Watch the Muppets dance along to LCD Soundsystem

File this under, "you're a cold heartless bastard if you don't love this" The always relevant cadre of Muppets are back. This time they're rocking out to my 4th favorite song of last year, "Dance Yrself Clean" by LCD Soundsystem. Playing on top of a roof top to a delighted crowd in England, Kermit shows himself to be a suitable substitute for James Murphy. After that the Muppets head off to the club for their particular brand of freak out. The whole thing is hilariously charming, especially with the crew getting drunk at the beach, and Kermit still not quite sure how to master the art of seduction. But when you're trying to seduce Miss Piggy, I suppose there's no rush. Watch the clip.

Wavves and Best Coast at the Rickshaw

The Rickshaw is a favoured venue among several people I know. I get it, I suppose; It's small enough to provide a reasonable sense of intimacy, yet large enough and sporting the proper dimensions to move and thrash around, should one so choose. They sell beer, right there next to the stage- it certainly has thing's going for it. Yet I feel like I can't quite get behind the place. Perhaps it seems a little too analogous to the conveyance with which it shares its name. Aging, rickety, constantly at risk of falling apart- the celling was leaking after all. It might be a combination of seasonal and geographic issues. Being in Chinatown, it's a little beyond the realm of super fast public transportation that I'm used to, and is a venue more booked in the fall and winter, as opposed to places like the Malkin Bowl, which gain in primacy during the summer. In other words, I'm often walking to the Rickshaw or waiting for a bus to get there in shit weather, putting me in a less than stellar mood upon my arrival. On the other hand, I usually see a pretty decent light show there, something I would be reminded of when I saw Wavves and Best Coast. I have to express a touch of regret and disappointment that I couldn't see these groups on a warmer summer night, outdoors- these groups are growing more and more synonymous with my favourite season. Nevertheless, this was the date and location, so I dutifully went.

Review: Cut Copy- Zonoscope

After multiple listenings of Zonoscope, by Aussie elctro-wavers Cut Copy, I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on what it is I'm listening to. The only lingering question that frustratingly seems unsolvable is just what exactly a zonoscope, if anything, is. Alas any attempts at googling merely yields results for the album, which either spawned the term, or is more interestingly, its namesake. I really want to know. The album cover itself reveals some potential insight. An image of an impossibly beautifully, yet logically realized landscape framed through a circular, perhaps ocular lens; a scope if you will. My fixation on the issue is not random and superficial, not entirely at least. I am compelled to explore the meaning behind a zonoscope because for all of this album's compelling qualities and soothingly catchy hooks, what has me most interested is the way it looks back on and surveys the trends and styles of pop music's past. While this endeavour is not always fully realized or articulated, Cut Copy makes up for this short coming by proving their own stylings capable of filling in the gaps with incredibly catchy and palatable offerings.

Top 10 Albums of 2010- Part 1

10- Gorillaz- Plastic Beach

Think of Plastic Beach as an experiment gone horribly wrong, and then wonderfully right. Originally conceived as a sort of mix tape featuring various artists with Damon Albarn and Gorillaz acting as producers only, the whole thing sort of devolved into an incoherent mess of misdirection. So Albarn stepped in with a much more direct and patriarchal role; scraped what didn't work, and repurposed what did, inserting parts of prior recordings into their own songs and reconstituting the roles of the various contributing artists. The end result is a widely varied and engrossing album loosely centred around the concept of climate change (as if the album's title wasn't obvious enough). What makes the album so compelling is that although the narrative is fairly consistent throughout, the tone and source of narration is constantly shifting, creating a densely layered and challenging album to fully decipher. The central message is inserted in most of the tracks, but done so in multitude of ways, based on the stylings and mannerisms of whichever artist is prominently featured. In several cases, the topic is approached by taking the better and most adored aspects of our culture and mixing them together with the subtle metaphors related to the detriments of our planet. Lou Reed at one point goes on about the beauty of person, he wants to preserve it... by wrapping it in plastic. Part of the fun of Plastic Beach is rummaging through it, looking for such examples. The genre spanning and, at times genre defying body of work takes so many different types of music and packages them in Gorillaz' characteristic blend of goofiness and subtle insight. Gangster rap from Snoop at his most relaxed, playful hip hop in the form of “Super Fast” and the utterly engaging “Sweepstakes”, deathly serious funk in the form of “Stylo”, illicit club freak outs like “Glitter Freeze”, and mammoth works of pop art like “Empire Ants”- there's a lot to Plastic Beach. Some of it's just reasonably fine, but so much of it is terrific- like nothing else this year.

