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Favourite Albums of 2017
This list is quite short, because I wanted to pare it down from my giant lists of the past (my favourite song playlist is 77 songs long!) but also because I couldn’t which I liked best. I loved each of these albums. Each has strengths and weaknesses, but I could put on any of these albums and go “Yep, that’s my favourite this year.”
Before I get into it, I want to acknowledge that there were other very worthy albums out there this year. It was a strong year for music. Sampha’s Process, Allison Crutchfield’s Tourist in this Town, Vince Staple’s Big Fish Theory, Los Campesinos’ Sick Scenes, B.A. Johnston’s Gremlins vol III, Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN., Arcade Fire’s Everything Now (which was flawed, but I still really loved), Sylvan Esso’s What Now, Flume’s Skin Companion EP II (only 4 songs long, all of them awesome) – err you get the idea. It was good.
Without further ado…
Gord Downie – Introduce Yerself
The third of three recent strong albums released just before the passing of its author (David Bowie and Leonard Cohen being the others), “Introduce Yerself” came as a surprise to me. I enjoyed the Tragically Hip in much the same way as most Canadians – they were radio rock. They surrounded us, ever present. That being said – I wouldn’t call myself a “fan”. I could tell you their hits, but I never had much interest in looking to their lesser known works.
When I hit “play” on this album, as one of the many new releases that Google Play was advertising, I didn’t really know what to expect. Produced by Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene fame, these songs weren’t like the Gord Downie I was used to. Stripped down, intimate, soft, funny, sometimes dark…I was used to the bombastic Tragically Hip. This was something else.
My first listen was almost impossible to split from his very recent death. The album’s title track is a gorgeous piano ballad about trying to learn someone else’s name by having another person introduce themselves. He’s an incredible storyteller. For example, on “Spoon” he sings about bringing his young child to see the band play, to stay up late, just so they could say that their first show together was the band Spoon. That one struck me pretty hard, and reminded me of seeing Julie Doiron with my wife on one of our first dates, a special musician, a special show – never wanting to forget that moment. I won’t lie, there were tears when I thought about the child Gord was singing about.
If you twist my arm, I’d say Wolf’s Home is the album highlight, but there are so many great songs : Bedtime, Coco Chanel No.5, A Natural, Spoon, Introduce Yerself, Faith Faith, You Me and the B’s,
Charlotte Gainsbourg – Rest
This one took me by surprise. I’ve enjoyed Gainsbourg’s music in the past, but never like this.
First off, most of it is in French. This is unusual for me. I’m franco-ontarian, but I rarely listen to or really appreciate “la musique française”. I think it has something to do with weird associations with the ultra corny French music of my upbringing. This broke through all of that…but I digress.
Almost every piece of music is produced by French DJ SebastiAn with lyrics and vocals by Charlotte. Written after the death of her half-sister and her father, I thought it would be a sad album, but it’s not just sad, it’s angry. It’s upbeat in musical tone, if not lyrically, yet sometimes morose. It’s hard to pin down, frankly. It’s fairly synth heavy, some funk, some disco-ish licks, but nothing seems out of place (and certainly not as jarring as the next album I’m going to talk about).
It takes a pretty talented couple of people to make a song like “Deadly Valentine” which is at the same time dark and foreboding, but hopeful and incredibly danceable. I have found myself repeatedly dancing around the house while listening to it, in fact (not to mention the amazing video).
On the sadder side is “Rest”, a softly performed ballad to someone she’s lost (I’m not sure if it’s her sister or her father), “Rest avec moi, s’il te plait, ne me laisse pas t’oublier”. It’s hauntingly beautiful. Which leads right into a fun pop tune, “Sylvia Says”, inspired by Sylvia Plath…of course? As I said, hard to pin down.
(Sandy) Alex G – Rocket
I’d never heard of (Sandy) Alex G. Which apparently is shocking because he’s INCREDIBLY prolific. He’s 24 and has something like 7 albums released (it’s hard to tell exactly between full albums and EPs, of which there are more). He’s also very talented and … can’t stick to a genre.
This album starts with a song that features a barking dog in the background of the recording of a lovely ballad that includes gorgeous orchestral work. It’s basically the whole album in a nutshell. It’s a kitchensink type of album, but it works. If you don’t know what genre to listen to, put on this album. You’ll find something.
Seriously. That first song (Poison Root) gives way to an alt-country jangler called “Proud”. Which is just as good in it’s own way. Later on there’s the bone shattering fuzz rock of “Brick”, oh and after that the soft synthy Frank Ocean-guesting “Sportstar”. It’s all good.
Although, to be honest, the folk pieces are the ones that keep me coming back. Two stand out in particular: “Bobby” and “Powerful Man”. The former is a song to a lover, laying out his foibles and promising to “Burn them for you/If you want me to”, while the later, may possibly be my favorite song this year. It’s just this simple folk song, a lovely melody with odd lyrics about a criminal brother and mother having trouble with her young child – but I love it. The tone just chills me out and makes me think of sitting on a log fence, looking out at a field of long grass as the sun is setting.
