AUDIO DECONSTRUCTION

DESTROYER TEACHES US A LESSON

DECONstructed by analog

There are few voices as individual or as polarizing as Dan Bejar.  His lyrical abstractions, wordless choruses and speak song cadences can infuriate and on the new Bay of Pigs EP under his Destroyer moniker, all his usual eccentricities are intact.  Throughout Rubies (2005) and Trouble in Dreams (2008) Bejar had led his crack band through multiple expansive jams that had them sounding like Wilco fronted by a beat poet.   Those albums were dizzying.  I could never fully wrap my head around everything that was happening, always too busy trying to catch the barrage of lyrics being thrown in my direction.  After a few listens I started hearing less and less of what was being said and more of the music being played.  

Let's be honest, I have the suspicion that accessibility was never what Dan Bejar was aiming for and yet there is something strangely welcoming about this brief (2 tracks) and limited edition (1000 copies) 12" vinyl release.  The song lengths are no less epic with “Bay of Pigs” at over 13 minutes and b-side “Ravers” coming in at around half that length.  The instrumentation is no less full of sparkle, the disco synths and MIDI piano recalling midnight fueled mayhem and the slowdown of the morning after.  Even with all these possible obstacles the songs still can't shake a distinct intimacy that continues to draw me in with each listen. 

"Bay of Pigs" opens with oscillating synthesizers and delayed arpeggios bouncing from speaker to speaker but the absence of drums and an upfront vocal pulls you past the cloud of electronics right to the heart of the song.  "I don't know what I'm doing: alone, in the dark...watching ships disappear in the rain" he says and I feel the clouds of Vancouver circling overhead.  Bejar's voice is calm and as the song picks up, he loses no resolve.  The drums are simple and mechanical.  The metaphors come quick.  There's talk of political beasts, forests of the night and so much sun and stars and light.  I couldn't care less what he's getting on about.  As with most performance, 20% is words and 80% is emotion and a full explanation would only ruin the mystery.  This song is ambient and sultry and the mystery is what holds it together, forcing questions on your unsettled ears.

"Ravers" is a re-imagining of "Rivers" from Trouble in Dreams composed entirely on an analog synthesizer.  The original was an upbeat ode to a crippling resistance to change.  Ironic then this new version is one of Destroyer's most daring cuts to date.  Slowed to a crawl, the lyrics seep out over lush chords, and the refrain, "you've always had a problem flowing down rivers" echoes over them like a mantra.  I've always loved new versions of old songs and this one is no different.  

As a member of The New Pornographers, Bejar routinely rides in the back seat, his songs, compared to the relentless catchiness of Carl Newman, often overlooked. Some might say that there is nothing new about these new Destroyer recordings.  Same old voice, saying much of the same old things.  But for me artistic progression has always been about re-creation and despite many similarities to the past, the songs on the Bay of Pigs EP sound fresh and passionate and challenging.  Maybe this indie vet from Vancouver still has something to teach us.  I'll be listening.

SOCIAL COMBUSTION

B-B-BREAKIN DOWN THE iTUNES LP

COMBUSTeD by bEETle

Yesterday Apple announced some changes to their products and itunes. I found most of it rather boring, I mean, I don’t honestly care if ipods can take pictures? What I did find very, very interesting was the announcement of the iTunes LP…

 Apple’s explanation of what an iTunes LP is: “The visual experience of the record album returns with iTunes LP. Download select albums and experience a beautifully designed, interactive world right in your iTunes library on a Mac or PC - many are created by the artists. While you listen to your favourite songs, you can dive into animated lyrics and liner notes, watch performance videos, view artist and band photos, and enjoy other bonus materials. And become an even bigger fan.” (http://images.apple.com/itunes/whats-new/#overlay-gallery-lp)

It’s about time.

Since iTunes first started selling albums, the major complaint from ‘music fans’ was that you lost the art and creation behind the physical album. People complained that they LIKED the liner notes and that they took the album to a whole new experience. I would have to agree to an extent, I personally DO like purchasing physical albums because I DO, in fact, like looking at the artwork and reading through the lyrics and liners. Now, however, I cannot complain and really do not have a reason not to purchase an album online.

