Posts will be slow until Tuesday, as I'm at Sasqautch. Some late news, M.I.A. will be MIA, but the LOng Winters are filling in. All in all, I'm ok with that.

MP3:: Bjork Innocence
MP3:: Spoon Ghost of You Lingers

Labels: Music, News

It's Friday and the sun is finally shining here on the east coast, so it seems feasible that we might actually see some summer out here in Halifax. So I thought I'd celebrate summer's impending arrival with a post on my favorite summer song by a band comprised of former chemistry students that hail from PEI, but now live in Toronto. The band of course is Two Hours Traffic, and the song is Stuck For The Summer.

In my review for the band's excellent EP, Isolator, I described Stuck For The Summer thusly:

The pleasant guitar jangle and sing-along chorus of Stuck For The Summer make it plenty addictive and a perfect song for the, uhh, summer.

How can you refuse it after that endorsement! Plus, they made one of the coolest videos I've seen in a while for the song, so go ahead and enjoy. Two Hours Traffic have completed their new album, so you can be sure I'll have a review up when it drops.

mp3:: Stuck For The Summer

Labels: Music, News

You might remember we enjoyed a lot of aspects of of the new Je Suis France record - Afrikan Majik. The Shaq Diesel CD graphic. The distorted synths. The rocking guitars... oh, and the fact I think the band might be bat shit crazy.

If you order the record, you get access to download a live set at 2007's Twilight Delirium. One of the highlights, is their nonsensivcal cover of LCD Soundsystem's Daft Punk is Playing at My House.

MP3:: Je Suis France is Playing at My House

Labels: Music, News

Anyone who has read this blog for more than about a week knows I love the Beastie Boys (and knows we never let Naedoo forget about how he hated Gratitude). Needless to say, I'm stoked to see them perform two sets at Sasquatch this weekend.

As we get ready for the new instrumental record - The Mix-up - here are two videos to whet your whistle. Now, after a first pass, I'd say these songs fit firmly into the same style of the last instrumental record. I'd also say that percussion player Alredo looks a lot like Hurley from Lost.



Off the Grid


The Rat Cage

Labels: HipHop, Music, News

Let's do the math. M Ward + Jim James + Neko Case + a slew of talented friends performing Chinese Translation = Gold

Labels: Music, News

It must be Jason Renyolds day on herohill. He posted on his inability to get Young Folks out of his head, so I reply with this blue grass version of the song by Dawn Landes:

MP3:: Young Folks - Dawn Landes

Labels: Music, News

Well, not to oversell it, but yes.


I love Ben Harper.
Jason Reynolds loves sweatbands. You do the math.

Labels: Music, News

The good folks at Merge must be extremely busy these days. First, the new Spoon album is everywhere and if you look hard enough, you can find most of the songs online. Policing the internet is a draining task I'd wager.

But more importantly they are fixing some other fantastic releases, including the Tonight I Have to Leave It EP to get everyone excited about the new Shout Out Louds record.

The single - Tonight I Have to Leave It - is a percussion heavy number that sounds a bit like someone playing coke bottles at a carnival (but in a really good way) with swirling keys, their textbook uptempo acoustic backbone and Adam's Cure-ish vocals.

Note:: Is it just me, or does the 80's vibe Adam delivers remind you of Jason Schwartzman's character in Slackers when he sang the new wave song?

The EP also includes a Russian Futurists dance-club heavy bass remix of the single and a cover of the classic Pogues number Streams of Whiskey with help from the Essex Green. They played this in Vancouver last time through and it was killer.

The new record - Our Ill Wills - is out in September. They are streaming a track from the new release, along with the single and the RF remix on their myspace page.

I feel like I'd have to be a jerk to post a song from a 5-song EP, so luckily they made the video available for everyone to watch:
Video:: Tonight I Have to Leave It

Labels: Music, News

Nina Nastasia is unbelievable. Her voice is filled with emotion, but she really knows how to control the energy. Her songs tread lightly, making you focus on her beautiful voice and lyrics, before completely exploding making your jaw drop.