LCD Soundsystem – American Dream
I was sure I’d never hear another LCD Soundsystem album again. I went to the movies to see “Shut Up and Play the Hits” the Spike Jonze documentary about the end of the band. I had tears. It was sad. I fucking loved LCD Soundsystem.
And then apparently David Bowie told James Murphy to get back to making music. So he did, and I thank him for it.
American Dream hits all the right notes. Some tunes reflecting early EPs, others sounding like their hits, while still others showing a way forward that’s different and exciting.
“Oh Baby” slowly starts it up…it’s always that way with LCD Soundsystem isn’t it? A slow start that builds and builds and builds and explodes, in this case, it slowly builds into “Other Voices” a 7 minute disco-ish, funky-ish awesome dance tune. It keeps this up for…the rest of album. With James Murphy’s typical mix of fun yet cynical lyrics.
I mean, it slows down some with American Dream, the title track, but even that dreamy soundscape it keeps you in the moment. It makes me think of this summer, when I saw them live (which I never thought I would), and this father was there was with his young son, counting down to the climaxes during build ups, yet never being bored with the slower moments. God I love this band.
Vagabon – Infinite World
For the last of the five, I have another new artist – Vagabon. Fronted by Laetitia Tamko, a Cameroon born New Yorker, Vagabon’s Infinite Worlds is my favorite rock album in ages. Great crunchy guitars, amazing vocals, driving drums, catchy hooks – everything you want in a rock album.
The album grabs you immediately with stand out and opener, The Embers. Here she sings to a former lover, “Run and tell everybody/Run and tell everybody/Laetitia is a small fish/you’re a shark that hates everything/you’re a shark that eats every fish”. It’s fantastic and one of my favorite songs of the year.
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Christmas Vacation 2017-2018, part 5
Rome day 9!
Boxing Day! … or St. Stephen’s Day! (which means everything is closed!)
Sylvain and I decided to take an easy day. Sahra and her parents went to the Vatican, I’d seen enough of it, and so we ventured around the neighbourhood. We came upon an amazing little café called “Café Gourmet”. They served us a cheese plate with some sort of dark brown honey, and what I can only describe as the best lasagna I’ve ever had in my life. It had zucchini in it and I didn’t even care.
We then jumped on the metro to go into town where we walked around the gardens of the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica. Quite a lovely place. My highlight was being able to pet a friendly stray. Made me miss my kitties quite a bit.
We then grabbed the metro back and just happened to get on the same metro as Jess and Peter, before going back to the apartment for beer, wine and dinner. Hung out with Sylvain a bit before saying good-bye. It was nice to see him.
Rome/Tuscany – Day 10
This was a day of highs and lows.
We packed up our bags and took a taxi to the rental car dealership. Our plan was to drive to Greve in Chianti, for a four day stay.
High/Low #1 – They only had a Nissan Juke (totally fine) and what I can only describe as a black bus. A seven person van. Need I remind you that we were in Italy – land of crazy drivers and narrow roads. The bus (as it shall forever be known) was covered in dents. Shocking.
We left Rome (which was horrifying…never drive in Rome, one-way streets are merely a suggestion) and hit the highway to Greve – although not before an impromptu stop at a natural hot springs.
High/Low #2 – The hot springs were gorgeous. Milky blue water that was warm as a bath. Although we had not planned the stop at the hot springs, so we had no towels and we had not chanced. And it was pouring rain. And everything smelled of sulfur. Oh well. It was so warm… Sahra and I went up one of the rapids into a calm pool to wait for the others who had to changed…well I thought was a calm pool. Sahra got swept away into the next pool and “rescued” by an English woman and her Italian boyfriend. We chatted with them a bit – she was a yoga healer, she said. And then she stood up, and we learned she was very naked, and so was her boyfriend. They said they weren’t nudists but invited us to also get naked, you know, for the freedom of it. I personally appreciated the layer of material between my personal areas and the rock. She decided she was cold and they left as the others joined us. After what seemed like a very long soak, we ran back to the cars, drenched and stinky (ugh, sulfur…rotten eggs). We tried to get changed as best as we could and hit the road.
High/Low #3 – driving in Tuscany is all narrow, winding roads full of hairpin turns and switchbacks, up hills and down again. The “high” was the fun company that Sahra and Peter were…the low was everything else. It was dark. It was pouring rain. The roads were bumpy. It was terrifying.
We made it. Grève in Chianti.
Then we went for dinner. For Sahra and I, it was the first real food we had seen. I had had a “vegetarian” sandwich at a gas station (two pieces of white bread, no crust, with a thin layer of salsa), and Sahra had had chips. We were famished. Luckily, La Cantina, the place we went for diner, was fantastic. Great pizza, great pasta, and hilarious server (“Which wine would you recommend?” “The one with my face on it.”)
