The best of the messed.

Dig this#2



It's that time of year. Blogs, magazines, websites and your idiot friends are all making their lists and checking it twice, making sure they didn't miss anything.

It's the best of 2008, according to some of us, here at I wanna listen to this.

Enjoy.

Shannon Webb-Campbell makes some of us envious by constantly getting published and interviewing cool people.


1. FLEET FOXES Fleet Foxes

2. RAE SPOON Superioryouareinferior

3. TANYA DAVIS Gorgeous Morning

4. HEY ROSETTA! Into Your Lungs

5. SARAH SLEAN The Baroness

6. JILL BARBER Chances

7. HAYDEN In Field and Town

8. STOLEN MINKS High Kicks

9. BRIAN BORCHERDT Coyotes

10. STEREOLAB Chemical Chords





Loukas Crowther is a musician, dj and design fiend. He also has a tendency of getting hit on by gay men.


Top 30 singles (I normally just do 25, but it was a special year) solely in alphabetical order.

1. Black Kids - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You
2. CSS - Rat Is Dead (Rage)
3. Cut Copy - Hearts on Fire
4. Dave Gahan - Deeper and Deeper
5. Does It Offend You You, Yeah - Day of the Dead
6. Duchess Says - In Serial
7. Eric Prydz - Pjanoo (Mansion Edit)
8. Estelle - American Boy (Tenzin Remix)
9. God Is An Astronaut - Post Morem
10. Greenskeepers - Vagabond
11. Kanye West - Love Lockdown
12. Ladyhawke - Paris Is Burning (Peaches Remix)
13. Ladytron - Versus
14. Late of the Pier - Space and the Woods
15. Little Boots - Stuck on Repeat (Fake Blood Remix)
16. M83 - Couleurs
17. Oasis - The Turning
18. The Presets - Yippyo-Ay
19. The Rapture - No Sex for Ben
20. Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes
21. Sebastian Grainger & The Mountains - I Hate My Friends
22. Sons & Daughters - This Gift
23. The Tings Tings - Great DJ (Calvin Harris Remix)
24. Treasure Fingers - Cross the Dancefloor (Lifelike Remix)
25. Trevor Andrew - Bang Bang
26. The Whip - Sister Siam
27. Woodhands - Dancer
28. Woolfy - Oh Missy
29. Yelle - Je Veux te Voir
30. Young Widows - Took A Turn

Ok ok, some of those were technically singles released in 2008 when the albums were in 2007, forgive me; I cheated.

Top 5 albums.......

The Presets - Apocalypso
Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Sons & Daughters - This Gift
Young Widows - Old Wounds
Late of the Pier - Fantasy Black Channel



Simon Thibault spent the entire summer digging through record bins and old dusty antique stores for disco records. In the meantime, he tries to find time to write and cook, all the while a steady 4/4 beat plays in the background.


Some of my fave songs of the year, in no order.


1.) Happy House, Juan MacLean
At the beginning of the year, through some strange circumstance, I found Juan MacLean on facebook. I sent him an email telling him how much I loved Give me every little thing". He actually wrote me back and told me to keep my eyes and ears peeled for a new release and that it would blow my mind. I didn't keep them peeled as well as I should have, because I only discovered this gem at the end of the year, when in fact, it had been released in March. Day-um. You mean I could've been rocking to this all summer long?
12 unadulterated minutues of disco glory.

2.)Hold on, Holy Ghost
Discovered through a remix done by Mock & Toof, this is just another example of how DFA records had an amazing year this year (see: Juan Maclean, Hercules & Love affair)

3.)Just like heaven, The Watson Twins
I love cover tunes. Who knew that a country-tinged Cure song could do me in?

4.) She & him, “You really got a hold on me”
Who knew that Zooey Deschanel could do me in?

5.) Portishead, "Machine Gun”
Why not announce your arrival through a torrent of harsh and syncopated bullet beats.

6.)Antibodies, Poni Hoax
Budapest may have heralded their arrival, but this songs annouces that they are staying.

7.)MSTRKRFT feat. N.O.R.E., “Bounce”
All I do is party.

8.)Gnarls Barkley, "Who’s gonna save my soul"
Besides being a stunning track, the video is not only carries the song into the stratosphere, but into the realm of our dreams...

9.) Chad Van Gaalen, Willow Tree
I had kinda given up on Chad Van Gaalen. There was no hook for me. Then I heard this song and everything else fell into place.


