Favorites - Week of May 9, 2011

I was pretty busy this week, but that never stops me from listening to my favourite songs.  So there isn't a whole lot of new songs this week, but still plenty of great ones.

5. "Sail" by Awolnation
Some songs have pushed this back down, but doesn't diminish how good the song is.

4. "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People
I was hearing this song everywhere and finally bothered to look it up this week.  It is super catchy and sounds like something Telus or Apple might use in a commercial.

3. "Got To Lose" by Hollerado
Creative music video and great music.  I love the opening vocal bit (the almost a cappella part).

2. "Fragile Bird" by City and Colour
Still can't what for Little Hell to come out!

1. "Damini" by Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker
Caught USS again as they dropped into Kitchener for a show at The Wax.  Highly energetic set, I would wager Human spent equal time on stage as he did on top of the crowd.

Favorites - Week of May 2, 2011

This week I was at the USS Approved release show, so I was thinking about doing my top 5 favourite USS songs.  Then I remembered how hard it is to pick my favourite USS songs, so here is my regular mix of favourites for this week.

5. "Adolescents" by Incubus
Five years since Light Grenades, Incubus is releasing their 7th studio album July 12.  Here is their first single off If Not Now, When? and it absolutely everything I expect from Incubus.

4. "Got To Lose" by Hollerado
Ever since I found their new one take video for "Got to Lose" last week, I've been listening to it a lot.  And I apologize in advance for the lame joke, but this song puts the 'rad' in Hollerado.

3. "Sail" by Awolnation
It might be possible that I've been listening to this song too much recently, but it is, as I said before, infectious.  But plenty new albums are on the way, so I might be able to unstick it from my brain.

2. "Fragile Bird" by City and Colour
This song really makes you want to sing, but of course no one can do it just like Dallas Green.

1. "Damini" by Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker
Really the number one spot goes out to the entire USS Approved EP, but I choose this to represent the EP.  I really suggest you get yourself a copy of the EP, it is only available on iTunes and at USS merch booths.
Warning: You are not going to want to be sitting during this song!

USS Approved Release Party

Last night was quite the party at the win to get in USS Approved release show with 102.1 The Edge at the Mod Club in Toronto.  First on the docket was Lee Serviss, winners for the month of May on Indie Online.  Lee Serviss is an acoustic folk duo, with some songs on the verge of country and others faster rock.  For a band comprised only of two acoustic guitars, they played some great music.  They clearly knew their way around their instruments, playing them quite skillfully.  Music wasn't their only talent, though.  The duo were quite the comedians and their dialogues between themselves and the audience were very entertaining.  They even when so far as to perform a cover of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight", making the drum solo noise with their mouths.  And as they pointed out, the lighting guy really knows how to put on a show.  There "single" will be playing on the Edge tomorrow, but you can listen to it on their Indie Online page now, it's called "On the Run".

Next up was Michou, a band I was unfamiliar with.  They're a loud pop and alternative band from Windsor, Ontario.  While I wasn't a huge fan of their really pop styled songs, I did like parts of the music.  They spice up their music with a trumpet and various percussion tools.  The keyboardist / trumpet player, Sasha Appler, had an obvious talent for music and the lead singer / guitarist, Michael Hargreaves, could sing well (although it was pop ballad vocals; not my cup of tea).  What I enjoyed most during their performance was the drumming.  The drummer, Stefan Cvetkovic, was energetic and really contributed to the music (as opposed to just providing a beat to keep time).  I was impressed by how well the band grooved together on stage and how they were skilled enough to improvise a little when Stefan broke a drum skin (with no other drummer in the house).  Every member of the band had some part in the vocals and all interacted with the audience.  I refer to Michael as the lead, but really any one of them could hold that title.  Overall, they played surprisingly well live (when many popular artists are crap live) and had a couple songs I enjoyed.  They were obviously not my favourite style, but something I'd listen to every now and then (then being May 11, when USS comes to Kitchener).

Of course the final act was who everyone had been waiting for, Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker.  Not really much to about USS.  I've seen them at festivals and clubs, and clubs are really there scene.  The club didn't have as much energy as other shows I've seen, but to be honest it was cold and raining all day, so I can see why some might not be up for getting crazy.  Except for one girl, who decided to jump on stage and grind behind Ash for half a minute before being pulled off stage.  The rest of the audience picked up as the night went on, but USS rocked steady the entire set.  Human Kebab was his wild self, with handstands, crowd surfing, mic swinging and generally amping up the crowd.  Their show was lacking the usual cardboard cutouts, but had the addition of the Approved cover banner and a little taste of India on Human's turntables.  Another interesting addition to their act let Human step out from behind the turntables.  With a CD deck and mixer fashioned onto a Rock Band guitar, he went mobile on the stage for several of the new songs.  The songs of the released EP were absolutely amazing and despite this being the first time USS played many of them live, they sounded flawless. As with all USS gigs, the music was great and the performance was excellent.  Excellent release party, not your average Tuesday night.

