Music you might have missed part 4 - Canada & The States
I've made these type of posts before, although they were titled "Bands you might have missed" but this title probably suits these little posts better and I started numbering them. I'm in for the long haul ;). As you must know by now I enjoy....or rather love music like a lot. Having an eclectic taste in music helps in discovering new music. Some music you listen to and love right away, others require a listen or two. I guess sometimes you need to be either in the right mood or it just takes you a while to appreciate it. What I'm trying to say is be open minded and give it a go or two before you dismiss it but don't just discard it out of hand. This doesn't just apply to music to be honest.
But lets get back to the most important part of this blog, the music. I've posted about music that gets you into The summer feeling, music with Nordic connections and some of the Dutch/Flemish bands that are quite good. In my fourth blog on music you might have missed I'm going overseas and highlight some artists/bands from Canada & The States. To be exact four from Canada and five from The States, in that order.
| Arcade Fire (website|youtube|last.fm) Arcade Fire is one of my favourite bands, their music is labelled as Indie Rock. I can vaguely remember the first time I heard them live. It was at the Lowlands festival several years back while laying in the grass and enjoying the weather and a drink on the grassy slopes besides the Alpha tent. I've never seen them live since...but I would prefer to see them in a small venue anyway. My real introduction was due to U2. They used their song "Wake Up" as the lead-in to their step on stage for the Vertigo tour back in 2005 and if you listen to it you'll understand why. Since then I've submerged myself in Arcade Fire and came out baptised as a big fan. From their first album Funeral through Neon Bible to their last album The Suburbs. They all have there own special sound and Arcade Fire continues to grow as a group. It's hard to pick the best album and I won't. Their fourth studio album is due to be released end of 2013. Some of favourite songs are Rebellion (Lies), Sprawl II, Neighbourhood (Tunnels), No Cars Go, Ocean Of Noise and Crown of Love. |
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| Feist (website|youtube|last.fm) Feist, or rather Leslie Feist is a singer-songwriter and writes great music. And quite diverse music at that. I was introduced to her music by Joan As Police Woman whom mentioned her in a interview as a great source of inspiration. It's been a while that Feist released her last album Metals but I bet there will be an forth coming album. One of her more catchy songs is Mushaboom. But songs like Graveyard send shivers up my spine and are hauntingly beautiful. |
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| Metric (website|youtube|last.fm) Metric is an electronic indie rock band. With lead vocals by the beautiful Emily Haines (it's the legs ;)). My ears heard the sound of Metric for the first time while watching the pleasantly refreshing movie Scott Pilgrim vs The World and that's not the only good band in that movie but that's something for another time. Metric has some very nice songs and although I haven't really listened to their latest album Synthetica my favourite songs still come from the previous Fantatsies album. Like are Gimme Sympathy and Satellite Mind. |
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| Stars (website|youtube|last.fm) I can't really remember how I got introduced to Stars. I do remember the song that did it though, Take Me To The Riot. This group from Toronto makes pop indie music that can be described as having a eloquent feel to it. I still prefer In Our Bedrooms After the War to any of the recent albums but that's me. This album is just packed with great songs. My favourite being Barricade, In Our Bedroom After the War, The Night Starts Here and The Ghost of Genova Heights. |
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| Aimee Mann (website|youtube|last.fm) Another one of my favourites and the first American featured in this post. This singer-songwriter lady has a very soft voice that is quite unique. I've seen her live once and it's definitely one that needs amplification. I was introduced to Aimee Mann by watching Magnolia. The writer and director of that movie, Paul Thomas Anderson, was inspired by Aimee Mann's song Deathly (some more on that little trivia here). The Original Soundtrack (OST) for that movie is primary dominated by her songs. Some of my favourite songs are from that OST like Save Me, Driving Sideways, One, Wise Up and a more recent song Little Tornado. |
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| Broken Bells (website|youtube|last.fm) Broken Bells is duo consisting of Brian Burton (also known as Danger Mouse) and James Mercer (lead singer of The Shins, more on them in a bit). If you know The Shins then this music is a bit different, meaning way more electronic. But lyrically it is just as potent. I can't remember where I heard Broken Bells first but their self titled album is just great. They have only release one studio album, Meyrin Fields is an extension to the first. I love every song on their self titled album but my favourites are The High Road, The Ghost Inside (jup that's Christina Hendricks), Vaporize but by far my all time favourite track is The Mall and Misery. |
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| Rodriguez (website|youtube|last.fm) I recently started listening to this very undervalued artist who just recently caught a big break. Just a few months ago I saw the documentary Searching for Sugar Man (trailer) and ever since I was sold on his music. Rodriguez has a way with lyrics and melodies that to most people will sounds like Bob Dylan. I recommend you see the documentary first (mustsee!) and then listen to some of his songs. My favourites Sugar Man, Crucify Your Mind, I Wonder and Cause. |
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| The Shins (website|youtube|last.fm) One of my favourite movies has to be Garden State (yeah that's New Jersey for the uninitiated). This movie was directed/written by Zach Braff (the guy from Scrubs), shame his other movies aren't up to snuff. This movie soundtrack features some amazing artists and I highly recommend you check it out. One of them is The Shins. Well if you have lived under a rock for the past several years then you probably don't know them but The Shins are an indie rock band that's quite good. My favourite songs New Slang, Caring is Creepy and the more recent Simple Song. |
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| Submarines (website|youtube|last.fm) As a support act for Aimee Mann I saw these these two and was blown away by their talent. They kinda out shined Aimee to be honest. Very refreshing to hear this type of music. It's safe to say I'm a big fan. Vocals are shared amongst John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard (damn she's cute :)). Some of my favourite songs Fire, Tigers, Brighter Discontent, Submarine Symphonika, The Wake Up Song and You, Me and the Bourgeoise...there are so many. The Submarines are a really undervalued band I'd say. |
As you can see most of the music I discover is via movies, television series, festival, hearsay or other influences but I'm always on the look out for more.
