Gentleman Reg | “Over My Head”

Of all the Canadian indie rockers living in Toronto, it’s Gentleman Reg that I see the most. Not only is he quite distinctive-looking, but he seems to be out and about everywhere I go, at shows, cafés, record stores. Can’t I just be left alone?!

Here’s one of his videos for his cute-popsy from 2007.

Gentleman Reg – Official site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Buy

Woodhands | “I Wasn’t Made for Fighting”

I have a friend who complains that dance-rock has finished its run. I don’t know. If Woodhands can extend the era into this new year, I wouldn’t have any issues with that at all.

Woodhands – MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Islands | “Creeper”

Sometimes it takes a few years before a band hits me the right way. I was a big fan of The Unicorns, so when they gasped their last breath in late 2004, I played the scorned lover and erased everything about them from my memory. I even foolishly discounted Nick Thorburn’s next project, Islands.

It’s too bad because I feel like I’ve missed out on a couple of years of fun, including this keeper from 2008’s Arm’s Way.

Islands – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Constantines | “Credit River”

Well, how appropriate. Even indie bands are getting all messed up in this WORLD-ENDING! ECONOMIC! CRISIS!

And looks like I’m feeding into it, too.

Constantines – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Zunior

Arcade Fire | “Neon Bible”

La Blogotheque consistently blows me away, turning songs I think are so-so into vivid pieces like this one. This is one elevator I wouldn’t mind being trapped in.

Also, am I the only one who hopes that guy doesn’t run out of magazine pages?

Arcade Fire – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Human Highway | “The Sound”

It’s a cutesie video, I suppose, but the song itself holds my attention infinitely more. Team cocktail by Jim Guthrie and Nick Thorburn of the Islands.

Human Highway has a CD release party and performance on December 16 in the Tranzac Main Hall. Tickets available from Tranzac, Soundscapes, Rotate This, and PopMontreal.

Human Highway – Myspace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

We Are Wolves | “Psychic Kids”

Before I actually went to university, this is what I thought my life would be like.

We Are Wolves – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Said the Whale | “Curse of the Current”

It’s been almost nine months since I left Vancouver. But now that CBC Radio 3 is playing this Said the Whale song for what seems like 92 times a day, on loop, it’s forced me to think of it over and over and over again. I’m getting a little verklempt over here, guys. Stop it, or I may have to curse the current of radio overkill.

The video here is a little slow, but if you have any ties to that rainy west coast city, it may make you all moody and verklempt, too.

Said the Whale – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm

New Pornographers | “Myriad Harbour”

“I took a plane, I took a train. Who cares? You always end up in the city.”

I’m here again in NYC, and may be stranded at Bleecker and Broadway looking for something to do. Except I got here by bus, actually — $15 from Toronto to NY, take that! — and my three weeks here is already jam-packed with appointments and photo shoots. It’s-a gonna be a fun ride.

New Pornographers – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Run With the Kittens | “Blue Flame”

NXNE 2008 came and went in a flash. Now that I’m back in the city, it’s nice to immerse myself in the local music scene again. My friend and her music reviewing gang advised me I’d probably like RWTK, a local punk/rockabilly/rock/lounge outfit that performs weekly at the Cameron House.

One song in, and they got me. I think I’ll be a Cam House regular.

PS. This video is ace!

Run With the Kittens – Official Site | MySpace | Last.fm | Amazon

Final Fantasy | “The Ballad of Win and Regine”

I did the craziest thing and moved my butt back to Toronto. It was the last thing I could conceive of doing, and it’s precisely that that makes this decision exciting and ideal for me. Things have surprisingly come together in a matter of weeks, and I’m happy about this turn of events.

Now that I’ll be a little more “settled” and not travelling around from one North American city to another, I’m hoping to be a little more consistent with this site, at least by year’s end. My love for music is vast, and my love for video storytelling is equally intense.

In honour of my return, and my nostalgia for T-dot’s nightlife, my first video here is Final Fantasy’s “This Is The Dream Of Win And Regine”, filmed in Kensington Market’s hipster live music venue, The Boat. Yes!

