Chanteuses Canadiennes

Canada has given us many things--Steve Nash, poutine, an inferiority complex about our national health system--but more than all of that, they have given us great music by some beautiful women. I've already mentioned a few on this blog (variations of Broken Social Scene & Neko Case, who is, seriously, an honorary Canadian), but here are a few more. Thanks to a mysterious commenter named "Bunny" for the suggestion.

Feist, "I Feel It All"--You're sick of 1234, but not of this!


Emily Haines, “Our Hell”--Another BSS collaborator. And a great song.


Tegan and Sara, “Back in Your Head” --The catchiest song of Summer 07.


Sarah Harmer, “Basement Apt.”--This song is new to me, too...


Be Good Tanyas, “The Littlest Birds” --Didn't even know they were Canadian.


Leonard Cohen, “The Future” (Live on Jools Holland)--Not a woman, but the greatest Canadian singer EVER! I love how he turns the lyric "anal sex" into "careless sex" for this television version.

It's Monday, Damnit

Crazy little weekend, not busy at a real level, but definately interesting at a Steve level--there's a difference. And I didn't even have to go to the Marlin for it! At a party Kurd got called out by this girl, Anna, that he sure says "It's funny because it's true" a lot.

He does, it's true. (It's funny because...!)

Here's what I listened to this weekend:

Earlimart, "Bloody Nose"


Lily Allen, "Smile"--My God, this video has 7 million views on YouTube--that is far and away the most of any video I have yet watched there. It's a good song, though, I like British chicks a lot. Props to Rowan for suggesting it, too:


Speaking of British:


Neko Case, "Star Witness" (Wow, listen to the bass, it's incredible):


Stone Temple Pilots, "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart"

I've Got Friday Figured Out--Trust Me

Friday: It's a great day, full of promise for the weekend. But if you're a ninetofiver like me, it can also be one of the longest days of the week. Luckily I have figured out a plan to get us all through...musically, of course.

9am:
1. Drink coffee.
2. Stare out the window and don't start working yet.
3. Listen to this, because it's a great song, it's a mellow start to your day, and the video is very very interesting:


12pm:
1. Eat your lunch.
2. Go to www.idontlikeyouinthatway.com and find out which celebrities did what bad things with whom yesterday (it's a great site!)
3. Listen to this...hopefully it'll give you some energy to get through the afternoon. It might also make you hate the capitalist machine to which you are a slave. Slavery never sounded so good:


4:45pm
1. Quit working. (If you quit 15 minutes ago, that's okay too.)
2. Repeat this mantra in your brain: I am sexy. This weekend I will bring sexy back for good.
3. Listen to this:

4. Calm down stud/hottie! It's probably going to be another one of those weekends where you eye a girl/boy across the room, she/he eyes you up too, but neither of you make a move. What is wrong with my life? Why don't I go talk to her? I'm cute, right? Is it my hair? Do I smell? Man, the guy who sits in the cubicle next to me smells. Oh my god I hate my job...someone let me out of here! I need to go home and cry.
5. For whatever reason, listen to this:

6. Go home and go straight to the bottle, like I'm gonna. Don't worry pal, we'll get 'em next week.

iTunes linkies here, here, here, and here.

Broken Social Scene to Get You through Your Thursday

Above is an awesome video for an awesome song, "Lover's Spit" by Broken Social Scene. Sorry the sound quality is so bad though. This video/song makes me want to make out. Any takers???

Below are a couple more videos for a couple more great BSS songs, "Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl" and "Swimmers." I personally think "Swimmers" is one of the greatest songs ever--like ever-ever. In a reoccurring theme, it reminds me of a girl I used to love. But it's a different girl. Man I have such a deep heart, like the old lady version of Kate Winslett in Titanic. (If you don't know what I'm talking about...lucky you.)

"Anthems for a Seventeen-Year Old Girl":


"Swimmers" (another fan-made video):


Clicky to buy on iTunes!