Song(s) of the Week: "Painted Eyes" by Hercules and Love Affair and "Helplessness Blues" by Fleet Foxes

There's just too much good stuff coming out lately. With the recent release  of Zonoscope, the new Strokes album finally lurching forward, and the advent of a new TV on the Radio release that is tantalizingly close, things don't seem likely to change any time soon. That being the case, I am forced to throw two songs of the week at you. The first is a track off the new Hercules and Love Affair album, Blue Songs. Many fans of the last album were concerned by the departure of producer Tim Goldsworthy and contributing lyricist Antony Hegarty. While the album definitely is a departure, "Painted Eyes" seems to be somewhat alleviating as it is the most familiar, carrying that seemingly trade mark disco and funk heavy bass. Does it remind you of their earlier work, or is "Painted Eyes" even too much of a change?

The second song of the week is "Helplessness Blues" by Fleet Foxes. After making a huge splash in 2008 with their terrific self titled album, the group kind of fell off the map. Upon learning of a new album and tour, I was surprised that all I could muster was mild enthusiasm. After hearing this new single, I'm excited again. I forgot how grand and affecting these guys can make simple folk music sound. They're playing two shows in Vancouver at the end of April. The first show sold out pretty quickly, but if you hurry you might still be able to grab ticket for the second one.

Das Racist at Fortune

Pop Pete promised us all completely naked women. It did not happen. Truth be told, I was reluctant to believe such an exuberant claim, but it's fun to dream. He proceeded to ask the audience who among us was gonna do some e and than cheat on their girlfriend; preferably with a fat chick? Pop Pete, the front man from Hot Sex and High Finance does not mince words. He is blunt, and conducts him self in a slightly vulgar and grotesque manner. Yet he also seems rhetorically ironic in a reassuring sort of away. If I for second thought he actually believed his egotistical bullshit, I'd be put off; but he puts on a hyperbolic facade to mock those in the electro/progressive/hip hop scene that take themselves too seriously. Just to make sure no one mistook him for the persona he intimidated, he made sure you know how ridiculous the names of the group's songs were. “Patrick Bateman”, “Black Gretzky”- “Death Star”? More like Super Death Star. At the end of the set Pete demands that we download his album- for free! No one callously attempting to live the gangster Gordon Gekko life would issue such a proclamation.

Review: Destroyer- Kaputt

After listening to Kaputt by Destroyer, one may wonder why the creative force behind the act, Dan Bejer, refers to it as Destroyer. It's a pretty harsh moniker for music that is anything but, at least as far as Kaputt is concerned. Admittedly the career of Destroyer has seen many twists and turns and delved, at times rekclessly and aimlessly into many aesthetics and tones. The musical make up of Kaputt, while not the first time adventured by Bejer, is a recent development. It is breed from familarity, yet at the same time crafted in away that seems positively unique. Bejer, with the help of vocalist Sibel Thrasher, have made an expertly constructed and beautifully performed piece of work here; one that is refreshingly devoid of the cynicism that has crystallized like an impenetrable husk over the genres and stylings that Bejer draws inspiration from.

