Listen Up!: Peter Broderick

i know i've talked quite a bit about what all this new severely over-processed music has done to the music industry, and while i can hardly say that i don't enjoy a good dub beat any less than the next guy it's certainly nice to take a step back every once and a while.  enter Peter Broderick, a 24 year old musician and composer from oregon.  he began his music career by essentially learning to play any instrument he could get his hands on.  while he's spent a few years doing work with groups of other artists (Zooey Deschanel, Dolorean, Laura Gibson) shorting after his tour in 2007 with Efterklang, he began to record his own solo music, the most recent album being How They Are. albeit a little strange (as most great musicians are) i really appreciate that Broderick isn't afraid to explore empty space within his music. i think layered silence in music is fascinating because the anticipation grabs your attention and forces you to listen more than any catchy beat could ever do.  while he remains an incredibly talented individual (i'm not kidding. he's able to play the guitar and piano at the same time...i'd like to see you try that) he isn't afraid to keep things simple and honest and allows the listener to really focus on one element at a time.

You will like him if you like: James Taylor, Damien Rice, Nils Frahm, Iron and Wine

Why he's important: his willingness to explore silence and how that can function within music is something that i don't see being done anywhere else to any great effect (i really hope he continues to explore this further). on top of having a beautiful voice, Broderick also has strong musical composing chops.  i think a lot of listeners need to be reminded of composing as art form separate from most other popular music and as something that hasn't died with beethoven but is still in fact very valid and current and worthy of our generation of listeners appreciation.

Songs to listen to: "Sideline", "Guilt's Tune", "With the Notes in my Ears", "And It's Alright", "With a Key"

- J

Listen Up!: Hawksley Workman

so i thought this year of blogging should be commenced by one of my all time favorite canadian artists, Hawksley Workman. born Ryan Corrigan in huntsville ontario, Hawksley Workman is one of those incredibly prolific artists that you unfortunately don't hear about often enough. he released his first album For Him and the Girls in 1999 and since has released a total of 11 albums, the most recent being Milk and Meat both released this past year.  in addition to putting out albums at a rapid fire pace, he also works as a producer, engineer, and songwriter for himself and others.

what i love most about this unabashed canadian is his fearless approach to music.  in all of his 11 albums, Hawksley stays very true to his rock roots but is still able to create many different feelings through sound within this genre.  because he works so quickly on these albums there is no time for over processing so each song feels incredibly sincere and fresh.  you can feel Hawksley's excitement for his music not through fast-paced beats or crazy guitar riffs, but simply through the honestly of his vocals.  he also approaches his music with a great degree of humor which i find extremely admirable.  while many artists are trying to make some grandiose statement about the world, Hawksley sings stuff like "thank goodness you're timeless, cause my watch got stolen". all in all, i'm very proud to share a country with this prolific man.

You will like him if you like: Danny Michel, Joel Plaskett

Why he's important: in a music market that is so focused on perfecting albums and over processing songs before they're put to release, Hawksley Workman accepts the imperfections and honestly in his recordings.  he also isn't afraid to embrace the (sometimes subtle, but usually fairly blatant) humor of his lyrics and plays it up with a wide range of vocals and upbeat, funky rhythms. 

Song to listen to: "We'll Make Time", "No Sissies", "Your Beauty Must Be Rubbing Off", "We Dance to Yesterday","Not Your Parents Music", "Jealous of Your Cigarette", "Complicated Man", "Warhol's Portrait of Gretzky", "Fatty Wants to Dance"

- J

Watch It!: The Raveonette's "Black/White"

happy boxing day everyone!!! i have to admit this is one of my favorite days for the year (along side christmas) because of the massive dutch family gathering we always have.  i'm heading off to that in a few moments but i thought i should catch up with a quick post in the mean time.

this is a music video from The Raveonettes, a danish alternative rock duo (i know, again with the northern europe artists! i can't help myself) which was created in 2001. this song comes from their 2008 EP Beauty Dies.  the song itself follows the typical style of the band mashing up sixties laid back swagger including guitar riffs reminiscent of psychedelic rock bands, while infusing a driving beat and rolling bass licks (the coolest of which i've heard in a while). this music video, directed by Chris Ho, uses this rolling motion as the basis of the video.  each scene builds upon the next and is constantly shifting such that you can't really be sure exactly where you are headed.  the video uses graphics which allude towards shadow puppets giving the video a very dark and fuzzy edge. as the song itself explores opposites (black and white), the video represents this through also exploring black and white as well as light and dark, happy and sad, beautiful and ugly, so on and so forth. the music video also evokes images of a fairy tale which in turn represents the elements of dark and light (original fairy tales are quite graphic and gory, while the modern day remakes (thanks to disney) represent a much more toned down light version of the tales).  over all this video is extremely visually interesting and compliments the videos sixties psychedelic vibe. plus the song in incredibly addictive. 