10.)Adem, "Boy/Girl Song/How To Cure A Weakling Child".
It would of course, take someone else to point out to us that Aphex Twin can be delicate.

and last but not least:

11.)Hercules & Love Affair, "Blind".
If I had to choose one song that made it for me this year, it would be this. Released well in advance of the album, this track, featuring the haunting vocals of Antony Hegarty (of whom one would never think "disco diva") this track by Andy Butler, the mind behind Hercules & Love Affair stood out for so many reasons, not only for it's sheer wonder and scope, but for introducing countless listeners to the wonders of disco once again. No, he didn't do this alone, but he DID (arguably) forge the world of disco forward, not only for the elitists and cognoscenti, but for the masses as well.



Fave Remixes of the year, in no order

1.) "Paper Planes (DFA Remix)", M.I.A.
Yes, the album came out in 2007, but the single came into its own in 2008, thanks to a movie about two stoners. Huh.
But the track shines, IMO, under the helm of James Murphy, remixed with a sweet bassline that gives you a ride from the first beat till the end.


2.) "Hearts On Fire, (Holy Ghost remix)", Cut Copy
Although the single was actually released in 2007, the single picked up a lot of heat once the album dropped in 2008. I have my friend Hank to thank for telling me about this mix. Apparently he heard it while at Burning Man while the man was on fire. Transcendant, to say the least.

3.) "Hold On (Mock'n'Toof Remix)", Holy Ghost (tie) with "Hold On (Blackjoy Mazego Groove)"
This is such a great record that a remix not only lifts the record outside of itself, but leaves us wanting more. You want to know all the variants. From the Mock'n'toof 303-esque bassline and it's dubby vocals to the Blackjoy Mazego Groove which is ever so slightly cosmic. Just another example of why DFA is still one of the best labels out there today.


4.) "Electric Feel (Justice Remix)", MGMT.
Even just saying this record exists is like reading music blog porn for a lot of people. But forget the hype, let the speakers bang out the beat and remember why you fell in love with both Justice and MGMT all at once. Ignore the holier-than-thou hipsters who tell you you're passe. You're the one dancing, while they stand there with their arms crossed, stroking their shit. Fuck that.


5.) "Kids (Soulwax Remix), MGMT
Soulwax either hits the nail on the head or ends up hitting their thumb and we're left with listening to their expletives. Yes, this remix sounds vaguely like their work with The Gossip, but then again, wasn't that a great record anyway? All mistakes are forgiven when you can just stop and yell out, "Control yourself, take only what you need from it" at the top of your lungs.

6.) "Hey Boy, Hey Girl (Soulwax Remix)", The Chemical Brothers
In 1999, The Chemical Brothers swatted away the 2nd album curse with the release of "Hey Boy Hey Girl" featuring a dizzyingly trippy video of skeletons dancing at an all night party (we had stopped calling them raves for a few years now, thank you). It was a record you occasionally heard dropped in the middle of a set, usually when the place was ready to explode and the place was packed with people who remember hearing it the first time it came out in the clubs (which put most of us squarely in our 30's). Soulwax, for some reason, decided to play with this record this year, reminding us that the brothers never forgot how to work it out.

7.) Feed the Animals", Girl Talk
I didn't know where to put this. I'm not listing it as an album of the year, because essentially, this entire album is one giant cut-up/remix/thing. And what a thing it is. Released online early in the spring (and on cd later in the fall), Gregg Gillis not only hits his stride, he kicks it into highgear, never leaving you wanting. He has an uncanny sense of knowing when to cut, when to bring in the new beat, when to go off and when to bring you down.


Fave albums of the year, at random.

1.) TV On The Radio, "Dear Science"
The guitar, drums and bass hit you in the first three seconds. Then comes that voice. That amazing voice that brings you along for the ride. No, this album does not have a "Wolf Like Me", but it doesn't have to. This is TV On The Radio unafraid and unfettered, doing what they believe in. Their faith in their motives and practices expresses itself in their lyrics, sounds, melodies and production. This is the work of a cohesive unit who knows what it is looking to do.


2.) Sigur Ros, "Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust"
Apparently the appartition of an english language track on this album was something a lot of people thought was newsworthy. But Sigur Ros isn't made to be newsworthy. It is a very private thing people listen to in quiet huddles, either alone or in tandem. Every time I hear certain Sigur Ros tracks for the first time (or see the videos), I cry. Why? Because if I could look inside myself and listen to my heartbeat, it would most probably sound a lot like this.

3.) Portishead, "Third"
A local punker I know emailed me and asked me if I could send him a copy of this album. I'm not going to admit to doing such a thing, for it is tenuously illegal, but let me say this. Everyone wanted to know what this would sound like. We have been revisiting "Dummy" for over ten years now and even though we probably won't be sick of it (if ever), it would be nice to know what this collection of dirty and dangerous minds wish to unleash upon us. It is dark, it is dangerous, and it is possibly some of the most beautiful sounds to come out of this Bristol group.

