[...music...]: 2006-11

2006-11-21

this is like a pre-christmas gift for myself. today was the official release of sufjan stevens' "songs for christmas". i am usually not into cheezy christmas carols and such. but this is a box with five ep's and a bunch of other goodies, and so i could not resist. the little bonuses include: lyrics booklet, short animated film, short stories, comic strip, mini-poster (family portrait), stickers.

i love when a cd packaging is more imaginative than a simple jewel case.

i don't know if i can get much into these songs. after all, it is only mid-november, which to me is too early to start talking christmas. there isn't even any snow yet!

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, sufjan stevens

pavement

i was browsing my wishlist yesterday, and i saw that pavement's "wowee zowee: sordid sentinels edition" was released two weeks ago. i can't believe i forgot about this...

i've never actually been a fan of pavement. the only songs i know and like are "shady lane" and "stereo" and those are found on a later release. still, i've gotten ll the re-issues so far, sine they come with tons of extra tracks.

now, i wait for the next re-issue "brighten the corners", which should be out in a couple of years, to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the original album's release.

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, pavement

2006-11-14

ryan adams

oh wow! i just read on pitchfork today that ryan adams has eight new "albums" streaming on his website. damn...!

most of that stuff sounds pretty crazy. haha.

now, i can't wait for some official material to be released.

~~~

Labels: other

2006-11-05

the silent ballet

the silent ballet have released volume two of their compilation. i was listening to it all evening. it is f*cking amazing!

i guess i found out about this webzine at the right moment. i had stopped listening to post-rock for a while, and needed a reminder of why i love this stuff... i think this will be my current obsession.

i am getting a bit of a high, listening to this compilation. each track sounds so close to perfection. this is so exciting; it is like discovering post-rock for the first time, and finding out that such beautiful sounds can exist.

i don't know why these tracks are affecting me so; after all, it is just music. maybe it's from this insomnia (why do i feel so awake now at 5:00am?).

~~~

Labels: other

2006-11-03

xiu xiu

what a pleasant surprise! a few weeks ago, i went to hmv with yeni, and pointed out a few cd's from my wishlist. then today, she got xiu xiu's "the air force" for my birthday (tomorrow).

how nice of her!

i was disappointed about missing their show a couple of weeks ago, so this cd will definitely fill that void.

~~~

Labels: xiu xiu

2006-11-02

death cab + ted leo @ metropolis

i usually don't include opening acts in the post title, but i'll make an exception this time, because the openers were ted leo & the pharmacists!! this guy is a punk rock hero! alright, i'm totally exagerating, but this band is one of the few who can turn me into a fangirl. remember that they were one of the best live acts i saw in 2005.

obviously, i was there mainly to see ted leo play, even if it was just an opening slot. no surprise, they played some of my favourites: "timourous me" (contains my favourite guitar part), "where have all the rude boys gone?" (with "i asked jerry, he told terry..." being my favourite part), "me and mia", "counting down the hours". unfortunately, they did not play "the high party" this time. their music reminds of 70's punk rock (which i love), but with more fun. all throughout their set, i was happily dancing along. it was too bad that i did not know their songs enough to sing along. there wasn't much stage banter this time, probably because they didn't want to waste too much of their half-hour opening timeslot. he did manage to squeeze in the "merci" and the "bonsoir", which was nice. i hope they will tour as headliners, and come back to montreal. i will definitely go see them again. so much fun!

ted leo, dressed in grey:

ted leo and the pharmacists:

the main act was death cab for cutie. i like them, mais pas plus que ce qu'il faut. by then, the room had gotten way too crowded, stuffy, and hot; it was uncomfortable. also, throughout most of the set, i was stuck behind a wall of two tall guys. i had already spent most of my energy and enthusiasm on ted leo's set, so for dcfc, i just nodded my head along to the songs, with not much space to move. most of the songs they played were familiar to me, but i didn't know the titles. rox knew them better than i did. i just know they played "title and registration", "soul meets body", and "i will follow you into the dark". they led into the conclusion of their set with a mini jam session: basically one long instrumental part. at one point, an additional drum kit was set up for the singer to play on. they ended their proper set (before the encore) with "the sound of settling", which is the only song i really danced to.

death cab rocking out:

~~~

cd purchases: i finally got all the ted leo cd's i wanted: "tej leo (?), rx/pharmacists", "treble in trouble", "the tyranny of distance", "hearts of oak", and "shake the sheets". the complete album discography, i think. so happy to get these songs. i think these will be in constant rotation on my cd player this week.

hearing damage: some ringing in the ears. most probably due to the screaming dcfc fans, and less due to the music.

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, death cab for cutie, metropolis, shows, ted leo