Arcade Fire made to Top 100 of Canadian Single songs

According to the Spinner Canada, Arcade Fire's " Wake up" has made it into the Top 50 of " Top 100 Canadian singles" it was the only song from 2000.

Here is the details of the article! I am so glad to hear that neither Drake or K'naan made it though. If you haven't checked out the live review of the band, check it out! : HERE

The Boxer Rebellion @ Horseshoe Tavern

It has been a very long time since I saw a show at one of Toronto’s best venues; The Horseshoe Tavern. I reckon it’s been more than a year… It's been way too long indeed.

I was there the other night, reveling in the quality of the sound system and the venue’s atmosphere – this place is truly legendary. 

The crowd was somewhat older than I was and my friend Natsuki was probably the youngest there. While I was talking to her, it shocked me that it was her very first show in Toronto – and she didn't know much about X Japan. I just felt really old... really old.

Enough about age; I was there to see the UK indie rock band, The Boxer Rebellion.  I came to know about the band after watching the movie, "Going the Distance" (Click here to read the post about the band)

The things that I noticed immediately were the tightness of the band. They played as one and there was no moment that I turned my head, wondering why the sound was off. The voice of the singer, Nathan was so high, however, his voice didn't sound whiny at all. Rather, it sounded as if it echoed through the air smoothly. It was very pleasant to listen to him sing. 

I especially like when they played heavier-high tempo songs. The guitarist was very intensely performing and it was very amusing to watch. I loved the style of the bassist as he reminded me of a true stylish English gentleman. The drummer was very consistent with the bass song, looking a little laid-back than everybody else, as though he was there to backup everyone. It was very entertaining to see these different individuals can pull the song together so tight. 

I was almost ashamed by the fact that I did not know about the band until recently. They are indeed legit band, who can create true music and perform a great show. They still have some shows in North America, so when they are in your town, it's worth it to check them out! 

The things that I noticed immediately was the tightness of the sound among the band. They played as one and there was no moment that I turned my head, wondering why the sound was off. The voice of the singer, Nathan was so high, however, his voice didn't sound whiny at all. Rather, it sounded as if it echoed through the air smoothly. It was very pleasant to listen to him sing.

I especially like when they played heavier-high tempo songs. The guitarist was very intensely performing and it was very amusing to watch. I loved the style of the bassist as he reminded me of a true stylist English gentleman. The drummer was very consistent with the bass song, looking a little laid-back than everybody else, as though he was there to backup everyone. hence, it was very entertaining to see these different individuals can pull the song together so tight.

I almost ashamed by the fact that I did not know about the band till recent. They are indeed legit band, who can create true music and perform a great show. They still have some shows in North America, so when they are in your town, it's worthy to check them out!

Guilty pleasure? or did we come to the end?

Before reading this post any further, please watch the video below.






I started thinking of this after reading a blog post by my favorite producer/artist, Butch Walker.(Click here to read his post.) He is such an amazing pop producer and it is very painful to read his blog because he is takes much of the blame on his shoulders for the problems in the music industry today. However, it is indeed a very sad truth that mainstream music has come to it's end. Only 4 chords were used for all these songs. As stated in this blog, the few amazing artists out there are underrated because they are not "catchy enough." to make $$$. I must confess that some songs from the top 20 stuck my head so many times and I totally agree with Butch that it is almost like a guilty pleasure to listen to these songs. I feel like a hipster in that sense. But seriously, what have we done to the music industry?

This is why I have to engage in writing more on these amazing artists from Toronto, who play and compose real music. The few ones left in this declining industry.

This video is very interesting as well if you haven't seen it. It is "4 chords" by Axis of Awesome.

Fun. is indeed so much Fun

On Saturday afternoon, I was waiting for my boyfriend to finish his work. I had nothing to do after finishing all items from my to-do list. As I got tired of the boredom,  this song, " Walking the dog",  hit the floor.. Yes, it is party time! wahoo wahoo~. Did you know that it is beer week in Toronto? Indeed, it is party time!

 It's the time to dance everyone!! I love the New yorker indie pop band, Fun. so much. They make my life even more fun :)


Fun. is coming to Toronto on November 30th at the Mod Club!

