Emmy the Great

It’s Saturday, hooray! I spent my day preparing platters and platters of ham and cheese skewers (a vegetarian’s dream) and many, many squares (actually a dream). And now to top off this great day, I have a great topic. We even share part of the same name. Any guesses? No? Kay then, ever heard of Emmy the Great (all Emmy’s truly are great). She’s a fantastic quirky, indie, singer-songwriter with just a tad bit of country thrown into the pot.

I first discovered her on last.fm and it was true love ever since. She’s not like anything else I’ve ever listened to, but maybe that’s what makes her so great, how unique she is. If you’re looking for an intro to her music I’d try checking out MIA, City Song, and Edward is Dedward (can you not love someone with song titles like that). She’s originally from Hong Kong, but now lives in London. The thing I really like about her though, is how likeable she is. She just seems like someone you want to be friends with. Like someone you want to go and have a latte with or go shopping with.

She also has this really great ability to make really depressing, and sad topics seem like light and easy songs. Much like in MIA, which I assumed to be about a car crash, but just sounds like a really sweet love song. It actually took me a really long time to realize it was about a car crash. She also talks about M.I.A. in the song which proves just how fantastic her taste is. Truly impressive. See for yourself though. Sit back, relax and enjoy a seemingly cute song with a really depressing undertone. Enjoy.

I really love this song. It’s really interesting, and her voice is really something else. The problem is, I can’t get past the hair in her mouth. I don’t know why the person taking the video didn’t do something about it though. So please, go and check out more of her stuff, I promise you won’t be disappointed. For now though this Emmy is off until next time. Hope you enjoy the rest of night.

Robots Need Love Too

So, it’s a very spoooooky Halloween night (although extremely quiet, maybe because it’s a Sunday. It is weird to have the day of the dead on the day of God and the church, but what can you do). For this spooky night, I have a, wel,l not so spooky topic. This one I debated over and over again in my head because I’ve already talked about him so many times, but I saw him last night, and I think I have even more to add. So, as some of you may know, I went to see Dan Mangan last night, and as some of you may also know I have made an insane claim. A claim that doesn’t come easily. Are you ready for it? I think his show last night may have been one of my favourite shows EVER, if not my favourite live show. Although I’m going to try, I’m not sure I can even begin to explain the impact it had on me, and how truly great it was, but I’ll give it my best shot.

First of all, it was snowing on our way into the show (and as we left). And for all of you who do not know me, there is nothing I love more than snow. Especially big, Christmas-like flakes of snow. I really don’t understand how people don’t like it? It makes things a hundred times prettier. So we’re standing in line, with the pretty snow falling, and than we enter one of the prettiest churches. Seemed really old school. There were two opening bands. First was a band called The Crackling, part of Dan Mangan’s band. They were pretty awesome. And than came the Harbourcoats, a single man, singer-songwriter, thing. It was also very good, although slightly sleepy at times. But, just when you were getting slightly bored, out came Dan looking completely adorable in his stripy hoodie (and Burning Hell t-shirt, kinda funny for a church but, Peterborough represent!). They started the whole show with Sold, one of my very favourite songs. The whole thing was really pumped up, and fantastic. After that, they did song, after song, after song that I really liked and I got worried that all my favourites were going to go, and I was going to end up doing the classic “watch watching” thing I find myself doing at some shows. But, it just got better and better and better.

