Top 50 of 2011

Just to make a point, these songs were not necessarily released in 2011, I just added them to my library in 2011.  Enjoy all 50, and enjoy the new year as 2011 comes to a close.  Here's to another year of fantastic music, and the end of the world.

Pumped Up Kicks – Foster The People

Yarilo – Arkona

No Church In The Wild – Jay-Z & Kanye West feat. Frank Ocean

Do Nothing, Be Nothing – Aficionado

Home (RAC Mix) – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes

As We Enter – Nas & Damian Marley

Revenge – Chevelle

Small Boxes – Black Light Dinner Party

Auld Lang Syne – Mairi Campbell & Dave Francis

When Dean Was The Man (And Monroe Always Smiled) – a balladeer

Moonshine – Swollen Members

Rolling In the Deep – Adele

Inis Mona – Eluveitie

We’ve Got A Score To Settle – The Dear Hunter

Yoü And I – Lady Gaga

Keep Me There – Nicolas Jaar

Is It True? (Brenda Lee Cover) – Tennis

Sail – Awolnation

The King – Ramesh

Dystopia – Yacht

Play Catch – Rockwell Knuckles

No Ending – Stacy Lane

I Want My Tears Back – Nightwish

An Old Photo Of Your New Lover (Class Actress Remix) – The One AM Radio

Emerald Isle – Whitehorse

Johnny’s Theme (P Smoov Remix) – Brent Amaker & the Rodeo

Helplessness Blues – Fleet Foxes

Det Haster ! – Casiokids

Techno Fan (Diplo Remix) – The Wombats

Suicide Dream 3 (Orchestral Version) – How To Dress Well

You (Planningtorock Remix) – Creep

Fireplug – Banquets

Moshpit – Ninjasonik feat. The Partysquad

Block After Block – Matt & Kim

You Don’t Want To Dance With Me (Moonlight Matters Remix) – Monarchy & Britt Love

48 Roses – Mariachi el Bronx

6 Foot 7 Foot – Lil Wayne feat. Corey Gunz

Swell Window – Zee Avi

Thor’s Hammer – Vast Aire feat. Raekwon & Vordul Mega

Nadine – Project Jenny, Project Jan

Boring Horror – Gobble Gobble

Bullet – Hollywood Undead

Written In The Stars – Tinie Tempah feat. Eric Turner

Still Be There (Noah Rubin Remix) – The Entrance Band

Sea of Hate – Digital Leather

Army Of Love – Kerli

Me and Mr. Wolf – The Real Tuesday Weld

Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met...) – Panic! At The Disco

Maps – The Front Bottoms

Weed In The Rizzla – Teddybears feat. Trimbal

Not The 1s - Your Dad Hate Me

Not The 1s is a rap duo of yin and yang proportions.  Cuzzo and MC Mawnstr are easy to tell apart by their different rapping registers, but the contrast is what allows them to compliment each other.  Is that possible?  I was never good with that part of art class.  They give us the stellar "Your Dad Hate Me," a rap ditty that might make you laugh, make you think, or make you dance.  This is the problems with their girlfriends' dads, set to some 80's beats thumping in the background.

By the way pops, you're not the only one she's calling daddy.

This is the definition of fun rap.  Not The 1s are just two guys rapping their way about what they want, and it's brilliant.  This is also the definition of lyrical genius.  And I know I'm not so polite, in fact I'm more like dolomite.  I'm not the guy to show up with a bouquet, I'm the kind of guy your daughter wanna show her pussy to.  I'm sure that if I brought home two guys like this, my dad might whip out a rusty chain and start swinging it around with a cinderblock tied to one end.  Or something like that.  I'm fine with enjoying the song only, and not the characters in real life.  That's what fun rap is all about.

The Dear Hunter - We've Got A Score To Settle

Who is The Dear Hunter?  They are a group of young men from Rhode Island who dabble in the art of alt-y rock that you probably wouldn't want to call alternative.  Think of The Dear Hunter as modern classic rock.  And let me say this before you get so far in that you can't get back out...the vocals are ahhh-mazing and the guitars are nothing short of perfect.  You will die.  So, how did this group worm their way into my head?  Through the stellar track "We've Got A Score To Settle."

Someone's got blood on their hands.

What is "We've Got A Score To Settle?"  Rock with feeling to it.  Rock unlike any other rock you've ever heard before.  Part of being a good musical act is keeping things fresh and unique, and The Dear Hunter does exactly that.  "We've Got A Score To Settle" will be so different from anything you've heard before that it'll immediately stick.  I'm in love with the lyrics too: forget about truth and consequence, we've got a way to deal with it.  Someone might have blood on their hands, but The Dear Hunter has something magical here.  Miss it at your own risk.

Maria Mena - Power Trip Ballad

Who is Norway's answer to Fiona Apple?  Well, Maria Mena isn't exactly Miss Apple, but she's close enough to make that comparison.  She's a contemporary pop artist from the land of fjords, an I'm quite a fan of the music I've heard so far.  Why not branch our of your normal music (yet again) and give a listen to "Power Trip Ballad," a rising-in-action ditty from her most recent Cause And Effect that makes for perfect long-car-ride music, or a good afternoons-alone tune.

How could he leave you, could he fuck that whore he left you for? Get revenge. 
And by all means, asking nine-year-old daughter to choose between you, don't stay friends.

Be careful, Miss Mena sings these words quickly, which makes for a few repeated listens if you want to catch the lyrical genius here.  And I encourage multiple listens; this is a song that gets better every time you listen to it.  I'm a fan of two minutes in twenty seconds in, Maria crooning you will always be the bitter, saddest part of me.  Stunning.  Then she sings it again.  Beautiful.  I'm going to Norway.

Disturbed - Hell + Chevelle - Revenge

I hope that everyone had a fantastic two days of holiday fun.  And if not, I hope that the last two days were still wonderful in any sense.  What did Santa bring me for Christmas even though I've been the furthest from good this year?  An ipod that is actually big enough to hold all of my music, and more.  As well, I was lucky enough to get The Lost Children, Disturbed's collection of b-sides and rarities from their musical career, along with Chevelle's newest release, Hats Off To The Bull.  I thought it only fair to feature my favourite song from both selections.

"Hell" is the clear highlight of The Lost Children.  There's no contest here.  Mr. Draiman describes it, according to Wikipedia, as being "about a relationship with someone who keeps coming in and out of your life, and every time they come back they fuck up your whole world."  Huh.  It's a b-side from the band's third album Ten Thousand Fists, and you can hear the similarities between "Hell" and tracks from the album.  It's just a good four minutes to rock out to, lamenting in the final words burning, now I'll bring you in.  Even though Disturbed is reportedly on a hiatus as of now, "Hell" and The Lost Children proves that they'll be around to last.

Hats Off To The Bull is Chevelle's sixth release, and I'll say that it's no Sci-Fi Crimes, but is still a collection of wonderful tracks that has the band reminiscing about earlier works.  After listening to the entire album once, I've deduced that the track that stands out the most to me is "Revenge," a song that reminds me of almost everything form This Type Of Thinking (Could Do Us In).  It's just Chevelle at their best, and I don't expect any less from the Loeffler brothers and co.  I'll leave you, and finish this post, by sharing the second verse of "Revenge" with you:

Me, I'd let the panic ride and pin it on the wall
Identifying pride is the saddest of the chores
Those burning eyes indeed define a churning of the soul
Feels better to be lost, but haven't felt the choice

Lloyd Banks - Make It Stack (feat. A$AP Rocky)

Interesting rap song alert!!

That's exactly how I like my rap music....interesting.  Lloyd Banks knows a thing or two about interesting rap music.  He falls into the category of rappers who aren't afraid to do things a little differently.  Why speed things up when you can slow them down just as effectively?  With the help of new-to-my-radar rapper A$AP Rocky, Mr. Banks brings us "Make It Stack," a delightful rap ditty (yes, delightful) that will cleanse your palette of anything bad you've heard before.

With a delicate background beat and some lyrical genius, "Make It Stack" is enjoyable and easy to get stuck in your head.  Let's take this money, then let's make it stack.  Then let's make history, 'cause they can't take that back.  Oh, Mr. Banks...you've come a long way since "On Fire," which by the way wasn't too bad either. 

Ancient Bards - The Birth Of Evil

Perhaps, if we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, then we shouldn't judge a band by its music videos.  Case in point: Ancient Bards.  The Italian collective produces some of the best power metal I've ever heard, but the videos will cause your mouse to drift to the search bar so you can find something else to watch on youtube.  I'm sorry!  But it's true.  But let's put all of that aside for the sake of good music.  I came across "The Birth of Evil" way back when around the time I was obsessed with Arkona.  I've just started looking into more of their songs, but it remains my favourite by a large margin.