4.) Hercules and Love Affair, "S/T"
Proof that disco is not a dirty word. Andy Butler proves that there is more to him than being blind and leaves us starry eyed and not only wanting to groove, but leaves us appreciating a much maligned genre.

5.)Old Man Luedecke, "Proof Of Love"
Chris Luedecke often performs alone, armed with his ukelele and his wonderful songs, braving the stage all by his lonesome. It takes a special kind of performer to do this. It takes an even bigger man to know when to go out and ask for help. On "Proof of Love", Luedecke brings in a whole band which at first, is a little odd for fans who are used to his shows (and early albums) where it's usually just one man and his banjo filling the sound of the room. But here, Luedecke decides to bring his friends along, and we can't be mad at him for allowing us to be privy to his own personal musical party.

6.) Hot Chip, "Made In The Dark"
I am ready for the floor, thanks to this early 2008 release. Hot Chip started off the year right for many of us, still in love with our old remixes of "Over & Over" with a great video for "Ready for the Floor". "One Pure Thought" and "Shake A Fist" had us dancing while the title track showed us that Hot Chip is not just for groovin', but for lovin'.

The list finishes with EPs, a format which is often forgotten among most of us. We're used to being given an entire album. But here, we're given snippets, musical aperitifs as we await the larger meal which is to come.

7.) Antony & The Johnsons, "Another World"
The title track is worth the price of admission alone. Antony released this EP at the end of the year, with the promise of an album in early 2009. If this EP is any indication of what Hegarty is going to deliver, it is going to be a year full of people in awe of him and his amazing voice, once again. Kudos.

8.) Final Fantasy, "Spectrum, 14th century" & "Plays to Please".
Two for the price of one. Or rather, two amazing releases in their own right. In "Plays to Please", Owen Pallett pays tribute to fellow torontonian Alex Lukashevsky with an EP of covers. Pallett is known for producing his fair share of covers, both in concert and on a few releases, but it is never out of boredom or laziness, but rather in wishing to pay tribute to someone or something which has pleased and given him pause. On "Spectrum", Pallett sings dark and beautiful fables, especially "Blue Imelda" and "The Butcher". If this is any indication of what is to come in 2009, I can only dream.


Labels of the year:

DFA



To many, DFA has already had its golden age when it helped introduce dance punk to the masses with The Rapture's "House of Jealous Lovers" and LCD Soundsystem's first singles. But in 2007, James Murphy, co-founder and LCD's headman released "Sound of Silver" and launched a sublabel under the moniker "Death From Abroad", highlighting some of the best disco to have been distributed stateside in quite a while. This was almost like some extended intro to what would happen in 2007, when releases by Juan Maclean, Holy Ghost, Yacht, Hercules and Love Affair and Hot Chip made us stand up and pay attention to the little label that could.

Strut


Between 1999 and 2003, Strut records was revered among dance music enthusiats for unearthing many forgotten leftfield disco records with their "Disco not disco" series as well as bringing to light many forgotten records that were only known by obsessives and the dance cognoscenti (often one in the same). In 2008, Strut resurfaced, having come back with the help of K7 and kickstarted the year with the third installment in the Disco Not Disco series featuring tracks by Maximum Joy, James White & The Blacks and Shriekback.

They soon followed this up by releasing a compilation of Compass Point recordings (a studio for which we have to thank for helping create the sounds of early 80's caribbean tinged disco, ala Tom Tom Club and Grace Jones "La vie en rose" era recordings.). They also released a collection of forgotten afro funk records, italo disco classics and best of all, "Going Places: The August Darnell years", highlighting the influence that one man had on so many records that bumped their way into the nights of so many soundsystems across the us and europe.




Jeffrey Liberatore is an elitist and a snob, but spends most of his time with undesirables.

1. Lulu Rouge – "Bless You” LP (Music For Dreams)

Kenneth Bager’s Music For Dreams Label put out this amazing piece of dark dub by two Danish kids in mid may. It quickly became the soundtrack to Sunday nights fuelled by red wine. Sounding similar to the records William Bevan has been putting out of south London lately, but with an amazing array of vocalists. The record as a whole comes off like a darker version of early basic channel dub techno, this was/is my favourite record for stalking rain soaked streets at midnight.