Beirut, "Nantes"

Man, I love Beirut, aka Zach Condon, the young guy you see walking down some Brooklyn stairs in this live video made during the making of his newest album, The Flying Club Cup. Everything I read about Beirut says that he has brought back an "old world sound," or something, but doesn't this actually sound like the most modern music possible? There is something very "post-postmodern" going on here, as my friend Kevin would say.

"Elephant Gun":


"Postcards from Italy":

My Top Ten Belle & Sebastian Tracks

Let's talk about Belle & Sebastian: first of all, who is Belle, and who is Sebastian, exactly? Well, Belle & Sebastian are these guys, a couple of French cartoons, from whom Stuart Murdoch, the leader of the band, took his whimsical name. Belle & Sebastian are all about soft, sweet melodies with lyrics bent toward the depressing details of modern life and romance. They make all the crap that happened to you in high school sound really dreamy, basically.

1. Seeing Other People
2. The Boy with the Arab Strap
3. Expectations
4. The Stars of Track and Field
5. Piazza, New York Catcher
6. My Wandering Days Are Over
7. The Model
8. If She Wants Me
9. The State I'm In
10. If You're Feeling Sinister

Buy some or all of the tracks on iTunes.

Morrissey, "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get"

Before you go thinking Morrissey is a new guy on the scene, direct from a stint on Big Brother 12 or something, let me tell this song is from 1994, off the album Vauxhall and I. In the 1980s he was the lead singer for The Smiths, a British pop/rock outfit that is a major influence for every single band you like today. Just sayin'V.

The lyrics to this song read a bit like a stalker's anthem. Which is why I like it so much. Girls seem to like it, too, such as when I leave it on a CD at their door, ring the doorbell, and then run away. Ooooooh, love!!!!

Amy Winehouse, "Rehab"

I know that this song (buy it HERE!) has been ubiquitous in all forms of media for over a year now, but somehow I have never really heard it myself. I guess I just read all about how insane Amy Winehouse is at my favorite celeb trash-talk blog, www.idontlikeyouinthatway.com, and figured I knew all I needed to. But come on, this is a great song, isn't it? What's a white chick from London doing sounding like Birmingham, Alabama in the American 1950s, anyways? I guess pain really does create beautiful art.

In other news my blog made 5 cents overnight. You see why I'm addicted now.

More Cat Power

These videos are from the recording sessions for Cat Power's new album, Jukebox, which dropped (yeah, that's right, dropped) about 2 weeks ago now and is fantastic. These videos are pretty awesome, too--Chan Marshall aka Cat Power is an amazing artist (pianist, guitarist, gifted lyricist, beautiful voice), and you can see that in each one of them. I also hear she's crazy, and I like that about her.

We're approximately 87% in love, Chan and I. That's a B.

Why Do The Strokes Always Fuck with Me?

I don't understand it...The Strokes are one of the best bands of the twenty-first century--by far, people--but the singles they choose to release are ALWAYS the uptempo clangy guitar songs ("Juicebox," "12:51," "Reptilia") rather than the songs where everbody just steps back and lets Julian do his vocals thing--I'm convinced the man is a lyrical genius on par with Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. The best songs are the ones where they put it all together, though, like this track off First Impressions of Earth, "Killing Lies."

You know First Impressions of Earth is a good album because Europeans like it more than Americans, and Europeans are, like,way smarter than us.

Cat Power, "The Greatest"

1. It's clear I'm going to be posting a lot of videos here. It only makes sense...that way you can listen to the song on the blog. Right?
2. This is not an official video for this song, Cat Power's "The Greatest"; rather, some YouTuber put the song to old people bowling. Tell you what, though: it works.
3. This song reminds me of a girl I used to love. Awesome.

Vampire Weekend, "A-Punk"

Okay, this song is awesome; it's on the first mix I made on this blog, below. It's got a little punk to it, but it's not angry punk...more like a punk who took some qualudes and a bath and then took up flute. And I've heard a couple tracks off the rest of the album, and it all sounds good, so I'll be listening to this band more in the future. For now check out the video and enjoy!

