Posts Tagged ‘arcade fire’

The Decade List – Part 1

Monday, November 16th, 2009

As the first decade of this millennium draws to a close, it is time to start looking back a bit.  One of the ways that I intend to do that is by creating my own personal playlist of the decade.  This includes 25 songs that have made an impact on me in the past 9 years and 11 months.  I do not think that I have the ability or desire to rank pieces of art objectively.  So my criteria are simple.  All songs on the list must have been released in a year that begins with 20.  Also, for the purposes of accessibility, they are all going to be singles.  With that specific definition left up to me.

I plan on releasing the list in groups of five over the next month and a bit.  I do not have any schedule, they will just appear when I see fit I suppose.

Interestingly enough, I found that most of these songs were released in between 2004 and 2007.  These two years are significant to me both musically, as they are the year that my favourite band, Arcade Fire, released their two albums, and also personally, as they are the two years that I received University Degrees.  I am not certain if there is a connection or not, but it does add a certain credence to the notion that we need music when we are seeking meaning to our lives.  Something that certainly comes with facing the unknown world outside of the comforts of Academia.

Enough dither, there is plenty of time for that as the list goes on.

The Decade List

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20 Meaningful Albums

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

After the wild success of the “25 Random Things” on Facebook, it seemed destined that music geeks around the world would find something to combat this meme. Thankfully, there was indeed something to come out. I was tagged of this one the Book, and decided that it would be better served as a blog post as well. Feel free to copy this idea (since I clearly did) and post it yourself, and if you are writing this on Facebook, please tag 20 (or so) people who you would like to know about their musical tastes.

The rules for this are simple, find 20 albums that mean the most to you and tell us why. These do not need to be in any particular order, and in no means should represent your thoughts on the 20 “best” albums, just ones that have a special meaning to you in some way, shape or form.

Sounds simple right? Well I thought it was going to be a simple exercise, but then I started writing, and I had a hard time stopping. It amazed me how much my history of musical tastes, is so interrelated to my own personal history, not only serving as a backdrop, but occasionally as a major player, developing a story of its own….enjoy!!!

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1. Arcade Fire — Funeral

I’ll always remember the moment that I acquired this album. I had just got off a bus stop when I noticed someone drop something. Desiring to be the good Samaritan, I rushed through the crowd to pick it up and return it, however, by the time that I fought my way over to what they had dropped, the very person had boarded the very bus that I just got off from and the doors closed, leaving me with a CD in my hand. After processing the events, I went home, and curiously put it into my stereo, and everything changed.

Alright, so I made that all up. My story of how I cam across the most meaningful piece of art is far less romantic than that, and to be honest, is a little bit sad.

Like most of my musical moments of my University days, they traced back to one man, Ryan McNutt. See McNutt (whose blog I have linked to on multiple occasions), is far more of a music geek than I have ever been, and has provided me with countless suggestions and insights into music at different points in time.

It was late in 2004, and I was discussing some record or another that should be the album of the year, and he interjected and told me that his pick was by a Montreal band called “The Arcade Fire”. I nodded and said that I would check it out. The next day, I went out and downloaded a few of their songs, and to be honest, I was not all that impressed. I thought that they were good, but far from great, and I paid them little attention for months.

Then one day, while I was more or less dissatisfied with my life, “Rebellion (Lies)” came on my iTunes shuffle, and I heard something different. Something resonated with me that wasn’t there before. I can’t place my finger on it, but it just sounded…better.

The next time I found myself in a record store, I knew that I needed to buy this album. While I had heard most of the songs on it before, I had yet to hear it that way before, and in that particular context. I was amazed at the symmetry of the album, and how beautifully all of the songs were put together (in particular “Haiti” and “Rebellion (Lies)”). I was spell bound at the art work on the cardboard case. I studied the lyrics and extracted meanings upon meanings.

My lack of income and fast internet connection had turned me into a downloader for most of my University days. I had forgotten the beauty in an album, the story it tells from it’s opening song, down to its aesthetics. Thankfully, along came Funeral and reminded me that an album really is more than a collection of songs, it can be something so much more.

While I could go on and on about my love for this album, I suppose that I have committed to talking about 19 others…

2. Nirvana — Unplugged in New York

Back in the mid-90s these new things called “CDs” came out. Apparently they were much more convenient and durable than tapes. Needless to say, my younger sister and I wanted them, badly. But we had quite the problem, no CD player. We asked Santa for one, but nothing came. We saw how great they were at friends house, and longer for one of our own, when finally our mother gave in and bought one for our house.

Since we obviously needed to expand our collection, my mother signed us up for one of those stupid record clubs that the internet has thankfully killed. For those of you who don’t remember, there were these companies that gave out deals were you could buy 12 CDs for 1 cent each, if you bought several other CDs for a vastly inflated price. It sounds like a good deal and all, but to be honest, the choices of CDs simply weren’t any good.

My mother told me that I could pick out as many of them from the list as I wanted, and I did not really liked any of them, so I ignored it. I am sure now that if I looked back I would find all sorts of hidden gems and CDs that I would absolutely adore, but that simply was not the case when I was 12.

I wanted what all pre-teens want more than anything, acceptance from their peers. I was always looking for some bands on this master list that I had heard of, and finally I noticed one that was not The Backstreet Boys. I was a little bit too young and dorky to get into Nirvana when it mattered, but I knew that I had heard a few of their songs on the radio and I did like them, so I jumped when I saw Unplugged in New York.

I discovered a host of other great CDs (including several other by Nirvana), and this one became largely forgotten. However, when I entered a more adult phase of my musical life I rediscovered how beautiful this live album is. When I listen to it now, I am amazed that my 12 year old self could appreciate something as mellow, raw, and nostalgic as this album, but somehow I did. I’d like to think that it was other reasons than just wanting to fit in, but that may be a little hard to say now.

3. Cake — Fashion Nugget

There are many advantages to having an older sibling, but one of the most tangible is an earlier parent free access to a car. Of course, one of the other advantages to this is that you get to listen to their much older (and usually better) musical tastes while they are driving.

While my older sister, has introduced me to a great deal of excellent bands (and I’d like to think that I have repaid her in recent years) one of the ones that really sticks out to me is Cake. They are a band that is not so big, so I can not really assume that I would have found them on my own, and certainly not so early. Either way, this would quickly become the sound track for car rides with my two sisters, and very much remains a band with a strong familial connection for me (and presumably the other two as well). Special mention to “Stickshifts and Safetybelts”, THE definitive road-tripping song.

4. Everclear — So Much for the Afterglow

Another album that has a special place in our family to me. The major exception being that my older sister and I arrived at this one independently of one another, and to no surprise, we both loved it.

The songs of a broken family held a special resonance with me at a particularly challenging time in my teenage life. The song “I Will Buy You a New Life” was particularly poignant for me in my summer before I was about to move to Nova Scotia, and start a new life of my own. Whenever I hear this CD I am taken to a bit of a hard place, but am relieved to know that I made it out fine enough.

5. Eminem — The Slim Shady LP
6. Eminem — The Marshall Mathers LP

Eminem’s major label debut was another musical gift from my older sister, as she had heard it just before it really broke through. I fell in love with his witty and relevant lyrics, violence and anger aside. It is worth noting that this was shortly after I moved to Nova Scotia, and I remember being mocked for my choice in “scary death music”, but that just led to me listening to this amazing album on my own.

