Man I suck at this..

I'm not promising anything anymore. I'm pretty sure its been months since I've posted... :/
Anyways, It's fall again, which is my favorite season. So I thought I'd write a little story to get the season started :)


Fire Song

She turned her head to the side to peer out the window as her professor mumbled on...
The clicking of raindrops on the window had been an incessant distraction since the class started, and now all that she could imagine was how she was going to have to walk home in this downpour. Her cell phone read 10:48, and she realized it was time to start packing up. She slid her warm peacoat over her cold, smooth skin, and tightened the yellow scarf that hung loosely around her neck. She fumbled through her purse for the other side of her mittens, and proceeded to face the rain.
No one understood fall the way that she did. Where others saw poor weather, drab, and depression, she saw light. The weather never made life easier, however it brought out something inside of her that few others have been able to share in her mind. The thought of the leaves, changing from green life to firey death in a matter of weeks, capsizes her thoughts. Sitting in the grandeur of the park by her apartment, she stared up into the canopy of the trees and took out her camera. With the snap of a shutter, she proceeded to attempt to capture the moment.

SNAP

SNAP

SNAP

and on it goes. Most others don't believe that a moment can be captured in a photograph. She begs to differ. Her nit hat catches a leaf within the stitching, unbeknown to her. Her hazel eyes gazed into the overcast sky, soaking in ever ray of stark light that cascaded down upon her face. Eerie, motionless, awake, she walks. Vines of changing leaves consume the brick walls and marble columns that surround her. Old parking garages converted to studios seem to be eaten by ivy that grabs onto every crevasse it can nose in to.
This is her time, when no one else can change her opinion. All day, she is stripped of her own thoughts, carelessly abandoned as a vessel for others to fill with ideas and false promise. However she knows that fall will always be there, its steady with the seasons, and where other fall bitter in the darkness and cold, she revels.

In Orbit

Beauty is not perception
Not the silicon or the names you wear
not the rouge on your cheeks
nor the shadow upon your lids

Beauty is what stops you dead in your tracks
makes your stomach flutter
drives your mind into overdrive
runs your heart into a storm

Beauty is that smile
the color of your eyes
every pore over your smooth skin

Beauty is lust
Harmony is love

Virginia

Virginia
Virginia, not west Virginia. “I may be as big as west Virginia, but no, its Virginia” With her candy apple red lipstick, dolce and gabbana knockoff glasses, and sky blue thermos, Virginia was a hard one to miss. I was catching the #15 bus to the light rail, and noticed her suddenly as I stepped onto the bus to take my seat. She was conversing with an old handicapped couple, and had an alarmingly loud voice. With every guttural laugh that escaped her mouth, the dragonflies on her skirt would twitch as the peacocks on her cardigan danced.
I never seem to take the time to observe the people that I encounter each day, but after taking careful notice, it’s like walking through my own documentary. Every person has their own character, their own personalities. If you take a second to imagine each person’s life path, where they came from, where their headed, it makes it day a bit more interesting.
After leaving the bus with Virginia, I stepped onto the light rail platform to catch my train to the city. There was a man sleeping in the seat across from me. Legs spread, eyes bloodshot and peeled open, dreadlocks mangled into a mess like none other that I have seen. I was expecting him to emit a certain odor, but surprisingly he kept to himself and I noticed nothing. I tried to mind my own thoughts, even with my ipod plugged in, but the man sitting next to me was telling his life story to a stranger he had never met before. He was unemployed, arrested when he was 16, and his life had consistently gone downhill. With a felony on his record, he can’t get a job. No car, no wife, no family, he was alone. He could apply to get the felony taken off his record, but he doesn’t have the money to do so. He was in a fairly nice outfit, slacks and a tie, but the woes of his life were evident and hard to ignore.
After he left, and I tried to tune out the people around me, on steps another distraction. This time, in the form of a slightly senile cat lady. She seemed like just another city street character, but it wasn’t until I heard her scream the name “WORM!” did she catch my attention. Suddenly, the man who had been quietly sleeping across from me, wakes up, stunned. He was obviously pissed that someone had woken him up, and even more pissed that it was this lady.
“How ya doin worm?” she said, in voice roughly three levels above appropriate.
“I’m fine” he replied.
“Stayin’ outta trouble?”
“Tryin” he mumbled. He proceeded to take out his cell phone, and started playing a game on it, in attempts to ignore her. When that didn’t work, he started playing ring tones on it in order to drown her out. When that didn’t work, he left. Just like that, walked out in the middle of her sentence, and vanished. But the woman wasn’t phased.
Apparently, I had been staring at these two for quite some time now, and was totally unaware I had been doing so. I was staring at the movement coming from the lady’s backpack, wondering what the hell could be in there. I turned away quickly, and accidently made eye contact with this crazy woman. FUCK
“It’s a cat,” she said. “Well, a kitten.”
I just looked at her, pursed my lips, and smiled politely.
“wanna hold it?” she insisted.
“Na, I’m good thanks. I’m allergic” I replied. I’m not actually allergic, but I’ve learned to think on my feet lately.
“Well hell, allergies are a conspiracy that doctors made up to get us on medication. Just hold her!”...
and she put the cat on my lap. Yep, just put it on me, no choice, I had a crazy cat woman’s fuckin kitten sitting on me…shit.
“um, I have to get off at this stop” I said.
“oh, well you wanna keep her?”
“no.”
“why not? She’s so cute!”
“no. I have to go to work”
“well im going to have to abandon her then I guess”
WHAT THE FUCK??? How does a random crazy person put something like that on me? Suddenly, I started thinking of those books where they depict different ways to kill a cat, and it hit me. When you read those books, and they show the stick figures or drawings of fake people, you start imagining this in a real life situation. That “crazy person” you see doing all of these acts, it was this woman.
But no, I have to go to my meeting. I can’t deal with this…fuck, I’m a cat killer…no. Wait, take a deep breath, calm down, there are worse ways to kill a cat. Relax.
After my meeting, I start heading to my favorite 24hr. Starbucks, when I see a man standing against a wall, writing something with his fingers. There were poems written in paint all over his trench coat, hair in dreads, boots painted, and writing something in thin air that could be a masterpiece for all I know. I actually stood by to watch him. I started eating my muffin, trying to depict what he was writing in the air. If I were to ever make a documentary, it would be about this guy. But dammit I could NOT tell what he was writing for the life of me. He wasn’t paying any attention to me, and it started to seem to me like he wasn’t actually writing anything at all, so I left.
Then it dawned on me. If it wasn’t even noon and I had ran into all of these people, I would suggest to take a look around you, and start thinking. Not just about yourself, but how we’re all connected in this world, yet come from totally different lives. Then it will hit you, and only then, can you really figure out what its like to live in the real world.

