Grand Theft Auto III, 10 years to the day.

Today, October 22, marks 10 years to the day that Grand Theft Auto III was released. No doubt one of the greatest video games ever. Although it itself featured very little well-known music, it certainly set the table for the games to come. That is not to discount the previous games in the series, however GTA III, being the first 3D game, and first Grand Theft Auto game on Playstation 2, made its impact known.

One of my favourite radio stations is Double Clef FM, hosted by the fictional Morgan Merryweather. Classical music and opera just fit oh so well in the game. Among the tracks were the “O mio babbino caro” from Gianni Schicchi and “La donna è mobile” from Rigoletto (“And now more hits from the Sixties, 1760s that is!”). Ones I quickly grew fond of, and likely helped with my appreciation for the genre.

Although I did not know Scientist at the time, I would later listen to his great dub album, Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires. K-Jah featured a few tracks from that album.

Game Radio FM featured Royce da 5’9″, Black Rob, and Agallah being the most known. And the somewhat dark feeling hip hop worked great on the streets of Liberty City. Agallah and Sean Price’s “Rising to the Top”, and Royce da 5’9″‘s “I’m The King” stand out for me.

Much of the soundtrack still perplexes me, for instance, Flashback 95.6, featuring Debbie Harry’s “Rush Rush”, from the Scarface Soundtrack of all places! And that is not the only track from Scarface soundtrack. Also included is Elizabeth Daily’s “I’m Hot Tonight”, whose singing career spans all of three paragraphs on Wikipedia!

Here’s to another ten years driving around in fictionalised versions of real cities listening to great music (and talk)!

Look:

Listen:
Grand Theft Auto III micro mix

Pop Montreal 2011 review + pictures!

Pop Montreal 2011 began two weeks ago tonight, so it is about time I am finally writing my review!

Part of the reason I am so slow in writing my review is that it was very hectic, being out to shows late every night, and working a day job, so I took some time to recover if you will. Okay, and there was procrastination in there too.

Rebekah Higgs at Pop Montreal 2011

This year marked the tenth anniversary of Pop Montreal, what started as a few friends putting on some shows. And it really culminated with the free Arcade Fire show where the free festival shows are held annually (recent years saw Stevie Wonder, Ben Harper, and just this past summer, The B-52s. Somewhere between 80 000 and 100 000 showed up for the Arcade Fire show. Of course many had to watch from surrounding screens, myself included, although I watched Kid Koala from the side of the giant stage. I did not pay too much attention to Karkwa, as I really do not know them, and only watched about 20 minutes of Arcade Fire on the screens, as I took off to see Rebekah Higgs, along with openers Dinah Thorpe and Mussaver at Cagibi.

Presently I am listening to Grass Widow‘s latest album, Past Time. Grass Widow being a great example of a pleasant discovery. I did not know them before the night before the show. They were the final opening band for The Raincoats. And the highlight of that show for me. The Raincoats were good, but I am not too into them, and not to be age-ist, but they are showing their age a bit. I of course do like a lot of aging musicians!

Ben Caplan at Pop Montreal 2011

My festival really started off with Charlotte Cornfield, a local indie/folk singer who I knew by name, but had never seen her perform. She played at the Ukranian Federation, a sit-down venue, kind of as it sounds, a theatre, but not a really old one with nice architecture, but instead kind of a dull church feel/meets hall space. Not bad for a mellow show though, although, seeing tUnE-yArDs there was not the best. Charlotte put on a nice set, she was happy to play there, as she said she saw Arcade Fire there a few years earlier at Pop Montreal! Next was Lindi Ortega, a bit more country/bluegrass, although a bit more of a commercial feel (oh, and not at all bad looking!) Not bad though!

After Charlotte and Lindi, I ended up at an industrial loft space, that someone actually lives in! Ah, Pop Montreal! Good spot for the particular show! In this case it seems like it was Charlotte Cornfield who organised it with a few of her favourite bands, including Ben Caplan, and Donlands and Mortimer.