Of course, after a year and a bit, “The Real Slim Shady” became a huge single, and helped propel everyone to rush to the store and go for The Marshall Mathers LP.

Needless to say, I was able to listen to that one in whatever company I wanted.

7. Matthew Good Band — Beautiful Midnight

Not all of my musical energies were being devoted to angry but intelligent rap at the time. There was still a rock starved side to my soul that was drowning in the sea of Brittney-pop that was the late 90s/early 00s.

Thankfully, I found an outlet with this aptly titled, beautiful album.

I think that this is legitimately one of the best put together albums I have ever heard. The track listing here is near perfect. Instead of just going with the traditional track number, each song was given an hour of the night, and each song matched the mood of that particular time. My favourite of course being “Let’s Get it On” for midnight.

8. New Radicals — Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too

I have a bit of a strange story to acquiring this album (and a real one). See when the single “You Get What You Give” came out in 1999, I was not particularly impressed with it. I mean, it was catchy, but I just didn’t seem to get it. My younger sister when out and bought the CD, and seemed to listen primarily to the single, which quickly reached one hit wonder status. I did not think too much about it and moved on.

Fast forward a few years, and I was dragged to some god-awful movie with Mandi Moore (A Walk To Remember maybe? I really don’t remember, someone please help me out with this one) and it used the song “Someday We’ll Know” from this CD, which I instantly recognized from the CD. Somehow, when I heard it in that theatre, I got it.

That summer when I went home, I borrowed it from my sister and listened to the CD front to back a number of times, and fell in love with it. From the stellar opening “Mother We Just Can’t Get Enough” to the depressing “Crying Like a Church on a Monday” finisher, this CD has it all. It chronicles an amazing romantic journey with highs, lows, twists and turns.

Thankfully she let me keep the album from then on, and I can fully appreciate it all the time.

9. Hawksley Workman — Lover/Fighter

Like a lot of Canadians, I grew to like both “Striptease” and “Jealous of Your Cigarette” by Hawksley Workman, mostly for their perverted connotations. I decided to purchase Lover/Fighter on a bit of a whim, and have never lived to regret it. Like the last few albums I have listed, this is amazingly put together as the character in the songs alternates between a lover and a fighter from song to song. Also, this started my backwards journey of Mr. Workman, which has led to some of my absolute favourite and personal of songs on my playlists.

10. Green Day — American Idiot
11. Franz Ferdinand — Franz Ferdinand
12. The Killers — Hot Fuss

From the fall of 2004 to the spring of 2005, I worked as a Recruitment Officer for Acadia University. One of my major responsibilities was to drive around to different high schools all over the Maritime Provinces. Needless to say, this involved a lot of time alone in a car, so a good CD collection was an absolute must. I bought (and made) several CDs over the course of that year, but these three stand out as the best purchases to soundtrack the open road. Whenever I listen to any of these now, I am taken back to stunning East coast scenery and some deep and personal thoughts.

13. Arctic Monkeys — Whatever People Say, That’s What I’m Not

After a year working for “The Man”, I moved to Scotland for a year. While there I got to experience a bunch of excellent British bands the way they were meant to be experienced, fervently. However, the biggest explosion came in January of 2006, when The Arctic Monkeys released their debut album. Records were shattered, people were amazed, and great musicians earned their place in the spotlight. Not only is this a fantastic album, but it really helped me understand that depth and scope for the British passion for great music.

14. Broken Social Scene — You Forgot It In People
15. Wilco — Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

These two fantastic albums came into my life a little late, but were still incredibly appreciated. For a variety of reasons, these two would soundtrack any late night lesson planning or marking I was doing in either Teacher’s College or during my first year of teaching. If you ever need any music to play while you are questioning your career motivations, these two albums get my highest recommendation.

16. Sufjan Stevens — Seven Swans

While I will fully acknowledge that either the Michigan or Illinois albums are far superior to this Sufjan release, this one still holds a very special place in my heart. I first got into this album at a point that seems like a life time ago. I was really falling for this very special girl, who shall remain nameless for a variety of reasons. I would often play this very mellow and reflective album when I was alone and thinking about her. Now her and I did not work out, for another variety of reasons, but this album and I worked out just fine. Whenever her and I were together we would often listen to different music, so I never formed a direct connection between her and this album, instead these tracks became connected with the feeling of love to me. Whenever I listen to these songs (especially “The Dress Looks Nice on You” and “To Be Alone With You”) I can’t help but feel like I am falling in love again, even if it is just with the gentle melodies.

17. Sigur Ros — ( )

Last year, I was in a state of flux, starting a new career, with a very busy and demanding schedule. As a result, I had difficulties fully slowing down at the end of the day, and I would find myself tossing and turning for hours at a time before falling asleep. Thankfully, this album came along to help me. The volumes that are spoken in this album are simply astounding, despite the absence of any real language. The album seems like it was designed for someone to fall asleep to, as it starts out a little restless, but eventually clams down, only to softly stir later on.

18. Stars — Nightsongs
19. Kanye West — Graduation

Before I start let me get two important things out of the way: Firstly, I realize that this is an incredibly bizarre album pairing, and secondly, I am also fully aware that both of these albums pale in comparison to some of the other works by the band and artist. Last year, while living in Oakville (the suburbs of Toronto) I got to become something that I had never really been before, a semi-regular concert goer. I went to as many concerts as I could, and thoroughly enjoyed them all, however two really stand out to me, Stars in November, and Kanye West in May. Both shows were fantastic, but the most memorable moments of each show came when they played songs from the albums listed above, “On Peak Hill” and “Flashing Lights” respectively. So whenever I hear any songs of either album, I am taken back to some special moments experiencing music the way it is supposed to, in the ringing of the ears and shaking of the chest.

20. Arcade Fire — Neon Bible

It ends how it begins.

After having such a fantastic experience with their debut album, I had lofty ambitions for their follow up, and I was not at all disappointed. When I first heard this album I was simply amazed. More than Funeral I felt that this album was made for me. “Ocean of Noise” described my previous relationship, “My Body is a Cage” described the one I was in at the time, and I feared that my future would be written in the “Neon Bible”. I listened to this album almost obsessively, even sneaking to my computer to hear it during my lunch breaks at school, and every time I found something else that was somehow, someway connected to my life at the time.

Had they written it just for me?

Obviously, I can only assume that they did not, but it felt like it at the time, and looking back I feel it still. While Funeral reunited my love for music, and reminded me of what it was capable of, Neon Bible took it a whole different level for me, and made it personal. It reminded me that music can mean a different thing to everyone in this world, and that is what makes it so special, the fact that you can genuinely feel like an artist is making something for you.

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So there we have it, a lot longer than I anticipated, but done none the less. Hopefully you’ll share your lists too, fair is fair after all!!!

Until next time,

G

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Logging My Journey…

Sunday, August 24th, 2008

Well hello there everyone, it’s official, I’m back in business!!! Welcome one and all to the season premiere of Getting Glenergized, coming to you live and direct from the People’s Republic of China!

For my first post of the season, I decided to do a live log of my Trans-Pacific Flight, since well I was pretty darned bored. Here is the journey of my flight, taking place on August 20-21st….enjoy!!!

