Esperanza Spalding - Esperanza

Things are falling into place and the weather is finally settling down.  Maybe this is just the calm before the storm but till then I can finally take a little breather.  All of these descriptions are metaphors of course, but needless to say, my workload has settled down and my work schedule is about to take a hiatus.  The world knew I needed a break and it gave to me.  So with that said, I wanted to reflect on my current status with an album by an artist who recently won best new artist a few days ago at the Grammy's.  I'm not going to lie, I was just as confused as the next person by their decision to choose such an artist, let alone such a genre, for this award...but then I gave it a listen and i started to understand...the concept of do what you love and it'll take you far was evident.  With artists such as Lady Antebellum and Arcade Fire taking home major awards, it's no secret that the game is changing and personality seems to be shaping the directions of the critics.  My job for example takes a lot out of me (distance, dealing with fans, always keeping a positive attitude), but I absolutely love it, and no matter how tired I am from school or other social activities, I know that if i just do what i love and not act like its my job, it'll take me far.  So far it's working in my favour and i'm glad that the same concept is working for an artist like Esperanza Spalding.
#19

Esperanza Spalding - Esperanza

Jazz is not my strong suit but I can still tell if a flow is working or not.  Esperanza started playing the double bass when she was four and attended the Berkeley college of music, which is essentially the Harvard for music students.  Her trend of adapting Brazilian style to fit with jazzy tones is exquisite, it's catchy, it's smooth and you can just tell that she loves it...you have to feel it.  Her bass and her voice are an extension of her body and her first single "Precious" is proof of just that.  This record is by far the most mainstream of her records, though much like Drake's hit single "Over", I guarantee you that Precious will grow on you without a doubt.  "Ponta De Areia" is another beautiful record sung entirely in Portuguese, adapting her brazilian roots to a jazz rendition.  Since i'm not educated in the Portuguese language, I took this opportunity to just sit and listen, especially to the voice since the voice is essentially another instrument in itself.  I have a great respect for jazz musicians, not only because its bloody difficult to play, but it pushes you to feel the music, not just to perform it.

My sister pointed out that you have to have a certain form of recognition in order to be deserving of an award, such as best new artist.  I agree to an certain extent only because fame and recognition is what artist gain through time, but not what artist usually strive for...well I can't speak for all because i'm not an artist myself, but you can't be too surprised for Esperanza to win this award.  Personally I would of chosen Mumford & Sons because of their pure talent and rapid recognition, but the category was up in the air...secretly everyone cheers for the underdog and sometimes they prevail.

Esperanza Spalding - Esperanza
4/5
Recommended Songs:
Precious
Ponta De Areia
I know You Know
Body & Soul
Ps...I added a few things on the bottom...check it out!

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

Vega4 - You And Others

I've made mistakes in my life....who hasn't...like any other human being, I feel sorry for my mistakes and I have a conscience thats eating away at me, but sorry doesn't usually cut it.   I've tried to make everyone around me happy, but thats the catch, you can't make everyone happy all at once...someone is going to dislike you, someone is going to disagree with you whither you like it or not.  Then there are times where you have to man up and admit your mistakes, admit you've been a jerk at times, but instead of faltering in self pity, you take it as a learning experience for the long run.  My closest friends are usually the victims to my impulsive reactions to certain situations and if anyone is going to tell me the truth, it would be them.  I rely on two or three of them to tell me exactly what I need to hear, even if its going to hurt me even more...but i wouldn't take a verbal punch from any one else but them....you just have to learn to listen.

#16

Vega4 - You And Others

One of my friends asked me where I find my music and all I told him was that I try to listen to every suggestion possible.  I listen to clips of songs used during commercial breaks, during movie trailers, or television programs..(never the radio, radio destroys the fun out of finding new and impressive music), and I take the time to listen to what other people enjoy.  There must be a reason why people choose the music they listen to, a feeling that is unexplainable and only attainable if you give it a chance.  I found Vega4 during a movie trailer and I knew right off that bat that I had to find their music; the feeling was there, I could hear it, I just had to find it.  "A Billion Tons of Lights" uses the ambient sounds of the Tone-pad instrument which suits the title of the track perfectly.  You can tell by the lyrics and the continues 16 bar loop that this song was directly influenced by the Tone-pad instrument and I've been waiting for an alternative rock band to do just that.  "Tearing Me Apart" is another song influenced by the Tone-pad instrument, though Vega4 definitely leans towards the rock approach with this track.  I have yet to hear another alternative rock band gutsy enough to use an instrument that only requires the tapping of your fingers, but regardless of the fact, Vega4 has created a new and exciting way to combine music with technology.  It doesn't take much effort to produce an irreplaceable loop from the Tone-pad, but combining with a full four piece band requires a great amount of skill...

It's hard to keep track of what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong, the only way to know is if my friends are still there by my side.  I do apologize for my misjudgments I embarked on these past few months, but if I had the chance to go back and change my decisions, I don't think I would.  I do believe in second chances, and I do believe that there is no weakness in forgiveness, you just have to make sure it's deserving.

