AWmusic

Numbers 1 through 25:
#1 Ready For The Floor by Hot Chip (myspace/video)
Best dance song of the year? Best song too.
#2 Crimewave – Crystal Castles vs Health (Crystal Castles’ myspace/Health’s Myspace/video)
This version is miles better then the original.
#3 Little Bit by Lykke Li (myspace/live)
I’m not only a little bit in love with this.
#4 L.E.S. Artists by Santogold (myspace/video)
Santogold’s least creative but most accessible track.
#5 Hearts On Fire by Cut Copy (myspace/video)
Cut Copy has a ton of great tracks.
#6 Head Rolls Off by Frightened Rabbit (myspace/video)
“Jesus is just a Spanish boy’s name”
#7 White Winter Hymnal by The Fleet Foxes (myspace/video)
#26 on my top songs of 2007 list.
#8 M79 by Vampire Weekend(myspace/live)
The better of the two new songs.
#9 Graveyard Girl by M83 (myspace/video)
Without the poem, this could very well be #1.
#10 Unforgettable Season by Cut Copy (live)
Not the most danceable but my favorite.
#11 You Me Dancing by Los Campesinos! (myspace/video -ep version)
It takes long to get started but worth the wait.
#12 Magic Spells by Crystal Castles
This song is their most artistic/creative venture.
#13 Kim & Jessie by M83 (video)
Another great track off Saturdays=Youth.
#14 Skeng by The Bug ft. Killa P and Flowdan(myspace/video)
Best track off the amazing London Zoo.
#15 Machine Gun by Portishead (homepage/video)
Even if the song is simple, Beth Gibbons does wonders.
#16 Oxford Comma by Vampire Weekend (video)
Number 4 of my 2007 list.
#17 These Few Presidents by Why? (myspace/live)
“Even if I haven’t seen you in years, yours is a funeral I’d fly to from anywhere” – had to break my rule for that line.
#18 Time To Pretend by MGMT (myspace/video)
It’ll be ironic if they have a coke habit.
#19 Kids by MGMT (video)
They do know how to make a decent pop song.
#20 The Twist by Frightened Rabbit (live)
Emotions of a simple dance, captured perfectly.
#21 Everyone I Know Is Listening To Crunk by Lightspeed Champion (myspace/live)
Everybody I know IS listening to crunk.
#22 Teenagers by Department of Eagles (myspace)
My favorite song off In Ear Park.
#23 Furr by Blitzen Trapper (myspace/live)
One of the better folk songs of the year.
#24 Lost Coastlines by Okkervil River (myspace/video)
Jonathan Meiburg vocals puts on the perfect touch.
#25 Street Flash by Animal Collective (myspace)
Anyone excited for Merriweather Post Pavilion? (We’ve heard the leaks)

Anyway, enough ragging on other cities, here’s the breakdown:

SEPTEMBER 24

Bad Religion
Sound Academy / $31.00

Bad Religon was a lot cooler in the 80s where punk rock wasn’t as big a sham as it is today but hey, music is music. This tour is still riding on 2007′s New Maps of Hell (they released a deluxe version a few months ago with some additional acoustic tracks). NMoH got okayish-pretty good reviews though I guess if you’re going to see Bad Religion, it’s not because you want to see them perform the latest thing they’ve done. Don’t worry, I’m sure they’re not tired of playing “Atomic Garden” over and over again yet.

Mogwai
Phoenix / 19+ / 27.50

Did you miss A Silver Mt. Zion in the summer? Not to worry, an arguably superior post-rock band is on tour and ready to blow to your mind. The Hawk Is Howling hits the shelves September 22nd but if you know how to use the internet, you’ll know that it’s heaaavvvy in a totally awesome expressive yet serene way. Oh, and if you ARE going to the show, please DON’T ENGAGE IN LOUD CONVERSATION DURING THE “LOW-KEY” PARTS! That shit is not background music at a café, show some fucking respect.

Mogwai – The Sun Smells Too Loud

Santogold
Guvernment / 19+ / $26.50

I know the majority of the blogosphere thinks Santogold is the poor man’s M.I.A. but I’m actually a big fan of Ms Santi White whilst not being too into M.I.A. (unless I’ve downed some tequila in which case I like everything!). Santi White used to front a punk band named Stiffed before she decided to fly solo. Her punk roots don’t shine through too much in her eponymous debut album but … they’re there. Just look for punk dressed up in glittery electronic beats and New Wave shoes.

