never wanted your love - she and him

Cruising around Pitchfork this morning and noticed that one my favorite hippy-folk-guitar-strumming-duo's, She and Him released new material earlier this year. Never heard any buzz till now. Pitchfork gave it a 7.5. The first single I checked out was Never Wanted Your Love. Dear Zooey returns with her sweet nothings while the dude in the background strums along.  She and Him Volume 3 is out now, kids.

d-sisive's dream is over

I've been waiting for this to drop. Finally. Today, was able to download the album. D-Sisive's (last?) album. The Toronto Hip Hop staple hit the stage for the album release last night at Toronto's Rivoli. Doing laundry and getting ready for a Sunday funday writing and  jotting this post, I was able to quickly run through the free release. Mixed with top notch production from Munshine and heavy lyrics, it sounds like D's swan song. The Dream is Over. Unfortunately. the record is a great piece of local Hip Hop history to keep in your MP3 files. From what I heard, my favorite tracks include November, Friend of Mine, All My Friends Are Dead and (Un)Answered Prayers. 

You can cop it  for free Here. 

If this is your final bow, homeboy, thanks for the memories, Derek. You made Toronto proud.

dwnld: asian elvis - d-sisive

Over the years, D-Sisive has taken up some really cool obsessions that manifested into great music. This time, it makes sense. He's Asian Elvis. Easy to see the similarities. Well. Except for the glaring fact that D is white and Asian Elvis is well....Asian. The 16 track free mixtape tells the story of the Toronto outsider who raps. Great Hip Hop. Great stories told. Great hip shaking with a lip curl.

Download Here.

honest ocean.

A couple years ago a friend of mine told me, while we were enjoying a beverage on a hot summer day, that she loved my writing because it was brutally honest. Real. She told me that she would shed a few tears when she read my material. Not because it was sad, or depressing, but because it was so honest. And because of that, it was beautiful. She said she hadn't read anything more honest stuff than my stuff. I was flattered.


I didn't shed a tear last week when I read Frank Ocean's coming out letter, but I felt his brutal honesty. It was beautiful. It made me appreciate him even more. More as a brave individual than an artist. An artist, I already called him that, because he is and is on his way to legend status. Too soon to say? Think not. One listen of his debut album, Channel Orange, you'll see where I'm coming from.

The album, which was dropped digitally a week earlier than expected, is a masterpiece. From bringing back a true RnB sound (Monks), to the cleverly written melodies (Pink Matter featuring Andre 3000), awesomely produced songs (Sweet Life with Pharrell Williams) and unique euphemisms (Pyramid), the record is flawless.

Even though some creative risks would've been nice, I'm not at all disappointed. In fact, I'm Inspired. Inspired to write. It's not often that a young artist can release his debut album with creative control and be as honest as he wants to be while also making incredible music to help us along the way hear his story. These types of artists don't come along too often.

Press rewind, and play again. This one is a classic.

Honestly.

synthetically metric.

The latest Metric album surprisingly crept up on me while riding the World Wide Web Friday afternoon while on a Via Train on the way to a mini-vacation in my second home state of Michigan. I was sent a link that  lead me to the lead off single from Synthetica, Youth Without Youth. At first listen, I heard some similarities to Nivana's cornerstone 90s classic, Come As You Are. Metric lead Emily Haines'  was able to pull off the non-intentional impression of the late Cobain. However, when the single continued, the song started to sound more Metric. More New Wave. Less Grunge.

I ended up getting the full album before I hit Windsor. I had to listen to it on the home stretch.


The album had a similar feel to it with a mix of New Wave and  a 90s Rock twist. Until we hit the sixth track on the 11 song release. Lost Kitten had a 80s-pop texture where the beat was so good, I ended up forgetting that the diddy also had lyrics.

Actually, most of the songs on this album were like that. Production leading the Words.

While I wasn't too impressed with this Broken Social Scene bredrin project, it was the production that got me through the whole thing, added with a few high points on songs like; The Wonderlust, Nothing But Time and Dreams So Real. Background noise at best while working around the house or even trying to write a good essay.

Synthetically, it was Metric, but just needed a bit more to get up to that real Metric potential.

born to wear a red dress

Lana Del Rey has been the IT girl since last summer. As an unknown a year ago then dropping Video Games which cued blog mentions and heavy spins at hipster parties, the young songstress became the next big thing which got her a gig on TV's biggest prime time stage. SNL. With mixed reviews, the girl born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant told the audience she's here to stay. And we can't do anything about it.