Vega4 - You And Others
3.5/5
Recommended
Tearing Me Apart
A Billion Tons of Lights
Life is Beautiful
Traffic Jam

The Most Serene Republic - ...And The Ever Expanding Universe

Funny story...I went to go watch Ra Ra Riot perform at the Mod Club this past Wednesday and I saw a class mate walk by while heading to the washroom.  I thought nothing of it since we don't really speak to one another in class, though I knew it was him from his distinct characteristics.  While walking back to the concert floor, I see him once again fixing up the guitars, and helping the opening band prepare for their performance.  I turn to my friend and say..."hey look, the guitar tech..he's in my class", she replies with a raised eyebrow "dude, that's the lead singer".  Astonished, I watched his band perform in front of hundreds of people and to my surprise...they were really good!  At that moment, I knew I had to purchase their album, write a review, and someway somehow become his friend....man i feel like a groupie!

#15

The Most Serene Republic - ...And The Ever Expanding Universe

Little did i know that MSR had more then one album out in stores, so it was definitely difficult for me to choose which one to listen too, then I began to remember the performance and pinpointed the song that caught my attention.  "Heavens to Purgatory" (and yes, thats the guy in my class) fulfilled my needs for weird and uncanny musical genres.  The combination of The Shins and The Strokes, mixed with a trans back beat, a banjo outline, and a verse melody that ranges from high to low much like a seismic monitor, is by far the weirdest and most interesting thing i've heard this past year.  Whats most enticing to me is how MSR is not looking for that commercial sound, they find pleasure in producing their own music that fit their needs, and the ones of their avid fans.  "Phi" is another track that provides that indie style, out of the ordinary feeling that i find appealing.  MSR produces an array of musical sounds that fit together like a puzzle, in which one sound may feel naked on its own, but when put together, its simply euphoric.  

It's crazy to think that a classmate of mine, who sits right across from me in tutorial, is performing on the same stage as Ra Ra Riot, it just makes you think of all the talent thats around you.  You just never know who's next in line to stardom, who's the next richest man or women, or who's the next greatest inventor.  The talent amongst your friends, family, and or classmates is incredible, in fact, the talent you bestow amongst yourselves is incredible, we just need that time in the spotlight to share our talents that may potentially change the world.  I might be going overboard with my optimist, but at the same time....you never know....

The Most Serene Republic - ...And The Ever Expanding Universe

3/5

recommended:

Heavens to Purgatory

Phi

No One Likes a Nihilist

All of One is the Other

Mt. Desolation - Mt. Desolation

Sometimes you need a change, a change from your regular routine, a change from what's comfortable to what's exciting.  Admittedly, i've been letting my last year of university slip right through my fingers, by the end of next week ill only have one more semester left...then its off to the world.  The problem is...thats where the regular routine kicks in.  The dreadful 9-5, make dinner from 6-7, eat dinner and watch some glee from 7-8..make plans for the weekend from 9-10, get ready for bed and do it all over again.  I don't know if i can handle it, though i know its looming around the corner, waiting for me, lusting at its inevitability.  I'm not saying its a terrible life style, but i can't say it was something i was looking forward to....I wanted to look outside the box, and i think i found something.
#14

Mt. Desolation - Mt. Desolation

 I found this band while searching through another one of my favourite bands named Keane.  Their pianist Tim Rice-Oxley took time off from his original quartet  and focused on a side project entitled Mt. Desolation.  I wasn't sure how to make out the album, the Keane factor was quite apparent, though the country/up-tempo concept took me by surprise.  It's not something i normally listen to, but when you branch off to something unusual, it's kind of exciting. "State of our Affairs" was the first song i listened too off the album, and this two verse, no chorus, heavy violin and piano piece stood out from the rest.  It might be a bad example when trying to explain the rest of the album, but its not a song i could leave out.  The 2:03 mark was something unexplainable and definitely something i had to share.  By using their own instruments, the band strung together a plethora of notes to create a chaotic sound that oddly fit together with the rest of the song; they invented an acoustic distortion.  "Coming Home" is a much more formal, yet equally emotional piece by Mt. Desolation.  This Keane influence song reminded me much of "Somewhere only we know" by the same band, which you may remember its fifteen minutes of fame from the movie "He's just not that into you".....which i watched...and yes..enjoyed.

I also might have found something that may be a potential of something greater.  I am aware of my youth slowly but surely coming to an end..and yes i am only 21, but living through this generation, you tend to notice that everyone is fighting for the final piece of the puzzle, and age is definitely not a restraint anymore.  It's troubling for a york student at his final year to realize that its your turn, but you have nothing to prepare for when you step up to the podium.  Is it just me, or am I the first to say that i'm not ready yet.  I almost lost something that could potentially be something great, but i was so sure of throwing it away because I just wasn't ready.  This box we put on ourselves, this restraint that we trap ourselves with is self-destructive, it's unhealthy sometimes, and I can't say that school has helped me prepare for any of it.  So I taught myself to look outside the box, and I encourage you to do the same, because you might be surprised of what you may find.

Mt. Desolation - Mt. Desolation
3/5
recommended songs:
State of our Affairs
Coming Home
Bridal Gown
Bitter Pill