Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

It's already February, which means that the new year is no longer new, it's relative to our agendas and adding that extra one shouldn't be an issue...but doesn't it seem that time is moving so fast, you hardly realize that its passing by?  The date moves closer and closer, and as I wake up for my unnerving 8:30 Monday morning class, I begin to realize that there will always be a deadline.  We are always waiting or working towards a certain date that we either dread, or ponder upon...and because of these deadlines, we loose track of the rest of the month, or the other 27, 29, or 30 days.  We look forward to the marked days on our calendars, and when these days pass, we look to the next and the cycle continues.  I to am a victim of these addicting traits, which ultimately left me wondering where in the world January just went, but to be honest, deadlines and due dates are inevitable...everyone works towards something, and when we reach that goal, we set another.  You can always finish what you've started but you can never be truly satisfied...there is always something new you can accomplish.

#19

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Expectations are another theme that goes hand and hand with deadlines.  If you reach a deadline it doesn't necessarily mean you've reached a certain expectation.  Arcade Fire on the other hand takes the pressure from the success of their debut and sophomore albums and release what some critics have acknowledged as the best record in 2010.  The Suburbs has by far reached and exceeded the expectations of their fans and critics alike with their nine piece multi-talented band.  Their instruments include guitar, bass, violin, viola, double bass, cello, percussions, drum kit, keyboards, harps, accordions, mandolin, and some others i've never even heard of...and their sound isn't to bad either.  "We Used To Wait" (Enter your address, its a very cool video) is such a great record I don't even know where to start.  There are layers upon layers of creativity that just scream out excellence.  Subtle layers such as the ghosted guitar riff at 0:38, the back up ascending vocals in the chorus beginning at 2:28, or bass line during the bridge at 3:53 make this record that much more creative.  The three chord piano lick that is looped through out the whole song holds the record together, allowing this Montreal native band to explore their own creativity.  "Sprawl II" is another record I found extremely compelling...the live version is even better.  For my fellow Arcade Fire fans, Sprawl II in my opinion is the following up of "Haiti" from their first record Funeral.  Both records feature the voice of Regine Chassagne and you can't help but fall in love with her voice, and her character on stage.  At one point during the pre-chorus, Regine sings "that we can never get away from the Sprawl".  During this verse, she ascends then descends the range of notes, as if she was painting a portrait of a mountain top, ranging her notes from high to low.  It's such a beautiful concept.

I want to think that after I am done school, I will be rid of all the due dates and deadlines that have me loosing sleep for the last four years, then again, i'm also afraid it might get even worse.  Maybe I have finally found what school has been trying to prepare me for...always make the deadline.  I am this much closer to my deadline, I just need that one last push.

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

5/5

We Used To Wait

Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

Rococo

Ready To Start

Modern Man

Funeral

Neon Bible

Augustana - Can't Love, Can't Hurt

I am a firm believer of the term "don't let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do".  If you have the drive and potential to do what ever you are set out to do, nothing in this world can stop you.  I enter into my last semester of my short university career and when looking back on my school days, I was never a very good student.  Not in a skip school, never attend sort of way, I was just unable to get good grades no matter how hard I tried.  My sister is a huge role model for me, and for good reason too...smart, determined, focused, driven...and an A student.  Me on the other hand, I have the drive, I have the determination, but a C+, B student at best.  Never did I have a mark where my parents could keep on their fridge and ponder at the fact that both of their kids are A students in a foreign country where they couldn't even speak the language when they arrived.  So when I surprised my parents with my first A in a Canadian university where "A's" were usually bell curved, the look that my mother had on her face was priceless, it was a mixture of emotions where she was speechless and on the brink of tears...in other words the happiest i've seen her in years.  It took me 15 years of schooling, and thousands of dollars, but that one "A" and the smile on my mother's face was worth ever cent.
#18

