100th Post Extravaganza

Okay, so this isn’t so much an extravaganza as it is a pretty typical song of the week, but I figured I’d do something a little special for such a monumental occasion as our 100^th post. Yes, it was just 8 short months ago I started haphazardly spewing my opinions out onto the internet. Luckily the ranting got a little more coherent with time...

So I want to thank everyone for reading – from the friends I forced into reading this, to the family I threatened, to the people who accidently stumbled across this page while they were looking for porn – I appreciate each and every one of you for taking a few minutes out of your day to read such hard-hitting editorials as The Afterthought Post and Afterthought 2: Electric Boogaloo.

And of course I can’t forget to thank Ryan. Whether it was name dropping Summer Glau (virtually igniting our search queries overnight to an unprecedented level of slightly above zero) or his passionate defence of the ill-fated The Cape, he was huge part of these last hundred posts and he deserves a ton of credit for all the work he’s done. Hopefully next season’s schedule will bring him a new comic book themed show that lasts a little longer than 9 episodes.

Anyway, to mark the occasion, instead of scouring the airwaves for a new up and coming band with a fresh sound, I’m just going to give you one of my absolute favourite songs instead.

Ladies and Gentleman, without further adieu, one of the all time classics:

 “Dammit” by Blink-182

Here’s to a hundred more!

Song(s) of the week

This week’s pick:

“Home” and “Janglin” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Where I found Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: I’m a little late to this party, I know, but over the past week it feels like this band has been hitting me over the head. First, I saw them on Conan’s concert series and then completely unrelated one of my friends introduced them to me again. Basically I went from having never heard of them to hearing them pretty much everywhere I went in under a week. It’s like I’ve been wearing blinders for the last two years. So I do apologise if this band is old news for you, but the only way I’m going to get over how much I love them at the moment is to tell somebody about them.

What I like: It’s just a refreshingly different sound. I love the big group mentality – the wide assortment of instruments, the huge group vocals – and yet they still manage to keep the songs feeling relatively down to Earth. They feel classic and modern all at the same time.

Home - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros


Janglin - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Song(s) of the week

I decided to try something different with this week’s song of the week. I’m going all the way back to the early 2000s. Oh what a magical time it was...

This week’s pick:

“Move On” by Jet

Where I found Jet: Dumb question. Better question – where did you find “Move On” and why is it worthy of a song of the week 8 years after its release? The answer: blatant nostalgia and the prime time teen soap behemoth that was The OC.

Now let me explain – I was an OC fanatic in high school. This isn’t something I’m ashamed of... actually I kind of embrace it. Those were just the times... in my high school the show was pretty much required viewing, and every Thursday after the episodes aired we’d gather round the cafeteria and discuss what happened the night before, lamenting about how we just couldn’t believe this show wasn’t winning Emmy’s.

It was around this time, in the height of my OC obsession, that I went out and bought the soundtrack to the show’s first season.  It was an impulse purchase at best and I’d be lying if I said I fell in love with it right away, but I kept it around and listened to it enough that eventually it started to grow on me.

It’s literally impossible for me to think back on those days now without associating those songs. I can still remember driving around in my parents van listening to the soundtrack over and over again, dreaming about moving to California one day... yeah, I really misinterpreted the main message of that show.

But I always find myself coming back to “Move On.” It may not be the most joyful song in the world, but I’ve always found some comfort in it whenever I’ve had to turn a corner. One thing’s for sure – whenever it comes up on my iPod it’s always a welcome listen.

What I like: It’s a well-sung, well-written song.

Move On - Jet

Song(s) of the week

This week’s pick:

“Undertow” by Warpaint

Where I found Warpaint: I actually have no idea. This was just one of those songs I had hanging around in the archives, but it does sound like something I would have picked out of a TV show, probably Grey’s Anatomy. Say what you want about the story on that show, it’s almost worth watching just for the music.

What I like: It’s a very subdued vocal performance but even the slight changes in voice from verse to chorus create an infinitely catchy hook that loops in and out throughout the song. I also love the way the band continuously messes with the arrangement to keep things fresh. The song may feel fairly low key, but it never gets boring.

Undertow - Warpaint

Song(s) of the week

The pick:

“Walk Around The Lake” by Lost in the Trees

Where I found Lost in the Trees: To be honest, these days I feel pretty much like Carson Daly’s middle man.  I’ve found so much great new music from his show it’s hard not to sound like a broken record in these things. Of course, really what I’m doing is providing a valuable public service. None of you bastards are stupid enough to stay up that late... I probably deserve a medal.

What I like: The one thing you can’t call Lost in the Trees is derivative. Who’d have thought combining acoustic guitar driven singer-songwriter type material with classical string arrangements would have created such an interesting sound? Then again, it doesn’t hurt that that singer-songwriter material is so brilliantly written in the first place. Either way, you’d be hard pressed to find another band out there with as inventive a sound. Enjoy!

Walk Around The Lake - Lost in the Trees