The Walkmen: Performing live on the interface

Happy Friday everyone! OMG, what a week! I have never been so happy to realize that today is Friday.

Right in time to brighten up my day, The Walkmen, just announced that there is a live performance on the interface according to Spinner Canada, (I love the site so much!!) Click here to check out the article!

They are currently on tour and will be in Toronto on Oct 9th at the Phoenix!

Check the Live performance on the site: Click here! You can taste a little bit of the Walkmen!

OK GO " White Knuckles"

One of my favourite bands, OK GO, has never ever disappointed me. They'd rather surprise me with their creativity since the treadmill video, " Here It Goes Again" 


They just released a new video for a song called " While Knuckles" on Monday and  it has already reached 1 million viewers! I guess it is not only me who is always waiting for them to do something crazy!

Click here to read an article from Spinner Canada the video

I am sure that you would love this.. check it out

Nathan Lawr and the Minotaurs: Free Download..

One of my favorite sites to check out new music is Spinner Canada. The site not only contains free listening of new albums of a week, but also there are enormous amount of daily news posted continuously. My favorite parts of the site are Listening Party, where you get to listen to new full CDs weekly, and MP3 of the Day, where you get to download free music. The site also primarily focuses on the Canadian indie artists, so it is perfect for our Music Psychos' readers!! If you haven’t heard of it – go check it out!!

This morning, while I was waiting for my friend to get ready, I came across with a band called "Minotaurs"  The free download of this entire week was from their album and I started listening to the song, "Caught in the light". This song really caught my ears’ attention immediately. The song starts with a jazzy percussion. Then very groovy tune fills in the atmosphere; filling the track with the sounds of guitar, trumpet and saxophone.  Moreover, what I like about this song is how the singer’s smooth soft voice flows with the music. The lead singer, Nathan Lawr, is also known as a supporting member from a various band, including  King Cobb Steelie, Sea Snakes, Jim Guthrie, Constantines, FemBots and Gentleman Reg. I don’t know what it is, but there is definitely something about his voice. I know Constantine’s' stuff pretty well as I own a couple of CDs, however, Nathan's stuff is completely different from them, in a good way. Exclaim, Toronto’s free Music newspaper, even stated that "Over the past decade, Lawr became a Romeo of underground folk-rock, writing of interpersonal affairs with his heart on his sleeve. That's how the Guelph, ON-based artist operates ― logic, passion, joy, and rage, all simmering to the surface"

I found out that there will be a Toronto Show on September 24th at Garrison!!! It's on this Friday!! I think it's worthy to go and check out how the band actually sounds like in a show. Which I am most definitely tempted to do. But of course, before the show, you can check out their music on either their My Space site, or Click here to download free MP3s from Spinner's website. I have no idea how long these links are available, so hurry and get the awesome music yo!

Radiohead- New material is gonna be ready soon?

 Happy Monday everyone? how are y'all doing this morning? tired after the weekend?It just seems like this weekend was very short..

As to brighten up your Monday morning, I found an article, which almost made me scream! Click here to check the Spinner Canada's article about Radiohead's new material and click here to check the original article on the Index on Censorship. I am pretty sure that they will astonish us again with the form of the release of the material likewise they did so with the last album, In Rainbows. 

The best way to start your day- Radiohead: Creep. It is actually my alarm tone to start my day!

Free Music Download- The Boxer Rebellion

As I went on and on about how great the public exposure from the movie Going the Distance was for  the London-based alternative rock band, The Boxer Rebellion ( Click here to read the post), I came to know that the band is sharing 5 free songs from their Facebook page!! Again, the band will be in Toronto on Sep 27th at the Horse Shoe Tavern. Don't miss this great chance to check out their music!!Click here to go to their Facebook Page.

 

All you need to do is ;

1. "like" the band page
2. go to "Free Music" tab,
3. then sign up for their Mailing list!!

Nothing is better than free and these are pretty easy steps! Enjoy!