And yes, this is another edition of female-fronted metal bands that I'm obsessed with.

Lead vocalist Sara Squadrani is good.  Really good.  "The Birth of Evil" allows her to show off her pipes to the world, though this isn't all about her.  The guitars have me drooling.  This is what power metal is and should be.  Forget about any 80's group insisting that it's their genre.  They lied.  This is how it's done.  No, you know what "The Birth of Evil" is?  A female-fronted Iron Maiden performing on a viking ship that is making the most epic of all journeys.  Don't worry, this kind of rambling means I'm in love with a song.  Just do me one favour: don't watch the video.  I've somehow been banned from commenting on it.

Krautschädl - Vire

What's wrong with fun German rock?  Nothing, really.  While browsing through freegal one fine afternoon, I came across Krautschädl, an Austrian trio that immediately grabbed my attention.  Sure I have no idea what they're saying, but I don't mind.  Their brand of punky-ska-rock is catchy, and reminds me a bit of Ludo.  Who cares if my German doesn't extend past a few words picked up from my dad (who admits to speaking "bad German?")  "Vire" is what I enjoy the most of their repertoire.  Though it doesn't seem to have a German translation according to Google Translate, it is French for turns.

"Vire" is what you'd get if you took Ludo, made them perform in German.  As simple as that, though there is more to it.  I'm a fan of that saxophone in the background that jazzes it up a bit.  The vocals are pretty good too.  "Vire" is just a fun song that happens to be in German, reinforcing what I try to point out with every non-English selection I feature.  You don't need to speak a language to appreciate it in song.  So do something crazy today.  Listen to some German.  The video for this song isn't half bad either....

Lissy Trullie - Madeleine

What am I in the mood for today?  Besides finishing my gift shopping and seeing everyone here before I go home?  Slow indie guitars.  Beautiful vocals.  Something I've never heard before.  Aha!  How about the wondrous "Madeleine" by New York, New York collective Lissy Trullie.  I say collective because this is a band whose name is opposite in concept from Florence + The Machine or Marina And The Diamonds.  Lissy Trullie herself is the frontwoman, but she still has a talented backing band behind her.

"Madeleine" has everything that I'm in the mood for today.  It's the perfect song for those slow mornings where you'd rather sit back and sip tea than read 28 pages of enviro notes.  Nothing like some slowed-down indie in the morning.  I'm in love with the guitars too.  Lyrics?  Madeleine, Madeleine, all the worry's gone awry, hope the doctor makes it right... for a taste.  So what are you waiting for?  Go out and acquire!

Mike Tompkins - Rolling In The Deep (A Capella Cover)

Adele's "Rolling In The Deep" might be the best song to cover, though if done improperly it will result in a big mess.  And doing something different with it?  A very good thing.  For instance, what if you sang it a capella and then added yourself acting as the other instruments?  And also label what instrument sound you are making with your mouth so I don't get confused?  Ladies and gentlemen....Mr. Mike Tompkins.

Even though "Rolling In The Deep" is a popular song to cover, it's a difficult one to pull off.  Mr. Tompkins does a good job here with his one-man band style.  This isn't how you typically cover a song.  My favourite part?  A little past halfway of the song, you hear these computerized sounding high vocals repeating the echo of the song: you're gonna wish you'd never have met me, tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep.  It's what singing would sound like if it rolled down a slow river to a waterfall...at night.  Yeah, I'm still working on my metaphors.  Mike Tompkins injects his own flair into "Rolling In The Deep," while still retaining to original soul put into it by Adele.  I can't find anything wrong with what he's done here.  All I see is what he's done right.

Until I Bleed Dry - Lungs Collapsed

Until I Bleed Dry is a few things.  Hard to research.  A metalcore band.  Not together anymore.  Barely on youtube but with an album on freegal.  Said album, I Dream of Angels and Wake Upon Demons, was featured on freegal, and as I acquired the tracks, their style of music grew on me.  It's not the metalcore/hardcore that I'm used to, but it's the things that make it different that draw me in.  And a word to the wise...proceed with caution.  Until I Bleed Dry isn't for the pop fans reading this.  And if you are a strictly pop fan reading this, I'd rather you wouldn't.

"Lungs Collapsed" is the best of the album, rife with gritty vocals, and a mix of grimy (in a good way) and alternative-ish guitars.  The secret behind Until I Bleed Dry is the power and emotion put into every word and every chord.  Understanding every word is overrated.  Every growl has a reason, and it's quite possible that by hearing the spoken line I regret the day I ever hurt you, the entire song is understood.  And I refuse to ever take a back seat, and I will never be yours...  That helps too.  So what are you waiting for?  Just do your best searching, find Until I Bleed Dry (who shouldn't have broken up), and enjoy every scream.
Here's a live performance, as well as the track itself.

Fatboy Slim - Praise You

Who better to celebrate an exam in which it's assumed the second duma killed Stolypin (did that actually happen?  I hope so....) than with the mightiest of all the electronic gods?  Yes, Mr. Norman Cook himself, Fatboy Slim.  While I was home for about a week before my exams started, I swung by Value Village to browse their CD selection and came across You've Come A Long Way, Baby...an epic, if not his most epic, release.  And for only three dollars?  I'd be an idiot not to get it!  Of course, "Praise You" wins the track war of the album, though it's worth mentioning "Kalifornia" and "Build It Up - Tear It Down."

This might be from the late 90's, but it has everything that I still look for in a good electronic (or "big beat") track.  Some may argue that it hardly sounds electronic, though they would be lying.  Sure, you've got a piano tapping throughout "Praise You," as well as a bit of a guitar and interesting percussion, but there's still the computerized effects that'll get you.  And the vocals....I'm drooling again.  There might be few words to "Praise You," but there is beauty in minimalism (as I always lament).  Sure, we've come a long long way together, through the hard times and the good.  I have to celebrate you, baby.  I have to praise you like I should.  Is it a coincidence that I have nothing but praise for this song?

Dead and Divine - Josephine, The Singer

You know how it gets around exam time...you spend two days trying to memorize Russia's emancipation of the serfs in 1861 (well, let's hope I remembered that right).  What drags me out of a funk created by the differences between westernizers and slavophiles?  My favourite band, good ol' Dead and Divine!  So far, I have featured a song on this blog from their most recent album, and the one that came before that.  Though I'm still missing something from The Fanciful, I will revisit their lovely EP What Really Happened At Lover's Lane.  I usually find that a band's first EP, or even their full-length album debut is typically grittier and "not as good" as their later releases.  This isn't the case for the greatest band in the world.  I bought it from itunes after getting both The Fanciful and The Machines We Are, and it sits at the same wondrousity level as both.

The highlight (of many)?  "Josephine, The Singer."

Here, you've got your alternative/hardcore guitars that aren't too cheery and just rough enough to fit with the mood of the song.  Oh, Mr. Tobin...that voice....clean in the verses, and then you get some nice throat selections in between.  And the lyrics....I'm drooling.  Literally sitting here in a pool of my own drool.  That's how much of a fangirl I am for these guys.  They've restored my faith in the "sub-par EP" curse I've seen a thousand times before, the only other exception being Protest The Hero's A Calculated Use Of Sound.  I'll leave you with the ending lyrics as I get back to the Permanent Revolution.

I've spent too much time letting you get away with derailing trains,
Like bombs to planes,
You are the reason for all this.
Murder she wrote,
Murder she sang,
Murder was all she could speak.

...sing your heart out?

Keepaway - Cake

Now, to finally drag myself off of memebase to share a song I've been wanting to share for a long time...

It's official.  I'm obsessed with electro indie.  Those vocals, those beats...I'm all over that stuff.  Expect more for the duration of this blog's life (which I assume will be until the day I die, and I plan to live forever).  In today's edition of "Electro Indie Songs I Like And That You Should Like Too" is "Cake" by the brilliant trio that is Keepaway.  This is on the more psychedelic side of electro indie, think of a DJ in Hawaii and a flutist in a nearby tree.  That's "Cake."

Lamenting that there's no cake for the curious, Keepaway pulls a risky move with mentioning the band name in the opening of the song, but I'll let it slide because this track is brilliant.  It's mystical, fantastical...just good music.  Of course.  I think it's the flute-like sound in the background of the chorus that gets me.  Or the not-typical indie vocals.  Or the fact that you can move a little to the beats.  Or that it plants the subconscious idea in my head that I want cake.  Come whatever may.

A Good Christmas Playlist

This is because if you're listening to Justin Bieber's Christmas album, there is something seriously wrong with you.  So get acquiring and fill your house with a combination of the classics and some newbies.

