I'm not going to tell you that the records I enjoyed most are the best of 2009. But I will suggest that you might like a few things if your tastes and mine are simpatico. The band Canadian Invasion made a great record called Three Cheers for the Invisible Hand. They didn't get a lot of blog love, except when they covered a Vampire Weekend song. (I preferred their Fugazi cover.) The only place I
Biggest Battles Ac Slater @ Social vs. Classixx @ Wrongbar It's the first weekend after everyone has got out of their exams. Students who go to live elsewhere are staying in Toronto for one last weekend, Students who go to school elsewhere are rushing home to avoid another night in a local college town bar. In one corner, Classixx for Wrongbar's 2 year anniversary; in the other, AC Slater for Faktory Saturdays at the Social. These two parties are just down the street from one another. One of The Social's owners [...]

Last April — ten editions of The Originals ago — we looked at the first of three batches of originals covered by the Beatles. Here we revisit two tracks each from the debut Please Please Me (Anna, Boys) and 1964's Beatles For Sale (Words Of Love, Mr Moonlight), as well as With The Beatles ' Devil In His Heart. * * * Arthur Alexander – Anna (Go To Him) (1962).mp3 The Beatles [...]

I didn't really want to attempt a list of my favourite albums of the decade - the list for this year alone was more work than I needed. Instead, I decided to hit some of the ways this decade dealt with music - how technology has changed the musical landscape further, what globalized capitalism has done to the music industry, and what media convergence did to help out. Then as a second part, I thought I should add some of my musings on the decade as far as my own musical development goes - after all, I became an adult [...]

2009 was another great year for live music , slightly edging out last year for me with a grand total of 97 shows, in 26 different venues for 251 sets of music by 215 different bands, with 26 bands logging in 2 or more. Continuing to be one of the best live music venues anywhere, Johnny Brenda's topped the list with 25 visits. The other places where you could have found me hanging out this past year being World Cafe Live (15), The M Room (11), Kung Fu Necktie (7) and The Khyber , The [...]
What a decade, huh? This one's notable as having been spent entirely in NYC, and entirely of the digital age which changed the way everybody listened to music. (Maybe not my parents but everyone else.) We had more access to everything, and less to to spend with it. That said, there was no shortage of good music, though I don't think anything hit me quite as hard as the previous decade -- partly due to age, party due to aforementioned information overload. There's nothing from this year, as I feel it's too close to [...]

Its been a Canadian invasion as of late w/Colin Munroe, Drake, Belly & others stepping to the forefront with progressive music. Church on the move... Do It! nfeeds.com

Now in its third installment (check out 2008's list HERE and 2007 HERE ), EF's annual Breakout Bands feature essentially whittles down what every well-intentioned and hyperbolic blog, site, magazine (those still around?) and armchair critic under the sun brashly attempts on a daily basis: to recognize what's HOT now and what's about to become even HOTTER in the immediate future. Both a way to celebrate the acts that have transcended the slush pile and truly come into their own in 2009 as well as those future superstars poised to usher in a new decade [...]

Now in its third installment (check out 2008's list HERE and 2007 HERE ), EF's annual Breakout Bands feature essentially whittles down what every well-intentioned and hyperbolic blog, site, magazine (those still around?) and armchair critic under the sun brashly attempts on a daily basis: to recognize what's HOT now and what's about to become even HOTTER in the immediate future. Both a way to celebrate the acts that have transcended the slush pile and truly come into their own in 2009 as well as those future superstars poised to usher in a new decade [...]

Lighting Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow A bass with one guitar string. A bunch of shitty drums. Playing in someone's kitchen in Lubbock, TX. Two RISDy dudes named Brian. Wonderful Rainbow was Lightning Bolt's quinceañera. It didn't just change the band forever, but everything that punk rock stood for and the way underground music would sound in the new millennium. (HW) Death [...]