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Current Time: 1:26PM EDT
Current Mood: Excited
Current Soundtrack: The Arcade Fire – Keep the Car Running

The captain has turned off the seat belt light, and I have moved my way back to a free row, where I now sit. I’m bunking in seat 40D for the next 14 hours or so of my life. The take off was smooth, but is now a little bit bumpy, I can’t help but feel that is some sort of an omen.

I have spent the last several days, if not months, preparing for this trip. I got my passport renewed, my visa sorted out, said all of my goodbyes, and now here I am way thirty thousand feet above the country I have called home for most of my life, and there is no turning back. Since I left my school back in June, I have been saying goodbye, and quite frankly, I am a little sick of it. While it has been nice to bid everyone farewell, and given me a great deal of closure, this time has been long overdo.

Every goodbye, from my friends to my students to my parents, carries with it a certain amount of emotion, and dare I say, a hint of regret. Did I say all that I need to? Did I do everything with this person that I wanted to? How much of my time did I waste that I could have spent with this person? In the end, it doesn’t matter, because what’s done is done, and nothing can be changed. There are all sorts of people that I will miss greatly over the next year or two (or more?) but such is life, especially the life of a nomad like me.

Anyway, I am going to be off to find some way to entertain myself for the next little while, I’ll be back to post whenever that bores me.

Current Time: 2:37PM EDT
Current Mood: Schemy
Current Soundtrack: Wolf Parade – Grounds For Divorce

After playing a bit of Civilization III, I decided to watch an episode of “Kenny vs. Spenny” on the enRoute TV, and it got me thinking. Why don’t I have horrifying challenges with friends of mine? I think that I am equal parts diabolical Kenny and neurotic Spenny. It would be pretty hilarious. Anyone out there in the blogosphere want to engage in some sort of maniacal and humiliating challenge? The possibilities have endless hilarious outcomes.

Alright time to go, off to scheme.

Current Time: 3:35PM EDT
Current Mood: Accomplished
Current Soundtrack: Tegan and Sara – Call it Off

I played a bit more Civizilation and I got a pretty easy (and dare I say) impressive Domination Victory as the Persians. I am pretty proud of myself for that one, so I think that I’m going to either erect a statue to my greatness, or maybe just start a new game soon enough.

Sadly, all of the windows are closed, and the on screen map is not working, so I really have no idea where the heck I am, but I would guess that I am probably leaving Ontario shortly (if I haven’t already) which actually means that I have crossed the first of the 11 time zones that I will pass today. For simplicities sake, I’ll keep writing in Eastern (Toronto) time, no point in trying to wrap my head around that one, although it could be kind of funny, especially when daylight savings are taken into account of it all. What a crazy world we live in.

I have the entire three rows to myself, and I have yet to try putting my feet up, as I have left my computer bag on the middle seat next to me, I guess I want to make it as comfortable as possible when I try to lie down and have a nap, which may just be soon.

I just took a second to peruse the movie choice, and I think that I am going to give 21 a try. Partly because I heard it’s awesome, partly because it’s about math geeks like me, and partly because Troy says one of the guys reminds him of me, I want to see how right he is.

Current Time: 5:51PM EDT
Current Mood: Enthusiastic
Current Soundtrack: Rebelution – Safe and Sound

21 kicks ass, make a point to watch it. Also of note, it has one of the greatest soundtracks for any movie I have seen in a while, from Peter Bjorn & John to LCD Soundsystem to the sweet Rolling Stones remix at the end, it was a tour de rock.

For the record, the main character is a touch Glenish, but not quite as much as Troy let me believe. Mostly because I don’t think that I could land a gal as gorgeous as he did. (Note to the Future: If a significant other of mine is reading this somewhere down the line, I was clearly wrong on that one)

Still not really sure where I am, but I think that I am somewhere over the Pacific Ocean right now, and lord only knows what time zone it is, it is probably best not to ask such questions for it will only make me feel small. A lot of people are sleeping on the plane right now, and I’m not really sure if I should try or not, I feel tired, but only because it is dark in here, and there isn’t much else to do. However, Shanghai is waking up now, so I feel a certain sense of energy and enthusiasm at this point. I think that I will celebrate by making a second case for world domination.

Current Time: 6:54PM EDT
Current Mood: Reflective
Current Soundtrack: Jeremy Fisher – Left Behind

“You’re always dreaming so far ahead, I feel a little left behind. We’ll never find each other my love in the same place, at the same time“

That’s a quote from the above mentioned song. It seems appropriate considering how far away I’m going and for how long.

Here’s hoping those lyrics ring true for someone special out there.

Current Time: 7:47PM
Current Mood: Confused
Current Soundtrack: Hawksley Workman – Jealous of Your Cigarette

I think that it’s dinner time, or maybe it’s breakfast. I’m not really certain. Either way, they are serving me food, so I guess it is time to eat.

Note to Future Travellers: Request a special meal on the plane, you’ll get served way before anyone else. Score another point for veganism, take that omnis.

I noticed that I have a chance to watch Batman Begins. While I have seen it before, I think that I will love it even more now that I have seen Dark Knight three times, in theatres. For the record, I would like to nominate that film for an Academy Award for Best Movie EVER MADE.
Maybe I’ll try and get some sleep soon, although Batman gets me really excited so it may be a bit of a challenge, ahh well, I shall do my best.

Current Time: 10:09PM EDT
Current Mood: Inspired
Current Soundtrack: Neil Young – Keep on Rocking in the Free World (Live Acoustic)

Three simple words: Batman Kicks Ass

I forgot how fantastic the first installment in the Nolan Reboot actually is. Granted it isn’t half the movie that Dark Knight, but I don’t think that much really is.

A few hours ago, I wanted to have humiliation contests with my friends, now I want to be come a ninja and fight crime. I guess I should start putting “Impressionable” as my mood from here on out. I chose this song to listen to because of that desire to help out, and also for cheeringly ironic reasons, considering my destination.

Watching Batman, and listening to Neil, I can’t help but wonder exactly what I can do to make the world a better, more just place. I chose to become a teacher to be a guiding light, and good influence on others, and I like to think that I have the power to accomplish that, but I wonder, is it enough? The world is a massive place, full of some very bad people, surely a good person such as myself can do something to help, can’t I? I guess I have to figure out some way to save the world. As I re-read that last sentence I can’t help but wonder, maybe that is the meaning of life and everyone’s grand purpose, saving the world from itself.

Or maybe my purpose now is to try and get some sleep, only five hours left to go.

Current Time: 12:00AM EDT
Current Mood: Restless
Current Soundtrack: Sigur Ros – Starlafur

I’ve been on this plane just short of 11 hours and have yet to get a wink of sleep…uggh.
I really have nobody to blame for this at all, the other passengers have been reasonably quiet and I have three seats all to myself. I guess I’m just anxious. Perhaps I should title this blog post “Confessions of a Travelling Insomniac”, or maybe not, that is kind of lame.

When I look at the time, it occurs to me that it is now August 21. However, I crossed the international date line awhile ago, so it has been the 21st for quite some time. Damn time zones, so hard to wrap your head around.

Well, hopefully this is the last post I make until I arrive at my pad in Suzhou. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Current Time: 1:57AM EDT
Current Mood: Exhausted
Current Soundtrack: The Killers – Read My Mind

I got about an hour and a half of sleep, and I think that will probably be it.

