sunset Rubdown’s Random Spirit Lover but I don’t find myself listening to this album for long periods of time nor listening to it in order.
This album is definitely of the risky type, not staying to a certain sound and almost every track could be special on its own but for me personally I’ll say my brain just doesn’t “get” it. I feel like I’m supposed to like it but it’s the type I just don’t. It also gives me the math rock headache that I always seem to get (I have no fucking idea what it is about time signatures that cripples my brain).
I’ve argued with myself about the score of this album….should it be a personal one or should I give one based on the music? I’ll average the two, my likeness (3.6) to the sheer ability displayed (4.5) so we get a 4.05 out of 5.
I’d really like to upload Bright Lights but…uh it’s like 24 mb so screw it.
Buy Black Mountains In The Future at: Insound/CD Universe