Dinah Thorpe at Pop Montreal 2011

The aforementioned Rebekah Higgs show was very nice, save for the curfew, which had Rebekah only doing a few songs lasting 20 minutes at the most! Dinah Thorpe from Toronto who played prior was very good, and another nice Pop find. As per her MySpace, she is “acoustic / alternative / electro.” Indeed a nice mix, and one song, from her latest album, 12, called “Song for Dolly.” Of course for Dolly Parton. Her album is called 12, as she created a song every month for 12 months, a 12 song cycle as she puts it. Montreal’s own Mussaver opened the show, think Joanna Newsom, however with an accordion!

What I liked about this year’s Pop was how there was no huge acts (aside from Arcade Fire, they have proved themselves musically, but they are more big in the underground circles), for example, last year Macy Gray played Pop Montreal. Although, that was a co-presentation with the big concert promoters here. Many small acts I knew, and many I did not. I saw many I knew, and many I did not, yet I still missed some I knew, and some I did not. For example, I missed Emma-Lee, who I knew somewhat, but had never seen her perform, and I missed Dominique Young Unique, who I read about checking out artists playing Pop. Think Lil Mama meets Nicki Minaj for a not so accurate comparison!

Kid Sister at Pop Montreal 2011!

Friday night I saw Kid Sister, it was a club set, so way too short, and she played at least a couple mixtape tracks, which were good, but I did not know too well. After a few songs she disappeared, leaving her DJ to entertain the crowd. She returned with the very crowd pleasing “Right Hand Hi!” I was happy to catch that one live. The club it was at was apparently voted #1 in Montreal in several categories by readers of the free weekly entertainment publication the Mirror. I also vote it well in not starting on time! Kid Sister started well over an hour late (as Pop publishes the set times for benefit of those Pop hopping from show to show). Before she went on I was able to catch about 20 minutes of Ohbijou, and missed Azealia Banks in the process.

Allie Hughes played O Patro Vys Saturday night as the last openers for the all-girl Weezer cover band Sheezer! She is presently working on her debut album. And I say it is one to look forward to, as she has a nice vocal range, hitting some high operatic like notes!

Before seeing Allie Hughes, and catching most of By Divine Right, I saw Laura Marling. I am not a huge fan, but she definitely impressed! Her voice definitely had the audience getting their socks blown off (as opener Alessi’s Ark put it!), despite her mellow folk!

The closing party was nice, with Think About Life playing their last show ever, a very energetic party-like show!

Merrill Garbus, tUnE-yArDs symposium at Pop Montreal 2011

The tUnE-yArDs set was of course nice, especially after having seen Merrill Garbus doing a symposium that afternoon, talking about her influences, that include being obsessed with singing styles from around the world (Korean Pansori for one), and applying them to her music. And looking to the future how she would like to evolve away from the looping pedal.

Pop Montreal 2011 teaser/CD haul

This is just a warm up post. As the title suggests, a teaser of what I have yet to write, and of the CD’s I picked up during Pop Montreal 2011. I had been posting plenty of updates on my Twitter during the festival, and took some notes, so, a full review will come shortly! (Mostly unrelated, but of note, this WordPress.com blog post: Prepare for National Novel Writing Month with the Post a Day Challenge. I am all about quality over quantity, however, with NaNoWriMo, it is all about writing writing writing, and editing later, as the writer is bound to have some quality within, or good stuff that can be edited later, versus sitting around thinking and generating very little content while (over?)thinking. Anyway…)

Pop Montreal 2011 CDs

All the discs I picked up (from top left clockwise), Lindi Ortega – Little Red Boots, Rebekah Higgs – Odd Fellowship, Ohbijou – Beacons, Dinah Thorpe – 12, Grass Widow – Past Time)

All the shows/artists I saw (bold denotes Canadian artists):

Charlotte Cornfield
Lindi Ortega
Donlands and Mortimer (most)
Ben Caplan
Charlotte Cornfield
Kid Koala
Karkwa (mostly indirectly)
Arcade Fire (about the first 30 minutes, indirectly on screens)
Mussaver (most)
Dinah Thorpe
Rebekah Higgs
Pat Jordache (most)
Tune-Yards
Ohbijou (first 30 minutes)
Kid Sister
Alessi’s Ark
Laura Marling
By Divine Right (last 15 minutes)
Allie Hughes
Sheezer
Hannis Brown
Mensch
Grass Widow
The Raincoats
Think About Life

So, in the coming days, once I finish writing it, my Pop Montreal 2011 post will be a review and thoughts…

Florrie – Introduction EP (EP of the Week!)

