Nirvana - Drain You

If there are a handful of albums that everyone should own, one of them definitely has to be Nirvana's Nevermind.  It's hard to go wrong with that one.  I got my copy the summer before I went into grade nine, and seven years later, it's still one of the gems of my collection.  Now, I could be predictable and feature something like "Smells Like Teen Spirit" or even "Come As You Are," but one of my favourites has always been "Drain You."

"Drain You" is pure grunge, with Kurt Cobain's gritty vocals and guitars that just won't quit.  Oh, and I can't forget Dave Grohl on drums.  Now, it's not so grunge that your ears are going to bleed.  Think of it as a refreshing take on the genre.  It's an easy listen, though the song also has its complexities.  More than meets the eye, I'd say.  The bridge also brings a touch of whimsy, with otherworldly sounds on top of that hazy guitar.  Man, we've got a winner here, and if only Mr. Cobain was still around to make more things like this.

Lorde - Royals

Usually if there's enough hype over something, I'll get curious enough to check it out for myself.  It can be hit or miss, but I usually find things I like.  Case in point, people I follow on Tumblr have been mentioned Lorde quite a bit, so I decided to look into what this New Zealand native has to offer.  She's got two EPs out, and hopefully a studio album on the horizon.  I say hopefully because she's good.  Lorde is a subdued Marina & The Diamonds with a little bit of Fiona Apple, and her brand of pop is something I'm all about.

"Royals" is soft and delicate, but it's got something special to its simplicity.  There isn't so much instrumental work as there is little beats and claps, but it goes perfectly with Lorde's sweet vocal work.  "Royals" is subdued, sure, but it still has a rhythm that'll get your shoulders moving (like mine are right now).  After giving this a listen, I've been poking around for more and hoping that a debut album is headed our way.  Fingers crossed.

He's My Brother She's My Sister - How'm I Gonna Get Back Home

July has turned into a month where I'm terribly busy, making multiple trips to the library and running from one end of the province to a place that's not really near the other, but I can still steal away ten minutes to write a paragraph about California folk-pop.  You remember Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes?  Imagine them, but more rock and pop...and you have Los Angeles' He's My Brother She's My Sister.  The five piece makes some stellar stuff, indicative of something you might have heard in the seventies, but gives it all a modern punch.  "How'm I Gonna Get Back Home" swings with the guitar, and the male-female vocals intertwining gives this a bit of whimsy and something special.  I'd keep an eye on these guys, because I think they're going to be very big very soon.

Outkast - Ms. Jackson

It's time for classic rap on this rainy Saturday afternoon, and which song could be more classic (or just as classic, since there is a lot of good stuff out there) than Outkast's "Ms. Jackson"?  Sure, everyone loved it when Andre 3000 and Big Boi put Speakerboxx/The Love Below out, but their real gem as a duo comes from back in the day, when they were creating music like this.  "Ms. Jackson" is a little somber, a little funky, and this is Mr. 3000 in his prime.  He puts more feeling into forever ever? than most of the stuff he's put out in the last ten years.  It's too bad that the boys probably won't be making music together anytime soon, but if they want to make anything like this again, I'd be all for a reunion.

Muse - Knights of Cydonia

I've always been iffy about Muse, and I'm never too sure what I think about them.  Sometimes it's good, and sometimes all of their songs sound the same.  Oh well, what can you do about that?  Maybe the only thing Guitar Hero was useful for back in the day was getting me into their older work, and with good reason, because I always killed it playing "Knights of Cydonia."  It's another old gem I first heard on the alt radio station out of Detroit, and another song that has been following me around since.

What sets "Knights of Cydonia" apart from the rest of Muse's catalog is that it's so different from everything else I've heard from the band.  It's got a little bit of alt, a dash of prog, a nice dose of what I can only call space western rock, and most importantly, it all works together.  This is the song you'd listen to while riding a horse across the rings of Saturn.  I think of "Knights of Cydonia" as an updated "Conquest."  This is artwork.  Mr. Bellamy, if you didn't have a child with Kate Hudson, I'd be all over you.

No one's gonna take me alive,
The time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive.

Karmin - Walking On The Moon

I'm never one to go for mainstream stuff, in most cases.  If a band has one big single, I'm more likely to find my favorite of the gems somewhere else in the album.  The golden rule applies to pop duo Karmin (the lovely Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan).  You've probably heard their big "Brokenhearted," at some point or another if you've ever turned a radio on in the last year, but they've got something else up their sleeves.  "Walking On The Moon" is sweet hip-hop-pop that makes use of the piano, some acoustic guitars, and some other poppy elements that aren't overwhelming in any sense.  It's also got that catchy factor, which is never a bad thing either.  It's a little different than what I've been hearing from the pop genre, and I definitely welcome it.

