Last Saturday I went to see Wilco at the Massey Hall. Last time Wilco played in Toronto was at the Massey Hall as well, I went to see them and it was a bit disappointing. Not Wilco of course, but all the people was particularly quiet for being a rock show and more than half of the show had passed when Jeff Tweedy “reminded” the audience that it was an actual rock show that they were listening to (“is it Sunday or something” he asked referring at how quiet the people were).

This show was exactly the opposite, there was a lot more of energy and even at some point Jeff asked for a guy to be taken out of the building for trying to get on the stage (“he hurt some people over here and that’s not cool”). Later he remembered how the last time they played in Toronto everybody was seated and quiet. “We like it better this way” he said.

More than half show past and he said that it was the best audience of the east cost tour (it was the last show of the east cost leg of the tour and they are touring the west cost now).

When they released their double live album last year, they were hailed as one of the best live acts and being one of my favorite bands it was a bit sour to see them for the first time on such a quiet show that they even had to tell the people to stand up and enjoy the concert a little bit.

Now I can say that I have seen Wilco live and they are probably the best live act today J

 

 

I’ve been trying to write something about the 40^th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper (released on June 1^st 1967) for a while now but since it’s been more than a month now, I’ll get directly to the point instead of writing too much about. Sgt. Pepper is not my favorite album of all times like it usually appears on some music magazines polls, and it’s not even my favorite Beatles album.

But a lot of my favorite musicians and bands keep referring to it as their most influential album so it always troubled me.

After reading a lot during the month of the anniversary I found out the best explanation I could possible get as to why is Sgt. Pepper such an important album (beyond the obvious reasons, and even if it’s not my favorite album of all times it is definitely among my favorites). This was published in Mojo last month:

 

“Its example informs the admiration projected onto music's more adventurous spirits--from Wayne Coyne to Damon Albarn, and conversely, the disappointment when yesterday's pathfinders are revealed as today's journeymen. All told, it's thanks to the Pepper inheritance that we still expect worthwhile careers to 'progress,' to ascend to a watershed point at which influence, experience, and ambition cohere into something that just might blow our minds: a London Calling or an OK Computer. For some it's a vain hope ("Certain things created Sgt. Pepper he Beatles"). But while there is ambition to transcend pop's existing boundaries, there will be musicians who proudly confide to rock journalists that they have made 'their Sgt. Pepper.' One way or another, we are all post-Pepper people, for keeps."

 

 

 

 

Directed by Michel Gondry and starring Natalie Portman (she happens to be a fan of Michel Grondry). It might not be Gondry's best work but whatever he does is worth-seeing.

 

"All the ghost effects are done in camera: the ghosts are actually evolving in front of a glass separation that reflects their image into the shot. This technique is based on smoke and mirror effects of magic tricks (known as the Pepper's Ghost effect) and other early cinema effects. The results are stunning and give the effect of realism that can't be obtained with post-production effects." From Amazon Earworm's blog.

 

 

James Mercer is the lead singer and songwriter of The Shins, one of my favorite bands since they came out. About to become a father soon, on a recent interview for VH1 he listed the music he would like his baby to listen to. This is the list with his comments:

 

The Beatles, Revolver

This will be around and played often. I discovered it later in life. I guess maybe because it's not a record of huge hits, and so I think I was listening to oldies radio and someone requested "Tomorrow Never Knows" and I heard that and was blown away. It quickly became my favorite. [We play it] once a month at least.

 

Van Morrison, Astral Weeks

I only discovered this a few years ago -- Jon Poneman at Sub Pop recommended it. It was a record I should have known when I was a child, so I'd love to introduce that to a baby. There's a certain sort of innocence about it, and I think it's aesthetically beautiful. That's a good thing to be exposed to as a kid -- high quality art. There's a warmth to it, a magic.

 

David Bowie, Hunky Dory

There's that song "Kooks" on there, which I figure is David Bowie, and I don't know if he had kids, but a father talking to his kids, and he's saying, "You have to understand, we're these bohemians, kooky people, and it might make your life hard. But it'll be rewarding in the end, because you're probably going to be kind of kooky too." That's a song I've listened to a lot since we got pregnant.

 

Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon

When I was a real little kid, maybe 3 years old, my dad would listen to some pretty strange psych stuff, and I thought it was really cool. I knew it was just fun, but if it scares the kid -- we'll find out. That's a good record. I think a kid would like that.

 

Read the full interview here.

 

 

 

Until Archives Part One, an 8 CD box, is released (this September) two Neil Young live recordings have been made available: 1970 Filmore, with Crazy Horse and Live at the Massey Hall (1971). I’ve been listening to Live at the Massey Hall non-stop during the past week. An acoustic set, the CD sound is amazing and Neil Young’s performance is spellbinding.

A good reminder of why this artist inspired a whole generation of musicians.

 

Watch this performance of “Old Man”. Neil Young’s father past away in 2005 and he was present at this concert, which adds some poignancy.

 

   

 

If you haven’t seen the Daniel Johnston documentary ‘The Devil and Daniel Johnston’ yet, it’s highly recommended for any music (and arts in general for that matter) fan. Among his many known fans are Sonic Youth (who appear on the documentary) and Kurt Cobain (below is a pict of Kurt wearing a Daniel’s t-shirt).