O Tannenbaum - Nat King Cole
Baby, It's Cold Outside - Glee Cast
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Glee Cast
12 Days of Christmas - Bing Crosby
Carol of the Bells - Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Carol of the Bells - Celtic Woman
Silver Bells - Bing Crosby
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer - Burl Ives
Frosty The Snowman - Burl Ives
It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - Bing Crosby
Santa Baby - Madison
In The Bleak Mid-Winter - Sarah McLachlan
Song For A Winter's Night - Sarah McLachlan
Wintersong - Sarah McLachlan
River - Heart
Christmas Tree - Lady Gaga
You Never Come Home For Christmas - Caitlin Rose & Keegan DeWitt
Welchen Jubel - Christiane
It Snowed - Meaghan Smith
Sainte Nuit - Nadja

The One AM Radio - An Old Photo Of Your New Lover (Class Actress Remix)

This is my new obsession, though I am still very partial to the new Nightwish album.

The Los Angeles collective that is The One AM Radio isn't your typical indie group, and combined with the wonderful act that is Class Actress, there's no stopping this remix.  I do recommend you listen to the original "An Old Photo Of Your New Lover" before heading to rcrdlbl for the remix.  While it's missing the electro element that has been pulling me into the electro-indie genre as of late, it's still a good indie track worth sharing with your Facebook friends.  No?  That was only me?  Oh well.

Beginning with an old photo of your new lover that you discovered in a book she left, you immediately have a nostalgic feeling, and a strong image in your head as you listen to indie set to that beautiful electro.  It's the songs about reminiscing that always get me.  These particular beats in the Class Actress remix conjure an image of the ocean, where lobsters sing "Under The Sea" and everything glitters under the sun.  Maybe this is a summer song for the time of the year when the dead of winter is approaching.  Or maybe this song will make you flip through your new lover's book to see if he/she is using an old picture for a bookmark.  Either-or works for me.

Original:

Remix:

Avey Tare - Lucky 1

Here is the Avey Tare I promised, one day late.  It's the exam period...c'mon.

Anyways, I was home on Wednesday browsing through my itunes library, when I came across a track that I hadn't seen in a long time.  I had literally forgotten about it.  It, being "Lucky 1" by the half-man-half-crocodile that is the great Avey Tare.  I will be saddened if you don't know who he is, as Mr. Tare is an electronic god of sorts, his domain being the experimental side of the tracks.  "Lucky 1" is his anthem, a swampy track that pulses around indie vocals.

Imagine yourself on a boat through the underworld, if you will.  The underworld is a swamp, if you believe the Greeks.  "Lucky 1" is what Charon would sing to you as he paddles you through the water.  Now that's a hell I wouldn't mind going to.  What do I recommend for the full psychedelic experience?  Go to Mr. Tare's website and watch the video created for "Lucky 1."  You're welcome.  I'm also in love with the website design.  So what's my point today?  Avey Tare might have slipped off my radar for a short time, but now I will make sure that doesn't happen again.

Hollywood Undead - This Love, This Hate

Even though the internet in my house is INCREDIBLY SLOW, I will always find a way to blog. At my sister's suggestion (because she doesn't want me to change the song.  I was hoping to get to some Avey Tare today, though that will have to wait until tomorrow), I am revisiting an album that is quite possibly one of the best I've ever heard.  Yes, it's what you're thinking of, I hope.  Hollywood Undead's Swan Songs, which in my opinion could take American Tragedy down the block and around the corner.  It features a plethora of wondrous tracks, and perhaps one of the most wondrous is the somewhat-uplifting-somewhat-depressing "This Love, This Hate."

You've got some electro beats pulsing in the background here, which I am never one to oppose.  Hollywood Undead is also a collective that I praise for their lyrical genius and the ability to work together as a group in a wonderful way.  Think of them as the American Swollen Members, with a few extras tacked on.  "This Love, This Hate" looks at uncertainty in the future.  Should we continue what we are doing?  Why not change if things are going this bad?

What will happen to my soul?
Will I come back?  I don't know.
Will you meet me when it's over?  Let me know.
You can meet here in heaven, don't you ever let me go.

Dear Hollywood Undead, never go away.

Meaghan Smith - It Snowed

Name something that swings.

How about itunes' free English-language song of the week, which just so happens to be "It Snowed" by the lovely chanteuse Meaghan Smith?  Yes, it has that swing to it, and is a perfect song for evenings inside with a cup of hot cider and a cozy sweater.  And what a coincidence...it did snow last night! 

Well, it is that time of year where radios are dominated by Christmas songs and usually nothing else, but why listen to the classics again, or something I don't condone, anything from J. Biebs' holiday album?  Why not fill your house with something a little more sophisticated, in the form of this new holiday gem?  You'll wonder how you ever got by without Meaghan Smith's voice before.  I know that I do.  You might even get the idea to play hooky, 'cause it snowed last night.  Here, everybody's happy 'cause it snowed last night, and I'm happy because I now have this in my library.  Maybe the holidays came early this year...

Nightwish - The Crow, The Owl And The Dove

Well then.  I have a new obsession.  Nightwish's very new release, Imaginaerum.  I've been drooling over it all morning.  I thought "Storytime" was good...but little did I know what they were riding within the rest of the selections.  Though most tracks have that lush symphonic metal sound that's full of theatrics, it seems that the gems of the album are acoustic-accompanied ditties and slowed-down numbers that will put you into a cardiac arrest state of awesomeness.  I've had trouble picking a new favourite.  The wondrous "Slow, Love, Slow" is worth listening to a million times in a row, but there is beauty elsewhere.  Maybe it's the bird enthusiast in me that drew me to "The Crow, The Owl And The Dove."

Here we have a bit of a duet between Annette and Marco.  And Annette...let's just say this album is hers.  Listen to the whole thing and you'll find yourself asking Tarja who?  "The Crow, The Owl And The Dove" offers that lovely acoustic beauty leading into a bit of a climax, where the tempo picks up ever-so-slightly and you get a hint of theatrics.  This is just slow, beautiful music that listeners outside of the metal genre can enjoy.  Hell, the whole album can be enjoyed by the masses.  Now, listen to what I'm about to tell you...exactly, word-for-word.  Get this album.  Now.  Or at least listen to this and "Slow, Love, Slow" too.

I also have a girl crush on Annette now.  Sorry, Beatrice Martin!

Teddybears feat. B.o.B - Get Mama A House

When I posted about their song "Weed In A Rizzla," I wrote off the three-piece Swedish outfit Teddybears as a strictly electronic/club act.  I should have known better.  While their music still holds onto that electronic influence, their songs are spread across the board as far as the blending of genres goes.  Exploring through their tracks on youtube, I came across one that stood out in particular..."Get Mama A House," a collaboration with generally good rapper B.o.B.  Here we have electronic mixed with hip-hop and a little dash of alternative.  What can we call it?  Just good plain music.

The best part of it all?

Look, I'm as high as the sun
Shut your mouth boy, when will you learn?
Mama, haven't you heard?
We so down all over the world

Here Teddybears have shown that they're no act you'll hear once in the club and forget about the morning after as you recollect your thoughts.  They are a versatile group that I have grossly underestimated.  The message isn't half-bad either.  After all, who wouldn't want to get their mama a house?

Ipo's Top 25 Most Played

For some reason, my computer likes to cut off the "d" whenever I plug in my ipod, hence, it is officially named "Laura's Ipo."  I tried.  Now that I'm back home for a week, I can plug it back in and see what I've been listening to the most on the bus and on walks to school, though it still reflects what I was listening to the most in high school, during the post-hardcore/leftover punk phase I had.  You'll see why.

25. The East Had Stolen What The West May Want - Moneen
24. Second Hand News - Fleetwood Mac
23. "...Because All Suffering Is Sweet To Me..." - Envy On The Coast
22. The Game - Disturbed
21. They Say - Scars On Broadway
20. The Bronze Goddess - Dead and Divine
19. Worker Bees - Billy Talent
18. Lonely One - Swollen Members
17. Chaney Can't Quite Riff Like Helmet's Page Hamilton - Evergreen Terrace
16. Red Flag - Billy Talent
15. Sequoia Throne - Protest The Hero
14. You're Gonna Go Far, Kid - The Offspring
13. Beautiful Bride - Flyleaf
12. Holy Diver - Killswitch Engage
11. Violent Pornography - System of a Down
10. She Who Mars The Skin Of Gods - Protest The Hero
9. Roulette - System of a Down
8. Fallen Leaves - Billy Talent
7. Two Birds, One Stone - Drop Dead, Gorgeous
6. Cut Me, Mick - Yellowcard
5. Lie Lie Lie - Serj Tankian
4. Wait And Bleed - Slipknot
3. Mexican Sun - Chevelle
2. Shameful Metaphors - Chevelle
1. Jars - Chevelle

Who can guess what band was my favourite in high school?  They were obviously good enough with their last release to get the top three spots, with enough plays to last 2 years later.  What's the point of this all?  Chevelle has a new album and I am more than anxious to get it!