I first heard about Rey in July with Video Games. I thought she had clever lyrics and a contagious voice that reminded me of girls of my past who were too high on coke to really carry a convo. Be it as it may, I was attracted to her. Maybe it was the bad girl thing. Maybe it was the cute innocent thing she had. Maybe because I just thought she had talent. Whatever the reason, I was hooked. As her singles were leaked, the more I heard of the American singer slash songwriter, I got more enthralled. Like a line of coke to a user, one line is never enough. I needed more. Fast forward till recently when I heard Rey's first project, Born to Die.


With popular Hop Hop producers like Jeff Bhasker (Kanye, Jigga) and Emile Haynie (Em, Lil Wayne) along with sampling one of the most popular break beats (Mountain's Long Red) on Born to Die, I wasn't so surprised how Rey mixed her sultry singing with basic rhyming very reminiscent to the old skills of the legendary Blondie. It added to her songs in a good way. Showed cute diversity. Yes. Cute Diversity. It just adds to the similar beat patters that are heard in each song along with the constant Lolita references and lyrics that have to do with a red dress and taking him downtown.

And I'm OK with this. Surprisingly.


The album formula; Girl digs Bad Boy. Wants to have sex. Smoke, Cocaine references. Hook. Repeat. Yes. It's repetitive, but still enjoyable. Because there hasn't been a starlet who was able to pull it off like her in recent memory. And the kids like it. The girls find her cool and the guys find it hot. This is the reasoning why I tend to conveniently forget that she has no real substance on this freshmen album. I get drifted away by her puffy lips and sweltering voice.

If you're one for diverse deep lyric content, don't buy this album unless you want to sell it off to some hipsters for some obscene amount of dough, telling them you got it from Pitchfork's owner.

If you want some good background music with some dope beats and a constant sexy voice bidding you a good day, cop the album. You'll enjoy it. Just don't think too much into it, and it'll be on repeat. After you can put on some Dylan or Neil Young to make up for the overuse of lines.

And lyrics.

(That was a coke joke.)

Lana will be here for a while. She's good and she sells. The kids aren't too down with the deep intelligent music we grew up on, anymore....

all roses and dolores

I really missed The Cranberries. And listening to the bands reunion album, Roses, I realized just how much.

The Cranberries were my band in my late high school years. While I was looking for something else other than Hip Hop to relate to music wise, I found The Cranberries. No Need to Argue had just dropped and it was the latest big band in the school halls. Everyone was humming tracks like Twenty One, Can't Be with You and Zombie. One day, a friend handed me a cassette. He told me that it was Cranberries first album. I thought No Need was their first project. I was so behind. I ran home and slammed it in the tape deck. Pressed Play. My friend told me to check out Linger. "The seventh track", he noted while running onto the school bus. I fast forwarded the tape. The song started. Instantly hooked. It was all Cranberries after that day. The music soon led me to other bands. And made me more open to other rock music. They were indeed the gateway drug for me.

When I heard the news in 2003 that they broke up, I was upset. But I knew I still had Linger. The song to keep me comforted when I missed Dolores O'Rordan's soothing voice. Deep inside, however, I was angry at her for getting married and breaking up my favorite drug of the 90s.

Fast forward almost a decade later. The band reunites. Record an album in Toronto with Stephen Street known for such great work with The Smiths, and Blur.  I was stoked. I heard some singles from the album in late 2011 and thought that the Cranberries were sounding as good as ever.

I had the chance to hear the whole album this morning.

While coding a website I'm working on and finishing the last touches on my weekly podcast, Dolores once again was in my left ear. Making everything OK. And it was OK. Till Half way through the album, I realized something. There wasn't any angst. That Zombie-esque rock that I was kinda looking forward to. The songs were nice. All like pretty roses lined up on a summer day by your white picket fence. Add to that sweet melodies and clean instrumentals, and that was the reunion album. Even though a wee upset, I couldn't hate on the record. It was good. Melodic. Musical comfort food for 2012. Especially if you pay attention to the somber lyrics and detailed arrangement. More than just a nostalgic drop that most get when their favorite band from backintheday team back up for a fast money grabbing scheme and Swing at the Big Dance. The Cranberries will stick around for a bit more, I hope. I can see another solid album in their future. They've still got it....


..And the 16 year old in me is happy about that.



Rating: 8/10
Songs of Choice: Roses, Raining in my Heart, Fire & Soul, Tomorrow

top albums for 2011..

