Pants! Pants! Pants!: December 2008

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Matthew's Finest

This week I'm picking a song that has been ignored by we two. The Rural Alberta Advantage is a band from Toronto that formed back in 2005 and stayed entirely off of my radar until they released their new album, Hometowns, earlier this year.

The band has been very well received, even making onto a substantial number of top ten of 2008 lists, including a few from prominent US bloggers; no small feat for a Canadian band. The album itself keeps yielding song after song that becomes an invaluable addition to my music library. I can't confirm the quality of the entire CD, thanks to my sporadic and infrequent method of attaining music, but what I've heard is fantastic.

The song is called Frank, AB and it's one of those musical journeys that gets a tighter hold of you the more you listen to it. I consider it to be a very obvious choice for my last official recommendation of 2008.

The Rural Alberta Advantage - Frank, AB [mp3]

Best of 2008 Playlist

This morning's show happened to fall on the last day of the year, which is a perfect time to look back on 2008 and listen to some of the best. The following is a small sample of wonderful songs we played on Green Eggs and Ham that made this year two thousand GREAT!

All the linked songs are downloadable mp3's.

1st Hour
Shotgun Jimmie - Bedhead
Said The Whale - This Winter I Retire
Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele - Meet Me In The Garden
Human Highway - The Sound
The Elwins - Dear, Oh My
Man Man - Rabbit Habbits
Throw Me The Statue - Lolita
Plants and Animals - Feedback in the Fields
Blitzen Trapper - Furr
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - Buriedfed

2nd Hour
Wolf Parade - Fine Young Cannibals
Boxer the Horse - Rock 'n Roll Band
The Format - Janet
Mystery Jets - Young Love
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Modern Mystery
The World Record - We're #1
Hexes & Ohs - H-h-highschool
Chad VanGaalen - City of Electric Light
Brazilian Girls - Good Time
Woodhands - I Wasn't Made For Fighting

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Matthew's Finest

This week my song comes from Brooklyn by way of Oregon. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson [myspace] is the name of the artist and the song is called Buriedfed.

The song itself is hard to pin down. It's slightly melancholic but it switches between being heartfelt and depressing to uplifting and having an ehr of triumph despite adversity. I don't usually go in for things that are uplifting, because it's too easy to appeal to a person's sense of self pity, but in this case I actually feel like conquering my demons. For a whole four minutes and fifty-one seconds I want to punch my childhood bullies in the face and do push-ups.

Miles' voice is so powerful that despite the relatively low level of instrumental involvement the song is very moving. It's a bit like the Star Wars trilogy; boring for a combined 4 hours, but then you find out that Vader is Luke's father and the whole thing becomes a rollercoaster ride of emotion and Ewok related hijinx.

It is exactly like the Star Wars trilogy because I like it a lot.

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - Buriedfed [mp3]

Also check out the video, which is of poor quality, but if you turn the brightness on your monitor up enough you can just make out the ghosts of people.

SotW for Dec. 17, 2008

I hate Sloan. I don't really know when my hatred for them became as intense as it is, but I hate the status they enjoy as "icons" of Canadian music. Their songs tend to be pretty damned boring, although singer Jay Ferguson's voice is pretty good, I must admit.

However, I really like Waterloo's Will Currie and the Country French whom I came across last year on the I Heart Music blog. Their piano-inspired tunes with Will Currie's songwriting made for a jolly good time. So imagine my surprise when the two acts collaborated on a song.

Push Pins was written by Will Currie who shares the vocals on the song with Jay Ferguson. They harmonize very well together and the song is a sugary pop gem. They recorded while touring together and Will Currie and the Country French have seen some good publicity as a result. In fact, the song is nominated for a Bucky Award. Let's hope they continue doing well.

Will Curry and the Country French & Sloan - Push Pins [mp3]

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

SotW for Dec. 10, 2008

Musical siblings rarely share the spotlight well. For example, there is no doubt as to which Jackson is more talented, Michael or Janet. Same goes for the Hanson brothers. Clearly Zac is the best mmmbopper of the bunch.

But when it comes to the Matthew and Jill Barber, it's hard to pick a favourite. The two Ontarians are both great singers and songwriters and successful on their own terms. However, given the choice, I will choose the big brother who once played the part of amateur radio host at Queens University's campus radio station. (It's like I can relate to him.)

From the 2008 album Ghost Notes, here's a short but interesting song by Matthew Barber. I especially like the piano opening.

Matthew Barber - I'm Gonna Settle My Accounts With You [mp3]

Matthew's Finest

This week I've chosen a song by Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. It's a collaboration with notable producer Brian Eno, a person/musician that I've always heard about, but never had any express knowledge of.

The song itself is more of the same from Byrne, in that it's awesome, it makes me feel like a child and it calms the monsters that resides in my soul. Byrne has a playful and whimsical style that reminds me what it's like to be free of all creative insecurity. Every interview that you see with the man makes you realize just how comfortable he is with himself and his music, even the ones where he's interviewing himself:

It also frees him up to do fun and crazy things like rigging up old industrial buildings to be played by a modified pump organ:

Most people will recognize his work with the Talking Heads, and i think this has more to do with his artistry than his skill as a musician. He'll be the first to admit that his voice isn't great, but that doesn't stop it from ringing true. It an affecting voice that works well with what he's trying to do.

The song is called Strange Overtones and in addition to the mp3 file, you can check out the video for it below.

David Byrne and Bryan Eno - Strange Overtones [mp3]