The Boxer Rebellion- Going the Distance

It is very interesting to see the recent trend of strong ties with movies and indie music. This thought occurred to me when I first saw a movie called,  (500) of summer, staring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. It became one of my favorite movies not only because of the very truthful story line; but also the amazing sound track, compiled with a number of songs by the indie bands. In fact, Australian indie rock band, Temper Trap, became world widely recognized with the song "Sweet Disposition", which was used in the movie.



 Another example of this trend, is the Drew Barrymore’s "Whip it".  Although the soundtrack did not have 
 the strong hit like Sweet Disposition, it is still an decent one, including Go! Team, Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah!, and The Raveonettes. Moreover, one of the main characters was played by Landon Pigg, who is a Nashville-born singer/songwriter. I fell in love with his music since I first heard his most well known song; "Falling in love at a coffee shop" I am sure that you have heard of this song somewhere. It is very cheesy but I love it :)


In the movie, Landon featured in a band called Turbo Fruits and performed a song called "High Times"

The latest movie that I really came to realize the strong tie was "Going the Distance", a romantic comedy with Justin Long and Drew Barrymore. I saw a movie with my Korean girl friend, EunJi, who just went back to Korea this Tuesday (we miss you, EunJi!!) It was a great movie for a girl's night out. Despite the fact that lots of people think this movie is a typical unrealistic happy-ending movie, it was pretty fun and the story line was stuck with the reality of how harsh long distance relationships can be. Overall it was enjoyable to watch it (in fact, one of my favorite actors, Charlie Day, was in the movie too!)

Aside from the interesting storyline about long distance relationship, where the couple was struggling with the time difference, the  phone sex, having a doubt about each other, and all kinds of jazz, what most impressed me was the UK band, The Boxer Rebellion. As EunJi was pretty surprised when I told her that it was a real indie band, the band fit perfectly with the storyline about  Garrett (Justin Long)'s career. He works for a major music label, who committed to  juvenile artists( well in the real world, these "artists" like Justin Bieber, and Jones Brothers,, ) The couple saw the UK band played and really impressed with the performance. Then Garrett wishes that an amazing band like them should get the deal... well I don't wanna spoil the details of the movie, just in case you are planning to see the movie. When The band is performing on the stage during the movie, though they are supposed to be the background of the story, my attention was automatically drawn to them and I was wondering who they are and they really exist, which they do!

The Boxer Rebellion is UK alternative rock band, consist bands members from all over the world in UK formed around 2001: The U.S lead singer, the Austrian guitarist and English rhythm members. Their second album, Union, released in January 2009, and this album which climbed up on the UK iTunes ranking and triggered a number of attentions. They are touring the North America and they will be in Toronto On September 27th at the Horse Shoe Tavern.

What I like about this band is the beautiful harmony created by the lead singer and the melody lines. Nathan Nicholson, the lead singer has such a strong yet very clear voice that it just echoes with the melody created by the band. The melody line is so smooth and strong and it almost reminds me of the Cold Play (it is not because they are from UK though.) When I first listened to a song "Spitting Fire," I thought this song takes me to somewhere which is completely different - somewhere very imaginary and fantasy.

The movie, Going the Distance, was clearly awesome exposure to the public for the band. However, if the Boxer Rebellion did not have something to take, it would have not worth doing it. -which they do have something to take! It is always fantastic to see these unknown artists to get more publicity to these who are “music blind”.

I cannot wait to see them in a live to see how good they sound at a gig!! Here are a couple of songs from the movie by the band. Enjoy!

Steven McKay + Hooded Fang:CD release party @ Garrison

It was an invitation from a band called the Hooded Fang. I have liked the Torontonian band since I first saw them opening up for The Rural Alberta Advantage at the Horse Shoe Tavern. It was about a year ago, but I still remember talking with my friend Matt; sipping beers at a table at the venue how great they sounded compared to the other opening band. (Unfortunately I cannot recall the name of the other band) I especially remember how fun they sounded.
Once I got home from the gig, I "liked” the band page on Facebook, and since then I have been getting any show notifications from the band. I had not had an opportunity to see them again (somehow there was always a schedule conflict) So when I got a notification a week ago, I told myself that this time I would LOVE to make it and see if I can really dig in their music. But I found that they are opening for someone else.... named Steven McKay. Wait a sec… a thought occurred." If I don't like this guy's stuff, it's not worth it"

