these are my picks so far

so since it's august right now, i figured i should at least put down some of my favorite albums of the year thus far, so feel free to talk amongst yourselves, complain about why so and so isn't on my list and the whatnot. please note though that these are my favorites, and not what i would say as the hands down definitive top albums of the year. i don't have enough time or ears to listen to all of that music. that being said, listen to these albums if you haven't.

phoenix- wolfgang amadeus phoenix
dirty projectors- bitte orca
the most serene republic- and the ever expanding universe
grizzly bear- veckatimest
mamiffer- hirror enniffer
green go- borders
the rural alberta advantage- hometowns
gobble gobble- neon graveyard
the low anthem- oh my god, charlie darwin
thrice- beggars
treelight room- the children win
isis- wavering radiant
the wind whistles- animals are people too
lightning dust- infinite light
pissed jeans- king of jeans
black mold- snow blindness is crystal antz


so there you go. there's more than a few albums for you to listen to if you haven't yet. definitely a few on there will make it to the end of the year list, excited for other albums to come out tho over the next few months. keep your ears open.

rhombusversary in advance

so it has been brought to my attention, by myself that is, that i am coming up on a year of rhombus shows. this has kind of been blowing my mind.

i am super pumped that the hydeaway has been doing well and serving it's purpose in our music community over this last year now. i remember in our meetings and stuff talking about how we didn't want it to just kind of disappear after a few months. it's been almost a year and more and more sweet shows are coming up. oh hydeaway, one of the greatest things i have ever been a part of.

and not just there, but in other venues and doing other things, i think about some of the amazing talent that i have gotten to work with. doing my own shows tons of sweet local talent, and upcoming amazing folk like library voices, absent sound, the rural alberta advantage, laura barrett and more. working on other shows with foundation and working with sweet people like patrick watson, the bell orchestre folk, joel plaskett and his dad, and tv on the radio and the dirty projectors. awesome.

me and raymond b. had a little discussion at the recent famines show, and he asked how big i would be comfortable in getting, as far as promotion and stuff goes. honestly, i have no idea. all i know is that i get to keep working with amazing people, talented people, and people that in general have a love for what they are creating. i like to keep it positive, and as long as things are staying posi, then i'll keep on doing what i am doing.


please note that closer to october i'll do some sort of summary of rhombus shows and thoughts and all that kind of jazz. please note that there are some amazing shows coming up this fall that i'm masterminding. oh i can't wait...

The RAA

So, ever since I stumbled across The Rural Alberta Advantage I have listened to this album way way too much. I think you should check it out too. and now you can as they have signed to Saddle Creek (you know, bright eyes, cursive, etc) so the album should be a bit more readily available. they get alot of neutral milk comparisons, which i find to be accurate, but every song is incredibly catchy, and also the fact that most of the songs are about alberta is an added bonus.

for real, check them out:

The Rural Alberta Advantage sing Edmonton



oh. you may get to see them sooner than you'd expect.

hyped!!

Sasquatch!!!

so. i have my tickets for sasquatch. i am going with some amazing friends, and we are going to have the greatest weekend ever. Bon Iver. Gaslight. Kings of Leon. Chromeo. Animal Collective. Explosions in the Sky. and so on and so forth. man alive it will be amazing. expect a smattering of writings and pictures from the greatest weekend known to man.

trust. also, watch this video. i lurve it.
you should too. mostly cause this song is fantastic.



zxo

Yowza I'm so Behind

Hey all, sadly I haven't written much in this little thing in quite some time. So I think it's time to change this and add a little bit.

So I have actually been super busy as of late, and have been doing lots with work and school, but also doing alot more shows. rhombus has been keeping me pretty busy, and I've been averaging about two shows a month. Tho this month is a bit different as I have three shows I have been working on. Mainly I've been stoked on the Library Voices show coming up in a couple weeks, as I love this band oh so much. If you haven't checked them out yet you should most definitely do so, as they are a phenomenal ten-piece from Regina and will blow your mind. Here's a vid of one of their upcoming songs that I can't wait to get an actual recorded version of.




As well another show that I'm excited to co-promo with Foundation Concerts is with Beast, this pretty ridiculous duo out of Montreal, but mainly i'm excited as the lead vocalist, Betty Bonifassi was responsible for tunes on Triplets of Belleville, one of my all time favorite movies. So the opportunity to work with this talented duos was something that I just couldn't pass up. Check out this video as well.



I have so much stuff coming up, but one of my favorite albums i've been listening to is definitely the new Matt Pryor album, Confidence Man. But I just thought I'd leave you with one of my all time favorite songs.

Top 5 Thus Far This Year

well the top ten lists are still another month or two away, but i needed to just quickly put down my top five thus far this year, but i won't put them in actual order. not just yet. but i figured i'd give a bit of love to my favorites so far.

the gaslight anthem-59 sound
i honestly cannot stop listening to this album. ever since i got it a couple months back, this is all i listen to. gaslight continue on with their jersey shore sound, but they definately have added alot more soul to their sound, as well as a bit more polish on the vocals, makes this one of the catchiest albums of the working class, and dancing the night away that i have heard. get into this album.

panic at the disco-pretty.odd.
an album that i didn't think would end up on any of my lists, let alone on my ipod, but i really dig this album. it definately is one of the best albums that was never released in 1970. near wall of sound production, some of the most bizarre lyrics since bob dylans early days, and a variety of songs that never ceases to impress. if you haven't given this disc a chance, i recommend it.

cut copy-in ghost colors
if new order were still pumping out music these days, this is probably what they would have come up with. insanely dancey numbers, as well as very tight lyrics, all around this disc has been a favorite for pretty much most of the year. catchy beats, and glorious harmonies, definately an all time favorite.

sigur ros-med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust
always been a fan of this band, but this album definately put that over the top. i found the variety in song tempos to be superb, and the addition of a song sung in english to be just what the doctor ordered. the harmonies will take your breath away, and they definately achieve what they have set out to do. one of their best efforts thus far.

library voices-hunting ghosts
this ep from regina super group (i would say they are, the bands these folk have all come from are superb in all their own rights) has been one of my favorite finds of the year. the ten piece plays a plethora of instruments, and every song has a different and distinct feel, but still all plays out as one amazingly crafted collection of tunes. the newer songs are even better, and i anticipate the full length in the spring. as should you.



anyways, there's some of my top ten for the year. look for albums from the notwist, the dears, sylvie, torche, carpenter, lucinda williams, chad vangaalen, woodhands, cadence weapon, oldfolks home, no age, and definately some more to possibly pop up. who knows what will end up on the top ten...

it's been too long

so now that i have a bit more access to this, i'm going to hopefully write a bit more about what i've been listening to, or just ramble, or write about whatever i guess.

i mostly just wanted to write down what i've been digging as of late. this year, that's mainly been Gaslight Anthem. i just can't get enough of their newest album, The 59 Sound. it definately has that east coast vibe that you'll find from Springsteen to Against Me to Less Than Jake, and it definately has a lot more soul though than probably any of those other bands. the songs are incredibly catchy, and have a wide range of influences, but i just enjoy it alot. definately something that you should catch out, it kind of even sounds like the killers, but, better. and i'm going to see them in vancouver soon which i really can't wait for. i've seen so many bands over these years, and everyone else that is playing that show i have seen numerous times, so it's always good for me to get to see someone new that really gets me excited about live music. awesome.

i'll write more later on, about other favorites of the year, experiences at virgin music fest, and western canadian music awards, and other random music things. you know, whatever i feel like writing about. laters.