We walked back to the hotel and after a shower (ewww..sulfur smell still!) we fell asleep.
Greve Day 11
My back was killing me. Sahra was feeling ill. We tapped out and did nothing all day.
The biggest two excursions were to the Co-Op for pasta to cook for dinner, and for a late walk after dinner. It’s a cute town.
I’m going back to bed now.
Grève - Day 12
Intense back pain again. I argued with a laundry machine then hung dry the things that had been in the “dryer”.
Took pain meds and slept. Woke up for a few hours and played Stardew Valley (a farming simulator). Felt peckish and as the others were having a chicken dinner and Sahra wasn’t hungry, I decided to go for a walk.
Feeling uncreative, I went to the restaurant where I had been the night before : La Cantina.
I told the waiter, who spoke english, “No wine for me, I’m going to take pain meds.” So he brought me Proseco. I ordered a Robillita Tuscan soup with some bread and a light salad. It was exactly what I needed. Just hearty, healthy soup. Yum. Then I ordered an espresso - so he brought me San Vinto (desert wine) and a brownie and a small slice of pie...then the coffee. Italians, man.
I went back to the house and crashed. My back was NOT happy.
Grève/Chiocchio/Prato - Day 13
My back started feeling a bit better, so I joined Sahra and her mom on an excursion to the local market. The square had been transformed into a mix of flea market and farmer’s market. Clothes, food and tourist junk everywhere. Then came a text from Sahra’s father : we had to get back to the house immediately, we were being kicked out because of a screw up with the booking.
We rushed up and quickly packed, searched for a hotel that was available and headed out of town. We decided to stop in Chiocchio, a small town where Sahra and her family had previously been. They were welcomed with open arms, hugs all around for the family from the Italian man at Locanda Il Gallo, a lovely restaurant. What was going to be coffee turned into one of the best meals of my life : toast with roast artichoke, other toast with cheese and sundried tomato, followed by truffle topped fresh gnocchi (light as air) in a cream sauce, then crème caramel and macchiato. I was so stuffed I didn’t eat until the next morning.
We waved goodbye and went off to Florence – well Prato, the suburbs where we had booked our hotel. It was next to a mall, so we decided to go see what a mall in Florence is like. Turns out, pretty much like one in North America, except you can have beer and walk your dogs inside (so many dogs). I didn’t recognize most of the stores (except Wind mobile…so weird), and H&M which is where I lost Sahra and her sister for awhile. They booked an appointment to do their nails, so I called it an early night and headed back to the hotel to read a book and get some rest.
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Christmas Trip 2017-2018 part 4
I think this is part 4 anyway...
Rome 6
Woke up to a hot coffee and Italian cookies before taking a walk to the Vatican Museum with Sahra’s parents. We then picked up some vegan food from the vegan grocery store around the block (not even kidding, I think Sahra had a word to say in which place we rented). Then, the Vatican Museum.
It was intensely busy. Absolutely crackingly full. That being said – it was amazing. It was all elbows and priceless artifacts. Those Christians were really good at ransacking places and taking their shit. For instance, the first thing I saw was a mummy, because there’s a huge Egyptian wing. Sigh.
Oh and the Sistine Chapel. I don’t know what to say. It’s the SISTINE CHAPEL.
At any rate – have some photos of the place.
We then had some lovely pizza lunch – and back to the Vatican! Sylvain and I walked around the grounds, said “fuck that” to the giant line to get in, and then walked around the country. I mean we literally walked around the city – we lapped it. That feels weird.
Then back to the apartment for fantastic food prepared by my sister-in-law’s husband Peter. He made vegetarian risotto (well, and other things, prawns or something…meat). I’ll be honest, I may be a bit drunk right now.
Oh so much beer and wine. Italy. Yes.
…
…
I’m going to stop writing.
Rome – Day 7
A short train ride brought us to the Colosseum. Quite impressive – even with frat bros screaming “Are you not amused?” You’ve probably seen the Colosseum around, gladiators and such. There was an elevator – amazing those ancient romans.
Stomachs growling, Sylvain, Sahra and I headed up the street for lunch. Our first stop had red flags a plenty (expensive, way too big a menu—which included hot dogs), so we went further up and found a lovely place that served reasonably priced homemade pasta. I had excellent fettuccine and tomato sauce. Yum.
We then had the roughest bus ride I’ve ever had the displeasure to sit on. The bus was shaking so hard I was convinced it was going to fall apart. Italian roads are so bad they made me miss the ones in Sudbury. Happily, it brought us by the Italian Parliament and then near our next stop: The Pantheon. Well, near the Pantheon. I had to ask a woman for directions. I said “English? French? Spanish?” She said “Eh, Whatever.” Because she apparently spoke all of them…
At any rate, the Pantheon is mind boggling – 2000 years old, and looks 1500 years younger than that. Its condition is pristine compared to just about everything else in Rome from that era. And there’s a dead ninja turtle buried there! (Rafael).