“I’m a woman. Not a siren calling.” Indeed!

Florrie has managed crafting quite a pop record, and this is for the most part all by herself! Florrie’s vocals are very distinct, and the all the instrumentation and arrangements just seem to work in her favour. Being a singer-songwriter/drummer, I am not sure if she had any assistance in the songwriting, however she manages to write some very catchy lyrics. And it is worth mentioning that she is without a record label, by choice!

I have been listening to Florrie’s aptly titled debut EP for about a half-year now, and it only keeps on getting better. Each and every track is unique in its own way. From the very start it keeps the listener listening. “Call of the Wild” sounds like one may expect after hearing it, and especially with the lyrics starting: “Want you, need you. It’s the call of the wild. Something animal, more than physical. Satisfy me cos I’m falling apart.” And some howls in there too! It makes for an up-tempo pop song with nicely placed tempo changes. It also has an ingenious bridge with her almost scatting (okay, not really) before naming off times “tick, tock, ten to one”, “tick, tock, ten to two”, etc.

Being a drummer, it is a must to have a percussion heavy track, even though I am not sure if she played the drums on the EP. That song, “Give Me Your Love” was the first song I really started appreciating from the four track EP. The lyrics being very irresistible when sung by her, the song starts: “You’re playing with dangerous” which does not really make sense grammatically speaking, but sounds great! As does “Oh won’t be the one that got away.
You know it baby. Oh I’ve got you hooked this time and predator catches it prey!”

“Summer Nights” is probably the most ‘pop’ song in the more traditional sense of the word. And what makes it distinct is the very obvious kick/snare beat. There are other elements, guitar, synth, and bass starts up after a little while. My only complaint with the EP is maybe the bass could have been a little quieter in the mix. Despite that, the track, perhaps the kick/snare, along with the bass, and guitar snippets give it a small hint of a retro feel, albeit maybe unintentional. Although I did read on Wikipedia: “it’s going to be a big mixture: Kind of a sixties, organic feel merged with modern pop beats and electronics.” And that quote was from an interview with Florrie (see source below)!

“Left Too Late” is the definite throwback track, with synth and drum machine playing the pivotal roles. It actually reminds me a lot of the great old Bronski Beat track “Smalltown Boy.”

I mentioned above how she is without a label, by choice. The reason being she wants to artistically explore without any record label pressure, and find her sound/identity. This is what I remember reading. Read it in more detail at her website (I did not want to steal her words directly, hence not re-reading before writing this).

Florrie has been the in-house drummer for the Xenomania production team out of the United Kingdom, so she has drummer for the likes of Girls Aloud and Alesha Dixon.

And did I mention this EP is a free download!?! Her new EP, Experiments, can be heard for free online, and purchased from the iTunes.

Get it now, at the very least stream it a few times, at which point it will have to be downloaded!

Sources used:
Lyrics – Call of the Wild by Florrie
Lyrics – Give Me Your Love by Florrie
PonyStep: FLORRIE. She Bangs The Drum…

Music Video of the Day recap week 21 (141 – 147)

Week 21 was back to normal again.

Punk Week concludes tomorrow, and it will be back to normal again. Perhaps another theme week starting on March 18?

Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/tmmblog to stay current with the Music Video of the Day selection and everything else!

#141 The Cardigans – I Need Some Fine Wine and You, You Need to Be Nicer

From Super Extra Gravity, released in 2005, still the most recent Cardigans release. However Nina et. al. did release a new A-Camp, Colonia in 2009. Anyway, been a while since I listened to it, but I am pretty sure it was good! “I Need Some Fine Wine and You, You Need to Be Nicer” definitely is!

#142 Robyn – Hang with Me

The single from Body Talk Pt. 2. And since posting it is now blocked here! Oh well, still a good song from her Body Talk series.

#143 Sevendust – Denial

As I mentioned on Twitter, I have not listened to Sevendust since Home. The album that features “Denial”. Guess I should get on that!

