Songs for the Mood

Since it’s Valentine’s Day and my personal website is still in the process of re-propagating, I’ve decided to make a quick sort of post on my music blog, wherein I’ll post my five favorite romantic songs. Ever. Most of them aren’t your typical guy and girl living happily ever after sort of thing. That’s just not my preference.

Personally, I like top five lists because they always prove to be an immediate challenge, a way of making me shudder with the idea that I only get to pick five songs. That’s it!

So here we go, my top five songs for Valentine’s Day:

5. “Crown of Love” – The Arcade Fire

This song always had a sort of wedding vibe to it, perhaps because I bought the Funeral album shortly before my two lovely friends Jason and Esther tied the knot in summer of 2005. The lyrics themselves are stark and crisp and passionate, especially in the chorus: “If you still love me, please fogive me. The crown of love is falling from me.” And the music is pretty dandy as well.

4. “Unison” – Bjork

About being anti-social and hermit-like, this song always had a strong significance to me. The song has a cheerful aura to it that always made me feel good about listening to it in a sad kind of way. It’s my favorite track from Vespertine, an album solely dedicated to the concept of love in the best of ways. What I enjoy best about “Unison” is its crafty ability to be about finally realizing the need for another person without sounding as if it were crafted by that Dion woman.

3. “The Rat Who Could Be King” – Matthew Good Band

This is one of my favorites, despite being thoroughly depressing. It’s these sort of epic songs, the sort that span almost seven seconds of heartfelt misery that really make me press Repeat over and over again. My favorite line is, “Once you’re in you’re pretty much fucked.” Although I have no real idea what it means, I always symbolized it in context with a boy I used to claim I was in love with, and feeling that way about him made me feel like the worst shit in the world. Matt sings in the chorus, “And I’ve a grenade with our names scratched in the side. But that’s just love, and you know that love’s not enough.” So dignified.

2. “Calculation Theme” – Metric

Despite the music being somewhat repetive, I always found it so soothe Emily Hains’ voice in the perfect way while she sings about ghosts and numbers and sweet potatoes. The lyrics are really ecletic in that way, but I find them to be perfect. So perfect, in fact, that I would consider this track as one of the best in Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? Few people understand the genius of it, the idea of it taking notice of the people that get in the way of a relationship.

1. “Let’s Roll” – The Stills

It has everything, a somber beat, dynamic lyrics, and no cliche bullshit. The lyrics to me seem more sexual than they are sensual, or maybe they might be romantic after all. I could never tell exactly. I’ve always admired this song for its own reasons, however, those being to highlight what ever mood I was in considering another person. Somehow this song has always stuck with me over the years, and I’ve always listened to it during those moments of admiration. It just fits.

So Unable to Bypass This

God, what happened to me?  I used to be cool.

With blogging I sort of phased out.  Personal blogging was my knack, but with my domain all defunct and my password to renew it at a loss in my memory, I have nowhere else to settle but here.  Audio Intercourse was always a sort of passion of mine.  I wanted to let the idea of it just pass away, but with my Lady Gaga review still getting hits here and there, it was hard to just “forget” about it.

I tried to adjust and take a different approach, something that would take less of my time, but alas, that didn’t work either.  So this is just me trying to try again.  I can’t say that I’ll have more time or that I’ll devote more time or whatnot.  So hey, I’ll just blog when I can, when I find an artist or a song or an album that I can say something about.

We’ll just have to wait and see.

Having A Dry Spell

I’m currently trying to think of a better way to format the posts of this blog, as it’s become blatently obvious that I really don’t have the time to be making frequent updates on every bit of music that I come into contact with.

So between the studying of school and the folding of towels at work, I’ll be trying to figure something out.  This site ain’t dead yet, folks.

Seven Trackzor

I’m not going to post the instructions in that I basically have to post seven songs that I’m really into as of now. Just like the Friday Fives (and I’ll get back to them eventually, as work currently gives me no time for meandering anymore) I’ll be posting them like a countdown.

5. “Shrine to Fast Goodbyes” – Emily Haines

I actually woke up with this song in my head this morning. The version that I have on my computer is a bootleg copy from one of Emily’s solo shows. Normally I find Emily’s music to sound quite drab and rigid – and this is honestly in a good way – but this one song has a more upbeat sound to it. Really, I’d consider it a ballad of sorts, but I really do love the lyrics she’s penned.

4. “It’s Been A While Since I Was Your Man” – Matthew Good

Matt doesn’t sing too often about relationship-related issues, but really, anything that comes from him is just as good. I suppose the best part about it, though, is that when he does write about relationships, they’re more than just sad and hopeless. They’re written to supreme perfection, and this particular song is really one of my favorites from White Light Rock & Roll Review.

3. “Disco Blackout” – controller.controller

I find that controller.controller is one of those bands that takes a while to actually get into. Because I had some tracks lingering around, though, I managed to play them enough times to get hooked to the riffs. This song is from their first EP, titled History, and is really my favorite track from it. It’s fast and you can dance to it, and Nirmala’s voice isn’t girlish or hard; it’s just supreme and edgy. I think that’s really all you need.

