Let's puuuut a smile on that face!

great youtube covers

2008-08-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

Explosions in the Sky - Your Hand In Mine

One of my favourite post rock songs ever. What's better is a father and daughter covering it. It's such a good way for them to bond with each other. Absolutely lovely.

Outkast - Hey Ya! (acoustic version)

If people still remember this song, it's a hip-hop song. How could this guy possibly make an acoustic version of a hip-hop song? Sooo good. I like how's the direction of it, really folk-y and warm. Kudos!

The week that was Aug 4 - Aug 10

2008-08-12T02:39:00.000-07:00

pg. 99 - Document #7

This screamo band is kinda hardcore. Very harsh for me even though I listen to a lot of hardcore stuff. Nonetheless, it has the same structure with my favourite screamo band, Circle Takes the Square: 4 or 5 minutes of continuous guitar strumming with drums background then 3 minutes of vocals then back with the droning. The vocals abit better than most screamo bands I have heard. Great band even though you basically only can hear "RAWRRAWRRAWR" without the lyrics.
link

City of Caterpillar - s/t

*same comments with pg. 99 except a bit better*
link

you.may.die.in.the.desert

Great instrumental post-rock band. The album balance the melodic, quite side with trembling, loud side exceptionally well. For some reason, I feel somewhat cheeky when I listen to some of the tracks. Must be the odd time signature of the songs. The only turn off could be the name but it's a hit for me. Uplifting and melodic, great music for your ears.
link

The Depreciation Guild - In Her Gentle Jaws

Imagine those music from Tetris or Pac Man or Super Mario Bros. and mix them up with great rock music. That product can be said on this album. One thing I also like about this album is the dreamy vocals. It doesn't really sound like a matching couple but the band make it work spellbindingly. There were some misses in the album like some unusual synthesizers mix and musical arrangements but the pros overcome the cons easily in this album.
link (The official site since the album is free to download by the band)

The week that was July 22 - Aug 3

2008-08-03T01:43:00.000-07:00

M-m-m-m-mega post!

Sigur Ros - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

Way better than their previous album, Takk. The first 5 tracks are epic which Jonsi's vocals still brings the main energy in all the songs. I feel that this time around they're smart enough to cut the chunks off their songs. Pretty solid but Ágætis byrjun and ( ) are still better albums.

link

Black Kids - Partie Traumatic

They're such a fun band to listen to. They sound like Los Campesinos! had a threesome with of Montreal and Architecture in Helsinki. Super catchy melodies with sing-a-long lyrics, definite recommendation to anyone feeling the blues.
link
Download single: Black Kids - Listen to Your Body Tonight

E For Explosion - Reinventing the Heartbeat

I really like the lyrics in this album but the sound can't hold long enough to make me hearing it again and again. Each of the songs sound almost the same with one another but there are some which outstands the rest. The lyrics are great and emotional (NOT EMO!) as the vocalist channels the flow smoothly. Kinda mediocre but I would give them another chance as I feel they have potential.
link (pass: sharedmusic.net)

Gifts From Enola - Loyal Eyes Betrayed My Mind

This album is like maybeshewill except more of a post rock + hard rock than post rock+ heavy metal. The lead track has a very solid bassline and great drummings as well. The rest of the tracks are pretty forgettable, to be honest. I wouldn't mind listening to it once again but there are better post rock bands out there.
link

Air France - No Way Down EP

Great summer electronic music right here. Or spring maybe. I have not heard many electronic albums before but this is really enjoyable. Maybe it's the groove in the album or the matching samples or the layers of the music or there's no random electronic noise that I've always heard in techno music.
link (pass: nodata.tv)
Download single: Air France - No Excuses

I Would Set Myself On Fire For You - Believe in Patterns

Even though it's not as good as Circle Takes the Square, it's still a great album. Even though it's a screamo album, there are some songs which are either instrumental or a female vocalist actually singing. Although most of their songs are over 5 minutes long, the buildups to the climax are really intense and epic. Although screamo is a great genre, I wouldn't recommend this album to people who wants to get into the genre. But nevertheless, a great band.
link