Its been a while..

Im not going to promise anything anymore. I'm terrible at updating this thing, its my fault, but maybe I can change that. We'll see. I had the opportunity to shoot some pictures with my friend luke, and I was really happy with this one photo I took, so that's why I included it in this piece. But I'm really writing today to tell you about a dream I had the other night, this is how it went:

I found myself on a lake, somewhere on the east coast. I couldn't tell exactly where I was, the water was cloudy, almost dense. The air was wet, it was hard to see the road, only about 20ft from the shore I was standing on. I heard a wail in the far distance, muffled by the thick blanket of fog over the surface of the lake. It wasn't human, almost like a dragon (it doesn't make sense, I know), speaking to me from under the water, up and over waves. I started to walk into the water. The water was ice cold, exactly how I imagined it to feel, but filled my entire body with warmth the further I went. Step after step, the need to find the answer grew more intense.
Soon enough, I was completely under water. Breathing, I could see a movement in the distance. As I swam, my heart was suddenly starting to race. The water had turned from a murky gray, to a velvet red. It started like a drop of dye into a glass of water, swirling and wrapping itself around me, until it took the form of an animal. Not a fish, not a dragon, but I suddenly couldn't tear myself away. I stayed for a while, and asked her why I was here. I had left everything behind, stepped into the water, and never wanted to return. It told me to return, but only after I had rid myself of any questions I had in life.
Then, like an electric shock, my jaw locked, throat closed, eyes peeled open, as I gasped for air. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think. It was such an immense sense of panic that I had never experienced before in my life, and I frantically began to swam to the surface. It tried to pull me back, but slipped like oil and water. I wanted to stay, I needed my answers, but I couldn't bear the thought of losing everything only to find myself.
I swam and swam, until the light of the surface starting to glow like a beacon. I couldn't hold myself back any longer, and I took a breathe. Wading on the surface, I all I could think about was going back. then I awoke

I have no idea what that dream meant, but it was really eerie and very visual in my mind so i thought I should share it. sweet dreams :)

Yelle

Yes, I feel very guilty for not having updater for about a month, its been busy. Anyways, I have a laptop now, so ill be blogging almost everyday, as geeky as that sounds. SO, today's entry is the adorable and talented YELLE. This french tech-trendy artist really packs a punch. This is perfect driving music in my mind, and I HIGHLY suggest downloading the whole album to do it justice. But if you can only afford one, I'd pick "Je Veux Te Voir". The in-your face intro and catchy chorous have earned it a spot on my top 25 most played on my iPod. Want some catchy techno? go listen to Yelle.


...and for the wiki info...

Julie Budet (born 17 January, 1983 in Saint-Brieuc, Bretagne, France), best known as Yelle (a feminised version of the acronym YEL, "You enjoy life") is a French electro/electropop singer.
Yelle rose to fame on MySpace when she posted a song titled "Short Dick Cuizi", mocking Cuizinier, a member of the Parisian hip-hop group TTC. With producer and close friend GrandMarnier, Yelle has recorded a debut album Pop-Up, after her hit single "Je Veux Te Voir" (a finalised version of "Short Dick Cuizi"). The song, which samples the bassline from 20 Fingers' 1994 club hit Short Dick Man, received heavy airplay on MTV. She was also featured on Fatal Bazooka's song "Parle à ma main" in 2007. In February 2008 she performed the track "A cause des Garçons" on the BBC Three series "Lily Allen and Friends".She was MTV's 'Artist of the Week' for the week of 24 - 30 March 2008, appearing during adverts. Yelle has also appeared on NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly, performing "A cause des Garçons" on November 12, 2008 and "Ce Jeu" on February 4, 2009.
Her single "À cause des Garçons" remixed by Riot in Belgium was featured on the soundtrack of Electronic Arts' computer game; Need for Speed: ProStreet. EA Sports included the song in UEFA Euro 2008, the official video game of the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament.

"À cause des Garçons" was used as the opening song for the Moschino Spring Summer 2008 runway show. As of 2008, it is also featured in an advert being broadcast in Quebec for Telus. Her single "Je veux te voir" was featured on the series 4 final episode of Entourage, in the opening scene when the gang arrives in Cannes, and her single "Ce jeu" was played on Gap's and H&M's shop soundtrack in summer 2008. In 2008, she remixed a track on American singer Katy Perry US digital remix EP of "Hot N Cold". She is also the image of a special line of Reebok Freestyle shoes, World Cities, representing the Paris model.

On June 2, 2009, iTunes released their second installment of iTunes Foreign Exchange, featuring Yelle and Swedish pop singer Robyn. The album includes Yelle covering Robyn's "Who's That Girl?" while Robyn covers Yelle's "À cause des garçons," aptly titling it "Because of Boys" (its English translation).

According to her Myspace page, as of spring of 2009, she is currently working on new material.

Wintermitts

GREAT GREAT GREAT band...absolutely love these guys. I honestly don' know much about them, probably because I'm not a lucky canadian :( but anyways, here's the bio from their wesite http://www.wintermitts.com



Since forming in 2005, Wintermitts have delighted and accumulated loyal fans across Canada. Their last album, Cascadia Fault (2007), was released independently in Canada to massive appeal, and with their whimsical exuberance they have shared the stage with acts such as Julie Doiron, You Say Party!We Say Die! and Laura Barret. They completed a national summer tour in 2007 and were featured at Sackville, New Brunswick’s famous SappyFest. In Autumn 2008, they continue their path of merrymaking, as featured artists at the Western Canadian Music Association Showcase and traveling on a cross-country tour promoting their new album, Heirloom.


Boasting a bilingual set and a “musical chairs” approach to instrumentation, Heirloom was produced by Shawn Cole (You Say Party!We Say Die!) and co-produced by Futcher (The Be Good Tanyas). Live or recorded, Lise Monique intertwines English and French lyrics with the ease of elementary school girls braiding each other’s hair in Canada’s schoolyards, while the accompanying music pulls you to your feet or keeps your eyes on the stage. Listeners beware: some tracks on this latest Wintermitts effort will cause a head-nodding hypnosis while others still will leave you wishing you understood French, or with the desire to plant a tree in your front yard.

To ensure that your love for this band will keep growing long after your initial listen, Wintermitts have committed to affecting a crowd on a platform greater than the width of a stage by including a seed packet for Heirloom tomatoes in with the CD – which can grow in most climates of Canada. “We wanted to include something that people can actually see change as a way of educating and promoting personal horticultural awareness,” Lise Monique says. Heirloom’s CD packaging itself is green-friendly and resembles the design of a seed packet. In doing so, Wintermitts strut their West Coast eco-sensibility and provide listeners with music as well as a science project in which there is no danger of a failing grade.

