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

Bat for Lashes | “What’s a Girl to Do?”

This is one of those videos that makes me wish I was a music video director, or at least had a bunch of interested friends to create something similar. The visuals stay with me even when I’m listening to the song on my iPod, and I believe it’s the best music-on-bicycles video, next to the Do-Re-Mi bit in Sound of Music. (And that’s some pretty tall shoes to fill.)

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!

Santogold + Tegan and Sara | “L.E.S. Artistes” vs “Walking with a Ghost”

“L.E.S. Artistes” – Santogold

Some of Santogold’s other songs, like “Creator”, sound like a right rip-off of M.I.A.. This particular one is a very polished number that sounds curiously similar to Tegan + Sara’s “Walking with a Ghost”. Is she getting hot off of other people’s proven formulas?

“Walking with a Ghost” – Tegan and Sara

Gosh, isn’t everyone?

Santogold – MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

To My Boy | “Model”

“Model” – To My Boy

I think this is what results if They Might Be Giants got stuck in a blender with Patrick Wolf. Electronic nerdy goodness.

To My Boy – MySpace | Last.fm | Amazon

Juiceboxxx | “Thunder Jam III”

If you leave a Juiceboxxx show without getting some of his sweat on your clothes, you must’ve been at the wrong show. JB is a crazy, off-his-rocker rapper from Milwaukee; his music itself may not be a selling point to those not into rap, but he’s raw, hot, and wraps you in when he gets on stage.

This is live music with no boundaries, and I beg you to get him to your city for a gig if you can. After all, everyone needs to be perspired on once in a while.

Juiceboxxx – Official Site | MySpace | 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

The Mae Shi | “Run to Your Grave”

I have this weird rule about not seeing bands more than once, unless they put on a fantastic show. Not only did I break that rule, but I saw these kids from LA THREE times in a span of THREE days.

Needless to say, these guys were, by far, the most engaging performers I saw at SXSW 2008. This video kind of says it all.

The Mae Shi – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Various | “Do you know it’s Hallowe’en?”

“Do They Know It’s Halloween” – bunch of indie kids

I’ve been slacking off. Sorry. But Halloween’s quickly approaching, so here’s the first themed video to celebrate. It’s an animated offering honouring Band-Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, with a cast including David Cross, members of Arcade Fire, Sloan, Postal Service, Wolf Parade, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and blah, blah, blah…

More to come!

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

Aphex Twin | “Come to Daddy” + “Windowlicker”

“Come to Daddy” – Aphex Twin

To date, this Chris Cunningham-directed number is still one of the most frightening things I’ve seen.

Even better, though, is Cunningham’s “Windowlicker”, an ingenious video that pairs a disturbing back-limo groping session with the grotesque face of Richard D. James/Aphex Twin pasted on the bodies of bikini clad women. The 4-minute-long vulgarities-rich intro is fantastically offensive. Gasp. It makes my skin crawl.

Clearly, this is one of the best music videos out there.

“Windowlicker” – Aphex Twin

Aphex Twin – Official site | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Malcolm McLaren | “Buffalo Gals”

“Buffalo Gals” – Malcolm McLaren

Every music fan has that pie in the sky, that unattainable pop nugget from their childhood. Mine’s Malcolm McLaren & The McLarenettes’ “Eiffel Towers”. I’ve been searching for this song for years and come up with nothing but track listings and references to Bow Wow Wow’s “Sexy Eiffel Towers”. That’s a classic song in itself, but it brings me nowhere near as much wiggle-in-my-seat joy as McLaren’s own mix, heard in the closing credits of that way overlooked ’80s romanticom No Small Affair starring a springy-fleshed Jon Cryer and pre-cougar Demi Moore.

Can anyone help? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Frye?

Malcolm McLaren – Official site | Last.fm | Wikipedia | Amazon

Rock Plaza Central | Pat’s Pub, Vancouver

With Eaton’s new electric guitar in tow, RPC’s blossoming into a distinctly more rocky sound than delivered at previous shows. There was a paltry gathering of diehard music fans, as evidenced in a review by Bunklelife. The friend I’d dragged to the show said something to the effect of “these guys deserve a much better venue than Pat’s”. I know I’ve avoided heading down to this venue at least three times purely based on location. I don’t know. I’m just saying.

Rock Plaza Central – Official site | Myspace | Last.fm | Amazon