I was woken up a little while ago for breakfast, or lunch, or maybe it was a midnight snack, I really don’t know anymore. Ugh, tomorrow is going to be rough. Or rather, today is going to be rough. Either way, I’m pretty damn excited about it.

Descending time will start soon, the computer should get packed up soon. China, here I come!

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Current Day: August 24, 2008
Current Time: 4:05AM EDT
Current Mood: Serendipitous
Current Soundtrack: Children playing

I’m here now in Suzhou, as I have been since I finished the above post, and all is well. My apartment is fantastic, my colleagues are wonderful, and everything looks like it is going to work out just fine.

I will post back with new information soon as things start to settle down. If any of you out there are worried about me, please stop. All is well.

Until next time,

G

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Music to Give to a Stranger

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008

The other day, while perusing McNutt’s blog, I noticed his post about Operation Disc Drop, put forward by CBC show The Hour. Now I was obviously very intrigued by this project, as I love both sharing music and random acts of kindness, so obviously an opportunity to do both was a great idea. The instructions for the project are really simple, and can be found on The Hour’s Disc Drop Blog:

STEP 1: Make a mixed CD of your favourite tunes. Somewhere on the disc write: “DISC DROP – cbc.ca/thehour”
Be sure to include a track-listing so people can track down more music by the artists on your disc.
STEP 2: Drop off your disc in a random public place.
STEP 3: Go to the “I Dropped a Disc – What Now”, click on the comments, and write down where you dropped off your disc and the track-listing. Check back later to find out who picked it up, and where it’s heading next.


So I spent a few days thinking about what kind of a disc I would make, and where I would put it. After a bit, I decided to make a playlist to introduce people to some “Indie” bands, and give them a few songs that I felt had some deep meaning and could have those “Change your life” type moments. Here’s the catch though, I wanted to leave it at school and aim it at some High School Students, so I had to be especially careful in my selection.

Here’s what I ended up coming up with, complete with YouTube links to the songs in question:

1. Feist — “1,2,3,4″. I started out with this song as a bit of a Trojan Horse. I figured that most teenagers would know it from the iPod commercials (something that I have mentioned on here before) , and probably love it since they would associate it with their most prized possessions. I wanted the people to find this CD to want to listen to, and I figure starting it out with a familiar, and trendy song would make them want to give this a listen.

2. Guillemots — “Trains to Brazil”. Now here’s were we start the education. I wanted to follow up the song that most of them would know with a song that most of the would not know. Also, the trumped themed joy of the first song led well into the trumpet themed optimism of this song.

3. The National — “Fake Empire”. I decided to make this CD follow a very typical structure. Start out with a bang, up it, and then bring it down. Here we are bringing it down a bit. I decided to go with one of the best songs, off of one of the best albums of 2007, and I kept with the trumpet theme, by going with this one.

4. Apostle of Hustle — “My Sword Hand’s Anger” (Sorry this was the best video of this song that I could find). And we take things down a bit more. I have talked about Apostle of Hustle before on here, and I must say, that they have been one of my favourite musical discoveries of 2007. I mean, I had heard them before but I hadn’t really LISTENED to them before, and seeing them live was one of my musical highlights of the year. I really like this song, and I feel it went along with the slow descent that is going on in the theme of this disc.

5. Matt Weddle — “Hey Ya”. Here’s where the fun starts. This is the first of three covers that I used on this CD. Now more than any other, teenagers are very protective of their musical tastes, and often say things like “[Insert particular genre] rulez, everything else is teh suck”…or something like that…as such, I decided to take a few songs that they may find familiar, but were reinvented a bit to expand their horizons a bit, and maybe introduce them to a different type of genre. Here is the first one as Matt Weddle, takes one of the best songs of the 00’s, “Hey Ya” by Outkast and changes it from a dancy-pop-love-fest to a sad-acoustic bit of brilliance. Plus it really fits with the slow descent that I’m going for here in the middle of the playlist.

6. Broken Social Scene — “Marketfresh” (Sorry, I coudn’t find a video to this one…). I knew that I needed to include some Broken Social Scene on this one, but I had to remember that I was making this one for students, and there was an outside chance that my principal could find it, so I knew that I could have any swearing, or strong sexual references, thus eliminating “Time = Cause” and “Lover’s Spit”, the two songs that got me hooked on this band. So I decided to go with a brilliant bit from Beehives their forgotten album. Also, I figured that there was less of a chance that someone would have heard this one, making it more likely to be a discovery for more people.

7. The Shins — “Young Pilgrims”. This song is aimed clearly at the Garden State crowd. I totally agree that “New Slang” is a brilliant song, but there is SO much more to this band than that one track. Chutes Too Narrow is very overlooked, since it came out slightly before Garden State and it does not have “New Slang” on it, but it is probably their best work to date. As such, I took this great track from that great album to expose people to this band as a whole.

8. Joseph Arthur — “Echo Park” (You owe it to yourself to find a better recording of this song, it is brilliant). I went with another slow, melodic song here. I took this song, one that very few people would have heard as a gem for people looking to really expand their musical horizons. For people who weren’t, I sandwiched this track between two songs that would have some appeal to the average person, as a way to essentially, make them listen to it.

9. Tori Amos — “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. Here comes Cover #2, this time of one of the greatest songs of the 90s, as Tory Amos rethinks the Nirvana classic, with just her voice and the piano. It is haunting and amazing. Like I was hoping that The Shins song would go for the artsy crowd, I’m hoping that this one speaks a bit to the grungy kids.

10. Dispatch — “Hey, Hey” (You’re going to have to jump to about 3:50 of this video to hear the song, before that it has “Free Falling” by Tom Petty…not a bad song either). Now here’s where I get a teachy and preachy. I didn’t want to go too over the top with strange music, so I think that this one stays in people’s comfort zone, plus it has some pretty solid life lessons in the chorus saying “Question yourself, are you really what you seem?”, which is a solid lesson for any teenager.

11. The John Butler Trio — “Nowhere Man”. I mentioned this song back when I did my travel playlist, when I said ” [The song] is a great way to sum up those long bus/train trips when you feel like you aren’t anywhere.” And really that’s the main reason I put it here, I just think that it’s nice and hopefully awaken the wanderlust in some of these kids.

12. Hawksley Workman — “Don’t Be Crushed”. This song really is gorgeous, and touching. I thought it may be a good one in case one of the students was going through some sort of teen angst thinking that their life is over and maybe this one will help. Also, I wanted to include a song by Hawksley, but I ran into the same problem that I had with Broken Social Scene, too much swearing and raw sexuality…

13. Eva Cassidy — “Time After Time”. Here is cover #3, and the slowest portion of the CD. While I know that most of the teenagers out there don’t know much Cyndi Lauper, but I know that this song was used on the Smallville soundtrack, so it may appeal to some of them. Plus, it really is awesome.

14. Wilco — “What Light”. I knew that I needed to feature Wilco somewhere on this disc, and I originally had “Heavy Metal Drummer” as my song, but I decided that I needed to give people something a little bit more familiar, so I went with the best of the Wilco songs that has been used on Volkswagen commercials this year. Plus, it has the whole “Be Yourself” message that seems to be so popular with the kids these days.

