Kyle’s Six Pix - Vol. 68
Nov 27, 2008 Besnard Lakes, Frightened Rabbit, Portishead, Steel Pole Bath Tub, The Hold Steady, Tomboyfriend
Art Imitating Life Imitating Art Edition
6. Steel Pole Bath Tub – “Train To Miami”, This is from the early 90’s, yes I’m still stuck in nostalgia-land. You may recognize part of this track because it’s being used in the commercial for “Left 4 Dead”. I will be taking a shotgun to zombies while I await the next Romero movie. This is not a video at all, but it was the best version I could find.
5. The Hold Steady – “Stay Positive”, I think I first heard this band on the soundtrack to “I’m Not There” and I’ve been listening to them since then. You should check out (on Wiki) how many Pix favourites they have played with; it’s too many to list here. This is their new single, it’s pretty powerful and their lyrics get better with every album.
4. Besnard Lakes – “Devastation”, It just wouldn’t be an edition of the Pix without an animated video…These guys were 2007 Polaris prize runners up. This band was created by a husband and wife team and named themselves after a lake in Saskatchewan. They are friends with Stars and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, which makes me wish they were my friends.
3. Frightened Rabbit – “Set You Free”, I’ve been singing praises of this band for a while now; Barnudio and Honey Bee watched these guys with me a while back. They blew people away! This is a cover of a song by N-Trance, who I honestly had never heard of because (holy crap) they suck balls. I’m trying to figure out if this is ironic or not.
2. Portishead – “Magic Doors”, If I was in a coma, all you would have to whisper in my ear to wake me up is “new Portishead single”. Of course I’d know if you were lying and if it takes them ten more years to record; it would be a lengthy coma. This is absolutely fantastic!
1. Tomboyfriend – “End Of Poverty”, These guys are as indie as it gets; they have fewer than 300 friends on their MySpace page, they still make home made concert posters and they enlist their artist friends to make video collages. This video was put together by Margaux Williamson, who I had the pleasure of working with at Aboveground Art Supplies many moons ago. Not only is she a talented artist, but a really nice person too. She took other peoples’ dancing videos and cut them together to make this, this project was featured on CBC.ca, pretty sweet!
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Kyle’s Six Pix Vol. 40
Aug 3, 2008 Caribou, Frauke, My Morning Jacket, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Portishead, The Mountain Goats
Originally posted on Cuzoogle on May 15, 2008
Heartbreaking Work of Simplistic Persistence Edition
6. Caribou – “Sandy”, Playing power pop in a small space is always a challenge, but this sounds pretty good to me. I’ll be listening to this all summer, if I was going on a road trip…this would make the soundtrack.
5. Portishead – “The Rip”, Pix purists will recognize this track from two months ago, but that version was live and unpolished. This, the album version, is far superior in my opinion and the video is pretty sick. The animation reminds me of the Cancon standard, the “Log Driver’s Waltz”.
4. Frauke – “Parasite Fungus”, This modest band is from New York and they have hilarious song titles like “Canadian Girlfriend”, “Emoticonspiracy” and “Rikers Island Boyfriend”. They also claim to have written music for children’s shows on German public television. Does such a thing exist?
3. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – “More News from Nowhere”, If I had my own bar, there would be an open invitation for Nick Cave to play every night. He has one of those bourbon soaked voices that just melts me. Strippers are fun too. There’s a celeb or two at the bar, know who they are?
2. The Mountain Goats (remixed by Aesop Rock) – “Lovecraft in Brooklyn”, I cannot stop raving about this band. John Darnielle is an amazing lyricist and he has a very unique singing style. Aesop Rock is a beat master and this isn’t their first collaboration. The video is pretty cool too.
1. My Morning Jacket – “I’m Amazed”, The first time I heard this track, it knocked the bottle out of my hands. It has a definite classic rock feel to it, but the guitar work is incredible. MMJ is coming back to Toronto this summer and I’ll be there; mouth and eyes wide open.
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Kyle’s Six Pix Vol. 31
Aug 2, 2008 Los Campesinos, Modest Mouse, Monade, My Morning Jacket, Portishead, Spoon
Originally posted on Cuzoogle on March 20, 2008
Creating a Rumpus Edition
6. Spoon, Sometimes I feel guilty for liking “it” bands, but I can’t turn down good pop songs. The animation in this video reminds me of old school South Park meets Monty Python.
5. Los Campesinos!, These guys are one my favourite bands of the last year and I love that they are just as entertaining live and acoustic. I’m still kicking myself for missing them last time they were in Toronto, stupid sleep deprivation!
4. Modest Mouse, A little while after their last album, a video circulated with the lead singer stabbing himself on stage with a bread knife. I got worried that they were going to burn out and quit. Glad I was wrong.
3. My Morning Jacket, These guys have a new album coming out and if it all sounds like this track there’s a guy in Thailand who will be just as happy as me.
2. Monade, If this band reminds you of Stereolab or Slint, your observation would be astute. I’ve been practicing my French lately and this song makes me smile. Thanks to Max’s owner for the heads up.
1. Portishead, I’ve been anxiously awaiting new music from these guys for almost ten years, that’s like a third of my life. It’s been like waiting for a pizza that you ordered and keep calling to find out why it’s not there yet. For me, there’s no such thing as bad pizza or Portishead.
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