Usually at a live show, if you’re lucky you get what I call a “moment”. A song that seems to change everything. In this show, there seemed to be quite a few moments, from the very first song. Highlights for me were Sold, of course, Tina’s Glorious Comeback (another of my faves, love the Tom Waits reference), Robots, and an unknown song as his encore at the very end. For Tina’s Glorious Comeback, they went completely acoustic and just clapped and stomped, a perfect, perfect moment. Because it was the Halloween weekend a lot of people came in their costumes, my very favourite were the two robot guys. I’m assuming robots because of Dan’s song Robots. So half way through the song (his last song of the night before the encore) he called them up to the stage to strut their stuff. Following those guys all the people in costumes came up. Everyone started to sing along and clap, and viola, a moment. The greatest part of the night though, was his final encore song. I’m sad to admit I don’t even know what it was, but man was it good. He ditched his guitar and mic and walked right into the crowd to sing. The acoustics were so great you could here him perfectly. The song he sang was really sad, everyone just kind of clapped and sang along. It was really perfect, this scruffy guy in a Burning Hell tshirt standing on a pew singing this song about death, with dead zombie brides, robots, bee’s, cupcakes, and everyone singing together. It was really something, and very hard to describe. All I can say, is I don’t think one person wanted to leave that church, I think everyone would have stayed for the rest of the night, I know I would have. But sadly it had to come to an end, and a happy end it was. For now though, I’m going to give your eyes, and brain a break, and let you sit back and relax to his great video for Robots. Picture home-made robots dancing around while watching it, it really enhances the experience.

I love this video, in all its crazy 80′s robots glory. It’s pretty cool. Even the cheesy happily-ever-after ending works. Once again thank you for indulging me, and allowing, or at least tolerating, another Dan Mangan post, I hope you weren’t too disappointed. It’s pretty hard to capture the same moment I felt while there. All I can say is go see him live, trust me you won’t be disappointed, and remember “Robots need love too”.

Overall Rating: 5++++

Comments: There has never been a more likable guy, I wanted to go right up and give him a huge hug. He seemed to have such passion for what he does, it made him really endearing and likeable.

P.S. hope you had a great Halloween, I did

P.P.S. since it snowed, you have to listen to Hawksley’s First Snow of the Year, it’s a tradition in my family.

Lowside Of The Road

It’s Saturday, and a deliciously rainy and miserable one at that. And to perfectly match that cold, miserable, gloomy day I have the perfect topic. This is one I’ve discussed quite a few times, so bear with me and “come on up to the house”. Yes, that’s right, Tom Waits is the topic for the day. If I could talk about him every day I would, but sadly I can’t so I guess I’ll just have to make the most of this post.

Over the past month I’ve bcome even more into Tom Waits than I thought possible. I’ve been starting to explore some of his stuff, other than Heart of Saturday Night. And it turns out it just gets better. Who knew? I’ve been especially in love with Closing Time these days, and most of all Ol’ 55. What I love most about Tom though, is the fact that he can be so many different people, yet still be Tom Waits. I mean would you think the same guy who wrote the unbelievably sweet and sad San Diego Serenade could also write the unbelievably creepy What’s He Building? Or the same guy who sang Ol’ 55 in a lovely and angelic way (can you say that about the devil himself?), can also sing Anywhere I Lay My Head with the craziest growl I’ve ever heard. I’m reading a biography about him right now written by Barney Hoskyns where Tom talks about truths and how sometimes it’s best to let people create their own visions of you. Well reading this biography has changed some of my views of him. I guess I always picture Waits as this young and handsome bad-ass musician who smoked a lot of cigarettes and sang in a lot of dingy bars. Like the guy on the cover of Heart Of Saturday Night who looked young and mysterious and like he really didn’t give a damn what other people thought. And I guess at one point he could have been this guy, but I never imagined Tom Waits married with three kids (how cool would that be, oh yeah Tom Waits is my dad, no big deal). In my head I’m still going to keep my picture though.

Below I’ve decided to show you what I think is a fan-made video although I can’t quite tell. It’s for Come On Up To The House, another of my very favourite Waits songs. It’s funny just today I realized my mom, dad and I all want Tom Waits songs for our funerals. My mom, Come On Up To The House, my dad, Anywhere I Lay My Head (so everyone marches out when the horns come in at the end) and me, San Diego Serenade. We really are quite the die-hard family (haha, get it die-hard..funeral, probably not my best joke). But back to the video. It’ really something else. If it is a fan-based video, well, I’m impressed.