The Misfits - Twilight of the Dead

You remember The Misfits, don't you?  Doesn't the name sound vaguely familiar?  That's the same feeling I had before when I came across this track.  I'm sure I've heard of them before, or at least saw someone in Metal Club wearing a band t-shirt with their name across the chest.  The Misfits aren't quite metal (I think); think more punk.  After their debut in the late 70's and a long period of legal battles and generally no releases, 2011 brings The Devil's Rain, and on that album, the impressive "Twilight of the Dead."

This is the way punk was back in the 80's when the band had its heyday, and I can only wish current punk still retained a bit of what was put into "Twilight of the Dead."  It's really horror punk, which is essentially horror put to punk music.  Still good.  It makes me think this is what Iron Maiden would sound like if they were less metal and Bruce had a lower vocal register (which I never want to happen, ever!).  The guitars are impressive, the lyrics are quite good, and it's just one of those short (but fantastic) catchy songs.  I can't find anything wrong with it.  Can you?

Mother Mother - The Stand

British Columbia's Mother Mother is one of those bands that I've always kind of been aware of, but usually fell to the bottom rung of the ladder in place of a few dozen metal bands.  Now, don't be mistaken by that remark.  These guys are good, and began the treacherous climb back to the top of my ladder with "The Stand," a track that came onto my radar earlier this year.  Before I get to the actual review of the song, let me just demand that you do one thing.  WATCH THE VIDEO.

Now, "The Stand" is indie rock at its best.  It's different from just about everything that's out there, and that's why it'll stick in your head.  And the lyrics...they make me drool just as much as Chris Colfer does whenever he sings on Glee.  The song is sung in conversation style between lead singer Ryan Guldemond and backups Ali Siadat and Jasmin Parkin:

Talk about space
Well, it's a beautiful place
But it's so damn cold
Sure, for the human race, but for the planets and the stars, and everything else and Mars...
It's like paradise spread out with a butter knife

What's the point of "The Stand?"  Remembering that everyone's fucked and they don't even know.  Oh yeah, and that Mother Mother might be the best thing to come out of British Columbia following Swollen Members.  This is music in its truest form, and can we really argue with that?

Bleached - Searching Through The Past

Surfer rock is my new best friend in the world of music, and when you put two sisters at the helm of the operation and put in a little more rock and take out some of those waves...what do you have?  Bleached, an LA girl rock duo that produces beach-friendly material that doesn't stray to far from some rocking roots.  The Calvin sisters, along with their backing members, know exactly what they're doing here, especially with the standout track from their upcoming release, "Searching Through The Past."

You've got folky-rocky vocals, catchy guitars, and lyrics you can understand and sing along with here.  I've been searching through the past, thinking about what we once had...boy, don't tell me I'm crazy.  And don't tell me that I'm crazy for associating this with surfer rock.  I would listen to this on the beach.  It's just fun music...and with that delicate few seconds of the high notes of a keyboard?  Genius.  Maybe I've been searching through my 4400+ songs for something like this.  I won't get tired of "searching through the past" anytime soon, or Bleached for that matter.

Emmy The Great - Century of Sleep

Yeah, I know it's been a while since I've brought you some musical genius.  Blame it on a weekend of epic proportions, though now is the time to get back to business.

Emmy The Great is a singer-songwriter than will grab your with the instrumental side of her songs, as well as the lyrics and that beautiful voice.  The girl is good.  "Century of Sleep" has been a mainstay with my playlists ever since I got it from rcrdlbl, and shows no sign of going anywhere soon.  Now, I've decided the lyrics are the best part right here on the spot, and I'm sure you'll agree with me...

Come back, come back, before you said
Come back so you can see
There are roses in the flowerbeds where there never used to be

What genre is this greatness?  Not your mother's folk.  It's just one of those songs I bring up now and again, where you just listen and know it's good without having to think about it.  Why argue with me if you disagree?  Just listen to this and thank me later.

Glee Cast - Rose's Turn

There's one thing about Glee that I have to point out: SEASON THREE IS A BIG PIECE OF GARBAGE.  Sorry, I had to go there.  There are too many flaws for me to enjoy it, and the song selection hasn't been terribly great.  Luckily, I still have the great taste of season one in my mouth, as well as the generally positive feeling of season two still hanging around.  Yeah, season one still owns all.  I still like when old selections come on my ipod or computer, and one that consistently makes me musically happy is Chris Colfer's rendition of "Rose's Turn" from the musical Gypsy.

Now this...this is magic.

Colfer brings a large amount of emotion into this cover, performed in a scene following his character's feeling of coming in second to his new step-brother.  But enough of the storyline.  This is why the boy won a Golden Globe.  I wish he was one of my bffs.  Those vocals, those theatrics...everything fits perfectly, with a few changes to the original lyrics.  Selections from musicals suit Colfer's unique vocals, and I wish Glee would go back to doing things this way rather than the Top 40 tracks that seem to have taken over season three.  I'm drooling by the last note of this song.  Always.  No, it may not be for the metal fans, or the alternative junkies, but I feature this because it is one of the high points in the entire series.  Still give it a listen if you're leery.  After all, this is music for music lovers.

Coeur de Pirate - Adieu

Though I may not speak French terribly well, I still enjoy listening to the French selections provided by itunes every week.  Once in a while one sticks out (you know what they are), and this time, it came to me in video form.  Yes, itunes also offers a free music video to download every now and again, and they are usually worth watching.  This week, I acquired the best free video that has ever presented itself to me: "Adieu" by Coeur de Pirate (that translates to "pirate heart").  If you thought French songs were beautiful before, wait until you watch them.

Beginning with the song by itself, "Adieu" is short and sweet ditty by Quebecois Beatrice Martin, who I by the way might have a girl crush on.  Let's admit one thing.  She has style, and I love the tattoos and hair.  Gah.  Don't tell the BF.  Anyways, "Adieu" comes from her second album and is a little peppy and you could probably even dance to it if you wanted.  Let's say that it falls somewhere between pop and indie.  I was able to find the lyrics online, to find that "Adieu" is about what you think it is.  Goodbyes.  Look at the chorus, in English:

But say goodbye to me tomorrow
But say goodbye to me on the way
Go and see the others, I don't think anything of it
I loved you and I assure you it's the end

On a final note...the video.  Watch it.  It's good.  Who doesn't like explosions of confetti and watermelons?  Adieu!

Nightwish - Nemo

As promised, I am going to look at a Nightwish track featuring former vocalist Tarja Turunen.  She was dismissed from the band some time ago and replaced by the equally wonderful Annette Olzon, but some fans still lament the fact that she never should have gone anywhere.  I'm impartial in a sense, and as I've mentioned before, both songstresses have strengths and weaknesses (weaknesses of songstresses...say that five times fast).  Tarja sounds more operatic than Annette, which definitely comes across in one of my favourite old Nightwish songs, "Nemo."

"Nemo" is a few things: atmospheric, beautiful, and definitely not about a little orange fish.  Think of the other Nemo in the lines: Nemo sailing home, Nemo letting go.  This is Nightwish at its best in the good old days, with guitars that play just as big of a role as the vocals.  And that piano...well then, now I for sure won't be able to decide who I like more.  This is a high point for Tarja, as well as the equally notable "Over The Hills And Far Away."  Nemo my name forevermore, she sings.  I'm not too sure how Nemo can be used a verb, but there is a point to all of this.  Tarja may be off doing her own thing, but Nightwish wouldn't be much now without what she did back then.  We'll still remember her place in the band no matter how many lineup changes there are.

Metermaids - Graveyard Shift

New York does it again.

What is this?  Good rap music.  Enough said.  Brooklyn rappers Sentence and Swell as Metermaids produce something wondrous in "Graveyard Shift," the lead single from their September release, Rooftop Shake.  Yeah, this could definitely be played on a rooftop, and it will definitely make you shake.  "Graveyard Shift" is a danceable rap track (no guest vocalist here...ahem....ahem...Taio Cruz...Akon...ahem) that will get you moving.  Odds are that if you like this song, you're guilty of serving the graveyard shift.  Never sleep, don't stop.  Sound like you?  Yeah, I thought so.

What sets "Graveyard Shift" apart from every other rap song you've heard before this?  Is it the girtty feeling you get stuck in your ears by listening (which I welcome)?  No, it's that guitar in the background.  Who needs to do the expected when you have that axe at your disposal?  So if you're awake from one o'clock to nine tonight, or just waiting on plans to go through (going out on a Monday...let's see how awake I am tomorrow...), then this post is for you.  Cups up.

