Earfuls

A music blog dedicated to discussing and enthusing about all things Canadian.

Today is voting day for the Polaris Music Prize.  I always tell people that this is my Superbowl, the one event that I really get excited about each year.  And as such, I like to pretend I am a juror and make a hypothetical ballot (I repeat, I have absolutely no say in all of this).  So, following official Polaris rules: 5 albums that were released between June 1, 2011 and May 31, 2012, eight songs or thirty minutes long, with at least 50% of the band members being Canadian, selected solely on artistic merit. For me, at least, artistic merit has a lot to do with being original and pushing your sound in new directions.  There were a lot of albums released in the past year that were really, really good, but are essentially a well-done version of something established.  I didn’t include any of these on my list; these are all albums that pushed me in different ways, expanding my musical horizons while inciting me to listen to them dozens of times. So, without further ado, my hypothetical Polaris ballot: Impossible Spaces – Sandro Perri Janela – T H O M A S Bodysongs – Born Gold Oneiric – Del Bel Visions – Grimes If you haven’t heard any of the above, I’d recommend you check them out!  (The final two spots were hotly contested too, I was also seriously considering the albums by Phedre and Cadence Weapon).  The long list is going to be announced on June 14. What are your Polaris picks this year?

Today is voting day for the Polaris Music Prize.  I always tell people that this is my Superbowl, the one event that I really get excited about each year.  And as such, I like to pretend I am a juror and make a hypothetical ballot (I repeat, I have absolutely no say in all of this).  So, following official Polaris rules: 5 albums that were released between June 1, 2011 and May 31, 2012, eight songs or thirty minutes long, with at least 50% of the band members being Canadian, selected solely on artistic merit.

For me, at least, artistic merit has a lot to do with being original and pushing your sound in new directions.  There were a lot of albums released in the past year that were really, really good, but are essentially a well-done version of something established.  I didn’t include any of these on my list; these are all albums that pushed me in different ways, expanding my musical horizons while inciting me to listen to them dozens of times.

So, without further ado, my hypothetical Polaris ballot:

Impossible Spaces – Sandro Perri

Janela – T H O M A S

Bodysongs – Born Gold

Oneiric – Del Bel

Visions – Grimes

If you haven’t heard any of the above, I’d recommend you check them out!  (The final two spots were hotly contested too, I was also seriously considering the albums by Phedre and Cadence Weapon).  The long list is going to be announced on June 14.

What are your Polaris picks this year?

This isn’t usually a genre I feel qualified to offer my opinion on, but the new Cadence Weapon record made such an impression on me that I had to go for it.  “It begins with sampled strings, bongos and a reference to Tesla, signalling that Hope In Dirt City, the third album from Montreal-by-way-of-Edmonton rapper Cadence Weapon, is full of unexpected musical turns and a whole lot of pushed boundaries.  After spending two years promoting the arts and writing insightful lines as Poet Laureate in his hometown of Edmonton, he took off on a tour before relocating to Quebec’s hub of musical creativity.  The album serves as a travel log of his relocations: it is full of references to his native “Dirt City”, recounts tales of being lost en-route to shows in Austin, Texas and explores the Montreal after-hours party scene that he has immersed himself in.” Read the rest at Demo.

This isn’t usually a genre I feel qualified to offer my opinion on, but the new Cadence Weapon record made such an impression on me that I had to go for it. 

“It begins with sampled strings, bongos and a reference to Tesla, signalling that Hope In Dirt City, the third album from Montreal-by-way-of-Edmonton rapper Cadence Weapon, is full of unexpected musical turns and a whole lot of pushed boundaries.  After spending two years promoting the arts and writing insightful lines as Poet Laureate in his hometown of Edmonton, he took off on a tour before relocating to Quebec’s hub of musical creativity.  The album serves as a travel log of his relocations: it is full of references to his native “Dirt City”, recounts tales of being lost en-route to shows in Austin, Texas and explores the Montreal after-hours party scene that he has immersed himself in.”

Read the rest at Demo.

My appetite for some songs is utterly insatiable.  Take Kontravoid’s “Native State”.  I’ll put it on when I do dishes, it loops through my headphones on the walk to work, and while moving in to my new apartment, it single-handedly soundtracked hours of organizing my new room.  I have heard this song hundreds of times, yet somehow the opening notes still draw me in, eager for the journey that I know the song will take me on.