Part of why Kaputt works so well is it is propelled by a very clear sense of direction and well defined structure. At its core Kaputt employs a contemporary version of inoffensive smooth jazz that was more or less rendered obsolete by the early 90s. It's really a shock to hear it resurrected so casually and successfully in this collection. However the peripheries, or casing of these songs are comprised of modern hi fidelity indie pop and slightly dreary 80s new wave. Much of the bass is reminiscent of The Cure and Joy Division. Each element is applied pretty liberally on top of the aforementioned jazz center, maybe even heavy handedly at times. But both aspects are balanced admirably so the album manages to avoid any blase synth malaise that tarnished the 80s somewhat, nor does it seem to fall between the cracks of countless other fusion upstart groups. But then why would it?- as Destroyer, this is Bejer's 9^th album; he was honing his craft when the barren existentilism of the 80s was still considered modern and inovative in the early 90s. Again, these facets really are just ancillary to the core of Kaputt which is constructed from more orchestral and classical instruments. Flute, clarinet, saxophone, and trumpet, and bass- in it's diminutive way- make up the backbone here. But they aren't all employed in tandem or conjunction, rather sprinkled sporadically throughout the songs, with only occasional intermingling of all the instruments. “Suicide Note for Kara...” provides a perfect example of this as throughout the 8 minute track the central instrument keeps shifting; kind of like Mike Oldfield only not as jarringly mind bending and alienating. The shifting in arrangements here seem much more natural and unobtrusive. As a result, while the overall aesthetic is consistently orchestral jazz, the specifics and details are varied and even spontaneous. The music carries a sort of aged and eloquent wisdom to it, developing into a reassuring sense of warmth and comfort. For someone who was recently trumpeting the merits of the bizarre and slightly unsettling stylings of acts like Caribou, it's nice to be reminded of the joys one finds at the opposite end of the spectrum.

Song of the Week: "Chinatown" by Destroyer

What happens when you combine mid 80s cocaine fulled existentialism, early 90s smooth jazz, and modern day production sensibilities? This, apparently. The first track of Destroyer's new album Kaputt, "Chinatown" is relaxing if nothing else. Dan Bejer's voice is a tad aristocratic, but it's complimented nicely by sporadic pop ins from back up vocalist Sibel Thrasher. The various musical elements are pretty disparate, but the jazz stylings act like a molasses, naturally binding everything together. In other words, it works. Give it a listen and keep your eyes peeled for a full album review in the next couple days.

Watch Sleigh Bells' New Video for "Rill Rill"

Also known as "the one song from the album that won't make your ears bleed", Rill Rill is one of many  stand out tracks from Sleigh Bell's debut album Treats. Directed by Jon Watts, the clip seems to pay homage to a number of iconic American cinema templates- the road trip, the high school romance, you get the idea. Here however, there a few twists thrown in, from blood letting telephones and other flavors of horror, to Derek Miller getting thrown from a speeding car. That part is awesome.

Top 40 Songs of 2010: Part 4

10- Beach House- “Real Love”

This is a song that, due to its deceptive simplicity, defies standard descriptors. It has nothing to do with the Victoria Legrand's voice, haunting as it may be. The lyrics are so deeply imbedded with meaning and intent, but shrouded by her own history making it somewhat impenetrable. To say that you could fall in love with minimalist piano beat is so highly normative, that it does you no good. It's entirely plausible you could hate how it sounds- albeit unlikely. At times like this you could throw out the “more than the sum of its parts” line; with “Real Love” that seems like a cop out. Attributing its content to some sort of sentimentality or factor of nostalgia again seems to be skirting along the periphery of the issue. Perhaps its just vague and benin enough in terms of content and aesthetics that whatever it is she is trying to convey seems cathartically applicable to whatever horrible or wonderful event of your own life you find yourself dwelling on. Is it something of pure adulation or an agonizing reminder? It's tricky this one- but its damn good.