Augustana - Can't Love, Can't Hurt

You may remember this band from a couple of years ago with their hit single "Boston"...ring a bell?  Remember that catchy piano lick in the beginning of the song?  If not, you may remember them playing in the background of certain melodramatic television shows...cause that's where I found them.  Don't start teasing me now, "Friday Night Lights" is an extremely well written, well acted show, and the music they chose lead me to a great album, and another review.  The song that I was so determined to (as my sister and I would put it) Shazam was called "Fire".  This fully acoustic piano track is a great example of lead singer Dan Layus's song writing ability.  His choice of chords and his heartfelt lyrics apprehend the audience up until his final howl of the word "home", staying with the note for at least fourteen seconds...I couldn't keep a high note for more then four seconds even if I tried.  "Twenty Years" is another song that is driven by Layus's piano and soft spoken lyrics.  The melody he chooses are simple, but the way he arranges them are quite unique.  For example, the first two bars of "Twenty Years" stays with a traditional four bar stanza, but on the third bar, he switches from a sharp to a flat, rearranging conventional chords to an unconventional melody.

I choose this album mainly because it was simple and too the point.  From the very first note, you were able to tell that the band had a connection with each other and the music they were writing.  It was real, nothing fake, and they had nothing to hide, which reminded me that simplicity is still the answer to many things.  There is always pressure all around us to do something out of the ordinary, something you're not comfortable with, something that you know you wouldn't do if you had a choice.  The reason I got a good grade was because I chose to keep it simple.  I chose a subject I was comfortable discussing, and wrote a paper on which I felt was something I would even say out loud.  Just keep it simple, with anything, doesn't matter if no one else likes it...."you just gotta do you".

Augustana - Can't Love, Can't hurt
4/5
recommended:
Fire
Twenty Years
When Love Went Wrong
Hey Now
Sweet & Low

Lady Antebellum - Need You Now

So I know it's been a while since my last review...I guess it's just been a while since I found something that would get me back on track.  It's the first night of the new year and like every other year, I was hoping that I would feel different, that 2011 would be a milestone and that everything would fall into place.  Well wishful thinking usually takes the better of me but while everything remains the same, it is in fact a new year which I find very comforting.  It's another year for me to learn and discover more about myself, allow myself to take chances that i've never dreamt of in previous years, and be able to make new mistakes that I would learn from and look back after another three hundred sixty five.  2010 was also filled with memorable moments as well...I was able to attend my first wedding for a friend...a best friend appointed me to plan out his bachelor party...found out that my cousin is having a baby...watched my sister purchase her first car...have my family be behind me for my future plans...and most importantly..not being able to remember anything from the new years party
.......oh and one more thing....being able to write this blog

#17
Lady Antebellum - Need You Now

I have to say..this album is phenomenal.  This trio of country singers/musicians have me bobbing my head on the subway as if I were listening to a new jay-z record.  Their song writing ability is simply refreshing and their sound blends with the sweet trends of country-pop and alternative rock.  Lady Antebellum has won a Grammy for best duo performance of the year, and has been nominated for countless CMT and AMC awards including Best New Artist, and Best Single of the year.  It is extremely hard to pin point one or two songs that may do justice to the album as a whole, but due to my constraints, I have to say "Hello World", and "American Honey" nabs my choices.  What caught me the most about the record "Hello World" were the lyrics that lead/background vocalist Charles Kelley evokes in this song, speaking about life itself and how we take it to seriously.  The structure of the song is very climactic, reaching peak after peak until it concludes in a beautiful instrumental ending.  "American Honey" is where the country flow kicks in, painting a vocal picture of a hot summer day with the wind on your back. (not to get you confused, it's the same band, but the lead vocals change from time to time with Charles and Hillary sharing the role)

You have to realize that every year is going to be different, your going to be a year older, an age you probably wont be or don't want to be familiar with.  Your going to lose friends you wish you would never leave, but your also going to gain new friendships with others you've never thought you would have.  Your going to make mistakes you wish you've never made, but realize that you've learned and those mistakes will never be replayed....and you're going to be able to spend another year with your family cause you never know when thats going to end.....
so happy new year to you all and I wish nothing more but the best for you and your family

Lady Antebellum - Need You Now
4.5/5
recommended:
Hello World
American Honey
Need You Now
When you got a good thing
Our Kind of Love