I put together a couple playlists last night…. The first one is a little more upbeat and features bunch of songs that are popular on modern rock radio and couple my wife Coral and I saw on TV shows. I made this one for my wife to jam while driving around town. The set includes Young Galaxy, Arcade Fire, American Authors, Haim, Phantogram, Kongos…and so on.
My next set is a bunch of songs that I am feeling, but generally a little more chill. You’ll hear THUMPERS, Lord Huron, Waxahatchee, Miguel, Isaiah Rashad, Augustines… stuff like that.
Both sets feature Miguel and THUMPERS as I am going through a minor obsession with both.
Hopefully you’ll get down to one of the sets and discover something new to you.
Lets start with RADco or Red Arrow Drilling Company. They’ll be playing a show in support of Igor and the Red Elvises at Lucky Bar on Sunday. Doors at 8PM.
Here’s the bio… Magnetic is an electro-indie rock duo from Victoria, BC, Canada. “My Heart Is Very Nearly Pure” is our new EP.
Mark Weiler is an ambient/electronic artist who has quietly pumped out 9 albums worth of sweeping longing instrumental indie/electronica over the past eleven years as Magnetic. For this release he’s joined by multi-instrumentalist Shane Sparks (Faith, My Atheist Love) on vocals and various bits and bobs. The result is narrative electro-indie rock that combines new wave, electronica, and brooding orchestral sounds.
“trust fund girls don’t stay long on the scene.” Oy vey!
Robbie Aylesworth is a Victoria singer-songwriter recording a new record right now at Hooge Studio. This Friday he will be performing at the Hope for Hannah benefit concert at the Alix Goolden Hall. He popped by The Radio Factory for live performance.
And finally…
Me and Razer went to the Cambie a couple weeks ago to see a band called War Baby. We had to peace before local band Secondhand Habit took the stage. So missed out on this cut…
I had the chance to yap with Mark Foster of Foster The People last week. We chatted about a bunch of stuff including some world travel the man got up to. He talked about going to India, and how that changed the way the man will operate his life! Sounded like quite the spiritual journey. Back in LA, the man decides to call the new Foster The People record Supermodel…why is that?
Foster The People will be at Squamish… hit it up.
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Interesting story out of NPR the other day. Imagine Dragons’ “radioactive” has sat on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a record 77 weeks. Why is that? According to NPR…. religion. NPR Pop Critic Ann Powers says, “It taps into one of rock’s favorite subject areas, and that is religious or spiritual imagery. It’s like an apocalyptic theme. It’s end times. It’s straight out of Revelation.”
And she says its not the only mainstream song on the charts borrowing from God. Check out OneRepublic’s new Much Megahit “Counting Stars.” Powers says, “That’s the power of pop music in America. It can absorb all of the most important influences in our lives. And certainly, for many, many people, spirituality [and] religion, specifically connected to Christian traditions, are important. It’s hardly a new thing, but we always seem to crave it again.”
Here Ben is talking about some of the skills working at an ad agency brings to Lord Huron.
Working an ad agency, you know how important brand consistency is, but also being an artist you have to have new ideas floating around, do you think this style will carry forward to the new album or are you going to create a new aesthetic for that one?
Ben: Yeah, I think some of the elements will be retained, but I think it will be little, it exists in the same universe, but it will be a different sort of story in this next record. Whereas this one was sort of more based in this older adventure tale sort of world, I think we’ll get out of that a little, although I still consider it all as living within the Lord Huron universe.
AND Ben is a desert guy? neat. I like the desert too Lord Huron.
I’ve kind of situated myself in the northeast part of town (Los Angeles, where Ben lives) where it’s easy for me to get to the mountains, up into the San Gabriel or it’s easy for me to get on the 10 or the 210 and get to the desert. Wherever I have free time or the afternoon, I like to hit the road and maybe go camping or maybe just take an afternoon outside.
After tracking down the Peoples Jewellers commercial song, I let the sound cloud play and this gorgeous cut came up…
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Lord Huron has created a whole mythology for the band’s songs based on the Western novelist George Ranger Johnson. The thing is… George Ranger Johnson does not exist… he was made up by the band. And all his novels, are the titles of Lord Huron songs.
Talking to the New York Times, “People are always lamenting the loss of the record sleeve, which I understand. I loved looking at the artwork and imagining the people who made the music and the lives they inhabited. But now I think we can create an even richer experience with new technology available to us.”
Part of the mythology is a series of “trailers” for movies based on the novels of G. Ranger Johnson. And of course, each adventure features a song by Lord Huron. The latest chapter is called “She Lit a Fire.”
Red hot remix action… a couple modern rockers that will bang on the dance floor for your next sockhop.
Neon Trees are climbing the alt. rock charts with “Sleeping With a Friend.” Krazy Kat jams the remix.
The new Neon Trees record will be called Pop Psychology. Radio.com has some knowledge and interview.
Lorde, still so hot right now. Normally her tunes are a bit of a buzz kill, but this one should get you to throw your hands in the air, even if you’re over it now.
The remix is done by Elephante who writes, “So one of my friends said this remix sounds like “Elton John in the back of a limo driven by Big Bird”… not really the reaction I was expecting, but I’ll take it.”
It is hard for me when I am reading about a new band or song and I see, “inspired by John Hughes.” That phrase needs to be expunged from your band’s bio.
Today it is Jack Antonoff of fun. using phrase to describe his new side-project, Bleachers.
Antonoff was talking to Radio.com, ““There’s something nostalgic and ’80s and John Hughes about some of the stuff I do, but I never wanted to make anything that was in any way retro.”
Let’s check out the positive rock song “I Wanna Get Better.” Its a catchy jingle that leans on that fun. sound.
Took the family on a little trip to Wash Mountington (that turned into an overnight… long story). The three hour drive form Victoria to the mountain means lots of opportunity to front to back a few records. The above picture is some of the picks. One song that really stood out for me and my wife Coral was the Arcade Fire’s “Joan of Arc.” I never really picked up on the female vocal on the track till Coral pointed it out, but now I can’t stop hearing it. The song is pretty much blasting on repeat in my brain.
Victoria’s Neon Steve is off to the jungles of Costa Rice. Before he goes, the man lets us have his remix of Missy Elliot’s 2001 Bhangra banger “Get Your Freak On.”
The Morning After 