Exhausted from our journey, we decided to cab back. We searched for a taxi – and we found the best one in the city. This lovely man had his family in the back, a woman and her two children. She spoke French to me, a bit of English to Sahra, the kids tried to take part. We wished each other Merry Christmas and he came out and shook our hands when we left. It was adorable, and a lovely Christmas Eve memory.
Rome day 8 (I think I screwed up the days at some point…oh well, let’s go with this)
Christmas!
We exchanged small gifts (I got a lovely scarf) and some hugs over French toast, before rushing down to the Pope’s Christmas message. St-Peter’s Square was bursting at the seams. Thousands of people lined up and then standing to hear a message most of them wouldn’t understand (latin & Italian!) After about an hour of waiting around and then listening to Pope Francis, we decided lunch was at hand.
Afterwards, Sylvain and I split off from the rest of the group and jumped on some oBikes (community bicycles) to head to Trevi fountain. That was…interesting. The bikes have one gear – Italian roads, as I’ve explained, are absolutely dreadful – so what was happening to the bus yesterday, was happening to my spine today. I took a few photos of the Trevi Fountain (much bigger than I thought…though no wooden robots named Animatronio were to be found.)
Then…back to the bikes and the horrific pain. We picked up some wine at one of the few shops that were open, and I collapsed until dinner, and then collapsed again.
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Christmas Holiday Trip 2017-18 Part 3
Barcelona - Day 3
I accidentally slept in until 11 am (hello vacation!), which Sahra didn’t seem to mind. We had a quick breakfast and sauntered down to the metro. Today our plan was to hit up La Rambla, La Pedreda, The Gothic Cathedral and the Christmas Market near the Cathedral.
We got off the Metro and walked over to La Rambla, things seemed to be getting started, and those who had already set up shop were just tourist traps (caricatures, touristic trinkets, etc.) so we decided to go for brunch instead. We had a lovely vegetarian meal at a place called Vegetalia deep in one of the old gothic Barcelona neighbourhoods.
Old Barcelona is fascinating. It’s this strange architectural mixture of quite old gothic (going back to Roman!) mixed with shiny new buildings that seem to be inspired by Gaudi (the Museum of Barcelona History for example). You walk down these incredibly narrow streets, even too narrow for a single vehicle, and find all sorts of shops and restaurants. Suddenly, you’ll find yourself in a courtyard—and then back into small side streets. So small that you don’t notice when you’re suddenly upon another giant cathedral.
This one was sort of underwhelming after spending time at Sagrada Familia, but it’s still beautiful. The market was set up just outside down a wide courtyard – maybe 70-80 stalls. It wasn’t quite what I expected, no food was served – just hand made crafts and Christmas decorations including quite a few Caganers.
Caganers are…pooping little boys. Apparently, a Catalan tradition, a little boy named “The Caganer” (the shitter) would be squatting in a corner of the manger, relieving himself. This is apparently to symbolize fertility. Sure it is Catalans, sure it is. At any rate, you can buy a large variety of famous people (including Justin Trudeau) pooping. There are even C-3POs which apparently poop gold.
Barcelona - Day 4
Oh dear, I forgot to write today. I believe we woke and headed over to the Palau Nacional / the Art Museum of Barcelona. I went to the roof - I impressed myself.
Barcelona/Rome – Day 5
We travelled. A Spanish jerk taxi driver brought us to the airport in the A.M.
We jumped on our flight (RyanAir again). No chairs…again. Europe, you have to get on this. It’s very difficult on the hips/legs of people with nerve damage like me (and I assume most other folks with disabilities).
We got to Rome and met my best friend from childhood, Sylvain, who would be spending Christmas with us. We took the train to our new Italian home (a 3-bedroom apartment with Sahra’s family). Had some wine, some beer, and some sleep. It was a quiet day.
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Christmas Holiday Trip 2017–18 Part 2
We woke up at the crack of dawn (it’s winter, dawn is like 8am) and rushed out the door to get to the Underground and over to Stanstead Airport.
An hour and a half later we were at the airport waiting on a delayed flight in what I have decided is the worst airport I’ve ever been to (that includes you, Sudbury Airport). It’s designed like a Shopper’s Drugmart, where you have to walk through a giant perfume section to get to what you really want (your gate). There aren’t even any gates for the first 10 minutes of your walk. Blech.
Once we finally got to the gate we were greeted with a long line and no seating. Awesome. The nerve-damage in my hip really likes it when I stand in one spot on cement for hours on end. We were then moved to a chilly metal hallway…to wait another half hour.
Eventually, we got on our Ryanair flight and got the hell out of Stanstead.