Bob Lefsetz’s thoughts on the iTunes LP: “I'd trash it, but the labels already know the score.  This isn't about getting new people to pay more, it's about getting those already buying albums online excited to buy more.  It's like Lexus introducing self-parking on the LS.  Cool, but most people don't need it, and aren't about to pay for it.  Then again, self-parking may eventually get cheaper and trickle down to the masses.  Whereas we expect what iTunes LP offers to be free on the band's Website.”

Muse has also come out of the woodwork stating: “We are pleased to confirm that Muse will be one of the first artists to release an iTunes LP, the new format announced by Apple yesterday. The Resistance iTunes LP will come with the album purchased on iTunes and will include photos, animated artwork, lyrics, liner notes, video clips from the Making Of The Resistance, a track by track written by Matt and an exclusive video of the band performing Supermassive Black Hole live in France.”

MTV reported that: “the biggest news (from Apple) was a somewhat backwards-looking technological development in iTunes. In short, iTunes LP hopes to revive the practice of associating album art and liner notes with full-length records, something that took a big hit when vinyl gave way to cassettes and CDs and has gone away almost completely now that music has shifted more and more to digital formats. Bands will be encouraged to create interactive experiences that go along with their music, allowing customers to scroll through photos, behind-the-scenes video, lyrics and bonus tracks while they enjoy the album.”

As you can see from the reports, there are mixed reviews on the LP but a general consensus that this adds the personal touch that may spark people to purchase an album online verses a physical copy. My question however, is are they speaking to the converted? Yes, this may get previous online buyers to purchase and LP but will it flip the physical album buyer?

What do you think about the iTunes LP? Will it work, or will it flop?

DISMANTLING THE BAND

YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF DATA?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!

DISMANTled by TheVoiceOfReason

When I first stumbled upon datA’s music, I was actually looking on former Death From Above 1979’s frontman Sebastien Grainger’s Wikipedia page, in the hopes of finding some other projects of his. I happened to notice that he had been in two songs by an Electronic artist named datA, who I had never heard of. I proceeded to go to his myspace and listen to his tracks, and believe me that was a decision I’ll never regret.

Of course my favorite two tracks by this rising artist are, of course, the one’s featuring Grainger’s unique and great voice. He add’s something to datA’s already unique sound that I haven’t heard in an Electro before. DatA’s full length album, Skywriter, came out this past May, and I definitely recommend listening to it, because it does not disappoint. In my personal opinion there are only two tracks that drag the album down, and those are So Much In Love, and Nightmare. These tracks are not bad by any means, but I found them lacking on an otherwise great album. DatA combines classic 80’s guitar and synth, with some 70’s disco thrown in, to make a sound that, while not revolutionary, is a very nice change from the usual gritty, robotic feel to Electro. His album seems to have been mixed in a manner that left it so sometimes the sound dips when the kick drum hits, but aside from this minor and mainly unnoticeable flaw, Skywriter is an album that you’ll be listening too for a long time to come.

So check him out, because datA’s music does not disappoint, and I have a feeling he will continue to improve his already unique and interesting style over time, to become a very prominent member of the ever growing Electro scene.

 

http://www.myspace.com/0data0 

AUDIO DECONSTRUCTION

EVERY TIME I DIE: ONE MAN'S JUNK IS ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE

DECONstructed by therealist

First and foremost, if you don't know who ETID is go listen to them now. I'm not even going to describe them because you should hear them firsthand. (http://www.myspace.com/everytimeidie)

Ok, so now onto the album review. ETID's latest album "New Junk Aesthetic," is the bands 5th full length album. They were previously signed to Ferret Records where they created one of my favorite records of all time, "Hot Damn!" Since then, no album by ETID has surpassed it, which is not to say that the other albums were any less good, they were just different. It seemed ETID was moving in a different direction, going a little poppier and losing a lot of the hardcore crunch that they were once so famous for. Then a couple months ago I heard that they had left Ferret for Epitaph records. My heart sunk and I wanted to cry. Not that Epitaph is a bad label by any means, but it has the reputation of being a lot lighter and poppier of a label, which would continue the path (if not streamline it) to a much poppier band, who would be so much farther away from who they were in the beginning.