Although they purport to wear different styles of underwear, Wintermitts members are united on the front of sharing handclaps and gang vocals to move you onto the dance floor. Keep an admiring eye on them, as if they were a kaleidoscope; as Wintermitts continue to be held up to the spotlight, their music produces a pleasing, aural spectacle of the most brilliant colours and shapes.

Bat For Lashes

I don't know if its my infinite love for Cat Power (she will ALWAYS be my favorite artist), or the fact that this girl is so kick-ass, but I am in love with Bat For Lashes. Bat For Lashes has been around for a little while now, but they still haven't got totally mainstream. The fact that she sounds like a young Chan Marshall, is not a bold statement considering this girl's talents. The only other person I would say could match that is Holly Miranda, but thats another ballpark. Her eerie voice and even creepier sense of art brings the whole picture together; Which kind of explains the music videos. Nonetheless, Natasha Khan = love

Bat For Lashes - Daniel (HD) from Peter Pan on Vimeo.

For Those Of You Lost Souls...

I kind of assume that most of you guys follow this kinda stuff on your own, and I'm just a recap in case you missed anything. But I'm going to post this just in case some of you are missing out, because this will change the way you see music and film. There are two productions, I believe in affiliation with each other, called La Blogotheque and Shoot The Player. They are film projects that focus only on indie bands. They only record live, and usually in random places like bathrooms and elevators. These guys travel around the world, meeting these artists wherever they happen to be on tour. I could tell you a favorite video, but I don't think I have one. Almost every video has changed the way I see the artist, and I wouldn't ruin that for you. I warn you, La Blogotheque is a parisian run production, therefore the website can pose some issues. I'll post the vimeo channels too if you get lost on the site. Anyways, here you go.

LaBlogtheque
Shoot The Player

LaBlogtheque Vimeo
Shoot The Player Vimeo

Jenny Owen Youngs

This happy-go-lucky music is the fix for most of my bad days. Her guitar has a lot of step to it, and her voice is unmistakably smooth. I realize I use that word too much when I talk about music, so I guess you could call it cool? maybe not. Anyways, Her new album is supposed to be released soon I believe, and she's definitely worth a listen.

WIKI ;)

Jenny Owen Youngs (born November 22, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter from Montclair, New Jerse
Youngs played the flute in elementary school and the tuba in junior high school. At 14, she began to play the guitar.[2] She graduated from State University of New York at Purchase with a degree in studio composition.

Her album Batten the Hatches was self-released in 2005. In 2006, a song from that album, "Fuck Was I", appeared in the second season premiere of Showtime's Weeds, resulting in Batten the Hatches being re-released on April 10, 2007 with new artwork and an extra track ("Drinking Song")[3] on the Canadian indie label Nettwerk. "Fuck Was I" was also released on Weeds: Music from the Original Series, Vol. 2.

In addition to her solo career, she is in the band The Robot Explosion, a side project with fellow musicians and friends Bess Rogers, Andrew Futral, and Saul Simon-MacWilliams. She also takes part in an online Podcast through myspace with Bess Rogers and Andrew Futral, titled 'Once More With Feeling' (named after the musical episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer).

Youngs recently toured with Vienna Teng, opening for the singer on the Green Caravan Tour. Also, she supported Aimee Mann at London's indigO2 on 27 July 2007. Youngs more recently toured with Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket in August 2007, and is currently co-headlining a U.S. tour with Sean Hayes. She traveled to cities in Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden in November and December.

Youngs has additionally stated that after completing her European tour, she intends to take three months off from touring to write songs for a new album.

________________________________________________________________________

Favorite Song: Voice On Tape

Blitzen Trapper

I found out about these guys from a friend, and that was the first time I had heard furr. They are very folk-indie sounding, but dont let that label fool you. They MAKE this label, and you need to appreciate his melodies before you can judge them. He has a really relazing voice; actually, it kind of reminds me of walking through a wheat field somewhere in western oregon hahah. anyways, here's the wiki :)

litzen Trapper is a Portland, Oregon-based experimental folk rock band signed to Sub Pop Records. Formed in 2000, the band currently operates as a sextet, with Eric Earley (guitar/vocals), Erik Menteer (guitar/keyboard), Brian Adrian Koch (drums/vocals), Michael VanPelt, (bass), Drew Laughery (keyboards), and Marty Marquis (guitar, keyboards, vocals). Blitzen Trapper self-released its first three albums. "Wild Mountain Nation" was #98 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.

Blitzen Trapper released its third album, Wild Mountain Nation, in 2007 to much critical acclaim from critics such as Pitchfork Media, The Nerve, and Spin Magazine. The group signed to Sub Pop Records in the summer of 2007.

The release of Furr in 2008 was a high-water mark for the group as their eclectic new songs received a two-page feature in Rolling Stone. The album was ranked #13 on Rolling Stone's Best Albums of 2008 while the title track was ranked #4 on the magazine's Best Singles of 2008. The title track was also featured on an episode of Chuck on December 8, 2008 in the episode titled "Chuck vs. the Delorean." A second song from Furr, God & Suicide, was featured in the opening of the March 9, 2009 episode of Chuck titled "Chuck vs. The Lethal Weapon".




Favorite Song: Furr

Tender Forever

Stephanie JUST told me about this band, and they are amazing. I know nothing about them so I will give you the wiki :)

"Tender Forever is the moniker of Portland, Oregon-based musician Melanie Valera who has recorded 2 albums for K Records."

YEA, talk about small time. She has two albums out tho!
~The Soft and The Hardcore
~Wider

and here's a thing someone else wrote about them in their blog, NOT my words
"Tender Forever started as a project between Melanie Valera in Bordeaux, France and some dude in San Francisco. They sent each other tracks through the majesty of the internet and *winces* the mail. Now the band has four people in it, plays real music live, and generally has little to nothing to do with the Postal Service, the United States, Ben Gibbard, or whatever.

They do play sort of electro-pop with sort of indie rock vocals and sort of fake drums. But wait guys! Wait! They have real drums too! They use amp static! They rock out sometimes! They don’t write about kissing tenderly and blah blah blah. In the end, Wider is a great album with a lot of depth to it. There are moments of quiet intimacy, like the beginning of, “I’m so Tired.” There are moments of restrained jubilation, all quiet guitars and melodica and bassy fake drums (”No One Will Tell No One For Sure”)."