Santogold – L.E.S. Artistes
Santogold – Creator (vs. Switch and FreQ Nasty)
Santogold (ft. Andrew Trouble) – I’m A Lady

SEPTEMBER 25

Holy Fuck
Phoenix / $12.50

I first saw Holy Fuck a few years ago when they opened for Metric. I didn’t really appreciate them (probably because I was too infatuated with Emily Haines and anything that came in between us was instantly shunned) but I’ve grown to almost not dislike them. They don’t really have anything new aside from 2007′s LP appropriately titled LP but it’s a good one so check them out and support a Torontonian band.

Holy Fuck – Frenchy’s
Holy Fuck – Safari

My Bloody Valentine
Ricoh Coliseum / $48.75

Holy shit, I bought my MBV tickets MONTHS ago – I was that excited. This is seriously amazing because the last time they toured, I was like 6 years old. They haven’t released anything new but there is rumour of a new record (unless they die or something). Anyway, if you’re into dream pop/shoegaze at all, you better be attending this show. It will be epic. I’m not going to say much else but expect a concert review in a few weeks!

My Bloody Valentine – Only Shallow
My Bloody Valentine – Come In Alone

SEPTEMBER 30

Hot Chip
Kool Haus / $26.50

Hot Chip played in Toronto in April and I guess they’ve made it all the way around the world and now they’re back. Okay, I won’t lie – the only album I actually like is The Warning. I would only really go to this show to get drunk and dance to “Over and Over”. But who says that’s not a valid reason?

Hot Chip – Ready For The Floor
Hot Chip – Over and Over

October 4

Ratatat
Phoenix / 19+ / $15.00

While their new album LP3 isn’t as strong as Classics or their self-titled, this is not a show I’d want to miss. Ratatat is a sweet mix of electronic video game-ish music and soothing instrumentals. The Montreal show is already sold out so go get your tickets soon!

Ratatat – Lex
Ratatat – Shiller

October 5

Black Kids
Mod Club / 19+ / $20.00

I’ve already talked about Black Kids in the Pop Montreal preview post but they deserve another mention just because I thought Partie Traumatic was an awesome album despite Allan’s harsh review. I am also obsessed with the Chromeo chant in I Wanna Be Your Limousine.

Black Kids – I’m Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You
Black Kids – Hurricane Jane

October 6

Dodos
Horseshoe / 19+ / $12.50

I’ve also already mentioned Dodos in the Pop Montreal post but I can’t say enough good things about this band. If I was someone important enough to pick a “band of the year”, it’d be Dodos. I would describe them as an acoustic Battles or Animal Collective with ear-bleeding. Visiteur is their crucial album but there are gems in Beware the Maniacs as well. These guys are going places, I’ll bet my new boots on it!

Dodos – Park Song
Dodos – Paint the Rust
Dodos – Trades & Tariffs

October 7

Wire
Lee’s / 19+ / $22.50

It blows my mind that a band that’s been around and has had as much influence as Wire is playing at Lee’s Palace. I don’t find Object 47 to be anything to write home about but I’d go see them just because it’s fucking WIRE. I mean, are you going to turn down a band whose fanbase includes Henry Rollins?

Wire – 12 X U
Wire – Practise Makes Perfect

October 9

Chromeo
Muzik / 19+ / $25.00

I saw Chromeo in March and I’ve concluded that they’re definitely one of those bands that are better in concert than on the album. Not because they’re musically superior live but because there’s a great energy in the crowd. P-Thugg and Dave 1 are also very engaging on stage (and do a mean aftershow). The Toronto show also features Calvin Harris and James Lidell – I’d say that’s worth 25 bucks.

Chromeo – Fancy Footwork
Chromeo – My Girl Is Calling Me (A Liar)

October 16

Horrorpops
Lee’s / $22.50

I am heartbroken that my bff who is also a Horrorpops fanatic has moved across the country for school so we won’t be seeing this show together. Kiss Kiss Kill Kill isn’t as good as Hell Yeah! but much better than Bring It On! Maybe it was the sophomore slump, maybe it’s because I couldn’t stop thinking about that Kirsten Dunst movie. The point is this is a show I’d regret missing.