When I first popped in "New Junk Aesthetic," I clicked around and scanned through and wasn't really overly impressed, but I wanted to write this review, and obviously give it a thorough listen considering they are in my top three all time favorite bands. Yesterday, I got in the car to head to jam and cranked the album. The first thing I noticed was the production quality, which is where I'd like to start the basis of the review.

Most bands who move from a smaller label to a major label, are awestruck by all the money they now have at their disposal to do whatever they want with. So, nine times out of ten they run out and hire choirs, or symphony's or record in haunted mansions, I mean the list goes on. This was my fear with ETID. But instead of doing that, they stuck true to their style, and obviously spent the extra dough on amazing production quality. Everything is so crisp and clear, with every instrument standing out on its own, in perfect clarity, which was something that ETID had never done before. Everything was usually very muddy or quiet, but not this time, which was my first indication that maybe I'd judged them too soon on this one.

Then I let the tracks roll, and couldn't stop smiling. They tried new things, while incorporating styles off of, "Hot Damn!", "Gutter Phenomenon," and "The Big Dirty." Keith's voice is tighter than ever in the singing parts, and his scream has much more of a range, which is apparent on almost all the tracks. There were so many times I found myself actually smiling like an idiot and bobbing back and forth in my car alone, because of how groovy the songs were. There is so much energy and passion behind this music, even if ETID themselves don't notice it.

The final verdict? This album, I actually have to say, has surpassed, "Hot Damn!" for me which is incredible because that has been one of my top favorite albums for years, and nothing has been able to bump it from it's respective place. It will always be up there in favorites for me, but ETID has proved that moving to a big label is not always such a bad thing, which is something I think a lot of bands could learn from. Instead of letting the new success get to their head, they kept their cool and actually progressed as a band, into a culmination of all their previous efforts in a beautiful and completely messy way.

The album will be released on Sept 15th, so go buy it FOR SURE. (p.s. my favorite song among all the greats so far, is "For the Record.")

If you like ETID anyway, then you will love this album. If you don't know who they are, go listen to them. If you don't like them, fuck off.

SOCIAL COMBUSTION

BEETLE'S THOUGHT ON THE INDUSTRY

It comes down to standing at the back of an over-crowded room and seeing every person fixated on the art form that is taking place in front of them; the sense of unflawed synergy welling in a room of perfect strangers. It comes down to the look on the artist’s face when they look out into the blackened room and all they can hear is their lyrics being sung to them by a horde of adoring fan. Simple artists realizing that their mandate to present art to a craving crowd has been fulfilled. It is a beautiful thing when the love for a piece of art is shared between the creator and the patron of the arts. It comes down to the brilliant realization that we are all apart of a greater whole and by presenting art, we help to unite each other, embrace each other, in one of the purest forms of culture.

SOCIAL COMBUSTION

THE SCUMBAG CHRONICLES: THE LESBIAN MUDWRESTLING STORY

COMBusted by SCUMBAG

When I woke up that day and Zeppelin and I had cruised over to the liquor store at opening time to pick up our arsenal of booze for the day, I could sense that the night was going to be one of those legendary rock n’ roll stories that you only read in the biographies of famous rock stars. It was almost as if you could smell it in the air. We left the store that day with a 12 pack, a full 26 of Bacardi white rum and 2 bottles of Carlo Rossi blush wine as I recall. To any normal person, this would seem like something that would last you an entire night, or even 2 nights. That, as is usual with my crew, was not the case here. We were living in North Vancouver at the time and we knew that we would have to make the long haul downtown via the sea bus in the coming hours, regardless of what we ended up doing, so we started to pound our liquor with little worry for own health. I can’t recall what we started with, but knowing Zeppelin and I, we were probably double fisting with a rum and coke highball in one hand and a beer in the other.