15. Death Cab For Cutie — “Soul Meets Body”. Death Cab is one of the popular “Indie/Alternative” bands out there, so I figured it would be nice to have a song that would appeal to any kids who may have heard of them. With this song (and the last two) I was trying to give some kids a reason to pop this into their CD player, and keep it playing. Plus this really is a great, soft, song, whose poppy beats help bring the tone of the playlist up as we near the end.

16. Peter, Bjorn & John — “Young Folks”. Speaking of poppy beats, we have PB&J, one of the greatest Indie Pop bands you can find. The opening whistle of this song is a great hook, and hopefully will keep the recipient of this disc interested. This song really speaks about a teenage romance saying “We don’t care about the young folks, talkin’ about their young style. We don’t care about the old folks, talkin’ about their old style too.”, and has some rebellious teenage undertones.

17. The Arcade Fire — “Rebellion (Lies)”. Speaking of teenage rebellion, we have one of the greatest songs ever made on the subject! This is probably my favourite song ever made, and it really speaks to my cynical, slightly rebellious side. A side that I know is loud and clear in teenagers.

18. Sufjan Stevens — “Chicago”. Sufjan needed to present, it’s really that simple. This is one of his most accessible and catchy songs, and it has that added bonus of being a song that people will say “I know this song from somewhere” (i.e. The Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack)

19. Stars — “On Peak Hill”. I devoted an entire post to my pure love of this song, and I have to say, that not much has changed since then. I simply adore this song, and this band. I had a ton of their work to choose from, but I went with this little ditty from one of their earlier albums, since it is less known, and because it helps cool things down near the end.

20. The Weakerthans — “My Favourite Chords”. I couldn’t think of a better way to end this CD with this simple, eloquent, lullaby. It’s just like a warm musical hug.

So that’s my list. I decided to make 5 copies of this CD and put them in five pretty random places around campus (I left one in the staff room, one in the art classroom, one in the main reception area, one in a popular student hang out, and one in a random hallway). I know that the one in the staff room got picked up, and I’m hoping that the other ones will get nagged soon, and that other people keep this great idea alive. I know that I want to get one…

Until next time,

G

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Looking Back at My Crystal Ball

Wednesday, January 9th, 2008

Last year, I made some bold and daring predictions for the Year 2007, and now, 367 days later I see how my clairvoyant abilities turned out….


1. A Liberal Minority – Wow, was I ever wrong with this one!!!! While I still think very highly of Mr. Dion, he has not exactly set the country on fire, as the Conservatives are still leading the poll, and somehow, someway, Canada avoided an election during 2007.

2. The Arcade Fire’s New Album Will Kick All Sorts of Ass – Alright so this one was a bit of an easy prediction, as Neon Bible was my pick for best Album of the Year, in a year that really was full of some artistic brilliance. Follow this link to find out exactly why I loved this one so much….

3. Canada Will Win More Hockey Gold – I thought that I was going out on a bit of a limb here, as we don’t always win the Men’s World Hockey Championships, but hoorah, the boys won a medal for me!!! Also, add to the fact that we won yet another Women’s World Championship, we took the Under 17 tourney, and of course the Under 20 just a few days ago, and things are looking up for hockey in our country.

4. I Will Go To At Least Three New Countries – Done and done. I went to China and Vietnam in April, some jaunts into Hong Kong and Macau in May (while sort of part of China, they have their own border patrols, and currency, making them more of their own country than say, Scotland), plus I just made the trip to both the French and Dutch West Indies, not sure if those count as separate entities from their mother countries or not…either way, I’m up on this one.

5. “Here We Go Again” by OK Go Will Remain the Coolest Music Video I Have Ever Seen – Duh…

6. I Will Retire from Kodiak – I’m still non-commital on this one, I think that I won’t be heading to my Home Away From Home for the entire summer this year….we shall see though.

7. The US will not leave Iraq, but Canada will leave Afghanistan – A half-botch here, as the US, predictably decided to stay in Iraq, and sent a “surge” to boot, where as Canada has stuck around in Afghanistan, despite a growing amount of opposition and repatriation ceremonies.

8. This Blog Will Hit 200 Posts – Well this is my 216th post, so…well met.

9. Some New Indie Band Will Blow My Mind – The term “Indie” is a hard one to define, as many of these bands are in fact on major labels. But I will say that it came true, as I fell even more in love with Stars and Wilco than before, discovered Guillemots, Besnard Lakes, LCD Soundsystem, and The National. Surely one of those must be an Indie Band of some sort.

If you don’t know any of those artists then type some of their names into YouTube and be prepared to be amazed, if you are too lazy here is “Fake Empire” by The National

Awesome, eh?

10. I Will Not Eat Meat – That’s right still going strong without the flesh. In fact, I think that I’ve become a bit more passionate about this over the past 12 months, as more and more
has made its way onto this blog.

11. Samoa Joe Will Win the NWA World Title – Man, oh man, another epic fail!!! Samoa Joe has every right to be World Champion, yet somehow, someway, TNA has failed to do so. They had three EXCELLENT opportunities to give him the gold this year and botched every one of them.

12. The Temperature Will Only Get Higher – Can I point out that yesterday in Toronto it was 15 Degrees outside? Can I also point out that it’s F’n JANUARY?!?!?!??!?!

Score one more for the G Man

13. I Will Have a Great Year – This year was yet another Roller Coaster for me, but what the heck, I wouldn’t want it any other way, so yes, another great year for me.

I guess that leaves my final score to be 9-2-2, not bad I dare say, even if some of the picks were pretty obvious. Over the next few days I will put forward some more predictions for 2008, and I hope to have an even better record in the coming year!

Until next time,

G

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Revisiting the Crystal Ball

Friday, June 15th, 2007

Way back in January I made some very bold predictions for 2007. Well here we are (approximately) half way through the year and I figure that this is no better time for me to look back and see if I have been right or not

1. A Liberal Minority – Well I’m far less confident of this one than I was back in January. I mean sure, I still love Stephane Dion (we’re even friends on Facebook!!!), but I have a feeling that Harper has more evil attack ads up his sleeve, and unfortunately those things seem to work. It’s a shame really. On the possibility happening chart I’ll put this one at an even 5 out ot 10.

2. The Arcade Fire’s New Album Will Kick All Sorts of Ass – This was as easy as saying that the sun will rise or the sky will remain blue. Since I already wrote about how awesome this album is once before, I can rank this is a Perfect 12 out of 10 on the possibility chart.

3. Canada Will Win More Hockey Gold – I felt pretty brave calling our World Hockey Championship win, since we really haven’t had the best overseas record in the past decade or so, but yeah I was right again. I’m so awesome. Another Perfect 12!!!!

4. I Will Go To At Least Three New Countries – Now this depends a lot on your definition of a country. I went to China and Vietnam, so there is two for sure, but I also went to Hong Kong and Macau, which are TECHNICALLY part of China, but have their own currency, customs, and visa regulations, so they are really more autonomous (and unique) than Scotland or Wales are, so I’m counting it. The Glen country count sits at 14 at the moment…man, I’ve got to travel some more.