Metric - Live it Out

I got really high expectations for this band as some of their members are from Broken Social Scene but I was left dissapointed. I thought they would somehow sound like Stars but they were more of the rock type. All of the songs are sung by their female vocalist. For some reason, I'm not really into the guitar riffs (must be the stars comparison). Anyway, nice band but if you want something better, go for Broken Social Scene or Stars.
link
Download single: Metric - Monster Hospital

The Radio Dept. - Lesser Matters

I really dig this band. They had a dreamy sound like Deerhunter and Moscow Olympics and they're Swedish! Those swedish with their poppy music. Close your eyes while listening to this album and you can just feel the emotions. Kudos!
link(pass: nodatta.blogspot.com)
Download Single: The Radio Dept. - Where Damage Isn't Already Done

Red Sparowes - Every Red Heart Shines Towards The Sun

Their sound is very metal-like but it is consider post-rock for some reason. Even though it's an instrumental album, it seems there's a story in it. According to the band's leader, he said he was inspired by The Great Leap Forward. In communist China, they labelled sparrows, mice, flies and mosquitoes as pest and therefore has to be exterminated. Peasants were encouraged to bang pots and pans to scare sparrows into continuing flight, eventually killing them from exhaustion. Whilst the harvest of the year after the campaign was larger, there was a massive rise in locust numbers in the late 1950s, as a result of the significantly lower population of sparrows, a major predator of the locust. Because of this, 38 million people died of famine thanks to the destruction of crops by the locusts. End of History lesson.

Anyway, one thing that strikes me about this album is their freaking LONG song titles. Let me give you an example, "And by Our Own Hand Did Every Last Bird Lie Silent in Their Puddles, the Air Barren of Song as the Clouds Drifted Away. For Killing Their Greatest Enemy, the Locusts Noisily Thanked Us and Turned Their Jaws Toward Our Crops, Swallowing Our Greed Whole". Their sound is kinda rough but there is time when crescendos were used to reduce the dryness of them. Okay album but I think they can do much better than that.
link (pass: sharedmusic.net)

Black Cab Sessions

2008-07-27T05:52:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago, there was an article on Star In. Tech about a website called Black Cab Sessions. I thought it was something about how technology change the cabbies' lives but I was wrong. What I found out was this website showcases mainstream and independent artists where they do a mostly acoustic performance in a typical London cab. It's really good as it shows how talented these people are.

Death Cab For Cutie - No Sunlight (acoustic version)

I can't believe they didn't put this into their album instead of the electric version. This was 10X better than the latter.

Someone seriously should do like a website where musicians do an A Capella in public washroom.

The week that was July 7 - July 21

2008-07-21T04:19:00.000-07:00

Wasn't in the mood to update the catalog and none of my albums have not finished downloading. Anyway, I still got a few new albums.

Deerhunter - Microcastle

I'm going to be straightforward, this is one of the best albums of the year. It's completely amazing. From the thundering drone of "Calvary Scars" to the monstrous jam of "Nothing Ever Happened", I can define variety with this album. Besides that, there are a few great songs for the summer like "Agoraphobia" as the singer sang the lines "Cover me, Come for me, Comfort me" dreamily. I can say so much about this album, but the only way to find out its awesomeness is just listening through the whole thing.
link
Deerhunter - Agoraphobia

Yeah, only one album for these 2 weeks. Kinda sad really. Still waiting for new Sigur Ros to be completed.

The Week that was June 30 - July 6 (PART DEUX)

2008-07-09T03:52:00.000-07:00

Maybeshewill - Not For Want of Trying

Imagine this. Post-rock meets techno with a dash of metal. Brain-hurting much? Their sound is so interesting. You really won't expect that the direction of each song will end up like that. Great, fresh music.

link
Download single: maybeshewill - He Films the Clouds, Pt. 2

I wanted to review another album but I haven't get the feel of it yet.

The Week that was June 30 - July 6

2008-07-08T03:55:00.000-07:00

Yay! Finally finished downloading new Coldplay. Been listening to more post-rock once again.

