Tag: Indie rock

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Tunes

Best tunes of 2011: #10 Dan Mangan “Post-war blues”

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Maybe you folks outside of Canada can help me out here. I’m not sure at all how well-known West Coast singer/songwriter Dan Mangan is outside of his (and my) country but around these parts, he definitely does quite well. In 2011, he released, “Oh, fortune”, his third full length and second on indie super-label Arts & Crafts. It was his second album to be long-listed for a Polaris prize (Canada’s equivalent to the Mercury) and the following year garnered the man a couple of Junos (our version of the Grammy).

As an album, the lush instrumentation that filled out his gorgeous songwriting and baritone vocals was a stark contrast against the relative austerity of his acoustic-laden previous effort, 2009’s “Nice, nice, very nice”. The subject matter was still quite dark, even in its humorous moments, but it all felt cleaner and more accomplished. “Post-war blues” was the obvious single on the album, a rousing number that starts with a drum roll and leaps into Arcade Fire territory, circa “Funeral”, complete with chugging beats, screaming guitars and a string backbone. And in that kindly voice of his, he sings words that seem oddly reminiscent of their hope in youth and cynicism with the aged.

“Let’s start a war for the kids
A purpose for which to unite
Make them some words they can mince
What they don’t know, They won’t mind”

And yes, for those Kubrick fans out there, you really need to watch the hilarious, Strangelove-inspired video. The pair, video and song, are just so great together and if you do manage a chance to see Dan Mangan perform live, definitely take it. He definitely made a bigger fan of me.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2011 list, click here.

Categories
Tunes

Best tunes of 2002: #27 Cornershop “Lessons learned from Rocky I to Rocky III”

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Cornershop’s third album, “I was born for the 7th time” was released in 1997 to critical acclaim but it only became a massive hit for the band after Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, remixed the single “Brimful of asha” and that song hit the stratosphere. It took them five years to release a follow up album, “Handcream for a generation”, though the main players in the band, Tjinder Singh and Ben Ayres, were anything but inactive. Of course, by the time 2002 rolled around, the buying public had moved on and the critics who fell over themselves for “I was born…” weren’t quite so enthused. I personally didn’t know what to think of it at first, beyond the obvious endearment of the grooves, but it has grown on me substantially over the years.

Some say their meteoric rise to fame is the inspiration behind the convoluted lyrics of this album’s second single, the awesomely titled, “Lessons learned from Rocky I to Rocky III”. There most definitely seem to be hits out at the music industry, at “soft rock shit”, at “TSB rock school”, and at hip hop stars bringing guns to meetings in A & R offices. However, all bets are off if you’re looking for depth here because Singh himself can’t account for the meaning in many of the tracks on this album. That is quite okay with me, though, because this tune really does rock and groove. Electric guitar hooks abound and funky drumming and soulful backing vocalists make it a real party. And Singh does his best Jagger swagger while he’s spouting this ‘nonsense’.

For the final word, I asked my friend Andrew Rodriguez to comment on the song and he came up with this:

“Packed lunches, chicks with dicks in miami beach and something about an Overgrown Supership. < lessons learned (and forget everything after 4)”

And this:

“That song in particular was referred to by some dumbf**k music critic as being ‘BTO esque’ ^^^seriously how do these cocks**kers have jobs???? *oh. wait. I answered my own question*”

Thanks again, Rodriguez.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2002 list, click here.

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Playlists

Playlist: New tunes from 2019, part two

I don’t know how things shook out where you are but here in Ottawa, the winter took its sweet time loosening its hold. We had snow banks well into April and the “April showers” became “May rains”. The Ottawa river and a number of other rivers in the area hit record heights, causing widespread flooding. We still had the heat on in our place into June and almost immediately had to switch on the AC.

So Spring? Not so much this year, really only having it in name.

Luckily, there was quite a bit of good music released to keep our minds off the dreary weather and this playlist features some of my favourite music that came out over the last three months.

Highlights include:

    • “Can’t find my heart”, the first tune off the second EP in a series released this year by Canada’s venerated indie rock collective, Broken Social Scene
    • A lovely tune called “Athens” off the first album by Elizabeth Morris’s (Allo Darlin’) new band, Elva, with Ola Innset (Making Marks)
    • “Wake me when it’s over”, track three of the final album by The Cranberries, “In the end”, released over a year after Dolores O’Riordan’s death
    • “Young enough”, the title track off the sophomore album by Charly Bliss, which this particular music fan needed to listen to many times before got… so if you yourself aren’t sure yet, give it some time
    • The latest album by The National, “I am easy to find”, is yet another twist and turn in the band’s artistic journey and from this new collection of tunes, I’ve included the majestic “Rylan”
    • “The barricade” off the new record by Toronto indie rock legends, The Lowest of the Lowest, which sounds like to these ears like a return to their early days

For those who don’t use Spotify or if the embedded playlist below doesn’t work for you, here is the entire playlist:

1. “Everyday” Weyes Blood (from the album Titanic rising)

2. “That’s where the trouble started” Rose Elinor Dougall (from the album A new illusion)

3. “Can’t find my heart” Broken Social Scene (from the EP Let’s try the after vol. 2)

4. “What I’ve been kicking around” The Tallest Man on Earth (from the album I love you. It’s a fever dream)

5. “Scarecrow” Wand (from the album Laughing matter)

6. “The barrel” Aldous Harding (from the album Designer)

7. “Athens” Elva (from the album Winter sun)

8. “Wake me when it’s over” The Cranberries (from the album In the end)

9. “No halo” Kevin Morby (from the album Oh my god)

10. “Déjà vu” SOAK (from the album Grim town)

11. “Harmony hall” Vampire Weekend (from the album Father of the bride)

12. “White of an eye” Patience (from the album Dizzy spells)

13. “Young enough” Charly Bliss (from the album Young enough)

14. “Fine mess” Interpol (from the EP A fine mess)

15. “Faithless” Operators (from the album Radiant dawn)

16. “Rylan” The National (from the album I am easy to find)

17. “Future shade” Black Mountain (from the album Destroyer)

18. “Almost it” SACRED PAWS (from the album Run around the sun)

19. “Is there a pill?” Richard Hawley (from the album Further)

20. “The barricade” The Lowest of the Low (from the album Agitpop)

21. “Black Friday” Palehound (from the album Black Friday)

22. “The river” AURORA (from the album A different kind of human, step II)

23. “Insignificant” Lust for Youth (from the album Lust for Youth)

24. “Natural” Julia Shapiro (from the album Perfect version)

25. “Her own heart” Hatchie (from the album Keepsake)

Enjoy.

For those of you who are on Spotify, feel free to look me up. My user name is “jprobichaud911”.