The concept of the video is pretty simple, but there’s something so perfect about the tattoos. At first you think oh this is cool, and the effect grows more and more until (for me anyways) you’re kind of brought to this feeling of…happiness. Like everything somehow seems really right and perfect (cheesy I know). The video reall is quite ingenious. The haunting tattoos and his perfectly fantasic growl are a odd mixture but they make something pretty special. Plus the lyrics to the song are really something else. I especially love the line “Come down off that cross, we can use the wood”, whether he means it politically, religiously or any other way, it’s a pretty great line. With that I am going to say goodnight until next time.

P.S. Saw “Easy A” last night, it was very fantastic in a quirky kind of way.

P.P.S. Check out his website here, it’s actually really cool, especially the wit & wisdom section.

Juliet

It’s Saturday. Exactly a week since Hillside. And exactly a week since this performance. A perfomance that before it happened, I didn’t care about at all, and a band I wasn’t that crazy about. Well until I saw them live that is. Royal Wood completely blew me away. He came out in this crazy outfit, very old-timey. He actually has this 50′s persona going. The clean, well dressed hair slicked back guy. And surprisingly he really pulls it off. He also pulls off his voice which is pretty awesome. I didn’t really know what to expect going in. I figured he was just another smooth dressing, soft rock guy. But he’s got a little more going than that. First of all, he’s not soft rock in the slightest. He’s an indie singer-songwriter, with some mean piano skills, not to mention the fact that he’s Canadian and from around this area.

After seeing him live I appreciated his music much more. I had Get On Top Of Your Love before seeing him, but my collection has grown slightly since than. A Good Enough Day is my favourite CD right now, but check out his new one The Waiting as well, it has some classics on it. For now though check out his video for his song Juliet, it’s pretty cute.

I really love the old man in this video, it makes it great. I also love the story the video plays out. It’s not how I pictured the song but I like it. Until tomorrow though, have a goodnight and see you tomorrow for the wrap up of the Hillside week.

P.S. sorry I missed a day, sunburns and headaches prevented me, but since Girls Night Out had three different bands I thought it would make up for the miss.

P.P.S. go see Inception it’s pretty fantastic (and only slightly confusing). And Joseph Gordon-Levitt is pretty easy to watch (and for all you men out their Ellen Page was looking pretty good.)

Time With Consequence

Okay, so it’s Saturday, how exciting, but this Saturday I’m in a slightly melancholy mood so I’m going to go a little quieter today. For my quieter day, I’m thinking Alexi Murdoch (which is what I usually think). I think I’ve mentioned him in a few other posts but today is completely devoted to him. Of all the artists I play Alexi is one of my very favourites.

I disocvered him 2 Christmas’ ago at a really bad time and Alexi Murdoch was the the perfect cure. Although none of his songs are upbeat, something about them just makes me feel right. His one and only CD Time Without Consequence (although in my not so humble opinion I think time always has a consequence, although that may be to deep of a subject for right now) is one of the greatest things in the world. At first the only song I listened to was Orange Sky which my mom fondly calls the “crying song” because like I said that was a bad time. About a year ago I started to listen to the rest of the CD and realized all of it is good. Of all his songs my very favourites have to be Orange Sky, All My Days, and Song For You. The Ragged Sea is probably my favourite song. Sadly it’s not part of the CD but from the movie Away We Go *which is one of my favourite movies, I highly recommend it). He does most of the soundtrack and there couldn’t be a more perfect person for it.

There’s something about his voice and songs that just makes everything seem so simple just while you’re listening to it (of course than it ends and life goes back to the crazy thing it is).What I mean is he provides this simple and calm oasis and sometimes that’s just what everyone needs. You know how some songs just let you take a deep breath and relax for a second, well his beatuiful voice has the power to do that. He also manages to prove my point that most great things come from Scotland. I really must go sometime (of course I’ve already told you my man Scotland fantasies). I find he’s also incredibly soothing to watch. You know how some people just have this came aura around them, well I think Alexi has that (although of course I don’t actually know him).

