Music Monday - Next Year

Well, another year has come and gone. As I have the last two years, I'll be posting a "Year in Review" within the next week. But first, Music Monday!

I've posted live Jamie Cullum videos before, and I'll likely continue that trend in the future. This time I've got "Next Year Baby," a fitting song for the final day of 2012. A lot has happened this past year: graduated from UBC, moved to Banff, picked up two internships. I didn't travel outside of Canada at all, but instead went back and forth between Kelowna and Victoria, drove out to Banff, went snowshoeing in Glacier National Park, and visited Calgary a few times.

And next year? Well, I'm off to Hawaii in just over a week, more National Park adventures are sure to happen, I might do some travel abroad in the summer, and - fingers crossed - I'll be moving to Vancouver or Montreal in the fall.

Can't promise anything about drinking less beer, though.

Enjoy Jamie's performance below, and have a happy new year!

Music Monday - Supremacy, Skyfall

The internet is abuzz with posts about Bond, James Bond. I haven't yet seen the film (no spoiling it for me, you hear!?), but I there's a perfectly good reason for that: I've got tickets to see it on Wednesday in Calgary, on an IMAX screen! Stoked!

Now, Adele is getting a lot of attention because of the theme song she supplied. It's great. Better than great, really. It's more of a "classic" Bond theme, unlike some of the songs in the last decade. Apparently the film itself feels much like a "classic." But that's yet to be seen. Anyways, back to the music.

There's been a rumour going around that Adele was not the only artist being considered for the theme. Gossip will tell you that Muse was in the running, but Barbara Broccoli says otherwise. According to her, Adele was the first and only choice. The first song of Muse's recent album, though, is everything a Bond theme should be. It even has part of the "Goldfinger" theme in it, just like Adele's "Skyfall." The song I'm talking about is called "Supremacy," and it has gotta be my favourite Muse song. Ever.

To illustrate how perfectly this song goes with Bond, please watch the fan-made video below. Enjoy!

Music Monday - Remember, Remember

For those of you who aren't aware, today is Guy Fawkes Day. Arguably, the only reason people even mention this nowadays (outside of Britain, that is) is the film V for Vendetta. It's a favourite of mine, not just because of the storyline, theme, acting, or cinematography. No, it's the music that I have the fondest memories of, particularly a cover by Cat Power of Lou Reed's "I Found a Reason." It's a chilling, emotionally powerful song. At least in my mind.

Anyway, I haven't got much else to say, so please enjoy the song and video montage from V for Vendetta below.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Wow, it certainly has been a while since I wrote anything for the ol' blog, eh? Let me tell you what my days have been filled with the past few weeks.

Snow has fallen in Banff, and it's definitely winter here. That has brought a few changes to my routine. The biggest? I've traded by bike for hiking boots, spiffy looking North Face ones. I walk everywhere now, and even with the hiking boots I still have moments of arm-flailing terror occasionally.

The winter weather has also brought an increased dependence on hot beverages. Recently (alright, a couple hours ago) I discovered the blissful combination that is apple juice and tea. Seriously. Instead of water, boil a mixture of apple juice and water - I use an equal amount. Obviously this won't work well for every kind of tea, but I've tried it with lemon ginger, and am contemplating a chai trial next. I'll keep you posted!

The third change has been in music. I try to make a new playlist each month, and October's list was very acoustic. This is usually the case. When the weather turns cold, I'm drawn to a different sort of music than in the summer: I want jazz, acoustics, vocals. Suffice to say, I've been listening to a lot of KT Tunstall, Amy Winehouse, the Delgados, Jamie Cullum, Feist, and all the other autumn standbys. Soon I'll be breaking out the Christmas jazz, I guess.

Until next time!

Photo (cc) me

Music Monday - Northern Lights

Slowly but surely I'm becoming accustomed to some of the bigger changes of life in Banff. One of the biggest? Waking up before 5am twice a week. Mhm, every Tuesday and Friday I'm up at 4:45am in anticipation of a 5:30am start to my workday. And as much as I'm not a morning person, starting that early has its benefits. One such benefit is biking through the cold, crisp air under a blanket of bright stars. My fingers are crossed that I'll one day see the aurora borealis here in the mountains. I've already seen it in Kelowna!

This is one of the songs that captures the experience nicely, "Northern Lights" by Cider Sky. If you've heard it before, there are three possibilities: you are a fan of Cider Sky, you have been to the Gap within the last month, or you've watched those popular teenage vampire movies that seem to suck (period here optional, but highly encouraged) perfectly good musicians into composing songs for the soundtracks. I fall into the second category. Here's the song for you to enjoy.

