I’m not going to lie. I’m a huge Coldplay fan, despite the fact that they haven’t produced anything half decent since 2005’s X&Y, minus a couple of gems here and there in singles form.
Unlike a lot of writers, I’m not going to say they sold out, or that Chris Martin became too full of himself, or that the band just got so big they forgot where they came from and that glorious warm sound of their “Shiver” era. Rather, they just evolved into a musical group I could no longer enjoy.
In any case, this latest offering lives up to its name, and shows promise for their upcoming album Ghost Stories, slated to be released on May 19th.
The newest offering from The Shins has made me very, very happy. I started listening to their retro-style indie pop back in 2004 during my first year of university, and many of their tunes eventually became anthems and the soundtrack to my life at several points.
As for this song, I just think it’s really pretty. Hope you do too.
Is it all so very simple
And horribly complex
You’re suffering
And there’s nothing coming next
Your mom smokes in the kitchen
Her voice a cutting drown
They’re creeping out, you pass the bar
Your father’s second home
That leaves you on your own
Nights I’d often watch you
Float across the ground
Out the gate to the motorway
What secrets have you found?
You had to know I wanted
Something from you then
Too young to know just what it was
Something more than a friend
Is that you at the end
Well, you play in the street at night
You blow like a broken kite
My girl, you’re giving up the fight
Are you gonna let these Americans
Put another dent in your life?
My mother says your dirty
They’re gonna find you dead
But have you got that final chapter
Written in your head
Cause every single story
Is a story about love
Both the overflowing cup
And the painful lack thereof
You got the heart of a dove
But you play in the street at night
You blow just like a broken kite
My girl, you’re giving up the fight
You’ll have to lose all them childish notions
If you’re gonna let these American boys
Put another dent in your life
You play in the street at night
You blow just like a broken kite
My girl, you’re giving up the fight
You’ll have to lose all them childish notions
Are you gonna let these Americans
Put another dent in your life?
It’s only been 24 hours since this new teaser track was released, but it’s among my favourite tunes so far this year.
Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand, the duo from Baltimore, have been diffusing the pop soundspace with their dreamy textures and pulsing reverb since their 2008 release, Devotion.
After meeting them in person for a story I wrote for The Block, my admiration quickly intensified into a solid respect for their music and craft… but it’s difficult not to fall in love when two insanely talented musicians keep topping up your glass with more beer.
Die Antwoord have been attracting their fair share of attention for the group’s provocative music videos that lend themselves nothing short of viral. The Cape Town originals (whose band name means “the answer” in Afrikaans) boast some of the strangest hip-hop this side of the Northern Hemisphere. With their gritty, Kafka-esque lyrical style and their beat-delivering prowess, they proved to be the best response to a rather grim-looking Vancouver weekend.
The city’s Expendable Youth DJs started off the evening with some turntable delights as the Commodore began to fill with an anticipatory audience, some of which even dressed to resemble DA’s frontman Ninja. While a popular DJ set was not exactly the most appropriate way to usher in an evening of musical weirdness, the Mad Decent team managed to deliver a solid string of catchy dance tunes and smart mash-ups.
Wearing a rather terrifying mask, DJ Hi-Tek began Die Antwoord’s set by baiting the crowd, repeatedly spinning out the threatening slogan that he’d “fuck you in the ass,” while flashes of Die Antwoord music videos revealed a sinister theme. It was almost sensory overload when Ninja (Watkin Tudor Jones) and Yo-Landi Vi$$er (Yolandi Visser) finally exploded onto the stage wearing bright orange sweatsuits for “Fok Julle Naaiers.” Unified by their performance and onstage charisma, the unlikely trio formed a nuclear-type family unit in the strangest way imaginable. No stranger to the notion of being “eye popping,” Visser showed off her midriff, her eyes two black pools, coming off as both terrifying and strangely attractive.
While focusing on delivering rhythms and tunes from their newest offering TEN$ION, the group played some more vintage favourites as well, such as “Beat Boy” and the huge crowd pleaser “Enter the Ninja,” one of their most notorious tracks. With the intent of fully staggering the crowd, Die Antwoord blazed the stage and hit the sweet spot with their blistering rendition of “I Fink U Freeky,” effectively delivering one of the strangest songs in their arsenal.
Gritty, real and yet somehow fantastical, Die Antwoord’s surreal blend of hip-hop, trashy pop culture references and brazen methodology make them one of the most unbelievable acts around, on record and especially live from the stage.