            I am trying to figure out what it is exactly about this song that makes it so repeatable (I’ve done similar things with an ALX track and a Gobble Gobble/The-Dream cover).  There are obviously a lot of songs that tick all of the right musical boxes for me, and that I love to death, but always need a cooling off period after a couple runs through, so what is so different about this one?

            Maybe it’s the fact that it is short (classically leaving the listener wanting more), the same tempo and style throughout (making a repeat listen blend easily into the previous experience), or maybe he has just managed to create a fantastically compelling song.  They say it is hard to have insight into your own addiction, so if anyone has any ideas…

I went on a bit of a musical adventure this past weekend! “Music fans in Toronto’s east end often used to have to make a pilgrimage across the Don Valley Parkway for their fill of live music and arts-based community.  With the opening of new venues like Polyhaus, and with compelling traditions such as the Feast in the East event, a vibrant and self-sustaining musical community is growing steadily away from the downtown core. Feast in the East, a monthly event combining live music with a themed dinner and art displays, even has traffic moving in the other direction; it is well worth the trip to Greenwood station.” Read the rest at Grayowl Point.

I went on a bit of a musical adventure this past weekend!

“Music fans in Toronto’s east end often used to have to make a pilgrimage across the Don Valley Parkway for their fill of live music and arts-based community.  With the opening of new venues like Polyhaus, and with compelling traditions such as the Feast in the East event, a vibrant and self-sustaining musical community is growing steadily away from the downtown core. Feast in the East, a monthly event combining live music with a themed dinner and art displays, even has traffic moving in the other direction; it is well worth the trip to Greenwood station.”

Read the rest at Grayowl Point.

These past few days I’ve been spending my evenings having a listening party. Although by that I really mean that I’m sitting around listening to albums. The stack on the right is what I’ve gotten through so far (T H O M A S, Said the Whale, Crystal Castles, Think About Life, Polmo Polpo), and on the left is what I’m still up against (Wolf Parade, Jennifer Castle, Bry Webb, Tune-yards, Arkells, AIDS Wolf). Yes, a lot of those are from the library. Might as well use the fantastic selection they’ve got going on there. Musical odds and ends: I’m taking over as one of the editors-in-chief of the music magazine at UofT, Demo. We’re posting content all throughout the summer, and this whole endeavour is making it really obvious to me how passionate I am about music and writing about it. Although I probably could have guessed that before! I wrote a small piece about Most People that’s up right now. Also, on Saturday I’m attending my first “Feast in the East” event, which I could not be more excited for. Music, food, art; all in one place? A collaboration between Weird Canada and Wavelength? Yes, please!

These past few days I’ve been spending my evenings having a listening party. Although by that I really mean that I’m sitting around listening to albums. The stack on the right is what I’ve gotten through so far (T H O M A S, Said the Whale, Crystal Castles, Think About Life, Polmo Polpo), and on the left is what I’m still up against (Wolf Parade, Jennifer Castle, Bry Webb, Tune-yards, Arkells, AIDS Wolf). Yes, a lot of those are from the library. Might as well use the fantastic selection they’ve got going on there.

Musical odds and ends:

I’m taking over as one of the editors-in-chief of the music magazine at UofT, Demo. We’re posting content all throughout the summer, and this whole endeavour is making it really obvious to me how passionate I am about music and writing about it. Although I probably could have guessed that before! I wrote a small piece about Most People that’s up right now.

Also, on Saturday I’m attending my first “Feast in the East” event, which I could not be more excited for. Music, food, art; all in one place? A collaboration between Weird Canada and Wavelength? Yes, please!

It’s never too early to plan ahead, right? Since I picked up my NXNE magazine, I’ve just been envisioning my festival experience. Some NXNE goals: -Experience some new venues. Apparently I’ve only been to 10 out of the 40 participating in the festival. -Ultimate band goal: get in to the Purity Ring set. After so much build-up, I really would love the opportunity to experience their sound wizardry live. -Catch a Doldums set. I’ve wanted to see him for a while, and he’s playing multiple times, so should be possible. -And ultimately, enjoy my first NXNE!