So I started checking his stuff on My Space. His music is a bit different from Hooded Fang. Conversely, I liked it immediately I initially heard of a song called "Slow Down" I wanna know where they shot the video!! It looks very familiar to me. The tune is very relaxing-the best kind of music to listen to Sunday afternoon with your favourite coffee or tea :)




I checked out some more stuff on YouTube. His music is not constrained within the Folksy pop music, but there is some songs that reminds me of Casanova or even something closer to Hawaiian music. He has a new CD coming up. I don't know many details about the new CD. However; the show with Hooded Fang at the Garrison this Friday (September 17^th) is the CD release party and the cover charge is only 3 bucks!!!. Did I hear that right? Yes you did! Only 3 bucks!! The show starts at 9p.m! Moreover, according to the Facebook message that I have received, there will be a BIG, CRAZY cake!!!!! I have such a sweet tooth!!! I have to be there for sure. The details of the show can be checked by Clicking here

So it is not too late, clear up your entire schedule on Friday night and join Steven McKay and the Hooded Fang's show! I will be there! So if you find me, don't hesitate to say, "Hey, what's up Music Psycho?!?!!!" :)

Here is another song by him called "Andy's house" Enjoy!

Gackt in Toronto

I have never imagined a day that a Japanese rock singer/song writer, Gackt, will be in the T-dot. He is not really well-known in Toronto; though there are a quite few Gackt fans in this city. He has also never had a North American tour. So I didn't think in a million years that he would ever come to Toronto. 





I remember back when I was in grade school. The Japanese music scene had been altered dramatically with the emergence of a new genre called "Visual Rock"- aka Visual Kei.- bands in gothic makeup and flashy costume were everywhere on TV. Following with the starters of the genre, including X Japan, L'arc~ en~ ciel, Glay, and Luna Sea, a band called Malice Mizer started gaining its popularity quickly – due in part to their unique lavish historical costumes and a mind-blowing live sets. I fell in love with this band, especially with the lead singer, Gackt, and lead guitarist, Mana. 








Although the band seemed to be perfect, Gackt, suddenly left Malice Mizer and announced that he will be working on his solo project immediately. It was due to a conflict among members of the band. Since then, Gackt has been one of the best Japanese rock singers over a decade. His gorgeous looks and deep, sexy voice took over my heart.





Here is another one of my favorite songs by Gackt



It was in recent years that he had started to focus on not only his music career, but also commenced his acting career. He had a couple of movies and TV shows that he worked on. One of them was called "Moon Child", in which Gackt had a starring role along with the lead singer of L'arc~ en~ ciel, Hyde.

Gackt made his international debut at the Toronto International Film festival with an American  movie - Bunraku. Gackt stars along side Josh Hartnett, Demi Moore, and Woody Harrelson. I am very sad that I did not know anything about the movie till yesterday and did not get to see him here in Toronto. The movie was presented at the TIFF Midnight Madness at Ryerson Theater last night. There are two more screenings listed below.

• 
  
  
  • Tuesday September 14
  • 10:15:00 PM
  • SCOTIABANK THEATRE 2
• 
  
  
  • Friday September 17
  • 5:00:00 PM
  • SCOTIABANK THEATRE 2

Unfortunately all the tickets for this movie are sold out. Good luck in the rush lines everyone! See this if you get the chance!

It is very exciting to see Japanese singer trying to get exposure from all over the world :) GO GACKT GO~!!!

Black Mountain - Wilderness Heart

Happy Friday Music Psychos!! How's it going?

My apologies for not updating anything for a week. My life has been insane as hell!! All is well though. I am just running around here and there. I have some exciting news coming up soon and I should be able to share them hopefully by the end of this month. So stay tuned will ya? I am 150% sure that you would LOVE this announcement.