It has been a great year for music this year. I was satisfied with digging into all parts of the musical globe and picking up gems and future classic releases. I must say, I'm extra happy for Toronto. The world is finally starting to understand that Canada has a cool sound. Anyway, Here's my top 10 releases for 2010.





10. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
A great mid-year release for me to cool out to. Tracks of Note: Perth, Calgary, Berth, Rest.

9.  Hot Sauce Committee Part II - Beastie Boys 
Some might have forgotten this album dropped this year as it was released so early and the singles were released during the summer of 2010. Anyway, dope album that didn't get as much love as it deserved. Tracks of Note: Too Many Rappers, Crazy Ass Shit, OK.

8. Simple Math - Manchester Orchestra 
Another cool-out record that was dropped this year. Thinking music. Tracks of Note: Simple Math, Leave it Alone, Pale Black Eye.


7.  Charity Stars at Home - Phonte 
The album was the beginning for me this year to realize that Hip Hop is coming back strong in 2011 with quality releases. A record I still love bumping on a weekend afternoon coolin' out. Tracks of Note: To be Yours, The Good Fight, The Life of Kings.

6.  21 - Adele 
It was so tough to number the following releases. Any one of the following could easy be my favourite of the year and in some respects, 21 was my favourite of the year. But I digress. So goes such a competitive year in music. Tracks of Note: Lovesong, Turning Tables, Someone Like You.

5. El Camino - The Black Keys 
They're still on a hot streak and the kids love them. A great follow-up to Brothers. Tracks of Note: Lonely Boy, Little Black Submarines, Dead and Gone.

4. Metals - Feist 
 Love this album. Still listen to it at least twice a week. I will never get tired of her voice. Music needs more smart women like hrt. Tracks of Note: Graveyard, Anti-Power, The Bad in Each Other.

3. Undun - The Roots 
Soulful journey. Great musical experience. Still get that thing in my stomach when I listen to it. Must have for any Roots fan. Tracks of Note:  I Remember, The OtherSide, Sleep.

2. Elmatic - Elzhi
Just as I thought I wasn't going to listen to much Hip Hop this year, I heard this record and I Hip Hop drew me right back in. I love when it is able to do that. Boom Bap with lyrical content. This is Hip Hop and it makes my heart smile. Tracks of Note: Represent, Memory Lane,  Halftime.

1. The Dreamer. The Believer. - Common 
Late add to the list, before today, number one would've been Elmatic. But much like Elzhi, Common reassured my love for Hip Hop with this release. I picked it up today and already listened to it five times. Tracks of Note: The Dreamer,  Lovin' I Lost, Cloth.

common sense returns to hip hop

It's Boom Bap for the older folk. Finally got the new Common album, The Dreamer. The Believer which drops tomorrow. As much as this album was hyped by me since I first heard Sweet a few months back, the release held up to its hype and is the best record of 2012. Common's best? No. But for sure his best work in recent years. The Dreamer has a Boom Bap undertone to it all the way through but so subtle, you don't even realize that you're five tracks deep and have been bumping your head for a good 15 minutes. For the production heads,  Common's relationship with beat maker, NO ID has matured. The lyrical heads will enjoy what Common delivers. Doing what he does best. Hip Hop.

The story of the album covers all topics. Love, Hope, Salvation. Desperation. Sadness. Happiness. Stories intertwined with straight-ahead lyricism. The album is for the mature head. While other releases this year were pretty soft in terms of subject matter,  the matured music fan will appreciate what Common has to say on this one. Feature tracks featuring famed poet Maya Angelou, Nas and John Legend are no doubt highlights , but I found joints like Lovin' I Lost (that samples Impressions 1968 tune, I Love and Lost) and Cloth as to be my favourites.

No matter what subject Common battles on this LP, it's clear Common is Hip Hop and with the right production and subject matter, he can still kick out a classic. Dreams can come true is the moral to this story and I found it today when listening to The Dreamer. The Believer.

growth for the keys.