Her new record - due out in August on Fat Cat - is a collaboration with Jim White on drums called You Follow Me. He's worked with amazing singers (Will Oldham, Nick Cave, Smog - along his own band The Dirty Three) and his organic style of drumming fits Nina's vocals perfectly.

I've only heard five songs, and will surely revisit this record when it is released but had to share this song:
MP3:: I Write Down Lists

After two pseudo false starts, Nina's emotive vocals and acoustic are matched with Jim's marching band snare. The song never seems to rush, but slowly morphs three or four times before Nina's vocals erupt and Jim's structured, understated drums become a living, growing thing (much like the Manitoba-esque style Dan delivers in a live setting). The duo obviously likes playing with each other and understands each others skills, because the chunking works perfectly and in only 3:15 Nina and Jim put you through the emotional (and audio) ringer.

Labels: Music, News

It's tough to post when you are on the road, so I thought I'd just clean out the ole inbox with some concert listings for Vancouver:

5/25 The Black Angels w/Vietnam @ Richard's
5/25 and 5/26 SASQUATCH (Beastie Boys, Bjork, Arcade Fire, Spoon, Jessie Sykes, the Thermals, Two Gallants, Interpol, Bad Brains.. and so many others) *******
6/2 Menomena @ the Red Room *
6/6 CSS w/Bonde do Role @ Richard's
6/9 Girl Talk w/Datarock and Circlesquare @ Richard's
6/9 The Rosebuds & Land of Talk @ the Media Club *
6/14 Architecture in Helsinki w/Yacht @ Richard's
6/21 Julie Doiron w/Calvin Johnson @ Video In (AA) *
6/24 Shearwater @ Richard's
6/27 Tortoise w/Fond of Tiger @ the Commodore
6/29 The National @ Richard's
7/1 Band of Horses @ Richard's - two bands I can't believe book a show when we are away
7/4 Seu Jorge @ the Commodore
7/4 Album Leaf w/Under Byen @ the Plaza
7/13 The Polyphonic Spree @ the Commodore
7/16 Tegan and Sara @ the VECC (AA) *
7/17 Tegan and Sara @ the VECC (AA)
9/3 Crowded House w/Pete Yorn @ the Orpheum *
* = attending

Labels: Music, News

Is it just me, or is gimmick rap dead? Back in the day, MC's often utilized gimmicks to try and ensure their high top fade stood tallest. In Kid's case, his gimmick was that his high top fade was literally taller than the rest. But gimmicks are gone from the rap biz now. Or rather, everyone uses the same gimmick now, the ole "I used to be a criminal and now I rap" routine. There are subtle variations in the gimmick, such as the "I used to be a criminal, got shot multiple times, and now I rap", but in 2007, if a rapper without a criminal record raps in the forest, does anyone hear him?

Ooo, wasn't that profound? Well, not really, but perhaps you get my meaning anyway. It wasn't always this way though. Before rap's current ice age made rap gimmicks obsolete, the history of rap was filled with gimmicks of all sorts. We thought it would be fun to list the hill's favorite 10 hip hop gimmicks. You're excited? We knew you would be.

10 - Oh, the horror
In all honesty, I'm not sure horrorcore is really one of my favorite rap gimmicks at all. Basically I'm only including it because of the Gravediggaz. This side project, which was comprised of The Rza, Prince Paul, Frukwan, and the underrated Too Poetic, is the most well know member of the early 90's rap genre focused on horror-movie style raps. I'm guessing there was some kind of audience for this stuff, as dudes like Esham, Brotha Lynch Hung, and Insane Clown Posse released multiple albums doing it, but it's fallen off the map now. But the Gravediggaz were big news back in the day, and it gives me a chance to say RIP Too Poetic.
mp3:: Gravediggaz - Diary of a Madman

9 - what's this, a parody?
For a while, the rap song parody was all the rage. I think just the whole phenomenon of rap music freaked (white) people out early on, so it was easier to laugh at parodies of the songs, rather then actually understand it. People like Bobby Jimmy & The Critters, The 2 Live Jews, Morris Minor and the Majors, and Vanilla Ice put out full parody rap albums back in the day, and apparently someone thought this was a good idea. I'll admit I used to get a kick out of Bobby Jimmy, but I am not surprised this gimmick has gone by the wayside. Well, except for Weird Al, who somehow still has a career doing rap parodies while he rocks a white man jheri curl.