The afternoon rolled in relatively quickly, and before we knew it Zeppelin had received a call from our buddy, who we’ll call BoogieWoogie, to meet him down at Third Beach at Stanley Park. Zeppelin and I are no stranger to Third Beach, as we had spent many a day skipping class to go down there to get plastered and have Red Hot Chili Pepper sing alongs. After pounding what seemed like a small amount of alcohol, we jumped on bus that took us down to Stanley, packing all of our poison in Zeppelin’s backpack. It took about 40 minutes to get there but eventually we stumbled down to Third Beach to find BoogieWoogie there, lying in the sand in his jeans, cowboy boots, and a dirty old white Allman Brothers t-shirt playing an acoustic guitar. Apparently he had been waiting there for a while, because he wasn’t making a lick of sense. We decided after much debate that we should probably switch off being who gets to play the acoustic and sing and who gets to get to pound beer. This sounds like something that would come together easy, but given each of our different priorities for the night, it took a good half hour before we decided the correct order. Zeppelin took the guitar first played, go figure, Led Zeppelin and Black Crowes renditions while BoogieWoogie and I dance around on the beach making fools of our selves. This continued for a good 6-7 hours, while we took breaks to blast music from Zeppelin’s phone speakers and have conversations that were filled with bias and flawed logic.

Around 7ish, I received a call from a girl who we can call GothGirl. GothGirl and her friend, who well call ModelGirl, were going out to the Morrissey for some drinks. Now, keep in mind, GothGirl and ModelGirl are both smoking hot and wanted us to come join them. What do you think we did? By that time we were already done all the booze anyway, so we loaded up all our stuff and started to hoof it over to BoogieWoogie, who lived somewhere near Manitoba and 16th. On the way there, Zeppelin rigged up some sort of portable music contraption with his phone, and we ended up blasting tunes and singing at the top of our lungs all the way there. At one point, which turned out to the be the most entertaining and vivid memories I’ve ever had from Vancouver, we were walking down a highway in the middle of the road with no meridian, screaming “Soul Singing” by The Black Crowes as loud as we could possibly scream it at every passing car and pedestrian that was unfortunate to cross our path. We were stumbling, mumbling and drooling our way through oncoming traffic. Picture this scene. 2 guys in beach gear and 1 guy who looked like he just got out of a time machine from 1972 walking and dancing down the middle of a highway and screaming at passing cars. Sounds about right don’t it?

We finally managed to stumble our way into the backdoor of BoogieWoogie’s pad, only to realize that Zeppelin and I weren’t nearly equipped well enough to be going out for a night on the town with a couple of hot models. Here we were, drunk as fuck, wearing beach shorts and Zeppelin’s case, a poncho. BoogieWoogie quickly solved this problem by handing us 2 pairs of what turned out to be girls low rise pants. Turns out that’s all the guy ever wears. Now I was in luck, because I had already worn my Faith No More “Angel Dust” t-shirt to the beach, so I was good on torso wear, but we still needed to get rid of Zeppelin’s poncho. We dug through BoogieWoogie’s wardrobe before we settled on a bright pink shirt that said “HUSTLER” on the front in big capital letters. No one defines classy like we do. With our wardrobe intact for the night, we got on the next bus heading downtown and headed to the Morrissey. When we arrived to the Morrissey to meet the girls, we were greeted by what I can only describe as one of the lamest bar layouts I have ever seen in my life. It’s essentially a long, dark, narrow hallway with 2 small bars, dimly lit, with bullshit new wave music playing over the speakers. The three of us took one glance at each other and knew that without a good reason to stay, we would be out of there within the hour. I got to the bar and ordered a beer, only to be greeted with a 7 dollar bill. This is why I hate upscale bars and don’t go to them. I’m furious and want to leave. We sit down with GothGirl and ModelGirl and talk about things I don’t care about for about half an hour. I pull Zeppelin away and tell him that this place sucks and that I want to go. He wants to stay and see how it pans out. Good call Zeppelin.