The Mowgli's - San Francisco

San Francisco is probably my favourite American town for music after New York City, so naturally, I'll love a good alternative-folk song about the city.  The Mowgli's may be from Los Angeles, but they still get the flavor just right, and make us hopeful that we too can lose our heads in San Francisco.  This genre they've got sounds more like a cacophony of horns and guitars with borderline choral vocals, and you know, it works well.  "San Francisco" kind of reminds me that Afcionado song "Do Nothing, Be Nothing" that I used to be obsessed with, though it's a touch more mainstream.  Oh well, I still find is to be hella catchy, and in the dog days of the summer, this is what you need to lift your spirits.

Jimmy Eat World - Work

I'm back!  The weekend was all fun and games, but of course, it's time to get back to the grind and blog between heavy study sessions.  Oh, joy.  At least I've got a classic to throw at you guys, or at least something that I like to call a classic.  It's in the same vein as Bif Naked's "Lucky" in the sense that I heard it on the radio, fell in love, and waited years until I had it.  Say what you want about anything that Jimmy Eat World has given us, but this is the band's number one song.  "Work" is begging to be fallen in love with, if you somehow haven't done so already.

"Work" has everything I look for in an alternative song.  One: beautiful guitar work.  Two: sweet lyrics about love with a twisted tang to the words.  Wanna take a ride, get out of this place while we still have time?  Three: it's damn catchy.  Four: it all comes together like this is how it was supposed to be all along.  It's been almost 10 years since "Work" and Futures came out, but it still sounds fresh to me.  This makes up for not blogging for a few days, right?

Roach Gigz feat. Kreayshawn - Pu$$y Magnet

There's nothing wrong with guilty pleasure rap, and Kreayshawn makes me the guiltiest of all.  Here she's teamed up with Roach Gigz (my fave from that thumper "Stupid") on "Pu$$y Magnet."  Sure, it's not a terribly profound song, and I'm always cautious about something that has a dollar sign in the title, but there's something catchy about this one.  The beats are sharp with just a tinge of fuzz, and there's nothing too in-your-face about "Pu$$y Magnet."  Mama Kreay does her thing in the chorus, and Roach Gigz takes a more subtle approach than he did with "Stupid" back in the day.  This one's for those hot summer days where you want something laid back to listen too, but still with a little bit of a kick.  Don't worry, I've got you covered here.

I also speculate that you only see Kreayshawn from the neck up because of the baby bump she's sporting.

Fucked Up - The Other Shoe

I've been getting back into Fucked Up recently.  I'm not sure why, though it might have to do with me missing Alexisonfire, and this is as close as I'll get to the only band ever again.  Well, don't think the two band are exactly the same, because Fucked Up has such a different sound compared to Dallas and the boys.  Songs like "The Other Shoe" had alternative guitars mixed with harsh vocals, along with some sweet female accompaniment (though "Queen of Hearts" does that best).  Contrast is what separates the men from the boys in the music world, and Fucked Up is all man here.

"The Other Shoe" begins with a creepy repetition we're dying on the inside over and over, courtesy of Jennifer Castle, but it isn't long before Damian Abraham tries his best to steal the show away.  He almost succeeds, but one of the strengths of "The Other Shoe" is how the clean female vocals compliment the harsh male ones.  It all works.  The guitar work is simple, sure, but you wouldn't want anything too insane taking away the beauty of this song.  Lesson learned: some simple things are for more complex than we all realize.  Also, Fucked Up is awesome.

Everything Everything - Cough Cough + Xaphoon Jones Remix

Usually I get the original of a song well before a remix crosses my path, but does anything go according to plan anymore?  "Cough Cough" from London's electro-indie Everything Everything was free on itunes a few weeks ago, but upon listening, I thought this sounds strangely familiar.  Sure enough, I had a remix of the song from at least a year before.  Well, what do you know?

The original "Cough Cough" is a cacophony of vocals, percussion, synths and electro beats that comes together into something otherworldly.  It's something you'd sing at the top of your lungs while dancing through the streets, banging on a snare drum in the process.  Most importantly, it's different.  It's not anything like what's circulating through the charts these days (unless I'm mistaken, but I doubt that I am).  Philly's Xaphoon Jones remixes "Cough Cough" into something a little more whimsical, a little more Mario Kart, but retains the original flavor that Everything Everything gave us.  It's even more different!  But you know what?  It's damn good.

Glee Cast - Jessie's Girl

The strangest thing has happened.  Yesterday, around 1 or so, I listened to Glee's cover of Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl."  You know, the one Cory Monteith covered.  Well, wouldn't you know it, at that time, all the way in Vancouver, he was found dead.  Even though I haven't watched Glee as much in its third and fourth seasons (I actually haven't watched any episode from season four), I respect the work that he did he for the show, and it's tragic that he was taken so young.  Whatever the cause of death, and whatever personal demons he had, no one deserves to die.

"Jessie's Girl" is from the second half of season one, where Rachel is romancing rival glee club member Jessie, and Cory Monteith's character sings the track in response.  I wouldn't be surprised if they named Jonathan Groff's character Jessie just so they could have this song, but hey, it worked.  Seventies and eighties rock are the genres that best suited Cory's vocal work, and by god, he was a modern-day Rick Springfield here.  Just as with all other artists who have come and gone, they live on through their music, and I'm damn happy to have as much Glee songs as I do now.

Brooke Fraser - Betty

Brooke Fraser is just as sweet as I remember her being with "Something In The Water," and dare I say it, "Betty" may be even better.  It's indicative summer music, and dammit, it's as catchy as hell.  "Betty" has delicate guitar work, snapping and clapping (can't really say anything bad about that when it works), and Brooke's lovely vocals that bring everything full circle.  I suppose I'll leave this short-but-sweet today so I can get back to my homework, but really, there's nothing more I can say about this track.  "Betty" is a track that is simply good.  Good?  Okay.

HIM - The Funeral of Hearts

I've been aware enough of HIM in the past to know one thing: they're a band, but that's pretty much been it. I didn't know if they were good, and I didn't know if they were bad...but they're good.  Really good.  The kind of rock they give us on "The Funeral of Hearts" is something a lot more laid-back than I expected, though every word still carries a shred of power.  There's something somber to it as well, probably because of the frequent use of the word funeral and dark phrases in general, but you know what, it works.  It all works in a lush cacophony kind of way.  I am also a big fan of the acoustic guitar work in this track.  It's easy to miss, but it brings "The Funeral of Hearts" to another place.  Good thing I stumbled upon this song a few weeks ago.

Disturbed - Serpentine

Oh, Disturbed.  Even though they're not really a band anymore, and my musical taste has developed a bit in the last few years, they've always got a special place in my heart.  I remember the first time I heard Ten Thousand Fists and almost had a heart attack at how good it was.  Asylum wasn't up to the same par, and absolutely nowhere near Indestructible, but there were definitely some gems.  Boy, do I like digging for diamonds.

"Serpentine" originally fell into the category I like to call fillers.  It didn't stand out to me much upon the first listen, but after some time, it's worked its way up to be hanging out with the big boys, like "Another Way To Die" and the titular track.  It's either a case of listening to something enough times that you like it, or your taste develops so you can enjoy it when you're ready.  I'm perfectly happy with either.  "Serpentine" is classic Disturbed, with that lush nu metal sound (hard to achieve, believe me), and something that simply speaks to the metalhead in all of us.  David Draiman always gets me with his voice too.  I suppose now that I'm a fan, "Serpentine" will fair well on the blog.  Here's hoping.

White Lung - Glue

Sunny summer days require a healthy dose of punk music, and what better place to get it from than Vancouver?  White Lung is a four-piece from the city, and a band I like for their short bursts of energy and something that reminds me of Hole on crack.  That's a good thing, don't worry.  "Glue" is the name of the song that got me, and at a little over two minutes, there's no much wiggle room.  Good thing White Lung doesn't need anything like that.  The guitars and vocal work are gritty enough for my liking, and it calls for furious moshing.  You can't listen to "Glue" and not feel like banging your head along to every single word.  This is the band Courtney Love should have made, but as long as we have White Lung now, I'm not complaining one bit.

Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass

It's time for some interesting rap you've probably never heard before!  Trust me, this is a good one too.  I've been sitting on "None Shall Pass" for a while, waiting for the perfect moment...or when it came up on my queue playlist.  Whatever works.  You have to know who Aesop Rock is, at the very least.  He's got the interesting rap market in his corner, and even looking at older work of his like "None Shall Pass" off the album of the same name, it's clear that he's always had it.  "None Shall Pass" is a cacophony of somber rap and eclectic beats, and it all comes together like it's belonged that way all along.  Its real draw is that "None Shall Pass" was, and still is different from what's out there.  Aesop Rock does his own thing, and I say he keeps doing it!

Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence

Earlier this year I went through the beginning stages of a Simon & Garfunkel obsession, which I've sort of been doing in reverse since I was a Paul Simon fan before this.  Oh well, at least I've got their essential collection in my hands now.  While all of their stuff is good (a rare thing to find, even with older music), nothing quite speaks to me like the somber words of "The Sound of Silence."

I think we've all heard hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk to you again at one point in our lives.  I remember the first time, watching that old episode of The Simpsons that parodies The Graduate.  It still gets me, with delicate vocals, equally delicate guitar work that picks up into something sad-yet-rocking, and words that means more than anything you'll hear on the radio these days.  If Paul Simon could just sit in my room and play me acoustic guitar like this all day long, I'd be in heaven.  There's a reason this track is preserved in the Library of Congress, and for once, I agree with the American government on something.

Amaranthe - Burn With Me

My favourite melodic-death-power metal band is back with a new single, and by god, I couldn't be happier with it.  Off of their new The Nexus, Amaranthe gives us "Burn With Me," a song that's definitely more power than melodic death, but I can't complain about that.  Jake E and Elize Ryd were meant to sing together, and it still works here.  The emotion that they put into the words of "Burn With me" has power and emotion, and the band's instrumental work is almost lush enough to be called lush (it still retains a healthy amount of rock; this one couldn't be too lush).  It kind of reminds me of a less lovey-dovey "Amaranthine," (ahem...least favourite song alert), and a song like "Burn With Me" belongs on any soundtrack for a superhero movie, not that I'm suggesting anything...

I cast a spell, so you'd be less like you and more like someone else.

Chevelle - Fizgig

Chevelle is posting on Facebook about wanting to record a new album, so here's hoping they deliver by the end of the year.  I want to see if they can match Hats Off To The Bull already.  However, I seem to have fallen behind in keeping up with them, as they apparently released a compilation of band favorites along with a previously unreleased track.  This was more than six months ago too!  Where was I?  Sigh...at least I've got "Fizgig" now.

"Fizgig" has a sound that's part acoustic-Hats Off To The Bull, and the rest rock from This Type Of Thinking (Could Do Us In), and it's a combination that works well.  Think of an electric guitar-powered version of "Clones."  We've got it now.  This tidbit from the Loefflers is indicative Chevelle, the sound they're known for.  The guitars surge with power, Pete's vocals do their magic, and everything comes together as it should.  This is why I love these guys.

3OH!3 - Don't Trust Me

Say what you want about the boys of 3OH!3, but dammit, these Colorado boys know a thing or two about catchy songs.  I'm not a fan of too much of their newer stuff, to be honest, but I've still got a penchant for "Don't Trust Me."  Even if you don't recognize the title, I bet you remember shh girl, shut your lips, do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips.  Right?  "Don't Trust Me" is infectious and snarky electropop, and the vocals/raps/whatever from Nathaniel Motte and Sean Foreman are hella decent too.  It's been four years now, and this one still isn't sounding old.  I hope it never does.

Bob Marley - Buffalo Soldier

My roommates sometimes challenge my collection of music, and a few weeks ago, I was asked if I had anything from Jamaica.  Oh, what a question that was.  I'm getting into more reggae now than before, but there will always be a special place in my heart for Bob Marley.  His Legend was one of the first albums I ever bought, and I have never seen a collection of songs so consistent and stunning.  Honestly, if you only own one album, make it that one.

"Buffalo Soldier" is one that I'd sing along to with my sister and brother back in the day, mainly for the catchy lyrics and smooth island sound.  Mr. Marley tells the story of the Buffalo Soldiers, regiments of the US Army that were completely African-American.  The way he tells stories is magical, and while this one highlights achievements by the soldiers, there's also something sad about it.  Music this complex is what really transcends time, nearly thirty years after its recording.

Tegan & Sara - Closer

Well, after having a mild panic attack because I've already blogged about PTH's "I Am Dmitri Karamazov and the World Is My Father," here is the true Canada Day post that was meant for yesterday (I was a little busy, so sue me).  Let's make a departure from the post-hardcore bands of previous Canada Day posts for something a little more indie, and dare I say, a little poppier.  Tegan & Sara have it today, with their newer electro-tinged "Closer."

"Closer" is addictive indie electro-pop, and shows real growth from their older work (though "Living Room" will always be a forever fave).  The harmonies work well, but then again, when do they not?  Despite the fact that they're twins, Tegan and Sara were meant to be singing together.  They sound like no other when their words are in unison.  "Closer" also has a good amount of synth for my tastes, and it gives the sound a cool electronic flavor, and it even makes the track danceable.  So if you were looking for something whimsical and infectious yesterday, here's hoping you anticipated the future and gave this one a try.