Barcelona
We arrived with the airport bathed in the glow of a warm setting sun. I had forgotten to put my coat back on in the plane – but it was a gorgeous 16 degrees, so I was fine and happy.
A quick taxi ride into town and we found our apartment aptly called “Feel At Home Apartments”. It’s quite pretty, located a 15 min walk from the Sagara familia.
We went out for a quick walk around the corner to a restaurant called “Gut” and I had the best tortellini I have ever had in my life. Cheese stuffed, perfectly cooked, lovely cream sauce, covered in parmesan with a slight truffly taste to it. Just so damn good. Sahra had something too. BUT THE TORTELINI MMMM…
At any rate, we came back and had an early night (well Sahra did… I argued for a better phone plan with Bell, which I finally got this morning – 60$/m for 10gigs +unlimited everything, what what?).
Woke up to the sound of bells at 10am, I made some eggs that we had picked up at the shop the night before and we sipped coffee while planning our day. The coffee was terrible and clearly had been sitting in the apartment awhile... tomorrow we will drink tea we bought.
We strolled down the dozen blocks or so to the Sagrada Familia. This absolutely stunning cathedral has been in constant construction for nearly 150 years – designed by famed Catalan architect Gaudi. It’s the largest unfinished cathedral in the world. There’s a cool documentary about it on Netflix. Walking inside is just stunning. The incredible detail over every inch. The tons and tons of gorgeous stained windows. It’s overwhelming.
We had a quick lunch (my first paella of the trip) and took a taxi home to ease our aching bones. Sahra decided to stay in for the night and rest, so I went out to explore our neighbourhood. It’s a bunch of buildings very close to each other with very indiscriminate entrances (you don’t see the door until you’re on it), very little signage, clearly quite old.
I had a poor interaction with a waitress at a bakery and ended up with a café con leche instead of the baguette I ordered (I swear I said “baguette” – it’s a French word…), then I went to a small Japanese sushi place and got cold soft tofu instead of the inari sushi I ordered (inari-zuchi is a Japanese word, what am I doing wrong here?). I gave up, went to a grocery store, got baguette, cheese and jam and called it a day.
Tomorrow : more Barcelona!
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Christmas Trip 2017-2018 Edition : Day 1 - London
Sahra and I departed Ottawa yesterday (I think it was yesterday...I’m so jetlagged) for our Christmas Holiday trip. This one is a bit special as last year Sahra had surgery over Christmas, so we were stuck in Ottawa, celebrating alone in our living room. It was nice, but this year may be a tad more exciting.
First stop : London.
We got cheap flights into Europe through London (which is still part of Europe...for now). Our initial plan was to simply use London as a quick hop before going on to our other destinations, then I searched what was going on the night we got here - Jimmy Carr, one of our favourite comedians, live on stage. Tickets bought, hotel booked.
We arrived at London Gatwick airport in a dazed state, having taken the red eye the night before. A quick (...hour long) train trip later we were in Brixton (the home of David Bowie, so says every tourist trap store), our home for the evening. A cheap “Premier Inn” hotel room, an even cheaper diner breakfast (eggs, beans and chips), a lucky score of vegan cupcakes and we crashed for an afternoon (???) nap.
We woke up blurry eyed, but ready for the show. Grabbed a bite at a Caribbean restaurant (mmm...home made roti) and walked over to the O2 Academy Brixton. We then laughed for two hours, walked home, and are now about to promptly fall asleep.
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Electronic Summer Fun
I’ve noticed a trend with the music I’ve enjoyed this summer : lots of electronic noises. Whether it’s synths, digital vocal manipulation or really any variety of electronica, it’s been a strong summer for tech-heavy music. Here’s a couple of my favorites.
Joywave - Content
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“Content” is the opening single and title to Joywave’s new album. Oh Content. It feels like the beginning of the wrong album. In my mind, the rest of the album plays out like this - it’s dark, gritty, crunchy electronics and cymbals. But instead we get M83 style pop which is...okay? It’s just not as good as this single.
Hundred Waters - Blanket Me
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Arguably more voice and piano driven than really electronic, Hundred Waters’ Blanket Me still has effective use of a manipulated voice sample (at least that’s what I think it is) - what sounds like a creepy almost-chorus. It’s the backdrop to a gorgeously sung repetitive lyric, “Blanket Me, Blanket Me, Blanket Me” , which yes, does in fact blanket you in a wave of sound.
Arcade Fire - Electric Blue
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If you know my musical tastes, you won’t be surprised to see this here. From the somewhat mixed-reviewed “Everything Now”, I honestly think this is a triumph. Régine always seems to have a cracker of a song on each album - this is synth heavy number is closest to “Sprawl II” where she took on the role of a franco-Debbie Harry. I can’t quite my finger on what her high pitched voice sounds like here, but I love it.