8 - Habla la hip hop?
I was going to make this one about rapping in other languages, but I couldn't think of any good examples that weren't in Spanish. Well other than french I guess, where Mario's favorite Le Boyfriend held things down. But The Spanish/English style was a quality gimmick when it first appeared back in the day. Mellow Man Ace's Mentirosa was the first big song I remember that featured the Spanish rap. Kid Frost's La Raza also came out around the same time. Were the dudes who created Reggaeton influenced by these early spanish/english jams? If so, this could be considered on of the more successful gimmicks on the list. Well I guess that would be the case if you liked Raggaeton, which I don't, but I will digress...
mp3:: Mellow Man Ace - Mentirosa

7 - Fast rap
Long before fast rap was an Edan mixtape, it was a gimmick used by numerous emcee's to try and make a name for themselves. Why being able to rap faster that anyone else was considered a reason to buy someones album is beyond me, but at one point, it was. In fact, the holder of the Guinness record for fastest rapper used to be semi-common knowledge amongst rap enthusiasts. How else would I end up as the proud owner of a cassette copy of Daddy Freddy's Ragamuffin Soldier? Considering the fast rap title is currently held by this guy, I'd say that time has past.
mp3:: Asher D & Daddy Freddy - Ragamuffin Hip Hop

6 - Rap as dance craze
A classic gimmick found in all genres of music, the "song-with-its-own-corresponding-dance" is no stranger to hip hop. For a fine example of this, look no further than Joeski Love and his jam Pee Wee's Dance. As if explanation is really required, Pee Wee's Dance is an homage to the dance stylings of former kids show weirdo Pee Wee Herman. Of course this song came out before Pee Wee's big porno theatre adventure, because after that you'd need a hell of a lot more than a catchy Tequila sample to make people dance like Pee Wee. As shocking as it is, Pee Wee's Dance turned out to be the highlight of Joeski's career.
mp3:: Joeski Love - Pee Wee's Dance

5 - For The Kids
Another gimmick that can be found in plenty of musical genres, kids rapping has always been a reliable go-to gimmick. Usually the kids have some established svengali-like figure that helps put them on and then guides their "career". Another Bad Creation had Michael "Biv" Bivins, Kriss Kross had Jermaine Dupri, and Lil Romeo had wannabe Raptor Percy Miller as his father/Svengali. Chi Ali, despite being affiliated with the native tongues, did not have that one guiding figure. Perhaps that's why Chi is now serving a 14 year stretch for murder.
mp3:: Chi Ali - Funky Lemonade

4 - Evil twin brother
The rap alter ego has also been around for quite some time. I don't just mean having 50 "aka" names, as that is certainly still popular, but rather creating an alter ego to the extent that you release an album under said alter ego's name. Certainly it's still done today, as Madlib's helium voiced Lord Quas proves, but it's not done with the same commitment it once was. I remember having legitimate debates about whether Shock G and Humpty Hump where the same person in junior high. Although I wanted to believe Humpty was actually burned in a grease fire and hence the need for his Groucho nose & glasses combo, but I was always skeptical. It's also worth mentioning that The Humpty Dance is perhaps the most famous example of rap song as dance craze. And no, I won't do the Humpty Dance for you, but thanks for asking.
mp3:: Digital Underground - The Humpty Dance

3 - Cracker Rap
With the amount of pale-faced mic rockers on the scene today, it might to be hard to believe that the white MC was a gimmick at one point, but it's true. Certainly if you asked Serch and Pete Nice if they were a gimmick, you would be the recipient of a vigorous gas face. They considered themselves to be true MC's, regardless of their race. But that doesn't mean all white rappers abstained from the gimmickry. Case in point - Young Black Teenagers. This group of white kids was loosely connected to PE through Bomb Squad member Hank Shocklee and intended their name as some kind of homage to black culture, but in reality, it came off as a gimmick. For a long time white dudes worked some reference to white into their name (vanilla, white, snow, milk) to stress the "I am white" gimmick. Thankfully that has now faded for the most part.
mp3:: Young Black Teenagers - Tap The Bottle

