Best Song Ever of the Week

Here it is, pop gunning's first mp3 of the new year!

Unfittingly, it's a humble cover of last year's best hit song. Pale Young Gentlemen do MIA's "Paper Planes" [click song title for MP3].

If your ears agree, you can hear this Madison Wisconsin band's new tuneful album Black Forest (Tra La La) on their website.

Best Song Ever of the Week: Why?

WHY? - The Hollows [click for MP3] from the album Alopecia. Kaleidoscopic folk rap for nerds and music nerds alike.

This song just kills it. Perfect fall listening. Right up there with the best work of TV on the Radio and Menomena.

"Oh no, those Gypsies probably got knives."

Blast from the Past: The Vines

Does anyone care about the Vines anymore? Did anyone ever?

I don't think so, but I still find it hard to resist their lazy (in a good way) psychedelic-grunge regurgitations. I also insist that despite their reputation for being a horrible live band, that I saw them play a solid show back in July of 2002 at the Opera House in Toronto.

Well they've got a new album out called Melodia, which is available in North America through insound and is also streaming on myspace.

The new single, He's a Rocker [mp3] is a nice li'l ditty. Watch the video after the jump...

Song of the Week: Sigur Ros

Although it wasn't released to much fanfare, I want to make it known that the new Sigur Rós album, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust ("With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly"), is wonderful.

Their last album Takk was a bit underwhelming, and () was a bit exhausting, but this new record brings them back to the brilliance of Ágætis byrjun.

Listen to Track 2 off the album and I'm sure you'll be convinced: "Inní mér syngur vitleysingur" (mp3)

Song of the Week

Le Tigre - Deceptacon [mp3]

This song just kills. Like New Order's Age of Consent minus the grey clouds and 10x the pink lemonade.




Recently featured in the film Reprise, which is incidentally one of the coolest and most inspiring films I've seen in a while.

Originally released on Le Tigre's 1999 self-titled debut, the song almost plays to its entirety in the movie when a character uses it to accomplish a very necessary party hijack.

Also, check out the trailer to Reprise, Joachim Trier's first film.

Born (Ruffians) in the Ca.Na.Da

After a couple of spazzy, hooky EPs, Born Ruffians recently released their debut LP, Red Yellow and Blue. The preceding video is track #4 from said album.

I really like the homespun video, and the album ain't half-bad either. It's got a wider ranging musical palette than one would've expected, all of it very affable.

Listening to and thinking about the album, the first thing that springs to mind is its distinctly Canadian MO (and not just because of the Dundas Square references). Not Canadian in a Tragically Hip or Constantines way, but Canadian in a "Mr. Dressup" kind of way.

Born Ruffians are arts-and-crafting much like Ernie Coombs did during the 30 year run of that institution of Canadian children's television. Like "Mr. Dressup", they communicate the same virtues of simplicity, cooperativity, and a playfulness. They're pretty young guys, I wonder if they grew up watching the show.

Watch the opening and a clip of "Mr. Dressup" and see if you might agree.

Incidently, the lead track off of Red Yellow and Blue, Barnacle Goose is the song of the month (right click for mp3 downloadification).