The ugly truth is that economics is a science in the way that medicine was a profession while it still used leeches to balance a person's vapours. Yes, some are always better than others, and certainly more entertaining, but they all tended to kill their patients. The most intractable part of the current financial crisis, and the ongoing problem of the US economy is the huge tax which is levied on the American public by its corporations, primarily in the financial and health care sectors, and a political system based on lobbyists and their campaign contributions. [...]

The ugly truth is that economics is a science in the way that medicine was a profession while it still used leeches to balance a person's vapours. Yes, some are always better than others, and certainly more entertaining, but they all tended to kill their patients. The most intractable part of the current financial crisis, and the ongoing problem of the US economy is the huge tax which is levied on the American public by its corporations, primarily in the financial and health care sectors, and a political system based on lobbyists and their campaign contributions. [...]
![The Rest: Everyone All At Once [Album Review]](http://cache.elbo.ws/posts/2051043_lg.jpg)
There is no telling what emotions The Rest might conjure up when you hear their brilliant sophomore release Everyone All At Once . This is an indie-rock rock-symphony for our time. The band has worked long and hard to create an atmosphere derived solely from their heart's ambition. As well as pulling influence from nature and booze. But, aren't most great works inspired in such ways? This album plays out like a shoegaze fairytale. Every corner-piece is in place, and no integrity of their centered [...]
Experience the alien invasion of Oderus Urungus and Beefcake the Mighty face-to-face on Nov. 30, 2009 in Vancouver, BC. The vocalist and bassist for the comedy thrash act will be conducting an autograph session at Scrape Records in the Canadian west coast city located at 323 Broadway East. Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com
Welcome to my weekly roundup of inexpensive indie(ish) musical happenings in downtown Toronto, all for $10 or less. If I'm missing something you think I should list, or you have any comments, let me know. I star (*) shows that most interest me. Like this list? Join my Facebook group to get my weekly Toronto indie music listings. Subscribe to my weekly podcast (or download the episodes) here , or through iTunes . Or just listen to the latest [...]

Yea I know the story is a day old but did you see my last post? It was about last Friday for fucks sake, I've had things on! However I couldn't let this little gem go by without a mention on WANARB. Zombies! The main stay of a lot of popular video games and films at the moment, even Davina McCall got in on the case with the big brother inspired 'Dead Set'. All pretty standard stuff but now, those wacky Canadians have decided to let loose some scientists with a boat load of money and a little imagination to study what would happen [...]
Brad Paisley - Water (mp3) ( buy ) First let's agree on two things: 1. Country music is by its nature regressive music. It resists change: It treasures tradition and authenticity both musically and socially to such an extent that modifications are often only adopted in the wake of long-established outside successes and under preapproved market conditions. Its revolutions are rarely more than a cycling between a few ratified forms and a few chosen stories. Country goes pop, country goes back to its roots, etc. At its most [...]

A LITTLE BACKGROUND + WORLD PREMIERE MUSIC : We recently told you about how Golden Bloom is giving away each song track-by-track from their forthcoming album Fan the Flames - well, now it's our turn... Ryan's Smashing Life has been selected as one of the online outlets to give away a song from this remarkable album. We are already convinced that this album will prove to be one of the year's best new releases. It's late July [...]

Kansas City's Power and Light has a weekly free concert rock series and considering the clientele, the 90s bands like Eve 6 have been the groups to bring in the largest crowds. So when I saw local act the Republic Tigers would be playing, I wasn't quite sure what draw they would have, even as one of the most popular local bands in the city. I shouldn't have doubted their pull because the boys ended up drawing a sizable crowd even without the support of an opener. [...]
Editor's note: I meant to post this a couple of weeks ago, but got bogged down with some work stuff. If I were writing this now I'd probably add a couple of albums , but since this is technically a mid-year list, I'll stick with the January-June period. Holy crap has 2009 been a great year for music so far. I can't remember a year where I discovered as many great new bands, heard so many great new albums from established bands, and even watched as a once-great band rose [...]