Hayden | “All in One Move”

Since I left Toronto, I’ve lost track of Hayden. However, this video pops into my head every time I think about my childhood and the genuine love I had for music. I’m not saying I love music any less; youth was just a time when anything that had a beat was brilliant and worthy of repeat listens. I simply loved everything I heard.

I recall my days lip-synching on the coffee table to Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls” on our 8-track player. And though there’s no real comparison between the disco queen and this Canadian indie folk heartthrob, the video above of Hayden’s own adorable niece singing along to “All in One Move” reminds me of me… in that very short stage when I was young and fantastically adorable. Where have the years gone?

Hayden – Official site | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Feist | “1234″

“1234″ – Feist, on The Late Show with David Letterman

About 10 years ago, I dated a local musician who had a wandering eye and was infatuated with a new girl, a musician who’d just moved to Toronto from Calgary. Her name was Leslie Feist. I hated her before I even met her.

This fellow knew her, as did every starving musician in the Toronto music scene, and would frequently invite me out to her live gig, claiming she’d be the next big thing. And despite her talent, I cursed her under my breath. She possessed an annoying tendency to name-drop, and had all of these people in the audience captivated because of it, including this so-called boyfriend of mine. When he confessed he wanted to ask her out, I vowed to never support this girl again.

Fast forward to 2007, and, well, that guy is history (good riddance), and Leslie is going by the simple moniker of Feist, wooing international crowds, and landing an appearance here on Letterman. The hatred has fled. She’s earned her success… and my respect. But the greatest thing of all is what once annoyed me: her trait of acknowledging people with whom she’d performed or collaborated is really commendable, especially since she does hobnob with some of the scene’s great talents. Here, she brings members of the New Pornographers, Mates of State, The National, and Grizzly Bear up on stage to back her up on this uppity song.

PS. Watching this makes me really miss the sweater-wearing Letterman.

Thank you, Good!

Rheostatics | “Shaved Head”, “Aliens”, “Lovers in a Dangerous Time”

“Shaved Head” – Rheostatics

Rheostatics are the only band that’s seen me through the final stages of puberty, giant glasses, secret crushes, a move away from home, the burning of my high school diaries, my first relationship and fling and series thereafter, my travels, and my ultimate move here to Vancouver. I’m sure there’ll be more chapters that need their soundtrack score, but since they’ve thrown in the towel a few months ago at their final Massey Hall concert ever, I’m left to feed on nostalgia.

They were one of the first bands I’d seen live in Toronto (at the now defunct X-Rays on Queen West), and from that moment, they plunged me not only into the mid-’90s Toronto music scene but raised the bar to make me the curmudgeony judgmental music critic that I am now. They were artistically innovative and did a fantastic job at creating and fostering community within their fan base. Even fellow Canadian musicians, including ex-Barenaked Ladies’ Andy Creeggan and The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie, got in on the game.

Uniquely Canadian. Aside from those one or two American fans in the audience, I wonder if anyone outside of this country actually “gets” their stuff. Do you?

“Aliens” – Rheostatics

This was the first track I’d heard from them. Note the young Barenaked Ladies cameo at the beginning, to which they responded by inviting the Rheostatics in for their video clip cover of Bruce Cockburn’s “Lovers in a Dangerous Time”:

“Lovers in a Dangerous Time” – Barenaked Ladies

Final Fantasy | Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy”

Pardon me as I break blog etiquette: this is my second consecutive post on a pop princess cover song. Egads! Typically this would be deserving of walking the Internet plank, but I break etiquette with purpose because, well, Final Fantasy will be on tour with Great Lake Swimmers this fall, and I think everyone should drop what they’re doing and just go and see both of these guys if you want to fall in love for an hour or so. Besides, the performance above is particularly charming and makes me want to grab Polaris music winner extraordinaire, Owen Pallett, by his plaid shirt and pinch the bejesus out of him. Oh, my lad, if only you liked girls! Sigh.

So without further ado, I present this talented boy and his infamous FF sampling/looping magic (fellow Canucks Danny Michel and Feist also do wonders with this technique), producing one sweet, sweet cover of Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy”, sans roller blades and exposed bellies:

Final Fantasy – Official label | MySpace | Last.fm | Amazon

Similar artists: Arcade Fire, The Hidden Cameras, Picastro, Andrew Bird, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone