Top 10 albums of 2010

1. The National - High Violet
2. Robyn - Body Talk
3. Foals - Total Life Forever
4. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
5. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
6. Broken Bells - Broken Bells
7. Caribou - Odessa
8. Four Tet - There is Love in You
9. Frightened Rabbit - Winter of Mixed Drinks
10. Local Natives - Gorilla Manor

Honorable Mentions:
Wild Nothing - Gemini
Toro Y Moi - Causers of This

More random thoughts

There is a Jack Johnson concert tonight in Vancouver. Just saw a mobile upload from someone who is there. Looks like a tonne of lamestreamers are there. Can't get excited about Jack Johnson's music. He's pretty much been releasing the same yet somehow progressively worse album for the last 8 years. Trying to appeal to the masses I guess. No better way to do that than to release the same commercially successful album over and over. G-Love and Special Sauce are opening up yet again. These guys are pretty much making a career on riding Jack's coattails.

Boring.

Random Thoughts

Haven't blogged in ages. Its been difficult with the (music) man shuttting down my shit. Thinking about turning this into a personal blog or just quitting altogether. Might consider changing my writing style [via Hipster Runoff]. Pretty sure it won't matter as I doubt anyone is actually reading this.

Googled someone this evening that appalled/overwhelmed/motivated me. Not sure what to think about it. Will remain annonymous.

After a lackluster summer of music, it seems to be concert season again in Vancouver. In the last couple of weeks I saw The National, Tegan & Sara, Arcade Fire. Ditching the Broken Social Scene tickets. Looking forward to Foals. Looking forward to Halloween. Think I will give the people what they want and dress up like Dexter.

Dan Mangan - Next Big Thing

I first got my taste of Dan Mangan's music a few years ago. I had just returned from a year abroad in Australia and Mangan was playing at a local dive bar with other local singer/songwriter types. The pub was filled with a familiar university crowd. You got the feeling that those who were present were there to support friends or friends of friends. I tagged along with my brother. He was familiar with Dan Mangan the musician as well as Dan Mangan the individual from their time together at UBC.

Fast forward to 2009 and Dan Mangan releases his sophomore record. The album entitled Nice, Nice, Very Nice receives much deserved attention on Vancouver's newly established indie rock radio station. Growing up on the west side of Vancouver and attending the local university, Dan has always had a strong cult following in Vancouver. His song writing strikes a chord in the local watering holes and neighbourhoods of the city.

On "Tina's Glorious Comeback" Mangan sings of playing at the Railway Club in Vancouver, a hotspot for up-and-coming local artists while the meandering "The Indie Queens are Waiting" Dan asks "Are we cool now?" in somewhat of a self-deprecating muse about his place in our city's often pretentious indie music scene.

But those feelings of modesty are proving to be somewhat unwarranted. Recently, Mangan was shortlisted for Canada's coveted Polaris Music Prize. A list which includes Arts & Crafts label-mates Broken Social Scene as well as other indie heavyweights such as Tegan & Sara, Caribou and Owen Pallett.

A proud Vancouverite and the sole Westerner on the Ontario-based Arts & Crafts, Mangan most recently entertained the city on the shores of English Bay as part of this year's Shorefest, a free concert series coinciding with the Celebration of Light and featuring some of Canada's hottest acts and emerging Vancouver artists. While near to the stage it was standing room only, those on the beach who had come for the fireworks, wondering what the buzz was all about, quickly turned around to take in the performance. Mangan’s well-received set ended in his now trade-mark fashion - by inviting friends and fellow musicians onto the stage to participate in the sing-along crowd-pleaser “Robots.”

At the age of 27 Mangan is already somewhat of a performance veteran. He sold out Vancouver’s Vogue theatre back in June and has recently returned from touring Canada, Australia and the UK including a stop in England at this year's famed Glastonbury festival. He is currently embarked on a tour of the U.S. in support of album Nice, Nice, Very Nice which was released stateside August 10th 2010. For more information, check out http://www.danmanganmusic.com/

Dan Mangan - Robots

MiMOSA

I could use one of these at the moment....

More from the Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire have released two new tracks from their upcoming album The Suburbs. UK single "We Used To Wait" and North American single ‘Ready to Start’ made their surprise debuts yesterday. Upon repeated listens, these two tracks are a little bit more what we might expect from the Arcade Fire. "Ready to Start" is a murkier bass driven track whereas "We Used to Wait" has a bit more of a forward driven pop feel to it. Listening to these tracks puts previously released tracks, "Month or May" and "The Suburbs" into a bit more context and makes them immediately more enjoyable.

Arcade Fire - We Used to Wait


Arcade Fire - Ready to Start

On Melancholy Hill

Stuck on Repeat

Not sure how I have come to like Japandroids so much, especially since I have never been into the loud fuzzy angsty guitar rock. Perhaps its because they are two local guys who came together on the campus of UVic or perhaps it because their fuzzy guitar rock comes packaged with infectious riffs and nostalgic lyrics. "Younger Us" is the Japandroids second offering from their 7" series.

For the first time since 2007's Wincing the Night Away, The Shins are out with new music, albeit a one off cover track. "Goodbye Girl" sounds Shinsy enough and would fit seemlessly alongside the rest of their catalogue. With its pop-choppy guitar riff and its nostalgic lyrics, its a perfect sounding song for summer.

Japandroids - Younger Us


The Shins - Goodbye Girl

Smooth Sounding Summer Mix

Felix Cartal - Summer Mixtape 2010

The Ghost Inside