ModelGirl suddenly gets a phone call that turns out to be her sister. After a quick conversation, ModelGirl shuts her phone down and asks us if we want to go to a club and watch her sister mud wrestle. That request is probably the greatest question I’ve ever heard anyone ask me. We needed no more convincing, but we didn’t want to pay for a cab. ModelGirl offered to pay for our cab AND the cover charge. The night was looking up. We arrived in Gastown to a club called “Lick”, a place that looked like a hole in the wall in between the Lotus and the Honey Lounge, and I hadn’t even remembered noticing the place before. Oh well I thought, one club is as good as another, besides, there’s fucking mud wrestling! After ModelGirl paid all of our way in, and we passed the gigantic masculine female bouncer with a buzz cut at the door, we headed down the stairs. We came through the hallway to a gigantic open room with a huge bar, a nice stage, a pool in the middle of the dance floor, and more women than I had ever seen in a club before. This was intimidating. It felt like we were the only guys in the club. Then we started to look around.

Holy fuck, we were the only guys in the club! This is ridiculous. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. Not only were we the best looking guys there, we were the ONLY guys there. We were getting laid for sure. Then I started to notice. Zeppelin and I spotted 2 girls making out in the corner and got really excited; because it’s not every day you see that kind of shit in a normal club. Then we spotted another couple…and another. Jesus Christ…there is no WAY this is that kind of club…is it? No…no way…you can’t mean...I rushed over to ModelGirl in a panic and asked where the fuck she had taken us. She explained to me that her sister, who helps run a lot of the events at this venue, was involved in a lesbian mud wrestling match, because this place was in fact the lesbian club of Vancouver. So there we were, drunk as shit, in the middle of 100 different girls…who liked girls. It slowly sank in that this could possibly be the most entertaining night of all time, so we decided to stay, which pleased ModelGirl to the point where she funded us drinks for the rest of the night.

Then the bell rang. By the time the MC for the mud wrestling got on stage, BoogieWoogie had gotten so drunk that he had passed out face down on one of the bar tables in the far corner. Instead of waking up, Zeppelin and I piled garbage on him and stuffed straws in his hair. After that, Zeppelin and I quickly got ringside to what would no doubt be one of the most hilarious scenes you could ever imagine in a lesbian bar in Vancouver involving 2 drunken rocker guys. The first match started, and the mud started to fly. Within minutes, Zeppelin and I were covered head to toe in excess mud, yelling at both the participating women and the MC to let us in there, because we could totally beat anyone who would get in there. We shouted anything from derogatory names to humiliating phrases to downright challenges, and meant every word. There were three separate matches in total, one featuring ModelGirl and her sister…and holy shit was that ever hot. Call me sick if you want, but it’s not every day you get to see a bikini model wrestle her lesbian sister. This continued for an hour or two before the contestants washed off and the MC put the hardcore dance beats on.

This is where it got interesting, because Zeppelin swears he doesn’t remember any of this, but I can proudly say it was the highlight of the night. Now, keep in mind, when the dance music gets going and Zeppelin is on his game, there is no one and I mean NO ONE who can out-dance him. He will proudly attest to this claim if you ever get the chance to ask him. Anyways, when the time came, Zeppelin was so drunk that he had been literally drooling on himself by the time the mud wrestling ended, so when the dance music came on he shuffled over to the middle of the dance floor like some techno loving zombie and started to bust a move like I’ve ever seen the guy do before. He started to throw down like the world was going to end, and shortly, had a circle formed around him. A circle of lesbians circled around him and started cheering him on. His eyes were rolling into the back of his head, his tongue was hanging out of his mouth, and he couldn’t even form a coherent sentence, but he somehow had attracted the attention of every lesbian in the club. The MC walked over my way and asked me what his name was, so I told her, and she starts to get a god damn Zeppelin chant going. Picture this scene, a drunken straight rocker kid in girls’ pants and a pink “Hustler” shirt in the middle of a giant circle of lesbians chanting his name. I can honestly say that I haven’t seen anything stranger in my entire life.

