Broken Social Scene releases “World Sick” as free download

Broken Social Scene releases “World Sick” as free download

another seeming classic, complete with their collage-pastiche artwork aesthetic.

Arts & Crafts baroque rock legends Broken Social Scene unveiled a new single from their upcoming album Forgiveness Rock Record available here. It’s an epic, seven-minute montage of their greatest musical talents, and it foreshadows an even more epic album.

The band, a musical collective of some 19-members, has ties to Eastern Canadian bands such as Metric, Feist, Stars and Do Make Say Think to name a few. Their collaborative spirit embiggens every noble man and woman.

The full studio album will be released on May 4, which has been greatly awaited since their last, self-titled work from 2005.

Check out this video for “7/4 Shoreline,” a catchy tune from their third eponymous work.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uev2J_cBHjQ&feature=related]

Virgin Music Fest 2009: Day One

Virgin Music Fest 2009: Day One

Ladies and gentlemen, the 2009 V-Fest was altogether epic — two days of blistering heat, one pelting lightning thunderstorm — couldn’t sway the spirits of 22 bands and their some  15,000 fans.

The morning and early afternoon were spent getting used to the grounds; the fest was held at Deer Lake Park in Burnaby, a beautiful and almost bucolic setting not too far from the city life. From pole dancers to beer tents, the grounds had it all.

At approximately 4:30 in the afternoon, Kevin Brereton a.k.a. K-OS strutted onstage and glamoured the audience with his funk-reggae-rock jams and charismatic showmanship. Gradually, people from around the park come closer to the glorious thumping basslines. At this point, K-OS tells “all the ugly people be quiet” before an immaculate performance of his 2002 hit “Heaven Only Knows.”

Shortly after that, the very talented Jules and I prepared for our interview with the guys from Plants and Animals, which is coming to SPINearth.tv soon! They took the festival stage and played a furiously energetic set, finishing off with a rendition of “Bye Bye Bye” from their Juno-nominated album Parc Avenue. Their performance of “Faerie Dance” was played with an edge that made the show all that more cathartic.

Being a proud devotee to the musicians of Arts & Crafts, I was incredibly excited to see Broken Social Scene take the main stage.  Brendan Canning showed off his newly trimmed-appearance, and luckily for the audience Jimmy Shaw from Metric played guitar and horns onstage too. Not too long into their second track, clouds of pot smoke wafted through the grounds, an all-too necessary component of the BSS experience. Things got heavy when the band tore through “KC Accidental,” a classic single from their debut album You Forgot it in People. Kevin Drew killed it in the finale with “Superconnected,” truly reigning in the spirit of the festival with their powerful baroque-rock symphonies.

Then at the most perfect time, Our Lady Peace took the stage and took us all back to that memorable time… mid 90s Canadian popular rock. The quartet, older, more mature than the videos I remembered them from in elementary school, played classic hits such as “Clumsy,” “Naveed” and “Superman’s Dead” and took the crowd down nostalgia lane.

Despite the glory of all these wonderful bands, it couldn’t keep mother nature’s wrath at bay. Huge raindrops fell from the angry sky, causing organizers to cancel the final set being The Roots! Huge disappointment to miss out on the headliners, but all in all it was a fun day…

If you want to see some RAD photos of the Virgin Festival weekend, check out David Thai’s photoreport on SPINearth.tv.

K-OS Myspace

K-OS Official Website

Plants and Animals MySpace

Plants and Animals Official Website

Our Lady Peace MySpace

Our Lady Peace Official Website

Broken Social Scene MySpace

Broken Social Scene Official Website