It’s never too early to plan ahead, right? Since I picked up my NXNE magazine, I’ve just been envisioning my festival experience.

Some NXNE goals:

-Experience some new venues. Apparently I’ve only been to 10 out of the 40 participating in the festival.

-Ultimate band goal: get in to the Purity Ring set. After so much build-up, I really would love the opportunity to experience their sound wizardry live.

-Catch a Doldums set. I’ve wanted to see him for a while, and he’s playing multiple times, so should be possible.

-And ultimately, enjoy my first NXNE!

I have been thinking a lot about Graham Wright’s post about the ubiquitous Call Me Maybe since I first came across it.  I can see in myself a lot of the traits he is describing and that is a little disconcerting (mainly, the dismissal and disinterest in insanely popular music). Most of that is due to taste, mind, but I’ll admit that I do tend to dismiss “radio-friendly” music without giving it too close of a listen.  So, Graham, I would like to publicly proclaim my love for Gotye. It is a bit of a different experience to watch a music video that has over 200 million views (almost four times as many as the Katy Perry video that youtube’s side bar suggests I watch next). But the song! The belted choruses, the playful bells! In practice I am not often a poptimist, but songs like this give me hope that music can become hugely successful through talent and skill, just as it should be.

I have been thinking a lot about Graham Wright’s post about the ubiquitous Call Me Maybe since I first came across it.  I can see in myself a lot of the traits he is describing and that is a little disconcerting (mainly, the dismissal and disinterest in insanely popular music). Most of that is due to taste, mind, but I’ll admit that I do tend to dismiss “radio-friendly” music without giving it too close of a listen. 

So, Graham, I would like to publicly proclaim my love for Gotye. It is a bit of a different experience to watch a music video that has over 200 million views (almost four times as many as the Katy Perry video that youtube’s side bar suggests I watch next). But the song! The belted choruses, the playful bells! In practice I am not often a poptimist, but songs like this give me hope that music can become hugely successful through talent and skill, just as it should be.

“I’ll be honest in the fact that I was first aware of Alex Lukashevsky because of the Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett) Plays to Please EP, which is composed entirely of covers of songs by Lukashevsky’s former band Deep Dark United.  17 year old me was quite taken with the theatricality and busy instrumentation of the source material, so I made a promise to myself that I would do my best to see an Alex Lukashevsky show upon moving to Toronto.  Said show took place Thursday night at the Holy Oak café and I could not have been more pleased with a decision to go to a concert.” Read the rest at Grayowl Point.

“I’ll be honest in the fact that I was first aware of Alex Lukashevsky because of the Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett) Plays to Please EP, which is composed entirely of covers of songs by Lukashevsky’s former band Deep Dark United.  17 year old me was quite taken with the theatricality and busy instrumentation of the source material, so I made a promise to myself that I would do my best to see an Alex Lukashevsky show upon moving to Toronto.  Said show took place Thursday night at the Holy Oak café and I could not have been more pleased with a decision to go to a concert.”

Read the rest at Grayowl Point.

Last night for me involved a whole lot of this.

Seeing Alex Lukashevsky play was on my musicians-I-need-to-see-when-I-move-to-Toronto bucket list, so I can cross that one off. As I’m sure you can guess, a review is coming tomorrow.

“Sandro Perri and his band are about to embark on a tour of Europe and the States.  Tuesday night’s show at the Tranzac, the second in a two-night stint at the venue, was a showcase of the amazing talent that the rest of the world is about to experience.  In an interesting ordering decision, Perri played second, sandwiched between his supporting acts.  The first of which was Tradition, a man-with-guitar act filled with reverb and a contemplative melancholy.  The minimalism of a single instrument was a good contrast to Perri’s following set.” Read the rest at Grayowl Point.

“Sandro Perri and his band are about to embark on a tour of Europe and the States.  Tuesday night’s show at the Tranzac, the second in a two-night stint at the venue, was a showcase of the amazing talent that the rest of the world is about to experience.  In an interesting ordering decision, Perri played second, sandwiched between his supporting acts.  The first of which was Tradition, a man-with-guitar act filled with reverb and a contemplative melancholy.  The minimalism of a single instrument was a good contrast to Perri’s following set.”

Read the rest at Grayowl Point.