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A few more of 2017′s best so far
2017 has been a stellar year for new releases - Arcade Fire’s Everything Now makes me really excited for their upcoming album, same goes for LCD Soundsystem’s Call the Police. !!! (chk chk chk) has new music, Mountain Goats, Flume, Grizzly Bear, Gorilla - all really good.
Here are a couple that you may not have heard :
Sylvan Esso - Die Young
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“I had it all planned out before you met me
Was gonna leave early and so swiftly
Maybe in a fire or crash off a ravine
People would weep, "How tragic, so early"I was gonna die young
Now I gotta wait for you, honey.”
Sylvan Esso’s second full length album is fantastic, though this song in particular hits close to home. My wife and I both agree that this song probably has the closest lyrics that matches our relationship. We’re both fairly cynical, and fairly sure we’d go out in a blaze of glory (probably fighting for what we believed in, damn the consequences, Sahra moreso than I...) - but here we are, waiting for each other, not planning on dying anytime soon.
(Sandy) Alex G - Powerful Man
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This guy makes me feel incredibly unaccomplished - he’s 24 and has 7, yes SEVEN, albums released. His latest, Rocket, is a kaleidoscope of music, everything from gorgeous alt-folk (”Powerful Man”, “Bobby”), to noise (”Brick”), to auto-tuned piano Frank Ocean-ish music (”Sportstar”) All of it is fascinating at the least.
Perfume Genius - Slip Away
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Perfume Genius’ single “Queen” has been a constant on most of my playlists since its release in 2014. I’d write at length about this album but Owen Pallett (of Final Fantasy/Arcade Fire fame) already did here : “ When the first single “Slip Away” debuted, by my internal critical response was simple: All the right decisions are being made. This sentiment persists upon hearing the album as a whole. Every instrument is recorded interestingly; the short length of these songs suggest control and economy; drums and strings are arranged pleasingly in a way that makes me say, This is exactly how this album should’ve been made. The strings, in particular, are extremely well-arranged, performed, and recorded, the highlight of which arrives in an intense arpeggiated viola on the song “Choir,” which sounds like John Cale having extremely satisfying sex with somebody after an extremely satisfying day at the studio. “
Whitehorse - Nighthawks
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For some Can-Con - Whitehorse is the husband and wife duo of Luke Doucet and Melissa McCelland. Their second album, one of my favorites of all time, The Fate of the World Depends on This Kiss - was an alt-country, blues-rocky triumph. It was nominated for a Polaris in 2013! A few albums later finds the couple releasing Panther in the Dollhouse, with a singles that reflect a variety of styles. I like this one, “Nighthawks”, in particular for its guitar licks, menacing atmosphere, and catchy chorus.
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Wolf Parade’s Apologies to the Queen Mary
I decided to throw on a random album on my mobile Google Play today and I landed on Wolf Parade’s majestic 2005 full length record “Apologies to the Queen Mary”. 12 years on and it remains one of my favorite sounds to grace my ears. On my top 10 list of albums - every song hits the right spot.
I keep wanting to unplug my headphones from my phone, since I’m sitting at my desk now. I don’t want to turn of the damn record for a single second. Don’t mind me as I wander the halls of work with headphones on.
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Mount Eerie - Real Death
Ooof... I was going to share a story, but I think the lyrics speak for themselves. Didn’t think anything would rival Nick Cave’s “I need you” for “most beautiful, yet soul crushingly sad song” but this certainly qualifies...
[Verse 2]
Crusted with tears, catatonic and raw
I go downstairs and outside and you still get mail
A week after you died a package with your name on it came
And inside was a gift for our daughter you had ordered in secret
And collapsed there on the front steps I wailed
A backpack for when she goes to school a couple years from now
You were thinking ahead to a future you must have known deep down would not include you
Though you clawed at the cliff you were sliding down
Being swallowed into a silence that is bottomless and real
[Outro]
It's dumb
And I don't want to learn anything from this
I love you
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Valerie June - If And
I adore Valerie June’s 2013 record, Pushing Against A Stone. It’s a mix of blues, folk and rock that hits me right in the perfect combination spot. Her new album, The Order of Time, has just been released and it is phenomenal. Following that same model, but making it a bit more accessible, it’s getting rave reviews, and with good reason.
My favorite song on the album so far is “If And” which doesn’t have a video yet, but I did find it in a shareable format over here : http://destroyerstv.com/valerie-june-if-and/
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Vagabon - Infinite Worlds
Well this was a welcome surprise! Stumbled across this while looking through new releases. Didn’t know the band at all, and after listening to the beginning of “Fear & Force” I thought they were just a sweet little indie band - and then the guitars started to crunch. So damn good. Reminds me of the things I like the most about Julie Doiron. Fantastic album beginning to end.
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Bon Iver - Flume (Concert à Emporter)
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I was looking for a video of artist Flume performing live, then I came across this. I forgot Bon Iver had worked with the Concert à Emporter guys. Oof... I’ll get back to looking for that Flume video later.