After all was said and done we woke up BoogieWoogie (who was completely oblivious to this entire scene, he had slept through pretty much the entire Lick thing), we decided to walk back to his house from downtown. On the way there, Zeppelin negotiated with some homeless man to initiate a deal that included Zeppelin handing over ten dollars for an unopened bottle of Southern Comfort. After getting the bottle from the guy, Zeppelin informed him that he should get a job and stop bothering real people. We kept on cruising on our way to BoogieWoogie’s pad and ended up attempting to cross some bridge, I can’t remember which one. It was at this point that BoogieWoogie decided that needed to throw up, and leaned over the bridge. It was then that I noticed that under this bridge, right where BoogieWoogie was trying to evacuate his insides was a god damn parking lot full of police cars. No joke. Zeppelin and I started trying to help the cause by making any kind of vomiting reference we could. Then BoogieWoogie leaned a little bit too far over the railing and it was only Zeppelin, who managed to grab his legs, who saved him from his certain demise. There I was, watching this whole scene, Zeppelin holding onto BoogieWoogie’s legs as he hung out from a bridge attempting to puke on a bunch of cop cruisers. My parents should be proud.

The rest of the night turned out to be a little uneventful, as we eventually reached sanctuary and decided that our bodies needed rest until our next night out, but as I recall we ended up staying up a few more hours trying to convince BoogieWoogie that all of that shit actually happened, or rather I did, as I seemed to be the only one who could actually put the events in correct order.

SOCIAL COMBUSTION

BILLBOARD HOT 100: WHAT'S HOT/WHAT'S NOT

COMBUSTed BY BEETLE

# 1 - I GOT A FEELIN’ – THE BLACK EYED PEAS

13 weeks on Hot 100 List

The END came out in June to mixed reviews. The first single off of the album “Boom Boom Pow” assaulted radio waves all summer long on ridiculously high rotation. Yeah, the song was catchy the first 1000 times, but holy overkill. What actually really surprised me, was “Boom Boom Pow” was the BEPs first song to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 list. When I think back on BEPs singles… “Don’t Phunk With My Heart”, “Don’t Lie”, “Where is The Love”, and “Shut Up”, I find it very hard to imagine that “Boom Boom Pow” was the song that did it for them. *shakes head* “I Got A Feelin” is a pretty groovy song. It has a nice message and never fails and getting me moving, at least a little bit.

#2 - DOWN – JAY SEAN FT. LIL WAYNE

10 weeks on Hot 100 List

I think that this song being at #2 on the Hot 100 simply goes to show that EVERYTHING that weezy touches turns to gold. I mean, come on. Who the fuck is Jay Sean?!

#3 - PARTY IN THE U.S.A – MILEY CYRUS

4 weeks on Hot 100 List

Miley fever is no surprise. At 16, this girl has achieved more than most entertainers could ever dream of. She brought Hannah Montana to life and is now pursuing her ‘real’ side with her new album. It really does not come to any surpise to me that Miley is where she is on the Hot 100. Every 10 – 15 year old girl loves her. Tweens are an incredibly forceful voting population. Those tenacious buggers are relentless and are the reason that Miley Cyrus is the international phenomenon that she is today. Oh, and the song… it’s kind of catchy… no lies.

#4 - RUN THIS TOWN – JAY-Z, RIHANNA, KAYNE WEST

6 weeks on Hot 100 List

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. Could you jam any more epicness into one track? NO. you can’t. Whether you like hip hop/top 40 or not, the power of this track is undeniable. I hope that it is on it’s way to #1. It’s great to see Rihanna back on her game, Hova is always a sick addition to a track and Kayne’s verse near the end of the track is delivered in awesome-kayne-style. (Can you tell that I love this song?!) Check out the video for this bad boy:

#5 - USE SOMEBODY – KINGS OF LEON

32 weeks on Hot 100 List

Ew. Ick. Bah. Barf. Snore.

#6 - YOU BELONG TO ME – TAYLOR SWIFT

20 weeks on Hot 100 List

She is adorable. Swift is another powerhouse in the entertainment world. It seems like everyother day this girl is smashing records and accomplishing new things. I love that she writes her own music and is amazing live. I think that Taylor Swift deserves every bit of fame and attention that she has gained in the last year or so. She has undeniable talent and hits a broad range of fans. Mad props T-swizzle.

#7 - OBSESSED – MARIAH CAREY

9 weeks on Hot 100 List

Great to see Mimi back on the charts. I saw her live in 2008 and she was incredible. I wasn’t a fan of her last album, in fact, I have never been a fan of her albums. However, I can recognize and appreciate the talent that she does have. I do like this single, it’s probably one of my favourites of hers (besides Heartbreaker OBVS). I hope that this album does more for her than the last did. I also hope that she stays married to Nick Cannon, cause they are so cute.

