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.

 

 

We finally finished playing Gears of War with Gaston. It’s been a while since I had so much fun with a game, and now to fill the void left by finishing the game and to wait for Halo 3, we will play Halo 1 and 2…

Gracias Gaston!

 

Finally “Once” opened in Toronto last Friday and it was more than I was expecting after reading so many good reviews.

One of the critic’s quotes they show on the movie poster reads “the best music film of our generation”. That phrase lingered in my head for a while trying to think of another music film to compete with “Once”. I still cannot find it.

The reason I think it’s that the movie makes the songs part of the plot of the movie and it doesn’t feel like the typical music film (where people start singing out of nowhere with a full orchestra and everything!).

The movie starts The Frames front man Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, a very talented Czech pianist and it was directed by John Carney, a former Frames bassist. It’s a very small and modest film, but with a real love for music or any truly artistic effort for that matter. Probably the best music film of our generation J

Official link

Read the New York Times review by A. O. Scott

Read The Toronto Start review

 

 

Coming July 4th...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

   

 

Check out Earth Day Network's list of events at http://www.earthday.net/

 

 

 

 

I've never watched 'American Idol' on a regular basis and I haven't watched it this season at all. But it seems that one of the worst contestants ever is making its way to the top. Even Simon said that he will quit the show if the guy wins.

According to the creator of this website they only want to keep the cheesiest contestants as long as possible during the competition but Howard Stern has been promoting the website on his radio show and he wants to prove that the show is a farce if the worst contestant wins.

 

 

 

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/

 

 

The Edge has presented the “Top 102 Canadian New Rock Songs of All Time” based on several of the radio’s countdowns and input from the Edge staff, and opinions through the Edge Music Panel.

 

Click here to see the list.

 

 

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/

 

 

 

Coming to theaters on March 23rd. Written and directed by Toronto-born Rob Sterwart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are in Toronto, you can check out a lot of interesting bands playing in different venues all over the city.

All the info in the Canadian Music Week website: http://www.cmw.net/cmw2007/index.asp

 

You can also check the TO blog for day to day information: http://www.blogto.com