Watch it here

Enjoy

- J

Listen Up!: Fredrik

back to some music that's a little more easily digestible than yesterdays (again, sorry about that, but i just had to) Fredrik is another band i've been wanting to blog about for awhile.  they are a swedish indie experimental band. front man Fredrik Hultin and bandmate O.Lindefelt originally created the band as a duo however have continued to bring on other artists to help with the creation of their albums.  for their release Na Na Ni in 2008, they banned with other artists to create a group fo six, but more recently for their release of Trilogi, they added Anna Moberg.  i think this bringing on of different artists really helps them to keep their sound so fresh and interesting. the music they create is quite solid at the base with lots of hard rhythms and downbeats, however the beautiful part about it is the intricate bells and guitar riffs which float over everything.  this kind of airy music seems to be highly linked to northern europeans (you only have to look as far as music heavyweights Jónsi and Bjorn to see it).  it must have something to do with the landscape or climate.  what i love most about it is that it's energy isn't overwhelmed by its lightness.  there is still a strong driving force behind everything which you both feel and hear.  probably the best description of the band's album Trilogi comes from musicremedy, 

"Together they represent a trilogy of contemporized viewpoints of the Lovecraftian dream passage - orientation at great cost and understanding at the risk of sanity."

unreal

You will like them if you like: Jónsi, Solander, Radiohead, Zero 7, Oren Lavie

Why they are important: the music is simple and soft, yet has an unstoppable driving life force behind it.  none of their songs can be labeled happy or sad or melancholy or whatever because they are constantly mixing elements of darkness and lightness which keep each piece in constant motion.  what i admire most is that they don't simply rely on their own capability as artsits, but are always willing to take on others visions and opinions and thus each time they create something, while it still holds the same basic idea, it never gets stale.

Songs to listen to: "Na Na Ni", "Angor Sleepwalking", "Holm", "11 Years", "Locked in the Basement", "Milo", "Ava", "Viskra", "Black Fur" 

- J

**P.S. if you have trouble finding their stuff on youtube (which is fairly difficult to navigate) listen to them at their myspace page here

Just the Cuddliest Dog

this is magdalene one of my very good friends dogs. she is the sweetest puppy on the block and i love her. thought i should share

- J

Listen Up!: Flux Information Sciences

ok...stick with me on this one because it gets a little weird. Flux Information Sciences is a noise rock trio formed in 1996 (i know, usually i write about newer artists, but this group has been holding my attention in a vice grip since i first heard them).  the last album they put out was in 2001 with a release called Private/Public, and soon after this they went their separate ways, with front man Tristan Bechet forming his own label Pinksock Records and putting out various other experimental albums.  however during the time this band was together, they managed to create some really bizarre but captivating stuff. i don't know that i can fully explain why i'm so drawn to it and i'm sure some of you will disagree with me that this band should even be recognized.  i think it has something to do with their intoxicating rhythms which are really the only element which holds their music together (for the most part).  each song begins very simply, usually with a single beat or note, but very quickly digresses into a symphonic mess with disconnected phrases and some really absurd sound effects.  you never end up quite where you started with their music and are left at the end feeling quite disoriented and strangely energized.  or at least that's what it does to me.  i really suggest to give this band a try, even if they don't become a spotlight on your iPod, because their music truly is an experience.

You will like them if you like: Sonic Youth, Broken Social Scene, The Mars Volta

Why they are important: they start with something extremely simple and take you somewhere so completely foreign that its hard to know where you started. it's a true experience through sound, as opposed to using words to communicate a specific meaning.  there is no definite way to describe their music and so remains more or less mysterious. whether or not you like it, it grabs your attention.

Songs to listen to: "Love", "Priceless Memories", "Luxury and Excitement Meet", "Celebrity Cruises"...i leave it up to you if you are adventuresome enough to explore more

- J

Starting to think of Christmas

- J