In This Moment - The Promise

In this week's edition of female-fronted-metal-bands-that-rock is...In This Moment.  They're from Los Angeles and currently going through a lineup change, but the one member you need to know is frontwoman Maria Brink.  Take Masha Scream, Americanized and more gothic Alice in Wonderland than folk metal queen, and you've got her.  She sings clean vocals and she growls, and it's nothing short of wonderful.  In This Moment is a fairly decent "metalcore" band that I discovered overnight, and the track of theirs that stands out after a casual browse of their repertoire is "The Promise."

Maria, according to wikipedia, describes the song as being about: "[...]when you are madly in love with somebody, but you know that you’re dangerous for that person and vice versa. They’re dangerous for you even though you crave them. You want it more than anything, even though you know it will end badly."

That's deep.  With guest Adrian Patrick taking the duties of male vocals, you've got a metalcore duet of epic proportions.  Mr. Patrick sounds REALLY familiar, and I'm trying to figure out who he sounds like, but that's beside the point.  This is beauty, screamed at the top of its lungs.  Mr. Patrick and Maria compliment each other in "The Promise," and listen for their scream-off at around three minutes in.  You will experience some sort of heart palpitation.  This is just epic music.  I recommend watching the video as well, or at least parts of it.  Ignore everything with the horse.  But still, I'm exciting to further explore what In This Moment has out there, and look forward to a reported new album in 2012.

Laura Barrett - Robot Ponies

Have you ever heard of the kalimba before?  Me neither.  It's apparently an instrument that seems to conjure up similarities to the marimba in my head.  It produces strange wind-chimey sounds that sound like the xylophone taken to an entirely new level.  Who is the master of such an instrument thus far?  Laura Barrett.  Her voice isn't half-bad either.  With these two means of music, she weaves together a fantasy of wonder under the title of "Robot Ponies," which is coincidentally about...robot ponies.

Taking place around Christmas Eve, 2053, this is a song about the gift of robot ponies under every little girl's trees.  Think of this track in the same vein as "In the Year 2525" ...a bit science-fiction with a heavy dose of folk.  But this is unlike any folk you have ever heard of before.  Folk without a guitar....it could happen.  And it happens beautifully.  Who really knew that a song about robot ponies and their 20 preset functions could be so...amazing?  Well, now you do.  Though by using the kalimba, Ms. Barrett limits herself in a way that all of her songs sound the same, "Robot Ponies" still stands out among the tracks from the release Earth Sciences.

If you know best, you'll take a listen.

Two Wounded Birds - I Think The World Of You

Two-and-a-half-minute-indie-surfer-ish-fun alert!

British surfer indie group Two Wounded Birds bring us the breezy and chill "I Think The World Of You," which is not necessarily as cheery as its genre-mates, but still a good listen.  Maybe you aren't riding the waves as you listen, but you're likely in the jeep thinking of your swell window lover on the way to the beach.  Though the vocals are of a high quality, the real star here are the instruments.  On one hand, you have that yawning electric guitar; "I Think The World Of You" wouldn't be surfer rock without it.  Then there is the percussion that remains consistent, and keeps the song flowing.  As the song closes, the vocals enter a strange haze and both human voice and human-made noise meld into some kind of beautiful, strange conglomerate.

I think the world of this song.  I talk about these kinds of songs all of the time...just good tracks that you can't help but love, or think the world of.

Dice Raw - Time Flies

Do ever listen to a song and just think to yourself, "this is great music" ?  Well, of course anyone would.  Why else would you have all of those songs taking up space on your hard drive?  This is different.  It's just perfection, and comes courtesy of Philadelphia rapper Dice Raw, who you may or may not know as a contributor to The Roots.  This guy has a gift, and a Grammy under his belt (though The Simpsons has worn off on me, and a true appreciator of music should not consider award as means for liking an artist).  Most recently, Dice Raw's track "Time Flies" came to me via rcrdlbl, and the fun began.

With a piano tapping in the background, you've got a track that is already on the fast track to success for me.  It's beautiful, and you can't help but love that chorus, and the repeating line time flies when you're having fun.  And then: time flies like a bullet out a gun, pull it out on the corner and everybody runs.  Yes, listen closely and you can hear a few lines about drive-by shootings, but it's done in a way that doesn't promote violence.  In a way, Dice Raw makes "Time Flies" into a sad ditty, only sounding a tad optimistic upon a first listen.  The point he makes is that time may fly when you're having fun, but we should look back and slow down now and again.  Maybe slow down and listen to the music....music like this.

Banquets - Sometimes A Wolf

I have a new favourite alternative band.  Like, a band I can actually listen to for more than a week without getting bored.  Oh, Banquets, you know just what I like.  The New Jersey group first appeared on the blog with the wondrous, absolutely perfect "Fireplug."  Who knew that the other songs from their stellar Top Button, Bottom Shelf could be just as perfect?  I have yet to find a track I don't like, but perhaps the front runner of the moment is "Sometimes A Wolf."

Banquets makes music that is fun and insanely catchy, and "Sometimes A Wolf" is no exception.  In two minutes and forty-five seconds, your attention is held and you realize something...hey, these guys are good!  This is alternative that will last longer than its predecessors; it won't get old.  Lead singer Travis Omilian also has an exceptional voice, not like the whiny leads I'm used to encountering in the genre.  And could I really not like a band whose hobbies include counting money and shotgunning Bud Lite Limes?  No, that would be crazy talk!  I am now a full-fledged Banquets maniac.  I'm even trying to find a way to get my hands on a band t-shirt.  Just listen to their whole album.  The songs are short, so it won't even take that long.  You can thank me later.

Elliott Smith - Last Call

Now, Mr. Elliott Smith was the king of the acoustic guitar.  No, king of the guitar in general.  Well...no, acoustic guitar.  And if you think that it's someone else, I will probably call you a dirty liar.  Though he might not be with us any longer, he lives on in the beautiful songs he left behind.  Oh, he was a tortured soul, but he damn well knew how to write and perform music.  I have several tracks of his that I enjoy listening to, though the favourite that keeps coming onto itunes during shuffle is "Last Call" from his release Roman Candle.  This is why he will always live on in music.

"Last Call" has that wondrous bare-minimum quality I love in music, as well as lyrics that you'll remember long after the song has ended.  You're a jaywalker and you just, just walk away.  And it's all that you do.  Yes, I am a jaywalker, but I don't want to walk away from this song.  Mr. Smith gave us a gift in his mastery of the singer-songwriter genre.  What can we do to thank him?  Listen.  And enjoy.

Kat Edmonson - Just Like Heaven (The Cure Cover)

Now this...this is beautiful music.

Taking a song first made wondrous by The Cure, Kat Edmonson puts "Just Like Heaven" on the roster with a delicate piano and instrumental section that will take you to a classy dive in the middle of the city.  Well, would dive be the right word if you're going for classy?  Anyways, I first acquired this song when I first came to rcrdlbl, and maybe it's the reason I was reeled in s quickly and furiously.  Kat Edmonson is truly a gifted musician and songstress, and if anyone says otherwise, they are a filthy liar.  "Just Like Heaven" under the influence of The Cure was, while still great, nothing like this.  This is not 80's rock, but will always be up-to-date in my eyes.

I've decided that this will be my wedding song in the far future when I decide to quit my shenanigans and settle down.  Until then, I'm content with it coming on my ipod every so often and taking me to that classy dive.  This. Is.  Beautiful.

Nightwish - Storytime

I've been aware of Nightwish for a reasonably short amount of time, but they officially came onto my radar last night with the new single "Storytime."  Now, I'm aware of all of the controversy that surrounds the band.  The old lead singer, Tarja Turunen, was dismissed from the band and replaced by Annette Olzon.  I have songs containing both vocalists, and particularly don't prefer one over the other. Yes, Tarja was good, but Annette was a fine replacement.  If it makes some die hard Tarja-philes reading this feel any better, I'll feature one of her songs in the near future.  For now, we will look at the beauty that is "Storytime."

Nightwish is truly a fantastical band.  This is symphonic death metal, but is likely unlike any metal you've heard before.  "Storytime" is fittingly a song about fantasy and the worst of never never land.  It's also as catchy as hell...I have yet to get it out of my head.  Annette really brings something to the table that Tarja didn't.  She sounds unique while still fitting in with the rest of the band.  Her voice is fantasy-worthy in its own right.  The video isn't half-bad either, I've already watched it a good 10 times.  The point?  "Storytime" is my favourite catchy metal song of the moment.  Sorry, Arkona's "Yarilo!"  Catchy metal?  Yeah...that exists.