Telekenesis

I found out about this guy because apparently he's touring with An Horse in june! I wish they were coming to portland, but apparently not :/ anyways, this guy's style is actually pretty similar to an horse's, but I think he's has just a bit more bite. Not saying that either band is better than the other, but I listen to An Horse when I want to pump up and get in a good mood; whereas telekinesis is more, i dunno. Basically, I'd say he's a hybrid between death cab and the shaky hands. Which is an amazing mutt to be in my opinion! you can get to his page here.

favorite song by this artist: Coast of Carolina

Feeling Good

I woke up to this today, it was amazing

Fleet Foxes

I love this band, but they have been around far longer than I originally thought they were. I came on to them pretty late but I got sucked in just as quickly as anyone else who knows these guys. Bordering a folk/religious band (I don't think they're religious....I could be wrong), they are hands down kickass. His vocals are SO smooth, and the whole aura of the band just adds to it.

They caught the attention of Seattle producer Phil Ek and he helped them record their first demo in 2006, the self-released Fleet Foxes EP. By late 2006 the Seattle press began to take notice of the band; Tom Scanlon of the Seattle Times stated that he was impressed with the band's lyrics and musical maturity. They were getting pretty popular by 2007, with a quarter of a milion song plays over two months on their myspace page. They performed at SXSW music festival in March of 2008 (which really launched them into the public eye), and released their debut album Sun Giant in April of 2008. While the group enjoyed moderate success in the United States, Fleet Foxes was better received in Europe, selling over 200,000 copies in the first five months following its release.

You have to listen to the whole album all the way through to really grasp and appreciate their talent, I think, but for some people maybe it only takes one go. Anyways, listen, learn, love.

Bumbershoot Suprise

soooo....I found that this year at bumbershoot (which I have been told is way too much of an indie fest and I shouldn't go), Uh Huh Her AND Matt&Kim are playing. So I'm going hands down. The official lineup and single day tickets don't come along until june I think so I might just wait until then. But you can buy a 3 day pass NOW for $80. If you live in the portland area tho you should just drive and not take the train, that way you can sleep in the car and hopefully not stink too much :)

anyways, here's the link to the official page and myspace, and really consider becoming a bumberfan cuz you get sweet deals on tickets I think.

http://www.bumbershoot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/bumbershoot

ITS GONNA BE AWESOME

Passion Pit

Passion Pit, even for those who don't dig techno, are one of those catchy bands that everyone wants a remix with :P The way I came across with them was when stereogum released a track of RaRaRiot's song "ghost under rocks" that passion pit had modded with. I guess I was kind of far behind as musical junkies go because apparently these guys have been mixin for going on 3 years now. I love almost everything I've heard from them, and they're playing at sasquatch this year! since I can't see them there, I'll probably go see them at the wonder ballroom on the 24th. If you've never been to an electro concert, GO. its insane :)

anyways, here's the wiki:

Passion Pit is an American electro band from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Passion Pit formed in late 2007. In 2008, after playing only a handful of shows, they were voted Best New Act in the The Boston Phoenix's Best Music Poll. Soon thereafter the band was signed to the New York City-based Frenchkiss Records and Columbia in the UK.

The band's debut EP Chunk of Change was released on September 16, 2008. Originally, the set of six songs was a Valentine's Day gift from Angelakos to his then-girlfriend that became popular throughout Emerson College, which Angelakos was attending. The song "Sleepyhead" contains samples of the song "Oro Mo Bhaidin" by Irish harpist Mary O'Hara. "Sleepyhead" has gained media exposure through its use in a Canadian PSP advertisement as well as in MTVs 'What the Flip?' campaign. Pitchfork included the "Sleepyhead" music video, directed by The Wilderness, in its top 40 music videos of 2008 list.CMJ Music Marathon 2008 named Passion Pit one of the top bandsresulting in an MTV feature. Passion Pit placed ninth in BBC's Sound of 2009 list of up-and-coming acts. The band is slated to appear in Josh Schwartz's online show 'Rockville' in 2009 which will air exclusively on TheWB.com.

On February 24, 2009, iTunes released "Sleepyhead" as a discovery download song.

Following the band's exposure on the BBC's Sound of 2009, Sleepyhead has started to receive airplay on NME TV in the UK.

The band has recently finished a full-length studio album, called Manners due to be released on May 18, 2009 in the UK and May 26, 2009 in the United States. In a preview article, ClashMusic.com commented that the album "has every chance to rank as one of the year’s best" and that "it reveals additional nuances with each visit: a sure-fire sign of an album with true longevity".

The band's live performance has also been received well, having opened for bands such as Death Cab for Cutie, Girl Talk, and These New Puritans. .

On April 21, 2009, Passion Pit released on their youTube page the official video for the first single from Manners: "The Reeling".


Passion Pit - The Reeling from Smoke My Tabaco on Vimeo.

Dallas Green

Dallas Green is frontman for the post-hardcore band Alexisonfire, and has a side project fondly known as "city and coulour". This amazing guitarit and volcalist is the kind that only come around once in a blue moon. Folk guitarist skills with vocals he can belt for miles, I love Dallas Green, and I'll listen to anything he makes.

now for the wiki :)

Dallas Green (born September 29, 1980) is a Juno Award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter and musician, known for his work as guitarist and singer for the post-hardcore band Alexisonfire and his folk side project, City and Colour.

Before joining Alexisonfire, Green was in a band called Helicon Blue, producing several songs before breaking up. The three piece band also featured Marce Lanteigne on bass and vocal, and Nicholas Osczypko on drums. The band recorded a self-titled release with Greg Below from Distort Entertainment, who also recorded a second record with the band which included; My Last Breath, Sunder, Greater Victory & Perpetual Healing.

Dallas began playing with Alexisonfire in late 2001. Since then, they have released three albums (Alexisonfire, Watch Out!, and Crisis), and several EPs. His melodic and piercing vocal range often brings a large presence in most of the band's songs.

In 2003 he appeared (along with George Petit) on Jude the Obscure's album "The Coldest Winter", doing additional vocals on 3 songs.

One of the first appearances of Green outside of Alexisonfire is on Neverending White Lights' collaborative album Act 1: Goodbye Friends of the Heavenly Bodies, released in 2005. He contributed vocals to the song "The Grace". Green provided additional vocals on the track "INRihab" with Every Time I Die as well as on the track "Black Albino Bones" with Fucked Up on their second full length album, The Chemistry of Common Life.

City and Colour's first music video, "Save Your Scissors", from the now gold-rated album Sometimes, was released on January 17, 2006, featuring some of his best friends, band mates and favourite places in his hometown, St. Catharines, Ontario. The second video, "Comin' Home", went number one on MuchMoreMusic's video countdown.

City and Colour also released a live CD/DVD entitled Live on March 6, 2007 which includes two different live performances and a special performance with Ron Sexsmith. A limited edition has also been released at the same time. It included a USB key with footage from MMVA and Much on Demand performances[3].