What El Camino told me on first listen today is that the Black Keys have matured as a band and they continue to improve. They continue to grow with every album. 7 records deep, El Camino shows us a brand new side of the Keys. Stripping down to the bare essentials, the album takes us on an emotional ride of despair, love, anger, break-up, loneliness and everything in between. Tracks like Little Black Submarine shows the diversity of band lead, Dan Auerbach where he channels Bob Dylan at first but by the ending you'd think he's part of The White Stripes. While they wear their inspirations on their sleeve, they still remain true and generate such an indie sound that the new bands trying to be them, just sound like a washed-up version of the Keys from a 2008. It's like when they find out everyone has found out their answers, they change their questions. And it just makes them even that much better. Keeping them guessing while still rocking and rolling.  Best rock album of the year? For sure. And maybe will tread into the top lists for 2012. It'll be hard to top this release unless it's another Keys release, which will just show us another brand new side of the band. For now, enjoy El Camino. It's rock music in its most natural, gritty form from a band that continues to be  consistently exhilarating. 

undun: beautiful musical journey

To really understand The Roots 13th album, Undun, you have to understand the concept behind the story. As band lead, Questlove explained;

“At this point in our career we’d like for our work to have a unifying theme, and an experiential quality,” says Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, 40. “We’ve been intentionally making our albums shorter in length so that they can be experienced as a continuous work. The music is band-oriented with an eye on the moody cinematic. As a DJ, I am the King of playlists, but I don’t want our albums to feel like a playlist or a mixtape for that matter. We want to tell stories that work within the album format and we want the stories to be nuanced and useful to people. undun is the story of this kid who becomes criminal, but he wasn’t born criminal. He’s not the nouveau exotic primitive bug-eyed gunrunner like Tupac’s character Bishop in Juice… he’s actually thoughtful and is neither victim nor hero. Just some kid who begins to order his world in a way that makes the most sense to him at a given moment… At the end of the day… isn’t that what we all do?”

The album is a musical dedication of someone's life, but it also reflects the diversity Hip Hop stands - or stood - for. An eclectic process of beats and instruments tied together with lyrics to make the listener think, and enjoy. I won't call this a true Hip Hop album as the record delves into so many other areas of music. As experimental as it is, it doesn't seem out of place as we know the Roots to always be experimental and try something new while keeping with its Hip Hop roots. The use of the keyboard on Undun is a welcomed mix to most of the tracks even thought they might be subtle, they give that extra touch of brilliance. Just check Bilal's feature joint, The OtherSide. What most would find interesting is the conclusion of Undun where they close the short record with four band heavy instrumental pieces (Redford, Possibility, Will to Power, and Finality) that gives the album closure in a peaceful, poetic way.  It's like they are putting the band to sleep. The dark, layer filled album, sounds like a last album. A last ode to their 12 previous albums. If this is the Roots' goodbye, I won't be mad. They're leaving the stage with a masterpiece that makes the fans wanting....More. Much like the Roots previous gems, Do you Want More???!! and Things Fall Apart, Undun is a classic that goes beyond being  just a great Hip Hop album, to being  a masterful piece of musical genius. The Roots will have you Undun on the first listen.

the soundtrack of my life..

In the soundtrack of my life, there's a few artists that are on the album a few times. They spoke to me and I used it to get by. Mary J Blige's 1994 cornerstone, My Life is one of those albums where a bunch of the songs are on my soundtrack. I remember I would listen to that CD everyday. For at least 4 months. The release spoke to me. She spoke to me. It was only later when I found where Mary was coming from with the release that I felt even more honoured to have felt her pain. Or at least tried to. I think I came close. I still shed a couple of tears when I hear a couple of the singles. I hold that album in such high regard, it's hard to duplicate that feeling. The feeling I still have when listening to My Life.

And I know I'm not the only one who says that about the mid-90s landmark classic. 

No one can ever recreate a classic. They can't duplicate the scene. The smell. The feelings. That's why most of the time, sequels are disappointments. 

When I heard that Mary J Blige will be doing a follow-up to My Life, I was interested in what would it sound like. Blige hasn't released anything close to classic like My LIfe in years. Why now? How will she make that magic again? She did a live concert via Youtube last week and it looked like the old Mary. She didn't loose a step. She was on point and sounding great. This is when I got even more curious. Has Mary returned? She back for another dope joint? I was hoping so.