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Favourite Songs (for now...) Top 10 - Part deux
5. Jens Lekman - A Postcard to Nina
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Definitely the most light-hearted of the songs on my list, this is simply an adorable story about a man pretending to be his friend’s boyfriend, because her family won’t understand that she’s a lesbian. He goes to family dinner, where he’s grilled by the family, though he does slip up, to his friend’s chagrin... “Hey, you, stop kicking my legs, I’m doing my best, can you pass the figs?” It makes me laugh, but it’s also just a beautiful song. Very sweetly composed, little bells chiming, a horn section punctuating the nervousness. It’s masterful storytelling.
4. Rural Alberta Advantage - The Dethbridge in Lethbridge
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Beyond the amazing rhyming name (tee-hee dethbridge), this song is just a quick, perfect example of the hard rocking folk I love. The driving beat is provided by Paul Banwatt, one of my favorite drummers, who is also in the band Woodhands. The tittle, from what I can tell, is about a tall bridge in Lethbridge where people are known to jump off, which seems to fit the lyrics about a dead-end town in which the singer seems to have left his lover. “ I left your cold heart in this town, With family headstones all around.” Creepy.
3. Weezer - Say it ain’t so
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I’m surprised this is the oldest, and only, song from this period that made it to my top 10. The Blue Album, I think, may be the first record that I owned, that I can still admit to truly loving. So much of what I listened to at this age, I now find incredibly cheesy. It was something like the fourth cd I owned (Aerosmith’s Big Ones, Madonna’s La Isla Bonita, and Bon Jovi’s Crossroads) being the others. It was given to me as a gift by mistake, and out of pity. My brother has cerebral palsy, and every year there would be this christmas event where this group (I forget who) would give presents to children like my brother, and I happened to be there. All the other children were receiving presents, and I didn’t. So one of the women there walked up to me and gave me a red Power Ranger wallet. I thought it was pretty cool. My brother, a 7 year old, had received this CD and seemed unimpressed. The woman looked at him and looked at me, with my terrible 11 year old facial hair starting to come in, then said : “Oops, looks like we switched those.” Then she handed me an album that I would listen to incessantly, know all the lyrics to, would be one of the first to transfer over to my MiniDisc player in shitty MP3 files (that had a skip in them...I still think there should be a skip mid-way through My Name is Jonas, to this day). Anyway, this song was my favorite on the album (though for a long time it was The World Has Turned and Left Me Here), I think mostly because I had a rocky relationship with my father in my teen years, and I liked when Rivers gave the father character shit.
2. Japandroids - Young Hearts Spark Fire
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The first year of my PhD was the shittiest year of my life. I was having an existential crisis. I was doing well (straight As...) but hated every moment of it. I hated the classes, my classmates didn’t really understand me for the most part (the only franco-ontarian, deeply steeped in pop culture, in a class of Quebecers and international students), I wasn’t eating (lost 50 pounds, and not in a good way), I was sure my PhD was going to be worthless as I was looking around and seeing zero job prospects. And then, to top it all off, I started dealing with generalized anxiety disorder. I started worrying heavily about dying. About my heart exploding... and then I remember hearing this song. Sitting on my front porch and screaming “I don’t wanna worry about dying! I just wanna worry about sunshine girls! I don’t wanna worry about dying! No I just wanna worry about the sunshine girls!” It was a perfect song for that time in my life. As a sidenote, I was supposed to see these guys at the Townhouse in Sudbury for $5 on a Monday night...one of the band members needed emergency surgery, so they cancelled. The next day Japandroids got an 8.0 on Pitchfork and classified as “best new music” - I never got to see them again. Missed my shot. Dammit.
1. Eels - I’m Going to Stop Pretending That I Didn’t Break Your Heart
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Mark Oliver Everett is the king of sad song writing. If you’ve read his autobiography, or heard anything at all about the loss this man has gone through, you’d get it. I wouldn’t write many happy songs either. Whether it’s “Elizabeth On the Bathroom Floor” or “It’s a Motherfucker”, the man knows how to saturate songs with sadness until they begin to drip tears. Eels is the reason I put in the “one per band” rule on this list, because it could have been half filled with songs of his. So why this one in particular?
First, it’s a perspective we rarely hear in song writing - not the jilted lover, but rather, from the perspective of the person who was doing the jilting. Someone begging for forgiveness, admitting to themselves that yes, they had been an asshole, and they need to own up to it. While it’s not something I’ve felt in a relationship before, it’s definitely something I’ve felt on numerous occasions where I ran my mouth off, where my rage got the better of me, where I lost friendships, and I wish I had the guts to apologize.
Secondly, it’s just gorgeous. The laboured tempo, slowly adding layer upon layer of sounds that I can’t begin to identify (is that a musical saw at one point?). Mark’s grizzled Tom Wait-like voice. Everything works to create that empathy, that sadness....I’m going to stop writing and just go listen to it again.