Caspian - The Four Trees

I have achieved nirvana with this album. Super relaxing and orgasmic to your ears. I can recommend this to anyone who wants to hear good music without any vocals. Great first track (Moksha) which has more textures than Alvin's hair.

link
Download single: Caspian - Moksha

Yndi Halda - Enjoy Eternal Bliss EP

Yndi Halda (Pronounced Yin-dee Hal-dar) means enjoy eternal bliss in Old Norse language. From what I can listen, I can see that there is a direct influence from classical music with thunderous violin overlapping the droning guitar melodies. Each of the EP's 4 tracks last at least 10 minutes. However, I find some of the songs kinda draggy which makes you want to skip to the next track. But the band is smart enough to give the listener a good crescendo after them. For those who loves beautiful violin works, give it a try. Others, steer away from it if you are REALLY impatient.

Link (pass: bunalti.com)

Coldplay - Viva La Vida

I can safely say they're taking a new route with this album. No more "BIRDS GO FLAHYING AT THE SPEED OF SOUND!!" they began to sound more relaxed. Their sound is as minimal as their first album, Parachutes which has one of my favourite songs (Don't Panic). Nothing much to say with this album, just think X&Y but less texture and more calming. Sorry no download since this is a mainstream album. (well, just search it at bittorrent or something)

To be continue tomorrow with 2 other albums I got last week.

The week that was June 23-June 29

2008-06-30T03:15:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I began to be into post-rock at the moment. Post-rock is an amazing genre where bands use rock instrumentations with a non-rock purposes. Some of the bands can make songs which last up till 21 minutes! It's really, really groovy srsly. Downloaded 2 albums last week. (I'm still waiting for my new Coldplay to finish downloading)

Giants - They, the Undeserving

Very, very intense band. Every song is filled with great crescendos and intense buildups. Recommended for people who loves other music for a change.

link (Pass: sharedmp3.net)
Download single: Giants - Steps in Static Progression

The Samuel Jackson Five - Easily Misunderstood

Another post-rock band that I was so eager to listen to since last year. I couldn't manage to get their album until yesterday. Thank you Google! Before I review, I must say the band name is great. Samuel L. Jackson + The Jackson Five = The Samuel Jackson Five. Anyway, their sound is kinda unique even their genre is normally characterize as repetitive and long-winded. Imagine instrumental jazz with some attitude. I like the most was that one of the songs had a climatic buildup till the middle when I thought I know where they are about to go, the sound abruptly stopped and changes its tone.

link
Download single: The Samuel Jackson Five - Charlie Foxtrot Queen

FACT: Indie is not a genre

2008-06-29T02:38:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, there was an event in my school called International Food Fiesta (A more classy way of saying "Hari Kantin"). There were many activities and when there's an event, there will be music. SOOO, I jokingly said to my friend "Next year I'm going to be the DJ and play better music than that". She replied "But not all people like indie" and I gave her the o_O face.

Before I start my rant, I really want to know why do people love to use phrases when they don't even know the exact meaning of it? It's not groovy at all.

Okay, like I wrote in the title..indie is not a genre. Indie is independent in long form. So, indie music means independent music. What is independent music? Musicians who are signed to independent music labels. Let's get to the root of this thing. A musician needs something to promote and distribute their music so music labels are formed. There are two types of labels, the mainstream labels and independent labels.

The mainstream labels comprised of the Big 4 "EMI, Universal, Warner Bros., Capitol" and artists that are signed to them are those can always be found getting airplayed like hell in MTV and radio stations. IMO, these companies are evil. Their main goal is to earn profits, thus making music as a product not as an art. Those who signed into those companies too have little control over their creative input to their music. The only reason I feel musicians signed into these are they either want to spread their music or just want to get rich.

But, musicians who are signed into independent labels have more creative control and are able to get more royalties. However, they won't have as much publicity as mainstream musicians. What I like about independent music is that there are so many kinds of music to listen to. From peaceful, melodic instrumental Post-Rock to harsh, crazy noise rock there are limitless genres of music in the indie stage.