A Shattered Hope - A Man's Loss

I'm the person who is always hunting down good music, but sometimes, good music finds you.  California metalcore outfit A Shattered Hope found me on Twitter (which is by the way @LauraKRad) through my Dead and Divine suggestions.  I wasn't sure if I could come up with a song to post today, but this is a band that's worth featuring.  After all, that's why we're here.  Well, that is to discover new favourites.  All of the sickos looking for vag pics can look elsewhere.  Anyways....A Shattered Hope.  Yes.  Imagine, if you will, putting the great Dallas Green on drums, but still letting him sing.  Throw in Matt Tobin, still on lead, and mix the elements of both of their bands into one great package.  And you have a band from California...the Canada of the south.

The song?  "A Man's Loss" is a metalcore fan's dream.  I'm literally surprised I haven't stumbled upon it before.  You have wondrous guitars, a good lead vocalist...and that drummer...he can freaking sing.  "A Man's Loss" is a jam session between D&D and Alexisonfire with a little something extra thrown in that I can't quite put my finger on.  Point is?  These guys are worth a look, and stand out in a sea of a genre that is slowly starting to sound similar throughout.  It's just fun metalcore.  What more could you ask for?

Teddybears - Weed In A Rizzla (feat. Trimbal)

Electronic music and I have a strange relationship.  I would like say that I'm a strictly-minimal fan, but that would go against everything this blog stands for, right?  Though I am most partial to the slowed down beats, minimal effects and instrumental sound of Dam Mantle and Nicolas Jaar, I sometimes come across an electronic track that is like nothing I've ever liked before.  Enter Teddybears, a Swedish trio who will probably creep you out a bit if you look them up on google images, so let's focus on their music.  It's club music, and if this is what's playing in the Stockholm dens, count me on the next flight over the Atlantic.  Their track that reeled me in to a new style of electronic music is "Weed In A Rizzla."  Listen closely to what they're saying and you'll be able to pick it out.

"Weed In a Rizzla" is a throbbing dance number that is beautiful in a wonderfully dirty way.  You've got your bass, your digitized vocals, and the track as a whole doesn't sound like it's trying too hard.  You'd be crazy if you refused to dance to this.  If you're listening to it as you read this (which I recommend for every song that I recommend), then you're probably moving a little right now, even if you're in public.  It's okay if you're sitting at Starbucks right now.  Move your shoulders a little.  I commend Teddybears for showing me that club electronic music doesn't have to be unoriginal.  This isn't really like anything I've heard before, and I want to hear more.

Mexicans With Guns - Highway To Hell (Ridin' Dirty Mix) (feat. Bun B & Freddie Gibbs)

I might call "Highway To Hell" a fun song.  It doesn't initially come off as "fun," but it still falls into that category of songs you love listening to over and over again.  You don't get tired of this!  We can call this another instances of unique rapping, and as a growing Freddie Gibbs fan, I can't argue with what's going on here.  I'm less familiar with the other rappers here, but some quick research allows me to look into Mexicans With Guns (a.k.a Ernest Gonzales) and Bun B. (from Houston, and he's got a damn fine voice).  What do the three of them achieve with this Ridin' Dirty mix of "Highway To Hell" (in no relation to the ACDC song)?

Brilliance.

This isn't in-your-face-rap.  You're not going to encounter someone screaming at you through you computer.  This is subdued without being too soft.  It's still gritty, and it's still wondrous.  I gotta make this money even if I don't make it home.  It's kind of sad in a way, but still fun in a way that it catches your attention in a way it's never been reeled in before.  I'm flying down the interstate, I'm on a highway to hell. 

Dead and Divine - Antimacy

I've made a somewhat valiant return after a short absence!  Blame me, if you must.  I've been taking the town down, and then some, and most importantly, finally getting my hands on the new Dead and Divine album, Antimacy.  Let me just say one thing about the entire album as a whole: OH EM GEE.  Yeah, I went there.  It's more The Fanciful than The Machines We Are, and I'm not complaining one bit.  You've got the hardcore elements with a hint of where the band came from.  Call it a happy medium between hardcore and alternative.  There is a reason these guys are my favourite band right now.  The highlight of the album that has caught me in a tight grip so far?  The title track, "Antimacy."

Your love is amphetamine
I've lost all feeling in my extremities
But I could be
I could be your one and only

This is everything I loved about their last two albums, condensed into nearly three and a half minutes of wondrous music.  The guitars will melt your face off, and the raw vocals compliment those riffs to no degree.  You've even got a nice section of clean vocals that doesn't seem out of place, and comes in at the perfect time.  This is a song about strange love, but is beautiful in that same strange way.  I have hopes that these guys will someday be as big as Alexisonfire, but even if their popularity does not grow, I will always be a loyal fan.  If this is love, load me up.  I love this song.  Load me up.

Zager & Evans - In The Year 2525

How about we take a detour into the oldies, but the goodies?  No?  Well, that's too bad.  Last week, I was watching Futurama late one night and eating mini Kit Kat bars.  I was in heaven.  Fry, Bender and Farnsworth were travelling forward in time, and the episode included a segment to the reworked tune of my favourite old-song-of-the-moment.  Zager & Evans' "In The Year 2525" was changed so that the years sung where further into the future, such as 125125 and one million and a half (where humankind is enslaved by giraffes).  I typed the lyrics into my phone to find them later, and finally remembered where I'd put them yesterday.  Oh, the stories I tell.

Sure, this song was written a long time ago, and it's possible for the people of yesteryear to consider in the year 2525, if mankind is still alive...well, that's a little close to 2011 for me.  But this is what I love about the 70's.  Their imaginations.  Songs like "In The Year 2525," caught somewhere between rock and folk, are the gems I enjoy finding, even if it's through Futurama.  This is science fiction in song, what more could you ask for?

Alanis Morissette - Spineless

Let's begin with the beginning:

I won't see my dear friends as much, males friends especially I'll no longer be in touch.  I'll change my hobbies to match yours.  I'll stop reading my favourite books, I won't send all this selfish time alone, I'll cater to you and hang on your every word.

No, this does not describe one of Canada's greatest songstresses, whom I first discovered ten or eleven years ago with the masterpiece Under Rug Swept.  "Spineless," a track from the hey-this-ain't-too-bad So-Called Chaos is her way of mocking the trials and tribulations of relationship that probably shouldn't exist.  Don't take that into account, and it might come off as a little worrisome, but this is what you do if you are an amazing musical artist.  "Spineless" is only the tip of the iceberg to the repertoire this wondrous woman has behind her, and I offer it to you for that reason.  Why not start off with a bang?

Beat The Devil - Shine In Exile

The best music in the world might come from Ireland (and not far behind, Russia), but the best music in North America outside of Canada comes from the wondrous state of New York.  I have yet to go there myself, but have dreams and ambitions as high as the moon.  Today's band from NYC is Brooklyn-based Beat The Devil.  The band could be called indie, but there is something about them that isn't too indie.  You know how it is.  Almost there, but not quite.  They came to me in the form of "Shine in Exile."

There is something mysterious about this track, and the beginning could bring you to a dark speakeasy in the middle of the swamp with the touch of a piano.  As the guitars and drums pick up, you're back in the city, and "Shine in Exile" is working on worming its way into your brain.  And as you might have guessed, I will say that anything boys can do, girls can do better.  Female-fronted indie bands (and with wondrous harmonies, nonetheless) win nearly every time.  Blame the feminist in me.  Beat The Devil just performs interesting music.  You will never be bored listening to them.  Baby, I've learned to live inside my head is what the song would say if it could speak, but it would learn to live inside your head.  This one is here to stay.

Early Man - Nine Riders

I'm still sorting through freegal now and again, looking for new metal bands that rarely anyone has heard of before.  Last week I found the impressive Early Man, a New York now-two-piece who will shred your face off if another band hasn't already.  And if said face has already been shredded beyond recognition, then they will shred it down to the bone.  This is heavy metal, but not the deep-throat vocal, thrash in every direction metal that is hard to escape these days.  Early Man plays metal that could restore your faith in the genre if you've been tainted by the likes of too-heavy-for-their-own-good outfits (don't get me wrong, they exist, and they shouldn't) or more-pop-than-metal-what-are-you-doing-calling-yourself-metal collectives.  This is what metal was before the genre exploded into subgenres.  This is...the way it should be done.

My current favourite of their songs that I've sampled is "Nine Riders," which makes me wish that I hadn't quit guitar lessons about six years ago.  You could say that this has some Halloween-y elements to it if you'd like.  It has a very dark feel to it...our quest for blood will never end?  Yeah, this is Halloween.  But the real star here is the guitars.  They will make you have an aneurysm of epic proportions, because I doubt that you've heard a band play like this in a long time.  There is a simple point to this posting..what does Early Man prove?  You don't need to scream to be heard.  You can be just as loud.