On February 12, 2008, Green released a new full-length studio album entitled Bring Me Your Love under the moniker City and Colour. It was published under the label of Dine Alone Records. The music video for the first single, "Waiting...", was released on January 24, 2008. On June 6, 2008, "Sleeping Sickness", the second single for the album, was issued and on June 27, a music video was made by Montreal-based director Vincent Morisset. This second single also features The Tragically Hip's Gordon Downie's vocals in the second verse.

Bravo! aired an hour-long City & Colour performance for their Live at the Concert Hall... series on August 26, 2008. The performance included interviews, several songs from his latest album, Bring Me Your Love, and also a few songs from his debut, Sometimes, where he included his backing band into the songs.

As well as singing and playing guitar, Green is a skateboarder and has been skating since the age of 8. However, Green resists skateboarding on tour, for fear that he could injure himself. He has also stated on his live DVD that he is a fan of basketball. He is also a self-described "hardcore fan" of former WWE wrestler, Razor Ramon as well as a fan of Mike Holmes, the star of home renovation show Holmes on Homes.

He has reportedly been dating MuchMusic VJ, Leah Miller since at least 2006. In 2008 it was reported that the couple were living together. The couple married during a private ceremony at their home in Toronto on New Years Eve'.

Fever Ray

Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson (born 7 April 1975) is the lead vocalist of electronic music duo The Knife, formed with her brother Olof Dreijer. Andersson was previously the vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Honey Is Cool. Andersson released her debut solo album under the name Fever Ray in 2009. Her vocal style is notable for both shrill and deep, distorted tones combined with her distinctive accent and the use of pitch-shifting, while her image as a performer tends to include the wearing of masks and other theatrical elements.

Fever Ray is the title, of both project and album, an evocation of the music’s sound, intense and anxious, yet luminous. It’s the culmination of work that began in 2007 when Karin and Olof, the brother-sister duo who are The Knife, decided to take time out following a handful of incredible live shows. Their first two albums did well in their Swedish homeland; their third, Silent Shout, went to Number One, won six Swedish Grammys, underlined their reputation as an act capable of the truly extraordinary and was pronounced the best record of 2006 by Pitchfork. Karin needed a break – she was about to have her second child – but couldn’t stop writing.

The Knife is currently on haitus, which has left many of us PLEADING for its return. But in all honestly, Fever Ray is a phenomenal piece of work and I'm happy for anything else from this Swedish native. Some people say that the vocals are too eerie and/or uninteresting, but I would STRONGLY beg to differ. I will admit its very anti-midstream, but if you can really key into the undertones and harmonics in the work, its really just a feel good album that you can sit back and relax with, instead of having to analyze the hell out of every song.

“Half of what the songs are about is the subconscious,” she says, “ideas of things happening. A lot of it is like daydreaming, dreaming when you’re awake, but tired; a lot of stories come from that world. I try to write when I‘m in that state - I’m very bad at remembering later, so I have to do it right away.”

Opportunity taken, Fever Ray works its magic. Here’s your chance to fall under its spell.

Minus the Bear

soooo... Vicky pointed these guys out to me, and I really like their stuff. She ALSO called me a music lesbian and said that I only listen to female artists/bands, so this is proof. Along with many others. I already mentioned how tired I am of researching to write long bios and I just wiki now instead, so here comes the good stuff :)

Minus the Bear is an indie rock band from Seattle, Washington. The band features current and former members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving. Their sound is a combination of Pele-esque guitar-taps and electronics, with sophisticated time signature composition.[2] The name "Minus the Bear" comes from an inside joke among the band members, referring to the 80's TV show B. J. and the Bear.

On January 2, 2006, Matt Bayles, keyboardist and producer for Minus the Bear, announced that he was leaving the band in order to focus on record production work. His last performance with the band was on January 28, 2006. Subsequently, he was replaced by Alex Rose, who previously worked as a sound engineer on Menos el Oso.

An album of remixes of songs from Menos el Oso, entitled Interpretaciones del Oso, was released on February 20, 2007,[3] including a remix by underground rapper P.O.S..

The band's third full length album, titled Planet of Ice, was released on August 21, 2007, and contains ten tracks. On top of an exclusive iTunes track, a bonus CD was also released containing 2 B-sides, a demo track, and a remix also done by P.O.S..

In 2006 the track "We Are Not a Football Team" from their first album Highly Refined Pirates appeared in a TV advertisement for mobile network operator O2 in the UK and Ireland.

In 2008, tracks from "Menos el Oso" such as Pachuca Sunrise, have been used as clips for the intro and outtro to NPR's All Things Considered.

The band has a video posted on their website of them rehearsing in their practice space, working on a new album.

In Focus

A lot of things have come into focus for me lately, and of course being the freak that I am, I have been thinking of what songs fit my life best :) A little background info..

A) I'm officially going to Portland State University next year
B) I'm quitting my job
C) I'm going to start focusing on getting a band going

PS: I realize these songs are pretty emo, but you need to read into them

and the songs that fit my life are:


An Horse: Listen from Shoot The Player on Vimeo.

New Thread

here are a couple of vids I came across recently that I think are worth posting :)

its been....well, forever. I've been really busy but anyways, I'm back. I decided that I will continue to blog about music, but lately I've felt the need to start posting my short stories. I really like feedback so please leave comments. So for now, I'll leave you guys with a vid and be back later :)

The Kills

these guys are more popular in the UK, but I like them anyways. If your not very into the "obscure" bands, I'd say check them out anyways :) I found them one day when I was looking up animal collective videos, and apparently their on the same record label?? and here's the formal shit

The Kills is an indie rock band formed by American vocalist and guitarist Alison Mosshart ("VV") and British guitarist Jamie Hince ("Hotel"). Mosshart was previously in Floridian punk rock band Discount, and Hince was in the British rock bands Scarfo and Blyth Power (the latter an anarcho-punk band). The duo first met when Mosshart heard Hince practicing in the hotel room above hers, and when the former groups disbanded they struck up a songwriting partnership. For months, the pair air mailed work tapes across the Atlantic; this proved to test the patience of both artists as it took days or weeks to get each others tapes, so Mosshart moved from her Florida home to London.....aaaaand The Kills were born!

Their pretty good, and I've been listening to them quite a bit since I found them. You could call them a diamond in the rough, or you could just say I listen to weird music. Either ways, take a listen, you won't be disappointed.

a new page

k so i decided to stop blogging bands' entire biographies cuz it takes too long. Instead, I'll tell you who they are, why i know them, give you a vid and a pic, and a LITTLE tid-bit about them. So...here we go.

WINTERSLEEP is a band out of Halifax (of course, canada again), and I heard of them beacuse I am going to see An Horse up in Seattle at the Vera House, and Wintersleep is headlining! Their pretty good actually, and an all guy band! yes, I do listen to all guy bands Vicky, get over yourself :)


...and here's the vid i promised


Weighty Ghost from Wintersleep on Vimeo.