You can read Daniel’s biography on his website: http://www.hihowareyou.com/web/bio.htm

Or listen to his music on this fan’s website: http://www.rejectedunknown.com/

 

 

Wilco - http://www.wilcoworld.net/

 

Radiohead - http://www.radiohead.com/

 

Portishead - http://www.portishead.co.uk/

 

Ryan Adams - http://www.ryan-adams.com/

 

Smashing Pumpkins - http://www.smashingpumpkins.com/

 

 

 

One Friday checking Now Magazine for something to do with some friends that were visiting Toronto we found that a band called Dance Yourself to Death was playing in a small bar in Little Italy and having a release party for their first CD.

There is no way I would miss a band with that name, so went to check it out and we ended up really happy we did. A classic guitar/bass/drum formation, but really good melodies and energy.

A lot of good stuff happening in the city.

 

Check their profile on My Space.

 

 

It’s probably not their best album. Even so, the wait is over and the new Shin’s album was definitely one of the most anticipated albums this year…  

I tried to choose my favorite song…but I couldn’t. Enjoyable from start to finish.

 

 

http://www.theshins.com/

 

 

Damon Albarn’s new supergroup with ex-Clash bassist Paul Simonon and ex Verve guitarist Simon Tong will release their first album on January 22nd.

 

 

 

 

The Raconteurs and The Strokes (V-Festival second day)

Sigur Ros / Wilco at Massey Hall

The Flaming Lips at the Phoenix Theater

Cat Power at Lee’s Palace

Radiohead at Hummingbird Centre

Badly Drawn Boy at The Mod Club

Belle and Sebastian with The New Pornographers at The Docks

 

 

 

I hate to make lists as much as I love it. There were so many great albums released this year by Belle&Sebastian, The Fratellis, Badly Drawn Boy, Bob Dylan, The Raptures, The Lemonheads, The Raconteurs…the list is endless…

I’m sure this list would change if I think about it some more, so at this moment, these are my top 5 favorite albums of 2006 (in no particular order):

 

Thom Yorke - The Eraser

Cat Power – The Greatest

Guillemots - Through the Windowpane

Arctic Monkeys  - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

The Flaming Lips - At War with the Mystics

 

And these are the top 5 most played albums on my ipod:

 

"The Life Pursuit" by Belle & Sebastian 
"Great Western" by James Dean Bradfield
"5:55" by Charlotte Gainsbourg
"Supersunnyspeedgraphic" by Ben Folds
"A Blessing And A Curse" by Drive-by Truckers

 

My two new artist this year: CSS and Silversun Pickups

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I watched the new U2 video last night (not so new actually). It goes beyond the song and the clever editing, the images are just so powerful for any music lover, that it would have had the same effect on me even if the TV had been on mute.

 

 

By "Drive-by Truckers"

 

Once upon a time, my advice to you would have been go out and find yourself a whore
But I guess I've grown up, because I don't give that kind of advice anymore

Gonna be a world of hurt

I was 27 when I figured out that blowing my brains wasn't the answer
So I decided, maybe I should find a way to make this world work out for me
And my good friend Paul was 83 when he told me; that "To love is to feel pain"
And I thought about that then and I've thought about that again and again

Gonna be a world of hurt

"To love is to feel pain" there ain't no way around it
The very nature of love is to grieve when it is over
The secret to a happy ending is knowing when to role the credits
Better role them now before something else goes wrong
No, it's a wonderful world, if you can put aside the sadness
And hang on to every ounce of beauty upon you
Better take the time to know it there ain't no way around it
If you feel anything at all

Gonna be a world of hurt

So if what you have is working for you, or you think that it can stand a reasonable chance, and whatever's broken seems fixable and nothing's beyond repair
If you still think about each other and smile before you remember how screwed up it's gotten or maybe dream of a time less rotten
Remember, it ain't too late to take a deep breath and throw yourself into it with everything you got

It's great to be alive

"A world of hurt" is included on their excelent "A Blessing And A Curse" (2006)

 

 

 

 

The following excerpt is from www.savethealbum.com:

 

 

Save The Album!
Haven't you seen the signs? They tell you to download 25 tracks for free? They tell you to buy the new single from your favorite band? Like it was the new Fergie record! Ninety Nine cents this and a Dollar Twenty Nine that. Then they have the nerve to sell you something that you can only play on one kind of machine? Don't you see what's going on here???

They're trying to kill the album! They're destroying the very thing that made Pet Sounds, Exile On Main Street, Marquee Moon, Spiderland and Slanted & Enchanted possible. They're killing the thing that bands sell blood and wash dishes for. They're killing the reason that record labels curse printers and obsess over test pressings for. This is not even 1% a joke. They're killing the album.

Well, we're not gonna go down without a fight. You know we sell CDs and LPs. Well, now we're gonna start selling MP3s. Albums only. MP3s only. No fancy formats. Starting in October. Shop the same way you shop for CDs and LPs. Only, after checkout, we'll get you access to the album as a set of MP3s.

You want to shop at Insound? You want to call yourself an indie truist? Well, put up or shut up. We'll still have free sample MP3s. But we're not selling anybody anything for ninety nine cents. And we're not breaking up the album. Go somewhere else for that. We're here to sell you what the artists and labels want you to hear. CDs, LPs or MP3s. You choose.

The battle is on. Don't sit this one out.