Hot Hot Heat - Ladies and Gentlemen Lyrics

After having seen them last week at a Holiday show in the city, and listening to a nice contemporary, (in Fall Out Boy) I had to pull this CD out again. One of my favorite Canadian imports, this CD was such a left hook from their previous album Make up the Breakdown (Which was EVEN MORE different from their album Scenes One Through Thirteen, which is, admittedly, not very good), but still REALLY good. Make up the Breakdown had some really great, catchy songs like Bandages and Talk to Me, Dance with Me, that really made for a great dance, On-The-Way-To-The-Party soundtrack. After the loss and quick replacement of their guitarist, their sound definitely changed. It’s a little more edgy, but still fun and full of inescapable hooks. I had a hard time picking a song off this CD, so I’d definitely recommend picking up the CD to listen to songs like Shame on You, Dirty Mouth, Elevator & Middle of Nowhere (Check out the video when you get a chance). If I had the attention span to stick with an instrument long enough to be sufficient in it, this is the type of band I would want to be in. Not to mention the singer has got this white boy afro/keyboard master/emo fashion sense that could bring the girls to their knees… Myself included. But I mainly blame the afro; Afros are a perma-weakspot. I can’t help myself.
Buy Hot Hot Heat-Elevators

Facedive - Derringer Lyrics

I’ve been kinda missing home lately, especially the whole local band scene. There’s tons of bands around here, but I haven’t found one worth investing myself in. I miss the bands I used to follow back home, like this one. Comprised of some of my favorite people, they were the goofiest kids on stage and played because it was fun and it was something to do. This band split up when one of the lead singers left for school in Florida. Now that he’s back in town, they’ve created another band whom I like to refer to as Foo-Fighters-Jr., but like to call themselves… Fuck Pluto, I think. They were in between names last I checked. If you’ve listened to In Your Honor, you’ll know what this band sounds like. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? And what better place to debut their ‘new’ sound than at the Dave Grohl co-owned club Black Cat? That si where they’ve booked a show for January. I’m really excited for them, that’s a pretty hefty venue, especially for a band who’s been together for… Three months? Might be worth a field trip back to the old stomping grounds.
Buy Facebook - The Extent of Things

Tegan and Sara - Walking with a Ghost Lyrics

Listening to the White Stripes version of this song makes me want to cry. It is… Well, awful. And after Hot Hot Heat, it’s clear that one good Canadian band deserves another. I’ve been avoiding this band for a very long time. They’ve always struck me as kind of gimmicky. They’re lesbian, identical twin sisters who sing together. That’s alot of different ways to market these ladies, and over the last year or so, I’ve seen it been done. But, after a while, I kind of got sucked in. This album is an improvement, talent and production wide from the last album I listened to, If I was You. But, it was ultimately the song Not Tonight from If I Was You that ultimately got me to cave and give the new album a shot. It’s short, sweet, and upbeat, despite its message of confusion and indecisiveness. After giving So Jealous a shot, I can definitely say this is my favorite song on the CD. It definitely is a more mature sound, and its so produced, you can see the shine from miles away. But, it is very good, if not as aggressive as their last outing. They’ve appeared to strike up a good partnership with Chop Shop Music Supervision, which has been responsible for putting together the music soundtracks for some of TV’s most popular shows. They’re getting played everywhere.
Buy Tegan & Sara-So Jealous

Gemma Hayes - Undercover Lyrics

Gemma Hayes - Undercover
I have been a fan of Gemma Hayes for quite some time. Since her Mercury Award-winning album, Night on my Side, she has been a permanent fixture on my favorite chick singers playlist. Her last album was really intriguing, as it had a day/night concept that was interestingly conceived and perfectly executed. The first half of the album was the ‘day’ section and consisted of some really rocking tunes with her ambly commanding the electric guitar. During the ‘night’ section however, it was nothing but her and a guitar. Very stark, very delicate. Absolutely wonderful to listen to with a cup of coffee and a book. This album, recorded in LA after a much-too-long two year break, is an excellent follow up. The album is a mixture of her rock/acoustic tendencies, with a little bit more focus on the latter. The sad thing is, I didn’t realize this album was done. I was watching Gray’s Anatomy and recognized her voice and nearly fell out of my chair. Did some websearching and saw that while her album won’t be released in the US until May 2006, it has been released overseas and is being promoted through a substantial UK tour. Seeing as how she moved to the US prior to this CD recording, I’m hoping she’ll actually embark on a real US tour. She is so talented, and her lack of presence here in the States is, to say the least, incredibly disappointing. I’m hoping this type of quiet promotion and word of mouth will really bring her up to where she belongs.
Buy Gemma Hayes-The Roads Don’t Love You

Fall Out Boy - Dance, Dance Lyrics

This blog and the blogwriter are not very big on the popular bands these days. Until I moved here, I couldn’t even remember the last time I turned the radio on looking for something other than NPR or the traffic and weather. But, this little band has actually caught my eye (Much to the dismay of my younger sister, who is embarassed that I like them. Whatever). This Chicago-based band was, according to the story, named after the Simpsons super hero during a show. They asked a crowd to suggest band names for themselves when they were first getting started and took a liking to a certain audience member’s suggestion. Like Hot Hot Heat, they are the perfect blend of dance music and rock and are fun to listen to. Not to mention they’re track listing makes for interesting reading. So, just in case you haven’t heard this song on your station ad nauseum, here it is again.
Buy Fall Out Boy-From Under the Cork Tree