Kings of Leon - Pyro

Honestly speaking, I never understood the hype involving Kings of Leon.  In my eyes, they didn't offer anything new to the world of music and I just didn't get why everyone liked them so much.  "Sex on Fire?"  Really?  Then again, I am always the one to be proven wrong.  As far as I know, the band has broken up or is taking a break or something dumb like that, but their music still finds its way to me, this time in the form of Canadian comedy show Video On Trial, in which comedians make fun of music videos.  Usually, the songs they review are Top 40 in nature and typically never beautiful in my eyes.  The point of all this?  I was proven wrong twice.

Now, the first, and likely only song by Kings of Leon that I will ever like is the simple "Pyro."

Why is this the best of the worst band to ever call themselves a band?  Because it's actually a good song that I can listen to more than once without vomiting.  The lead singer (I don't really want to find his name) also sings with some sadness and regret in his voice, something I have not noticed before in my casual listening before "Pyro."  Dare I say it, is this song beautiful?  Yes.  Because it is sad.  And it is good.  The chorus is wondrous, the guitars are listenable, and there is a strange feeling that this a powerful song, even if it has nothing to do with fire.  Huh.  The enigma that is my taste in music...  So to all of my fellow Kings of Leon haters, give this one a try, see if I can prove you as wrong as the band proved me.

Peter Wolf Crier - Settling It Off

Sometimes indie is all you need.  And sometimes indie calls to you in the form of a duo from Minnesota who could outplay any quintet from another state.  Said duo, Peter Wolf Crier, offers a flawless, yet melancholy in tone ditty that is "Settling It Off."  In this selection, you might notice a few electronic-y elements.  The acoustic guitar, or the guitar in general, isn't the star here.  Instead, it's the shake of what quite possibly could be a tambourine, as well at vocals that will burrow deep into your psyche.  You won't know why it's good, but you'll know that it's good.

The line then recite a little prayer for truth reminds me of the good ol' Burt Bacharach song, but in a good way.  I'm always one for putting a new spin on the oldies.  "Settling It Off" is subdued indie, for those rainy days when you want to listen to sad-sounding music and the sound of droplets beating against your basement window.  It might be sad, but it is beautiful.  Peter Wolf Crier has a way with this fine line between beautiful sadness and another depressing indie song, but they pull it off.  I commend them for it.

Jason Mraz - Plane

Just so everyone knows...I liked Jason Mraz before We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things.  That album was nothing compared to his previous effort, Mr. A-Z.  Now that...that was the soundtrack to my '06.  Less acoustic guitar centered, more piano, it was just a brilliant piece of music that even my younger self could recognize.  I fell in love.  There were a lot of wondrous selections on that disc, but none other struck me at first as the five-and-a-quarter minute masterpiece that was, and still is "Plane."

Have you ever flown before?  I have once in a cramped fusel lodge between my biology teacher and the window seat.  There's something about looking down at a city and watching it disappear into the clouds, and vise versa.  It is a strange sight.  "Plane" is the soundtrack to such a moment.  Who lies below the plane, and what are they doing at this moment?  Melancholy-ish emotion in music was something that Mr. Mraz did with such grace and beauty, and even though he doesn't do much of this anymore, we at least have evidence of what used to be.  I cannot wait to call you, and tell you that I landed somewhere, and hand you a square of the air.  Lyrical genius.  Dear Jason, please do what you did in Mr. A-Z again for your die-hard fans.  We miss this.  Well, I do, but I feel speaking for everyone will get my point across better.

Amaranthe - Hunger

Amaranthe is a Swedish "melodic death metal" band, though I would scoot them towards the "post-hardcore" genre instead, maybe even "power metal" if I really had to.  The group features stylings from three vocalists: clean female, clean male and male throat.  Variety is the spice of life, after all.  I discovered them during my tour of the world of metal via Youtube, and was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked a handful of their songs.  "Hunger" is definitely the best of the bunch (with honorable mention to "Automatic" and "1000000 Light Years").

Why?

Some might say three vocalists in a band is two too many, but here you've got a contrast between the singers and the screamers.  It's just fun music.  It's easy to tell when a metal or hardcore band take themselves too seriously, and it makes it hard to enjoy the music as I would like to.  Amaranthe, I've decided on what genre to put you in..."fun metal!"  And the chorus?  It's beautiful.  I would enjoy metal even more than I already do if more bands had a woman vocalist in contrast to their growler.  Maybe the Swedish are on to something...

Swollen Members - Lonely One

I need to take a break from mashups of metal and Lady Gaga to get back to showcasing an underrated genre that isn't titled "Ov Fire and Bad Romance."  Yes, rap can be underrated.  When people think of rap, they think of what you're probably thinking of right now.  Well, forget everything you've ever thought about the rap genre...again...because I've mentioned this group before.  Swollen Members are likely my favourite Canadian group that operates outside of the metal scene.  They could out-rap any American rhymer in less than a second.  I'll be listening to Madchild and Prevail do their thing until they stop (god forbid).  "Lonely One" is quite possibly some of their best work, even if it came from the iffy Armed To The Teeth. Still worth buying, but iffy.  But redeemed by "Lonely One."

Rap has a formula of success to me.  You know that, but let me remind you.  Good background beats, good lyrics, and something different.  Swollen Members has all of that here.  These two masterminds are at their best when the theatrics are at a minimum and you can hear the emotion in their raps (see my "Moonshine" post...hell, take a listen to that track).  Madchild always sounds sombre when he takes the subdued approach.  Case in point, the perfect chorus: she tried to kill my art, she couldn't feel my heart, still good start, man with the loaded gun, she said I was the only one.  Pops said "I told you, son," still phone me like you owe me one, now she don't control me, but no one hold me, walk slowly the lonely one, still the one.  And there you go.  Well, I think Prevail says it the best...

Searching the world for a group like this, I can say with confidence not another exists.

Mariachi el Bronx - 48 Roses

I'm all for blending genres.  We know that now, after all of these posts and all of my harping about this is the way music should be.  Rarely am I left speechless, though.  Rarely am I this intrigued by something I have never heard before.  I suppose there is a first time for everything, including the bridging of Latin, rock and mariachi together in three and a half minutes of pure fantastic music.  Some worry the risk may not be worth the reward.  Those people haven't heard of Mariachi el Bronx, or their hardcore side, simply known as The Bronx.  The band takes a break from hardcore in this number, the roller coaster that is "48 Roses."  Lyrical genius, blending genres, taking risks....I am in heaven.

So father, forgive my cold shoulder, I just don't have the time to console her.  I can fall back in love when I'm older.

You would never know that this band usually veers towards the hardcore side of rock.  Here you have a lush, romantic sounding song that is ironically all about heartbreak and the aches.  I've gone and created a mess, but Mariachi el Bronx has gone and created a masterpiece.  My knowledge of mariachi doesn't exist beyond the episode of My Name Is Earl where the Hickey brothers travel to Mexico, but this...this will draw you in.  If something is done well, anyone will listen.  Maybe The Bronx should quit the hardcore biz and continue to dress in ornate jackets and pick up where they left off with "48 Roses."  I wouldn't argue, though I am now off to look up their rock items on youtube.  Happy listening (because I assume you will listen to this song)!

Yellowcard - Cut Me, Mick

I've been a Yellowcard fan since Ocean Avenue, though it was their following releases, Lights and Sound and Paper Walls, that are really their best work.  The new album (name omitted so that you will never listen to it) was too poppy for me and didn't take enough risks.  But their older work still stands as some of my favourite music in my library.  Is it possible to narrow down their amazing work, combining alternative with the violin, to just one song at the top of the ladder?  Yes, though it is a bit of a daunting task.  Still, the best of the best is "Cut Me, Mick" from Paper Walls, and after one listen, you'll likely agree.

This is a song of nostalgia, reminiscing of yesteryear, and remembering the good times, though there is a flogging sadness you can't ignore.  The chorus says it all: you are the one that I need, you know that I can still bleed, bring me back to life.  This is a song for all of those who have lost someone, as a reminder that there is hope, and there is closure that comes from tragedy.  Yellowcard is the master band of emotion put into alternative music.  This isn't mainstream (though one could make an argument about the last album...).  This is the way music should be done.  Forever.

Owen - Good Friends, Bad Habits

Owen is the solo project of Chicago's own Mike Kinsella, and what a project it is.  It's quite possible that lyrical genius has never been so wondrous and fantastical.  It doesn't hurt that it helps to drown out the horridity (is that a word?  apparently not) that is Drake's new song playing on the TV.  But back to good music!  Owen is indie with a little dash of folk, pure and simple.  He's a master on the acoustic, and a master of words.  Example?  "Good Friends, Bad Habits."

