Billy Talent III

Hey everyone. Scott’s away saving the free world and whatnot, so he asked me to stand in and do a post or two in his absence. Unfortunately, I had one hell of a time settling on something to talk about, as I’ve recently discovered that liking music doesn’t mean you can write about it. However, I settled on Billy Talent’s newest album, creatively called Billy Talent III.

If you’re into punk, and live in the Northern Hemisphere, you’ve probably heard of Billy Talent. While you may not like them, you can’t argue with success, and they’ve certainly had their share of that, with their first two self-titled albums Billy Talent I & II going triple and double platinum in Canada, respectively. Their third, and latest album, Billy Talent III, was released in 2009 and features the singles ‘Turn Your Back’, ‘Devil on My Shoulder’ and ‘Saint Veronika’.

Despite being a long time Billy Talent fan, I was a little apprehensive approaching this album. I’d heard the singles on the radio, but they didn’t seem to pull me in the way the old Billy Talent stuff does. After I gave it just one play through, however, I rediscovered that the real genius in Billy Talent’s style is the way they tell stories in their songs that are self-contained, but wound together in the album to produce a vision of the world through their eyes. And man, I gotta tell you, they’ve done one hell of a job this time.

Themes that we’ve heard in the previous albums make a reappearance here, such as the darker sides of religion, laments over lost love and loneliness, and the band’s views on government and world politics. Also present is the band’s love for metaphors and allegories, which take simple messages and transform them into elegant prose.
Since I doubt I could do the songs justice by trying to describe them, I’ll simply recommend very strongly that you give the album a listen, if you haven’t already.

G

Vampire Weekend: “Cousins”

Okay song number two!

Have been listening to this one a lot lately and it came on the radio as well, so figured I’d post about it.

The song is “Cousins” by the band Vampire Weekend and is the first single from their new album Contra. The video is weird haha it’s them in an alley in Mexico.. the ending with the bell and confetti is kind of ridiculous. I also realize that the picture they chose as the single cover and that is featured on this blog is kind of much.

I really like the song though and the video made me laugh! Check it out and check out the band here:

http://www.vampireweekend.com

Cheers everyone, enjoy some good music!

Harvey Danger: “Flagpole Sitta”

Okay so I have two songs that I want to post today.

I’ve been listening to this radio station on Itunes called 181.fm – The Buzz, it’s an alt. rock station. So two really good songs just came on back to back and I thought I’d post them both incase you haven’t heard.

So the first is a throwback to 1997, Harvey Danger’s “Flagpole Sitta“.

This is a great song! It’s been featured in the movie’s American Pie and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. You might have also heard it in the movie Disturbing Behaviour or as the theme song on the British Comedy show Peep Show. Weird. Anyways, check this out.. and also check out the video that College Humor made in honour of this song: College Humor: “Flagpole Sitta“.

Apparently Harvey Danger isn’t a band anymore but you can check out their website here:

http://www.harveydanger.com/

Second post coming soon!

Kidd Russell: E NORTH AVE (ft. Ross Golan) (Official Video)

I received an email a few days ago from a hip hop artist named Kip “Kidd” Russell and he asked me to take a listen to his new video for the song “E NORTH AVE” featuring Ross Golan of Glacier Hiking.

Unfortunately I had never heard of either of these artists – I’m glad I checked the video out though. If anybody has checked out or heard Jordan Burnell’s “My Hometown” song – this is a similar song about where Russell grew up (.. East side, North Avenue). The song is an easy guitar beat and the first time I heard it.. the lyrics almost sounded off-beat with the rest of the song. But I listened to it again and a few more times and I decided it sounds perfect the way it is. The song is very well put together, the beat is solid, the video is the progression of a house party on North Avenue to a live show featuring Kidd and Ross.. it’s a fun song, I like it and recommend you check it out.

all the streets lights are broken
and that house next doors forclosingall the neighbors wave hello
becuz were all drunk broke and smoking
my dad calls it free loading
these bills sit here unopened
all the neighbors wave hello
becuz were all drunk broke and smoking

We can all get behind this!

Kidd Russell – ” E NORTH AVE (ft. Ross Golan) “

You can check out Kidd Russell on Myspace at – http://www.myspace.com/rickyrage
You can also check out Ross Golan of Glacier Hiking on Myspace at – http://www.myspace.com/rossgolanandmolehead

Cage The Elephant: Self-Titled

I recently heard the fourth single of Cage The Elephant’s self-titled album from 2008 on the radio this past week and I loved it as much as their third single. The first two singles did not receive much attention when they were released in 2008, however Cage the Elephant blew up with their third and fourth singles from this record. So finally I’ve heard the entire album and here we are. Sidenote, I’m excited because Asher Roth dropped a new mixtape, I haven’t had a chance to hear it yet though. Keep your eyes open for a post soon.