#144 Incubus – A Certain Shade Of Green

Another good rock song/band that I have to listen to more of!

#145 Bloodhound Gang – Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo.

Probably my favourite Bloodhound Gang track even though One Fierce Beer Coaster has some very good ones, and as a whole is a great one.

#146 The 411 – Dumb

Quite a switch from the above three rock songs. Anyway, really good pop, they disbanded quite a while ago, so only the one album (Between the Sheets, 2004) exists from them.

#147 Fiona Apple – Not About Love

Again, as I mentioned on Twitter, the string section in the original version of this song should have been left in. It made it a spine chilling track, instead it is just quite good, hard to listen to after hearing/knowing the original first. Jon Brion was the original producer. I want to be Zach Galifianakis in the video.

Music Video of the Day recap weeks 16 and 17.

Trying to catch up on MVOD recaps on here. And filler till I write-up a proper post. Week 16 is a normal week, it followed a Canadian week (week 15), and preceded unreleased week (week 17).

#106 (December 3, 2010)
One Day As A Lion – Wild International

Only heard of these guys a few months prior to featuring the music video. They are basically Zack de la Rocha and former The Mars Volta drummer, Jon Theodore. They also have a keyboardist, but for live shows. I have not heard their self titled EP yet, but it definitely sounds like it will be promising!

#107 (December 4, 2010)
Hesta Prynn – Can We Go Wrong

Hesta Prynn is one-third of the female hip-hop, indie group, Northern State, who have in the past drawn comparisons to the Beastie Boys. Stylistically they may not be exactly the same, but it is not an unfair comparison, in fact, a compliment really! Anyway, this is from her debut EP of the same name, Can We Go Wrong. Quite different from Northern State, but still very good!

#108 (December 5, 2010)
Robbie Williams – Millennium

When this song was released, it was the soundtrack song to a mountain I went snowboarding at once with my sister. Not a snowboard friendly mountain, as it has plenty of bumps all over it. Remains a great Robbie Williams solo track, easily one of my favourites from him for sure. I have yet to hear his return to Take That!

#109 (December 6, 2010)
Jamiroquai – Light Years

Another great snowboarding song! Awesome video (tied for first for my favourite snowboarding music video of all time! There is only a few that I know of anyway!) And awesome song, would be awesome to ride down the slopes to (at a reasonable volume of course, to be able to hear other outside noises)!

#110 (December 7, 2010)
Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Catch You

I first heard this when the single was released, and then I waited until Trip the Light Fantastic was released to listen to it again. Reason being it was so good, I wanted to wait to hear it along with the whole album. It was worth the wait. Great song, great album.

#111 (December 8, 2010)
Coldplay – Violet Hill

First single from what was accepted as a terrific Coldplay album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. I first heard this going to Ottawa to see Nightwood for the first time!

#112 (December 9, 2010)
The Explosion – Here I Am

True punk rock from Boston. Of course they do not exist anymore, but they certainly had a good run. This video was directed by John LaCroix of Boston hardcore band Ten Yard Fight, who also do not exist anymore.

#113 (December 10, 2010) Unreleased music week begins
Fefe Dobson – Don’t Let It Go to Your Head

Lead single from Fefe Dobson’s album Sunday Love (circa 2005), that never saw the light of day. It would have been her second album, but everything happens for a reason (as Fefe has said about it), and now we actually have her second album, Joy. It kept getting delayed, until it was finally shelved.

#114 (December 11, 2010)
Rah Digga – Party and Bullshit

Again, this was going to be released on what would have been Rah Digga’s second album, Everything Is A Story, in 2004, but for whatever reason (record label politics), it never came out. Also, we now have her second album, Classic, and it is a good one!

#115 (December 12, 2010)
Nina Sky – On Some Bullshit

This is a really sweet song, it remains in limbo. Nina Sky self released an EP, The Other Side, this past year, which was free when it came out, similar to In Rainbows, now I think it is available for $5. So “On Some Bullshit” was not on the EP obviously. It was supposed to be released on the album, The Other Side, which has been delayed drastically, and now they are having issues with their label Polo Grounds Music. They apparently want to be released from the label. They have encouraged fans to contact the label to help them out. I very much hope it does get released so I do not have to rely on the music video to hear the song! And to hear other songs that would be on it of course.