As I listened to My Life II: The Journey Continues for the first time, I was waiting for that something more. That umph. But it wasn't there. It sounded like just a bunch of commercial jams that didn't have the magic. The chemistry. The soul. I realized that unlike the first album, Puff nor Chucky Thompson are doing any production. That could be it. That could been why it wasn't just not sounding like the classic I love.  At first, she tried to recreate the sound with the lead-off joint, Feel Inside featuring Nas. The song was average. Nas' feature was warm. Nothing special. This was the same deal for the next few tracks. Even  Next Level  featuring Busta Rhymes. Then I heard 28/8. The song gave me hope. Seemed like the album needed some times to pick up steam. Slowly but surely. Mary will get there. It started to pick up and I started to nod my head. A joint with Drake called Mr. Wrong and the banger with Rick Ross, Why, got me thinking that there could be something good to come out of this. Even if the joints just sound like any other RnB single on the radio. At least they had some type of groove to get down to. The clincher came with the final three tracks. The slow tempo ballads were beautiful insight to the diva's current day thought process that I was waiting for.  This is  what made the first My Life. What I wanted more of on this one. Finally, I thought. This was the Mary I want. Too bad it was too late. The album finished strong but wasn't something to be put on the soundtrack of My Life....

forever feist...

Toronto really needs to be proud of its accomplishments this year when it comes to music. The new Feist album is no exception. Ranking up as one of my top releases for 2011, The Broken Social Scene camp continues to release fire. Metals, the follow-up to 2007's acclaimed The Reminder, continues Feist's long love letter to fans about love and life. And it's sincerer. That's what I really dig about her. You can tell she feels her words.

Undiscovered First, the second cut on the record, features a strum along riff and hard rock sing-along that paints the picture for the whole 12 track tape. Sitting in a basement and hearing a girl vent. It's also awesome she's good to look at. The production really does it for me on this album while the intelligent emo type words gives us a good idea on what's going on in the artists head.

Yes. Artist. And that's what she is. An Artist.

My top track on the album, Comfort Me, got me sunk into the voice while humming along to the pain. Accepting it. After all, all true art is inspired by the pain of the artists. Deep inside, she hurts and we just benefit from it. In a huge way.

Listen to the lyrics. Bump your head to the beats. Enjoy Metals. It's an awesome record from a true Canadian treasure. Toronto, stand up. One of our queens did good.

take care, drake. it's been real.

I'm an indie guy. I admit that and if you have been a reader of this page for a good chunk of time, you'll know that.  I'd rather listen to an independent artist rather than a pop artist any day. Much like I'd rather watch an indie flick than a Hollywood movie. But I also give credit where credit is due. All in the name of good art, right? I just feel some artists get unnecessary shine due to their big pushes by the big companies when more talented artists are out there who are giving out a  better product and not heard. So cries the song of the Canadian Hip Hop scene. I have repeatedly spoke about my detachment to Hip Hop in recent years but still can say they're artists out there who are making great music. Heck, my top 3 releases this year were from Hip Hop dudes. What the problem is is that most only focus on what they hear on commercial radio and think that's the only Hip Hop that's out there. There's much better material out  rather than the regular Top 40 joints that you hear a dozen times a day. Is this what caused my detachment to the culture? Maybe. I know it has to be part of it. It's the frustration of it all.

Getting back to my point of giving credit where credit is due. I have no problem giving the shine to the good artists on the charts. Heck, I play a few of them on my podcast every week. But at a minimum. I believe in the philosophy that for every current pop track a station (or in this case, a podcast) plays, we (as in radio programmers and podcast hosts) should play  three independent tracks or older tracks to educate the listeners. Edutainment while evening out the odds. 

Before I continue ranting, Let me end it there and get to the point. I got the new Drake drop. Take Care.

As a beat guy, the first thing I hear is the production and it's the production that really got me into this album. It seems like Drake has become comfortable with taking his beats to a new level and trying new things with his art. The beats aren't really that new. If you're a fan of James Blake, Flying Lotus or Toronto based outlet, The Weeknd, you will know what I'm talking about.  With more of an underground texture to it, I'm surprised Drake went there. It's something I was happy to hear. Being surprised of where Drake went on this album art. His frankness in his lyrics, like on the first track, Over My Dead Body, and closer, The Ride, brings depth. Depth without going deep enough.

What?

This is what I mean. Take Care confuses me at some points. As much as I respect Drake in parts for pushing the envelope, he still ends up at the end of the day being that pop star. Same formula that's riding each pop sound that's not progressing the culture or showing any individuality. Overuse of the N word, complains, money bragging. He's cemented in that tired box that makes me miss lyricism and word play in Hip Hop. Blame my music snobbishness or high regard to Hip Hop, but Take Care is just another album on the charts. Maybe few listens here and there for the beats but nothing to check out if you need wizardry on the mic.

While I go back to my Indie records, it was an interesting listen, for sure. Take Care, Drake. It's been real.