I know its been a while...

..and I apologize. I've been busy lately (of course), and I've neglected my blogging duties. I had an amazing and quite unproductive weekend, but steph and I found this really awesome cafe on 30th and division and we got to see some sweet art on the SE portland art walk. The cafe is called "cafe Pallino", or pellino i don't remember, but anyways it was really good. It was pretty hip and a little cheeky, and DEFINATELY reminded us of the planet from the L word. but that's portland for ya. anyways, being even more unproductive, I wrote my first song that I have ever actually been able to put together with guitar and like it. and unfortuantely, I had them in my back pocket and lost them sometime on friday, I think at REI. steph and i searched everywhere for it, and I've been depressed ever since. hahaha jp. but i recorded a cover instead, and since I know there are like, 0 people who even read this thing, I don't care that I'm posting it. Becuase no one is going to watch it. This blog has been incredibly selfish and all about me so here's even more me, ENJOY WORLD.


Naked As We Came from Bread & Ink on Vimeo.

An Horse

Often associated as "that band that toured with Tegan and Sara" or "the band that opened for Death Cab", An Horse doesn't get NEARLY the rep that it should. Obviously if they're good enough to tour with T&S and Death Cab, there's a little something gleaming in the shadows thats likely to grab hold and not let go. In other words, I love this band. Kate Cooper, Damon Cox, the fact that their from austraila (the coolest continent on the planet), and of course THEIR MUSIC. The drums are the "catchy" aspect of the melody, but honestly, Kate's skills on the guitar and her killer vocals are what pull it all together. I love it when bands have good vocals, but that doesn't always mean they can pull off a sweet vibrato. If they have that down-to-earth, honest-to-goodness voice that requires a lot of mouth movement lol (aka T&S, Cat Power, etc), its just as good in my book.

Their a two-person indie pop band from Australia, comprising Kate Cooper of Iron On and Damon Cox of Intercooler and Mary Trembles. In 2008 they toured the United States as an opening act for Tegan and Sara, prior to the release of their first album. In August of 2008, they opened for Death Cab for Cutie for their Australian tour.

To date An Horse has completed an EP, Not Really Scared, and a full album, Rearrange Beds. Rearrange Beds was available on iTunes as of December 8, 2008, and is due to be released in stores on March 17, 2009.

I'm really excited for their album to be released so I can buy it :) I listen to them, so YOU SHOULD TOO.

PS: for any of you local dwellers, An Horse is coming to Lola's (on burnside) in Portland, OR. on March 26th. BE THERE

Florence and the Machine

ok, so I know I haven't blogged in a long time, but work with me here. I'm a busy person. Anyways, so in the time I spend away from the computer, I'm usually in the car. Music is the only reason I like driving, so I usually listen to Tegan and Sara, Cat Power, Uh Huh Her, whatever my mood seems to inspire. However, lately I can't stop listening to florence and the machine. Her voice is sooooo captivating. Not in a creepy, sultry way, but more like a power stroke. The band's punky roots kind of remind me of Tegan and Sara, but I don't know if I'd go that far since they sound nothing alike. She has that super-gripping voice that she can just BELT and totally stay on key, and if anything sound better. A british Hayley Williams maybe? I don't know, I'm just saying what comes to mind. Especially in "Dog Days Are Over", she's practically yelling the whole time, and she sounds amazing. I guess I choose a lot of my bands based on voices rather than instumental melodies, but regardless; LISTEN TO THEM. you won't regret it. Have I let you down up to this point? I think not :)

www.myspace.com/florenceandthemachinemusic

Ra Ra Riot

Flying under the radar for quite some time, Ra Ra Riot has been able to make quite a name for themselves over the years in the Indie community. With their catchy pop/alternative roots and spunky personality, their a great listen. Their the kind of band that when your in a good mood, all you want to do is listen to their album from beginning to end. To call them "feel good music" makes them sound generic, but they are so much more than that. These guys can catch you with just one track, but the albums will pull you in. Hailing from the big apple (like so many other indie bands), they really don't fit into any stereotype you could attempt to label them with. Which I believe is saying something these days with the way the music industry is. The first time I heard these guys was on late night with Conan, which I admit is not the "earliest" phase I could have caught them in. But I'm not a music snob and I think that whatever time I find a good band, the music is good regardless. So me being lazy as always, I gave my shpeal, and here's the wiki

Ra Ra Riot formed in 2006, playing at houses and venues around the Syracuse University campus. The band started to attract attention due to their energetic live shows, enough to gain an appearance at the CMJ Music Marathon, fewer than six months after their formation. Following this appearance, their live show received the first of several favorable reviews from SPIN.com, who called them "one of the best young bands we've heard in a really long time".^[1] They went on to open for Art Brut and Bow Wow Wow in New York City, toured the UK twice on their own,^[2] then returned, opening for the Editors;^[3] they also toured North America supporting Tokyo Police Club. Their first solo headlining tour of the U.S. was completed in 2007, and in early 2008, they embarked on a second.^[4] The band was also invited to play the Iceland Airwaves Festival, in Reykjavík, Iceland. They have recorded three sessions on the national online radio station WOXY and two for the acclaimed^[5] Daytrotter sessions at Futureappletree studio 1 in Rock Island, Illinois.

In 2007, they made their first appearance at South by Southwest and headlined a show at the South Street Music Festival in New York City. The band returned to appear again at the South by Southwest Music Conference in March 2008.^[6]

After a show in Providence, the band's original drummer, John Ryan Pike, of Hamilton, Massachusetts, went missing in the early morning of June 2, 2007 at Wilbur's Point in Fairhaven. His body was discovered the following day in nearby Buzzards Bay; Pike was believed to have drowned.^[7] Ra Ra Riot issued a statement a few weeks after Pike's funeral that they would continue as a band.

In the winter of 2007, the band signed to major label V2 Records. To celebrate their new label deal, Ra Ra Riot released "Dying Is Fine" and "Each Year (RAC Mix)" on 7" vinyl as an A/B single. In December 2007, the band announced that they had finished recording new songs for their debut LP. During their show in Cambridge, MA on April 25, 2008, the band announced their new album "would be released in August. If not August then September" 2008.^[8]

On May 19, 2008, the band announced that they had signed to Barsuk Records. Their debut album The Rhumb Line was released on August 19, 2008 in the United States and Canada. It is due to be released in Europe via V2/Cooperative Music on September 22, 2008.

On November 22, 2008, they finished their European tour with Vampire Weekend and Los Campesinos!

