Friday night music: taking it down a notch with Boards of Canada

No particular mood or tone I've got in mind for this week's post, but I am a big fan of Boards of Canada, whose name may or may not play a part even though they're from Scotland. Anyways, they just released a new song this week called "Reach for the Dead". They haven't released any new studio material in a long time so I figured I'd feature them. I remember my favourite song by them when I was in university was this one.
It's a bit of a change-up for my blog because I haven't posted anything remotely close to ambient/post-rock/minimalist in a while. Give it a shot, especially if you have some headphones handy.

Look for their album, Tomorrow's Harvest, coming out on June 10th. I've got a couple asterisks beside this one.

Friday night music: it's windy

I've been listening to more electronic music recently so I'm looking to tone it down a bit especially with it being a post-call day. It's a bit windy outside and I've got a great song that also happens to sample some wind chimes at the beginning. This song may seem familiar because it has been featured in a couple ads. Nevertheless, it's an excellent one. Some claps, harmonizing and deep drums during the chorus will help you feel great this Friday evening.

Have a nice looooooooong weekend, peeps

The Market is back

Spring music round-up

You may have noticed I've been blogging a lot about music recently. You may also recall I have previously resolved to try to be more conservative with going on music download binging, which I'd say I was successful in doing for a while. 2013, however, has come out like a lion with new albums I've really enjoyed, particularly this spring. I'll run through some of the most notable ones below. I did my best to keep it short and have chosen my top three. For all intents and purposes, this list also happens to be my top three albums of 2013 so far*...

* = (subject to change very quickly with Daft Punk's Random Access Memories out this month and now streaming HERE, and Classixx's Hanging Gardens out tomorrow)

3. How to Destroy Angels - Welcome Oblivion

Genre: Electronic, Industrial

Run-down: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross team up again (third time?) this time making an album separate from any soundtrack following their strong work with The Social Network and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Intrigued by Reznor and Atticus's work, I decided to casually give a stream a try... I ended up sitting through the whole thing. I've never been into the whole industrial scene and it took me until the self-titled fourth track before it sucked me in, but at that point it had me. Mariqueen Mandig's vocals haunt the album to darken the mood slightly (think Portishead), but not enough to alienate casual listeners.  

2. Savages - Silence Yourself

Genre: Post-punk, indie rock

Run-down: Wow, these ladies caught me off-guard. This is probably the only album in my iTunes library that is closest to any sort of punk so needless to say I was surprised when I found myself walking out of the music store with me buying it after hearing some of the songs. Echoey vocals, piercing guitar and THAT BASS dominate the record. Did I mention that bass? I would love to see them live because I could see the atmosphere being electric. I'm not fond of all the songs and it took some time to get used to them but I've loved them ever since. Time to track those tour dates. Give this song a try -- "City's Full". 

1. Phoenix - Bankrupt! 

Genre: Indie rock, Synthpop

Run-down: A much anticipated album for me, especially since I loved "Entertainment" when it was released. It may turn off some previous Phoenix fans because they've changed a lot since Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Fuller sound, more suitable for arenas and turn up that synth! There have been other bands where I was one of those fans that did not take well to this adjustment for some other bands (Coldplay, Metric) but I enjoyed the sound that came out on Bankrupt!. Upbeat, catchy riffs, and most importantly for me it's not a homogenous mixture -- each song has its own flavour. 

Honourable mentions: 

James Blake - Overgrown

Sons of Fathers - Burning Days

Woodkid - The Golden Age

Aloe Blacc - Momma Hold My Hand

Wish I could be back home on this day, especially.

Staycation + Ísjaki

When I started residency, I swore I'd make the most of my time off since we only get four weeks off each calendar year. I have written off staycations as silly, lazy and unambitious... yet, here I am on day one of it. A number of reasons have led to it today -- trying to save money, lack of coordination, and nothing really jumping out at me right now to justify a one week blitz somewhere. On top of that, the early summer-like weather Ottawa is getting right now kind of helps.

So here I am, anxiously trying to find ways to make the most of staying in town, and minimize playing Bejewelled before embarking on CTU this next block. Heh, kind of funny to be stressing about vacation.

Today's agenda: buying a portable charcoal BBQ, getting some CDs and PATIO

And now, to end the entry with a single from Sigur Ros's upcoming album. As much as I love that band, I don't think I've ever been this addicted to a single one of their songs. Best enjoyed with headphones or an excellent loud speaker :)

Blue skies // She & Him Volume 3 stream

It's 10:00 AM, and I've already had my breakfast. I'd say that's fairly productive for a Saturday morning with no obligations. Look out the window and there's plenty of this going around:

Figure 1. Please excuse my dirty windows.

Heading to Gatineau Park with a couple pals soon so the pretest probability of this day being a very good one is already pretty high. THEN I find out that NPR is streaming She & Him's Volume 3 right now! Whether or not you have heard Zoe and M. Ward's music before, I recommend it, unless you are morally opposed to feel-good oldie-sounding music. Their sound hasn't changed that much over their three albums but so far it this one seems even more dedicated to that 1950s sound.

Truly fitting for a sunny Saturday morning.

Enjoy the day wherever you are, folks.

Friday night music: Two Bobs. Bobby Darin and the Robby Hunter Band

Another beautiful day outside. I'm only on call Sunday this weekend and I don't mind because it means I can enjoy the prime of the weekend that is Friday and Saturday.

And now, the music. I love it when two songs I want to share have a neat link between them. Here we have two "Bob"s. One swing, one with what sounds like classic pop. They're separated by more than 50 years yet they don't sound that far apart. Enjoy!


Bobby Darin - Lazy River (1961) ... gotta love the swing. Ignore the silly slideshow, haha





The Robby Hunter Band - Hard on Me (2013) - that electric guitar...

Super spring

It looks like spring is doing her best to make up for her late arrival, and with a vengeance. Gonna be in the mid 20s (celsius) for a solid week at least, and it's basically summer. As a result, how can I not listen to Vampire Weekend? Can't wait for the new album in a couple weeks. This song, one of their new singles from it, is on repeat today. The patio is calling...



Vampire Weekend - Diane Young