Uzi and Ari | “Mountain/Molehill”

It seems as if I rarely have time to sit down and watch music videos anymore. My 12-year-old self would gasp with incredulity.

I had an amazing day today, cycling out to the Beach with one of my oldest friends in the world. We’re both in our 30s now, and spending an entire afternoon cycling around and chatting about life on the beach reminds me once again what’s most important in life.

But I still can’t skip a rock. Huh.

Anyway, I like the mood of this song. It makes me want to gobble up the world and never let go.

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

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

Fleet Foxes | “White Winter Hymnal”

This is my first proper winter back in Toronto. I wasn’t sure how I’d handle it all, given that I’ve either been in tropical countries or out in relatively balmy Vancouver for the past few years.

So far, the weather has been not that bad, really, with periodic snowfalls that have barely lasted a day. Today, I woke up to a beautiful landscape of flurries and then went out to play in it. A little over half an hour, I was surprised to feel a perma-smile on my face.

Am I romanticizing this weather too much? When will I get tired of this and purchase my one-way ticket to Cuba?

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

Matt and Kim | “Daylight”

I’m seeking a new replacement hobby for my leisure time (putting photography on the back burner); so far, the most thrilling idea is returning to my first love… video. (GASP.)

I just saw the effervescent Matt and Kim at the Whippersnapper last night. Their new clip here bleeds the juice I want to shoot down my gullet and spew back out at the world. The best execution comes around the 2:10 mark.

Matt and Kim – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

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

MGMT | “Kids”

One of my coworkers teases me about liking saccharine suburban dance pop, rife with handclaps and high-pitched vocals. Guilty. But she talks about it way more than I bring it up, so I get this inner-glow feeling that she is just trying to convince herself to hate them.

The other day, she admitted to liking this song and then cringed when she discovered it was MGMT. HA HA! In your face, non-believer! Sell out, just like I have!

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

Lykke Li | “Little Bit”

I saw this gal recently at Emo’s Annex during SXSW 2008. I knew nothing about her beforehand, thinking only her name sounded like something you’d do under the covers. Pretty cute and confident performer, especially given her age.

I think she’s gonna go places.

Lykke Li – Official Site | MySpace | 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!

Albert Hammond, Jr. | “In Transit”

“In Transit” – Albert Hammond, Jr.

If the hair, the clothes, and the attitude didn’t tip you off, that singing dude there on the right is the lead guitarist of the Strokes. Yep, that’s right, Albert Hammond, Jr., has gone solo. Maybe nothing legendary or innovative, but if you’re not afraid of pop, you could very well get caught in his very accessible vortex.

Albert Hammond, Jr. – MySpace | Last.fm | Wikipedia | Amazon

Montt Mardié | “High School Drama”

“High School Drama” – Montt Mardié

With all that caked-on make-up, the lad here looks uniquely sub-human in this video. Is he real? Is he a robot? And the leading lady’s not so attractive, either, looking incredibly awkward throughout the whole sequence. And since I have your attention, friends, allow me to rant about the use of speaking parts in songs: unless you’re Tom Waits you can’t pull it off, and you’re going to do a good job at making me cringe. The pointless high-school banter in this song is totally cringe-worthy, whether it’s done tongue-in-cheek or not. I’m scared.

However, let’s look past the awkwardness of this video and the spooky spoken word bits and let’s just get down to the dancing and the pure bubble-gum goodness of this song. For that, I’m willing to forgive.

Sweden’s got me again. Guh. I’m so predictable.

Montt Mardié – Official blog | MySpace | Last.fm | eMusic

Lavender Diamond | “Open Your Heart”

I had a chance to see Lavender Diamond at Vancouver’s Lamplighter earlier this year, and because I assumed the show would be drowning in way too much hippie for my liking, I declined the offer. And it was free. I never pass up a free ticket.

So now I’m whacking myself in my anti-hippie head, because I’ve actually learned to look past Lavender Diamond’s excessive use of exclamation marks and talk about peace, love and blah, blah, blah. I must say that she’s got a refreshing take on life, something of which my embittered soul needs an ample dose. Her music sometimes sounds kitschy, sometimes sounds straight from the heart, but it’s full of a love of life that doesn’t exist in a lot of music out there.

Also when listening to them, I imagine myself walking around in crowds of dancing people, kind of like in this video to “Open Your Heart” …except I wouldn’t look half as graceful on a pair of roller skates.

Stream Lavender Diamond’s Imagine Our Love album here.

Lavender Diamond – Official site | MySpace | Last.fm | Amazon

Similar artists: St. Vincent, Feist, Regina Spektor

The Bicycles | “Paris, Be Mine”

The Bicycles‘ new video for “Paris, Be Mine” is a start-stop romp of childhood memories, simplicity, innocence, and unbridled fun. Here they entertain themselves with a juicy game of musical chairs.

The Bicycles – Official site | MySpace | Last.fm | Zunior