I’ve had a couple of people ask me when I even have a time to check out new bands and music despite my chaotic schedule. My motto is "There is always time to do things if I try to find it!" So I do so whenever I get any spare time - usually when I commute to work (just in case if you don't know me well, I commute over one hour everyday to go to work - coz it worth it) My best morning of the week is Thursday morning. Indeed, it is my favourite morning of the week. It is not the Saturday and Sunday mornings when I get to sleep in longer. It is not only because I treat myself with the Starbucks' Grande Mild, it is because I always grab the Now Magazine – one of Toronto’s two free weekly magazines. It contains everything that you need - weekend events, all the show listings, show reviews, disc reviews, and  movie reviews and so much and so forth. When I find any disc reviews, it is the first thing that I do when I get to work is to check out the band on Grooveshark or iTunes. 

Per my usual ritual yesterday morning, I grabbed a copy of Now Magazine covering TIFF. I checked out the disc reviews on the VIVA bus. I found the Disc review of Black Mountain's new album, Wilderness Heart. Now magazine even claimed the band as "Canada's best Psych rock band" and gave four stars on the review. -this means, I MUST check the band immediately. Shamefully, I did not know anything about the band. I had never heard of them. This comes from my lack of focus on the music scene between 2005 to 2008 due to my school and all that jazz. So I looked them up and here is what I got.

Black Mountain is the BC born psych/ metal band, who was once nominated and remained as the finalist for 2008 Polaris Music Prize. See, I am telling you, I have no idea how dare I missed this amazing band till now! Well nothing is too late I guess. 

The new album "Wilderness Heart" contains a various range of songs- it is not restricted to one genre. A song like, "The Hair song", is a rock song, which reminds me of the Black Keys' groove, other songs like, "Roller Coaster" rang a bell of heavy rock like the Kills. Furthermore, this album also contains songs like" the way to go" and " the space of your mind"  which are more bluesy/folkish well I should not have compared this band to others, but what I mean is that this band is amazingly talented that this band can pull it off anything. It is also very easy to listen to the very first time of listening to the album as it contains a various kinds of music, so you don't get bored in the middle of albums, wondering why all the songs sound the same. But not only that, it will also grow in after repeating the album all over again.  This album will be available on Sep 14th and Black Mountain will be in Toronto on October 31st, at the Phoenix. It definitely a good idea to have your Halloween party at their show, dressing up as your favourite costume. 

Escalate! “Other Brothers”

It was an unusually hot and humid Sunday afternoon during the last week of August. Nonetheless I figured I would brave the heat and explore the city with new SLR (Thank you Bryen!) 

While hunting for food with my friend Eric, we suddenly stopped right in front of a band performing in Kensington Market. It was pedestrian day in the market, which happens every last Sunday of the month in the summertime. I could not help but stop to watch the band play- it was a Toronto Jazz-groove band called “Escalate!” performing on the street with a growing audience around them.

The very catchy organ sound from their song, "Aquatic" was bouncing back and force in my ears as though I already had known the tune before. The songs that they played were all instrumental-which is not normally my cup of tea. However; the moment I heard the tune I was lost in the groove and couldn't resist listening to them. When I first passed by their performance, I was only able to listen to two songs (one song was definitely Aquatic; I’m not sure what the other song was) After finishing the set, I and Eric went to grab their CD and I got the second album released in 2009, "Other brothers" and he got a wrist band -which reminded us of the movie, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World!” 

We passed by the band second time when we decided to head to a different part of the city- though, it was very hard to get through it not only because it was jam-packed, but also the tunes from the band was just so hard to miss. When I spoke with the bassist, he has mentioned that they play on the Pedestrian days at the Kensington every month and has a couple of shows at different venues around the city, which you can check out from their face book page (Click here to go to their face book page)

After listening to the CD repeatedly, I am now a big fan of the band! I love the song  "Sup, Sun" and "Aquatic" so much that I have been listening to the songs on endless repeat (“Aquatic” is now my ring tone - no longer is my theme song, "Drunk Girl” by LSD sound system !!) I would love to check out the first album pretty soon for myself :) It is seriously worthwhile to check out this band!! Don't miss out! – “Escalate!” is strongly recommended by Kanae :)