2 - Weed Carriers
The practice of an established artist securing a record deal for one of his lackeys is as old as hip hop itself. If you're a rapper, once you get on, you're expected to put those around you on as well. Sometimes the results are good, former EPMD backup dancer and hill favorite Stezo comes to mind, but most of the time it's all bad. You can find most of hip hop's most offensive weed carriers on our list of 100 MC's we wished lost their voice instead of The D.O.C. The rap world is littered with "crew" albums that failed miserably, but it has certainly been one of the most consistent hip hop gimmicks, and that continues to this day. I mean who isn't dying to hear an album from Puff Diddley's manservant Fonzworth Bentley?
mp3:: Stezo - Bring the Horns

1 - Re-inventing the wheel
Would it cheapen the list if I said my #1 rap gimmick isn't really a gimmick? What I mean is this - as long as hip hop has been around, there has been some MC or group claiming to have invented a new style of speech. I include it here as more often than not, this new style is used as a means to try and promote the artist, but I hesitate to call it a gimmick because it's often the reason they're enjoyable in the first place. Case in point: Das Efx. They busted on the scene with their bum stiggedy bum style and blew up, because everyone started doing it (ahem, Fu-schnickens, Lords Of The Undergound) they went away from it and pretty much fell the fack off. I'm sure you can think of other examples of this gimmick, K-Solo's "spell-rhyming" is another one of my favorites.
mp3:: Das EFX - Mic Checka
mp3:: K-Solo - Spellbound

Labels: HipHop, Music, News

Tomorrow is my lovely wife's birthday and like the fantastical husband I am I will be flying to Paris for work. I'm special, I know.

So anyway, I just wanted to throw together a Nic inspired post on herohill, with some of the songs that she loves, or from artists we've seen together. Happy birthday Nic. Love you.

MP3:: Ian Love The Only Night (our wedding song)
MP3:: Cary Brothers If You Were Here
MP3:: Foundation Forget Today (live)
MP3:: The Beach Boys God Only Knows









Video:: Tegan & Sara Not Tonight

And her fav movie video!

Labels: News

Tegan & Sara are releasing their new record - The Con - July 24th, and are starting off the hype with some shows, including some in lovely BC::
Jul 14 2007 8:00P
The Belfry Theatre Victoria, British Columbia
Jul 15 2007 8:00P
The Belfry Theatre Victoria, British Columbia
Jul 16 2007 8:00P
The East Cultural Centre Vancouver, British Columbia





We almost never post MP3s from records we haven't listened to, but this song is fantastic. The Bowerbirds are from UNC, and are on tour with the Rosebuds. They have a vocal similarity to them as well. The soaring violin is so nice.
MP3:: The Dark Horse

Labels: Music, News

When it rains it pours. Or, in Jawbreaker fashion, when it pains it roars. Either way in the spirit of Ladyhawk, I am going to completely go back on something I said in my post about America's attempt to recapture cool when they teamed up with some hip cats for their double disc release. What can I say, I'm like a sports journalist. I make up facts and opinions to fit my own ideas and forget about them as soon as I hit PUBLISH.

Duffy Driediger's solo record - Under the Cities Lies a Heart made of Ground - is floating around now, and it features a cover of America's Horse With No Name. Is it good? You decide, but it's funny that I got excited to hear it when I first grabbed the record from a classified torrent site (that is very Indie you might say).

MP3:: Horse With No Name - Duffy (Ladyhawk)

Labels: Music, News

File this under "what the fack?" Herohill friend and fav, Joel Plaskett was featured on the queen of media's web site today. Now, I hate everything Perez stands for. He's a publicity whore who shills for the same people he dishes on and he knows little about music, but he gets over 6 million hits a day for his trouble. I'd have to say, if even a microbe of visitors trickle into Joel's well deserving fanbase, he'll be doing a-ok.