Music Monday - Woo-Sah

I'm a big fan of the Kingdom Hearts series, so featuring this song is inevitable. The soundtracks to the various games are superb, and all crafted by a woman by the name of Yoko Shimomura, lending a certain constant quality to each game. Of all the songs, though, my favourite has to be "Dearly Beloved," the home screen background music of each game.

Why do I love it so much? With the very first chord I am instantly relaxed. My shoulders drop, my lungs heave a soft sigh, I close my eyes and let all the tension leave me.

It's something I need every now and again, as I'm a rather emotionally closed person (comes with being a Green!). I bottle emotions up, and music is my most favoured form of relaxation. That's the reason I have a 'down tempo' playlist on my iPod, with five different versions of this particular song. I admit, I'm a little obsessed, but you will be to after giving it a listen!

Below are the two versions from Kingdom Hearts II, probably my favourites, but I love all the versions for different reasons. Enjoy!

Music Monday - Hare Ram in the Rockies

Well, I've made it safely to my new home in Banff. It's still a little surreal, walking to work and seeing the giant Rocky Mountains all around and the most emerald water in the Bow River running under the bridge. I'm not sure whether I'll ever be fully accustomed to it, really.

So I wrote something. Those of you on Protagonize might have caught a little something called Rocky Mountain Sūrya Namaskāra the other night. It's not as exotic as it sounds, but it's full of foreign words that even I have trouble reading. If you practice Hatha yoga, you might recognize some of the phrases. And if you do, then you'll actually know exactly what's going on!

The soundtrack and inspiration for this particular piece is Krisha Das' "Hare Rame (God is Real)." I was introduced to the song by an instructor at the Hot Box yoga studio back in Kelowna, where I quickly fell in love with both the practice of hot yoga and the diverse soundtracks selected by the various instructors. Some stuck to more "traditional" yogi music: forest sounds, Hindu chants, wind chimes. Sometimes I heard Florence + the Machine, or Sia, or Passion Pit. I loved the variety, but this one song stands out.

Take a listen below, or pop over to Protagonize to listen to it while reading my short scene.
 

photo (cc) Claude Robillard

Music Monday: Another Girl from Ipanema

This was my last weekend in the Okanagan, and the weather gods saw it fit to bless Kelowna with an absolute scorcher: 35 degrees Celsius most days, and the rest of the week looks the same. I've got it in my mind to bask in the heat as much as possible before heading into the mountains of Alberta, where I'll be subjected to a winter like I've never experienced.

Sad panda.

In the meantime, I've been doing such summery activities as beach volleyball, naps in the sun with Favourite Cat, and enjoying drinks on rooftop patios. Of course, I've also had a summer playlist on almost non stop, and I've become absolutely addicted to one of the recent additions to my music library: Amy Winehouse's posthumous album, Lioness: Hidden Treasures. I've got a few favourites on the album, but her cover of "The Girl from Ipanema" stands out. It just screams summer, and is such a different take on the classic made famous by Astrud Gilberto. Judging by the comments on YouTube it's a little controversial, but when is Amy ever not? I particularly love the drum bits, but I've always been addicted to bass.

Enjoy!

Music Monday: Little Talks

This blog post is a bit of a dump and run, sorry to say. Lots on my plate right now, such as packing and cleaning the place in Kelowna in preparation for moving and open houses, finding a place to live in Banff, training for my new job, and then that whole Poetry Tournament thing. Aieah.

So yah, lots to say, not much time to say it. So here's a song instead!

It's called "Little Talks," and is by Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men. Apparently I can't stay away from anything Icelandic. Guess I better make my next adventure to Reykjavik, eh? Without further ado, here's "Little Talks!"

Music Monday: This Circle of Life

On July 23rd, 2011, I did a lot of sitting. I sat in cars, I sat on the ferry between Victoria and Vancouver, I sat in the international departures terminal at Vancouver International Airport, and I sat in a China Eastern flight to Singapore.

It's hard to believe I've now come full circle.

A lot has happened in those 365 days. I've moved to and from Singapore, visited seven different countries, finished my undergraduate degree, moved out of home a little more permanently, and met many, many new people.

There's not really too much I want to say right now, or even have to say, so I'll just skip to the music.

Disney's The Lion King was probably the first film I ever saw in theatres. I loved it then, and love it to this day. The song it made famous came on randomly today, and it pulled on something inside me. I thought it only fitting to choose "The Circle of Life" as my Music Monday track.