Good friends with bad habits
And a tendency towards negligence
Just petty thieves and addicts
Don't hold anyone

This is one thing and one thing only: good music.  In the world of music, where awful people are becoming popular and you see the same five videos over and over on a 4 hour cycle, there are artists like Mike Kinsella who are doing what they do best.  Take a hint from him, world of music.  Be good like him!  Oh, and my absolute favourite line of the entire song?

Literary romantics
They'll fuck like Wilde
And they'll die like Hemingway

School of Seven Bells - Iamundernodisguise (Alternate Version)

A little more than a year ago, I was enlightened by the entity that is rcrdlbl, source of all music that's too good to be true...yet is.  The first rcrdlbl artist that I became momentarily endeared by was the always beautiful and always haunting School of Seven Bells, now a duo of Benjamin Curtis and Alejandra Dehaza.  An older track of theirs, one that pulled me into the world of "independent indie" music, was the alternate version of "Iamundernodisguise," which isn't terribly alternate from the original.  I'm not complaining.

Some may call "Iamundernodisguise" shoegaze, some might call it indie, and some more might say this is pop (though, I don't know who).  Whatever it might be, this is brilliance.  You have no theatrics here.  All there is are the instruments and the artists behind them, crafting something that could blow the mind of the most uptight person you know.  When it happens, you'll know.

I am neither breather or speaker
I am neither walker or sleeper
I am neither sister, brother, son or daughter
So hold me in chest, is my heart a drum of water?
I am under no disguise...

Eluveitie - Inis Mona

Veering back to the path of folk metal, in the last week I also discovered the Swiss collective that is Eluveitie.  Now, epicness comes in many forms, but I doubt you've heard something as epic as them.  I'll tie them with Arkona as my new favourite band...for now.  The eight-piece act often sings in the extinct language of Gaulish, either in growls or wondrous vocals form the female group members, but in "Inis Mona," they sing in English about the mythical island.

From 2008's Slania, "Inis Mona" sounds as Celtic as its namesake.  You've got a string section behind the guitars that makes this all the more haunting, as well as the melodic sound that drew me deep into the world of folk metal.  And the chorus?  Well, if the verses don't pull you in, then the refrain will: I close my eyes, Inis Mona, and reminisce of those palmy days.  I moon o'er you, Inis Mona.  As long as I breathe, I'll call you my home.  Eluveitie won't be for everyone, I know.  If screamo or death growls send you turning the other way, then I am afraid you're missing out on something that will make your ears bleed in a good way.  I promise no more folk metal for a while, but wanted to leave the genre on a high note.  Eluveitie is likely as good as it gets (Arkona too...I can't say a bad thing about them).

Marissa Nadler - River of Dirt

El Camino, take me home.

Beautiful indie songstresses aren't very few and far between if you look at music today.  But a good indie songstress who have a wonderful voice...now that is light finding a needle in a stack of needles.  Marissa Nadler is an artist you likely haven't heard of before (and if you have, I commend you).  The music industry tends to brush these sorts of musicians under one giant carpet, and you have to go looking for gems like this.  Her haunting, though not-too-sad "River of Dirt" restores my faith in the fact that there are good indie female artists hiding behind the woodwork.  You just need to rip out some panels.

With the constant strum of a guitar and Marissa's dreamy voice, you've got a conjured view of dusty country roads and that damned el camino.  Take me back to the river of dirt, or take to wherever in the world this song is meant to be.  This is the kind of song that comes up on your ipod, but you don't feel the need to change to a different track.  You want to listen to "River of Dirt" and its soft beauty over and over again.  Some people know what they're doing with a gift of music.  Marissa Nadler does.

Lights - Cactus In The Valley

Lights might be the best Canadian songstress to come out of the north since Ms. McLachlan.  Well, she hasn't reached such a level of epicness yet, but she's pretty damn good.  I got her latest release, Siberia, in the first week it came out, and was generally pleased with how it turned out.  It's less pop, more electronic than her debut, and experienced the expected growth I hoped to see Lights gain as an artist.  Though the obvious choice for a feature would be the fantastic-in-its-own-right "Toes," I see reason to look at the underdog of the album; the slowed-down and sombre "Cactus in the Valley."

"Cactus in the Valley" is without the synths and keyboard riffs of the rest of the album, instead showing just Lights and a few soft sounds in the background.  Lights is also a tad of a lyrical genius, in the lines if my yesterday is a disgrace, tell me that you'll still recall my name and wipe the mark of madness from my face, show me that your love will never change.  This song shows that Lights can be just as powerful on her own as she is with a cavalry of electronica behind her.  I'm already on the edge of my seat for album three.

Monarchy - You Don't Want To Dance With Me (Moonlight Matters Remix)

I've long lamented the idea that there is a way of doing things (music, of course) that is the way things are supposed to be done.  I'm not too such if I've ever tackled the way that dance music is supposed to be done, but if I haven't, then I am about to.  And if I did....just pretend that I never said anything.  That'll make things easier for everyone.  Monarchy team with vocalist Britt Love for the powerhouse "You Don't Want To Dance With Me," which is taken to a new level of catchy-and-overall-fun by Moonlight Madness.  Who knew two rather mysterious men from the UK could leave such an impact on the pop genre?  Well, we do have it nailed into our brains to expect the unexpected.

The original "You Don't Want To Dance With Me" is a tad more slowed down than you might expect, though still filled with fuzzy synths that don't scream 80's throwback.  More like this is the right way of doing it.  Moonlight Madness speed things up, adds  few hints of musical magic, and there you go.  Genius.  Now, the original isn't that bad, but the remix is going to knock your socks off.  Take that to the bank, but don't cash it because it'll likely bounce (blame a lengthy shopping trip in the T.O).  Point is, now and again you need a good dance song.  Another lamentation there: now and again you need something like this.  I'd be an idiot not to write something about this masterpiece.

Arkona - Yarilo

Let's stay on the path of folk metal, shall we, and recognize the fact that I have a new favourite band that graced the last post.  Oh, Arkona...you know the way into my brain through my ears with fantastic metal.  After discovering "Goi, Rode, Goi!" I came across a Youtube video of "Yarilo," which is notably more folky than the former.  However, this isn't folk without death growls and guitars that would make the great composers of the enlightenment weep.  According to my brother, Masha "screams like a man."  That she does, but that is why she is my new hero.  She growls better than any male lead singer I've heard before...even the great Mr. Walker (sorry Rody, I had to say it!).  Note to self: add her to my list of inspirational people on Facebook.

I was able to find the Russian (in Cyrillic) lyrics for "Yarilo," whose title comes from one of the great Slavic gods.  Funny, as this is one of the greatest two and a half minutes that has ever been documented.  You have to watch the live performance online...it will knock your socks off.  Arkona, none before you had pulled a two-posts-in-a-row streak on my blog.  For that, I commend you.

As well, I must apologize for repeated absences in the past.  You know how university is...full of needless and copious amounts of work.  However, I will be back with my spin on the world of music Sunday with gaps far and few between after that.  Be there!

Arkona - Goi, Rode, Goi!

The thing about metal music is that there are more subgenres than an average person can be aware of at anytime.  We're all familiar with death metal, prog metal, melodic metal, etc.  Last night, I discovered a subgenre I've only heard about, but never decided to give a listen.  Folk (or pagan) metal, and even by not distinguishing between those two words, I could probably ignite a heated debate between my school's metal club (which I never attend; I can't say that black and death metal strike me as it does with the majority of members).  In my eyes, or ears, folk metal is a tad more melodic than its counterparts, and those who do it best are not from this side of the world.  In fact, I might have to change my mind about the best music coming from Ireland.  Russia is moving up the ranks, especially with the wondrous collective that is Arkona.  Fronted by the amazing Masha Scream, we see that women in metal can put men in their place, growling in the process.

The first song of theirs I discovered was the epic "Goi, Rode, Goi!"  This is what Iron Maiden would sound like if you replaced Bruce with a woman, let her scream, and left the entire band with memories erased in the wide expanse that is Siberia.  Masha puts all throat vocalists to shame here, to powerful guitars riffs and what sounds like some sort of bagpipe-like instrument (you can hear it, I know you can! I doubt it's a bagpipe though).  Even when her voice is clean, it's just as atmospherically troubling as it is beautiful.  I think I have a new hero.  Since last night, I've been looking up songs by the band on Youtube and staring in awe and the power they wield.  This is the way metal should be done now.  Forget all of those other subgenres.  Folk is the way it will be done from now on.