5. “Here We Go Again” by OK Go Will Remain the Coolest Music Video I Have Ever Seen – Really, come on…

Although the use of moving walkways have snuck into other great videos, including this masterpiece by Leslie Feist…

Yeah I’m awesome, and so right again…

6. I Will Retire from Kodiak – I’m still convinced on this one, not sure how ready I am for it. But I still see it happening, I may come out of retirement in a few years, but this remains a must for now at least. I’ll give it a 9 our of 10 on the possibility chart, just in case…

7. The US will not leave Iraq, but Canada will leave Afghanistan – Well they have set times lines into the future, so I think that I am going to strike myself out on the second part of this prediction. Rightly or wrongly, we’re in Afghanistan for a while now…I’ll give this one a 2 out of 10 chance of happening, just in case…

8. This Blog Will Hit 200 Posts – Yeah, I have posted a hell of a lot less since school ended, but this is post #120, don’t’ doubt that it will happen by December…It will have a 7 out of 10 chance of happening, I’m leaving a 30% chance that I could get hit by a bus, suffer from small pox, and/or choke on a carrot.

9. Some New Indie Band Will Blow My Mind – Well I’m going to count LCD Soundsystem in this category, because, well it’s my blog damnit and I like to be right. Don’t believe me that they are right? Well then watch this awesome video!!!

Score, and being right again!!!!

10. I Will Not Eat Meat – Still on the vegan side of things. I hate to say it, but I ate a few eggs while in China, it was damn near impossible to avoid with the linguistic and cultural barriers, but I avoided the flesh while in the Orient, which is a lot easier said than done!!! I’ll give this one a 9.99999999999999999999999… out of 10 chance of happening, just in case some jerkish friend of mine shoves chicken down my throat in my sleep.

11. Samoa Joe Will Win the NWA World Title – My wrestling geekdom comes out again!! I will technically be wrong on this one since TNA changed their World title from NWA to TNA in name, but I still think that Joe will get the top prize soon enough. Possibly this Sunday, or if not then than in the fall. A solid 8.5 out of 10 chance of happening.

12. The Temperature Will Only Get Higher – Another easy right…don’t agree with this one? Then open your f’n window!!!!

13. I Will Have a Great Year – Man, I made a lot of easy predictions!!! Thus far this year has been great for me for a ton of personal and professional reasons. Don’t know why? Well click through the archive of the posts or just ask me and I’m sure I can tell you why…

Well there you have it, looks like I’m mostly right. I’ve been near perfect on my self-absorbed personal predictions, and done fairly well on the other ones I dare say. I’ll check these again in December to see how right I ended up being.

Until next time,

G

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Why I Love Neon Bible

Friday, March 16th, 2007

So last night I was watching Lost and then I switched it over to The Daily Show and then The Colbert Report, and then I decided to have a hot bath while listening to The Arcade Fire, and I realized something very important. There are a lot of things out there that I freakin’ Love. As a result, today I am going to start what I hope to be the first of a many part feature here at Getting Glenergized, entitled “Why I Love…” where I am going to try and rationalize my irrational feelings towards any given topic. It could be a TV Show, a place I have been to, a Band/Artist, one of my friends, or anything really.

As you can probably guess from the title above, this one is about Neon Bible, the new album by The Arcade Fire, my favouritest band at the moment. A while ago I downloaded the album and was faced with a moral crisis, to enjoy the work, or support the band. However, I have now finally purchased the album and I can now do both.

I was planning on doing a full review/interpretation/love fest for the album, but I have to say you would probably find a better one on McNutt’s blog or on Us Kids Know Forum, both of which are great places to go for information on this unreal band. So instead, I decided that I would just try and explain what makes this album so great to me in 7 reasons.

1. The Story it Tells – Like all great albums this is more than just a mere collection of songs, and this one tells a story and a half. The great things is that this album is just so full of information, stories, and poetry that it may take years for anyone to really figure out what was going on inside the heads of the artists while they were putting this thing together. But here is one of the many stories I have came up with using all of the albums song titles in order.

A man gets a terrible vision of the future by gazing into a “Black Mirror”. He panics and is convinced that doom is coming at any moment. In order to prepare he makes sure to “Leave the Car Running”, just in case he needs to get away quickly. He tries to spread the word by writing it in the “Neon Bible” for all to read. Fed up that nobody is listening, he tries to do something about it, make an “Intervention” if you will. However, it is far too late and disaster strikes. Everyone panics as they see/feel “Black Wave/Bad Vibrations”. Chaos ensues, and the world is filled with an “Ocean of Noise”. In the chaos, our hero gets trapped in “The Well and the Lighthouse” (that one will make more sense if you have heard the song). After he finally gets out, life is appearing to return to normal for most people, but our hero becomes quite disillusioned with the world and sings the “Antichrist Television Blues”. Things start to get worse once again and he laments them coming to his “Windowsill”. Finally, he has an idea of how to get away from everything he hates, by going to a place where “No Cars Go”. But once he realizes that it is only possible in his mind, he and cries out ‘“My Body is a Cage”’ with hope that it will help set his spirit free.

Not half bad eh? And I am leaving out some really important details and awesome lines from the songs and going just by the titles. Clearly there is a lot more to explore with this one.

2. The Ending to “(Antichrist Television Blues)” – This song is unreal, but the ending is what makes it even more impressive. As the song progresses, more and more anger is filled in the lyrics and tone of Win Butler’s voice. Meanwhile the music is picking up and at the very end it reaches its crescendo with the following lyrics:

“Do you know where I was when I was your age?
Any idea where I was when I was your age?
I was working downtown for the minimum wage.
And I’m not going to let you just throw it all away!
I’m through being cute,
I’m through being nice,
O tell me, Lord, am I the Antichrist?!”

And then it just ends. By the time the “st” leaves his mouth the music stops. This is simply an amazing way to end this song that just builds and builds and builds. This is one of those songs that you just can not look at as an independent entity. The lack of a falling action makes it hard to fit into any typical formula, that is why it needs the remaining songs on the album to bring it down a notch.

3. The Cover – Come on, how cool is this?

4. The Religious References – Well it is called Neon Bible, so it really isn’t all that surprising I suppose. The title track having some very obvious references to the good book, but it is defiantly not alone here. In “(Antichrist Television Blues)”, they talk about being a “Good Christian Man”, and it is written as both a mixture of a man talking to his daughter and praying. The chorus of “Intervention” talks about “Working for the church while your life falls apart” and “My Body is a Cage” contains the plea to “Set my spirit free”, which could very well talk about going to the place in the sky.

But it is more than just the lyrics. First off, almost every song has some sort of water based imagery and connections with the Biblical flooding can definitely be made in “Windowsill”. Also, the album sounds religious. It is filled with organ sounds and background choir, especially “Intervention”.

Far too often when bands name an album after a song it is because they couldn’t think up anything better, however it is really obvious here that Neon Bible describes the entire album.

5. The Transition from Black Wave to Bad Vibrations – In the fifth song, “Black Wave/Bad Vibrations”, something funny happens. It starts out with Regine singing very melodically and innocently and all of a sudden Win interrupts with more darkness. It is just a great musical moment that you really need to listen to a number of times to really get what they are doing here.