He's playing here at the Commodore on May 18th in support of his new record, Ashtray Rock (read Shane's review here). Come and join the hype before it gets too big.
MP3:: Drunk Teenagers

Labels: Music, News

Just some random mid day filler. First, the National video for Mistaken for Strangers has made it's way from MTV2 to youtube. It's simple and good and doesn't rely on a cheesy gimmick or Spike Jonze. All in all - that means enjoyable watching in my book.

Video:: Mistaken for Strangers


And for people who might have attended the show last night, Cary Brothers opened for Brandi Carlile @ the Horseshoe and we got a photo. Since we no longer live there, we had a special agent show up and get some footage (*).
* Footage = some dark pics and a set list courtesy of Linsday


Set list::
The Last One
Ride
Who You Are
Blue Eyes
Glass Parade
If You Were Here - with additional John Hughes dialog

Labels: Music, News

Issue me a late pass on this one if you'd like, but I only just thought of it. I enjoy Alanis' humps-based parody as much as the next man, it's well done and as everyone and their hipster mom has already said, she does a good job of skewering not only Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas, but also herself. But seeing it again the other day, it occurred to me that she chose her target very carefully. As this article from XXL describes quite well, there's an un-written rule in hip hop - white MC's do not attack black MC's. Well it seems that might hold true in the pop music world as well: over-dramatic female singers from Canada who once dated Dave Coulier do not make humorous videos parodying black artists.

I think, as part of the un-official deal that allows white dudes to partake in the rap game, if white MC's want to beef with someone, they are required to beef with other white MC's. If you want to be down with the brothers, you do not publicly diss the brothers. This tradition goes back to 3rd Bass beefing with Vanila Ice or the Beasties, and leads up to Eminem battling pretty much every white dude up to, and including, Greg Brady.

There are exceptions, as 3rd Bass' attacks on Hammer prove, but as the aforementioned article claims, those attacks led to a 60K bounty being placed on the scalps of Serch & Pete, so really you have to wonder if it was worth it. I do know that this post is now worth it, as mentioning the fact that Hammer wanted 3rd Bass dead because he thought they were making for of his mother is not something you get to do every day.

So why exactly did Alanis choose "My Humps"? Why not Destiny's Child's Bootylicious? Surely it's lyrics are as ridiculous as the humps song? The word "Oh" comprises 80% of the lyrics in Ciara's cleverly titled Oh, and the video she made for it features her humping a car. Christina Milian's Dip It Low is an instructional track for the ladies detailing the proper way to dip your ass low. The video features Ms. Milian rolling around in a vat of black paint semi-nude.

So why couldn't Alanis choose any of these songs? It could be coincidence, and perhaps it's simply the fact the BEP song was newer and more popular than the examples I've given. But something tells me this video was very carefully planned, and like many a white rapper before her, Alanis didn't want to deal with the fallout that would occur if she offended a black artist, or worse, was accused of being racist in some way. So she went with Fergie, a mighty-white chick singing hooks for a (sort-of) rap group who appears to have had more work done than my old Cutlass Ciera (The Golden Ghost RIP), and who once pissed herself on stage.

So what am I saying here? Surprisingly little considering I've written so much. Am I saying she shouldn't have singled out Fergie and BEP? Certainly not, that humps song is terrible, Fergie is terrible, and so I have no problem with that. I guess I'm simply saying that perhaps since Alanis singled out a white artist from a genre of music dominated by black artists, it wasn't the bravest choice she could've made. Perhaps we'll hold off on giving her that Nobel prize for parody just yet.

And so I say in closing...

Labels: HipHop, Music, News

Alex Church (aka Sea Wolf) stopped by the Daytrotter sound booth during SXSW for a nice four session set.

Anyway, it's another great set of free music from the Daytrotter clan, so when you download the set, click an ad or two.

The nice stripped down set includes::
You're a Wolf (Sea Wolf)
I Made a Resolution
Ses Monuments
MP3:: Middle Distance Runner

Labels: Music, News