#8 - HOTEL ROOM SERVICE - PITBULL

12 weeks on Hot 100 List

Forget about your boyfriend and meet me at the hotel. Ehhhhh, I think Pitbull is a fab. He is filling the void that Sean Paul left wide open when he disappeared off of the face of the earth. (Apparently Sean Paul has a new single.. and a new album…?!) I think that Pit Bill will pump out dance club tracks as long as he can get away with it. They are catchy; I’ll most def give him that, but they are nothing more than songs fit for drunken dancing.

#9 - BEST I EVER HAD - DRAKE

18 weeks on Hot 100 List

WOO CANADIAN CONTENT. #9 is also my lucky number. Drake is rad, he made a smart jump from Degrassi and right into Hip Hops face. (Obvs being seen kanoodling with Rihanna doesn’t hurt your career either) Drake and Weezy are BFFs which helps also. Check out the “Unstoppable RMX” Ft. Lil Wayne and Santogold on his myspace page http://www.myspace.com/thisisdrake it is a wickedly tight track.

#10 - WHATCHA SAY – JASON DERULO

4 weeks on Hot 100 List

Yay, you got to #10 ripping off Imogen Heap in the worst possible way imaginable.

DISMANTLING THE BAND

LOCAL SPOTLIGHT: STARS OF BOULEVARD

DISMANTLeD by BeeTle

I have been working with local bands for a couple of years and no band has grabbed my attention quite like Stars of Boulevard. Comprised of musicians from The Sessions and UTS, Stars of Boulevard have a fresh sound that Vancouver has so desperately been needing. With Joshua Helgason on vocals, Ken Abbey on Guitar, Johnny Kaye on bass and Steven Carol on Drums, Stars of Boulevard brings alot to the table. The boys have been playing shows in the Vancouver area and have some maaad plans to hit up the UK this fall (take me with you!?).

I was super pumped when I heard that Stars of Boulevard was heading into the studio and I was one of the first people to check out the tunes when they were complete. When I first heard "Limousine" I could not get it out of my head. It's super catchy guitar riffs and poppy (but gritty) vocals will get you dancing immediately. Following the rock-filled "Limousine" track, I listened to "Angel Eyes", HOLY VERSATILE BATMAN! Through the beginning of the track I had to check and make sure that myspace hadn't magically warped me to another page. I LOVE THIS SONG. It is different from their other material, but logically different. Track after track, I was impressed with every song that they threw at me. Each song differs from the last while keeping within the same artistic guidelines.

Highlight of Stars of Boulevard? Well, there are a couple:

1. Their music is raw, real and not over produced (AKA no T-paining)

2. They put on a killllllller live show

3. They are are very talented stand-alone musicians who sound even stronger, and work symbiotically, in a group.

4. There music shows growth and diversity in each and everysong

"There's adventure, social consciousness, songs of loss, 

love, good and bad, and life. These things and more."

Please, do your self a favour and check out their myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/starsofboulevard 

SOCIAL COMBUSTION

THE OLSEN TWINS WERE HOTTER IN THE 90'S

COMBUSTed by Smerk

Yes, yet another blog about the 90’s.  For those of use who remember flannel, Britpop and boy bands likely remember this era fondly.  I know I do.  Until somebody mentions Aqua, at which point I involuntarily vomit with rage.

We could go on about the essential albums yet again.  But are there any of us left out there who haven’t already heard that Nirvana changed music forever before Kurt Cobain lost his mind and sent it Air-Mail all over Puget Sound?  Were you not aware that at one point Tupac was and making sick records that eventually lead to him getting the symptoms of lead poisoning?   Or that Mariah Carey was making annoying music with that god damn high pitched squeal in it that only dogs should be able to hear?  I am going to consider not insulting your intelligence and assume you already know these things.  But whatever happened to some of those other icons, trends, and fads from this era that much of the public consciousness has forgotten about? 

Let us begin.

Layne Staley, Alice in Chains. DEAD.

