Belle Histoire - Stay Awhile

Lovely indie, for a lovely, yet gloomy and overcast March day.  And perhaps it should be from a lovely indie band I recently discovered: Cincinnati's Bell Histoire.  They're the kind of band that you listen to and wonder, why aren't they known around the world yet?  I'm already looking forward to the day that Bell Histoire makes it big; they've got catchy-fun indie down pat and stand out in a sea of similarities.  What drew me in to such greatness?  "Stay Awhile."

Nice to meet you, I've waited for so long, to find someone I can count on 'til the end.

"Stay Awhile" is a love song, simply put, but doesn't pride itself on being one.  It's cool about it's subject matter, and lets the instrumental side of the track play a role as well.  Lead Jane Smith also has an impressive set of indie pipes.  She reminds me of Laura Stevenson, another indie darling, with just a hint of pop thrown in.  All of this makes "Stay Awhile" worth staying to listen to.  Don't worry, you'll love it as much as I do.

Terry Urban - Lucky Struggle

A few days ago I came across something great.  Really great.  We all remember way back in the day when Jay-Z and The Beatles were brought together in the remixed harmony of The Grey Album.  DJ Terry Urban does the same thing on the mixtape Born Ready To Die with Lana Del Rey and the Notorious B.I.G.  Now, this is golden.  This is what dreams are made of, Hillary Duff.  I've got a slew of favourites, such as "FTW", "Juicy Lolita" and "Notorious Origin," but I already have a special place in my heart and on my ipod for "Lucky Struggle."

"Lucky Struggle" is a cross between Biggie's "Everyday Struggle" on verse duty and Ms. Del Rey's "Lucky Ones" on the chorus and echoing in the background.  I'm drooling.  Biggie is the eternal greatest rapper of all time (the best music in the states comes out of New York, right?) on the track.  He will always be one of the best storytellers through rap, and is complimented by Lana's sped up and higher vocals.  The result is a danceable cross between two genres that Terry Urban should be commended for.  This is greatness in three and a half minutes.

System of a Down's Top 10

Top 10 Mondays are still around!  Oh yes.  This week's list of faves comes courtesy of my favourite Armenians (sorry, Kardashian sisters): System of a Down.  They're back together after a hiatus that was a little longer than I would have liked, and I have my fingers crossed that the announcement of a new album is around the corner.  I've always liked the quartet's style; unlike anything I've ever heard before.  And the politically-charged vocals.  I also used to have the biggest crush on Serj.  Whatever the future holds for SOAD, I'm content with their discography as of now.  There's no bad egg in there.  Everything is good, and narrowing this list down to ten song choices was a tough one.  But here they are:

Visions of Atlantis - Maria Magdalena

I realized recently that my love of metal has taken me in a direction that I never thought I'd take: the symphonic route.  Nightwish, obvs.  Then there's the rare goodies like Edenbridge, Katra, and today's featured group, Visions of Atlantis.  This collective is Austrian in origin and has gone through a large number of lineup changes over the years, but who cares about the drama behind the music?  We're here to skate to one song and one song only.  Couldn't resist that, I've been listening to a lot of Kanye again.  But today's song to skate to?  "Maria Magdalena."

Though Nicole Bogner may not be around anymore (rest in peace, girl), her powerhouse of a symphonic metal voice lives on in "Maria Magdalena."  This chorus.  Drooling.  Visions of Atlantis is a bit like Nightwish in the sense that they use complimenting male/female vocals, but it works for them, and they don't overuse it.  This song is all Nicole's.  I have to say the guitar work is just okay, but doesn't distract from the vocals.  "Maria Magdalena" is a little operatic, a little power metal, and really awesome.  'Nuff said.

Slipknot - Danger-Keep Away

Let's go back to the knot, shall we?  And how about we don't deviate from albums, and stay on the superb Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses?  And keep it slowed down and free of growling?  Yes, Slipknot was versatile in its heyday especially in the last two albums.  "Circle," as we all should know, was a brilliant acoustic number with an atmospheric, folky feel.  "Danger - Keep Away" is in the same fantastic vein, but more atmospheric than acoustic.  It's good.  Real good.  Now this is how you end an album.

This is another side of Corey Taylor's vocals.  It's impressive for an artist to be able to do two different things flawlessly.  Growling/screaming?  He's got that down.  Emotionally-charged clean vocals?  Just as good.  Now, with "Danger - Keep Away" we take out the guitar from "Circle" and throw in a delicate, haunting piano in which few notes are struck, but those few notes...  Drooling.  Now, I am a huge metal fan, but I like to sing along to the lyrics...and death growling makes it difficult.  This is exactly what I want.  And hopefully, it's exactly what you want as well.  And non-metal mongers, take a chance on this one.

I've been waiting for this to unfold
My pieces are only as good as the whole

Mr Fogg - Moving Parts

Mr Fogg is my kind of guy.  His moniker references a fictional character (from a book, even better) and he has this electro-indie thing down pat.  He's also British too!  I'm rather partial to a change from the usual (largely) American and (somewhat frequent) Canadian artists.  It's time to go elsewhere for my electro-indie!  And I found some good stuff.

"Moving Parts" is a delicate ditty with the chime of high notes and vocals filled with both sadness and hope.  It's a minimally electronic symphony here, and I am a big fan.  The chorus veins into a slightly more powerful while still morose: we seem to play small parts, but sometimes lines still cross, sometimes.  See what I mean?  Sad, but hopeful.  You get the idea that bad things have happened, but things can and will get better.  Huh.  It's profound, really.  Mr Fogg, you genius.  I also recommend the acoustic version of "Moving Parts" if you can find it; more of a lonely ditty without that electronic symphony feel, but it's what lead me to the original.

Skeletonwitch - Longing for Domination

Who knew good things could come out of Ohio?  I admit my sparse allegiance to the United States lies with the state of Michigan, but the Athens five-piece that is Skeletonwitch has me longing to visit the Buckeye state.  They did play in Kitchener sometime in late 2011...now I am regretful that I didn't go back to the metal club so I could see them.  Skeletonwitch is heavy metal, don't get me wrong, and doesn't fit into the core-prog-symphonic-folk bracket that I enjoy so much.  This is thrash...thrash that I like.  It can happen!

I got "Longing for Domination" from freegal, back when I still used the site to find new music (weren't those the days?).  It's a little less than three minutes of fine guitar work, growling vocals and a feel that isn't too black metal.  There is such a thing, believe me.  This song reminds me of the days when strictly-screaming was my kind of music and nothing else was.  Dear Skeletonwitch, come back to the KW area so I can see you in concert.  Sincerely, a new and devoted fan.