If you weren't able to win tickets from the Edge, this was just the kick-off for a rocking tour of Canada.  Tickets aren't expensive and are highly worth it!  Here's a list of tour dates, I'll see you at their show (...well, some).

Favorites - Week of April 25, 2011

A lot of great music this past weeks and plenty of awesome albums due out in May. These are some songs I've had on repeat all week.

5. "Sail" by Awolnation
This song is infectious and I love it. Fearless Fred of 102.1 The Edge thinks it sounds like the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack, but you can decide for yourself.

4. "White Limo" by the Foo Fighters
This and the number one song have been on my favorites list for several weeks now, except for last week when I shared some old favourites.

3. "Fragile Bird" by City and Colour
The first single off Dallas Green's third solo effort, Little Hell (available June 7), is a little more rock than past City and Colour albums. The song is great and sounds almost as if you were in the studio listening to him play it live and raw.

2. "Make Some Noise" by Beastie Boys
The Beastie Boys album is one of the big albums out in May and you can listen to more than "Make Some Noise" under this post. In fact, the entire album is streaming below! Oh, and this week we actually have the "Make Some Noise" video (P.S. in the boys usual style it's awesome and hilarious)!

1. "N/A OK" by Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker
Maybe not on everyone's list of big albums coming out, but it is on mine and I'm super excited for its release.

Favorites - Week of April 18, 2011

This week all my things were packed up to move and I've only been listening to my shuffle which hasn't been updated with my new music.  So these are some old favorites of mine, all of these could be any other song from the band/artist.  They're all dynamite and occupy a large portion of my iPod.

5. "From the Ritz to the Rubble" by Arctic Monkeys
One of my personal favourites off the first Arctic Monkeys album.

4. "Pornostartrek" by Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker
All the songs from the first EP from USS is all onederful.  This song is even better when played live using Human Kebab as a mic stand.

3. "Scar Tissue" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
An excellent song by my favourite line-up of the Chili Peppers.

2. "Change (In The House Of Flies)" by Deftones
Probably the best Deftones' song of all time and just an excellent rock song in general.

1. "I am the Highway" by Audioslave
This is my favourite soft Audioslave song and a contender for my top Audioslave song ever.  The standard Audioslave excellence.

Favorites - Week of April 11, 2011

A couple new tracks made it onto my list this week.  Here are my latest favorites.

5. "Make Some Noise" by The Beastie Boys
The latest single from the long awaited Hot Sauce Committee album from the Beastie Boys brings up some great reminders of old school Beastie Boys.

4. "Rolling In The Deep" by Adele
Beautiful, soulful vocals and a dark blues-rock beat make for one excellent track.

3. "Two Against One" Danger Mouse, Daniele Luppi, and Jack White
The White Stripes are gone, but Jack White is still here.  Together with producer-extraordinaire Danger Mouse, Daniele Luppi, and Norah Jones, he is creating an album called ROME.  This is one of my favorites from their project.

2. "White Limo" by Foo Fighters
Back again this week is the extra heavy Foo Fighters with "White Limo".  If for some reason you haven't already bought their album, do it now!

1. "N/A OK" by Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker

A lot of amazing albums are scheduled for release May 3, but USS' EP Approved is the one I'm most amped for.  "N/A OK" is an awesome song, and I'm sure only a taste of things to come from Approved.

Favorites - Week of April 4, 2011

Plenty of great music came out this week and there were some battles for my top 5 spots.

5. "Make It Stop (September's Children)" by Rise Against

New music released this past week forced this from my top spot, but it is still an amazing song. See more on Endgame in my review.

4. "Rescue Me" by You Me At Six & Chiddy

I stumbled upon this collaboration from Chiddy of Chiddy Bang with You Me At Six earlier this week. I thought is was an excellent cross between alt rock and Chiddy's hip hop style.

3. [Tie] "F**K Him (He's a DJ)" by Ke$ha
and "Fall (Remix)" by M83 vs. Big Black Delta

This week I have a tie between my two favorite songs off the two remix albums I reviewed. The only original song off Ke$ha's remix album and "Fall" off Tron Legacy: R3C0NF1GUR3D. Both of these tracks just make you want to dance.

2. "N/A OK" by Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker

Back again this week, can't wait for their May 3rd release. I hope I can get into their release show, if not I'll see them May 11 at Club Wax in Kitchener.

1. "White Limo" by Foo Fighters

It's not officially released until April 12, 2011 but ever since it began streaming I've loved how heavy the Foo Fighters' new album is. The album is streaming a few posts below!