My fives for this week

2008-06-20T06:15:00.000-07:00

Nothing beats free music. I'm giving away five songs that I have been listening a lot for this past week. The genres are kinda narrow but the songs imo can fit in any mood or situation.

The Appleseed Cast - Santa Maria
Wolf Parade - Modern World
The Unicorns - Les Os
Islands - Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby
Moscow Olympics - Second Trace
link

In other news, Death Cab was rumoured to come to KL. Guess what? They're going to our southern neighbours. D= My whole dream was tarnished when I heard the news. It was going to be my first concert. Dear Singapore, you got Broken Social Scene, HORSE the Band, Travis and hell, The Rapture why can't you let us have Death Cab? Yes, we have Explosions in the Sky but you will and always will have great gigs coming to your place. Why can't you spare us this time? T_T

whoa! topped 20GB already =O

2008-06-19T04:14:00.000-07:00

Ugh, can't see it properly but it says I got 20.8 GB in my music folder with 3.8k songs and I guess around 250 albums. Pretty groovy, indeed. And sadly, all of them I got it without purchasing them. D=

Anyway, great recommendation from me once again. A band simply called Stars is one of my favourite pop rock bands and they are simply amazing. The "call and respond" technique which can be heard in some songs is really good with the male and female vocalist doing it. Pretty melancholic but somehow, joyful after finish listening to them.

Stars- Set Yourself On Fire

NP: Caribou - After Hours

What's coming up in Malaysia..

2008-06-16T04:38:00.000-07:00

Saying 'Malaysia' and 'live concert' in a same sentence and you will think "The Click Five" and "Backstreet Boys". Fear not, this year imo was one of the best years for great gigs. We had popular post-rock band, Explosions in the Sky coming to here and many indie kids scream their lungs out. Next month we going to have another 2 post rock bands coming to KL.

MONO
Mono is a band where epic music comes to mind. The songs, all of which are instrumental, are usually focused on layered guitar melodies. Strings and pianos are often found in some of their songs. They are also known for their powerful live shows (ZING!) and their complex guitar work. Too bad I can't go since there are so many barriers that make me not see them. =/
July 5th, Zouk.

Mono - Yearning
TOE
Another post rock band from Japan. I haven't heard of them but from what I have heard, they're good live. We'll see about that when they are here on Aug 3rd.

In other news, there is a rumour saying Death Cab For Cutie will be coming to KL around August. Hopefully the rumour will be true. =O

NP: No Age - Cappo

Reccomendation from me!

2008-06-14T09:07:00.000-07:00

Los Campesinos! - Hold on Now, Youngster...

One of the best pop albums this year, IMO. Melodic and aggressive at the same time...it's fun for the whole family! I have been listening to the album repeatedly this weekend and I still haven't got bored with it. A++

Los Campesinos! - Death to Los Campesinos!

sigur rós streams their album for free!

2008-06-12T05:55:00.000-07:00

Great band from Iceland. Haven't finish listening to their album yet but so far is kinda good. I dislike the first track the most among the first 4 tracks I listened. I'll update this more when I finish listening to it. Here's the link to listen to their whole album. I'm busy figuring out how to fking embed the player into the blog.

Ugh, I hate people that misuses the term 'emo'

2008-06-09T04:10:00.000-07:00

"OMG! This song is so emo!"
"This song by xxx is emo. I would listen to it when I'm down"
"That's emo? This is moooore emo! *recommends some RnB artists*"

Minus the good English and you will find these very familiar. ;-) Many people have been abusing this term ever since the explosion of pop punk with every single one of them labelled emo. Below is an example.

"Hey I started a pop punk band!"
"OMG, you're so emo!"

Many people wondered what does emo stands for and after realizing it's emotional, they came to an agreement that any song that makes you feel sad is emo. It's a big slap to any artist when they got this label as it really deteriorates their name.

Let get this straight. Emo is not songs which are sad. Let us begin our history class.