Blonde Redhead, "My Impure Hair"

Check out this video for Blonde Redhead's "My Impure Hair," from my favorite album of 2007, 23. Directed by Mike Mills of R.E.M., the video is pretty subtle but ultimately rewarding. The song is a lot like that too, so if you can't get into the video just close your eyes, put the headphones on, and listen:

I've lost my key
I've gone too far
Was it enough to make you sick ?
Maybe I live again, but would I lose again my virginity ?
Oh, my virginity

I'm shaped to get in your way
But in the end
We defend our decadence
You never wept like that
Whatever lost I won't forget about you
Oh, forget about you

It's not what I said, it's what you said
It's what you did did that belongs to everyone
It's not what I hate, it's what you hate
Its decadence belongs to everyone

One day I lie next to you and you stroke my impure hair

Valentine's Day=Seth???

This is my friend Seth. Seth is the manliest man I know: the first day I met him he threatened to beat me up, the last day I saw him he tried to kiss me, and in between I listened to him discourse on literature, politics, and love, all while imbibing every mind-altering substance he could get his hands on. Total renaissance man, he is good at everything, sucks at nothing, and is covered head-to-toe in a soft, dark, and luxurious hair that makes the (Alaskan) ladies swoon.

I am not an Alaskan lady, however, which begs the question: Why am I posting a mix for Seth on Valentine's Day? I'm not sure. I guess it's probably because he was the last non-family member to tell me he loved me. That's just the kind of guy we're talking about. Here's to you, baby.

1. "The Garden of Eden," Charlton Heston
2. "Dangerous," Busta Rhymes
3. "Protect Ya Neck," Wu-Tang Clan
4. "Manic Depression," Jimi Hendrix
5. "I Saw a Hippie Girl on 8th Ave," Jeffrey Lewis
6. "Father to a Sister of Thought," Pavement
7. "King of the Rodeo," Kings of Leon
8. "One More Chance," Notorious B.I.G.
9. "The Old Man Down the Road," John Fogerty
10. "Bring On the Lucie (Freeda Peeple)," John Lennon
11. "Sharp Dressed Man," ZZ Top
12. "Happy Boy," Beat Farmers
13. "The Sporting Life," The Decemberists
14. "Freakin' at the Freakers' Ball," Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show
15. "How Deep Is Your Love," Bee Gees
16. "Hungry Heart," Bruce Springsteen
17. "Ride the Cliche," Stone Temple Pilots
18. "I'm Waiting for the Man (Stereo)," The Velvet Underground

First Mix on the New Blog

Ladies and Gents,

I'm hoping this small blog will give me a good place to publish my mixes--playlists I make often for others, always for myself, downloading from Itunes and then into my computer and, finally, into an audio-sized CD I make for my friends, for the car, etc. I'm hoping to share good music, encourage others to do the same. Maybe I'll be posting some of my own stories here, too, along with whatever else I come up with. I expect this to be a editorially adventurous adventure.

Here's the mix I made the other day when I called in sick:


This One's for Me

1. A-Punk, Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend




















2. I Believe In You, Cat Power, Jukebox




















3. Kate Nash, "Made of Bricks"




















4. Miss Magnolia, Matt Costa, Unfamiliar Faces


















5. Love and Tenderness, Al Green, The Love Songs Collection




















6. Monsoon, Jack Johnson, Sleep Through the Static


















7. The Bank, Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton, What Is Free to a Good Home?


















8. Far Far, Yael Naim, Yael Naim




















9. New Soul, Yael Naim, Yael Naim

10. Mr. Pitiful, Matt Costa, Unfamiliar Faces

11. Rowboat, Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton, What Is Free to a Good Home?

12. Metal Heart, Cat Power, Jukebox

13. You Have Been Loved, Sia, Some People Have Real Problems

















14. Sunshine, Matt Costa, Songs We Sing