Heath Ledger.  DEAD.  And more famous in death than he was in life.

Crystal Pepsi.  DEAD

Bob Ross.   You know, that guy who paints on PBS.  He is dead too.  And if you don’t care about that, I am sure he wouldn’t hesitate to come back from the dead and paint your walls for you.  IN YOUR BLOOD.  (Yeah I was always pretty sure he was the Antichrist.  Marilyn Manson has nothing on this guy’s happy little trees.  Those trees have a secret and we all know it.)

Scott Weiland.  DEAD.

**Correction.  Apparently he is NOT dead and is still making music.  Not only do I find this unlikely, but photographic evidence disagrees.**

Pearl Jam.  Alive and still making music.  Dozens of people worldwide still pay attention to their newer releases and don’t just go see them live to hear the hits.

Billy Corgan.  Found God, and would have you believe that Smashing Pumpkins are alive and well.  However after a disappointing “reunion” record made with former drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, Jimmy left the band and Billy retained the name for himself and whichever musicians enter the constant revolving door line-up.  Sub standard music and very annoying twitter’s have followed.

Billy Corgan’s credibility.  DEAD.

The chick who played Winnie Cooper on the Wonder Years.  Doesn’t act much anymore, and is a UCLA graduate in mathematics.  And is still totally bangable. 

Fred Savage.  Wishing he was banging the chick who played Winnie Cooper.

Butch Walker.  Known back then as the guy who wrote that Freak of the Week song with his band Marvelous 3. 

Currently, he is one of the most successful musicians that you never see.  Has worked, written and produced with and for Avril Lavigne, Hot Hot Heat, Pink, Default, Secondhand Serenade, Saosin, Weezer, and The Academy Is…

Not bad for a dude named Butch.

DISMANTLING THE BAND

AMANDA BLANK = BA-DASS MC

DISMANtled by atlantictiger

If I could be anyone in the music industry right now, it would hands down be Amanda Blank. Who is she, exactly? Believe me when I tell you she’s a white female rapper based in Philadelphia. And trust me – she is not the American version of Lady Sovereign. She’s sexier, feistier, and sassier then Lady Sov could ever be, and that’s why she is my heroine in life.

The following lines she throws down might offend you, or you might think they’re totally awesome, but these are a few key Amanda Blank quotes:

“I ride like Kelly Bundi, yo, I keep that shit nasty” – Bump (with Spank Rock)

“Cause yeah, baby, I got what you need – don’t fuck with them chicks, just fuck with me” – Might Like You Better

“Put your panties on, put that pussy away” – Lindsay Lohan’s Revenge (with Pase Rock)

Offended? No? Read on. 

In a music world with manufactured female “singers” (cough, cough, Rihanna), Blank truly stands out with her unique mix of electro pop, dancehall, and hip-hop under her quickly fed rhymes. Personally, I’d rather have my 5-year-old child listening to an Amanda Blank record over a Pussycat Dolls CD – at least Blank isn’t a crew of 40-year-old strippers singing about undoing some buttons. Blank has a brain, and even though she may be rapping about showing guys what’s inside of her sweater, it’s done with taste and extremely tight producing skills, making her overtly sexual lyrics more powerful than skanky.

She got her start in Philly by collaborating with a lot of credible artists, like M.I.A., Santigold, and their producers Diplo and Switch. Diplo has released a mix tape of remixes and covers, and Blank was featured on his Santigold I’m A Lady remix (rapping the lyrics to “I Need Love by LL Cool J – so dope!)

Not a fan yet? Keep reading.

Blank released her first full-length LP, entitled I Love You, on August 4^th, 2009. Described as “dirty rap” and “electro hop”, some songs may be gritty and aggressive, but the album is actually extremely personal and heartfelt in a way, showing off Blank’s sweeter side. Her contribution to Diplo’s I’m A Lady remix has actually been re-recorded full-length and included on the album, entitled A Love Song, and wins my pick as top track. Sampling Santigold’s best song with a kickass beat and rapping a female version of LL Cool J’s I Need Love? You couldn’t ask for anything more!

So, Amanda Blank, if you’re reading this…

I love you.