#116 (December 13, 2010)
Eve – Tambourine

Another very delayed album for reasons unknown. It was originally set to be released on Here I Am in 2007. Now it is titled Lip Lock, and looks like it will be released around May!

#117 (December 14, 2010)
Olivia – So Sexy

Her second album, Behind Closed Doors, was never released as her affiliation with G-Unit ended before it was released (according to Wikipedia). I suppose it had G-Unit collaborations and tie-ins on it. Also according to Wikipedia, she has a new album that is supposed to be released at some point, Show the World.

#118 (December 15, 2010)
Olivia – Twist It

Bonus Olivia unreleased video!

#119 (December 16, 2010)
Eve – Give It To You ft. Sean Paul

Bonus Eve unreleased video!

Cassius – Au Rêve (LP of the week)

Much overdue LP of the week!

So, electronic music is not my forté, however I know what I like, and I know a good album when I hear it. Au Rêve is Cassius’ second album, it was released September 17, 2002.

“Telephone Love” is my least favourite track, in that the telephone ringing tone used in the track gets annoying fairly quickly. Otherwise, it’s a slower tempo electronic track. It would have definitely been better having omitted said effect. Especially since it is almost seven minutes long. By contrast, “Hi Water” is an excellent track making use of a sound effect that is almost sounding like lasers in television and film.

Very grooving upbeat album for the most part. This includes Ghostface Killah laying rhymes on “Thrilla”. And it sounds quite good. Maybe not as good as KRS-One rapping on Goldie’s “Digital” from Saturnz Return, but close! Nonetheless, it live up to the song title.

It states on Wikipedia how this album is a different direction that their debut, 1999, as it features more live vocalists, and less sampling. Many of the tracks with live vocalists do not necessarily need vocals, in that they are well put together on their own, however the vocalists do add that extra something making them all the more better.

A couple of the vocalists, Leroy Burgess (“Till We Got You and Me”) and Steve Edwards (“The Sound of Violence”) have excellent voices for electronic/dance. “The Sound of Violence” in particular sounds great with vocals. This was the track I remember hearing years ago, likely right around when the album was released, as a friend of mine introduced me to it.

The album closes with a few instrumentals, “Nothing” is almost Portishead like, perhaps house Portishead. “On” sounds like it uses a slightly modified backing from “The Sound of Violence” during the same time it also employs some souped up eight bit style gaming sounds for a short while. Not counting the opener, “Hi Water”, it is my favourite instrumental. The closing tracks are not standouts by any means, however they do a good job of winding down the album with a bit more of a house/electronic feel.

Choice cuts: “Hi Water” and “The Sound of Violence” (linked via Tinysong, a.k.a. Grooveshark).

Music video picks (Fefe and Kelis)

Fefe Dobson – Stuttering

Fefe does it again. Another solid track from her finally released Joy! Worth the wait for sure! Nice video too, well acted on Fefe’s part. And she is not bad looking in the video either!

Kelis – Brave

I did not realise this video was out yet, till I saw it here. Fourth single from her latest, Flesh Tone, and one of my favourite cuts from it. Simplistic video, but I like simplistic ones similar in nature. Like Janelle Monáe’s recent video for “Cold War”, and Alanis Morissette’s “Head Over Feet” from 1996.

Watch in HD for the best viewing experience!

It has been a little while since I updated the Music Video of the Day (search hashtag #MVOD on Twitter, or better yet, view my favourites.) on here, but I’ll do so soon. And starting Friday will be the second themed week, Canadian content this time! Hip hop was the last one a couple of weeks back.

Music Video of the Day week 5 weekly recap (September 17 – 23)

Quite a mix of genres for this recap. Dance/electro, rock, punk, hardcore punk, and so on. Soon I am planning a few consecutive videos with specific themes. If I can get enough for each, it will start on a Friday to work out for the weekly recap, that being the themes I have in mind, as I can come up with other themes that will be easy to fill.

This week I linked all the videos immediately after, in case people do not like the YouTube videos embedded when the post loads. In the case you do not mind, just click “Read the rest of this entry »” below, and all the videos are still in order, embedded into the post. So provided you visit via the main page, the embedded YouTube videos will not show up until clicking.

