Courtney Love - Mono

I'm not opinionated when it comes to Courtney Love, because I don't let external reasons keep me from being a fan of an artist.  Like her or not, we can all admit she's a pioneer for female rockers everywhere.  She might have publicly spoken against her solo effort America's Sweetheart, but I'll speak for the lead single, "Mono."  It's reason enough to get Ms. Love back in a studio and recording.

Well they say that rock is dead, and they're probably right.  99 girls in the pit, did it have to come to this?

"Mono" gives you a few things: catchy guitars, chick rock vocals that are indicative of the genre, and lyrics about returning and being better than ever before. Courtney laments, oh god, you owe me one more song so I can prove to you that I'm so much better than them.  You are better than a lot of the girls who call themselves rockers, Courtney.  Don't you forget that, and make sure you start recording new material soon.  This is why she lead Hole.  This is why she's got that potential.  Don't let her personal life overshadow the music, people.  Listen to "Mono" and enjoy it for the masterpiece it is.

Dead and Divine's Top 10

As promised, I'm taking a walk down memory lane in honor of the soon-to-be-defunct Dead and Divine.  We've had a good run, D&D, and there are three albums and a fantastic EP to show for your hard work and dedication.  I can't even put them into order of how brilliant they are, because it is all wonderful in my eyes.  I was a tad melodramatic in my posting yesterday, so I'll just get right down to business; here's the ten best songs I had a very hard time choosing from good ol' D&D.

Dead and Divine - The Bronze Goddess

I'm going to be a it dramatic in my posting today, but it's understandable.  I've been hurt by bands before.  I've gotten over Slipknot, and accepted that they'll likely never release another album, and even if they do, it won't be the same.  But now Dead and Divine?  2012 claims another victim, I suppose.  Today the Burlington natives announced that their May 5th hometown show will be their last.  As long as PTH doesn't decide to disband as well, I'll be okay, but it still saddens me to see another one bite the dust.  Expect tomorrow's Top 10 to be some good ol' D&D, and today's post to be about the song that brought me to one of the greatest bands ever: "The Bronze Goddess."

Say what you want about metalcore, but "The Bronze Goddess" is a flawless execution of what's best in the genre.  Aggressive vocals.  Some cleaner ones thrown in there.  And those guitars...I'm drooling.  I can say the masterful lyrics had a hand in reeling me in as well: I'll play the lover, you play the liar, and we'll lie like lovers do and God said your love would save me somehow, but I've got just one question, where's my savior now? and of course it's impressive how you've managed to destroy my world.  It's just all good.  A story told in lovely proportions, though it's a gritty lovely.  I wish the best of luck to D&D in their future endeavours, as I begin to listen through their complete discography right...now.

Danny Elfman - What's This?

I'm a Danny Elfman fan.  Sue me.  He led The Simpsons through some great years and throws his own flavor into every movie in which he's in charge of the music.  And he can sing too?  Literally, what's this?  A man of many talents, I suppose, and his best contribution to the world of music is probably through the 90's film The Nightmare Before Christmas.  Call it a favourite of emo kids or whatever you want to, but it's a classic movie.  I do like when other artists cover songs from the motion picture (i.e. Fiona Apple, Amy Lee, Flyleaf, to name a few), but nothing beats the originals.  "What's This?" is pure imagination.

"What's This?" is Jack Skellington's response to his discovery of Christmas Town.  Yes, I know it's the middle of April right now, but the cheery wintery feeling in "What's This?" is getting me out of the exam funk.  It's less spooky Halloween, more fun and wonder.  What's this, what's this?  There's something very wrong.  What's this?  There's people singing songs.  Oh Danny, your singing voice can haunt my dreams any night.  He captures Jack perfectly; his confusion, his amazement, his thought process.  The Nightmare Before Christmas might be an emo fave, but the music will always be a Laura fave.

Sam Roberts - An American Draft Dodger In Thunder Bay

First: Sam Roberts is both a man, and a band.  Canadian, too, if you must know.  I don't think I'll ever forget my friend's story (take this as an aside) of her brother making eye contact and having Sam Roberts point at him approvingly after shoving a fellow concert-goer who threw a water bottle on stage.  He's a cool guy, that Mr. Roberts, and I count myself as a casual fan.  Chemical City is my favourite of their releases, and the alt collective with a dash of indie produces wonders such as "An American Draft Dodger In Thunder Bay."

"An American Draft Dodger In Thunder Bay" is exactly what you think it's about: an American draft dodger in Thunder Bay.  A young man is convinced to enlist for the Vietnam War, though second-guesses the choice he made and heads north, across the Canadian border to Thunder Bay.  It's a very literal song, but literal is done well here.  Sam Roberts is full of wonderful storytelling abilities; that's why his beard is so big.  The lyrics do it for me (I've got nothing against the Viet Cong, what did they do wrong?).  It's a compelling story of an American on the Canadian Shield, and I give Sam and the boys an A for effort, an A for execution and an A+ for facial hair.  Come play in Windsor!

Nightwish - The Poet And The Pendulum

I'm still Nightwish's biggest fan, and Annette Olzon and the gang always find ways of surprising me.  Perhaps, the biggest surprise came from the nearly fourteen-minute-long "The Poet And The Pendulum," from the earlier Dark Passion Play.  I usually wouldn't condone for a band to venture into long epics over ten minutes unless they're Iron Maiden (call it bias, if you must), but this is different.  This is how you do an epic.

"The Poet And The Pendulum" begins with a fitting introduction: a whispery and mysterious operatic section that sets the mood for the remaining twelve minutes.  The orchestra picks up, and you get the feeling that this track could fit right in on the more recent Imaginaerum.  It's a medley of all things dark and wild, Annette's stellar vocals, an orchestra plucked straight from a Tim Burton film, and everything symphonic metal stands for.  I've made it through all fourteen minutes 23 times now, so I think you're capable of doing the same too.  Yes, you!

Gossip - Perfect World

What's a happy medium between electro indie and just plain indie?  Dance indie.  Three-piece Gossip holds their own in a genre between genres, the perfect combination between the two.  Okay, enough genre talk.  I'm beginning to sound like a hipster.  But I will say that lead singer Beth Ditto is absolutely once of the fiercest females out there, and there need to be more people like her roaming the Earth.  She's got an impressive set of pipes on her too, showing on the first single from their newest release, "Perfect World."

"Perfect World" is danceable indie rock that has a bit of a disco flair to it.  It reminds me a little bit of Moonlight Matters, but with a strong female lead taking the reigns.  It's just Beth Ditto that does it for me.  She's the complete package here.  Find me someone fiercer, and I'll show you a coward.  I'm also a fan of Hannah Billie on those drums.  This is just the way dance music should be done...differently.  Don't think of it as your parents flashback to the eighties.  Instead, think of "Perfect World" as a modernized way of going about the genre.  Add a little indie, throw in a little rock, and there you go.