Top 40 Songs of 2010: Part 3

20- Shit Robot- “Take em Up”

If Nancy Whang is singing, it will be on my year end list. On this matter, I will accept no arguments. Her voice engages you through a weird blend of sterilizing monotony and genuine emotion. She has this robotic digitized way of singing at times but segues beautifully into more melodic wave form deliveries, like when she sings “but he said it's all right, and he said it's all right, and you know it's all right, now there's just no reason not to say no”. Musically “Take em Up” is like an 8 bit bedroom beat cracked up on melodramatic overture, sketchy guitar strings and obtuse synth base notes. The whole thing is salacious and scandalous, only cynically encased in aristocratic yet soulless shell. But as Whang memorializes the exploits, mishaps and mysteries of her nights that casing is splayed open. By growing slightly more jittery, with a carful blending of euphonic soft notes from the key board and increasingly elongated, ephemeral echos of Whang's voice, the rhythm becomes more organic. As the end approaches, the beat slows down, giving way to a broken down speech from Whang. She tries to convey the futility of desire, and our unwillingness to grow beyond its depleting effects on us. While she seems to have reached her limit from these tribulations, she's got one more round in her still. She ends it on a high note.

2010 in pictures

What good is listening to the ramblings of someone droning on and on about concerts without any pictures to accompany them. To address this egregious oversight I offer a brief compilations of shots from some of the shows I attended in the previous year. I can't tell you how much I regret not getting any shots from the LCD Soundsystem show. Anyways, let's do this.

Julian Casablancas at The Commodore

Little Dragon at Fortune

Tuesday, January 11-

I quite like Fortune; in the murky parochial recesses of Chinatown, cluttered with it's strange little shops is this ultra modern exterior. It seems sterile and monolithic and completely out of place- it's pretty cool! Inside it's a sufficient spot, it's a bit too elongated and the stage is tad small, but it works. Things got off to a bit of a rocky start, beginning with the opener Billygoat. They were... something. I don't know what. Honestly, a few days later it's hard to recall any specifics. There were no vocals, it was very minimal. It seemed almost pretentiously subdued; I was half expecting someone to tell me I had to listen to the notes they weren't playing. I was much more compelled by the pretty cool visual aspect they had to accompany it. It wasn't terribly flashy or opulent, but visually striking; as in sparkling whales petrifying into mountains. That kind of stuff. Aside from that, I don't think I need to hear Billygoat again. If I did, I probably wouldn't know it. I was a little put off that after Billygoat it took over an hour and twenty minutes for set up. It was an excessively long time for something that isn't the Radiohead multicolour brain melting chandelier light show. But I digress... 

Top 40 Songs of 2010: Part 2

30- Of Montreal- “Enemy Gene”

Of Montreal songs are always so densely packed it can be hard to make sense of them, but its worth a shot. “Enemy Gene” is bizarre and unique, with an at times startling mix of whimsical and disturbing elements. Kevin Barnes initially begins with a soft whispering voice, throwing out ridiculous non sequeters like “Zombies are licking your windows/looking for black body radiation”. It seems secluded and seductive, accompanied by innocent sounding flutes and bells. He breaks out of his restrained demeanor and becomes more melodic as things progress. The chorus performed in tandem with Solonge Knowles is majestic in tone. Their manner of singing is so instrumental and melodic, the words seem like music itself. However, with no warning, the song briefly segues into an urgent and frightening zip line. Characterized by a light brass and violent sleigh bells Barnes laments “How can we ever evolve, when are gods are so primitive?” It's very cool stuff. Just as quickly as it begins, the song defaults back to its initial make up leaving you to wonder what just happened. 

Top 40 Songs of 2010: Part 1

40- How to Dress Well- “Walking This Dumb” (live)

There is some sort of lesson to be learned with this song; maybe not from How to Dress Well, or their producers. Instead from whoever recorded and mixed the live version of “Walking This Dumb” For a band that is so frail and wafty sounding, every aspect of this song seems invasively harsh. Like the depths of your ear drums are being pieced, and its peripheries are being scathed by the violent winds of Tom Krell's voice. His vocals interact with and blurringly blend into the low humming ominous instrumental wail that oscillates throughout the song. Only the higher octave notes are fully realized and acute making the song not entirely perceptible at times. Its ghostly and ghoulish and pretty cool!