2. Zombie Zombie – ‘A Land For Renegades’ LP (Versatile Recordings)

If George Romero was a disco DJ this is what his nightclub would soundlike. So you combine Claudio Simonetti’s soundtracks for Argento films, John Carpenter-esque synthscapes, motorik/krautrock beats a la Neu!, throw on some Daniel Ash type vocals and you get the best horror disco record of the year, plus a bitchin’ cover of Iggy Pop/David Bowie’s “Nightclubbing”, considering the past couple of years have seen alot of records attempting to achieve this dark prog dancefloor vibe, although not totally innovative, these two frenchies make you wanna dance while being boiled alive (or something). Bonus points for agitated punk screaming on “Jay Rules” and “I scream you scream”.

3. Don Rimini – ‘Absolutley Rad’ EP (Mental Groove)

Huge rave track, worth the price of admission for Manu Le Malin’s remix of “Let Me Back Up”. Every stadium rave DJ worth their weight in gold was playing this bass heavy electro monster. Rumour has it that aside from the D.I.M/Proxy/Les Petites Pilous school of electro rave this was getting big ups on scarier dancefloors by the likes of Savas Pascalidis & the Horrorist. “4/4 dirtyoverdrive techno-rock slammer” or something.

4. Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk – ‘Love Can't Turn Around’ 12’’ (Back Yard recordings)

So you’re probably thinking this record is over twenty years old, why chart it in 2008? But this ‘Love Can't Turn Around (Boys Noize Started Like This Mix)’ was the nostalgia remix of the year. Alex Ridha adds a filter to the original bassline, filters some Isaac Hayes samples, adds his own keyboard work and time stretches Darryl Pandy’s vocals. And by the time the 3:30 mark hits and Darryl is screaming ‘Work Your Body’ at the top of his lungs, you’re in warehouse heaven.

5. VA – ‘Munich Disco Tech Volume 1’ EP (Great Stuff Recordings)

Munich gets really filthy with this EP that came out this summer, there was one track that all the crunchy rave DJ’s got behind off this EP, Tonka turns in a shuddering tech house stop-start fest called "Freeze". It was charted by TIga, Thomas Von Party, Brodinski blah blah blah. My god though it has this stomping martial beat, squealing synths that just build and build and this subermeged vocal urging you to ‘celebrate’. This was played in far too many living rooms at four am this summer.

6. Fan Death – ‘Veronica’s Veil’ 12” (Phantasy Sound)

This 12” deserved to be the pop record of the year, but everybody was too busy listening to Lady Gaga. Brilliant Icy Detached female vocals, grooving little bassline, disco strings that could’ve been written by Kelley Polar, synth’s galore and lyrics about a veil that a woman wiped Jesus’ brow with? Huh? Anyho the b-side had Erol Alkan shaking off his trashy electro rock cliché to put out a extended disco version with less of the vocal and more of the strings, that quickly became an office fave (even for the people who listen to Lady Gaga).

7. Koko Von Napoo – ‘Polly’ 7” (Trouble Records)

Koko Von Napoo are a pop band. They make elegant synth drones like Blondie fronted by Mary Hansen produced by Air singing in French. It makes me Happy each morning. The End.

8. LSB – ‘Loco Motion’ 12” (Eskimo)

Biggest Disco record of the year, period. Pete Hebert attacks the dancefloor with a nice house undercurrent, plenty of piano action, vocal samples, stuttered snares, a tonne of congas and a lovely horn section at the end.

9. Last Shadow Puppets – ‘The Age Of The Understatement’ LP (Domino)

Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys) & Miles Kane (The Rascals) team up to represent their love of David Bowie’s mod output on Deram and Scott Walker's early solo records. Their two voices harmonise brilliantly, Owen Pallet writes some huge scenic string sections and the boys play Morricone-esque guitars, this album start to finish is a rush to the head.

10. Wild Beasts – ‘Limbo Panto’ LP (Domino)

The most original guitar based record i’ve heard this decade? I dunno, but it’s something special, Hayden Thorpe has the most unusual voice on a rock record, kinda like Antony Heggarty, Brian Molko & the kid from JJ72. Anyo, weird humorous british tales over melodic yet bizarre drums/guitar/bass combos. There’s odd Jazzy Waltzes, Galloping Baroque pop in 4/4 time and anthem to end all anthems “Devil’s Crayon”.



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Sorry this took so long, but dang, we've been busy writing this stuff for you!

Exploiting Dreams With Dreamsploitatoin

Dreamsploitation's "Continue to sleep, if only dreaming" is a traffic jam of auditory commotion. The driving horn arrangement begins hitting every red light within a two second span, slamming on the breaks and succinctly pounding upon the car horn. A robust pushing and pulling, presumably a keyboard, follows a triumphant trumpet gathering split second momentum. Slam, the driver is forced to hit the breaks. The car horn blinks sixteen times over; finally the iridescent red changes to green. The locomotive rolls into a blissful state of cruise control.