Holly Miranda

Frontwoman of the amazing band The Jealous Girlfriends, Holly Miranda isn' t just another lead singer with shallow talent. Her Cat-Power-esque tone catches your attention and never lets go. The first time I heard her I couldn;t believe how powerful of a voice was coming out of that young lady. She's one of those artist that you just KNOW were meant to be in a band or play music, and she definately does not let you down. I'm going to admit I listen to more of her solo work than her band's stuff, but I imagine its amazing just the same. I'm getting pretty lazy these days when it comes to blogging about my favorite artists, so I'll just copy and paste the wiki on her. But honestly guys, this makes my current playlist, and her CD is usually playing in my car (if not T&S, but that doesn't count). So give her a good listen, I'll post her and her band's myspace links to this, and I'm sure you'll get hooked just like I did.

http://www.myspace.com/hollymiranda

www.myspace.com/thejealousgirlfriends

www.myspace.com/hollymirandaliveatzebulon

Holly Miranda is a Detroit born musician, raised between Michigan and Tennessee. Miranda has been a one woman Banda for the past five years, touring the East coast and Midwest United States. Besides being trained in piano, Holly is a self-taught guitar and trumpet player. In 2001, She recorded "High Above The City", a 20-track solo album available online (hollymiranda. com) and at shows. The fall of 2003, Holly met and teamed up with Alex Lipsen, producer and keys player, The project evolved into 'The Jealous Girlfriends', a four piece band based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The record will be released in the spring of 2005, and a national tour will follow in the summer.

Rachel Cantu

So...I'm kind of a copy cat. A lot of these bands I find DO come from Raimy Rosenduft (muthafunka), but it doesn't mean I can't share the love. If Raimy ever has a problem with it, she can hit me up. But anyways, I'm listening to a couple things currently, one of which is Rachel Cantu. This lovely and talented SoCal girl has been playing music for quite a while. I wikipedia'd her profile so I'll copy that in here for you in a sec. But honestly, her voice is amazing and just makes you want to keep listening, and her funk will reel you right in. watch out :)

Rachael Cantu is an American singer-songwriter. Born in 1981, she grew up in Orange County, California. She currently lives in both Los Angeles and Boston.

Cantu started her career fronting a southern Californian indie rock band called Quite Satellite while still at high school. She later wrote and performed as a solo artist in Los Angeles and San Diego, and opened for bands such as The Get Up Kids, Saves the Day and Karate. After moving to Boston, her reputation grew amongst fellow artists. Cantu opened for Canadian folk-pop duo Tegan and Sara on two North American tours, and also for Dear Nora and Ben Lee.

Cantu's first release was the EP Blood Laughs. After signing to Q Division Records, in 2006 she released her debut album Run All Night. The album has been well received by critics, and was successful in the independent album charts. Since then she has toured North America to promote the album.

Tegan Quin of Tegan and Sara appeared as a backing vocalist on Saturday, as well as Tony Goddess of Papas Fritas. Cantu has also recorded songs with Limbeck, Kori Gardner of Mates of State, and Jason Gnewikow of The Promise Ring.

Musically, Cantu has been described as "something of a mix of The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde, PJ Harvey, Sarah McLachlan, and Nora Jones". She has also been compared vocally to Björk and Patty Griffin.

She's currently working on her new album with Meghan Toohey. Toohey's myspace blog reads "still plugging away at rachaels record, but it's not likely it will be ready for your ears anytime soon. i will say it's awesome and we are working on getting it to you ASAP."

What a weekend..

So, this is the first (or maybe second, I don't remember..) time I'm writing a blog, as a PERSON. I've always just written about my favorite bands, but I figured I'll switch things up a bit and tell a little story. Since my music was music related, you'll understand why this is relevant. Just gimme a sec :)

Friday, I don't even remember Friday actually.. I think I slept early. Sorry, boring. Ok, so then saturday, a friend and I went to go see Slumdog Millionaire, which I was actually very excited for. So I PAID (of course, its the right thing to do), then we get into the theatre and there are only two seats open, in the front row, probably a good two feet away from the screen. I wasn't about to sit through a two hour movie with my neck at a 90 degree angle, so we got a raincheck. Then my friend supposedly had the DVD quality burned version of it, so I tail on over to her house, grab it, go home, and we were just going to watch it in my room or something. IT DIDN'T WORK. after two cases of bad luck, we thought, lets just rent a movie. Which leads me to the purpose of this story...we watched My Best Friend's Girl, which was suprisingly better than I thought. Light-heartedly funny, stupid, but not too much (like I expected)

SUNDAY: awesome day. First off, I slept in until 1130 which was amazing. Then I went on a crazy adventure with my friend who wishes not to be named. But i'm going to anyways, Stephanie. There, I hope you read this and then realize it doesn't actually matter that your name is on here lol. Anyways, we went down to southeast portland to visit the INFAMOUS Kung Fu Bakery. Apparently thats where Tegan and Sara, Death Cab, Everclear, and a few other fmous artists have recorded, so we decided to check it out. We went down to hawthorne to powell's books, got some waffles at the waffle window, walked back (part of the way in a shopping cart), and still never saw anyone fmaous. Oh well :( but we decided to go downtown and look for the wonkavision issue with tegan and sara on the cover, which led us to some really smelly cigar shop that had every magazine on the planet EXCEPT wonkavision. After failing 2 missions, stephanie said "why dont we try and make it to the roof of one of these buildings?" GREAT IDEA. except apparently everyone that works at a reception desk in downtown Portland is out to get teenagers, and getting to the roof of a building is next to impossible. and that was the day! After tomtom told us how NOT to get home, I spent the rest of the day hitting a steam roller and baking cake and crashing horribly on my longboard giving myself a concussion as my head bounced off the concrete. No joke.


...and that was my day.

oh, and then i spent monday at seaside longboarding on the boardwalk in my UGGS, bad idea..

here's a little tid-bit that made my day today. I've seen and heard it a thousand times but it never seems to get old..

Kaki King

Kaki King may only be 29 years old, but she packs a serious punch when it comes to guitar skills. Which is suprising considering she use to play when she was younger, switched to drums to play seriosuly, and didn't start playing again until her college years at NYU. In college she played a few gigs here and there, but nothing incredibly serious. Kaki is gaining a larger fan-base by the day, and I would definately project seeing her in the major indie spotlight within the next year or so. She's already done her fair share of basking in the spotlight when she was the guest guitarist with Tegan and Sara on The Con album, playing guitar for "knife going in" and "floorplan" (both of which are Sara's songs).