Horrorpops – Psychobitches Outta Hell
Horrorpops – Hitchcock Starlet

October 20

Asobi Seksu
Horseshoe / 19+ / $10.00

I suppose if you can’t make it to My Bloody Valentine for one reason or another (those tickets are pricy!) Asobi Seksu is not a poor consolation prize. They haven’t done anything new since Citrus two years ago but for $10.00, I’d much rather listen to playfully sexy dreampop than see some shitty movie.

Asobi Seksu – Walk on the Moon
Asobi Seksu – The Words Live Longer

October 22

Secret Machines
Lee’s / 19+ / $17.50

I was introduced to Secret Machines a few years ago at Dog Day Afternoon where they opened for Metric (are you sensing a pattern here?). Since then, Benjamin Curtis has left the band and they’ve released their third studio album. I actually haven’t heard their self-titled yet but I’d definitely see them again.

Secret Machines – Alone, Jealous and Stoned

October 24

Crystal Castles
CiRCA / 19+ / $15.00

Tsk tsk … Crystal Castles is the biggest thing to come out of Toronto since the SARS epidemic. I was initially completely turned off by them because of all their copyright scandals which I’m sure you’re all very familiar with. But I will admit, the music is catchy. Very catchy. I saw them play a short set at Harbourfront two months ago and well, what can I say? Not bad.

Crystal Castles – Untrust Us
Crystal Castles – xxzxcuzx Me

Well, this is getting a lot longer than I had planned. I’m going to end this here and there will likely be a new post like this for November/December shows. Happy gig-hopping!

Hot Chip‘s a electro band out of the UK. I personally find the electro genre easy to listen to. It’s like pop music that’s slightly more dance-able with the introduction of a drum machine/lap top to synthesize some sounds. Either way electro generally is easy on the ears.

I had a rough time listening to “Made in the Dark” the first times through. It ultimately felt like tracks I’ve heard before and there really wasn’t much of a draw with its rather simplistic instrumental periods, times of boring repetitiveness and rather dull lyrics. I found myself ready to throw the albums to the wolves.

I generally listen to the album while I write the review and sometimes mid-way I end up changing up my mind as the post progresses. To some extent “Made In The Dark” is enjoyable and really has me feeling like this album could be great at each song gives a sense of their potential at certain point in times. I feel like I can point to where certain times in tracks where I thought it had its “moment” like 1:30 in “Out At The Pictures” but it ends up losing me by the time the vocals start kicking in or

For an electro/pop band I’d have to expect there would be more exciting tracks like “Ready For Floor” but I’m ultimately disappointed in the fact it feels like a lot of the album I would consider filler and I just can’t see myself listening to this album much. It feels mediocre a lot of the time mixed in with some suckage and some great tracks.

This album is barely passable to me and while I feel this album could be so much more, there’s much more music I’d rather be listening to despite Hot Chip’s popularity across the internet. I know I’ll take some flack for this but I’m giving the album a 2.5 out of 5. I just don’t like it personally and I feel inclined to delete it off my hard-drive.

I found this track decent enough to put it up for download:

Bendable Poseable by Hot Chip

Also, this video of Hot Chip on Jimmy Kimmel Live is pretty disgusting. If they are like that live, I’d pass.

If you’re still interested in buying Made In The Dark try Insound and CD Universe

I don’t talk much about sports these days but the Superbowl is always fun to watch. I’m a Patriots hater so this season has been tough to stomach. The Patriots are going after the illustrious 18-0 season, already surpassing everyone’s expectation that they would’ve had one loss this year. They do have a great team all around but my favorite teams are the Chargers, Colts and Bills so you have to understand why I hate the Pats. I really hope the Giants win but the Patriots are on a different level then the Packers (the upset didn’t surprise me).