A lullaby enters, almost as if cajoling the driver into a subdued, contemplative state. The tinkering of piano keys resembles suburban homes and manicured lawns. Just beyond these city limits an expansive prairie sky comes into view. All seems grandiose in contrast to the mathematical maze of concrete trailing behind. A sense of melodic freedom sifts throughout the airy notes. A climbing bass line recalls the magnitude of towers and buildings–a diorama of urbanization shrinks in the rear view mirror.

Freedom is an open road, a sleeper soundly sleeping. The heroic notes of a brass instrument soar. The bass line threatens to overwhelm. Abruptly the daydream cracks, traffic once again interrupts. The driver has fallen asleep at the wheel, a relentless car horn throbs, clashes and blurs into the memory of what could be. The dream is revisited, sounds collide, a kaleidoscope bursts open. With the final note everything dissolves, reality returns, all is lost.

Blazevic, Chuck. The Soft Focus Sound of Today. From Here to There Records., 2008.

You Dig?

Dig this #1



We here, at I wanna listen to this aren't just a bunch of blog and mp3 seeking hipsters. We often dig out old records, rediscover and reconsider stuff we dismissed earlier and dig deeper into genres we never thought we would care about (cosmic disco anyone?), much less write about. Here are some of our recent favorites, in no particular order.


Jeffrey Liberatore is disco elitist, music snob and wishes Gaspard Ulliel knew he existed.


Anything on Cosmo Vitelli's I'm A Cliche label
Those Ali Renault records on Dissident
The Holy Ghost remix of "I Like to Move in Here" by Moby
"The Feeling" by Toby Tobias on Rekids
The Last Shadow Puppets record on Domino (So Scott Walker)
Yacht Rock
The Video to "Electric Feel" by MGMT


Shannon Webb-Campbell is a blogger, journalist, Perpetual Student and Girl-about-country

Them There Eyes – Billie Holiday
Paris Is Burning – St. Vincent
Euphoria – Sarah Slean
Heartbeats – Jose Gonzales
Explode – Uh Huh Her
Red Right Ankle – The Decemberists


Simon Thibault is an occasional club DJ, a weekly radio DJ and omnipresent car stereo selector.

I bought over 300 Soul and R&B 45s a few months ago. Millie Jackson, Syl Johnson (who is playing at the Atlantic Jazz Fest here in Halifax this summer), Al Green, Freda Payne and Joe Tex, just to name a few. It's a completely different listening experience from just letting your iTunes go on random.
The Magnetic Field's "69 Love Songs". Why did I not realise how amazing this was years ago...
Hercules and Love Affair- Now featured in The New York Times, not only do they make me wanna dance, they also make me dig through my old records looking for gems I might have overlooked.
Swayzak- Their Fabric Mix, their last record and my favorite, "I keep it coming" from Loops from the Bergerie.
Zapp- Forget Chromeo. Stevie wonder may have made it cool, Zapp made it funky and sexy.


Ryan Allen is the youngest yet sweetest of the crew here, but is often seen singing/screaming his guts out at all ages shows.


Bexar Bexar - Haralambos (Awesome ambient stuff, check it out!)
Alcest - Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde (Very pretty shoegazey stuff. Lots of guitars, and etheral vocals)
Latterman - We Are Still Alive
Lawrence Arms - Oh Calcutta
Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy
Jesus and Mary Chain - I Hate Rock and Roll (Why haven't I listened to this before?!)
Hot Water Music - Forever and Counting
Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak
Tomcat Combat - I'm Okay, You're Okay
Have Heart - Songs to Scream at The Sun (Good, smart hardcore band)



Nirmala Basnayakeis a former controller and taught Nelly Furtado how to get her groove back.Mmmhmm.


Belle Epoque "Miss Broadway"
The Seeds "Can't Seem to Make You Mine" (seriously -- it took a fucking Axe body spray ad to wake me up to this one? gah)
Tom Petty's Damn the Torpedoes
Coldcut "Say Kids What Time Is It" and "More Beats + Pieces"





Loukas Crowther is a founder and DJ @Metal Disco, a designer and photographer to the unsavory.

