January 2012
8 posts
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it's rushing through your veins / flooding your...
Jack Peñate is a London-based songwriter who put out one of my favourite albums of 2009 (Everything is New) and absolutely floored me when he opened for Miike Snow in Vancouver — although sadly, he hadn’t been heard from much since. The three year silence finally ended yesterday when he posted a link on his Twitter to a video of him performing a new track, “No One Lied,”...
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you're asking me to hide my shame and my shame...
Last night I hit up the Electric Owl on Main Street to check out new local buzz band Good for Grapes. The young Surrey-based band recently garnered some attention when they won a contest to open for Vancouver favourites Mother Mother (listen: “Wrecking Ball”) at the Commodore Ballroom.
After hearing a couple tracks from Good for Grapes, I had expectations for last night’s gig,...
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we're both just one too many mornings and a...
A couple nights ago The Avett Brothers appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to perform a cover of Bob Dylan’s “One Too Many Mornings,” banjo and all. A version they “recorded” with the late Johnny Cash (ahh, studio magic) appears on Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan, a new Amnesty International album set to be released on January 24th. Stream the track...
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wherever this flag's flown, we take care of our...
There’s a new Bruce Springsteen song out today. BRB while I listen to this all day.
mp3: Bruce Springsteen - We Take of Our Own from Wrecking Ball (2012)
The Boss’ 17th studio album, Wrecking Ball, will be released on March 6th. It marks the E Street Band’s first release since the death of iconic saxophonist Clarence Clemons. We’ve heard the album’s title track...
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change the sheets and then change me
It seemed odd to me that I have never done a post on Kathleen Edwards — probably my favourite modern-day female singer/songwriter — until I realized that the last time she released a record was in 2008, a year before I even began writing this blog. Four years is a long time to go without a Kathleen record, but it sounds like the extended break did the Canadian songstress some serious...
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i told you about all those fears and away they did...
It’s been five whole years since The Shins released Wincing the Night Away. I will always remember the day that the album came out because it was the year that I graduated high school and my friends and I held a private listening party for ourselves (yeah, we were the cool kids). From the opening notes of “Sleeping Lessons,” I immediately knew it was going to be one of those...
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Music vs. Misery's Favourites of 2011
Well, another year has come and gone. Whenever I take time to reflect on the records that affected me in the the previous twelve months, I am always amazed at how much music I managed to consume — and yet, it is never enough. Year end lists make me realize how much music is being made in the world and how I will never have enough time to listen to it all. But it doesn’t hurt to try,...
December 2011
1 post
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when i was younger, handsomer and stronger, i felt...
Last night in a bout of insomnia I impulsively watched The Art of Flight, a new snowboarding documentary that follows pro boarder Travis Rice and his friends around the world as they search for the best powder that they can possibly find, often in the most remote of places. Featured spots include British Columbia (my home!), Patagonia, Alaska, Romania, Wyoming, and Austria. As you’ll see...
November 2011
2 posts
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time is a river, don’t know how deep / we wade in...
Zaac Pick, one of my favourite local singer-songwriters, has just released a new EP entitled Whitewater. You can (and should) purchase it here. If you do so before Tuesday, you’ll also receive the bonus track “Finding Christmas”. Sample the EP’s title track below — it’s been stuck in my head for days. Recommended for fans of Mumford & Sons and all that...
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you've gotta have a heart to have a broken one
Luke Doucet is what you might call a true Canadian. Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, but raised in Manitoba, he travelled across the country by himself before he was thirteen, eventually settling in Vancouver at the age of nineteen when he became a member of Sarah McLachlan’s band.
Now in his late thirties, Luke has been putting out under-appreciated alt-country albums for the last decade....
October 2011
8 posts
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and by now the hounds have surely caught my scent
Rhode Island’s Deer Tick is a band that I have been following since first appearing on the scene in 2007 with their debut album, War Elephant. The group’s lineup has changed many times over the years, and as a result, the only consistent member is the frontman and songwriter John McCauley. McCauley possesses one of rock n’ roll’s most distinct voices: it’s...
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'Like' Music vs. Misery on Facebook →
Music vs. Misery now has a Facebook page! ‘LIKE’ it to stay updated on new posts and receive extra music recommendations. You can also always tweet me @musicvsmisery. Because after all…
mp3: Camera Obscura - I Need All the Friends I Can Get from Let’s Get Out Of This Country (2006)
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Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls live @ The...
If you don’t know Frank Turner, his music is something along the lines of Bruce Springsteen meets Billy Bragg. Without looking, I’m certain that I have more Springsteen and Bragg songs than any other artists in my music library, so when I discovered Frank Turner earlier this year, I fell for him hard and fast. His latest album England Keep My Bones was the soundtrack to my summer,...
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my eyes have seen the fury; so flattered by fate
When I think about it, I realize that I owe Wilco a lot.
