Inspired by the return of one of my favorite TV shows, the hyper self-aware Community (whose Abed could be considered the patron saint of meta-humor) and the self-referring "Simple Song" on the new Shins album out this week, I've made a mix of my favorite meta-referential songs. By this I mean songs that include specific references to themselves in the lyrics (stuff like "it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth...", "take it to the chorus" and "Second verse, same as the first verse" are out). It turns out there are a [...]
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Vanessa Heins It's gotten to the point where the Tuesday before an album is officially released is as much a day to look forward to as the day an album is actually released. That's because it's standard practice these days to make any record anyone might care to buy available to stream at least a week before its official street date - it theoretically helps offset downloads of leaks, gets the promo cycle revved up, all of that sort of thing. It's a trend I'm fully in favour of. And based on this, it [...]
Derek Branscombe '70s-styled radio rock - the sort marked by tight multi-part harmonies, guitars that go from chunky rhythms to smooth leads like the peanut butter aisle, and a laid back sort of pop songcraft that's inviting like a pitcher of beer on a hot Summer's day - has been back in style lately, and no one's done a better job of repping it locally than Zeus . Their 2010 debut Say Us won them plenty of fans both across Canada and abroad. Somehow amidst all the touring [...]
Frank Yang Though his punk credentials are beyond reproach thans to his tenure in Propagandhi , John K. Samson has always cut a bit of a curious figure in front of The Weakerthans . While his bandmates are more than willing and able to play the part of rockers in turning out muscular guitar riffs and solos, Samson by comparison has always been a bit slight of stature, reedy of voice, sheepish of grin; the thoughtful and verbose folksinger who somehow ended up fronting a rock band. I don't know if the [...]
Facebook Nestled amidst some concert announcements in a post last week were a couple of odd one-offs for No Joy and PS I Love You which were not part of any announced tour or timely promotional cycle. It didn't occur to me to ask why, but just a little bit of thought would have made the answer obvious - Wavelength . The dates of their shows corresponded to the four-day weekend of the Toronto music series' twelfth anniversary festival, and though neither of those acts is properly local - they [...]
When you compile a list like this, you start to tremble at how much you're really going to absorb in the ensuing months. This doesn't even cover the misses and surprises. If you're a casual listener, you might get through an album a day. Okay, maybe two. If you're a fanatic, you're spinning discographies left and right. Still, after 365 days, either person is buzzing. One's just a little louder with the phonetics. As I wrote back in December, in a year, you'll have your next roundup of favorite albums. You'll have a new favorite song. You might [...]
Artists like Scott Walker, Tom Waits, and Nick Cave are often commended for their eccentric tendencies; their music is entirely one-of-a-kind, as thematically engrossing through narrative idiosyncrasies as their musical accompaniments are haunting. Every component sticks with the listener, granting their music a radical enigma despite never venturing into shock value or explicit fervor. Their [...]
While it's fairly common for artists to perform a cover every once in a while, it's much rarer (and more interesting) for a band to incorporate a cover into one of their own songs. Much of the time, the "song within a song" is done to add weight or resonance to the track, reinforce it's meaning, or pay tribute to the original artist. Or they could just be doing it for the hell of it, but if artists can pull it off well, it can make an already good song even better. Here are some of some songs within songs [...]
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Chromewaves
Consequence Of Sound
Obscure Sound
Arctic Monkeys | Do I Wanna Know? (Official Video)
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Cher performs ‘Woman’s World’ live on The Voice + lyric video
Listen to Arctic Monkeys’ new single, “Do I Wanna Know?”