Daft Punk gets Derezzed

After months of false leaks and anxious waiting the Tron: Legacy soundtrack is finally here. To no one's surprise it's pretty nuts. Even better, there's a video for the first single "Derezzed" and it's just all kinds of awesome. Combining visual elements from both of the Tron films, it seems distinct. It approximates the retrograde film the original was made with as well as filming parts in black in white and liberally applying color after words- much like The Strokes' "12:51".  From the new film it seems to use it's more modern sense of lighting and even use of angular and curved architecture and costumes. Also, it sounds fantastic. Head over to MTV.ca -if you go to a site outside Canada, you're likely to get the "not available in your region" line- parochialists!

Update: Youtube's got the clip now; check it out after the jump

Watch Snoop in the New Gorillaz Video

Gather 'round kids, Snoop needs your focus. One of the most engaging albeit slightly goofy tracks off Gorillaz' Plastic Beach is the Snoop led intro "Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach". Prexif has the clip for the video just recorded for it. Honestly it's not much, with the characteristic animated trope strangely absent for this outing. But who doesn't love Snoop, and anything to get people listening to this track is worth a post. Check it out, and if you haven't listened to Plastic Beach yet, you're doing yourself a disservice. (also via pitchfork)

Song of the Week: "The Girl and the Robot" by Robyn

Robyn spent a good chunk of her career with a bad rap from the 90s. But she went dark, retooled, re-armed, and came roaring back; this year alone she's released three LPs. Off of Body Talk Part 1 we have “The Girl and the Robot”. It's a sinister and industrialized kind of pop raucous. It seems lyrically oriented around your standard references of desire and paranoia. However, its layering on top of such a cleverly constructed yet evil in its overtones beat is pretty sharp. What do you think? Is it crap pop poetry or something more jarringly unique?

Flaming Lips at the Malkin Bowl

As much as I would love to draft a more formal and comprehensive analysis of the recent Flaming Lips show at the Malkin Bowl, time, and more specifically school, is not on my side. Nevertheless since I was there, I should try and at least give you some idea of what it was like. So this time I'm going to attempt whats called a “Katamari” type review of the show.

The following are things I saw at the Flaming Lips show, in no particular order: Two dozen dancers that looked like they were rejects from Devo, Two massive death star sized disco balls, an array of neon green pulsating laser rays, two scary monster claws, a couple banging about 5 feet away from my friend and I (they were in love), a whole lot of giant balloons, two heavy artillery confetti cannons, a shit load of confetti, a few kids sitting on their parents shoulders using big head phones as ear muffs, a bear (costume), Wayne Cohen's massive sweaty face in extreme close up mode, a glowing florescent blue animated women, her vagina that was burning so bright, it was just a blinding white light, a cane that fired streamers and fireworks into the air, smoke and bubble machines, something that looked a lot like this, another vagina that proceeded to envelope and swallow the women it was affixed to, strobing close ups of angry animals growling at you, the drummer smoking a lot, a man sized hamster/space ball, and a single enormous eye ball that stared right at you.

Best show ever.

Song of the Week: "Revival" by Deerhunter

The third track from Deerhunter's new, and absolutely brilliant, LP Halcyon Digest, “Revival” is aptly named. It's a song about not just discovering, but rediscovering the joys and inspiration that comes from making music. It starts off with a sharp, crisp and precise acoustic beat; as if it was designed for a no nonsense sort of efficiency. But as Bradford Cox transitions into the chorus his mood and style transition into something a little more broad and expansive. As he sings he- in a sort of real time way- creates this swelling, cascading sense of realization and epiphany. “Darkness, always... it doesn't make much sense”, he preaches. Its as if he has begun to understand that creation can be a cathartic process, not a dreary and painstaking motion. The way he performs is as if he's not just letting us in on something he recently discovered, but as if he is stumbling upon this enlightenment right along with us. Listen to the way he slows down his pacing just a little bit during the chorus. It's masterful and a big step forward for an artist that has never really been synonymous with any optimistic descriptors.