King's two earlier recordings Everybody Loves You (with Velour Records) in 2003 and Legs to Make Us Longer (with Sony Records) in 2004 featured more acoustic compositions, but her 2005 tours saw more use of electric guitars and loops. During some shows, she made it known that she had parted ways with major label Sony. For her third album ...Until We Felt Red, King made a conscious decision to depart from her previous musical direction, out of a desire to escape being pigeonholed as a solo instrumental artist. The album features King's vocals on more tracks than previous albums. With the prominence of electric guitar on the new record and the addition of a full band, the popular music website AV Club called the sound a “post-rock makeover”. Featuring production work by Tortoise's John McEntire, the album was released on August 8, 2006 on Velour Records.

In February 2006, King was named as a “Guitar God” by Rolling Stone Magazine, becoming the first ever female to make this list in the history of the publication.^{[citation needed]}

On December 13, 2007, Kaki King was nominated for a Best Original Score Golden Globe Award for the music she played in the film Into the Wild. She was nominated for the award along with Eddie Vedder and Michael Brook, who also contributed music to the film.

Being a guitar player myself, I love her soulful style that corralates beautifully with her natural talent for funk. She's worth a listen, even if you don't have the time

Tegan & Sara

What do I even begin to say about T&S...there is so much known about them i don't even know where to start. Yet there is infinitely more stuff about them that the public will never know. They are a band of two twin sisters out of Canada. They are classified as "indie" or "pop", but that just makes them sound generic, and they are anything but that. With Sara's uniquely high pitched voice, and Tegan's rough melodies, they stick to you like glue and paper :) I can go on and on about how much I love these two and how I would give my left kidney just to get a chance to meet them, but I'll give you the bio off their website, by Sara, so here we go...

"the con is the fifth album that we have released, but first, a brief history. we were born (at the same time, give or take eight minutes). we are raised in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. fifteen years pass, we find a guitar. we record a demo tape at school and in our bedrooms. we enter in a "garage band" competition (it was the 90's), and we win. we make the yellow tape. we graduate from high school and we make two more demos, "the orange tape" and the red tape. we play shows and do small tours in Canada. Tegan and i make under feet like our in April 1999. we start to tour more extensively in canada. we eventually send the album to Elliot Roberts, president of vapor records. We sign a record deal with vapor. we then make this business of art and go on tour in the USA with neil young. after the tour we embark on our first national tour of Canada as headliners, we tour with Rufus wainwright and Melissa Ferrick, and make our first attempt at touring Europe and japan. we play David Letterman, we head back into the studio with john Collins of the new pornographers, and David Carswell of the smugglers in February 2002, to make if it was you. we tour with Ryan Adams, hot hot heat, and manage to get ourselves to Australia for the first time! we tour Canada, we play very small, dirty clubs in the USA. we go back into studio with JCDC and Howard Redekopp in February 2004 to make so jealous. we finally sell some records! we get nominated for a juno, the killers take us on tour all over the USA, and white strips do a cover of one of our songs. we buy hummers and do cocaine. just kidding. we release our first DVD, it's not fun don't do it. we tour and tour and tour. and after 18 months on the road, we decide to take some real time off. we see the seasons change, we record demos like crazy. we add drums, bass, guitars and keyboards. we meet up with Chris Walla (death cab for cutie). we give him the demos, and we make a plan to relocate to Portland, Oregon to record with him in January 2007. we move into a house in Portland. we walk to his studio everyday. we tow our gear behind us in a wagon. we bring angela kendall (who filmed the making of so jealous and speak slow video) down with us from vancouver to film everything we do. we focus on keeping the songs as close to the demos as possible. after a month we're finished tracking most of the guitars, keyboards, and vocals. we bring Jason mcGerr from death cab for cutie. he plays drums and passes along the life lessons. hunter from AFI plays bass on Tegan's songs, and Matt sharp of the rentals plays bass on mine. we film everything, we develop segments and we gather endless footage. we build a set in our basement and every night for two months we records in-person interviews and speaker phone conversations with our friends and family. march 12th arrives, the albums is finished, the movie is ready to be edited. we go home. i arrive in exile. tegan goes to hawaii in search of dog the bounty hunter.

the con

Land Of Talk

I must admit I don't know too much about these guys. And honestly, its kind of hard to get anything on them. I know that they are a female-fronted band from Montreal, Quebec. They are very much an indie-rock band, but at the same time I feel like they are so much more than that. The front-woman, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Powell, has been in a string of failed solo and band attempts; but she hit it big with this one. I feel like these guys are bound to reach stardom, in a rilo-kiley-esque kind of way. Lizzie's voice is intoxicating and you really can't get enough. Its one of those natural sounds where you can just tell that these guys fit. It seems like all of the best indie bands come out of Canada, and these guys are no exception to that stereotype. Not in a bad way.

They released their debut album Applause Cheer Boo Hiss, on April 4th of 2006. In addition, they released their most recent album, Some Are Lakes, on October 7th of 2008. Both are amazing albums, and definately worth an earfull.

Mermaids

With all the falling in and falling out Katie Sketch has endured in the past, she always manages to make an appearance eventually. After the break up of the organ in 2006, and the releasing of The Organ's E.P of unreleased tracks in 2008, Katie has finally resurfaced in a band called Mermaids. The band is definitely in the fetal stages, and whether or not this will follow through is hard to say. But this song is amazing and everyone should give it a good, long listen. If you want to learn more about Katie Sketch or the Organ, just go to wikipedia :)

And here is the only video I could find of Mermaids, and its lovely as anything. Listen and weep

Bon Iver

Most commonly known as "that guy who lived in a cabin in the woods for three months when his girlfriend broke up with him", Bon Iver (Justin Vernon), is SO much more than that. With his falsetto melody and moody rhythms, he is far beyond what most people percieve. Due to his unique singing voice and mellow atmosphere, a lot of people cast him aside as another sob story artist. Yet take a good listen to his entire album, For Emma, Forever Ago, and you will soon come to realize that he's difficult to get tired of. Perfect for listening at home, in the car, or wherever, his tunes will fit more of your moods than you'd expect.

After the breakup of a band, relationship, and bout with sickness (mononucleosis of the liver), Vernon left Raleigh and moved back to Wisconsin spending three months in his father's cabin in the woods of northern Wisconsin. According to Vernon, it was during this time that the "Bon Iver" moniker first entered his mind..

And the reception for the album was stellar: When released in the UK, For Emma, Forever Ago received 5/5 and "Album of the Month" reviews in both MOJO and Uncut magazines. It was the seventh highest rated album of 2008 on review-aggregator site Metacritic, with accolades from publications including The Village Voice, The Hartford Courant and The A.V. Club.

I've heard some of his stuff on grey's anatomy, "western sessions" on youtube, and basically all over the place. It must be gaining popularity since I saw his Blood Bank EP as the #1 album on iTunes. But seriously, give him a good, long listen, and you just might fall in love with this band as I did.