Song of the Week: December 2012

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Week Four: Ben Caplan - Bang to Break the Drum

Happy holidays music enthusiasts! I hope they have been joyous and filled with plenty of ear candy. This week I'm going to share with you one of the presents that I actually gave! My dear sister, Annette, received Ben Caplan's In the Time of the Great Remembering LP as my gift to her on Tuesday and, as such, I felt like I would share a taste with everyone! Here's Annette's favourite track thus far:

Ben Caplan - Bang to Break the Drum (bonus: check out where the video is shot!!)

Part of writing these weekly eardrum diatribes is to spread the good word and, hopefully, open some minds to some new musicians. This week is a good example of that. I haven't had the chance to see a Ben Caplan show, but as he's from Halifax (Canada, sorry to my UK Haligonians) many of you will get a chance soon to check him out! In fact, he's playing February 2nd at The Company House (apparently tickets are going fast: https://guestlistapp.com/events/137775). I'll definitely be attending the Waterloo show (anyone want to join me?) two weeks later.

Here's the song that first turned me onto this grizzly, bourbon-soaked mystery of a man. An absolute beauty.

Ben Caplan - Stranger

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Week Three: Alt-J - Breezeblocks

I had read their name over and over again. Saw the underground plastered with their posters. Heard all the rave reviews. But it after three full listens, I still wasn't that intrigued. Wouldn't be the first time a Mercury winner didn't really get my mind-cogs a dancin'. But then Tuesday night while cycling home from work I decided to give the album another chance... I don't know if it was the tiredness from working all day, my life-long affinity for strange-voiced singers (see: Bob Dylan, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Kings of Leon, Glasvegas, etc.) or the chilly wind going down the back of my jacket or what, but track 4 on Alt-J's An Awesome Wave finally crashed on the shore. I stopped my bike, put it on repeat and haven't really stopped since.

Song of the Week
Alt-J - Breezeblocks

Intellectual nonsense? The real-deal? One-off? What do you think?

Runner-Up
On the eve of the ten year anniversary of the late-great Joe Strummer's death it's only right we pay some homage to the man that brought intense passion, tolerance, acceptance and so much more to music and culture as we know it. In fact, I watched the documentary, Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten, last night just to be up to snuff. I suggest you do the same if you even have an inkling of interest.

Picking the best Clash song is like making a definite list of the bands who they've inspired - basically impossible. So, as any honourable gentleman would do, I was going to go with the one that reminds me of my lady, but of course Bankrobber was SoW 11 so many moons ago. Instead I've decided to go with the same song that I always go back to, and if that means it's favourite then so be it. Here's to Joe:

The Clash - Clash City Rockers

Friday, December 14, 2012

Week Two: Tame Impala - Elephant

I spent 4 hours listening to the Rolling Stones today. And I almost made a few of them my song of the week. But one day doesn't make a week. So here is what has been on repeat on my ipod (and in my head) for seven days:

Tame Impala - Elephant

My lady and I had the pleasure of seeing Tame Impala two years ago at Benicassim in Spain (where we met the ever-lovely Halifax [UK] lads) and, unfortunately, they were very tame. Not memorable whatsoever. And I believe we caught part of their set this past summer at Osheaga in Montreal - the fact that I'm not even sure if we did or not shows what an impact it had. All that being said, this is an absolute blinder. That bone-shaking riff just begs you to dance. So give in. I have been all week.

Running Up: Jake Bugg - Two Fingers

Have you heard? England has a new voice and it's only 18 years old. And I dig it. And love the "Hey Hey it's fine" at the end. Are the Dylanesque comparisons a bit premature? You be the judge.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Brand New Day: Palma Violets - Best of Friends

Back in early 2009, before Justin Bieber was a household name and Gangnam Style had rotted our brains, I distributed a weekly e-mail to a choice selection of audibly inquisitive folks from around this great globe.

These e-mails, simply entitled 'Song of the Week', weren't much more than just that - an attachment of a song that had struck me in a particular fashion and a brief description of what had piqued my interest. Although these e-mails ran for a short while, I received many a satisfied response and have continued to collect requests to re-instate this weekly tradition. So after a few years in the dark, I have returned to shed some light on some dusty ears.

Harder than finding the time to write this (and that has been tough) or finding appropriate music, has been trying to whittle down the enormous amount of amazing music that I have been listening to lately and choose one track for the song of the week. After much deliberation, the inaugural song of the week (for this blog) is:

Palma Violets - Best of Friends

This track only came into the running very recently but has bowled me over with its back-to-basics, slightly dirty, slightly British hooks (not to mention an enormous chorus). It feels young, exciting, messy and like you are in on something that is about to explode. My love of The Cribs and The Libertines are clear indicators of why I love this song.

Let me hear what you think! Comment below and check back each week (Friday) or follow this page for more glorious noise.

Runners-Up

LCD Soundsystem - New York I Love You, But You're Bringing Me Down