2. “Work On You” – MSTRKRFT

Although MSTRKRFT is only half the master copy of DFA1979, what Jesse Keeler and his new buddy, Al P., have created is really quite intriguing. This is the opening track to their first album for the dance community, The Looks, and is my absolute favorite MSTRKRFT song. The beats are strong and they go through the whole song. Plus it’s got that whole Speak & Spell vibe to it, enhanced. It’s no “Satisfaction”, folks.

1. “Baby Blues” – The Stills

Honestly, I can’t listen to Without Feathers without listening to this song six or seven times. Although this song does hold a lot of significant meaning to me, I really think that the sole reason that I fell in love with it was because of Emily Haines had the vocals backed to a T. The lyrics, as well, are also perfect in that even I would think about quoting them in a homemade macaroni card.

True Audio Intercourse

I suppose the whole music vibrator revelation isn’t a new introduction to the music world, but really, after I discovered the OhMiBod today, I’ve realized that music and sex doesn’t have to be as cheesy as it seems. (Really, I was much of a quiet girl myself, but you know, having this around would have made my fourteen hour flight to The Philippines the lest bit enjoyable.)

What’s great about the OhMiBod, though, is that you don’t need an ipod to use it. Even the old-fashioned walkman would be able to satisfy your needs. It’s not only music, though. You could plug it into your computer, your television, into your car radio (although that probably wouldn’t be the best idea), anything that has a headphone jack. Even still, it comes with an attachment that would allow you to use it as just a normal vibrator.

At one point in time, my best friend Heather and I used to joke about how orgasmic the Death From Above 1979 song, “Sexy Results” was. Really, though, having the OhMiBod to enhance it, well, listening to it would result in some sexy results, indeed.

Saving my money…

Romantic Rights No More

Really, it was pretty damn depressing to come across this, but one of my favorite Canadian bands, the great Death From Above 1979, have officially announced their untimely demise.

Heather, if you were with me, I would hold you and we could cry together.

A Little Less About Music

This isn’t exactly a “music” post, but more of a link to a video that I found.

Basically, Matthew Good did this piece for Much Music back in 2003 on a topic that still resonates today more than ever. I touched on it a bit in the previous post, but I’ll just post it and let you do the watching.

Watch zee video, yo.

Image Could Be Just About Everything

Now I’ve said this before, but for me it’s difficult to discover new artists on purevolume.com. With music being so asexually reproductive these days, about seventy percent of all new artists are just carbon copies of each other. So when I saw the following shot of unsigned solo artist, Lady Gaga, I had to think it was some kind of joke. Because as we all know, using sexual imagery to promote your music just makes everyone lose respect for anything you have to offer.

Or, as I’ve learned, in some cases it makes you check out what they have to offer just to be proved so very wrong.

The Five Best Summer Albums

5. Here We Go – Tuuli

Four summers ago I purchased this album from all-girl pop-punk Canadian band, Tuuli. Since then, it’s since slipped into my past, what with songs about bad break-ups and misbehaved boys. Really, though, the greatest part about Tuuli (which is, for the most part in these days, split and non-existent) was their refreshing sound. It was girly, it was poppish, it was everything summer for a sixteen year-old should have been.

4. Logic Will Break Your Heart – The Stills

This album really has a somber tone to it the entire way through, but in my case, after buying it, I let it become the sophisticated soundtrack to the more drab events during the summer of 2004. Really, though, it’s better for evening listening.

3. Funeral – The Arcade Fire

Speaking of “sophisticated” summer albums, this one really is an obvious pick. I picked it up last June and quickly let it drone into my summer with flying colours. A few of the songs actually deal with winter weather and freak snowstorms, but it didn’t make much of a difference, really. Often enough, a summer album is really all about the sound. And this album had it perfect.

2. All We Know is Falling – Paramore

Last summer, I received my pre-order of this album the day I got back from an amazing all-friend camping trip. I listened to it on repeat while I was cleaning the mess out of the coolers and scrubbing the campfire smell out of the pots, and it just brought back memories of every great event prior to it. This entire album just has a refreshing sound to it, and this band is quite possibly one of the most promising acts I’ve seen in a long time.

1. Watoosh! – Pezz

Otherwise known as the early Billy Talent, Pezz had a different sound to them that was upbeat and summer-like in all ways possible. It was typical teen angst fueled by upbeat energy – a good mix, in my opinion. Watoosh! was their first full-length album as Pezz, which sparked up my summer of 2004. Even now I can still throw it in the old CD player and feel it all come back.

Always Too Good

Matthew Good has recently posted two new demo tracks on his myspace, titled “Black Helicopter” and “If I Was A Tidal Wave”. Really, I appreciate everything this man has to offer; his music has never failed me.

Both songs are more acoustic, which seems to be a new sound that Matt must be experimenting with. So far, I’m liking what he’s coming up with. “Black Helicopter” is a more slower, somber song, which is really quite powerful in its own way. I have no idea what MGB fans were really bitching about after Matt went solo. The band really had a sound of its own, but Matt’s new work is clearly more honest and mature. “If I Was A Tidal Wave” is a bit of a faster demo, a bit more upbeat. At first I wasn’t enjoying the all-too-typical political message behind it, but Matt’s lyrics are really too good to bash. He writes based on perspective, not trend. And really, I don’t have enough thumbs to raise in positive review.

So if this is of any indication what his next album is going to sound like, then I’ll be marking the date on my calander for sure.