When I was seventeen, I desperately wanted to work at the music store in my local mall. (I could feel your judgemental eyes on me as soon as I typed that, so I should point out that I grew up in the suburbs and there were no independent record stores there. In fact, now there are no record stores whatsoever). I killed time there nearly...
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we will live to fight another day.
I realize that I’m probably running the risk of losing a handful of followers for saying this… but I’m kind of a huge Oasis geek. (I didn’t realize that I had already admitted this, but apparently I did.) The band’s 2009 split was a heartbreaker for someone who grew up skipping school on Oasis album release days (told you, huge geek) and constantly scouring the...
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sing until you have no voice / sing because you...
It’s nice to see the usually poppy and chipper Hey Ocean stripped down in a quiet setting like this. “Big Blue Wave” is a song taken from the Vancouver trio’s upcoming third album which is set to be released in the coming months. They have also made the album’s first single, “Make A New Dance Up,” available for download — and I’ll be...
September 2011
7 posts
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There's a spirit in Montana and in your chest, a...
Okay, who said that music videos were irrelevant? This five-minute video for Youth Lagoon’s track ”Montana” made me feel more emotions than any feature-length film I’ve seen all year. (Kudos to director Tyler T Williams, who also directed Craft Spells’ “After the Moment,” another personal favourite.) The song itself is also a real beauty. Like, I just...
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Bumbershoot 2011 // some pics and a mix
If I got into what a great time I had at Seattle’s Bumbershoot 2011 (September 3-5), I’d be here for ages. Instead, here are a few pics, (although limited because my camera died on the first day and I forgot my charger at home), as well as some tunes to give you an idea of which lovely artists I had the opportunity to see perform this year. If you’re anywhere in the Northwest...
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WatchThere’s so much good music coming out of Vancouver right now.. I swear, we must have something in the water. The Belle Game is recommended for fans of Arcade Fire (and really, who isn’t a fan?) Incidentally, Arcade Fire just won Canada’s prestigious Polaris Music Prize. The Belle Game, who have an EP (2009’s Inventing Letters) and a second one arriving next month (Sleep to...
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WatchWatch The Rural Alberta Advantage performing this heart-wrenching version of “Tornado ‘87” for my personal favourite Southern Souls. There’s also a stunning solo piano rendition of “Under the Knife” performed by vocalist Nils Edenloff in an empty church. The RAA released one of the best albums of the year, which I think I somehow forgot to mention when I finally...
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August 2011
1 post
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Music vs. Misery's Summer 2011 Mixtape
In a shameless attempt to make up for the fact that I disappeared for the last couple of months, I’ve compiled a mix of songs that have been the soundtrack to my summer of 2011. It was undoubtedly a memorable one filled with Vancouver music festivals, drunken nights (and perhaps some afternoons), re-connecting with old friends, and the start of what I think may become a lifelong cycling...
June 2011
5 posts
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within and without.
After being torn to shreds by both Black Keys and My Morning Jacket concerts this week, I desperately needed something to help mellow me out this morning — and then something seemingly perfect fell into my lap. (No, not a joint.) The new album from Washed Out (a.k.a. Ernest Greene) may not be out for another two weeks, but you can currently stream the entire thing over at NPR, and I...
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now who'd have thought that after all something as...
I feel like a prize idiot for sleeping on this Frank Turner fellow for so long. The London-based songwriter makes folk-punk in the vein of the beloved Billy Bragg — and we all know how much I adore that guy. I fell hard and fast for Turner’s newly released fourth album, England Keep My Bones, and soon found myself rushing to reserve a ticket online for his upcoming October stop in...
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roll another number for the road / you're the only...
Nothing like coming across a cute little indie flick with a killer soundtrack to improve my Sunday night. Passenger Side (2009) stars Joel Bissonnette and Adam Scott (AKA the adorably awkward Ben Wyatt on Parks and Recreation… AKA the love of my life) as brothers who spend the day driving around Los Angeles looking for… well, just watch it. But only if you’re strange like me...
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sometimes they rock & roll / sometimes they stay...
This last week has been filled with some great live music, friends both old and new, and most importantly, Stanley Cup hockey. Vancouver is a-buzz with our beloved Canucks in the finals (see: insane fans on Granville Street last night) for the first time since 1994. I was five years old at the time and some of my earliest memories are of that playoff run. I still have a Western Conference...
May 2011
3 posts
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won't let the city destroy our love
If there’s anyone who knows how to write a proper pop song, it’s Patrick Wolf. Over the past six months, the British musician has been quietly releasing tracks from his upcoming fifth full-length, Lupercalia, set to be released on June 20th. I fell for his genre-defying tunes back in 2007 with the release of The Magic Position and proceeded to work my way backwards through his...