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Top 10 Favourite Songs (for now...) - part 1
My friend Dan talked me into putting together a list of my favourite songs - and it is bloody impossible. My year end lists are always 50-60 songs long, I’m into almost every genre, and what I like changes year-to-year, and mood-to-mood. Had I done this 15 years ago, it would have been mostly Metallica, Live and Green Day. 10 years ago, it would probably have been exclusively Canadian indie music (that I was listening to, live at the Townehouse).
So, for now, here are my favorite songs. A few rules : one per artist and exclusively from after I was born/conscious enough to make my own musical decisions (things from before 1980 are way too tinted by my parents’ musical tastes and nostalgia).
10. Iron & Wine - Naked As We Came
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When I first listened to Iron & Wine, I didn’t get it. I thought it was slow, quiet, and sort of boring. I’ve never been one to pay too much attention to lyrics, and most of what makes me appreciate this song is the lyrics. Upon repeated listens, mostly while hanging out with Luke Norton, I fell in love with Sam Beam’s music. This song in particular makes me feel incredibly sad, but hopeful? Thinking of the passing of time, the inevitability of death, but the love that we have along the way.
9. M83 - Midnight City
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I have no idea what makes me adore this song. I really don’t. Is it the fabulous synths? Maybe. Is it the non-sense lyrics about sitting in a car watching the street lights go by, nostalgically reminding me of late night car rides with friends? Is it the creepy ass video with the Children of the Corn? No... no I know what it is - it’s that fucking amazing, cheezy as shit, but pitch perfect sax solo. I play this song over and over and over and over and never get tired of it. Sometimes there are no explanations.
My favorite version of this song is actually the live version from Carson Daly - the sax solo is KILLER. You can hear it here : https://soundcloud.com/mihai-poro-nicu/m83
8. Run the Jewels - Crown (feat. Diane Coffee)
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This is the newest song on the top 10, but it deserves its place. It was my favorite song the year in 2014, and it continues to have a steady place in my most played list (with the rest of RTJ2, frankly). It’s everything I like in hip hop in one place - great catchy beat, affecting lyrics and awesome flow/delivery. The sample is gloomy, reflecting lyrics that essentially tell two stories about guilt : the first about a woman that forgives Killer Mike for having sold her coke while she was pregnant (apparently a true story), the second a more general take on a soldier being indoctrinated into the cult-like military. As Killer Mike said in an interview with Rolling Stone : “Working with [El-P] makes it safe for me to get out some of the darkest, most tumultuous, guilt-ridden thoughts I have..I sold cocaine, and there’s days where that shit fucks with me, because I knew, even at that age, how wrong I was. But everybody sold cocaine! Everybody sold and did cocaine! That verse just poured out of me—I didn’t give a fuck if it made the album. I gave a fuck that it was finally out of me.”
7. Los Campesinos - The Sea is A Good Place to Think of the Future
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A song about a self-harming girl. My favorite music is apparently a barrel full of laughs.
Los Campesinos! has been one of my favorite bands since the mid 2000s. They are a welsh band that hit the music scene with sweet, if dark, dance-y pop rock songs like “You! Me! Dancing!” and “We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives”. Eventually their albums became a bit more overtly dark, often introspective, but never really losing that sweet side. Even in this song, which I think is one of their darkest, they manage to fill the song with funny lines, clever twists of phrase, gorgeous instrumentation...
“ On every video games machine they call her triple-A “ - the depth of this lyric is unreal. It places you in late 80s/early 90s arcades. It gives you the image of a young girl playing the games, being good enough to leave her name in the top scores, but not giving a shit enough to actually put her letters in, just leaving the default “AAA”. A nostalgic lyric that drips with her apathy. God I love this song.
6. Broken Social Scene - Anthems for a 17 Year Old Girl
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Ah, singing about nostalgia. Starting to see another theme.
Here, Emily Haines (of Metric and once trying to claw my wife’s eyes out fame...true story), longs for her former self, her “rotten” self that she loved, that she wishes would come back. All to wistful guitars, a calm but driving drum beat that picks up steam, and a horn section that compliments the vocals - they don’t overpower (as they often do). It climaxes into this wall of sound that hits me hard. The original recording has heavy voice effects which are fine, but I think I prefer this live rendition where you can more clearly hear Emily’s voice.
The Top Five, coming soon...
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Bon Iver - Skinny Love (live)
Speaking of live performances, I just came across this one. Skinny Love has always been one of my favorite songs, and this performance is stunning. The pain just drips off that guitar.
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TV on the the Radio - Staring at the Sun, on Late Night in 2003
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Still one of the best live performances of any song, ever. I adore the album version, but the intensity and flat out passion of their live rendition overshadows what came before it.
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