
Of all the 2006 Polaris Music Prize finalists, you could argue that Montreal's Malajube received the most net gains from the exposure. Sure, Final Fantasy took home the big cheque but Malajube saw their profile and audience grow exponentially outside of Francophone circles because of the nod. And so it was that two months after they played a brief but impressive performance at the Polaris ceremony, the band returned to Toronto on Saturday night for a well-packed show at Lee's Palace. I missed first openers Bocce [...]

First off, let me comment on how sexy this band's name is. Malajube . Mmm... Anyway , this band comes from Montréal, Québec. All their songs are in French, which makes them really hard to sing along with for me. This is their only drawback. Since 2004, they've been staples on Québec radio and for good reason. Malajube is ridiculously catchy and melodic. Instrumentals are solid and vocals are solid-er. The dynamics of their sound are great, and they often incorporate the chorus [...]
Here are some MP3s from the best new bands we saw at CMJ this year. We are limiting this list...

A few weeks ago, I saw Islands play in concert. One of opening bands was supposed to be this mysterious French pop-rock band, Malajube. Even in the tiny, icy realms of Canada, Malajube is still a relatively unknown band. It is surprising to note that they were nominated for the famous Polaris award since, comparatively speaking, they received much less attention than the other nominees. However, the point of the story is that Malajube didn't play that night; I'm not sure why not. BUT, they should have, because their album blows Islands' out of the [...]
Thanks to the consistently generous Alan at sixeyes for a couple of recent postings. This past Sunday (29 Oct) he provided a juicy list of songs from various EP's by The Shins, including the glorious "Sphagnum Esplanade." Sixeyes regularly posts a rich offering of excellent downloadable mp3s For our particular little niche here, I also gathered for your consideration songs Alan found at What's
After catching bits of Snowden and Apples in Stereo at the Gothamist House, settled in at the big buzzy bill at the Merc. Nicole Atkins (myspace) has a Columbia Records contract, a mention as a Rolling Stone “artist to watch,†and tunes
belles will ring + mad love belles will ring + the coldest heart james figurine + apologies love is all + felt tip (demo) malajube + fille a plumes detachment kit + illuminator ================ What's Hot @ the Hype Machine Klaxons Beck TV on the Radio 120 Days Ben Folds The Knife Tom Waits Wilco califone Lady Sovereign M. Ward Peter Bjorn and John The Walkmen mp3 downloads music

Voila la dernière sensation de Montréal. Comme je suis un peu le mec de base ben j'ai lu la critique parue sur Pitchfork hier et je me suis laissé tenter. Vous savez a quel point j'apprecie cette scene et en particulier Broken Social Scene, mais ce que vous ne savez pas c'est que je voue une curiosité immense de tout ce qui peut sortir d'indé chanté en français avec un drole d'accent. Je suppose que cette curiosité vient : - premierement parceque l'accent est vraiement bizarre et que ca peut etre drole (cf Les Trois Accords) [...]

Montreal, QB Indie rock French Canadians singing in that Frenchie French. I don't understand most of it, but I still love it! Malajube is currently touring around Canada but hopefully they'll dip down to the U.S. soon. A listing of where you can order their disc online can be found on their website here . "La russe" [...]
Yo La Tengo may claim to not be afraid of you and capable of beating your ass, but without that surfboard, it's probably not true. This week's obvious highlight is Yo La Tengo, who stop by Babylon on Sunday night to promote their recently released (not to mention awesomely-named) album I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass. And if that show isn't your obvious highlight, then you're
I looked it up, and Polaris is the name given to a fairly bright star located within one degree of the north celestial pole, in the constellation Ursa Minor... it's also called the North Star. Polaris is a fitting name then for a Canadian music prize in the style of Britain's Mercury Music Prize. It's Canada's "first monetary prize for a full-length album based solely on artistic merit, without regard to genre or record sales," and is being handed out tomorrow, Monday, September 18, 2006. I've declined commenting on the concept of a music [...]
11 good songs for you on the last day of august: The Decemberists - Summersong - a new song from the new album, - said to be the weakest song on the album, which makes me really optimistic, cause I like it a lot... From pitchfork. Monomen - asian spacestation - new track from this norwegian band. from their bandsite. Thanks for the tip, Bates Motel! Peter, Bjorn & John: "Young folks" (ft.
Wer, wie die CNN-Moderatorin Kyra Phillips, viel und gerne spricht, der sollte wenigstens manchmal sein Mikrophon abschalten. Sonst hören die Zuschauer nicht ihren Präsidenten Bush, der live auf dem Sender über die verherrende Flutkatastrophe spricht, sondern Toilettengespräche. Auch zu sehen und hören auf diesem youtube Video. Oder aber ein gutes Lied auf dem Klo hören. Zum Beispiel von Malajube . Die singen zwar in Montreal -40°C auf Französisch, aber das klingt doch live auf CNN immer noch besser. mp3: Malajube / Montreal -40c Technorati Tags: [...]
I am locked away, far away. Desert sands and relative isolation have left me alone with my thoughts and translations of novels from foreign lands. Tolstoy has joined me as well as Nabokov himself. Yes quite honestly it is he, the embodied being in paperback form. And after a summer of being stowed away, speaking in tongues beneath secret chambers (curiously marked “sandboxâ€) I have moved my
Once again, in no particular order. . . Mew - The Zookeeper's Boy (thelawshavechanged.blogspot.c om) Snowden - Anti-Anti (kissatlanta.com) Beat Radio - Everything is Temporary (callmemickey.blogspot.com) The Supremes - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart (areseven.blogspot.com) The Eyes - When The Night Falls (areseven.blogspot.com) Ike & Tina Turner - Come Together (moistworks.com) Mcneal And
Here are the latest Canadians to commandeer our iPods, and we just can't get enough of their kick-ass album Trompe L'oeil around Stereogum HQ. Before you proceed, be warned: These tunes are in full-on French. So get your Babblefish on,...
I HAVE A FRIEND who’s a big fan of pop music. No, not the Hidden Cameras/New Pornographers kind of pop music-we’re talking Top 40 radio/normal person stuff here. OK, not exactly: the music has to be in a different language. His understanding of that music comes from riding hook after hook and the blissful ignorance [...]
I won't lie. I've felt bored and uninspired all day. With no real reason, I found myself ambling down streets all day in a daze. I barely noticed the in-season plums coloring the the fruit market or the punch of soy sauce outside the dim sum joints like I usually do. I didn't feel like studying anyone's face as they passed or hypothesizing how that homeless teenager on Park Presidio ended up that way or even going running. And the very last thing I felt like doing was listening to music. I didn't want to devote that energy to being [...]

I've always been skeptical of the idea of cloning, kind of worried about what would happen if one of those weird and scary sci-fi movies came true and people could create human clones at will. But after looking through the Bluesfest schedule, I would be all to willing to get my hands on something, anything, that would let me be in two places at once. The guide is split in 2, 5 days in each. Not sure how regualr blog-posting will go throughout.. a local Bluesfest performer profile here, a [...]