Wow! I am writing an update on Tuesday which actually makes my blog make some sense. Well let me reassure you this blog probably won't make much sense at all. I have a couple new albums to fill you in on and some other stuff too.

Guns n' Roses - Chinese Democracy

17 years we waited??? Well, maybe waited is a strong word...let's try anticipated...no no that is too strong as well. Okay Okay I have it. For 17 years we were mildly curious as to what Axl Rose would put out without the help of amazing guitarist Slash. Well it is finally out, it is #1 in a number of countries since it's release and the reviews have been fairly good. Now, I am not the biggest GnR fan, but curiosity got the best of me. Rose certainly tried to capture that "November Rain" vibe on a number of tracks, all in all the album was good but not 17 years of mild curiosity good. The tracks lacked that solid heavy guitar sound. Buy it one day.

Shugo Tokumaru - Exit

I read about Shugo Tokumaru in a Spin Magazine while on my Thanksgiving trip to Montreal/Toronto. A multi instrumentalist from Japan, Exit came out earlier this year in North America and in late 2007 across the sea in Japan...hopefully someone gets that reference. The album has a very indie pop sound and although I have no idea what the lyrics are the sound is great and can be put in the category like such bands that I enjoy such as Sigur Ros, Amiina and SSLYBY. Check out some tracks online first.


Marnie Stern - This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That

That is an insane title, well Marnie Stern isn't the most sane person. To pay for a traffic ticket that she received on tour they decided to set up a kissing booth at their shows. The repetitive title certainly sets you up for the album and the tracks do repeat a lot. It is a high energy run from start to finish. It plays well and can be a good album in the right moment. Not sure I was in the right moment when I checked out this album. Check out something else first.


Other Stuff:

For those who don't know I am in marketing and I love ads. In the last few years advertisers have wised up that good music can make a good ad great. Take Apple for example they began a trend of putting indie songs into their ads that people would google find the artist and then they would buy that album on iTunes in a perfect world. Now a lot of advertisers are using bands the masses haven't heard of and are putting them into great ads. Such as the latest from genius creative agency Sid Lee who is in charge of the Adidas Originals new store concepts and their ads.



The ad has a great remix of the Four Seasons - "Beggin" by DJ Pilooski

Recently, I was watching television and saw an ad for the new Prince of Persia game and instantly I heard one of my favorite bands and one that I did not expect to hear in any ad ever. Sigur Ros was playing and it was a very well done advertisement.



The track is "Saeglopur" off the Takk album. These are just a few examples of the new ways people are finding their music. Some may disagree with it, but as someone in marketing and someone who loves a lot of indie bands I think it is a great thing and I can't wait to see some more great ads and hear some more great tunes.

Till next time.

- Dave

I am posting for the first time in almost a month, so much for my dream of getting everyone caught up on music. But, 80 hour work weeks and plenty of friend time will not leave much time for writing. So I will do my best in the post to give you some essential new stuff to listen to. With out further ado I will get into it. 

Q-Tip - Renaissance:

Q-Tip has returned to grace us with some of the best beats and lyrical flows we have heard in years. The former Tribe Called Quest member returns with his sophomore album after quite a long wait considering Amplified was released in 1999. But the wait was worth it, Renaissance is filled with his trademark vocals and beats that will just simply cause your ass to shake. Tracks like "Move" and "Fight for Love" highlight Q-Tip's production ability with funky beats and a smooth flow. The highlight track for me was his colab with Norah Jones whose vocals pair amazingly with a hip hop back beat, the track "Life is Better" has been on repeat on iTunes for at least a week now. Buy It - This album is in the running for the best hip-hop album of the year and certainly in the running for the top 5 of all genres. 

Love is All - A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night:

Poppy, punky fun sounds...sums up the album pretty much. Think CSS or Ponytail, it is a good album. This album certainly has got high praise

 from the indie community and most larger media outlets outside of Rolling Stone (but really....). Love is All is straight out of Sweden and this album is their second studio album, not including a couple EP's and remix albums that have been released. With a catchy melody with a solid guitar and a synth-pop/punk backing is a great fit with lead singer Josephine Olausson almost desperate vocals. Partnering on the vocals is Nicholaus Sparding who softens the vocals sounds with a melodic tone. My highlight tracks on this album are "Give It Back" it has a softer sound then the rest of the album and uses the triangle which you don't hear enough of. (I was a great triangle player in elementary). Also tracks to check out are "Rumours" and "Big Bangs, Black Holes, Meteorites" This album won't be for everyone so: Check out their MySpace First. 

The Dears - Missiles:

Oh being a creative genius is hard, especially when you think your a genius and of course your wife agrees, this of course causes you to alienate the rest of the group and cause them all to leave. Well of course this is all just rumours. Since their great initial release of No Cities Left and their even better follow-up release of Gang of Losers they have lost almost every member in the band by the time the latest release was ready. Who was left? Well of course the mastermind of The Dears Murray Lightburn and his wife Natalie Yanchak, they have added some new members to help with the tour. My faith in how long the new members last is slim, but we will see I suppose. As for the album Missiles is a decent album although it has received positive reviews from the bigger music sites, I feel this album is a little flat. The band is still tight musically and I am a huge fan of Murray Lightburn's vocals, but it doesn't have that feel that the first album had with explosive energy and great arrangements. Lyrics on the album are also not as strong and insightful as the previous albums. Perhaps the band members leaving in the middle of recording caused the disappointed feel that this album carries. However, it is still a decent album from one of Canada's indie darlings. If you like the rest of the indie darlings ie. Metric, Broken Social Scene and the rest of them, then Buy It. 

Well that is three albums to check out and have a listen to until the next time I actually find time to post something. Also, I will be compiling the best albums of the year in a few short weeks, so if any of the readers have input please drop me a email to sopossible@gmail.com and I will be posting the results by Dec. 24th. To update you all on other music news in and around town(Calgary...soon to be Toronto) here is some upcoming shows that you might want to check out. 

November 25th - The Herbaliser will be playing the Warehouse (if you don't know Herbaliser and want to see a good show this is the one to see). 

December 17th - MSTRKRFT will be playing at the Whiskey

February 23rd - An Evening with David Bryne is coming the to Jack Singer Concert Hall (this will also be really cool to check out. David Bryne is awesome, check out his "Playing the Building" Art. Seriously very cool)

Hopefully, that fills every one's music needs for a little while, if there are actually any readers left on this blog. Again sorry for the long delay in between posts, I will strive to improve that. 

- Dave

" And Now I have found a new connection

   Being bored is really such a chore 

   Some of us out here don't know shit 

   Some of us don't even want to know" - The Dears - "There Goes My Outfit" off of the Gang of   Losers album