Bubaiskull's re-releasing their stuff online has had me in some serious nostalgic bliss. Especially the Drive By Suicide EP
The Does It Offend You, Yeah? album has been in heavy rotation for like 2 weeks now.
I finally heard the rest of Santogold's album after killing the youtube video of L.E.S. Artistes, and I actually like it so much more than I thought. I was expecting more of the M.I.A. comparisons to continue, but it went in a way different direction that I expected.
The MSTRKRFT remix of the j-pop star, Ayumi Hamasaki, makes me retardedly happy.
The Presets new album, Apocalypso

*The CN Tower Belongs To The Dead*

Oh Toronto. You took me in as a mistress, seduced me with your record stores, concerts and plenitude, but somehow I ended up on the street corner, snot-streaked and tired. The piles of music and books I returned with were no match for your harsh ways and cold mannerisms.

It’s fair to say I’m glad to be home, back in this little city by the sea. The days have been gentle and generous –Cohen and Dylan all in the span of a week? Sarah Slean with Royal Wood next week?

Be still my lion heart.

To soundtrack my feast of Mariko Tamaki, Peggy Munson and Chandra Mayor reading, I’ve enclosed a list of my latest loves. While I was visiting family in Peterborough I did my ritualistic rounds of the city, dinner at Hot Belly Momma’s and an afternoon at Bluestreak Records (owned and operated by Tim Haines, son of Canadian poet Paul Haines and brother of Metric’s Emily Haines). One of the pleasures of this streetside record store, in addition to the plethora of albums, is visiting with an old friend of mine Jarrett Prescott –the mastermind behind Fire Flower Revue, who fuses kaleidoscopic sound and art reminiscent of Portland's buoyant bubble-makers The Blow and Paris' glock-popper Uffie.

Fire Flower Revue hesitate to dub the project an environmental protest, as their technicolor soundscapes have an animal-based theme, but don't tag them to be the next Wolfmother, brother, sister, or parade. Their slightly schizophrenic dance beats have backbone, vibrancy and are coated in an unconventional imaginative euphoria.

After a two-hour chat about music, art and all things in-between, I left with Crystal Castles, an advance of Silje Nes “Ames Room,” Santogold's self-titled, Gossip “Live in Liverpool Live CD and Concert DVD” and Cat Power’s “Moon Pix” on vinyl. On a brief bus ride back to my suburban blue-collared hometown I listened You Left Saving The Planet’s unmastered version of “Tabitha Cain,” and it blew my mind. The combination of yearning and anxiety mirrored the mood of my trip. It was almost time to come home. Prior to departure, I did catch Pony Da Look's CD release at Sneaky Dee's, The Clicks' frontman Lucas Silveria's solo set at the Gladstone, The Constantines at The Phoenix and am looking forward to befriending Emma McKenna - she recently picked up and moved to Halifax from Toronto.

Upon arriving at my doorstep with stuffed suitcases in tow, I opened my overflowing letterbox to find Christina Martin’s sophomore release “Two Hearts,” produced by Dale Murray (Cuff the Duke, The Guthries) and co-engineered with Charles Austin, Hey Rosetta’s “Into Your Lungs (and around your heart and through your blood), Gonzalez “Soft Power.”

If I could go back in time and tell my sixteen year old self that some day I would be getting advanced copies of albums in the mail, I just might have saved a fair penny along the way –though I doubt it. Perhaps I would have stopped trying to purchase them on eBay with my parents credit cards a month before the release date.

Rotate This: Uh Huh Her & The Clicks

Cat's out of the bag, I've tripped and fallen into the well of nostalgia. Halifax is great, but growing up on the periphery of Toronto has spoiled me. The more I fall in love with new bands, the deeper into a depression of what's-now-gone I sink.

Majority of the following acts I am about to list rarely, if ever, play here. But instead of waxing poetic on my adolescences spent sleeping on Yonge Street to catch a glimpse of Melissa Auf Der Maur signing autographs, nervously approaching Allison Wolfe post-Bratmobile's set, hanging out with The Donnas, tearing up the night after I got dumped at a Sleater Kinney show, watching my best friend Ashlee dance on-stage two nights in a row with Courtney Love singing "Mailbu" to her, I'll imagine a city where I can catch The Clicks open for The Cult. A booming metropolis where I can eat my little L Word-loving heart out at an Uh Her Her concert. Heck, even see the Peej (PJ Harvey) herself perform.

In Toronto's alt-weekly NOW, reviewer Sarah Liss aptly described The Clicks music as "what might happen if Chrissie Hynde and the Murmurs' Leisha Hailey fell in love, got Bowie to help out with insemination and gave birth to an indie rock love child."

I suppose I can't really complain; upcoming concerts on the horizon do include: Bob Dylan, The Sadies, The Constantines, Leonard Cohen and Sarah Slean. This afternoon I had a lovely chat with those darling fellas from The Coast on the night of their CD release "Expatriate" from a gig in Vancouver. Ian even sweetly asked about the fate of Oh, Beautiful! Majestic! Eagle!