EMO IS A STYLE OF HARDCORE PUNK (yes, hardcore). I know many of you will be like "Wtf? How can hardcore be emo?". Well, early emo is actually screamo. The angsty lyrics with screaming vocals make them look emotional, thus the genre emo.

After a decade, emo's sound has change quite drastically with new wave of alternative rock bands that includes some emo characteristics. The angsty lyrics were still there BUT the vocals have been toned down and it's more melodic.
In this era, emo was like:
- Very personal lyrics with great metaphoric lines in them
- Loud but clean guitar riffs
- Melodic vocals (Little screaming some times)

This wave was the beginning of the evolution of pop punk. As the genre grew more popular, people began using the term more widely and thus folks are using this term mindlessly without actually knowing the origin of the term.

Sunny Day Real Estate - Tearing in my Heart
1:55~2:18
Tearing in my heart, a mistake from the start
And it's almost too hard
Tarry in my mind, I'll repay you another time
When it's all said and done

A great example of an emo-influenced indie rock band.

The Appleseed Cast - Fishing the Sky

Reaching ocean.
Walked for days.
Reaching ocean.
You were mine.
The falling skyline.
Is touching haze
This empty notions.
You were mine.

Fishing the sky
Fishing the sky

I love the lyrics in the song. One of the good examples of emo lyrics. Apparently, the lyrics is based on the motion of the waves. The band 'twisted' them and make it into a wonderful lyric.

Top 3 Best and Worst Band Names I have heard of.

2008-06-07T06:56:00.000-07:00

TOP 3 WORST NAMES
3. Does It Offend You, Yeah?
Ugh, boring sound band that tries to sound original in an already tired genre. Overpretentious band name. When I first saw the band's name, I swear to you that the ', Yeah?' was a typo or something because it doesn't even make any sense. Does It Offend You? sounds logic but after adding the ', Yeah?' my mind is blown.

2. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
I really like this band but the name...it was doomed to fail. I can't see anyone bring a conversation bout this band.
"Hey! This band sounds so cool!"
"What is it called?"
"Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin"
"Urm, like seriously"
"Ya rly"
"/facepalm"

Which also brings me to number 1.

1. Natalie Portman's Shaved Head
I would like to have some of what they're taking. Srsly, were they high or something while naming the band? Makes a bad impression to everyone imo.

HONOROBLE MENTION
- My penis is made of dogshit
-I Write Haikus About Cannibalism in Yourl Yearbook
-Pirates of the Sea (pic below for pure badassness)

Top 3 Best Names
3. Circle Takes the Square
I think it's a Hollywood Squares but the name really sounds so cool. Anything that has 2 totally opposite objects that has a connection between them in a name is cool to me. Like "The Six Parts Seven" but never listen to them before so no listing.

2. God is an Astronaut
This band sounds very atmospheric and the name really suits with the sound. Plus, the connection of the two nouns are really clever and kinda sensical to me (God = space, Astronaut = space).

1. Sigur Rós
A band from Iceland. When I listen to any of their songs in my ipod, I would imagine the name and then the beautiful land of Iceland. There's something with the name that spellbinds me to mesmerize Iceland for some reason. I don't know why. It could be the letter ó or maybe it's meaning (They got the name from the singer's sister's name which means "Victory Rose"). Their sound is pretty unique and atmospheric like GiaA.
Pretty, amirite?

HONORABLE MENTION
- 65daysofstatic
- You Say Party! We Say Die!
- This Will Destroy You
- Death From Above 1979
- Explosions in the Sky
- Broken Social Scene

NP: Islands - Where There's A Will There's A Whalebone

no more stereotyping philipinos with maids pls

2008-06-06T08:02:00.000-07:00

Moscow Olympics - Cut The World

This band freaking rocks. A band from the Philippines and it isn't rivermaya or wtv it's name was (I'm talking bout the pinoy band that has a big airplay in MTV). All their songs are so dreamy and pretty. Good to have these type of band in this region. Major props to them!

I freaking love the part where a girl screams at 3:09. Shows how great they are at playing live and 2:25-2:40 was the part where I was sold to this band.

NP: Moscow Olympics - Second Trace