[...music...]: 2008-01

2008-01-30

two ep's

today being tuesday, i stopped by hmv to check out the new releases of the week. nothing of interest. instead, i got two older ep's. short and sweet. and somewhat noisy.

the blood brothers - love rhymes with hideous car wreck [ep]
the title track is one of my favourites from their "crimes" album. this ep also contains their remix of gang of four's "anthrax". upon my first listen, i found out that this also contains "metronomes", a song that i had heard before and liked, without knowing what song it was. i am still upset at myself for missing all those times they played in montreal; the band is broken up now, and i have never seen them live.

the horrors - the horrors [ep]
i first heard about them when their song "sheena is a parasite" was played in a podcast. then, i saw the video and it scared me a little. still, i like the song.

i find myself less hesitant to buy ep's now. i've found that for certain bands, the ep's contain better songs than their studio albums. especially those hyped-up bands who release an amazing ep, only to follow with a disappointing debut album.

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, the blood brothers, the horrors

2008-01-18

japan rock

gah, i feel so sick right now. sore throat, coughing, runny nose, headache, body temperature rising and dropping... this feels like a fever.

but surprise, this arrived in the mail today, and it cheered me up:

it was my first time ordering something directly from the label. temporary residence had a sale in december: four envy cd's and a mono dvd as a winter pack; also, buy 5 get 1 free, so i chose a fifth envy cd. since this was a pre-order, they only started shipping the stuff this week. it arrived today, yay! additionally, the lovely people at temporary residence marked the package as 'gift', so there was no customs tax to pay for this shipment arriving in montreal from the united states. very satisfied with my order; the next time they release something i like, i will definitely order directly from them.

the envy cd's i got:
all the footprints you've ever left and the fear expecting ahead
a dead sinking story
compiled fragments 1997-2003
insomniac doze
abyssal [ep]

the first three were out of print, and are now re-released by temporary residence. i first heard about this band after listening to mogwai's "mr. beast", where a member of envy contributes some vocals. at one point, i had gone through a 'screamo' phase, and so i immediately fell in love. i'd say envy is somewhere between post-rock and screamo, as there are highs and lows in the music, as well as emotional screaming vocals. i like that they've included english translations to their japanese lyrics, so i can follow what the songs are about. it's a beautiful mess.

i've just watched a bit of the mono dvd, "the sky remains the same as ever". it is mostly concert footage from their 2006-2007 tour, which included a date in montreal. unfortunately, in was in mid-april 2007, during the finals exams period of my final undergrad semester, and so i missed the show. now, i wished i had attended, because the concert footage seemed quite awesome! they're so intense. i hope they come back...

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, envy, mono

2008-01-16

juno + blondie

juno - music from the motion picture
i saw the movie with roxanne last week, and i really enjoyed it. it's a feel-good movie, without any cheesiness. what i noticed most is how much i loved the music. so i got the soundtrack today. "anyone else but you" by the moldy peaches is my favourite track from the movie. the two leads also play a cover of the song, which i like as well.

blondie - greatest hits
since the juno soundtrack was part of a 2/$20 deal, i paired it up with blondie's "greatest hits". probably not what i wanted most, but the other selections were worst. still, i do enjoy some old school music from time to time. listening to this, i was surprised to discover how many of these songs i recognize, without knowing they were from blondie. good retro music.

~~~

Labels: blondie, cd purchase, soundtrack

2008-01-04

the dresden dolls @ le national

last night, i went to my first show of the year, with roxanne. it was fun!

throughout the evening, amanda of the dresden dolls came on stage to introduce each opening act.

first was die mannequin. wikipedia describes them as 'sleaze rock', which is very appropriate. but the venue was not the best for this type of band; they would have been more fun playing in some small crowded club without a stage, i think. still, the singer did all the requisite rock n roll moves: she spat, drank/spilt a lot of beer, fell off the stage, played in the crowd, pulled two members of the audience to sing backup with her on stage, etc.

next, it was the first time i see an acrobatic act at a concert. a guy with a big ring, doing a lot of spinning/rolling around.

unfortunately, when amanda introduced the final opening act, i did not catch the name. she said she heard their songs on myspace two weeks ago, and was impresssed. when she found out they were from montreal, she invited them to play a song last night.

edit: hurray for internet forums! i asked on stillepost, and it turns out the final opening act was dorian hatchet. the song they played was 'fast runner'.

finally, the dresden dolls came on stage, wearing masks and jackets. thanks to roxanne for taking some pictures.

at first, i thought amanda sounded funny when she sang; it turned out that she had a cold. still, they gave a really good show, very energetic. they started with a pink floyd cover. afterwards, they took off the masks, revealing their usual doll faces. they went through a few of their hit songs. they even did a cover of a french song. at one point, they ditched their usual instruments, and played a couple of songs in the middle of the stage; this was the most fun and entertaining part of the show. they also did one song from amanda's solo album; i guess this was a preview of what it'll sound like, whenever it comes out.

for their proper set, they saved 'half-jack' for last. already, this is my favourite song from their catalogue, and they made it even better. they lead into the song with a long instrumental intro. it got a little post-rock at times, with the contrasting high/low loud/quiet sounds. i loved it! i wish i had a recording of it...

setlist: (thanks to roxanne for some songs i was missing)

in the flesh (pink floyd cover)
girl anachronism
mrs. o
sex changes
coin-operated boy
glass slipper
bad habit
sympathique (pink martini cover)
a night at the roses
mein herr
mandy goes to med school
astronaut (from amanda solo)
half-jack

encore:
amsterdam (jacques brel cover)

~~~

Labels: die mannequin, le national, shows, the dresden dolls