For the record, we remain on hiatus (also known as no longer). In the upcoming weeks I am scheduled to chat with Leisha Hailey and Camillia of Uh Huh Her. Not to mention a highly anticipated record shopping spree in Toronto later this month. Rotate This and Sonic Boom look out, here she comes armed with a recently paid off Visa card in her pockets. I suppose I'm just being a bit brattish. The trouble is I'm a girl who wants everything. I want to bake, decorate and eat the entire cake - icing, cookie crumbs, ice cream and all.

You Were A Tourist In My Town

In honour of last night's trance-inducing Black Mountain performance at the Marquee, a little morning after music for those who didn't cab home alone (a knowing wink to you). Pink Mountaintops "Tourist In Your Town."

Prior to the acclaimed fame of Picnicface, Mr. Mark Little put this gem dubbed "Tourist In Your Town," on a mix CD for me. I think I made him a mix cassette in return that he couldn't listen due to a lack of a tape player. Go figure, either way Mark is a Vancouverite we're so lucky to call a Halifax adoptee.

Pink Mountaintops paint the metaphorical landscape of my rock n' roll dreams a light shade of lipstick. Love, love, love, love them.

Tanya Davis Builds Up A Fortress

My poetical pal Tanya Davis is nearly finished her new album. She's in the midst of wheeling and dealing record deals (i.e. anyone wanna offer her one?). The single from the forthcoming album is dubbed Fortress, an accordian pop tune like you've never heard it done before.

Davis considers it her, "my you-can't-hurt-me pop song."

When she's not working on new tunes, poeming or hanging out at neighbourhood java joints, she runs a little side catering project. While Hawksley Workman was in town producing Hey Rosetta's sophmore release, TD kept the boys' bellies full. I recently caught up with Hawksley, somewhere between the ugly and the beautifuls, and Davis' fine home cookin' came into play.

Webb-Campbell: There’s actually a cookbook that came out called I Like Food, Food Tastes Good, which features recipes from musicians, everyone from Death Cab For Cutie to Hayden. I was thinking someone should put together a Canadian version. When you were here, my neighbour and good friend Tanya Davis, was in charge of catering for you and Hey Rosetta.

Workman: Tanya is wonderful.

Webb-Campbell: Isn’t she? She’s just about finished her record.

Workman: She was working on it while I was there, I was working with Hey Rosetta when I was in Halifax and she was in every day, bringing us wonderful cooking creations. And Hey Rosetta, by the way, is also a phenomenal record

Consider Miss Davis' the jill of all trades these days.

Broken Deer's Displaced Field Recordings

It came on fast and hard, as the birth of Broken Deer's debut "Displaced Field Recordings" was the result of an unconscious surge of creation. According to lead fawn Lindsay Dobbin, the wounded wunderkind behind these patchworks of achingly raw, yet beautiful landscapes, "feeling creative is just a mind hum that needs to be expressed."

Late in the Spring of 2006, Dobbin was recruited to live in the oldest apartment dwelling at the mouth of downtown Halifax. With the ancient fortress to the right of her and the bridge to Dartmouth at her left, she sewed together the most influential album of this year while I slept in the bedroom next door. Obviously my biases should be presented considering this visionary is my band mate, best friend, former roommate and sister.

But with all of those incidental/coincidentals aside, "Displaced Field Recordings" navigates the curious listener through the eerie, deep, dark, dank woods with a flashlight which cuts in and out at random. Listen; the whispers ring! One moment I am in the thick of the bush, the loneliness sinks in, my brain is a sieve. All mess, no order. Fear nips, bites and barks at the hairs on my neck. Anxiety thickens. My heart beats to the abstract rhythms.

Suddenly, a flash of blinding shooting stars fall across the sky. An overwhelming sadness envelopes my eardrums. The orphan choir echoes in the distance, their hollowed voices rejoice in-between the intervals of layered tape. The orchestration of haunting emblems of the past surface, such as lost lovers, soldiers, both the strong and weak of heart meet. A reunion of mourning. A funeral of sorts.

This is not an album, but a pregnancy, an artifact of fantastical misery, joy and collective individuality. "Displaced Field Recordings" soundtracks the revival of my soul, as the wretched translucent organ once belched and begged for mercy, but no longer. I rest among the living, the pure of spirit, I raise my glass in honour of those who wander the earth today and those who still live beneath it. A knowing wink to you.