6. It Picks up Right Where Funeral Left Off – Funeral is very light-hearted and innocent, Neon Bible is the exact opposite, making it hard at first to make a connection between these two unreal albums. I decided one day to listen to them right in a row, no break, no anything, I just played one right after the other and I was amazed at what I found. Funeral ends with “In the Backseat” which just sounds like a dream. Neon Bible then begins with the line “I walked down to the ocean/After waking from a nightmare”. How cool is that? At the end of the first album they are falling asleep all innocent and then waking up after a nightmare to find out that things are different. Not sure if they intended for this Van Winklesque connection between the two albums, but I think it is awesome.

7. It’s The Arcade Fire!!!! – We are playing witness to something really special in music right now, a great band coming of age. Sure it won’t ever get the press that it deserves, but these guys and gal are changing music as we know it. When future music geeks look back at the first decade of this century they will talk about this band and just how influential they were. They are just so fresh, so unique and so unreal. If you do not like them then I really have to question your musical taste.

Well there are seven reasons as to why I love this album. I could probably go on for many, many more, but I don’t want to get too ahead of myself here. This is just the first edition of this feature and I need to try and give myself an opportunity to raise the bar. I haven’t really thought up what my next “Why I Love…” will be about. Right now I have been thinking about Stephen Colbert, Camp, Star Wars, Teaching, Blogging, Spring, or possibly some place I have traveled to.

If any of you out there have any suggestions please feel free to hit me with a comment, I haven’t been getting too many of those lately. It makes me feel like a bit of a loosebag when nobody pays attention to me.

Until next time,

G

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I Have a Terrible Confession To Make

Sunday, January 28th, 2007

Wow, am I ever not proud of this. Today I have done something really very terrible. I am really very ashamed of this, and I hope that all of you out there can forgive me for my actions, and please do not judge me harshly for what I am about to tell you.

I downloaded the Arcade Fire leak. That’s right, I couldn’t want until March 6th for the official release and I caved. I slowly gathered all of the songs and now I have all 11 from the album on my computer.

Now I am not about to get all high and mighty about violating intellectual property or any of the other thing else associated with this golden age of media piracy that we live in. I really have no moral qualms about downloading music, movies, TV shows or anything really. However, there are some bands and musicians out there who I respect so much that I feel obligated to buy their work. The Arcade Fire definitely fall into that category.

I am a firm believer that a great album is more than just a collection of its songs. It is a full experience as the songs build off of one another to make something really special. The Arcade Fire’s debut album Funeral is definitely one of those albums. It definitely belongs in every CD catalog. If you have only heard a few of the songs then you are doing yourself a great disservice and you really need to listen to all 10 songs in succession to capture it all.

So when I began to download the songs yesterday I was doing myself the same disservice. The first song I was able to download (other than the previously released “Intervention” which I discussed way back here) was “My Body is a Cage”, which is ironically the last song on the album. Now this song is simply amazing, and probably my favourite song on the album, but I still felt wrong. This song was not meant to be listened to by itself, it was meant to be fit into the context of the entire album. Only now do I have all 11 songs and am just doing my first thorough listen right now as I type this entry.

Yet as I listen to these songs flow together, I feel that I have somehow cheapened my experience. There is something exciting about buying a CD. Allow me to quote my friend Ryan McNutt (who coincidentally introduced me to The Arcade Fire a few years ago, and provided me with the tracks I was unable to find for download, despite the fact that he has refused to listen to them himself)

“For me, there is nothing more exciting than on Tuesday – new release day – going to the record store and finding that album I’ve been dying to hear on display at the front of the store (or with many of my selections, buried way in the back). I get to ponder over the artwork and track listing on the way home, then spend 10 minutes more trying to get the plastic off before putting it in my CD player, sitting back with the liner notes and flipping through them as the album goes through its 30-70 minutes of glory”

I have robbed myself of that experience. Sure I do it all the time, but this is The Freakin’ Arcade Fire. A band that I can honestly say without hyperbole is the band of the century thus far. A band that I have honestly felt have spoken to me directly. A band who I love more and more every time I hear them. A band who has unknowingly helped me make some tough decisions in my life. A band who restored my faith in music as a whole. And here I did this to them.

I feel the same way that I did when I snooped in my mom’s closet and found some Christmas presents.

But may I move onto some happier topics? Like just how FREAKING AWESOME this album is?

I really don’t know what to say about it. I don’t think that I am that great at describing songs, especially not in the vivid detail that ones like these deserve.

However, I will try for the aforementioned “My Body is a Cage”, the 11th and final song on this amazing album. I have always had a soft spot for the finale track on an album, since it is the song that needs to bring closure to the whole experience. Oddly, on Funeral the final song, “In the Backseat” is the one song that I rank as “Good” as opposed to “F’N SPECTACULAR”, but yet when I hear it at the end of the album it fits well. It is somehow relaxing and reassuring after the intense musical experience you have just finished.

This song is the polar opposite of “In the Backseat”. The lyrics are deep and cutting, while the organs give the song a distinct 1940’s Horror Movie Feel. The real moment of the song, and dare I say the entire album, comes at the 2:10 mark,when the music kicks itself into high gear and you can just imagine the monster waking up. If it doesn’t give you goosebumps than I don’t know what will. Instead of calming you down, this song gets you pumped and wanting more. Perfect that it it blends well into the opening song “Black Mirror” (which they are streaming off of their website), in case you have this album on repeat.

I could go on for every song on this album, but I figure I had best pass on this one. Just in case you haven’t seen it, here is the video promo for Neon Bible which has some good samples of the songs.

At the beginning of this video “Juno Award Winning Guitarist” Richard Reed Parry asks “Do you remember how music used to make you feel?”, well now that I have listened to this album I remember it all too well. I have a feeling that my last.fm profile will have The Arcade Fire as my most listened to artist next week, they are all I can listen to right now. Because compared to this, everything else is just noise.

Until next time,

G

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iTunes, youTunes, weTunes

Saturday, January 6th, 2007

A little over a month ago I posted this little ditty and the face of my blog changed just a little bit. On the left hand side of your screen you can see the “Who I’ve Been Listening To Lately” heading. I installed last.fm and the way I listened to music on my computer changed. Well not so much the physical act, but my habits changed. After this site created my profile for all to see I realized that I had to stop listening to so much bad music. That’s right, I was in a bit of a bad dance music funk at the time and figured that if other people can see who I’ve been listening to than I had best carry on with a more discriminating taste. After this I went back into an Indie-ish music fix as you can see by the abundance of Sufjan Stevens, TV on the Radio and The Postal Service that I have been listening to.

I decided to make this post in order to give everyone a better insight into my odd and eclectic musical taste, I decided that I would list the Top 25 songs I have listened to since I got this computer back in September according to my iTunes play count. Before I ever got last.fm I was hoping that this could be a regular feature here on Get Glenergized but then I got last.fm and I got lazy as a result. Perhaps it is the new found energy (or should I say, Glenergy?) from the New Year, or maybe I’m just really bored. Either way, here goes the Top 25 songs that I have been listening to over the past 5 or so months.

25. Nine Inch Nails vs. The Beatles — “Come Closer Together”. Not the highest ranked mashup on this list, but definitely my favourite one. I love both of these songs separately, but I think that they are perhaps even greater together. The mix of the two choruses into “I want to fuck you, right now” makes me laugh every time.