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two bad decisions don't divide to cancel out
Back in 2009, The Antlers released Hospice, one of the darkest, yet most stunning records of the year — possibly the decade. Initially just some solo bedroom recordings by frontman Peter Silberman, Hospice quickly started to take on a life of its own. Lyrically, the songs tied together to tell the story of a complicated relationship between a hospice worker and their terminally ill...
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oh the demons come / they can subside
I have no good excuse for my disappearing act over the last month. Let’s just forget that it ever happened and celebrate the fact that there is finally some new Bon Iver music out there in the world. Is it just coincidence that Justin Vernon released the song “Calgary” this past weekend while I was visiting the Albertan city located one province over? I’d like to think it...
April 2011
2 posts
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let's get out of this place... just take what you...
One of my favourite bands has a new record coming out next week and I’m as giddy as a preteen girl. Ireland’s Bell X1 sixth full-length is currently streaming over on their Facebook page – all you have to do to hear it in all its gloriousness is ‘Like’ the band’s page. I’m quite sure that nothing has been more worthy of one simple click. The album’s...
March 2011
6 posts
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your love means everything
There is something incredibly special about reconnecting with a song that you lost long ago in the shuffle. Way to break my heart on a Saturday night, Chris. mp3: Faultline feat. Chris Martin - Your Love Means Everything (Part 2) from Your Love Means Everything
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she took my hand and now there's no other
I’m not sure how I’ve lasted this long writing this blog without professing my love for The Veils. It’s preposterous, really. The London-based band led by New Zealand native Finn Andrews definitely make it onto my list of Top 10 Modern Bands. I fell in love with their raw, passionate songs bursting with gothic undertones around the time of Nux Vomica’s release in 2007. I...
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walk the river like a hunted animal
Half-asleep this morning, doing my usual early internet browse, I was suddenly stirred awake when I stumbled upon a brand new Guillemots track. Initially, I wasn’t expecting much — 2008’s Red was such a letdown compared to 2006’s from the cliFfs EP and the subsequent album Through The Window Pane. But if “Walk the River” gives any indication as to what the...
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out of this static...
The Morning Benders remixing Ra Ra Riot? I seriously must be dreaming. mp3: Ra Ra Riot - Too Dramatic (The Morning Benders Remix) from Too Dramatic single It’s hard to believe that it was almost a year ago I shared this video of The Morning Benders performing “Excuses” with The Echo Chamber Orchestra. Still just as beautiful as the first time I watched it.
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and i would sail back to you...
This song… the ache that it puts in my heart… gah. mp3: Damien Jurado - Everything Trying from Caught in the Trees It wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest that Seattle’s Damien Jurado was greatly influenced by Nick Drake, whom he does some terribly lovely covers of.
mp3: Damien Jurado - Which Will (Nick Drake Cover) mp3: Damien Jurado - Pink Moon (Nick Drake Cover)
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here it come, that heavy love
Oh, Conor Oberst… you will never fail to remind me of my angsty teen years. I’ve got a pretty mad crush on the new (and final) Bright Eyes record, and if you don’t feel the same way, you probably read too much Pitchfork. mp3: Bright Eyes - Shell Games from The People’s Key mp3: Bright Eyes - A Machine Spiritual (In The People’s Key) from The People’s Key
February 2011
6 posts
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i'll be there beside you to dry your weeping eye
Gil Scott-Heron (see: 1971’s ”The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”) is absolutely everywhere right now. Last year, the poet/soul musician/author released I’m New Here — his first album in sixteen years following struggles with drug addiction — to critical acclaim. At the end of 2010, Kanye West sampled Heron’s “Comment No. 1,” a spoken word...
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let's go walk in the rain, love. know our...
I’ve been non-stop grooving to Shapeshifter, the third album from the criminally underrated Vancouver trio Young Galaxy, over the past week. After 2007’s self-titled debut (an Arts & Crafts release), and 2009’s year-end standout Invisible Republic, I had seriously high expectations for the follow-up — all of which have been met, exceeded, but also thrown for a...
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love me close while you can.
This little taste of The Rural Alberta Advantage’s upcoming sophomore release is making me even more impatient, if that’s at all possible, and is simultaneously breaking my heart tonight. Hearing a little Arcade Fire influence in there with all of the “wooaahoos” in the background… totally okay with that. mp3: The Rural Alberta Advantage - Stamp from Departing...
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and if there was a way to navigate your seas... if...
There was a lot of drunken talk of The Gaslight Anthem, and various other Springsteen-lovin’ bands, between some good friends and I last night, so it’s only right that I should share this track I haven’t been able to quit for the past few weeks. For the life of me I can’t figure out why it didn’t make it onto the physical release of American Slang. So, so lovely.
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January 2011
13 posts
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get a feeling that i've never had before
Pretty sure that I’ve never been more relaxed than I am right now, listening to this song. If Six Feet Under was still on TV, I have a feeling that “Finally Moving” would probably be playing in the background during one of Nate Fisher’s surreal dream sequences. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please stop wasting your life away — buy the box set...