Beth Ditto Turns Coal Into Diamonds

So, it’s like nearly 2AM, my lover’s asleep on the couch, she passed out cold hours ago. Flu season chips and chews away at us all, which is why I think there is a need for a call to arms, a bedroom dancing renaissance of sorts. What to listen to? Well that’s simple, The Gossip.

When my girl Beth isn’t delivering the most dynamic live show, posing nude for a NME cover shoot, being dubbed the “sexiest woman of the year” by lesbian glossy Diva Magazine (a British publication most noted for their sultry, skinny-girl mugs shots of the ever-expanding cast of the L Word), or writing a weekly advice column for The Guardian, she’s working on a new record and writing a book. Published by Simon & Schuster, Ditto’s autobiography “Coal Into Diamonds,” should hit bookshelves in October 2008 to coincide with a new Gossip album.

Until then, bust out the slouch socks and sweat bands and get your fat girl groove on with “8^th Wonder Version" and “Heavy Kross,” thanks to the myspace jukebox.

Here, But Not Found: You Left Saving the Planet

You Left Saving The Planet is not a testament of redemption, in fact the existential focus and grandiose arrangements found on the debut EP " Here, But Not Found," are more of an orchestra of sentiment than a slogan for personal salvation.

Recorded in an 18th century old farmhouse on the outskirts of Enniskillen, ON, the slim collection of highly-intellectual, open-ended, emotionally-entangled tracks are reminiscent of metaphysical superstitions.

"Here, But Not Found" is an illusionary stroll through the subconscious of humanity, as the longing for a sense of an indeterminable sense of home, flailing insecurities and lingering phantoms create the atmospheric landscape of the album. Dark nights beneath starry skies, the sounds of creaking floorboards, drained bottles of Niagara Region wines, and hopeless hopefulness are layered throughout. Inspired by the remoteness of the location, Stuart Everitt converted his single bedroom apartment into a studio.

The makeshift recording suite exposed a window view of a barn; the slanted, weathered structure of a since retired agriculturalist prized possession nestled within rolling stretches of land. The endless cascade of fields and crops led the composer's mind and eyes off into the ambiguity of a not-so distant future. With uncertainty in tow, Everitt found himself embracing his inner child.

The fractured elegance of the recording is a bare bone framework for an epic full-length debut. Bound by the paradoxical constrictions of being both a practicing cynic and an optimist, Everitt toys with the perspective of being a displaced person. Themes of establishing a sense of self, the renewal of true love, internal inquisitions and the evolution of seasons are vague interpretations of an intricate, artfully crafted, collection of sound.

"Here, But Not Found," is an insight into the lost blueprints for Noah's Ark, the viewfinder of an antique camera and the remains of an abandoned family photo album.

According to Everitt, a new album is emerging, he hopes to have it released March 2008.

Love is: Jane Vain & the Dark Matter

First of all, I'd like to thank Simon for inviting me to contribute to this blog. It certainly has the potential to be pretty rad.

For my introduction post I'd like to highlight a band I came to know after a summer stint in Calgary, one of the few treasures found within the corporate conglomerate. Pop-noir quartet Jane Vain And The Dark Matter create masterfully moody melodies. Their recently released Love Is Where The Smoke Is, embodies the spooky seduction of Emily Haines solo endeavors, the mystique of Maria Taylor and features splashes of Coco Rosie's black humour throughout.

Chanteuse Jamie Fooks resembles a wiry, petite pixie with Coke bottle glasses. The captivating 24-year-old chanteuse is painstakingly honest, and her anxiety-ridden on-stage persona is merely amplified in person. Over a pot of tea in a pub, she spills over lost tales of adolescence, alcoholism and the struggle of self.

"I didn't even know how to play these songs when I recorded them. I just wanted to learn the process of everything. I played in bands prior to this, but they were mostly drunken punk rock bands. This just started as something I made in my bedroom, layering piano track over piano track."

As Fooks crafted the skeleton of the album in her basement apartment, she rang up old friend Dillon Whitfield of local act Racoon to add his instrumental expertise on guitar. The twosome are the spine of the band, as they've auditioned and lost three members over the course of the past few months. Currently, Britt Proulx is listed as the bassist and Jzero Schuurman sits in on drums.

"Basically, the band name stems from a darker period of my life," explains Fooks. "I don't really know how to say anything without being too blunt.

"I guess it mostly comes from a reckless adolescence, a time when everything was circulating around being vain and concerned with how everything appeared to everyone else."

"C'mon Baby Say Bang Bang," "Ships Bound To Sink" and "Last Chance For Romance" are tortured testimonies cloaked in endless existentialism and dense instrumentation.