Favorites - Week of March 28, 2011

Here are fives songs I can't get enough of this past week.

5. "The Prayer" by Kid Cudi

Not a new song, but definitely a great one. I guess like the song says, I recognize real, so I play it back from the top.

4. "Machu Picchu" by The Strokes

A great song off Angles. Discussed in my album review.

3. "I Just Had Sex" by The Lonely Island (ft. Akon)

Absolutely hilarious song and even better with the video. It's amazing how they get these huge musicians to sing the most ridiculous songs.

2. "N/A OK" by Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker

Amazing song like all USS tracks and a great appetizer for their upcoming album.

1. "Make It Stop (September's Children)" by Rise Against

I could have easily chosen any five tracks off Endgame for this weeks favorites, but I've started listening to a handful of them a lot more, especially this one. See more on Endgame in my review.

Best Week Ever?

So I've been really tired since Wakestock, so this is actual about last week.

After the long weekend here in Canada, the week was off to a nice start by shortening the work week. Tuesday went by so fast and as discussed earlier I got the surprise news of a free Metric concert at Union Station. The show was excellent and well worth the ticket price. For Thursday, I sort of wanted to go see Kesha and Rihanna play the Molson Amphitheatre, partly to check out the venue, which I've never seen a gig at. I couldn't find any cheap tickets and didn't want to fork out what Ticketmaster was charging, so I didn't go. Luckily, something else came up in its place. Like I often do after work, I opened up YouTube to play some tunes and see if any interesting movie trailers came out. The spotlight on Arcade Fire caught my attention, and I noticed they'd be playing a show in NYC that night and a live stream was available. Although I missed the live opening while planning my rides for the rest of the week's entertainment, I was able to see most of it when it replayed after the live set ended. Some of the guys in Arcade Fire really go all out, banging instruments and dancing like mad, generally working up a sweat. I hope their tour bus has a shower on it...
But like Win said, "remember when I saw Arcade Fire and they were a minute into a song, stopped and started from the top. Best night (or week in my case) of my life." Whoever caught the tambourine way back in the crowd must being really enjoying themselves. Nice to see Win toss it to the back instead of passing it to the front like most bands. They already had a splendid experience from being right up front, add something to the night of fans in the back peeking over people's shoulders just to see. Hopefully the concert will be posted in full for further enjoyment, like the U2 at the Rose Bowl was. And for the rest of the week, Wakestock 2010. Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker, Crash Kings, Hollerado, Public Enemy, KO, Rebel Emergency, the Katacombs and Alexisonfire all weekend long. Not to mention wakeboarding and bikinis.

USS was super energetic as I was expecting them to be, but I would have much rather seen a full set by them. They only had an hour which was shared with Maestro Fresh Wes. Some of the craziness included Human Kebab scratching with a severed hand, guest appearances by cardboard Twilight stars and Sarah Palin as guest DJ, and washing it all down with a smoothie concoction. Crash Kings performed a great set. Started off a little slow because of unfamiliarity with the crowd, but even the songs I didn't know I liked. As soon as they played "Mountain Man," the crowd really got into it and the Crash Kings never stopped after that. Their version of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" was amazing. I think they don't get enough recognition for their music, which is really good and loud.

(Thanks to Jenicka Wynne for allowing her photos to be downloaded and shared, check out her other shots.)

Now it was time for the headliners, and the crowd was going insane before AOF even took to the stage. I was almost impaled by a thick metal spike someone threw in the air with a shoe. Luckily, it just grazed my leg. Once on stage, the crowd got even rowdier. Full cans of Monster, hats, razors, glasses, ice, shoes, beach balls and people. Anything that was given out or people had, got tossed in the air. My friends and I stuck around to see Flava Flav and Public Enemy, but we really didn't enjoy it much and Flav was missing his clock, so we headed out. Although I discovered later that he had been hit by a shoe during that show, so I almost regret leaving.

On the Sunday, we watched more wakeboarding, but due to rain, it was delayed. After being soaked, we went for lunch and came back to watch some Katacombs, Rebel Emergency and Hollerado. Katacombs had a cool sound, but I didn't get to see too much of their performance. I am glad Hollerado played "Juliette" near the start of their set, because it began to rain again, so we had to head home. Overall, even with the rain, the festival was great and I am definitely going next year. One recommendation, if you decide to go, arrive early or if you have a 3-day pass go Friday. We couldn't go on Friday, but we thought we wouldn't have to wait in line for tickets because we bought online. We were so wrong and got in five minutes before USS started.

Here if you couldn't be there, enjoy some bikini girls (no band videos have good sound).

Looks like I have another awesome week coming up this month. I just won tickets to see Stone Temple Pilots, Cage the Elephant and Hot Hot Heat and they happen to be the night after Fan Expo ends. I love summer.