Music Monday - The Musical Stylings of Janelle Monae

I first mentioned Janelle Monae a year and a half ago, introducing her video for "Many Moons" with this phrase:

"In the meantime, please enjoy the musical stylings and rad dance moves of Janelle Monae."

For this Music Monday, I'd like to share more of these "musical stylings," though the rad dance move will be absent. Not unfortunately absent, as she replaces those slick movements with an emotional passion for her lyrics that is sure to leave you taken aback. And in a good way.

The song in question? "Cold War." It's arguably my favourite track from her most recent album, The Archandroid. At first I loved it for the song itself. The music, the vocals, the lyrics. And then I saw the music video. Immediately, I knew this was something to be shared. Odd, though, that I've waited this long to do so on my blog.

So please, take a moment to bask in the audiovisual experience that is Janelle Monae's "Cold War."It is probably the most honest portrayal of a musician I have ever seen. Enjoy.

Music Monday - Who else is nutty over Metric's "Synthetica?"

There's absolutely no way to properly introduce this post, I just have to state the facts.

Guys. Metric's new album, Synthetica is everything I ever wanted and more.

To those of you unfamiliar with Canadian indie rock icons Metric, you have some serious catching up to do. Synthetica comes on the heels of two perfect in every way albums: Fantasies, their 2009 release, and Grow Up and Blow Away, a re-release of the band's very first recording. Suffice to say, Synthetica had extremely big shoes to fill.

And it delivers.

As tends to be the case with Metric albums, the first few tracks are my absolute favourites. Emily Haines' vocals are spot on, as usual, and the rest of the band performs expertly on drums, guitars, and synth. There are also a few horns at one point, in the climax of the title track.

But you really shouldn't be listening to what I have to say. Metric has been kind enough to upload the entire album to Soundcloud, where you can stream each and every song for free. I would highly suggest nabbing yourself a hard copy, though, as the cover booklet is an innovative piece of artwork in itself. I won't spoil any surprises, you'll have to find out for yourself!

Music Monday: Gréta Salóme & Jónsi do Eurovision

Every once in a while I become totally enamoured with a song, and have it on repeat for several days at a time. I came across one such song last week, and, on the day I first heard it, I listened to it a total of fifteen times.

And just what song is this?

It's Iceland's entry into the 2012 Eurovision song contest, "Never Forget" by Gréta Salóme & Jónsi. This more well-known version is actually an incredibly well done translation of their original track, "Mundu Eftir Mér."

If you're not quite sure what Eurovision is, don't fret. It's basically a song contest open to any European nation (plus a few others, as Israel usually participates along with former Soviet bloc countries, like Azerbaijan, that are technically in Asia), where the participating nations elect a single representative to perform and then vote on a winner. It's a bit of a popularity contest more-so than a talent contest, but whatever. It's a good time, and the acts get a tonne of exposure. Win win?

Anyway, Iceland came 20th this year. Somehow. I really don't understand how Sweden won, or how Russia came second, or how Jónsi didn't charm his way into the hearts of every European.

The videos of their performances are below. The first is the English version, performed in Baku for Eurovision 2012, and the second is the Icelandic version, performed for the Iceland Eurovision qualifiers. Or whatever they're called. Enjoy!

Music Monday: We Have Lift Off

I don't even know how to preface this post, aside from saying, "Dude! It's SUMMAH."

Yah, it's only the end of May, but I live in Canada's Okanagan valley, the only "real" desert in the country, whatever that means. For a desert, it's pretty green, but that likely has less to do with the climate than it does the fact that we use more water per capita than any other city in the country. But that's just my degree speaking.

Anyway, it's summer in Kelowna. I know this because it is, a) sunny and 26 degrees outside, b) I sat on the beach eating an ice cream cone while watching beach volleyball yesterday, c) I had a burger and fries for dinner on a patio on Bernard Street, d) I finished the day with an orange screamer, which is a slushie with soft serve ice cream on top, e) all of the above.

With summer weather and summer activities come the summer playlist. I've busted out the mash-up playlist from Singapore, and it feels just as fresh here as it was in the tropics. I've moved on from a 3LAU-centric list to one with a lot more Basic Physics. Luckily for you, Basic Physics offers their entire first album free to download from their Soundcloud site. I've embedded the entire album below with the download links for your convenience.

Happy summer!

Music Monday: Born to Feel

Alright, this is gonna sound totally lame, but I'm basing this Music Monday entirely off of what Last.fm says was my most played song over the last week. Yah. I've honestly got nothing else for you, as I was working all day (and all weekend, for that matter), and today was a holiday. So content yourself with this.

I've said before that I love Lana Del Rey. I've said before that I love mash-ups. Well, this one here is a mash-up that includes "Born to Die" by Lana. Whoo!