Did you get the chills from that, because I did. His voice is so undescribly soothing, it really makes me feel like everything is okay (and trust me Alexi that’s quite a feet to accomplish). Plus I’d say he’s also pretty easy to watch, which is always a good thing. Enjoy Alexi today and hopefully everyday. Remember when you need a little soothing he’s your man (I wish he always was).

P.S. his last.fm radio is also fantastic, which is always a good sign.

My Frenzy

So, I’m having trouble writing a post today. Weird? I think so. Anyways, here’s a video, maybe it will strick inspiration for tomorrow…

I’m really in love with this song. It really hits something deep for me, I don’t know why. For me it brings back alot of memories, but not necessarily usual ones. Her voice does cool things, and it seems a little than her usual stuff. Anyways, enjoy the song and look up more A Fine Frenzy, everything she does it uber-great.

P.S. sorry about the bummer posts lately, don’t know what my problem is. I’ll try to get back into the swing of things. I guess I’ve just been in a frenzy (and not a fine one). I think I just need sleep.

Marching to Hillside

So it’s Hillside ticket buying day. We got ours…luckily. My aunt stood in line at the actual store and got them but I thought I’d check the internet just for fun. Within 5 minutes I think all the weekend passes were gone. It’s incredible. 5 minutes, last year, it was 20 minutes. If you wanted to go to hillside, better luck next year. I think for people that have been going forever they should get free passes, I mean around 11 years later and I still have to wait like everyone else. When my family and I first went, we could just go to the booth that day and get in. Now there’s millions of line-ups and people. It’s all because of the year Arcade Fire, Bedouin Soundclash and Stars played (sadly I was too young to really realize, and couldn’t appreciate the music greatness). That year made the festival so popular. It’s all worth it though. It may be the greatest experience ever — if you haven’t gone, I recommend you do, but it will have to be next year.

The line-up this year looks awesome. It features bands like Sarah Harmer, Jason Collett,  Zeus, Yukon Blonde, Hidden Cameras, Basia Bulat, The Acorns and the Stars among many others. I’ve seen Sarah Harmer , The Hidden Cameras and Stars all at Hillside, but not the others and not to mention the bands I don’t know at all, but soon will, those are the best.

For those of you who don’t know Hillside I’m about to give you a tour, so close your eyes and imagine it, than open them again to finish the tour. Okay, there’s 4 stages, the smallest is the sun stage, it’s mainly spoken word and a few workshops. The next is the Lake stage conveniently set right on the lake, it’s second smallest, usually the where the littler bands play (you can tell the popularity rank of a band by the stage they play on). Third is the Island stage which is my personal favourite. It’s off to the other side of the island. It usually plays the bands that aren’t tiny but aren’t huge. It’s also where the more upbeat bands play, whereas the Lake stage plays quieter music, mainly because it’s smaller and there isn’t room to dance (just to clarify, when I say stage it’s mainly a big tent except for the main). And last but certainly not least (I never got that saying) is the main stage. It’s where the big people play like Sarah Harmer, Stars, Jason Collett. It’s open so if it rains, well you get soaked (and it always rains). Around the stages is the food tent (which is amazing), areas to swim (it is on an island) and vendors usually with clothes, pottery and jewelery.

I hope you enjoyed my mini tour. As you can probably tell, I LOVE Hillside, I have ever since I was about 3. But I’m going to stop ranting about how great it is and move onto music (it really is great).

I figured I might as well talk about a band playing at Hillside, so I thought it would be a good day for Zeus. They’re a pretty small Indie Canadian band (probably a Island stage band). I thought it would be a good time to talk about them because I never probably will think about them again. My mom discovered them on CBC. It took us a few times to actually like the song, but I do now. They have this great indie, rock thing and the one song I like has a great chorus that always get stuck in my head. I have only really listened to the song Marching Through Your Head, I guess I’ll discover more at the show.