Kylie Minogue, M.I.A., and the Social Distortion videos do not allow embedding, so as usual, just click-through to YouTube, or use the below links.

Kylie Minogue’s new one for “Get Outta My Way” (September 17, #29)

Nice new track from Kylie’s latest, Aphrodite!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHGaW8lBlSk

Foo Fighters, Times Like These (September 18, #30)

One of many really good songs from One by One

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhzmNRtIp8k

Sick of it All, Step Down! (September 19, #31)

Saw these guys on the 19th, and this was one of the songs they played. They always tend to put on a sweet show!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fvu951up_0

Rye Rye – Bang ft. M.I.A (September 20, #32)

Rye Rye opened for the M.I.A. show I saw, and she put on a great set! Her album, Go! Pop! Bang!, is scheduled to be released in January!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwReJNeg5dE

M.I.A. Sunshowers (September 21, #33)

Sweet early M.I.A. track. Likely the first song many people heard by M.I.A.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPd_eFNgzMA

OK Go, White Knuckles (September 22, #34)

I really only know OK Go from their videos. Yet another zany, perfect for the internet video. And it is good to see they are supporting and promoting animal rescue. All the dogs featured in the video were rescued. The video can be purchased on their website, okgo.net, and net proceeds go to the ASPCA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHlJODYBLKs

Social Distortion – When The Angels Sing (September 23, #35)

Their new album, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes, will be released November 23! This one is from two albums ago, White Light, White Heat, White Trash, which represents 14 years!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOt6EFqUubk

Kelis – Flesh Tone

“A distinct departure from the urban sound of her previous album” Wikipedia states. One might say that. And it is certainly true. From the first few seconds once the “Intro” gets going, it is clear it is not contemporary R&B, or even what we are used to from Kelis. Rather leaning to electro. Upon hearing the beginning for the very first time, I was looking forward to hearing the album in its entirety (I only saw a snippet of the video for “Acapella” early on, but never paid attention, as in some cases I like to listen to the album as a whole the first time without hearing the single).

With Flesh Tone, Kelis really relies on electro/house for the entire album. And with that numerous producers and writers in the genres. I counted no less than 10 different producers and 21 different writers. The album is 9 tracks, plus 6 segues.

Speaking of the segue tracks, they really are a track of their own almost, in that they perfectly go from one track to the next, hence ‘segue’. Insofar that unless one knew they were there, they would really be hard to notice. Thus it makes for a great house/club/DJ record.

Segue 1 goes from the electro “22nd Century” to the excellent house/dance “4th of July (Fireworks)”. The latter has elements, in particular the electro backing, that reminds me considerably of a Radiohead/Thom Yorke track (mentioned in the album preview I’d reveal who it reminded me of). The track actually samples a Lioness remix of “You’re My Heart” by Pilotpriest. The piano backing is what is sampled, along with a select part of the house element from the original. I normally do not listen to remixes, however I do like when samples are used, and used well, in that the sample in question adds to the new track, making it its own thanks to the sample, while still giving kudos for the sample. The track was produced by DJ Ammo, who I believe must be responsible for the electro element.

Start to finish the album keeps the listeners attention. “Emancipate / Segue 5″ is an uplifting song that flows into “Brave” which seems to be about Kelis being strong, and finally “Song For The Baby” is literally that, as she was pregant during the recording process. It is also noted in “Brave” (“It was crazy, Had a baby. He’s amazin, He saved me”). Also recorded when she had no label, perhaps for this reason she was free to choose her own direction, (“Emancipate Yourself”).

What is really impressive is the fact that Kelis pulled off such a drastic style change, and did it so well. From first hearing “Caught Out There”, her first singe, back in 1999, it was fairly obvious she was talented. However to make this album sound as if she has been in the electro house genre for years is a mighty feat. Perhaps not for Kelis though.

Apparently Kelis wanted to get people to dance again, hence this record. I dare say, mission accomplished!

Listen to: “22nd Century”, “Brave”. And of course the whole album!

Music videos:

Acapella
4th Of July (Fireworks)

Pet pleasure:

Kelis Flesh Tone Webisodes