Without any further rambling and talk they you may or may not care about here’s my playlist dedicated to this fun weekend:
1. The Underdog by Spoon
2. Perfect by The Smashing Pumpkins
3. I Am History by The Bell
4. The Shadow by White Williams (dedicated to Eli Manning who will be out of the shadow of Peyton if he can pull this off)
5. Ready For The Floor by Hot Chip (Lesnar vs Mir will likely be on the ground with a wrestler vs a BJJ guy)
6. Lucky by Radiohead (who will get lucky this weekend?)
7. The Comeback by The Shout Out Louds (can Frank Mir comeback from his motorcycle accident?)
8. Different Names For The Same Thing By Death Cab For Cutie (dedicated to Brock Lesnar’s butchering of Mir’s name, apparently he thinks it’s like Murr instead of Meer)
9. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (all the talk is about who’s better, faster, stronger in Football and in MMA and I just want to enjoy the action and stop all the talk)
10. You Talk Too Much by Run D.M.C. (media kind of annoys me revolving around the super bowl)
11. The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance by Vampire Weekend (I’m going to be having a vampire weekend so I just wanted to include them )

Anyway, I think hyping upcoming releases is a great way to put out singles you really like. I don’t expect to do this often but maybe once a month to keep up on what’s hot with the music blogosphere. I actually planned this post to be on Hello, Blue Roses only but I figured I had more artists/albums to hype and I would never get done nor would I have much content left when I actually do reviews. I’ll do this about once a month I guess. I also will check out upcoming releases by the Magnetic Fields, Cat Power, Chris Walla and Jack Jonson. The ones I’m posting about are ones I am excited about.

Headlights – Some Racing, Some Stopping
Release date: February 19, 2008.
This is a pop band from Champaign, Illinois and while they had a previous release Kill Them W/ Kindness, I haven’t heard before them before receiving a promo-email. I was offered Cherry Tulips as the mp3, skipping it I went directly to their myspace and really dug their stuff. I finally decided to download Cherry Tulips and wow…what an amazing song. I’ve seen big blogs already discuss Headlights and including this track and you can’t blame them. This song is absolutely beautiful and dream pop at it’s very finest. It is literally about dreaming the best dream of your life and I can relate to it perfectly with sleeping in the middle of the night with the light on. This is one of my current songs of the year if 2008 ended just in 11 days. You can bet I’ll be listening this until February 19th and will be impatient for the album.
Cherry Tulips by Headlights

Pre-order @ CD Universe $11.18
Pre-order @ Amazon.ca for $13.99

Hello, Blue Roses – The Portrait Is Finished And I Have Failed To Capture Your Beauty
Release Date: January 22, 2008
Hello Blue Roses is comprised of Dan Bejar (Destroyer, New Pornographers, Swan Lake) and his wife, Sydney Vermont. This group has been making some noise with the blogs and I can’t blame them. I told myself I would to listen to their album before but I got impatient. Presented with Shadow Falls, you can fall in love with Sydney Vermont’s heavenly choir type voice. Just listen to Shadow Falls and the mix of beautiful vocals between this husband and wife. I’ve listened to 4 or so tracks and they are all great.
Shadow Falls by Hello, Blue Roses

Pre-order @ CD Universe $11.74
Pre-order it @ Insound for
Pre-order @ Amazon.ca for $17.99… (you never know someone might prefer it)

Hot Chip – Made in The Dark
Release date: February 4/5, 2008
If you came from Elbo.ws or Hype you probably don’t need an introduction to Hot Chip, this electropop band out of the UK. Some really catchy stuff and they’re HUGE with the blogs. Ready For The Floor has really dominated my computer though I’ll be honest about not liking the other stuff so much. Usually liking just one song is just enough to get me into something.
Ready For The Floor by Hot Chip

Pre-order at CD Universe for $14.55
Pre-order the Deluxe version @ Insound for $17.99
Pre-order @ Amazon.ca for $17.99

Why? – Alopecia
Release Date: March 11, 2008
When reading up on Why? and their genre of including rap, new wave and a slew of other genres, this band definitely stands out from other bands. They have a nice mix of rap and rock that makes it cool when that genre was killed and exploited by the mainstream with bands like Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit, Why? isn’t metal at all so the rap is definitely more subtle and left to more of an artistic nature both instrumentally and lyrically.
The Hollows by Why?

Pre-order at CD Universe for $14.55
Pre-order @ Amazon.ca for $17.99