The video is hilarious and the song great. This may be one of my favourite videos. Really strange but awesome. The video is also really great because, well it’s camping, and most people wear those kinds of boots at Hillside. So, let the song “march through your head” and laugh away.

Click here for the Hillside site, check out the rest of bands playing, let me know if you know any of them.

P.S. sorry about the long Hillside rant

P.P.S I got the Where The Wild Things Are record to add to my collection, it’s a awesome soundtrack, maybe I’ll talk about them tomorrow.

P.P.P.S. I feel like I’m writing a diary with all these P.S.’s sorry.

Lovely Duets

Okay so I know I’ve already posted today but I really want to post my duets playlist. Their just really pretty little songs that I love. The male voices are usually dominate with the womens voice kind of floating through, but not always. This will just make up for my playlist post I missed yesterday. So, here it is.

1. Can’t Go Back Now – The Weepies

2. Falling Slowly – Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova (this is one of the prettiest songs of all time)

3. You’ve Got Growing Up To Do – Joshua Radin

4. Stars – The XX

5. Officer Down – Carolyn Marks & NQ Arbuckle (the only country song I really love)

6. People Are Getting Better – Shane Koyczan and the Short Story Long

7. The Indie Queens Are Waiting – Dan Mangan

8. You Can Always Come Home (feat. Serena Ryder) – Jason Castro

9. All The Things You Never Wanted – Peirson Ross

10. Calendar Girls – Stars

11. Two Tongues – The Swell Season

12. Lucky (feat. Colbie Caillat) – Jason Mraz

I hope you enjoy it, maybe look up some of the songs their pretty good.

The video I’ve posted is my favourite country song (probably of all time), enjoy it.

I’ve always found the cover art very creepy, but oh well.

Happy Birthday To Me

So, today is my birthday (the big 16) I’m really feeling old.It’s really perfect weather for my birthday: cold, rainy, dark-perfect! Anyways, for my birthday my mom and I are travelling to Ottawa to see Hawksley Workman my one and only music love (expect something about that soon). With all the birthday festivities going on I don’t have much time for a post, so I’ve found a happy birthday song. Enjoy it and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

Because everybody needs Alvin and the Chipmunks to sing to them on their birthday.

New & Old

For today’s post, on an absolutely lovely Saturday I have two topics to discuss. The first is last.fm and my re-found love for it. The second is Lindy which I discovered on last. I recommend checking them both out.

I recently got reconnected with a long lost love. That love is last.fm. For quite a while I spent a lot of time on the site finding great music. Then all of a sudden you had to pay for it so I just stopped using it. A few weeks ago my dad signed me up for it again and I’ve been on it non-stop. It’s a great site to find new music, listen to music, re-discover old music and be a total music geek. It tells you about upcoming shows in your area and recommends awesome music. I know that I sound like an ad for it, but it’s just that great! So, go check it out at www.last.fm. I absolutely guarantee you’ll love it (but if not, there’s no money back guarantee, just take the risk).

Second on my list is Lindy, which again I discovered on last. There’s no way I would of heard about it otherwise. That’s why last is so great (once again I sound like an ad, maybe they will use some of my ideas…). Anyways, I love this one song by him called Beautifully Undone, which is featured on my song of the week page for this week. The song is really pretty and I even love the lyrics (on a lot of songs I find I don’t actually really enjoy the lyrics more just the rhythm of the song). The song is found on the album Suspension of Disbelief released in 2004. Lindy moved to Toronto as a young man and got his first CD released in the 90′sl by a Montreal record label. Since then he’s released many CD’s. I’ve listened to some of his other stuff and haven’t been too crazy about it, but I absolutely love Beautifully Undone. A few other songs I’ve enjoyed are Picture Of You also found on Suspension of Disbelief and Less Is More from the self titled CD Lindy. Below is Beautifully Undone, I’m not sure of the picture that goes with the song but oh well, just enjoy the music and come “Beautifully Undone”. I hope you love it as much as I did.