Best of all, the entire album is free to download if you choose. Just head over to the Jane Doze's Soundcloud page.

Music Monday: Wordless

So I've been ever so slowly rewriting the first few chapters of Red King Chronicles over on Protagonize, a process that is taking a lot longer than I first imagined. So far, the edits have been rather minor in terms of the actual events, but have required complete rewrites of large portions of chapters. It's been fun, to say the least.

You might have guessed that I'm one of those people who require background music when writing. Well, that music does a lot to shape the tone of what I'm writing, so the playlist is very important. For this rewrite, and throughout the writing of RKC and a few other stories (cough Oracle cough, I've been listening to ambient music, but not only instrumentals. Delerium is a longtime favourite, and a lot of the vocalists they feature use sounds to convey tone and emotion rather than words. I've also recently discovered a budding artist by the name of David Maxim Micic. It's his music I want to feature today.

As with last week, I'm showcasing multiple songs. Below you should find the complete Bilo EP from the artist's Soundcloud, legally streaming. He's also got a few legal downloads floating around out there, but I haven't tracked them down. Of the four songs (or movements?) on this album, "IV" is definitely my most favourite. Take a listen and you'll soon see why!

Music Monday: Electra Heart

There is no one song for this instalment of Music Monday. This time 'round I'm showcasing an entire album.

Marina and the Diamonds' sophomore record Electra Heart dropped about a week ago, debuting at number one in the UK and Ireland. Looking at the state of pop music, it's easy to see why. Marina has a standout voice, though at times she can pull off a pretty close sound to Katy Perry. It's a break-up album, like Adele's 21, but many of the songs are bass-driven electropop dance anthems. Yah, that's about the best way to describe what's going on here.

I'm also happy to report that we play one of the songs at work, which really isn't too much of a surprise seeing as it was the Gap who introduced me to Marina and the Diamonds in the first place a few years back. As kitschy and inappropriate as it can be sometimes, the Gap really does do a good job staying on top of the scene with its soundtrack.

Anyway, Marina is nice enough to stream a few of the full tracks from Electra Heart on her Soundcloud account. You won't get to hear one of my favourite off the album, though: "Living Dead." For that, hit up iTunes or your favourite record store - online or off - and pick up the full album.

Music Monday: Young Blood in Singapore

Alright, so in my last blog post I shared a video of the UBC Okanagan campus, where I've been studying the last four-ish years. Initially I had wanted to post a video of each of the three universities I have attended, but the University of Victoria video was extremely hokey and the National University of Singapore video was, well, corporate. Both were very much unlike what I experienced on the respective campuses.

But Music Monday gives me a chance to at least showcase one of my favourite cities/countries/islands in the world: Singapore. Yes, I've posted tonnes of photos and blog posts about my five-ish months in Southeast Asia, but this video is just amazingly well put together and deserves to be shared. I hope that you'll quickly see why I fell so deeply in love with Singapore.

The song is "Young Blood" by The Naked and Famous, a group out of New Zealand. You might recognize the song from the trailer for The Cabin in the Woods (which I highly recommend seeing). The music fits perfectly with the video, and it's great in it's own right, too. So take a listen, watch the video, and let me know what you think of the Lion City.

Music Monday: Work Work Work

So this post is gonna be really short, as a lot of the Music Monday posts are. I've been picking up lots of hours at work, so I've been busy busy busy almost everyday. I spend lots of time at the Gap now.

The benefit? Besides a fat paycheck every two weeks, I get to listen to the Gap soundtrack. I'll admit that I cannot stand some of the songs (WHY must we play the Biebs!?), but there are a few gems. One of 'em is "Rock Lobster" by the B-52s. I love those guys. I also love seeing people's reactions when Kate starts screaming after Fred hollers something about a bikini whale (which Wikipedia tells me is not an actual whale, but an overweight woman in a bikini). Video is below!

Music Monday: Everybody Come Down

So after my last blog post I went ahead and contacted some of my old friends. Caught up with one of them, exchanged a couple messages with another, and have had total radio silence from a few more. One of the people I really want to reconnect with has deleted herself from the internet, apparently, and so I have absolutely no way of contacting her. Sad panda. But I'm happy to be speaking with some people from my past.

The job front isn't going any better. If I don't stumble across something soon, or get a call back, I have some insider information that Starbucks is desperate for male employees. Sigh.

For Music Monday I've got "Everybody Come Down" by the Delgados. They were one of my favourite bands in high school, and I've just started listening to them again. I swear this must be a phase of some sort.