Cage The Elephant is a rock band from Kentucky; they were originally known as “Perfect Confusion”. I can see why their classified as rock, but I feel like there’s a lot more to the group and their music than just rock. Anyways, you may recognize the first radio single from the album called “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked“. It’s a personal favourite. The song is about a hooker, a thief and a preacher stealing church funds and when asked about their career choices the three all recite: “Money don’t grow on trees, I’ve got bills to pay, I’ve got mouths to feed”. Apparently the song was inspired by the lead singer’s drug dealer.. when he asked why he dealt the guy told him ” there ain’t no rest for the wicked.”

I also really dig the second single called “Back Against The Wall“, both are worth checking out. This single is the band’s first number one single. The video is pretty messed up haha the band wages war against a bunch of garden gnomes. Apparently the lead singer’s grandmother used to have a ton of them in her front lawn and he was freaked out by them. Hilarious. You can check out the video here: “Back Against The Wall” – Cage The Elephant

I also recommend checking out “Drones In The Valley“, “Back Stabbin Betty” and the beat, lyrics and piano parts sound really cool on “Back Stabbin Betty“. Lastly, I suggest checking out the record’s first single from their 2008 release called “In One Ear“, it’s a very good song. Overall, this is a great album and you should check it out if you get a chance! Cheers everyone.

Cage The Elephant on Myspace – http://www.myspace.com/cagetheelephant

Billy Talent: I

“Milk carton mug-shot baby missing since 1983… 20 years of dirty needles, rain drops running through my veins!” – “Standing in the Rain”

Billy Talent is a post-hardcore, punk-rockish band from Mississauga, Ontario Canada. They started in the early 90’s as the group Pezz but got into legal trouble and changed their name to Billy Talent in 2001.. when they had their breakthrough mainstream success (in Canada at least). Their second album and first with the new band name is self-titled (or sometimes considered ‘1 or ‘I’ as they have a trilogy of self-titled albums). I’ve seen these guys live in concert twice and they sound awesome in concert. I saw them in a smaller club venue for their first Billy Talent tour and I saw them at the Air Canada Center in Toronto for their third album’s (Billy Talent ‘II’) tour. Both times were amazing!

The second time I saw them live they started with a white sheet over the stage and the silhouettes of them playing this album’s first track, “This Is How it Goes”. The play the intro chords and then the sheet dropped when the song gets heavy.. it was pretty sweet. This song was actually written about the band’s drummer, Aaron Solowoniuk, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis.

The Arkells: Jackson Square

Hey everyone, back with a new review today. Also, look out for my guest post on Decibel Blog! I’ll post a link as soon as the review is put up over on that blog! Today I’m listening to a hometown band, the Arkells. They’re a Canadian rock band formed at McMaster University and I actually have met Max, the lead singer in my first year of University here. Cool.

Anyways, “Jackson Square” named after a downtown shopping mall in Hamilton, is their debut full-length album. It’s also their debut release on Dine Alone Records (label for other Canadian bands such as City and Colour, Bedouin Soundclash, etc.) “Deadlines”, released in 2007 was their first official EP.

Ratatat: Self-Titled

Hey everyone what’s up. I spent a lot of time adding my blog to different networks and sharing my feeds and whatnot this afternoon.. hoping to get the word out a little bit. So to anyone who sees and reads this, thank you very much for taking the time to stop by and read what I have to say. I realize this blog is very young still but I have received a ton of hits, way more than I expected and it’s encouraging.

Anyways, moving a long. So this post is going to be dedicated to the group Ratatat’s self-titled debut album. If you don’t know Ratatat, they’re a two-person group from New York. Mike Stroud plays guitar and Evan Mast is the synthesizer player and producer. They make kind of a music of electronica, techno, hip hop, rock.. I don’t know it’s weird and it’s a little bit difficult to explain. I first heard of these guys on Kid Cudi’s debut album a few months ago (my Kid Cudi: Man on the Moon review) and loved the work they did on that album. My friend suggested I get Classics, their latest album, today. So I decided to grab both of their records and start with their first.

Soul Drift; Check This Music Blog Out!

Hey everyone.

I stumbled upon this site earlier today, it’s called SoulDrift. It’s an alternative music blog with a focus on rock and metal. The author, Sara, has been maintaining this blog since 2007 and the main goal is to share  news, reviews and interviews in the alternative rock scene, and to bring new/unsigned bands to light & shed information on already established bands. Since I’ve started this blog I’ve been searching around other sites and blogs to find other people interested in the same types of music and that have similar ideas as myself. For anybody interested in finding new, good alternative rock music.. SoulDrift is definitely a blog you should be heading towards.

Although I don’t recognize a lot of the artists or music on SoulDrift, the blog is amazing. The layout, the content.. it’s an amazing looking blog and a great inspiration for myself and this blog. I love finding new music and new music blogs as professional, yet relateable as SoulDrift and I highly recommend everyone that sees this post to check it out. Hopefully in the future you will be able to witness this blog develop into something as creative and exciting as SoulDrift!

Cheers!

Soul Drift – An Alternative Music Blog;