24. Jose Gonzalez — “Heartbeats”. I simply love the guitar in this song. Sure it is simple, but it really gets the point across. While I do love this song, it is not my favourite version of this song, nor is it the most listened to. Stay tuned for that one.

23. The Arcade Fire — “Intervention”. The follow up single to one of my favourite albums ever (more on that one to follow). The Arcade Fire are one of those very rare bands that you can listen to over and over again and still find something new to enjoy every single time. This song is no exception, and it has got me VERY excited for Neon Bible.

22. Madonna — “Hung Up”. Alright, guilty pleasure time. I open myself to all of your judgments and mocking for posting this. But I really like this song. Madonna is one of the most influential musicians, oh ever, and this song proved to me that she is more than capable of reinventing herself for the twenty-first century. Plus, I like dancing around my bedroom to this one.

21. Kanye West — “Gold Digger”. Alright as you can see we are veering away from pretentious Indie Music and onto much more poppy stuff. I love Kanye West, I think that he is so incredibly cool. In fact when I was teaching a lesson on the Fraser River Gold Rush to a group of Grade 8s I referenced this song by saying “I ain’t sayin‘ he’s a gold digga, but he ain’t dealin‘ with no broke river”. It made me laugh, what can I say?

20. Jason Mraz — “I’m Yours”. Soooooooo, I’m a wee bit of a hopeless romantic. Not sure if that surprised any of you out there in blogosphere. This just seems like such a perfect song to dance romantically in the kitchen with that special someone to. Sorry if that made any of you vomit. I’ll stop.

19. Eagles of Death Metal — “Flames Go Higher”. The first of three Eagles of Death Metal songs to make it on this impressive list. Not sure what to say here other than it is a really super awesome. Eagles of Death Metal do a wonderful job of combining catchy lyrics with rocking power guitar. What more can you ask for? Oh if you recognize this little diddy then it is probably because you saw “Thank you for Smoking” (and if you haven’t, then what the heck are you waiting for???).

18. The Arctic Monkeys — “I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor“. I had the pleasure of living in Britain when these guys first took off. I was so incredibly happy to hear their hits making the rounds on this side of the pond. I am a huge fan of catchy rock that you can dance to and these guys fit the bill perfectly. Sure they sound (and look) rather dirty and unkempt, but it’s all part of the English midlands sound and scene.

17. Eminem featuring Nate Dogg — “Shake That Ass”. Despite all of his obvious detractions I have long been a fan of Eminem. He is capable of some truly amazing and insightful lyrics. This song however, is a terrible example of that. What the song lacks in depth it makes up for with a great beat and more importantly, some good natured immature humour.

16. Outkast — “Morris Brown”. While the album Idlewild was a terrible let down, this song was great none the less. Like most Outkast songs it will always be compared to “Hey ya”, which will make it inevitably fall short. If you are able to drop those comparisons, then you will surely be able to enjoy this one.

15. Fall Out Boy — “Dance, Dance”. Another guilty pleasure of mine. This song is a great one to well, dance to. You dance to this song when you are home alone too, admit it.

14. Death Cab for Cutie — “Someday You Will Be Loved”. This song breaks my heart a bit every time I hear it. Listen with caution

13. Metric — “Dead Disco”. Here we go, some more Canadian Indie Music. Metric are so good, and I think that I may end up marrying Emily Haines when I grow up. I sort of missed Metric’s rise due to being in a different continent and not having regular Internet access. I am rather jealous that a number of my friends got a chance to see them in concert in the fall on their East Coast tour.

12. Eagles of Death Metal — “Miss Alissa”. I talked about these guys for “Flames go Higher”, but this song is even cooler. Catchier beats, faster guitar riffs, dirtier lyrics, what more can you want?

11. TV on the Radio – “Ambulance”. This is exactly why I love TV on the Radio. They are so multi-faceted. Some of their songs are great to rock to, but this one is sung a capella and is very mellow. I don’t think that I can do the lyrics and an ounce of justice, so here is my favourite part.

“oh i will be your ambulance if you will be my accident
i will be your screech and crash if you will be my crutch and cast
and i will be your one more time if you will be my one last chance
so sweet dream fall with me
fall fast fall free fall with me”

10. Sufjan Stevens – “Come on! Feel the Illinoise!”. When I hear this song it is no surprise that Sufjan Stevens is dominating the list on your left right now. I can’t believe it took me this long to get into this guy. If you haven’t heard him yet then get to a CD Store and grab any one of his albums. You will not be disappointed.

9. Death Cab for Cutie — “I Will Follow You Into the Dark”. Another sad song by Death Cab. This one does not so much break my heart as it makes me a wee bit lonely that there is nobody who would follow me into death. Listen to the song and it won’t sound so weird.

8. Feist – “When I Was a Young Girl”. If things don’t work out between Emily Haines and I, then I think that Leslie Feist will do wonders for a future wife. She has such an amazing voice and has a wonderful way with words.

7. Jay-Z vs. Linkin Park — “Encore vs. Numb”. Alright so it is not quite as cool as The Gray Album but Collision Course is still pretty awesome. While I am not a fan of Linkin Park, this song does it for me. “Encore” is one of those songs that sounds oddly better in Mash-ups than it does by itself.

6. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists — “The Golden Finch and the Red Oak”. I could listen to this song all day and be totally at peace with myself. Try it sometime.

5. Bloc Party — “Banquet”. I simply love Silent Alarm. This song is definitely no exception to that rule. I almost included this song in Music to Break Up To just because I listened to it so much dealing with my own personal break-up. It was a little tough to make some lyrical connections with. Just trust me, it’s well worth a listen or 36.

4. Eagles of Death Metal — “I Want You So Hard (Boy’s Bad News)”. The last time these guys will be on this list, I swear. This is easily my favourite song of theirs. Perhaps I find it autobiographical or something. Anyway, here is the video for this one, I really have to get me a guitar like that guy has…

3. The Arcade Fire — “Rebellion (Lies)”. This may just be my favourite song ever. I don’t think that there is a shade on my mood spectrum that I can’t find some way to enjoy this song. I can dance to it, do homework to it, think about life to it, it really does not matter. This was the song that really got me hooked on The Arcade Fire, and I am really quite thankful for it.

2. Stars — “Your Ex-Lover is Dead”. For whatever reason I was not a huge fan of Stars when I first heard them. But here I am now a little older and perhaps wiser and I can’t get enough of them. This song really got to me with the following lines standing out in particular.

You were what I wanted, I gave what I gave
I’m not sorry I met you
I’m not sorry it’s over
I’m not sorry there’s nothing to save

And now, the moment you have clearly all been waiting for…The song that I have been listening to the most since September

1. The Knife — “Heartbeats”. You forgot that I alluded to this song way back at #24 didn’t you? Well this is the original, and definitely superior version of this song. I first heard it after checking out Travis’ blog and seeing the video that he had posted. At first I wasn’t a huge fan, but I simply could not get this song out of my head and had to keep listening to it until it got out. But then it came back and would never let me go. I’ll keep with my tradition of stealing from Travis by posting this video as well. If you don’t like this song at first give it another listen to in a few days. Trust me, it will grow on you.

So that concludes this epic marathon post. I have a few more ideas of things to blog about over the next few days. I have missed wireless Internet streaming through my brain and giving me cancer as I type. God bless technology.

Until next time,

G

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